Independent
review on Ilford printers
How
can you figure out which is the best ink wide format color
jet printer? How about independent tests. The Digital Imaging
Technology Center uses its own photographs, its own imaging
methods, to prepare a wide variety of colorful photographs
to test, review, and recommend wide format printers (and everything
else that you need along with your printer).
Trade
magazines just repeat what the company PR department issues.
Magazine tests are done in a lab, not in a real-life studio.
And who is doing the test? A writer or other magazine employee
(whose salary is paid by the wide format inkjet company's
advertising).
FLAAR
is nonprofit and we do not accept money for advertising. We
select the best printers at trade shows (and naturally we
read the trade magazines and company's web sites also). Then
we go and visit actual digital graphics studios to see what
real people are using. Rather than accept what the company
PR department issues, we go directly to the company office,
right inside, and find out what the equipment is really capable
of. In other cases the equipment is sent to our studio, where
it gets "real life" testing. Here are results on
two printers from Ilford Imaging.
| Ilford
currently offers four wide format printers, the 4-color
Encad, the 8 color Encad, the 12-color ColorSpan,
and a Vutek
solvent ink printer.
The
4-color Encad is a successor to the popular NovaJetPro
and other NovaJet models. Encad has sold 100,000 wide
format printers, so they must be doing something right.
This
is the Ilford NovaJet 600i
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second offering from Ilford is the IJT wide format printer.
Since we tested last year the model was the 8-color
model.
Results
from a ColorSpan are more traditional, closer to what
you expect in an exhibit print made in a professional
photo lab.
The
Encad, in distinction, is more for displays for trade
shows, signs, or any display where you need dramatic
color, bright colors, and contrast to attract attention.
Downside is fast-clogging heads.
Larger
copy shops, service bureaus, advertising agencies
and comparable professional digital imaging studios
would tend to buy one of each, since each of these
two printers offers distinctive advantages (for example
the Encad is faster). Ilford IJT offers better quality.
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The
advantage of Ilford's printers are the Ilford inks and Ilford
media. You get the ICC profiles when you opt for the Ilford
version of the popular Onyx PosterShop software RIP (IlfoStar
RIP, which we have in the FLAAR facility). The bonus in
selecting the Ilford version of Encad or ColorSpan is mainly
in the Ilford media, especially if you do photographic prints.
But
you can also utilize Ilford media even if
you have a non-Ilford printer. Indeed Ilford Imaging now
offers a range of "universal media," which means
inkjet media that works equally well with a piezo-electric
printhead system (Epson,
Roland,
Mimaki,
Mutoh
and all rebranded equivalents) and with a thermal printhead
system (Hewlett-Packard,
ColorSpan,
Encads and all rebranded equivalents such as Oce and some
Kodak and Graphtec models).
For
additional information and for help making your decision,
ask for the "FLAAR report on signs, posters, banners"
(specify whether for indoor signs or outdoor signs in
the rain and sun) or for the FLAAR report on "Piezo
vs Thermal printheads, fact vs fiction, pros and cons
of each kind of inkjet printhead."
You
can also ask for the report on "Inkjet Printers
for Photo-Realistic Quality," or "Which Inkjet
Printer is Best for Producing Fine Art Giclee Prints."
You only need one, or the other, since both describe
the top quality printers. You can use the same printer
for photos and also for fine art. However you need a
ColorSpan; the Encad is not quite good enough. The Vutek
is solvent-based inks, for basic signs, not for photo-realistic
quality.
If
this will be your first printer, then we have a special
report that holds your hand and leads you through all
the basic questions that will assist a first-time buyer
of a large format printer. Purchase
the FLAAR report on "RIP + Help." This
explains what RIP software is, why this is useful, and
includes tips, warnings, information, and help for a
wide range of matters for a newbie. Here you will really
appreciate that FLAAR is based at a university; Professor
Hellmuth has plenty of experience writing in a manner
that explains what you need, and why.
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| All
reports by Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth
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UPDATED:
August 02/2001, last
updated june 1, 2002
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