On Hardcopy
Several printer vendors showed their wares at the Seybold expo introducing new prepress proofing printers and large format printers as well as a variety of hardcopy solutions.
Putting a wide touch on inkjet printing, Canon U.S.A. announced at the show three new printers, dubbed the imagePROGRAF line. The new models, two large format printers and one desktop model, use a six-color print head that’s one-inch wide.
I was impressed with the speed and image quality of the imagePROGRAF W2200, the $1,995 FireWire desktop model (see figure 5). The printer is certainly fast — it imaged a full tabloid-size page at 2,400-by-1,200 dpi resolution in about 1.5 minutes. In addition, the W2200 supports an extra-sized tabloid sheet (13-by-19 inches) that lets users reveal crop marks and bleeds. Canon showed the printer with an optional, unpriced second paper tray. The new printers are supported by Bestcolor USA’s Colorproof and Designer Edition RIPs.
Figure 5: Canon’s imagePROGRAF W2200 uses a new extra-wide bubblejet print head, hence the “W” in its name (I guess). There are 7,680 nozzles on the head, or 1,280 nozzles for each of the six dye-based inks the printer uses. The printer also takes 130 milliliter ink cartridges that the company calls “tanks.” On the receiving side of output, a very interesting “paper” was introduced in the Mitsubishi Chemical Media Co./Verbatim booth, called the Color Laser Card or CoLaCa (yes, CoLaCa). The paper is a sturdy, laminated polyester and paper material that’s waterproof and resistant to UV fading — pages were placed in water immediately after printing and suffered no ill effect. As the name suggests, it’s for color laser printers and can be printed on two sides.
The company said the stock was designed for the food industry (where damp environments will warp ordinary paper and inkjet ink can bleed onto the merchandise). Now, the “paper” is aimed at outdoor signage and other applications; the company calls it a “paper solution.” According to Jun Ishihara, product manager, CoLaCa will be offered in a range of sizes and weights and will be priced similar to other specialty papers.
This article was last modified on January 18, 2023
This article was first published on September 19, 2002
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