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Nicholas
Hellmuth reports on his five year's experience with ColorSpan
printers
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Colorspan
FabriJet printing on textile at the DRUPA tradeshow
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During the years 1997-2003, this
kind of water-based printer was a popular choice for a professional
photo studio (photo lab), print shop, copy center, or advertising
bureau. In the intervening years new ink chemistries (eco-solvent, mild-solvent, UV-cured) have arrived. So the entire situation has changed. But people still ask about printers made in the 1990's because they are still offered on eBay. Hence we maintain our old web pages from these early years.
If
you need help deciding what wide format color printer to buy,
send an e-mail to the review editor, Nicholas Hellmuth, contact
Please be sure to mention what kind of images you reproduce,
what your applications are, your level of experience such
as whether you are new to digital printing, and what printers
did you consider before reading the reviews on this site.
Indicate roughly your budget since it makes little sense to
lust after a printer that is overly costly. We prefer to recommend
cost-effective printers that produce photo-realistic quality
with long-lasting colors using archival inks.
For
museums a printer such as this would be an asset in fund raising.
Museums could do exhibits more economically if the curators
and in-house photo staff had access to a wide-format printer.
With a local network everyone in the building can easily print
from a single printer. Just send your files over the network.
ColorSpan
makes a wide selection of fine printers. The first model we
tried was the Ilford IJT from Ilford Imaging. This is the
ColorSpan DisplayMaker HiRes with 8-color technology that
we used five years ago. The 8-colors are what give it the
High Resolution. Agfa used to market the ColorSpan under the
name Agfa Montana.
Summer 2003 we received our second ColorSpan printer in our
own facilities at Bowling Green State University, the ColorSpan
Mach 12. We acquired the Mach 12 after our favorable experiences
for a year with the DisplayMaker XII.
| Archiva
inks from Ilford are specially formulated to last as
long as possible.
Archive
inks have a well deserved reputation for brightness.
During
the test what impressed me the most was how true the
colors are when printed on the ColorSpan.
Unfortunately
the flash used to take this snapshot was not wide
enough to cover the field of view of the wide angle
lens. |
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Many
different RIPs work for the ColorSpan. However for each
of our two ColorSpan printers we opted for their own hardware
RIP from ColorSpan. This way we get all the color management
and ICC color profiles built in. Our print shop at the university
uses both ColorSpan printers all the time. We are fully
content with them both. The X-12 is even better but we don't
have this yet.
Don't
try to buy one of these printers over the internet and try
to install it yourself. A ColorSpan is a printer where you
need the printer, the RIP, the media, the inks, and all
their ICC
profiles together in one package. This is an integrated
system, the only way to set up a printer of this nature.
Just be sure that you realize these complex printers may
need an extended warranty (which can cost several thousand
dollars). The warranty is needed for as long as you own
the printer, since you may need technical help and replacement
of parts. ColorSpan
is a complex technical printer; this is not something for
a one-person or husband-and-wife team, unless you need the
high quality and can afford the correspondingly cost of
maintenance.
Take
the speed statistics with a grain of salt (which means reduce
them). Remember the rule, fast speed = low dpi, low dpi
= less quality. Hence, fast speed = less quality.
Naturally
what you want is slow speed = the highest quality. The ads
show you the high quality, brag a bit about the high speed,
and the reader loses track and presumes the high quality
is of course also available at the high speed. No, its not
like that. Once said, the ColorSpan sure is faster than
any poky piezo printhead machine.
If
you are good with electronics, if you have already run a
printing company (with traditional presses), or if your
company is large enough to have a person who likes to work
on equipment such as a ColorSpan printer, then you should
consider this printer. We recommend, however, only a factory-new
printer. If a demo or reconditioned, then we recommend under
the agreement (written agreement) that it will be replaced
or purchase price refunded in full if the printer does not
function as advertised. You will need a maintenance agreement
for as long as you intend to own the printer. Indications
from actual users are that these printers require occasional
replacement of major and costly electronic parts, which
is covered by the service agreement. Actually our first
ColorSpan was reconditioned and it worked just fine. Required
only a single service call, and that was the result of a
student, with zero experience, accidently trashing part
of the machine in an over exuberient attempt to clean up
his recent printing foible.
What
are your alternatives? Roland offers good quality but
much slower. Roland is supposed to run around the clock,
which is why it costs more than the Epson.
Roland
also offers archival inks which are more mature than any
new inks. Downside is the Roland's propensity to banding,
printhead disabilities, and slowness. This can pop up
at any time and ruin your images. Which means can you
really trust to run a piezo printer unattended all night
long?
Another
alternative is the HP 3000,
3500,
or 3800CP,
after all, these models use the same heads as the ColorSpan.
ColorSpan is wider, somewhat faster, and noticeably higher
dpi. HP DesignJet printers, however, work seemingly forever
with no maintenance and you can buy two for the price
of a ColorSpan. But the color output of the ColorSpan's
eight colors really pops. We get more favorable comments
on eight color output from the ColorSpan than from any
mere six color printer.
The
new Esprit model of ColorSpan changes this. Now you get
the same quality (eight colors) yet for the price of an
HP DesignJet. Of course HP itself has upped the ante by
producing its own 1200 dpi six color printer, the HP 5000ps.
But then ColorSpan came out with their Mach 12, which
has the identical printheads as the HP 5000ps but the
ColorSpan offers either dual six colors (for fast mode)
or eight colors (for more color depth). We are going for
the full 12-color version of the Mach 12.
If
you want to knock people's eyes out with quality, at an
art exhibit, trade show, or whatever, then you need those
extra dpi offered by ColorSpan's eight or twelve color
advantage. We will be doing an in-depth analysis of the
ColorSpan as we become more familiar with the Mach 12,
so check back later this year for more information.
If
you have read a lot of the FLAAR reviews you can probably
note that my favorite for entry-level through mid-level
is the HP and my favorite for high-end is the ColorSpan.
I like the Mimaki and Mutoh but the ColorSpan is ideal
for a sign shop. If I won the lottery, then I would also
want a Cymbolic Sciences LightJet or Durst Lambda (about
a quarter of a million dollars). In comparison the ColorSpan
is a bargain.
ColorSpan
makes a range of impressive printers, from DisplayMaker
Series XII wide format printer to the Mach 12 which
offers an apparant 1800 dpi color print. The newest model
is the X-12.
ColorSpan
was bought by a new company about 3 years ago, MacDermid.
MacDermid ColorSpan has a policy of taking better care
of the customer and attending to maintenance and service.
I have kept an eye on ColorSpan, the company and its printers,
for several years. One of their models, the Esprit, costs
half of previous models and gives the same legenday quality.
For additional information on ColorSpan printers, contact
Bruce Butler at e-mail UV-flatbeds@ColorSpan.com.
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All reports by Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth |
Most recently updated July 31, 2007. Previously updated : July 10/2001 , updated June 24, 2002;
updated May 16, 2003.
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