News

Last month, Epson announced that it was set to make a serious play for the fine art, photography and proofing market. The manufacturer launched its latest wide-format machine, the Stylus Pro 11880, at the unusual venue of the Life Studio at the Royal Academy – the company set out its plans in one of the lecture theatres surrounded by macabre sculptures of humans and animals.

It wasn’t a completely random setting, even if the sculptures didn’t quite match up with some of the colourful photography printed on the 11880. The academy’s schools have been beta testing the new machine, which will be commercially available from September. “The students are doing amazing things with digital technology,” says Terry New, head of fine art at the Royal Academy Schools.

New’s enthusiasm is matched by Epson’s optimism for the new machine, the firm’s first 64in wide printer. It’s a sector that Epson already has experience in and the 11880 isn’t the only new launch. Epson has also unveiled three other new wide-format printers: the Stylus Pros 4880, 7880 and 9880.

But it’s the 11880 that is the flagship for Epson. “It’s very much a specialist product,” explains Nick White, Epson UK channel manager for business products. “There are increased demands for a wider colour gamut in these [fine art] markets – far more than point-of-sale or CAD.”

Key attractions
Alongside fine art, Epson is also aiming for the photography, indoor signage and proofing markets. It argues that the machine has the latest in ink and printhead technology, which will be key factors in these markets.

The boffins in Epson’s research and development department have come up with what is, on the face of it, cutting edge technology to improve productivity and quality.

Called the Thin Film Piezo (TFP) printhead, Epson says it has the world’s highest native resolution at 360dpi. “The piezo tech­nology very accurately controls the placing of the droplets and the size of each droplet,” says Martin Johns, Epson’s business manager for professional graphics. “But what makes the head different is that it has double the nozzle count.”

It’s believed to have the highest number of nozzles for piezo electric printhead technology – a total of 360 capable of 40,000 droplets per second. A conventional micro piezo printhead has a native density of 180dpi. Electrical signals are used to change the shape of the TFP piezo elements before firing ink droplets according to the physical force generated by the change in shape of these elements.

“This new head will drive development over the next five years,” says White. “We’re investing heavily in research and development.”

The head, first unveiled in April, was completely redesigned in order to increase the number of nozzles in each row. Epson found that the best route was offered in photo­lithography, a production process used to create infinitely small patterns that make up the circuits crammed into semiconductor chips. This technology allowed Epson to create a microscopically small piezo element just one micron thick.

The up-shot is a piezo element with the highest degree of distortion through film thickness and material development. In other words, it’s a faster head offering a more precise dot. Epson says it can even eliminate satellite dots, which often occur in thermal printing processes. The faster print speeds are achieved through limiting the vibration on the surface of the liquid in the nozzle.

While this technology may be clever, Epson knows that the fine art and photography markets demand a high-quality product that can reproduce work accurately. The company believes it can satisfy this demand with a new set of inks designed to widen its colour gamut.

“We can now reach [most] specific Pantone colours – we can hit 85% of them,” adds Johns. “It means that we can reproduce prints more accurately.”

Examples seen by photography experts at the product launch seemed to confirm this. When comparing photography printed on the latest Stylus Pro and an older model, observers felt that reds and blues were much sharper and more precise.

Epson says that this is down to its latest UltraChrome K3 inks with Vivid Magenta. It believes that they are a “breakthrough in pigment chemistry”. The full inkset includes nine ink cartridges: photo black, matte black, light black, light light black, cyan, yellow, vivid magenta and vivid light magenta. Epson also argues that the new UltraChrome K3 ink allows for an improved grey balance without any
colour cast.

Dense pigments
The two magenta inks use new high-density pigments that create “more vibrant colour, especially blues and magenta”. The 11880 also allows for the most suitable black ink to be automatically chosen, depending on the media type used. The machine has nine individual 700ml high-capacity ink cartridges.
The new UltraChrome K3 inks also feature on the three other newly launched machines from Epson; the Stylus Pros 4880, 7880 and 9880. All three printers are upgrades of the Stylus Pros 4450, 7450 and 9450.
Other features on the Stylus Pro 11880 include a new screening algorithm – Epson Super Halftone technology. It’s designed to improve the image tone and definition. The machine can take on media up to 1.5mm thick and substrates include gloss paper, matte paper, matte board and fine art paper. Also incorporated is a Gigabit Ethernet interface and a large 2.5in back lit LCD control panel.

On top of all that, Epson has launched an online portal allowing users to monitor the performance of its printer and get up-to-the-minute technical information. MyEpsonprinter.eu is a secure website that can show job activity, hardware information and historical data. It can be remotely accessed by service contractors who can identify any queries and is designed to save unnecessary call out fees.
The printer will cost just under £10,000 and Epson’s Johns names HP and Canon as its main rivals in the market; the 11880 is competing against Canon’s Imageprograf 9000 and HP’s DesignJet Z6100. These latest launches have been noted by Epson. “There have been serious efforts made in this market by our competitors,” explains White.

It means that Epson will have to fight to gain a foothold in this area, despite the company having a significant share in the overall graphic arts large-format market. Canon reckons it has eaten into Epson’s market and HP is continuing to strengthen its arsenal of wide-format printers. But Epson believes it has the technology to give its rivals more than a run for their money.

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SPECIFICATIONS
Media width
• 64in
Max speed
• 30sqm per hour
Max resolution
• 2,880x1,440dpi
Imaging method
• piezo inkjet
Inks
• UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta
Number of colours
• 9
Price
• £9,995
Contact
• 0800 220546
• www.epson.com

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THE ALTERNATIVES
Canon imagePrograf 9000
Launched in November last year, although slightly smaller at 60in and a touch faster, the 9000 is a direct competitor to the Stylus Pro 11880. It has 12 colours including red, green and blue alongside the CMYK range. All 12 colours can be loaded at the same time while running costs total £1 for an A0 sheet. According to Anne Sharp, Canon UK marketing manager for large-format printing, the machine’s main rival is HP.
Media width 60in
Max speed 32sqm per hour
Max resolution 2,400x1,200dpi
Imaging method Bubble inkjet based on Canon’s FINE technology
Inks Aqueous pigment
Number of colours 12
Price £9,995 plus set of inks (offer ends in September when price returns to £13,995)
Contact 01737 229 022, www.canon.co.uk

HP Designjet Z6100
The eight-colour machine is available in two widths: 40in and 60in. The Designjet incorporates HP’s new double swath technology, which mounts two printheads in overlapping formation on the moving cartridge. This doubles the speed of the machine. The aqueous ink roll-to-roll machine also includes an onboard spectro­photometer, perhaps its most radical feature and an important tool in the fine art and proofing sectors. It was officially launched at Sign UK in April this year and HP says that it’s the fastest water-based inkjet in its class.
Media width 60in
Max speed 67msqm per hour
Max resolution 2,400x1,200dpi
Imaging method thermal inkjet
Inks HP Vivera pigment inks
Number of colours 8
Price £12, 524
Contact 0845 270 4215, www.hp.com