Desktop Engineering - Océ Transforms Wide-Format Printing Industry

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Océ Transforms Wide-Format Printing Industry

ColorWave 600 Printer puts Océ's new color technology to work for professional digital document management.

by DE Editors | Published July 23, 2008

Océ says its Océ ColorWave 600 Printer is the first commercially available large-format full-color printer that prints on a wide variety of media including uncoated plain paper.

The Océ ColorWave 600 Printer from Océ North America (Trumbull, CT) is the first product based on the company's new printing technology called Océ CrystalPoint. The ColorWave 600, says Océ, combines the best of both toner and inkjet printing, and can print large-format, full-color images on a wide variety of media.

Océ says the ColorWave 600 Printer’s print speed is at least twice as fast as conventional inkjet systems. So not only can the ColorWave 600 print quickly and use any type of paper, its environmental friendliness is furthered by some of its packaging being reusable and its cartridges recyclable. Plus, the new large-format color printer enables companies to reduce turnaround time and accelerate project completion with up to 4–6 times faster color production than legacy inkjet products. Its color printing at monochrome LED speeds has a maximum throughput of 1,575 square feet per hour, according to the company.

Océ TonerPearls are being loaded into the Océ ColorWave 600 printer, which can hold four 500-gram cartridges (CMYK) of the toner.

The foundation of the ColorWave 600’s attributes is the new process of Océ CrystalPoint technology, which converts Océ’s patented colored TonerPearls toner into a gel. Once the toner gel is jetted and crystallized onto any type of paper, which can include plain or recycled paper, vellum, even Tyvek, it can produce crisp, water-fast high-quality images with “extremely accurate” dot placement, says the company.

Colorful Attributes
The ColorWave 600 can reduce a company's paper costs because it can print in both color and black & white on lower-cost, untreated, and recycled paper — whereas most existing color wide-format products require specially coated inkjet paper. Plus, there is no longer a significant difference between color and black & white output with regard to productivity and print quality.
The ColorWave 600 supports Océ's patented CrystalPoint Quality, which is said to produce crisp lines and “eye-popping graphics on plain paper.” The printer can hold up to 6 rolls at 650 feet per roll, and it offers automatic roll switching. Color resolution is 1200 dots per inch.

The solid Océ TonerPearls toner is heated to a gel state, jetted onto the media using this Imaging Device, then instantly solidified via crystallization agents in the toner.

“Now companies can print wide-format technical documents and graphics in both monochrome and color with one economical print system. Being able to print high-quality color onto plain, untreated paper in widths up to 42 [inches] at a speed of 30 seconds for an E-size document — that’s never been possible before. This printer really does transform wide-format color printing,” said Ty Layton, product marketing manager for the Wide Format Printing Systems division of Océ North America.

Durable in Different Settings
The Océ ColorWave 600 is well suited for applications including CAD plots, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) documents, and business graphics. The company says its ColorWave 600 prints can dry instantly so the art can be handled immediately. (Océ offers a .wmv file that shows this process in action — see the last link at the end of this article.)

“Being able to print high-quality color onto plain, untreated paper in widths up to 42 [inches] at a speed of 30 seconds for an E-size document — that’s never been possible before. This printer really does transform wide-format color printing.”
— Ty Layton, product marketing manager, Wide Format Printing Systems division of Océ North America

Océ ColorWave output is durable in the office and on construction sites. In addition, users in GIS environments will find the instantly dry and water-fast Océ ColorWave prints beneficial particularly when developing city planning or coordinating emergency services. Mass-market retailers can rapidly produce high-quality color signage with adjusted prices or localized promotions that optimize sales opportunities.

Sustainability Considered
As far as the sustainability of the system is concerned, the company says Océ TonerPearls toner makes a totally clean system: no fine dust, no odor, and minimal waste disposal.

The Océ CrystalPoint process converts solid Océ TonerPearls toner into a gel. This toner gel is then jetted and crystallized onto any type of paper, producing crisp, water-fast, high-quality images with extremely accurate dot placement, says Océ.

Since the process converts solid toner pearls into a gel that is then jetted and crystallized onto any type of paper or other media, fusing or developing chemicals are not needed, meaning that Océ has delivered a virtually emission-free printing technology that eliminates ozone or particulate emission and waste byproduct.
And because it prints a semi-gloss finish on uncoated paper, the technology reduces the use of paper coatings that impact the environment.

Océ CrystalPoint technology offers a number of user conveniences as well. For example, the see-through Océ TonerPearls toner cartridges enable users to monitor toner level, and the new Océ PowerM controller automatically determines the best output quality and fastest print speed for every file.

Beyond Initial Applications
As well as the technical document market, Océ expects to take Océ CrystalPoint technology beyond these initial applications. To achieve this, it has set up an applications center at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Océ is working with High Tech Campus companies to explore the application of Océ CrystalPoint technology in a range of high-tech manufacturing processes.

For more information from the company, contact Océ North America or Océ outside the U.S.

Read why DE’s editors chose this as a Pick of the Week.

Learn more about the Océ ColorWave 600 from Océ North America.

In order to access the links to both the brochure and spec sheet, the Océ website calls for you to register at the product page level.

Consider the Océ CrystalPoint technology explanation.

Learn more about the Océ ColorWave 600 through a Demo (.wmv, 9.5MB). [Requires Windows Media Player, a free download]