News

Launched just before Drupa, the ColorWave 600 is special among inkjet machines in that it uses a novel new technology called CrystalPoint that’s available to buy today. Although designed primarily for CAD output, in time CrystalPoint may migrate to other markets as the issues that it is designed to address – the need for high-quality output onto uncoated paper – is common to commercial print too.

CrystalPoint uses solid ink, or in Océ’s parlance toner pearls, which are melted to make them liquid enough to be applied using piezo drop-on-demand printheads. On the paper they rapidly cool, so avoid the feathering and blurring of many inkjet inks on the more porous plain papers.

In some ways, CrystalPoint is similar to Xerox’s ink gel concept in using conventional piezo drop-on-demand printheads, albeit printheads able to handle high temperature, and heat to alter the properties of the ink to optimise it in the head and on the stock.

CrystalPoint toner pearls are solid at room temperature rather than a gel, so don’t need additional curing to fix them to the stock. As it is aimed at the CAD market, the output is modest at 120sqm per hour, but then, relatively speaking, at £30,000 so is the price.

If nothing else, CrystalPoint and ColorWave show that inkjet is an evolving market and even in what seem like (relatively) mature markets such as CAD technologies, they are evolving and can be disruptive.

Format: 1,067mm wide-format printer
Size: 1,067mm
Colours: CMYK
Speed: 120sqm per hour (34s per Ao sheet)
Technology: Piezo drop-on-demand
Shipping: Available now
Price: £30,000