PrintWeek India's ERP and MIS expert, Sriraam Selvam, spots six digital products (three colour digital presses and three aqueous inkjet wide format printers) of the week which are making news.
Digital Colour Press: Cut sheet
HP Indigo 7800
This is HP’s top SRA3 model, billed for throughput as well as print quality. You can upgrade from lesser 7000 series models and you can start with fewer colours and then add more. The max is seven, printing in any colour order but top speed is only hit if you confine it to CMY and no black. HP Indigos are the only digital presses that can run user-mixed spot colour mixes.
Max sheet size 330x482mm
Speed 120 A4 ppm (CMYK), 160 A4 ppm (EPM/CMY)
Number of colours Up to seven
Stock weight range 60-350gsm
Kodak NexPress SX3900
Kodak has offered fifth units for years with its NexPress series, which are aimed at broadly the same high-end market as the iGens. Rather like the iGen5 you can start with a slower press and upgrade it. Today’s top model is the SX 3900, with a long sheet capability up to 1,000mm (though an add-on special pile feeder is needed for this).
The fifth unit offers a larger choice of effects: gamut extenders, spot gloss, spot raised imaging, gold, and a clear pearlescent (for a semi-metallic look).
Max sheet size Standard: 356x520mm; optional: 356x1,000mm
Speed 120 A4 ppm (131ppm with long-sheet option)
Number of colours Five
Stock weight range 60-350gsm
Xerox iGen5
The Xerox’s iGen series was launched on 7 July. It is a high-end, high-throughput dry toner digital colour presses. The difference over the previous iGen150 is the fifth colour unit. The target markets are commercial print, direct mail, books and packaging, with the option of five colours open to those that need to print spot colours for brands.
Max paper size 90:364x571mm; 120 & 150: 364x660mm
Max speed 90,120 or 150 A4 impressions per minute
Resolution 2,400dpi
Colours CMYK plus optional orange, green, blue
Papers weight Uncoated: 60 to 350gsm; Coated: 90 to 350gsm
Input capacity Up to 12 trays, all full-size/weight for total of 30,000 sheets. One post-fuser inserter module with two trays. Optional roll feed.
Delivery Up to four stackers, two carts per stacker, for total of 12,000 sheets
Inline finishing options Bookletmakers (CP Bourg or Duplo), stacker, perfect binder, UV coater, Xerox perfect binder, Rollem cut/slit/score/perforator
Footprint 6.2x1.8m with main tower, two feeders and two stacker
Digital: Wide format aqueous inkjet
Canon imagePrograf iPF6450
Canon seems to bring out a new aqueous imagePrograf wide-format inkjet every other month, targeting ever narrower market slices. This is its 24in proofer with built-in spectrophotometer. It has automated colour management, a standard 250GB hard disc and talks to third-party RIPs.
Print width 24in (610mm)
Paper formats A1 to B4 sheets, 610mm rolls
Max media thickness 1.5mm manually through top slot
Ink Canon Lucia EX aqueous pigment
Colours 12: CMYK, RGB, matte black, light cyan, light magenta, grey, photo grey
Printheads Canon thermal
Resolutions 2,400x1,200dpi
Speed 4 minutes per A1 on coated media, in high-quality mode
Epson SureColor SC-P7000V
Epson has been replacing its Stylus Pro series of large-format aqueous inkjets with the newer SureColor models. The SC-P7000V is designed for proofing and display applications. Target users are agencies, designers, pre-press specialists, print-for-pay centres and commercial printers. Those doing lots of poster and display work may want to consider the SC-P9000V which is an aqueous inkjet printer that handles roll and cut-sheet media. It uses Epson’s latest PrecisionCore piezo heads for greyscale resolutions up to 2,880x1,440dpi.
Print width 24in (610mm)
Paper formats A1 to B4 sheets plus 17in (432mm) and 24in (610mm) rolls
Max media thickness 1.5mm
Ink Aqueous UltraChrome HDX
Colours 10: cyan, light cyan, vivid magenta, vivid light magenta, yellow, matt black, photo black, light black, violet, green, orange
Printheads Epson PrecisionCore micro piezo TFP greyscale
Resolutions Up to 2,880x1,440dpi
Speed Up to 40m2/hr (depending on quality setting)
Footprint 801x945mm
HP Designjet Z3200ps
HP’s Z-series aqueous inkjets are popular with photographers but have never made much of a mark in proofing. There are 24in and 44in models. However, the PostScript RIP, X-Rite-based built-in spectrophotometer and HP’s claim to match 95% of Pantone colours means it’s worth a look.
Print width 24in (610mm)
Paper formats 610x1,676mm to 216x279mm sheets, and 24inch (610mm) rolls
Max media thickness 0.8mm
Ink HP aqueous pigment
Colours 12: blue, green, magenta, red, yellow, grey, photo black, matte black, light cyan, light grey, light magenta, gloss enhancer
Printheads HP thermal
Resolutions Up to 2,400x1,200 “optimised dpi”
Speed Up to 17m2/hour on coated media
Footprint 1,262x690mm