TAVCO Construction Technology Blog

There’s one thing for sure about old Océ plotters, they were built to last, and many have stuck around for a long time. Although many people consider this an attribute, there is also a dark side.

The time has come where the entire Océ TDS (Technical Document Systems) product line and some of the first-generation PlotWaves have become legacy machines.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the mechanical integrity of the machine, but rather the PC that runs the whole system. 

In fact, our service department has been busy dealing with their share of Oce service issues regarding legacy controller PCs. Here’s why.

Canon Solutions America continues to experience incredible success with their innovative ColorWave Series as they surpass the 10,000th unit sold. This wide-format system redefined the market with a unique process called CrystalPoint Technology that blends the best of both toner and inkjet printers into one unified printing method. The dynamic nature of this machine allows it to print on an incredibly wide range of different media and produce images that are instantly dry. The Océ ColorWave 500 and ColorWave 700 systems have been tremendously successful for our company as well. So, it was a wonderfully pleasant surprise to see that Canon included TAVCO and one of our top clients, TBG Partners, in their recent press release. Check it out.

TAVCO Services, Inc. is proud to announce our official inclusion in the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) platform via the Canon USA contract (DIR-TSO—3101). Now, Texas State agencies of all types can easily benefit from using TAVCO as a pre-authorized IT equipment vendor for any Canon or Oce wide-format equipment need. This is exciting stuff,and here’s why.

As we wrap up 2016, it is good to look back and see what activities had the most impact for our customers and readers. After all, we work hard to publish relevant and useful information for people interested in wide format and 3D printing technologies. So, here are the top 4 most popular wide format blog posts for 2016.

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.

Canon Solutions America has just announced a new successor to the Océ PlotWave 500 printing system, the Océ PlotWave 550. While most of the design is similar to its predecessor, the upgrade brings some powerful new features to the table. Check out the benefits of the new PlotWave 550 Océ printer.

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.

Océ ColorWave TonerPearl Systems are quite remarkable. The patented CrystalPoint Technology allows these printers to quickly print both black/white and color images. But, what most people don’t realize is the versatility of these printers. Since the imaging process relies on TonerPearls instead of ink, the documents produced are naturally waterfast and fade resistant. This quality, paired with a wide-range of media options allow the system to do much more than simple color CAD prints. Watch the Océ ColorWave 500 print on different types of plotter paper for variety of different applications.

The next evolution of Océ wide-format systems is here. The new PlotWave 345 and 365 replace the previous PlotWave 340 and 360 units respectively. Although there are many similarities between all of these models, there are some major improvements under the hood.

If you work in AEC - architecture, engineering, or construction, then you know the way you handle construction drawings has changed dramatically over the years. In the old days, bid sets were printed and distributed by print shops to general contractors and subcontractors. Now, almost all plans are shared electronically via email or some type of online planroom. Obviously, this has resulted in a drop in demand of large volume printing. Traditional reprographic shops have been hit hardest by this change. But, wide-format printing is not dead, it has just shifted.

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.