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Large Format Printers : Simple technology, exceptional results
The Mimaki JV5 ships with over seven litres of ink, powered take-up unit, pre, print and post heaters, plus additional drying fans for maximum speed on demanding substrates
New Year, new technology, isn’t that how the story goes? Well technically yes it is, but in the digital world it would also be fair to say new month, new technology because that’s how fast things change.
As soon as we have introduced you to a new machine, it changes, is re-launched and a better version comes along, which is why we have so much to look at since we published our large format feature last year. Here are just a few machines to look out for in 2007.
The first company which we highlight is Canon who has an exceptionally good machine in their imagePROGRAF iPF8000, a 44in large format printer (LFP) that boasts industry-leading technologies and has been designed to deliver high quality output at speed.
The iPF8000 looks set to bolster Canon’s large format line-up, which now runs from 17in all the way up to 60in and offers printing solutions to meet the needs of commercial printers and print-for-pay customers as well as photographers and fine art printers.
Canon already has a strong heritage within the LFP market and so understands that quality and colour accuracy are paramount when reproducing an image.
LFP product marketing manager for Canon UK, Anne Sharp, said: “Canon has gone from strength-to-strength in the LFP market place, nearly doubling our market share in the first half of 2006. We have already established a strong base of customers within the print-for-pay and photographic markets with our W8400 44in pigment printer. With the launch of the imagePROGRAF iPF8000, we are now able to offer our customers even more functionality and growth opportunities for their businesses.”
The imagePROGRAF iPF8000 comes with a range of solutions to ensure that set up and use are as simple as possible. These include imagePROGRAF Print Plug-In for Photoshop, which allows users to export 16-bit RGB images processed with Adobe Photoshop directly to the imagePROGRAF printer, without changing its broader colour gamut and retaining a smoother gradation. It provides an efficient printing environment for Adobe Photoshop users, as well as colour adjustments and preview functions. Additionally, the Canon software PosterArtist and Digital Photo Print Professional are packaged as standard and can be configured to an existing network to ensure ease-of-use and effective print management.
Fast and wide
The second new addition in the large format arena is the Mimaki JV5 which is finding a large number of homes throughout the UK within high volume sign and graphics companies. The addition of a 1.3m version to complement the existing 1.6m machine offers an alternative for those not requiring the extra width, yet who still require a combination of startling speed and ultra high quality.
Retailing at £25,500 (ex VAT) and available through Hybrid’s authorised JV5 reseller network, the new size shares the same production features and speed with its bigger brother. Four banks of eight heads; built-in uninterrupted ink supply system; a choice of eco or hard solvent inks; and next generation tools such as automatic media feed compensation, head height adjustment and nozzle-out detection have already marked the series out as revolutionary. The choice of sizes now gives a further option to the industry.
With a 1,365mm maximum printing width and a 1,375mm media width, the JV5-130S enables the largest range of media to be used within its size class: with the popular 1,370mm material width fully accommodated. Vehicle graphics, banners, pop-ups and displays are all easily output on the machine, with typical production print speeds being achieved at 34m2/h at 540 by 1,080dpi. With a maximum resolution of 1,440dpi the printer even hits 21m2/h at 720 by 1,440dpi.
Hybrid’s Duncan Jefferies added: “The JV5 has really raised the bar in terms of speed and quality within the solvent printer market, so to be able to offer two complementary sizes to our customers in the 1.3m and 1.6m models gives us quite unique flexibility.”
The Mimaki JV5 ships with over seven litres of ink, powered take-up unit, pre, print and post heaters, plus additional drying fans for maximum speed on demanding substrates. To ease extraction of solvent odours, the printer also sports a number of exhaust ducts, plus a front enclosure.
Crisp and clear
It is always interesting to see what Oce has to offer in this market. The new CS2044 and CS2024 colour systems offer printing widths of 44 and 24in respectively and you can rely on them to produce crisp, clear line drawings and brilliant colour graphics, making them ideal for handling varying applications.
Both machines are designed to deliver outstanding results for a wide range of applications including CAD, GIS, 3D renderings and colour graphics. They also meet the need of single users and small workgroups to handle all their print output in-house on a single system, which is a huge benefit and saves money where it is needed most.
These new printers are engineered to provide long-term value and help users build their business. They can be upgraded simply by adding a RIP to the basic printer. Also, Onyx CADPro users can migrate to Onyx GraphicsPro if they need to add a colour graphics capability.
Print the truth
The final machines on the list this month come from HP in the form of the new large format HP Designjet Z photo printers which claim to reproduce your vision accurately and consistently. They deliver 24 to 44in results with colour that can resist fading for up to 200-years.
We all know that the key to a good system is one that works well and at the same time is simple. In fact any manufacturer that claims to simplify the printing process deserves a medal. Well HP has really gone to town with this machine and claims that it has combined your skills with HP's innovative print technologies to bring out the best of your creativity, while simplifying the total printing experience.
One thing which I do like about this machine is the incorporation of the industry's first embedded spectrophotometer on printing devices of its class. Mounted on the printer carriage, the spectrophotometer intuitively acts like a human eye, measuring the colour of each page and making adjustments so colour output matches the original, print-after-print. And it's all done quickly and automatically, like the blink of an eye.
This effectively solves the problem of deviating from the original colours as the print run nears the end. With so many different variables in the printing process it is surprising how easily this can happen.
This is definitely one to look out for if you are in the business of photo printing, and one which I expect to generate good reviews.
And finally
As you know I always like to bring you a selection of different printers to choose from and here we have just that with some good large format machines together with photo printing and solvent options. The key as always is in the choice which is available on the market.
At the start of every year I make a note of things which I want to see in action: whether that is printers, scanners, laminators or some other equally exciting technology. Sadly, by the time we get to the end of the year I never seem to have ticked everything off the list, although I have seen some excellent technology which wasn’t available when I started the list.
The point I am making here is that just because these are some of the best machines available now, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they are the only machines: although they are all worth looking at. Suffice to say there is plenty of good technology available and I am sure that by the end of 2007 there will be lots of equally new and exciting products. So all that’s left to say is watch this space. Over the coming months we will be bringing news of everything which is new in the digital market, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the commentary.
