Wide-Format Printer Buying Guide

Wide-Format Printer Buying Guideleistungspunkt SeventyFur/Shutterstock Its always a good idea to buy the most flexible wide-format printer your company can afford so that it can fulfill a variety of roles in your business. Butwith all the things wide printers can do, this notion can only go so far.Beyond the basics (banners, posters and in-store marketing materials), there are several types of jobs that require specialized equipment to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Whether its creating photorealistic images for a product introduction, outdoor materials for a store opening or printing on fabrics for a fashion show, you need to use a wide printer thats been designed for a specific task. Editors note Looking for a wide-format printer? We can help you choose the one thats right for you. Use the questionnaire below to have our sister site, BuyerZone, provide you with information from a variety of vendors for freeTo start, most wide-format marketing materials can be created with a workhorse printer capable of printing many different types of materials. With the ability to apply between four and six different inks onto a roll of media between 24 and 54 inches, it can do everything from store end caps to a wall banner that screams SALE.Take Canons imagePROGRAF TX-4000, a $6,500 printer that spools out prints up to 44 inches wide. It uses five pigment-based inks that are sprayed through more than 15,000 nozzles for an overall resolution of 2,400 x 1,200 dots per inch (dpi). In plus-rechnen to the expected variety of matte and glossy papers, the TX-4000 is versatile enough to print on polypropylene and vinyl, although its output will not weather well outdoors.Credit Canon USA Inc.Thats where a dedicated printer for outdoor materials comes in. Rather than using inks designed for indoor use, these printers use formulations that are either solvent-or latex-based. The former melts the surface to seep in, while the latter creates a str ong bond with the materials surface. The result is a print that can live outdoors through rain, bright sunlight and wind without significantly bleaching, cracking or fading.For example, the HP Latex R2000+ can work with stock of up to 98.4 inches, can print with nine different latex-based inks and has huge 5-liter ink cartridges that can cut costs. The R2000+ can print on anything from poster paper and vinyl to polyester, canvas and polypropylene. Interested in wide-format printers? Check out our reviews on our sister site Business.com.Credit HP Development Company LPAt more than $200,000, its a lot of printer, but its output is sharp and glossy, perfect for billboards, event graphics, bus shelters and outdoor posters. By contrast, the $55,000 Roland VersaUV LEC-540s inks use a mixture of solvents that penetrate the medias surface forming a tight bond. While Rolands Eco-UV inks come in cyan, magenta, yellow, black and white, the printer can also apply a protective clear top coat.Cre dit Roland DGA CorporationOn the downside, the solvent ink requires a blast of ultraviolet light to cure the image, which slows the process. The prints emerge dry to the touch, flexible and fused to the substrates surface. The 54-inch wide printer is just as good at making outdoor banners that hold up well in the wind or for stick-on appliques that need to adhere to a curved surface.When it comes to making photorealistic prints, the more colors the printer can marshal, the richer, sharper and more vibrant the output. While a poster printed on a basic wide-format printer might appear OK, next to one created by a photorealistic printer, it would look crude and garish.With the ability to spray up to nine inks onto 44-inch wide media, the $3,200 Epson SureColor P8000 can work with the choice of four different blacks, cyan and light cyan, vivid and light magenta, yellow, orange, green and violet. The ink can be purchased in 150-, 350- and 700-ml cartridges for a good mix of flexibility a nd economy.Credit Epson America Inc.The best part is that the P8000s 2880 x 1440 dpi resolution translates into big prints with pinpoint accuracy, smooth gradients and rich colors. In fact, when museums need to print digital material for exhibitions, they often choose the P8000 for its faithful color reproduction and assortment of media.With a traditional loom, getting a custom fabric take weeks if not months and can cost thousands of dollars in setup fees. You can produce your own textiles in an hour by either printing directly onto the fabric or using the two-step dye sublimation process.Happily, Mimakis TS300P-1800and TX 300P-1800 fraternal twins do both. The TS300P uses a two-step dye sublimation process, while the TX300P prints right onto a variety of fabrics. Both are good for a variety of textiles, including fashion, drapery, personalized sports uniforms and instant flags. They cost $32,000 for the TS300P and $36,000 for the TX300P.Credit ITNHWhile the two printers share a co mmon print engine, they differ in the details. For instance, the TS300Ps maximum print width is 76.4 inches while the TX300P maxes out at 74 inches. On the other hand, the TX300P can deliver 1,440 dpi graphics while the TS300P is limited to 1,080 dpi printing.The big differentiator is ink, with the TX300Ps textile pigment ink available in black, two magentas, two blues and yellow. By contrast, the TS300P can also use fluorescent pink and yellow inks that really stand out for vibrant designs. Both come in two-liter containers for quick and economical refills.While large companies that do a lot of wide printing can afford to take a one of each approach, smaller ones will find it hard to justify getting specialty printers. The best strategy is to get the printers required for the high volume use and farm out those specialty print jobs that cant be done in-house. Brian Nadel Brian is a technology writer based north of New York City. He writes stories for Business.com, Toms Guide, ComputerWorld and Scholastic Magazines. He is the former editor-in-chief of Mobile Computing & Communications magazine. Start Your Business Business Ideas Business Plans Startup Basics Startup Funding Franchising Success Stories Entrepreneurs Grow Your Business sale Marketing Finances Your Team Technology Social Media Security Build Your Career Get the Job Get Ahead Office Life Work-Life Balance Home Office Lead Your Team Leadership Women in Business Managing Strategy Personal Growth Find A Solution HR Solutions Financial Solutions Marketing Solutions Security Solutions Retail Solutions SMB Solutions About Us Contact Us Partner with Us Copyright Policy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do leid Sell My Personal Information Advertising Disclosure Sitemap 200 Fifth Avenue, Second FloorWaltham, MA 02451infobusinessnewsdaily.com Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) All Rights Reserved. Company About Us Contact Us Partner with Us Copyright Policy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Advertising Disclosure Sitemap Network Business.com BuyerZone.com

Here Are 5 Jobs You Never Expected To Find At Dell

Here Are 5 Jobs You Never Expected To Find At DellHere Are 5 Jobs You Never Expected To Find At DellWhere does jewelry plan meet thermal engineering?Dell, of course.It can be easy to see tech giants through the lens of their most popular products. However, when it comes to Dell, theres a lot more going on than you might realize. Dell employs thousands of people all over the world who work on projects affecting everything from how we watch movies and play games to how we should handle e-waste and treat veterans with PTSD.Here are five things you never would have guessed Dell employees are doing every day.CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR OPEN ROLES AT DELL1. Turning Computer Chips Into CufflinksIt might seem weird that a company that builds so many computers would be involved in tearing them apart. But thats just what Dells doing with their gold (and other precious metals) recycling program.Gold mining can be extremely damaging to the environment and electronics are one of the biggest customers for the business. Dell alone uses roughly 7,000 pounds of gold in its products every year. Thats where the geniuses behind the Dell recycling program (see 4) come in.According to their experts, theres more gold in a ton of motherboards than there is in a ton of gold ore. Re-harvesting this gold so it can be put back into use ends up creating 99 percent less pollution than modell mining. It also leads to some very interesting outcomes.For example, take the Dell x Nikki Reed partnership. It uses Dell-recycled gold to make rings, earrings, and cufflinks designed by the former Twilight star and environmental activist.What better way to put your environmental science or engineering experience to use than to save the environment and make cool jewelry?2. Becoming A VR GuruGary Radburn is the director of Commercial AR/VR at Dell, or, as he is more commonly known, the VR Guru.Radburn works with Dells team to make sure that their computers are powerful enough to handle the demands of 21st ce ntury Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This includes Dell-made VR tech thats used to treat war veterans with PTSD, showcase the impact of climate change on the environment, andof courseplay/watch the next generation of VR games and movies.3. Combining Art + ActivismStorytelling can be a powerful way of getting your message out. And Dells message is that our society needs to take more responsibility for the impacts of technology. One such story Dell told was through the work of artivist Benjamin vonseiten Wong.Known for his work on viral videos and photography, Von Wong took advantage of Dells superb electronics recycling program (see 4) in order to create beautiful sculptures and images depicting the relationship of human beings to technology.CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR OPEN ROLES AT DELLAnd thats just one example. Dell employees collaborate with other artists and ambassadors, including the actor Adrian Grenier and world-class sailboat racers, to promote Dells message of sustainab ility, ethics, and user-friendly tech.4. Taking Out The Worlds Biggest Trash ProblemComputers, printers, screens, and everything in between are the most important pieces of technology in the world. So, its no wonder that when an innovation is made or a new model is released, we want to get our hands on it. However, that means a lot of electronics equipment is turned into trash or e-waste.Dell has the largest e-waste recycling program in the world. This kampagne includes elend only the type of artistic endeavors above but also the reuse of materials in newer models of computers, printers, and other gadgets. Joining this team at Dell means contributing to a cleaner, more efficient world.5. Using Mars Rover Parts To Make Cooler LaptopsWhether or not the phrase thermal engineering gets you going, its hard not to be amazed by the tech behind Dells latest round of XPS notebooks.Engineers at Dell took the same Gore liner thats used on actual spacecraft like the Mars Roverin addition to jac kets and sneakersin order to make the literal coolest laptops on the market (temperature and otherwise). The material in question has, according to Dell, the lowest conductivity known to man. As Forbes put it, So many companies are always abusing the phrase space age technology. Well, Dells definitely backing it up.Want to work for a company that is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation, and science? Dell is hiring on WayUp, so check out their open positions and apply