Performance and speed
When judging the performance of a wide format printer, buyers tend to look at
the printer speed listed in the technical specifications. However, the time needed
from sending a job to the printer and actually holding the print in your hand is
something totally different. It is like the maximum speed your car can do versus
the time it takes you to drive to your local supermarket – you don’t spend money
on a Formula 1 car when all you need is a car for your weekly shop.
There are several factors that can help you to gain a complete picture of a
printer’s performance. If you have a continuous flow of documents, its
throughput speed is most important; whereas if the machine is used
intermittently, then the ‘first print out’ time must be short.
Before the printer can start printing, it must process the files to be able to print
them. There are huge differences in processing capabilities in wide format
printers in the market, and although the size of the internal memory is an
indication, the proof is in the details, so we recommend you run test prints
with your large files.
The warm up time is also a consideration when assessing the shortest first print
out time, as any machine, when not used for a while will return to sleep mode.
When you push a print button, however, you expect the printer to start printing
right away. In some cases it may take wide format printers several minutes to
be ready to print.
When using a B&W wide format printer, print speed is constant. It is important
to remember that this is not the case for colour inkjet printers, when the print
speed varies depending on whether you are using a draft mode or a higher
quality presentation mode.
Regarding throughput, if you have a continuous flow of prints, make sure that
the printer can process new files while printing previous ones, this is known
as concurrent processing.
Image quality
When you think about image quality, the first thing that springs to mind is
resolution, which is expressed in dpi (dots per inch). High resolution, however,
does not necessarily offer the best quality. When printing, the way the wide
format printer interprets the data is as important as the print technology itself.
The quality of this ‘interpreter’ is especially important when you work with
fine or dotted lines and detailed prints.
For B&W wide format printers, no matter what media you use, the print quality
is more or less the same. This cannot be said of an inkjet printer, as quality can
vary tremendously. When printing on glossy or photo paper versus normal paper,
differences can occur in colour output and quality of thin and fine lines.
The best possible way to judge image quality is to see it for yourself. When
choosing a device, take a typical file to a demo and print it out; just make sure
when comparing image quality of wide format printers that the prints are made
on the same material. Then, judge the quality on the aspects that are important
to you.
Ease-of-use
When you think of wide format printers and ease-of-use, the feature that first
presents itself is the flashy touch screen; but there is more to ease-of-use than
the user interface. Other factors to consider are the ease of adding ink or toner,
loading paper rolls, general ergonomics, and so on.
When looking at and evaluating the user interface of a wide format printer, start
with considering how you currently use or plan to use your printer. Is the bulk of
the jobs standardised or do the print jobs require individual settings? If they are
standardised, look for possibilities of automation by using templates. If they
are more specialised, look for possibilities to maintain full control with easy
ways to adjust and set parameters.
Another consideration is whether the printer will be used by multiple users or a
few specialised users. With multiple users, look for ways to automate print jobs.
Besides templates, make sure the user interface is self-explanatory. However, if
your operators are used to a high degree of automation, bear in mind that they
may need full control to run complex jobs.
When considering the loading of consumables, ask if it is possible to exchange
ink cartridges or refill toner during large print runs. Also look for the number of
media rolls in the printer and check if they can be exchanged on-the-fly.
Ergonomics considers the physical burden on the operator when operating the
printer. Replacing empty paper rolls with new rolls can be heavy work; does the
printer design help the operator? Are prints easily accessible to the operator or
do you need to bend and stretch to get access? Is the operator panel at the right
angle? These are important considerations.
IT infrastructure security
Wide format printers are an integral part of the IT infrastructure, and they need
to be protected accordingly. However, it is equally important is to protect your
own intellectual property, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, names,
images, and designs used in business, as they are also extremely vulnerable to
theft or damage.
Physical property can easily be hidden from view or locked up for security.
However, data is very fluid. When in digital format, data is stored on a network
or hard disc; so protecting the network and hard discs is crucial. It is important to
look for a system that is compatible, for example, with Microsoft Service Packs.
This offers updates for system reliability, program compatibility, virus protection
and more. Locking out systems for unauthorised use, as well as usage logging,
make it possible to track and trace misuse. It is also important that you be able
to remove digital data from the hard disc using e-shredding or even remove the
hard discs when needed.
Product options
The farsighted will look to choose a wide format printer that will meet all their
needs for the coming three years. As it is difficult to predict the future, consider
the adaptability of the device to changing needs, if and when these needs occur.
When looking at the upgradability of your wide format printer you will need to
consider hardware, software and service issues. Can you add hardware such as
a scanner, a folder, additional paper rolls, and additional working memory to the
print engine in the future? Also consider if these upgrades can be done on site at
your company. Does the manufacturer offer firmware updates to stay compatible
with new IT developments? Can you change your service contract to, for example,
a shorter response time if needed?
Instead of trying to predict the future, make sure that your new wide format
printer can adapt to future needs.
Floor space
When we think about office floor space, we tend to think in terms of Rands per
square metre, and then of the two- or three-dimensional size of a wide format
printer. And whilst the physical dimensions of the printer should be part of your
considerations, it is, however, even more important to take the operational floor
space into account. This is the space required to make prints, copies and scans
in the most efficient way possible and includes, loading media, collecting the
original, collecting/collating prints, loading originals for scanning and more. There
should be sufficient room for the handling and finishing of prints such as folding,
enveloping and distributing.
The importance of this space may not be easy to quantify, but, in the end there
are significant consequences to not having enough space; such as damaged
prints; or damaged originals because there is no space to handle sets of large-
sized originals for scanning. Media, toner and ink cartridges also need to be
stored in close proximity to the printer for easy access.
Many devices are presented as a single footprint multifunctional solution. When
you are considering this keep in mind the additional operational floor space the
Vol 4 Issue 4 • WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING A WIDE FORMAT PRINTER
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