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Observations
on the Gretag Arizona 180, digital screen press; Arizona 30
(Gerber Orion), and the new Gretag Arizona 1100-3, grand format
solvent ink printer.
The
Gretag Arizona 180 prints about 52" wide on 54"
media (compared to 60" of the HP
5000 and 72" of the ColorSpan
DisplayMaker XII). Resolution is 360 dpi, as typical of
solvent ink printers with Xaar or Xaar-like piezo printheads.
This Arizona is also called a" digital screen press," probably to encourage everyone from the screen press generation
to switch to digital. When first introduced in 1998 this printer
carried a price tag of about $64,000. I don't know that the
street price is currently. The Arizona uses six inks.
The
Arizona 30 was the former ANAgraph
Spectrum which was spun off and re-branded as the Gerber
Orion (also Spandex). It's a $40,000 printer, extremely
slow, with generic banding due to its Xaar printheads and
solvent ink system.
The
Gretag Arizona
1100-3 is just four colors, rather a surprise considering
that Vutek
2360 offers six. Press publications quote the Arizona's
top speed as 1100 sq ft per hour, with no warning that this
implys "draft" quality. The Gretag brochure, in
distinction, says this speed is "great for billboards
viewed at 10 meters" which is 30 feet away. Will have
to see whether draft speed holds up even at that distance.
That's the difference between a trade magazine and a FLAAR
report. We don't use press releases, we try to ascertain the
facts.
Summary:
the Gretag Arizona 180 is (so far) our favorite solvent ink
printer. Better quality than the Mutoh Albatros (renamed Mutoh
Tomahawk, with a numeral designation in other parts of
the world). The Gretag Arizona 1100-3 is priced at roughly
$250,000, about what to expect for a SuperWide inkjet printer.
Since Vutek, Nur, and ScitexVision have already staked out
the grand format printer world, it will be interesting to
see how a four-color printer survives in that crowded market.
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All reports by Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth |
UPDATED:
August 02/2001 |
