ColorSpan HiRes 8 color Wide format printer.

We have been inspecting the improvements in the ColorSpan printer models during trade shows in 2001 and now again in 2003. We note advances in tech support since our first experience with a ColorSpan in August (1999). ColorSpan offers a wide format printer with the equivalent of 1200 dpi by using eight heads (and hence eight colors). The result looks like continuous tone. Other printers at 300 dpi produce visible dots and are unable to approximate continuous tone (unless you are standing six feet away, in which case 300 dpi looks great). If you want a high resolution printer to produce posters, banners, and displays that will attract attention, the ColorSpan printer is one to try out.

With 12 heads you get the equivalent of 1800 dpi.

ColorSpan is the company which was brave enough to go head-on against Iris's previous monopoly in giclee fine art prints. ColorSpan produced the Giclee PrintMakerFA. This wide format printer from ColorSpan documented that giclee was not limited to the output from an Iris printer. We just got a report from a fine art printing company in Belgium who indicated how pleased they are with the quality of their output.

Ilford version of the ColorSpan, at Ilford Imaging, Germany.

The Ilford Imaging version of the printer is the Ilford IJT. Here is an enlargement of a Tiquisate incense burner (Museo Popol Vuh, Guatemala, FLAAR Photo Archive, Maya-archaeology.org). Lothar Kronenberg kindly provided a capable orientation and introduction to the potential of this Ilford IJT wide format printer.

The ColorSpan DisplayMaker XII offers triple 4-color, double 6-color, 8-color printing, or 12 color at 72 in wide format.

If you really want technical details on inkjet media, inks, and/or inkjet printhead technology, and especially if you wish to meet the movers and shakers in this industry, be sure to sign up for the next conference organized by IMI. Their contact is [email protected]. These seminars are outstanding; the senior review editor of FLAAR usually attends because he can get so much fresh information for the readers of the FLAAR Reports in PDF format and the FLAAR Information Network of web sites.

Most recently updated August 02, 2001.