Computer-Aided Design Plotters
Inkjet - Technical
Inkjet plotters are the most prevalent technology because they are less expensive and have color capability. These plotters have come a long way in the last couple of years and you can tailor a solution to your specific requirements. There are plotters that are a great value if you are simply plotting black and white or if you want color, there are a couple directions to go depending on whether you need line color and speed or if you need to print full color renderings or photographs. The technical inkjet printers generally have a three color ink system for color printing, and many, like the Canon imagePrograph technical printers, have multiple black ink types and cartridges to handle documents where black lines are prominent in the images. These printers, while capable of printing color prints, are designed for simple color representation. Coupling a scanner with a printer can give you color copier functionality with the right software. Feel free to give us a toll free call and give us your requirements and we can recommend solutions that might be the best value for your investment.
Inkjet - Graphics
Inkjet plotters can be well suited to the graphics community as well as the technical community. The speed of the two classifications is very similar when printing full color images, but there are some very distinct differences. Generally, where a technical printer will run with anywhere from 4 to 6 ink types, the graphics printers will have anywhere from 8 to 12 different ink tanks. The addition of additional color gives the printer a wider color gamut than the graphics printer. Additionally, the graphics printers will run with one black ink as opposed to the two or three black inks that the technical printers run with. Another big difference is that the graphics printers will usually run with pigmented ink sets where as a technical printer will run a mix of pigmented and dye based inks, or all dye based. This gives the prints from the graphics greater longevity and color fast properties. Graphics oriented printers will also have an additional print head in order to more evenly distribute the ink flow of the additional colors. These printers sometimes come with some form of color RIP program, or, if not, they will have an option to buy a color RIP. These are a great choice for graphics reproductions. Call us and we can recommend the best graphics inkjet printer to fit your individual needs.
LED PLotters
Almost every business that has CAD in their environment has an inkjet plotter, but at some point an LED plotter may make financial sense. LED technology is only black & white but is many times faster than inkjet and consumables cost less. If you are outsourcing your reproduction services, you may want to look at adding an LED to save money. Products here range from plotting/printing at 4 "D" size per minute up to 22 "D" per minute where most inkjets are less than one. Here service becomes more of an issue so give us a call and we can help you with the products.