Wide-Format & Bluebeam Revu Blog

When it comes to new large format printing systems for CAD and other technical printing applications, the PageWide XL Series from HP is getting a lot of attention.

It is impressive to watch as pages simply fly out of the printer. This high speed is possible because a new technique called single pass printing. Unlike traditional ink jet machines, that use a reciprocating print head, single pass machines utilize a stationary print head that jet droplets of ink onto a traveling print media.

On the surface, upgrading to the HP PageWide XL may seem like a no-brainer, but take a closer look. There are some limitations to know about before you decide on an upgrade.

Without a doubt, the Designjet 1050 plotter was a wildly successful model for HP. After all, tens of thousands of them were sold and installed throughout the United States during the early to mid-2000s.

There are still a lot of those units in the field and in use today. But, we have reached the threshold of their usefulness.

If you have one, there is a good chance that you are experiencing the law of diminishing returns firsthand. So, considering an upgrade may make sense. Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding your old HP 1050c plotter.

Recently, Canon Solutions America announced the launch of the Oce PlotWave 550 as the successor to their popular PlotWave 500 system. Like, its predecessor, the PlotWave 500 is a magnificent mid-volume, wide-format printer capable of printing 25,000 square feet per month. Also, it is fast! The PlotWave is capable of printing 10 D-size monochrome sheets per minute and can be configured as a 2 roll or 4 roll system. Likewise, it continues to use Océ Radiant Fusion technology, placing it as one of the most energy efficient units on the market. So, let’s see how it compares to another popular mid-volume competitor, the Kip 7970.

You know that competition is getting fierce when the inflammatory statements start flying. In this case, Kip America Corporation has been exaggerating claims in an effort to support their 800 Series Kip Printer. This model is a direct rival to the Océ ColorWave 500 from Canon. The common ground between these two is that they both use a dry-toner process rather than liquid ink to produce full-color wide-format documents. However, they use completely different technologies that are as far apart as fire and ice. Here are 5 myths that KIP is attempting to spread about the Océ ColorWave and the actual truth behind them.

Today’s CAD environments are a new kind of animal. New, powerful software applications and large, complicated files are the norm and they can literally choke the life out of an old, outdated plotter. These challenges tend to grind an architecture or construction company’s workflow to a halt. In order for these companies to compete and be successful in a heated marketplace, high-stakes deadlines need to be met. To do so, more powerful and sophisticated equipment is needed to meet these challenge head on. One of the new tools that these companies are turning to is a powerful plotter/scanner systems that utilize toner instead of ink jet technology to gain a whole new level of dynamics to their wide-format printing.

In this new space of color-toner wide format machines, there are two primary players, the Kip 800 Series and the Océ ColorWave 500/700. On the surface it seems like a pretty even match, but once you peel back some layers, the Océ simply brings more to the table.

Full-color printing has become all the rage in wide-format CAD printing, and for good reason. The amount of information communicated with color plans, transcends the limitations of traditional black/white construction documents. Research has shown how, by simply adding color lines, the potential for mistakes is greatly diminished. This is largely due to the ability to estimate bids more accurately and minimize change orders.

This new need for color CAD has been met with the introduction of new, more powerful, wide-format plotter/scanner systems capable of the task. Today, two popular contenders are the Océ ColorWave 500 and the HP Designjet T3500 eMFP. But, don’t think these models are evenly matched. Although both with print and scan in full color, the Oce ColorWave crushes the HP T3500 when matched side-by-side. Here are 9 reasons why.

When it comes to picking the best wide-format solution for your business, several factors have to be considered. The challenge is to make all the Pros/Cons make sense without getting lost in the details. Here we lay out data on two popular systems - the Océ PlotWave 340 and the HP Designjet T3500 MFP.

Sure, both will print, copy, and scan, but which will be the best fit for your specific demands. See for yourself.

You know what they say about the weather in Texas…if you don’t like it, just wait five minutes, it’ll change. Apparently, that can also be applied to the commercial wide-format equipment sector. It’s crazy to think about all the new things coming forth this year. Both HP and Kip launched new color products and plan to make a big impact. But, just like a champion prize fighter, Océ still has a couple of knockout punches ready to go in the form of the ColorWave 500 and ColorWave 910 systems. Let’s just say that with these two, Oce wide format printers are ready for the full-color fight.

When it comes to picking a new wide-format system, there are many factors to consider: ease-of-use, print peed, durability, etc. Add a scanner to the mix and your analysis becomes that much more complicated. Luckily, a research company, BLI Labs (Buyers Laboratory LLC), has performed an independent study that compares two of today's top models, the Canon iPF785 MFP and the HP Designjet T2500 eMFP. See how they compare concerning large format plotter reviews.

BLI Labs conducted very stringent tests to compare device performance and produce a report comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two products in these specific categories:

Without a doubt, Kip and Océ are currently the two biggest providers of professional, LED, wide-format systems out there. So naturally, when companies look to upgrade their equipment, these two brands get a hard look. But, when comparisons are made, prospective companies tend to focus mostly on hardware specifications, disregarding the impact that software has on their company’s workflow. Why is this? After all, software is usually how people engage with plotters during their day-to-day activities. Therefore, the functionality of large-format software is crucial to the overall wide-format solution. When comparing the Océ and Kip options, Océ Print Direct clearly outshines Kip Print in five areas.

As AEC workflow becomes more and more digitized, more demand is created for end-users to print their own bid sets. Most sub-contractor situations do not call for continuous, non-stop printing, they do need a way to quickly have access to their drawings.