Graphic Arts Monthly
Oct 1995
by Debora Toth, Project Editor

Have you gotten the big picture? No, I'm not referring to new overall worldwide graphic arts trends. I'm talking in a literal sense: the big images being produced by large-format plotters and printing devices. If you haven't heard about this exploding marketplace, you will now.

A number of sources say this market segment-which includes color imaging devices in formats greater than 11x179 and utilizing several plotter-type technologies-is growing in leaps and bounds.

From 1993 to 1994 alone, the installed base of equipment tripled in size, from less than 2,000 machines worldwide to 5,500, according to Susan Hurt, business director of display media for Rexham Graphics, a paper and film supplier to the large-format market.

Hurt says, ''This year the market will be doubling again. Growth of large format is exploding, especially in the graphic arts industry.''

Barry Latham is president of Xerox ColorgrafX Systems Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox, which markets its own large-format digital color printer.

Citing findings from a study by IT Strategies, a Massachusetts consulting firm, Latham says, ''In 1990, there were only 10 installed large-format printers worldwide. By 1992, there were 100, and by 1994 there were 1,000. In 1996, we predict that 10,000 will be installed worldwide, generating up to $3 billion in the retail sales value of the prints. By 1998 the sales figure should rise to $10 billion.''

Analysts who follow the large- format market estimate that Hewlett-Packard controls roughly three-fourths of the market for ink-jet printers, with Encad in second place; meanwhile, Xerox leads in the electrostatic printer market. IT Strategies calculates the size of the market at slightly more than $260 million (at factory prices) in 1994.

Factors in growth

The surge in growth is attributed to a number of factors.

First and foremost is the low cost of the machines. Large-format printing equipment ranges from $7,000 to $35,000 per unit, a small investment compared to press equipment.

Also, those in the graphic arts field find the printer/plotter units to be both easy to use and fast, with no need for film or separations.

Finally, the equipment is a value-added service for clients who send digital files, allowing graphic arts firms to offer another avenue for output that wasn't available before. Until large-format printing technology was developed, it was not practical to print short runs using such traditional processes as screen printing, photography, or offset presses.

Several means are being used to print large-format images: ink jet, electrostatic, and wax thermal. Large-area ink-jet printers, originally designed for the plotter and computer-aided design (CAD) market, are the most affordable. As storage space in computer memory grew to accommodate larger image data, ink-jet printers could output large-format images as well.

Ink jet is a fast process that can output images on paper, film, vinyl, and special media. However, its print resolution is low and is better viewed from a distance.

The more expensive electrostatic-type printers run similarly to copy machines, in that the paper accepts toner particles via an electrical charge and produces a four-color image in four passes. Electrostatic images are considered more durable and can be printed on wet-strength paper. Electrostatic technology was invented by Versatec and marketed and manufactured under the Xerox banner for the past several years.

Wax thermal process

Wax thermal is the latest technology to be used in large-format plotters. To date, the only manufacturer of devices in the larger sizes is Summagraphics, which offers the SummaChrome imaging system. The SummaChrome process prints computer-generated graphics, scanned photographs, and other images up to 242409, in from two to 12 minutes.

Using its unique RibbonPrinting system, the SummaChrome unit uses separate ribbon cassettes with 29-wide spools of single-color ribbon to lay down each of the process colors on paper and film media with a heat-activated print head. This thermal wax transfer process prints directly on paper or vinyl for long-lasting, ultraviolet- and water-resistant signs, banners, and decals.

With many of the large-format printing devices on the market for more than two years, leading- edge commercial printers, prepress shops, and service bureaus added the equipment to fulfill a need in their market. Jobs are now being created for use in billboards, posters, trade show displays, seminars, and courtrooms.

Grabbed market share

For more than two years, Holland Litho, Holland, Mich., has been successfully marketing the output of its LaserMaster DisplayMaker 36 to its clients. The imaging center purchased the large-format device before other companies in the area, thereby grabbing market share.

''At first the machine was not always busy,'' says Paul Soltysiak, Holland Litho's customer service manager. ''But we were impressed with what it could do and could see its potential. For us, it's a value-added service that we offer to our clients. We recouped our return on investment a long time ago. Now the machine is busy much more frequently. It's very reliable, and if there's a problem we can usually fix it ourselves.''

The majority of Holland's jobs on the DisplayMaker 36 are for trade shows, office displays, and artwork purposes. Most of the time, the jobs come fully prepared on a disk, accompanied by a transparency.

''We prefer to do the scan ourselves,'' explains Soltysiak. ''Although the LaserMaster is a 300- dpi printer, we can get good results with photo scans as low as 75 dpi because the unit uses a type of stochastic screening. We output on either glossy or translucent paper and can laminate or mount to a firm foam or plastic-based backing.''

For example, the firm recently produced a display for a trade show in Las Vegas, digitally scanning an artist's rendering of a client's new building, then outputting a 323-ft image.

Some of Holland's ad agency clients ask for poster-size displays for their office areas and lobby. One client wanted life-size action displays of Continental Basketball Association players for its boardroom. Holland produced the displays 3 ft wide and 7 ft tall.

Often, Holland's clients are looking for large, easy-to-read signs and posters. Charts and graphs for training sessions can be seen more easily, and they're preferred over slide projections. Recently, Holland was asked to use its LaserMaster to output a large document of a damaged car for courtroom use, so that the jury could see the evidence more clearly.

Kramer Graphics, based in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, attributes its growth to the purchases of both ink-jet and electrostatic printers. The firm, which started as a service bureau making film, bought its first large-format device in June 1992. Today Kramer is equipped with five electrostatic machines and three ink-jet units, mainly using the former for longer-run, large-format jobs and the latter for shorter-run, small-format work.

No other market

''There was no market for the machines in 1992,'' says John Kramer, president. ''The need existed but it was fulfilled by either screen printing or photographic enlargements. As a result, half our sales effort had to go into education.''

Kramer's client base consists of nationwide firms that need billboards, point-of-purchase displays, murals, posters, and business presentations. Kramer says his company-because of its size, capabilities, capacity, and experience-is considered one of two to three top firms nationwide that can output complex, challenging jobs. ''The market is definitely becoming saturated now,'' he says, ''and we have tremendous competition for one-off jobs.''

A constant battle, Kramer reports, is color correction. ''Most large-format jobs are for short- term purposes,'' he says. ''If the job is going outdoors, we'll produce it with the more durable electrostatic process. But we're experimenting with direct imaging to vinyl using ink jet and new UV-curable inks that are resistant to water.''

Kramer Graphics can output a given job in a single piece that's up to 529 wide and 30 ft long, or it can ''tile'' jobs together piece by piece up to any size, even as big as a football field. Also, the shop, by using the electrostatic printers, can transfer images to vinyl, say, for an automobile dealership needing a four-color banner to advertise a new model.

Small, but large

At Advanced Imaging Technologies, Orangeburg, N.Y., nearly one-third of its business now consists of large-format plotter jobs. The 10-employee color trade shop uses a Xerox 8944 electrostatic printer.

''We were one of the first shops on the East Coast to have a large-format device,'' says Richard Hoban, president. ''We started as a design and graphics firm in 1980 and frankly we anticipated this market. We had to do a lot of homework but were able to attract our existing clientele to use the printer. We would come up with products for them.''

For example, Advanced Imaging Technologies counts Christian Dior, Halston, Teledyne, London Fog, the Strong Museum, and the Garden State Plaza shopping center in New Jersey among its clients.

Typically, the firm receives a layout on a disk, scans the provided photos, and makes a file to output to the printer. Proofs are provided to companies such as Dior and Halston, which are highly color critical. The large-format products are used for in-store and countertop point-of-purchase displays, store barricades, interior work, store panels, billboards, and even advertisements on the sides of Venetian water taxis.

Finding a niche market

In the past year, Line & Tone, a service bureau with locations in New York City and Parsippany, N.J., sought and found-like Advanced Imaging Technologies- a niche market for its two LaserMaster 369 color printers.

''We do a lot of work with New Jersey pharmaceutical firms and their ad agencies,'' says Tom Lopez, vice president. ''Frequently, an agency making a client presentation will need large images-photos, headlines, graphics-for emphasis. We run out the images from a disk, mount them on a foam backing, and laminate for durability and gloss. These ad agencies are soliciting the big players, who'll pay the freight for overnight deadlines and top quality.''

The LaserMaster large-format printer nicely complements the firm's prepress jobs. Line & Tone can use a client's digital file to produce an oversize print, go to film for a printed piece, or make a slide or color laser proof. ''This printing device adds to our product mix and keeps our clients happy. Since it's digital, we're very flexible.''

Recently, Line & Tone was asked to pull a digital file of an 8122119 advertisement for an ad agency's client, a utility company that was holding a press conference. From the page-size newspaper ad, Line & Tone created a 48x369 print, to be used as a backdrop at the event.

Completely digital

The music, architectural, and construction markets comprise the key client base for Nashville- based Focus Digital Services Inc., a service bureau that has been completely digital since 1988.

Focus Digital Services takes files from Macs and PCs over its 24-hour modem lines and, equipped with two Hewlett- Packard DesignJet 650 PS 249 and 369 color ink-jet printers and new HP DesignJet 755CM 369 ink-jet printer, can produce color prints up to 369 high and 9 ft wide.

''We could see the market coming,'' says Michael Pittenger, president. ''It took a bit of training to show our clients how to set up files. We also needed to show them the difference between ink jet and electrostatic. We're committed to ink jet, although we maintain an electrostatic machine just for architectural drawings.

''We like ink jet because we can use a variety of substrates, the quality is far superior to electrostatic, and even though it's slower, the low cost of the ink-jet printers allows us to purchase more machines for added productivity. We started with one ink-jet unit at the beginning of the year and now we have four, a remarkable growth in capacity.''

Pittenger's clients are using the HP DesignJets for a variety of products. Gaylord Entertainment, the owner of the Grand Ole Opry and other music theaters, needs entertainer signs for its glass billboards, which Focus Digital Services provides in 326-ft sizes.

In addition, the Nashville firm is being asked to make posters for light boxes and display cases. In one case, the firm makes a scan of a CD cover and enlarges it to a 323-ft size for use in the light boxes in music stores. A Nashville-based nationwide shoe company geared to the college market needed 222289 posters of its shoes for store displays.

One of the printing company's largest displays was for a client's lobby. A map, 9 ft tall and 36 ft wide, showed the company's Nashville headquarters with its U.S. subsidiaries highlighted in different locations.

Nontraditional graphic arts firms are using the large-format color printers internally, too. Tom Rovito, manager of the visual communications department at Gibson Graphics, the greeting card manufacturer, purchased an ink-jet system to market Gibson's merchandise on point-of-purchase displays and at trade shows.

''Gibson is a strong licensed- products firm,'' he explains. ''We needed large display panels of our products for trade show booths. I've produced 612-ft tall Batman and Casper the Friendly Ghost figures with the ink-jet printer. Color is critical. Ink jet is very good at translating the continuous-tone photo. My justification for purchasing the large-format ink-jet printer was to realize a cost savings over a photo studio. In a cost-to-cost comparison between buying a print outside or producing it here, the latter is better.''

Big in the Big Apple

Big Apple Sign Corporation, a New York City-based sign crafter, recently added a second 3M Scotchprint electronic graphics system to expand its capacity for large-scale color graphics.

The 369 and 549 plotters have an accompanying package of software, 3M materials, and a high-resolution scanner and four-color electrostatic printer. They enable Big Apple to scan a continuous-tone image and reproduce it onto permanent or removable Scotchprint self-adhesive vinyl film or image paper. Big Apple uses the systems to produce exteriors of trade booths, billboards (such as the Hertz billboard in Times Square), movie sets, and fleet and transit advertising.

Action in the market

In the meantime, the market continues to grow, with new entries being added and older machines being replaced and upgraded. In the spring, the Seybold Boston show and Drupa '95 exhibition saw many new introductions. For example, Varitronic Systems Inc. displayed its new VintageColor wide-format ink-jet graphics printing system. It is the first to be licensed to support Pantone solid and process colors and incorporates Kodak's Color Management System (CMS) software to calibrate system components for high-quality printing.

The VintageColor system produces 249- or 369-wide color images. RIP and Kodak CMS software are precalibrated with either a flatbed or drum scanner, an on-demand 300-dpi ink-jet color printer, print server, and a variety of media and inks to eliminate most hardware adjustments. The system can be configured on a local area network of Macintosh or IBM-compatible personal computers or as a stand-alone system.

Another company, Idanit, an Israeli firm, introduced its 162AD large-format digital printing system at Drupa. The printer, which should be available this month, uses the firm's Turbojet ink-jet technology. A poster 632989 in size can be imaged in 60 seconds at a resolution of 360 dpi, or in about 30 seconds at 240 dpi, it is claimed.

Colorbus Inc. introduced its Cyclone large-format software that utilizes Adobe Brilliant Screens to produce high-quality output on large-format devices. Initially, the new software will offer connectivity with the Encad Novajet III; connectivity with the Hewlett-Packard 750 and Xerox 8900 series plotters will be available later.

Scitex America will be replacing its Iris SmartJet 4012 and Iris 3024 at year's end with new Realist 5015 and Realist 5030 models, respectively. Realist 5015 produces a single 112179 bleed spread in a 142219 image area while the Realist 5030 produces four 8122119 pages with bleed in a 212289 image area. Scitex continues to market its Iris 3047 and Iris 3047 HS 34246.89 color printers.

CalComp recently discontinued its wide-format color electrostatic printers to focus on ink- jet products. It plans to build on the early success of its TechJet Color plotter with new offerings that address the needs of the graphic arts industry.

One such offering is a wide-format color ink-jet printer-a prototype demonstrated at Drupa in May-that CalComp expects to begin marketing later this year. The new TechJet series printer will have a large ink capacity and the ability to print four-color output at a resolution of 3602360-dpi on a variety of cut-sheet or roll-feed media, including photographic glossy paper. Various models accommodate media widths up to 249 or 369.

At last month's Seybold show in San Francisco, Xerox ColorgrafX demonstrated its new VivagrafX large-format ink-jet printer and front-end software, along with its new 8954 Series III large-format digital printer. The 8954 has increased speed over the Series II, from 39 to 49 per second. Registration has been improved and a 300-dpi model added to the current line of 200-dpi and 400-dpi versions.

New partnerships

As more large-format color printer units enter the market, new partnerships will be announced, promoting multiple usage between print engines, software, and servers.

Some, such as Raster Graphics, are buying companies and furthering alliances. In August, the San Jose-based company bought Onyx Graphics, a leading supplier of production processing software for large-format imaging and printing. At the same time, it announced an alliance of its DCS 5400 five-color large-format digital press with 3M's Scotchprint Electronic Graphics Systems.

Encad, a developer of wide-format ink-jet printer/plotter devices, including the Novajet, has OEM agreements with a variety of manufacturers, including LaserMaster, Varitronic Systems, Durst, and Triton Systems. In the latest deal, Xerox will purchase and resell plotters from Encad.

''The large-format color printing market is extremely broad,'' admits Barry Latham of Xerox. ''Now there are segments of the market that would have been different, such as screen printers, photo shops, and commercial printers, who are now competing against each other.''

Adds Paul Soltysiak of Holland Litho, ''We're all on a collision course,'' referring to printers, ad agencies, photo labs, and service bureaus. ''We're all installing a lot of the same equipment, such as these large-format printing devices. But we feel that our color expertise and how we keep the printer calibrated puts us ahead of the others.''

Richard Hoban of Advanced Imaging Technologies, agrees: ''No one owns the market anymore. There are more devices being introduced that add to the competition, but it's a natural course of events. It's a slowly closing circle all tied to the downsizing phase. But we feel that our 35 years of design experience in the graphic arts industry is certainly a factor when a client chooses us.''

When Color Counts

Wide-format ink-jet and electrostatic digital printing technologies open an expansive range of new profit opportunities for service bureaus, quick printers, prepress operations, photo labs, and small commercial printers.

With these technologies, service providers can cost effectively deliver such products as high-quality photo-realistic images, point-of-sale signage, banners, backlit displays, and weather-resistant outdoor posters and billboards.

But, says Susan Hurt, business director of display media at Rexham Graphics, San Jose, Calif., selection of the imaging media is especially critical. Suppliers, she says, carefully design substrates with the printer and ink technologies, and with the graphics applications, in mind.

Ink-jet and electrostatic media are available in a range of weights and finishes, so selecting the appropriate media is essential to achieving crisp images with accurate, consistent colors, Hurt says.

For example, high-quality ink-jet media are formulated to ensure that ink dries quickly without smudging or cracking. Also, the use of specialty coated media eliminates cockles, bleeds, or faded colors.

For indoor graphics, ink-jet media is available in poster- and photographic-grade papers, and in polyester and backlit films.

Electrostatic printers require media that will accept an electrical charge in the imaging process. For indoor and weather-resistant outdoor graphics, electrostatic media includes poster-grade paper, outdoor wet-strength paper, and image transfer paper for other substrates, such as pressure-sensitive vinyls, banners, and rigid stocks.

Service providers, by selecting the right media, Hurt says, can produce a variety of high-quality color graphics and customize each one if necessary.

 Graphic Arts Monthly © 1998