ColorSpan Announces the DisplayMaker X-12 Printer

MacDermid ColorSpan, Inc., an innovator and leader in the wide- format color inkjet printer market, is setting a new industry standard for quality, speed and performance with the introduction of its DisplayMaker X-12 printer. Designed around twelve (12) state-of-the-art, nearly one-inch wide, high frequency printheads, the DisplayMaker X-12 can be configured with the broadest combination of multi-density and gamut-extending inks to achieve fastest print speeds, wider color gamut and better apparent resolution. The DisplayMaker X-12 gives its users unprecedented flexibility in meeting the output requirements of their customers. The printer can be configured with one or more 4-, 6-, 8- or 12-color ink sets to balance the need for speed (draft speed is in excess of 600 square feet per hour) and print quality (up to 1800 dpi apparent resolution). A newly designed heated forced air drying system has been integrated into the printer to afford the user unparalleled confidence in high-speed roll-to-roll unattended printing using a wide range of inkjet media. The DisplayMaker X-12 will be shown for the first time at SGIA show in St. Louis, MO, October 30 through November 2, 2002, with shipments to customers commencing in the December quarter.

Rinnie DiCenzo, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, stated, "The DisplayMaker X-12 represents a new milestone in performance leadership within the wide-format printing market. The increased output speed, ease of use and lower cost of production of these printers make them ideal not only for print-for-pay operations but also for anyone who wants an improvement in price, performance and profitability. No other company offers this combination of precision image quality, speed, and reliability at this value."

Product Features
12 Printheads - Offering the ultimate in flexibility, users have the choice of printing with any combination 4, 6, 8 or even 12 colors. It is possible to use different sets of inks in either a 4+8 or 6+6 configuration for indoor and outdoor applications, or two sets of the same ink in a 2x4 or 2x6 configuration to double the print speed.

ColorMark� inks - A large selection of both dye and pigment inks are available for the DisplayMaker X-12. EnduraChrome� long- lasting dye-based inks are available in full strength cyan, magenta, yellow, and black; augmented with medium cyan and magenta, or medium plus light cyan and magenta for smoother gradients and higher apparent resolutions; extended with orange, green, red, and blue process colors for maximum gamut. PermaChrome� pigmented inks are available in CMYK, plus medium densities of cyan and magenta. A four density black EnduraChrome dye ink set (dark, medium, medium light and light) will also available for producing highly detailed black and white prints.

Modular Ink Delivery System - Redesigned for higher productivity and lower cost of operation, the DisplayMaker X-12 Modular Ink Delivery System includes high-capacity ink supply reservoirs, semi-permanent ink supply lines and state-of-the-art thermal inkjet printheads. Sets of high capacity, 960 ml ink reservoirs provide thousands of square feet of printing between ink changes, yet are built to be "hot-swapped" while printing to prevent job interruption. The semi-permanent ink supply lines, which normally are not exchanged, are user replaceable to allow the printer to be set up with a variety of ink configurations. At the heart of the ink system are twelve high-density printheads, designed to jet, two or more, 960 ml reservoirs, and replaced only as the user determines is necessary based on their performance requirements, not ours. Higher throughput per printhead yields lower cost per print.

Fast Print Speeds without Sacrificing Quality - User selectable ink configurations and print modes give the DisplayMaker X-12 owner the widest possible choice of quality, speed and economy.

Economy 2x4-color / 600 dpi
        Draft           600 ft.2/hr. (55.7 m2/hr.)
        High Speed      400 ft.2/hr. (37.2 m2/hr.)
        Production      200 ft.2/hr. (18.6 m2/hr.)
        Quality 150 ft.2/hr. (13.9 m2/hr.)


HiRes 2x6-color / 1200 dpi Apparent
        Draft           600 ft.2/hr. (55.7 m2/hr.)
        High Speed      400 ft.2/hr. (37.2 m2/hr.)
        Production      200 ft.2/hr. (18.6 m2/hr.)
        Quality 150 ft.2/hr. (13.9 m2/hr.)


Film Quality 1x8-color / 1800 dpi Apparent
        Draft           300 ft.2/hr. (27.9 m2/hr.)
        High Speed      200 ft.2/hr. (18.6 m2/hr.)
        Production      100 ft.2/hr. (9.3 m2/hr.)
        Quality 175 ft.2/hr. (7.0 m2/hr.)


Film Quality Plus 1x12-color / 1800 dpi Apparent
        Draft           300 ft.2/hr. (27.9 m2/hr.)
        High Speed      200 ft.2/hr. (18.6 m2/hr.)
        Production      100 ft.2/hr. (9.3 m2/hr.)
        Quality 175 ft.2/hr. (7.0 m2/hr.)


AutoInk (4/6 color Dye and 4/6 color Pigment
        Draft           300 ft.2/hr. (27.9 m2/hr.)
        High Speed      200 ft.2/hr. (18.6 m2/hr.)
        Production      100 ft.2/hr. (9.3 m2/hr.)
        Quality 175 ft.2/hr. (7.0 m2/hr.)

Advanced Automation Eye - This technology, pioneered by ColorSpan, is taken to a new level to make the DisplayMaker X-12 the most advanced yet easy-to-use printer available at any price. The Automation Eye consists of two high-resolution image sensors and highly sophisticated software to enable on-line and automatic measurements and adjustments to maintain accurate printing and predictable color, as well as prolonging the useful life of the printhead.

AutoSet- Calibration - Using the on-board image sensor, the DisplayMaker X-12 analyses dot placement of printed patterns and automatically aligns all twelve printheads with digital accuracy.

AutoJet- Calibration - The DisplayMaker X-12 uses data from the image sensor to substitute jets that are not up to performance requirements with known good jets. This eliminates banding in prints even with clogged jets, thereby greatly prolonging the useful printhead life, which translates into lower cost of operation.

Linearization - Using a built-in colormetric photo diode image sensor, the DisplayMaker X-12 can print and automatically measure the density of color density swatches. The result is available to the external RIP and color management software to automatically linearize the color curves and to compensate for variations that affect color, without the need to purchase an external densitometer.

Color Profiling - The photo diode image sensor is also used to read hundreds of color swatches. The external RIP and color management software uses these color values to create ICC and ColorMark color profiles for custom ink and media combinations, thus eliminating the requirement to purchase a costly colorimeter device.

FrontPage Electronic Touch Pad - A simple user interface via the graphical LCD touch screen presents all frequently used functions on a single screen. Detailed menus are available to allow for full control of all functions, plus on-line documentation and help.

Tilt-Up Carriage - For easy access, the carriage assembly can be tilted up to expose the bottom sides of the printheads and Automation Eye image sensors for periodic cleaning without affecting printhead alignment or calibration.

Adjustable Printhead Height - Motor-drive carriage assembly adjusts the printhead height to accommodate a wide variety of media up to 1/8" (3.18mm) thick while maintaining maximum print quality.

Media Wizard - Establishes and stores optimum printhead height, media feed calibration and platen vacuum settings for various media types. This productivity tool allows efficient switching between media types without the need for adjustments or recalibration.

Unattended Printing - The DisplayMaker X-12 comes fully equipped to support unattended lengthy print runs. Users benefit by eliminating damaged prints and wasted time with these features:

Motorized Take-Up Spool - rolls prints under controlled very low tension, image-side in or image-side out, onto 2" or 3" cores for convenient handling and finishing. A closed loop drive system provides accurate advancement and media movement fault detection.
High Output Heated Forced-Air Dryer -dries prints for roll-to-roll unattended printing using a wide range of inkjet media, even at higher print speeds.
Humidity & Temperature Sensors - automatically paces dry- time in higher humidity conditions and avoids faulty operation in high temperature environments.
AutoTune Scheduler - allows AutoJet calibration to be scheduled to run between a determined number of print jobs. Jets found to be absent, misfiring or misdirected are mapped out and replaced with adjacent spares. To further extend printhead life, if adjacent spares have been mapped into service, AutoTune will sequentially increase the number of passes to ensure consistent, band-free output through long print runs.

AutoInk Swapping - The twelve-printhead design allows users to have two different sets of inks loaded simultaneously to allow job-to-job switching from one to the other without changing ink. Possible configurations are 6 + 6, 6 + 4 or 8 + 4 using EnduraChrome dye, PermaChrome pigment or MultiDensity Black dye ink sets.

RIP Options
The DisplayMaker X-12 can be driven by a variety of raster image processor (RIP) options: turnkey hardware, software only or 3rd party software.

ColorMark Pro 2G Print Server - a key component in ColorSpan's turnkey approach to wide-format printing solutions that include printers, RIP/print server, inks, a wide variety of media and hundreds of color profiles to provide accurate color reproduction across a variety of output applications. The print server comes complete with RIP hardware and PS level 3 software, ColorMark+ advanced color management software, Mac and PC printing tools and applications, 17" high-resolution display, keyboard and mouse.
ColorMark Professional Software RIP - a full-featured software RIP complete with a PostScript level 3 interpreter, ColorMark color management software and a 100 Mbit VideoNet- interface card. It can be installed either as a client or a server running on Windows NT, 2000, or XP operating systems.
Third-party software RIPs -from Ergosoft, Onyx Graphics, Praxisoft, SCP Software, and Wasatch.

Markets
The high speed, high resolution, and low cost of operation of the DisplayMaker X-12 make it ideal for photo labs, sign makers, and other print-for-pay service providers that produce signs, banners, tradeshow and point-of-sale displays, and digital fine art reproductions. Advertising and design agencies, exhibit, and display houses, and in-house graphic design and marketing departments will also benefit from the high performance and automation which is designed into the DisplayMaker X-12.

Pricing and Availability The DisplayMaker X-12 is positioned as the "best in class" of the industry's wide-format printers and at the top-of-the-line in ColorSpan's product line. One size doesn't fit all, however, so along with the X-12, ColorSpan also has its award-winning DisplayMaker Esprit, DisplayMaker Series XII and DisplayMaker Mach 12 models, to form a complete lineup tailored to fit each customer's price and performance requirements.

About MacDermid ColorSpan, Inc.
MacDermid ColorSpan, the recognized creator of the Big Color� graphics market and designs, manufactures and markets large-format digital color printing systems, supplies, software and services. The Company's line of wide-format digital color printers includes the fastest, highest-quality printers available on the market today. ColorSpan distinguishes its products through patented Big Ink� Delivery System and ColorMark� 8 and 12 color printer designs, and an Automated Eye for easy setup a nd unattended printing. ColorSpan products are available through a worldwide network of distributors and value- added resellers.

MacDermid ColorSpan
7090 Shady Oak Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: (800) 477-7714 and (952) 944-9330
Fax: (952) 944-0522
Website URL: www.colorspan.com


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