Stork
Wide Format Printers
If
you are a commercial textile printing company then you
will be considering a Stork or a ColorSpan
FabriJet XII. If you wish to print textiles as a small
business or at home as a business-hobby, then you can
print economically with any Hewlett-Packard DesignJet
printer such as the 36" 2000 series (2500,
2800) or the 54" 3000
series. If a larger business or a more serious hobby,
then you could select an HP
DesignJet 5000 if you prefer the advantages of thermal
printhead technology. If you need the benefits of a piezo
printhead technology, in this case, the use of special
textile inks, then you would select a Mimaki
or Mutoh
. If your company does exclusively textiles, however,
then one of the three Stork textile printers (piezo technology)
or the 72" ColorSpan FabriJet XII (thermal printhead
technology) would be your choices for full-time printing
of textiles.
Stork
is an honest company because somewhere I read their piezo
printheads on the Amber are rated for six months; the printheads
on the Zircon are warranted to last for three months. Presuming
the heads of the Amber are the Epson printheads used by the
Mimaki, the ratings by Stork are the first recognition that
piezo printheads are not permanent, especially when used with
inks for textiles.
The
Stork Amber is a 7 color piezo printer for textiles. The Stork
Zircon is an eight color printer for textiles; both of these
are with standard piezo printheads from Epson. The Stork Zircon
is marketed under other brand names outside Europe and the
USA. The Zircon is reportedly a joint venture of Konica. Konica
itself has showcased an 8 color proofer at DRUPA, but for
paper, not textiles. I believe that Konica proofer utilizes
Xaar heads, which are normally not quite as good a quality
as are Epson. The advantage of the Xaar heads is considerable
speed. In most cases the printer specs and brochures make
no mention whatsoever of whose printheads are used. This information
is not kept secret, it is simply not listed. But if someone
is about to pay thousands of dollars for a product they deserve
to know who manufactured the key portion of what they are
about to buy.
The
Stork Amethyst utilizes Hertz technology, same as the IrisGprint
(Iris 3047 color proofer and its slightly altered alternative
the Iris giclee printer). The Stork Amethyst is a veritable
textile printing factory so to speak. Indeed the main advantage
of Stork is that this branch of the larger Stork concern is
dedicated full time to textiles. No other large format printer
company has such a background in the physics and chemistry
of textiles.
By
midyear FLAAR will have opened a larger evaluation center
at a state university. This new space will make it possible
to enter new territory and evaluate additional printers. Textile
printers is one category we will be working on.
In
the meantime, for additional information and for help
making your decision now , ask for the "FLAAR
Report on All the Inkjet Printers that can Print on Textiles" (specify whether for direct printing with normal inks,
with special textile inks or with dye sublimation inks
for subsequent heat transfer onto the textiles). This
is because we have a separate report on dye sublimation
heat transfer for textiles.
These
reports include comparative comments on ColorSpan, Stork,
Mimaki, ColorWings, Encad, Hewlett-Packard, and other
printers. There is no cost; our university makes these
reports available as a public service.
If
you are unsure which report is best for you, just explain
what you intend to print, whether this is for commercial,
small fledging business (second business or home-hobby),
whether you are new to this or already have another inkjet
printer, and so on. This way our staff can judge which
FLAAR reports are most appropriate for you.
Since
some textile printers use piezo printheads and others
use thermal printheads, you might benefit from the FLAAR
report on "Piezo vs Thermal printheads, fact vs fiction,
pros and cons of each kind of inkjet printhead."
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.
UPDATED:
August 02/2001
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