It used to be easy if you wanted a workhorse roll-to-roll wide-format printer - you chose an eco/light/mid*-solvent machine (*pick preferred marketing term according to vendor) and off you went. But due to the increased environmental awareness - both in the print shop and in the shop, office or exhibition where the graphics are going to be used - and concern over how the graphics can be recycled after use, there has been a push for alternatives to solvent inkjet. The Océ ColorWave 600, along with HP's Designjet L25500, the Kip Color 80 and some of the lower cost UV-cured hybrid machines, is filling a gap in the market where the need for low production costs, substrate flexibility and low-odour prints may preclude solvent from the running.
Océ launched the ColorWave 600 nearly two years ago, targeting CAD users, and map makers using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). However, once quickprinters had their hands on the machine for those applications, they wasted no time in trying to put work through it. These pioneers found the ability to print onto standard uncoated, and therefore cheaper substrates, along with low costs, ease-of-use and vibrant colours, made the ColorWave 600 ideal for a number of graphics applications too.
"The quickprinters took us into point-of-sale (POS) and point-of-purchase (POP)," says ColorWave senior product manager Ian Guiver. "We were concerned about the inks fading for external applications, but they told us that for the expected lifespan of an outdoor campaign, it wasn't an issue, and it certainly isn't for interior work."
Niche potential
With the machine proving itself a success in CAD and GIS and showing potential in several display graphics niches, Guiver has been set the task of developing graphics applications. "My task for 2010 is to push the ColorWave 600 in display graphics for POP, POS, banner stands and exhibition markets," he says.
So what's so special about the ColorWave 600? For a start, it uses a very different imaging technology to the other machines, which Océ calls CrystalPoint. This is a hybrid of inkjet and toner technology, which the group believes plays to each process's strength, while eliminating their weaknesses. Essentially, toner is supplied in balls roughly 1cm across (toner pearls in Océ speak); making them safer and easier to handle than either liquid ink or finely divided powder toner. Inside the machine, these are melted and then applied using what to all intents and purposes is an inkjet head, but in Océ-words is called an ‘imaging device'. Once on the substrate, the toner cools and as it does so crystallises - hence the CrystalPoint name. This phase-change technology is not totally unique (see ‘Ink's rubber soul', PrintWeek, 19 June 2008), but Océ is the only company exploiting it in wide-format. One of the benefits of CrystalPoint is that the toner sits on the surface of the substrate rather than being absorbed, which produces sharp, bright results with minimal and consistent dot gain across a wide range of substrates, simplifying process control and profiling. In use, there are no solvents and no ozone produced, meaning there doesn't need to be any extraction and the finished prints are odourless and water-resistant.
The need for speed
Apart from being a novel technology what does the system itself bring? It's fast. In economy mode, it'll produce a whopping 105m2 per hour, while in production mode it'll churn out 60m2 per hour and in its highest quality presentation mode a still sprightly 30m2 per hour.
Guiver says that, although Océ recommends using presentation mode for the majority of graphics applications for maximum quality, the majority of customers are happy to use production mode.
He cautions that in this mode there is some striping - the lawnmower pattern that can be seen under some lighting conditions caused by bi-directional printing.
However, for output that is going to be laminated, the use of warm (around 65°C) laminating has been found to soften the image enough to eliminate the effect without causing it to bleed. Not that much work needs laminating. The print produced is waterproof, so depending on the substrate and the application, it can be used straight off the printer without any further treatment. In addition, there is the range of substrates it can print onto. Basically anything uncoated can be printed from recycled paper, through plastics and non-wovens such as Tyvek.
Even the sometimes troublesome polyethylene can be printed untreated; in fact untreated and uncoated media often work better.
"Sensitisation softens the surface. For CrystalPoint, it's best that doesn't happen. We want a tough surface to prevent scuff marks on the finished print," says Guiver.
There are a couple of types of substrates that the machine can't handle - any glazed high-gloss coating causes a problem with toner adhesion and also with a differential finish due to the toner's satin finish. The other is canvas, which can't be cut by the built-in cutter. However, Océ offers a canvas-textured paper instead.
Aside from those restrictions, any stock up to 160gsm weight and 140micron calliper can be used. Océ has a range of its own red label stocks, but there is no restriction on third-party media within those broad guidelines for finish and weight. Media is loaded into front-loading drawers and, depending on the configuration of the machine, it can support between one and six rolls, with automatic switching.
The price is right
Costs are low. The list price for the machine starts at £30,000, going up to £39,000 for a fully-configured machine capable of holding six rolls. While that may be comparably high for a roll-fed solvent machine, the ColorWave 600 is a workhorse designed to work flat out, in one approval test it worked flat out over three days without a hiccup. "It's an Océ, it's been engineered, not just built," says Guiver.
The price of the toner pearls is £130 per 500g. As a toner-based technology it's also got the same business model - the click charge. Precise clicks depend on your anticipated volumes, but a standard is £0.13 per m2. Clicks combine the area printed with the percentage coverage.
A square metre of CAD drawing with 3-4% coverage would use 0.65 of a click, whereas POS may represent "six or seven clicks per square metre" due to the higher coverage. It's possible to cut the click by reducing toner coverage using Under Color Removal (UCR) and Grey Component Removal (GCR). Océ's Onyx Postershop and Production House RIPs have the necessary profiling tools built in. While a print made with composite blacks could cost £3 per square metre, one with GCR or UCR could be as low as £0.80.
Océ defines users' throughput in terms of thousands of clicks per quarter with low-volume users up to 5,000, high-volume up to 10,000 and extremely-high-volume 60,000 per quarter. For POS, 10,000 clicks might represent 1,000m2.
So far, the ColorWave 600 is Océ's only product using the CrystalPoint technology but, having spent around a dozen years developing the technology, it's likely to appear in other products over time. The group won't be drawn on whether they will be wide-format or cut-sheet, or continuous feed, but Guiver says customers have already been asking for a wider roll-fed machine, a flatbed and additional colours, including white. All Guiver will say is that "this technology is only at the beginning of its product lifecycle. It will be exploited fully over the next decades".
SPECIFICATIONS
Printing technology Océ CrystalPoint
Max print width 1,067mm (42in)
Max speed 105m2 per hour (34s per A0)
Resolution 1,200dpi
Colours CMYK
Workflow/RIP Onyx Postershop or Production House
Price
Engine from £30,000
Per m2 (excluding substrate) £0.80-£3.00
Contact Océ UK 0870 600554 www.océ.com
THE ALTERNATIVES
Epson Stylus Pro GS6000
The GS6000 is an eight-colour, 1.6m-wide solvent printer. Producing a wide colour gamut at resolutions up to 1,440dpi, speed is up to 25m² per hour for banner-quality printing and 8.4m² for photographic signage.
Printing technology eco-solvent piezo inkjet
Max print width 1,600mm
Max speed 25m2 per hour
Price £18,995
Contact Colourgen 01628 588722 www.colourgen.com
HP Designjet L25500
The Designjet is intended to take on eco-solvent machines in their core markets. HP claims substrate and application flexibility and environmental benefits are pluses for latex ink, which is water-based and thermally-cured.
Printing technology Latex ink thermal inkjet
Max print width 1,520mm
Max speed 22.8m2 per hour
Price 1,070mm (42in): £16,741 or 1,520mm (60in): £21,892
Contact HP UK 0870 013 0790 www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts
KIP Color 80
The KIP Color 80 uses LED-exposed toner more like a small-format cut-sheet colour printer or copier. It has got a considerably higher upfront cost of £99,950, but running costs are claimed to be much lower than the ColorWave 600.
Printing technology toner
Max print width 914mm
Max speed 200m2 per hour
Price £99,950
Contact KIP UK 01327 304601 www.kipuk.com
Mimaki UJV-160
A hybrid (flatbed/roll-to-roll) UV-curing wide-format printer that uses flexible UV inks co-developed with 3M that work with a wide range of materials with stretch capabilities, allowing it to be formed, creased and cut through without affecting the print.
Printing technology UV-cured piezo inkjet
Max print width 1,600mm
Max speed 7m2 per hour
Price £39,995
Contact Hybrid Services 01270 501 900 www.hybridservices.co.uk
Roland AdvancedJet AJ-740i
Roland DG's AdvanceJet represents the status quo in this market - dependable, affordable and capable of printing a wide range of applications on coated or uncoated media, including vinyl.
Printing technology solvent piezo inkjet
Max print width 1,88m
Max speed 80m2 per hour
Price £29,999
Contact Roland DG UK 0845 230 9060 www.rolanddg.co.uk
