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Kongsberg XL - Wide Format Printers

1. Images printed at trade show may be in uni directional mode so you may not realize the printer has bi directional curing banding defects until you unpack it in your printshop Bi directional curing banding is also known as the lawnmower effect Many printers have this defect sometimes certain modes can get rid of it but are so slow that they are not productive You absolutely need to do print samples with your own images and the kind provided by your clients Do not rely on the stock photos provided by the printer ink media or RIP manufacturer or reseller They may be using special images which they know in advance will look fabulous on their printer Equally well if you send your sample images to the dealer don t be surprised if they come back looking awful That is because many dealers won t make a serious effort to tweak their machine for your kind of image They may use fast speed just to get the job done this will result in low quality Check with other people in your area or in the same kind of print business that you do Don t rely on references from the reseller or manufacturer you will get their pet locations which may be unrealistically gushy find someone on your own Factors influencing output Heat humidity static dust experience level of your workers wheth er they are new or have prior years experience these are all factors that will differ in your place of business as compared with test results or demo
2. for providing a JV4 and then a Mimaki TX 1600s textile printer and Improved Technologies ITNH providing their Ixia model of the Iris 3047 giclee printer We thank 3P Inkjet Textiles and HP for providing inkjet textiles so we could learn about the different results on the various textiles IJ Tech nologies 3P Inkjet Textiles ColorSpan Encad HP Nan Ya Pepa Oracal Tara and other companies have provided inkjet media so we can try it out and see how it works or not as the case may be several inkjet media failed miserably one from Taiwan the other evidently from Germany We thank Aurelon Canon ColorGate ColorSpan ErgoSoft HP PerfectProof PosterJet Onyx Ilford CSE ColorBurst ScanvecAmiable Wasatch and many other RIP companies for pro viding their hardware and software RIPs We thank Dell Computers for providing awesome workstations for testing RIP software and content creation with Adobe Photoshop and other programs We also appreciate the substantial amount of soft ware provided by Adobe As with other product loaned or provided courtesy of ProVar LLC especially the 23 monitors which makes it so much easier to work on multiple documents side by side We thank Betterlight Calumet Photographic Global Graphics West cott Global Imaging Inc Phase One and Bogen Imaging for helping to equip our archaeological photo studios at the university and its archaeology museum in Guatemala Heidelberg Scitex CreoSci tex no
3. to know how many cutters of each brand have been sold Obviously cheaper brands may sell more units than a top of the line cutter such as Kongsberg 145 What will the resale value of your cutter be in three to five years Elite brand names tend to have a better resale value than cheaper brands and models since a cutter that is well made to begin with tends to hold up J DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers COMPARISONS WITH OTHER CUTTERS 146 What features on the other cutters may be issues would ask serious questions of any cutter that claimed to be a digital cutter if saw a whole row of giant mechanical levers across the front of the machine Such mechanical controls are what noticed when inspecting the Anderson DPC UV flatbed printer from Taiwan This manufacturer made CNC routers for past decades But other UV printers don t have such antiquated mechanical handle like controls They are an anachronism even if functional they don t look very chic They look a bit 19th century and mean the 1800 s not even the 1950 s e Other cutters may not be as versatile e Other cutters may not be as heavy duty construction and material e Other cutters may not be as experienced with cutting thick and heavy material if their background is cutting textiles or leather The one Zund cutter at VISCOM Paris had debris dust and pieces of cut material all over the table and also had frizzles around most of the edge of
4. So just because you printer is made in an industrialized country if you are in the US and the manufacturer is X thousand kilometers or miles away the wait may be many days or weeks Lack of Tech Support Personnel is increasing The book of sales in the third quarter of 2008 resulted in many tech support problems The recession resulted in even more some manufacturers may need to skimp on quality control during a recession or switch to cheaper parts suppliers Plus they are not hiring enough tech support during a recession So the bigger and more successful the company in some cases the worse these particular problems may be Any new compiled printer may take a few months to break in Any new printer no matter who the manufacturer or how good is the engineering ane electronics will tend to have teething issues Until the firmware is updated you may be a beta tester This does not mean the printer should be avoided just realize that you may have some downtime and a few headaches Of course the worst case sce nario for this was the half million dollar Luscher JetPrint so being Made in Switzerland was not much help Counterfeit parts are a problem with many printers made in China Several years ago many UV printers made in China and some made elsewhere in Asia had counterfeit parts No evaluation has the fund ing available to check parts inside any printer to see if they are from the European Japanese or American manufact
5. advertising claims are in violation of federal regulations and the printer companies know they are liable for misleading the public But before you make a federal case just be sure that many of the issues are not user error or unfamiliarity It may be that training or an additional accessory can make the printer do what you need it to ac complish Of course if the printer ads did not warn you that you had to purchase the additional pricey accessory that is a whole other issue Our reviews do not cover accessories since they are endless as is the range of training or lack thereof among users The major causes of printer breakdown and failure is lack of main Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers tenance poor maintenance spotty maintenance or trying to jerry rig some part of the printer The equally common cause of printer breakdown is improper use generally due from lack of training or experience Another factor is whether you utilize your printer all day every day Most solvent and UV printers work best if used frequently If you are not going to use your printer for two or three days you have to put flush into the system and prepare it for hibernation even if for only four or five days Then you have to flush the ink system all over again Also realize that the surface of inkjet prints are fragile and gener ally require lamination to survive much usage Lamination comes in many kinds and it is worth finding a reliable lamina
6. best as is possible under the circumstances And when a deficiency does become apparent usually from word of mouth or from an end user it may take time to get this written up and issued in a new release Another reason why it is essential for you to ask other printshop own ers and printer operators about how Brand X and Y function in the real world is that issues may exist but it may take months for these issues to be well enough known for us to know the details Although often we know of the issues early and work to get this information into the PDFs access to information varies depending on brand and model Plus with over 300 publications the waiting time to update a specific report may be several months Plus once a printer is considered obsolete it is not realistic to update it due to the costs involved For these reasons every FLAAR Report tries to have its publication date on the front outside cover if we updated everything instantly the cost would be at commercial rates and it would not be possible to cover these expenses At the end of most FLAAR Reports there is additionally a list of how many times that report has been updated A report with lots of updates means that we are updating that subject based on availability of new information If there is no update that is a pretty good indication that report has not been updated With 101 models of UV printers several hundred solvent printers and scores of water based printers we
7. covers its costs of maintaining the immense system of 8 web sites in three languages and its facilities in part by serving as a consultant such as assisting inkjet manufacturers learn more about the pros and cons of their own printers as well as how to improve their next generation of printers It is especially useful to all concerned when manufacturers learn of trends what applications are popular and for what reasons For example manufacturers need to know whether to continue designing software for Mac users or concentrate software for PC users So the survey form that you fill out is helpful to gather statistics You benefit from this in two ways first you get the FLAAR reports in exchange for your survey form Second your comments bring hopefully change and improvement in the next generation of printers When we do survey statistics then the names addresses and telephone numbers are removed completely A survey wants only aggregate num bers not individuals However if you ask about a specific brand of printer and do not opt out we forward your request to a pertinent sponsor so you can obtain follow up from that brand since we ourselves do not have enough personnel to respond to each reader by telephone But we do not provide your personal information to outsiders and our survey form has an opt out check off box which we honor FLAAR also serves as consultants to Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies and individuals who seek help
8. edge guards at the sides 30 Was this table made originally as a cutting table or is it retrofitted from some other purpose If retrofitted what was the original brand or model The table was originally made for being a cutting table f The table is usually covered with so many mats that you can t see the original surface of the table ra MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Kongsberg offers milling mats to protect the conveyor belt material r DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers STRUCTURE OF THE CUTTER if a combo style Transport Belt 31 Describe the transport belt What material What manufacturer The belt on the model at DSW in Illinois was the typical lightweight somewhat flexible material that is typical for this type of transport system 32 Can the belt move forwards and backwards or only forwards The conveyor belt can move only forward 33 How many rollers control the belt is the path of the belt horizontal or triangular You can check this yourself to some degree by looking at the edges of the transport belt from either side What you want to see is whether the belt edge has remained straight or whether it has shifted from stress and strain Beware of any cheap brand or model where the belt is so low bid hence so unstable that they wander 34 How well does this belt hold up to heavy use Does it skew You can check this yourself to some degree by looking at th
9. effective at not letting dust and chips fly out 111 What system of ventilation or exhaust system is built into the cutter Or if not required what would common sense dictate Is it adequate to clear the work area of gasses and fumes The exhaust system built into the milling routing portion of the overall system is excellent and is better than that of most other cutters 112 What is the noise level primarily of the fans for the vacuum Normally the vacuum pump is the nosiest part of any flatbed or cutter But on some models of cutter the acceleration of the gantry is the nosiest as pect On the XL model at VISCOM Paris 09 did not hear any objectionable noise from any function of the machine keeping in mind at a trade show there was plenty of noise from other booths The other booths with other products were producing consistently more noise than the Kongsberg At VISCOM Paris 09 the noise of the i XL24 was not objectionable Actually most other machines nearby at the same trade show were making more noise than the Kongsberg cutter 113 What is the noise level of the acceleration of the gantry The acceleration of the XL gantry along its X axis is not a piercing sound 1 A The milling tools have a skirt completely encircling the tool area It is very effective at not letting dust and chips fly out also the user manual recomend that all personnel working near the machine should use eye protection amp FLAAR Re ports
10. good job This company in Slovenia has about eight UV printers about five of them from Durst and an equal number of large solvent printers They originally used a GretagMacbeth color man agement system but switched to BARBIERI because the BARBIERI spectrophotometer can read more efficiently and can handle tex tiles backlit wood and other materials that are either awkward or difficult on other brands of color management instruments You can learn about the BARBIERI equipment either from their headquarters in Brixen or their distribu tors worldwide For further information on Caldera contact Joseph MERGUI mergui caldera fr If you have questions about color man agement if you are in the US you can contact ImageTech at www mage TechDigital com Mark Spandorf owner and president mark imagetechdigital com or 510 238 8905 If you are in Europe or the rest of the world you can contact BARBIERI directly at BARBIERI electronic snc info BARBIERIelectronic com www BARBIERIlelectronic com Tel 39 0472 834 024 Fax 39 0472 833 845 6 F LAAR Reports Reality Check Being a university professor for many years does not mean we know everything But intellectual curiosity often leads us to enter areas that are new to us So we do not shirk from entering areas where we are obviously not yet expert If in your years of wide format print ing experience have encountered results different that ours please let us kn
11. might curl distort or discolor from the heat Heat can build up in a cutter from several causes The MultiCUT head of Kongsberg offers an air cooling system for the milling bit Instead of sucking heat up and out it blows directly on the bit One way to dissipate heat is to have good ventilation drawing the hot air up and out of the carriage area The vacuum tube is intended to pull up dust and debris but it can also suck out the odor as well as to remove some of the heat too 135 What about build up of static electricity What kind of materials cause this Do some materials generate static electricity which cause the media to attract ink in areas not supposed to be printed on How is it manifested You do need to be aware of how to prevent static electricity build up e No carpets or rugs on the floor Indeed you should consider anti static tiles or carpet e Use a humidifier during winter months to avoid dryness e Learn which media are susceptible to gathering a static charge e Consider a printer that has specific anti static features Grounding Q Static bar s 136 What happens in very dry weather low humidity especially in winter with central heating During dry periods with low humidity static problems may increase With a high static charge such as with PVC materials the ink is attracted to charged areas of the material This results in overspray ink lay down in unintended areas Dust can be a problem in places and seasons with l
12. on which printers to consider when they need digital imaging hardware and software A modest portion of our income comes from our readers who purchase the FLAAR series All income helps continue our tradition of indepen dent evaluations and reviews of inkjet printers RIPs media and inks ra MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers These are some of the most Recent FLAAR Reports 2007 2009 ide format printers NET You can find these and more reports at www w Introduction to UV Curable Inkjet Flatbed Printers AFLAAR Reports re r SILANE Recor ib LAP Piers LAAR Rapai rg ae eae Classifications of How to Buy a UV Cured EE ag Blogs on Inkjet eee Printer UV Glossary more than 60 UV Cured Printers FAQs for UV Printers NRE shad mra TLAAR Reports AFLAAR Report amp FLAAR Reports UV Lamps args Tips Info Help for flatbed Inkjet Printers Introduction to Documentation UV Cured Inks on Piezo Printheads p l 7 Used in UV Cured i Inkjet Printers wr MAAR Reports Brief History of the Development of UV Cured Inkjet Printing How does a latex ink printer differ from a UV Curable Printer a Pda 1s latex ji ik d amp uy ir 1 athed i differ fram a Solvent Inkjet Printer including Cationic UV Ink Most recent UV Printers k LAAR Reg OB TLAARReperts ELMAR Repor o E GAAR Rep bILAAH Reparti Roll to Roll UV Printers Roland LED UV Entry Level Hybrid UV R
13. put roll fed material on top of the table by hand On most Kongsberg printers the roll is simply placed informally at one end and then it can be fed on a conveyor belt or pulled by hand when need ed A saddle is formed of two rolls with a slight space between them You rest your roll of substrate on the saddle created by the two adjacent rolls You don t need to run a spindle through the roll You don t need to fumble loading the end of the spindle into two holders one at each end Loading a saddle is quicker as a result But a saddle is primarily used on heavy duty industrial printers 3 2 meters or wider where the weight of a roll may cause a spindle to sag Plus it s a headache to thread a spindle through a 5 meter long core 49 Describe the overall path of the media through the system On a dedicated flatbed there is no path you place the board wherever it is more comfortable and the cut vision system finds it On a flatbed with conveyor belt the conveyor belt can move your material There are also loading and unloading systems so the overall path of the material through the system depends on which size and model you have MAIN TABLE 50 Is this table size adequate There is no need to build a larger flatbed cutter for what is produced by the larger flatbed UV printers because 5x10 is about the largest printer avail able 2x3 meters is today s limit Luscher attempted to create a larger UV printer and it was not successfu
14. the main board Plus the mat was covered with detritus This reminds me of a printshop south of Ljubljana Slovenia They had a cutter in a separate room and an Oce Arizona or equivalent Fuji in the adjacent room The cutter had to be placed in the separate room to keep dust away from the UV curing flatbed It would be interesting to see whether the cutter there was a Z nd or a Kongsberg Turns out it was a Z nd 147 What aspects of the selected cutter help decide in its favor End users who ask other printshops that already have a Kongsberg tend to be influenced by user satisfaction CONCLUSIONS 148 Are you satisfied with this cutter to the point that you would recommend it to someone else would not waste my time spending days inspecting this cutter and weeks preparing this report if did not find that this cutter had merit 149 Are your customers satisfied with the print results from this cutter to the point that they recommend you by word of mouth to other potential clients At VISCOM Paris a print shop manager came up to say hello seeing the FLAAR logo on my shirt and since was standing next to a Kongsberg cutter asked if he knew the brand He said people we talked to said the Kongsberg was the one to get would add my experience when talking to printshop owners When asked over the past five years which was the ultimate cutter to acquire expe rienced printshop owners tended to say Kongsberg But at the mainstream
15. to keep things run ning The images at a trade show may be tweaked Other images make be faked in the sense of slyly putting on primer without telling the people who inspect the prints Most UV inks don t stick to all ma terials many materials need to be treated Or the UV prints may be top coated so that you can t do a realistic scratch test Booth personnel have many standard tricks that they use to make their output look gorgeous In about half the cases you will not likely obtain these results in real life in most cases they are printing uni directional which may be twice as slow as bi directional Trade show examples tend to be on the absolutely best media When you attempt to save money and use economy media you will quickly Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers notice that you do not get anywhere near the same results as you saw in the manufacturer s trade show booth or pictured in their glossy advertisement Five years ago we noticed Epson was laminat ing prints to show glossy output because their pigmented inks could not print on actual glossy media The same equipment inks media and software may not work as well in your facility as we or you see it at a trade show All the more reason to test before you buy and keep testing before you make your final payment Your ultimate protection is to use a gold American Express credit card so you can have lever age when you ask for your money back if the product fails
16. visited Mimaki Europe has had FLAAR as their guest in Europe to introduce their flatbed UV printer as have other UV curable manufacturers again under NDA as to the details since often we are present at meetings where unreleased products are discussed Xaar has hosted an informative visit to their world headquarters in the UK You don t get this level of access from a trade magazine writer and can assure you we are provided much more detailed information and documentation in our visits than would be provided to a magazine author or editor Companies have learned that it s a lot better to let us know up front and in advance the issues and glitches with their printers since they now know we will find out sooner or later on our own They actually tell us they realize we will find out on our own anyway Contributions grant sponsorships and project funds from these companies are also used to improve the design and appearance of the web sites of the FLAAR Information Network We thank Canon ColorSpan HP ITNH and Mimaki for providing wide format printers inks and media to the universities where FLAAR does research on wide format digital imaging We thank Epson America for providing an Epson 7500 printer many years ago and Parrot Digigraphic for providing three different models of Epson inkjet printers to our fa 6 F LAAR Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers cilities on loan at BGSU 5500 7600 7800 We thank Mimaki USA
17. with a vacuum cleaner to reduces the risk of being hit by small work pieces or by a breaking router bit This should keep clean and do not leave the machine running if is full because might cause damage to the machine EETA y AP Te me A A wa a Nilfisk vacuum for Esko Kongsberg i XL 24 Esko Artwork booth at SGIA 2009 MAINTENANCE 99 What daily procedure is required at start up in the morning Maintenance is limited to the inspection and cleaning of the table surface guideway rollers racks pressure reduction valve base and the surrounding area The table surface should be kept clean at all times For cleaning use iso propyl alcohol use a vacuum cleaner to keep the inside of the conveyor belt clean 100 What weekly maintenance is required The guide ways and the bearings should be thoroughly cleaned and oiled very lightly with Tellus R10 oil Clean the surface of the transmitter and receiver carefully using light soap and clean water The automatic draining action of the air pressure reduction valve should be controlled Switch off the air compressor and allow the air pressure to fall Switch on the air compressor and check that any water in the glass bowl of the pressure reduction valve drains out automatically during the first few seconds of operation Remove and clean the bowl if the automatic draining action does not operate or if it appears to be an excessive amount of dust in the bowl DAVANA Re ports Kongsberg X
18. 6 FLAAR Reports Learning about Digital Flatoed Cutters to pair with your AEE Jeue g inget P oe a ie i _ F o U ET a _ pall et Kongs berg XL Series Cutter Routers Nicholas Hellmuth and Pablo Martinez r FLAAR Reports PLEASE NOTE This report has not been licensed to any printer manufacturer distributor dealer sales rep RIP company media or ink company to distribute So if you obtained this from any company you have a pirated copy Also since this report is frequently updated if you got your version from somewhere else it may be an obsolete edition FLAAR reports are being updated all year long and our comment on that product may have been revised positively or negatively as we learned more about the product from end users To obtain a legitimate copy which you know is the complete report with nothing erased or changed and hence a report with all the original description of pros and cons please obtain your original and full report straight from www large format printers org Your only assurance that you have a complete and authentic evaluation which describes all aspects of the product under consideration benefits as well as deficiencies is to obtain these reports directly from FLAAR via www wide format printers NET Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers THE BASICS PURCHASING FEATURES OF THE CUTTER Vacuum STRUCTURE OF THE CUTTER Media
19. ACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 79 Do you need to budget installing a ventilation or room exhaust system All cutters need room ventilation to remove particles from the air particles are bad if they land on printable material elsewhere in the printshop 80 Are there any special temperature or humidity requirements or preferences of this cutting system The User Manual is very clear Never run a spindle when ambient temperature is below 10 C 50 F Continuous operation at temperatures above 30 C 86 F is not recommended 81 What about altitude Some cities such as Guatemala City are at a high altitude Almost no spec sheet and not even many User Manuals mention anything about altitude But Guatemala City is about 1500 meters above sea level which is rather high there are four volcanoes visible out my window as write this and other parts of the world have even higher elevation AVA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 82 What about dust and cleanliness of the air Dust in the printing environment is an aspect that is often neglected It is crucial that if a sign shop that no sanding sawing routing drilling sandblast ing or grinding operations be nearby The dust and debris from sawing and comparable operations are extremely unhealthy for a UV inkjet printer Printhead manufacturers especially of Toshiba Tec heads say that dust from flatbed cutters causes failure in these Toshiba Tec heads Oce Arizona 25 owners had
20. INSTRUCTIONS amp MANUALS 85 What is the rating of usefulness of the User s Manual and other associated materials The User Manual is 177 pages long 86 What is the native language of these guides Is the translation acceptable It would be logical for the instruction manuals made in Norway to be translated from Norwegian But the manual is either well translated or prepared by a native English speaker or both The only idiomatic words can find so far are things such as transverse for the front of the gantry And hard board production page 31 which assume means milling hard dense fiberboard material The following statement is as valid for a 400 000 cutter as it is for a 70 000 model No matter how well translated all translations done by a speaker for whom English is a second or third language should have the translation proof read by a native English speaker If a company is selling cutters into the US the translation needs to be fully and completely comparable to spoken English not literal English 90 of the manuals whose native language is other than English use terms that are too literal they are translated terms not the actual terms that anyone in America would use This is a polite way to say that every manual should be read by a native English speaker who is familiar with the jargon of cutters Too many manuals for Japanese products are based too literally on the original Japanese text These transla
21. Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 114 What moving parts might hit a person if they are standing near the cutter In most instances if the moving gantry were to hit something or someone the gantry would stop I have seen this tested and it worked but obviously can t predict every single velocity and every single angle if a person were kneeling on the floor his head would be on the receiving end would tend to suggest that diagonal yellow banded warning tape or design be on any leading edge Grapo flatbed printers have this kind of warn ing And or put such warning tape down on the floor to show an area in which the gantry could reach a person in that area 115 Are any other safety or health issues involved Does the operator need to be concerned with any other safety precautions The user manual suggest e Wear close fitting clothes to avoid being caught by the beam or the tool head which can cause injuries e Wear gloves to protect against cuts from materials with sharp edges e Use eye protection e Use hearing protection when working with the machine for a longer period of time 116 Is the Operator Manual so poorly translated that you might make a mistake a mistake that could be damaging to your health or otherwise dangerous for your printshop The User Manual is in better English than most manuals from equipment from Japan and significantly better than manuals from China 117 How are the cut fragments shielded from hitti
22. L Series Cutter Routers 101 What monthly maintenance is required The racks should be brushed clean and re greased lightly with Aeroshell no 7 grease Every other month or after the table surface has been cleaned the closed vacuum holes in the surface should be opened in order to retain the hold down efficiency Use a steel pin 0 5 0 6 mm and with the vacuum system switched on free the vacuum holes by pushing the obstructions down into the table 102 How do you clean the transport belt For cleaning use iso propyl alcohol use a vacuum cleaner to keep the inside of the conveyor belt clean 103 How often do you need to clean the transport belt The surface should be kept clean at all times 104 How should a cutter be prepared for sitting unused for a long time The User Manual indicates that for more than 4 weeks storage of a spindle or a HSMU requires e Turn the spindle by hand about 20 turn every 4 weeks e Spindle must be stored horizontally a ee ESKO Maintenance is limited to the inspection and cleaning of the table surface guideway rollers racks pressure reduction valve base and the surrounding area The table surface should be kept clean at all times For cleaning use iso propyl alcohol use a vacuum cleaner to keep the inside of the conveyor belt clean DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers SAFETY amp HEALTH CONCERNS 105 How is safety treated in the printed literature
23. LAAR Network This grant ran its natural course and like all grants reached its finishing point in this case late 2005 In some cases the sponsorship process begins when we hear end users talking about a product they have found to be better than other brands We keep our ears open and when we spot an espe cially good product this is the company we seek sponsorship from It would not be wise of us to seek sponsorship from a company with a sub standard or otherwise potentially defective printer So we usu ally know which printers are considered by end users to be among the better brands before we seek sponsorship After all out of the by now one million readers we have heard plenty about every single printer out there We thank MacDermid ColorSpan now part of HP Hewlett Pack ard Parrot Digigraphic Color DNA Canon Gandinnovations and other companies for providing funding for technology training for the FLAAR staff and our colleagues at Bowling Green State University in past years and for funds to allow us to attend all major international trade shows which are ideal locations for us to gather information We thank Sun LLC Caldera EskoArtwork Raster Printers EFI Ras tek DEC LexJet DigiFab Barbieri electronic Seiko Il Mutoh Eu rope IP amp I Dilli Yuhan Kimberly GCC Grapo Durst and WP Digital for providing funds so that we can make more of our publications free to end users During 2000 2001 we had grants to cover al
24. The Kongsberg i XL Series and you will see in the video how you can handle roll fed material at both input and out the other end If were in charge of design and functionality what would FLAAR add If you go to a trade show that has a dozen brands of CNC routers and digital cutter routers you see every imaginable kind of design Aristo are more chic in design Some American and some French brands look like they were designed 45 years ago and have not yet entered the 21st century would definitely make a few design style improvements The series needs more accommodations for handling roll to roll substrates since a lot of packaging is indeed roll fed And by far most signage is still roll fed though most of this is cut on a simple Roland or comparable cutter Comments amp Suggestions The easiest place to experience a Kongsberg cutter is in the i cut headquarters in Lake Geneva an hour northwest from Chicago A key advantage of visiting this location is that you can see both Zund and Kongsberg cutters and speak with staff who have years and years of experience with these Z nd cutters since MGE was the Z nd dealer in those years Naturally they do not have a new Z nd G3 model but still found it informative and well worth the time to make the effort to visit Kongsberg demo room You can send your own files in advance and ship the specific kinds of materials that you wish them to cut on if it is a special material that they would n
25. The manual starts off with safety as is appropriate What immediately liked about the safety section was on the noise level saying clearly that hearing protection should be worn compliment Kongsberg on being realistic noise is an attribute of other brands as well The second appropriately blunt warning is for ejection of parts This also is a natural result of anything that is cutting or routing at high speeds Other brands would have the same need for a warning Further into the manual there are more safety warnings such as for hard board production Section 4 9 page 31 GCC s StellarJet 250 UV printer manuals have among the best treatment of safety aspects of a UV printer in other words they tell you point blank some of the reality of UV ink and UV lamps If the warnings do not make you cringe they are not realistic 106 Who sets safety parameters the machine or the operator Both operator and cutter designate the safty parameters the user guide indicate some safety devices e Ensuring that no unauthorized persons come close to the system e Yellow black tape the yellow black tape indicates the warning area This area is restricted to operators and other trained personnel e Warning lamp on the top of Y carriage if the light is OFF indicate that the servo is off if the lamp is ON indicates that servo power is on safety system is enabled table is in operation and if is blinking indicates that the safety system is
26. Transport Mechanism amp Media Path STRUCTURE OF THE CUTTER if a combo style Transport Belt LINING UP FLAT MATERIAL to help it feed straight FLATBED ASPECTS for dedicated flatbeds ROLL FED MAIN TABLE STRUCTURE Miscellaneous UPGRADES Future Improvements Miscellaneous OPERATING THE CUTTER CONSTRUCTION BUILD QUALITY AESTHETICS SET UP OF THE PRINTER PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS INSTALLATION OF THE CUTTER INSTRUCTIONS amp MANUALS TRAINING TECH SUPPORT amp WARRANTY CLEANING amp MAINTENANCE NEEDS MAINTENANCE SAFETY amp HEALTH CONCERNS VISION TECHNOLOGY Features Bi DIRECTIONAL VS Uni DIRECTIONAL TOOL Positioning MOTORS FOR GANTRY Stepper Linear Magnetic SUBSTRATES SUBSTRATES Materials Applications and Issues SUBSTRATES Materials Applications and Issues TOOL replacement Cost Supply System Tubing Filters etc ODOR caused by cutting of the material PRODUCTIVITY amp ROI Return on Investment ADVERTISING CLAIMS GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS COMPARISONS WITH OTHER CUTTERS CONCLUSIONS Contents on A A N 11 11 12 12 13 14 15 17 17 19 20 20 21 21 23 26 26 26 26 27 27 28 28 31 32 33 33 33 33 34 34 f MAVAN Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers This is the first stage of a long term evaluation of XY con tour cutter routers They are also called digital cutters The technology we are currently evaluating in th
27. XL Series Cutter Routers years of research Therefore if you cite or quote a pertinent section please provide a proper credit which would be minimally Nicholas Hellmuth year www FLAAR org If the quote is more than a few words then academic tradition would expect that a footnote or en try in your bibliography would reference the complete title Publisher would be www FLAAR org If you intend to quote any portion of a FLAAR review in a PowerPoint presentation if this is in reference to any product that your company sells or promotes then it would be appropriate to license the report or otherwise notify us in advance FLAAR reports are being updated every week sometimes and our comment on that product may have been revised as we learned more about the product from end users Also we noticed that one company cited the single favorable com ment we made on one nice aspect of their printer but neglected to cite the rest of the review which pointed out the features of the printer which did not do so well For them to correct this error after the fact is rather embarrassing So it is safer to ask before you quote a FLAAR review on your product Legal notice Inclusion in this study by itself in no way endorses any printer media ink RIP or other digital imaging hardware or software Equally exclu sion from this study in no way is intended to discredit any printer Advisory We do our best to obtain information which we conside
28. activated e Dynaguard safety sistem the photocell safety system are two light beams in front of the traverse and two behind In addition there is a stop mechanism mounted on each end of the traverse Machine movement will stop and servo power will be switched off if one of the light beams is broken or for instance when a person is standing too near the table 107 How many emergency stop buttons are there Where are they located The red emergency stop button stands up from the right side of the operator work table at the right front of the cutter At the Kongsberg XL Series you will find the emergency stop buttons up from the right side of the operator r DAVAN A Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 108 Is there auto shut down If so what triggers it The machine gantry stops if it hits you asked by there were no yellow diagonal warning tape on the portion of the gantry that sticks out So the operator had the gantry hit him and the gantry stopped immediately This was on the XL The XP has a higher acceleration 109 Is there auto shut down if the operator sticks their hand into the system while it s operating There is a stop mechanism mounted on each end of the traverse the machine movement will stop and servo power will be switched off when a per son is standing too near the table 110 What keeps dust from leaving from cutting area The milling tools have a skirt completely encircling the tool area It is very
29. at they are not as accurate since they don t provide feedback that can be monitored and allow correction on the fly The crucial advantage of a servo motor usually an AC servo motor is that it provides feedback and can correct its position ing But since a servo motor is significantly more expensive it is missing from many UV curable printers a The Kongsberg XL cutter series uses appropriate brushless servo motors The advantage of using a servo motor is that it provides feedback and can correct its positioning SUBSTRATES 127 What sizes of material can be cut ee i XL20 1 75 m x 1 62 m i XL24 1 75 m Xx 3 42 m i XL42 2 28 m x 1 62 m i XL44 2 28 m x 3 42 m 128 What is the difference between media width and actual cut width We have this entry because some printers are called 3 2 because they accept substrates that are 3 2 wide but the printer can actually print only 3 1 meters In such a case the model name is misleading and incorrect in a sense have even seen some model designations claiming 3 3 when they only hold media 3 2 meters So there is a bit of misleading advertising out there 129 Can you adjust carriage speed In the control panel main menu it s a option in which you can adjust the speed setup e MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers SUBSTRATES Materials Applications and Issues 130 Can you measure the height of the material with a sensor or is it manual Ye
30. at trade shows who told us they use the FLAAR web site reports as the shopping list for their corporate purchases Yes it is rather self evident that we would never ask a manufacturer to send a product which we knew in advance from our studies was no good But there are a few other printers which are great but we simply do not have them in our facilities yet So if a printer is not made available by its manufacturer then there is no way we can afford to have all these makes and models in our facil ity Thus to learn about models which we do not feature be sure to ask around in other print shops with IT people in other corporations at your local university or community college Go to trade shows but don t use only the booth ask questions of people in the elevator in line at the restaurant anywhere to escape the smothering hype you get in the booth Realize that a FLAAR Report on a printer is not by itself a recommen dation of that printer In your local temperature in your local humidity with the dust that is in your local air with your local operator and with disorientation of the insides of a printer during rough shipment and installation we have no knowledge of what conditions you will face in your own printshop We tend to inspect a printer first in the manufacturing plant demo room no disjointed parts from any ship ment since this printer has not been lifed by cranes and run over a 6 F LAAR Reports Kongsberg XL Ser
31. better select a cutter that does not spew chips and particles all over the printshop In other words you need to ventilate away more than ozone and ink odors you need to ventilate away everything else that is already in the printshop environment During VISCOM Paris 09 went to the booth of each router and digital cutter manufacturer The dust and detritus of one French CNC router was totally unacceptable there were chips all over the floor looked like a recent snowfall Another CNC router had a vacuum cleaner suction hose that looked like it was made not only in China but from the absolute cheapest low bid Chinese supplier Frankly the Z nd in the Oce booth did not impress me as a model of cleanliness would rate the Kongsberg as the least dust least detritus of all the machines at the show As a footnote would add that the mess which is generated depends considerably on what took is used and what material is being cut 83 What air pressure is required to be provided to the cutter Is this for a vacuum table or other purposes such as ventilation The air pressure is needed for the vacuum table the valves and the tooling ss The cutter has a suction hose with a vacuum cleaner to reduces the dust and detritus of the material that is being cut J DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 84 What is the size and weight of the cutter with nth Total weight ue 9 9 INSTALLATION OF THE CUTTER
32. but some manufacturers do allow end users to take advanced service training 15 How does the total cost compare with other XY routers or cutters You can fill out the other columns for the other brands of cutter that are on your short list We can t fill this out for you since we don t know what is on your short list If you buy low bid you may not receive all the tool options that you will need later If you shop by price alone the unit you end up with may not be heavy duty construction Nonetheless obviously price is a factor However some printshops prefer to have the absolute best and realize that its price will be a few points higher than a lesser brand PURCHASING 16 Are dealers national most companies or regional Roland allows a dealer to operate only within a limited regional area Does a buyer have any choice in dealers Every country is different In South Africa have met their dealer same dealer as Screen UV printers In the US one dealer is Pitman a large company that covers all the USA FEATURES OF THE CUTTER Vacuum 17 Is there a vacuum function Yes the flatbed table has a vacuum 18 Is the vacuum created by simple fans or by an air pump The vacuum is created by an air pump 19 In how many sections or zones Yes the vacuum is in several user selectable sections which natu rally depends on which model you have There are eight zones on an XP24 you can obtain other options Your Vacuum Setup bu
33. d almost 1 600 pounds but is not recommended put so many weight 45 Is pin registration present How many pins What is their position s Not normally ever used on a cutter as you have auto edge detection with the cut camera or the work habit is to use a lay edge or lay guides similar to Screenprint and on rigid UV printers Pin registration means different things for different kinds of machinery Page 35 of the instruction manual lists positioning pins to assist registration of a material Once the vacuum is turned on you need to remove the positioning pins before you start cutting 46 If no pin registration system is present what kind of other registration system is available You can use the ARS Automatic Registration System e Manual reading of 2 registration marks by use of laser pointer standard e Manual reading of 2 registration marks by use of camera as pointing device option e Automatic reading of up to 4 registration marks Linear transformation option The table is always fixed in one position the gantry can move in X and Y position DAVAN A Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers ROLL FED 47 How is media held flat Vacuum table Pinch rollers The material is held in position by a vacuum aspect of the table 48 How is the roll held at the feeding position On a spindle On a saddle Some table models can accept roll fed material still on the roll other models are strictly flatbed you can of course
34. d chips than most other brands Naturally this depends on what material you are trying to cut and which tool you are using The vacuum cleaner seems to work best over the router milling tool Has sheet loader that can load a single sheet up to 100 Ibs about 45 kilos The machine is so reliable that it can be left to cut on its own while the operator is away doing other things elsewhere A fully equipped Kongsberg system can do contour nesting The ability to do contour nesting action BEFORE you print the work will save you thou sands of dollars in material costs If your RIP software can t do contour nesting then you will waste miles or kilometers of material over time liter ally Cons Price there is a saying quality has its price A second saying is you get what you pay for But this is a serious cutter from a serious European company If you are at the high end or wish to get to that point then Kongsberg is certainly a brand to look at Potential issues not serious enough to be a fully negative point If you will constantly do roll fed materials you need the conveyor belt This can pull material from a roll but does not yet have a dedicated take up reel at the other end It can however off load the roll cut material by simply having the conveyor belt deposit them at the end onto a table that you can easily place to receive them Just ask for the CD Automated digital finishing systems for signs and displays
35. e UV Chinese UV UV Printers UV Printers List of UV Printers inkjet Printers 2008 Manufactured in Manufactured in Kanita AHAA ENTE M di oo Korea 2009 KOREA 2008 eiee k Comprehensive FLAAR Inventory Trends Markets Comprehensive Complete F amp Applications LAAR Inventory
36. e software use passes or modes to describe quality levels Using the machine with two or three passes makes each pass goingo a step deeper of the media The number of passes depends on material type thickness and bit diameter Bi DIRECTIONAL VS Uni DIRECTIONAL 123 What are the different results in speed in quality To obtain best quality when cutting details as small circles they recommend reduce the cutting speed TOOL Positioning 124 Do you raise the heads manually with click stops or motorized When producing the tool heads are lowered and raised automatically motorized In manual mode you can raise and lower heads by a button at the control panel 125 Is there a row of tools parked somewhere in a position that the gantry and tool carriage can access them and change tools automatically or at least semi automatically The new router cutter of MultiCam has this feature across the end of the machine e MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers MOTORS FOR GANTRY Stepper Linear Magnetic 126 Describe the motor and the system that moves the gantry Is the motor for the carriage a brushless linear servo motor or a stepper motor The Kongsberg XL cutter series uses appropriate brushless servo motors The only major UV printer brand that still uses an antiquated stepper motor is the Mimaki JF flatbeds A stepper motor moves the carriage or other part of the printer in steps of set distance Downside is th
37. e transport belt from either side Have the lighting shine on the belt so that you can see the horizontal sections What you want to see is whether the woven aspect of the belt remains straight or whether it has shifted from stress and strain Several other UV printers have an infamous record of belts that may be so unstable that they wander But with even the combo belts that are considered acceptable some materials will skew depends on belt usage wear and tear on material weight and surface characteristics etc 35 How often does the main flatbed transport belt need to be replaced At whose expense What is the cost of a re placement belt Approximately every 18 months depending on usage and treatment The trasport belt is made of lightweight material that is typical for this type of transportation system r DAVAN A Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers LINING UP FLAT MATERIAL to help it feed straight 36 How is rigid media fed If you have a dedicated flatbed model with no transport belt and no feeder you simply place the board on with your hands 37 Is a feeder stacker option available Yes feeder stacker option is available on some Kongsberg models 38 What kinds of raised guide bars alignment bars along the side of the table exist Left or right How long On a cutter with a vision system you do not need to align the board the vision system can figure out the precise position and can cut perfectly
38. e was this model first introduced The initial XL model was launched in 2000 the upgraded i XL enhanced with i cut vision system was introduced in 2005 The XE i XE was introduced in 2006 the XP in 2008 8 Is this cutter mature or still in alpha stage or beta stage This cutter is mature So you are not stuck with an untested beta machine 9 List price List price varies by model and by how many options you select As with all machinery price also varies by world region But this is not a low bid brand you get European technology from an experienced manufacturer If you prefer a really cheap cutter they are available elsewhere 10 What options are extra charge A sheet feeder a take up system and a conveyor belt cleaning system are examples of some of the available options for the Kongberg XL series Other series may have slightly different options For the XL series you can also obtain the conveyor belt and also a roll material holder 11 Do you need to provide air pressure for the vacuum table Do you need to provide compressed air for any other purpose Yes you need to provide air pressure for the vacuum table the valves and the tooling 12 Is an air suction system needed to be installed as a separate item or is all the vacuum table or other vacuum re quirements already included in the cutter itself The table has a vacuum sistem dividen in two areas with four section each one that you can turn on and off 13 Is it r
39. e will check to see whether advertised speed specs are idealistic or realistic ADVERTISING CLAIMS 142 Do certain parts of the cutter need to be repaired or accessed so often that you have to remove safety plates or protective plates to make access easier This would be mainly with Chinese made cutters 143 How often do people return this cutter and say they want their money back This is mainly with Chinese made cutters But any time you are seriously thinking of any cutter it is essential to learn what the recall or return rate is In other words how many printshops return this cutter because it is either not what they expected or not what they need This does not automatically mean that the cutter is bad it may mean that the printshop had an unrealistic expectation Sometimes the printshop did not anticipate how much maintenance and care the cutter needed in the evening and in the morning It is likely that every single brand out there has cutters they have had to take back But you ought to learn how many and why If the manufacturer distributor or reseller is honest and gives you the actual facts this is a company to trust If they say there have been no returns this is statistically unlikely but not impossible GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 144 How many cutters of this model are in use in the USA in the rest of the world It is helpful for a printshop owner who is making their short list of which cutters to consider buying
40. ecommended or required to buy a spare parts kit Or extra tools Most end users don t wish to buy a spare parts kit up front in part because they don t yet have the experience to do their own repairs when they are first buying this cutter DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 14 Or do the dealers prefer that customers not try to make their own repairs Every cutter manufacturer and distributor has their own policy on whether they wish the end users to make their own repairs But there is no right or wrong policy In general the end user is usually not encouraged to take the cutter apart and do repairs on their own Only later on when you have considerable experience and have taken advanced tech support training would doing your own repairs be realistic However I have visited many printshops where the cutter operator prefers to receive this training precisely so they can do their own repairs After all if the manufacturer can train their own tech support person surely a cutter operator who also works with this cutter every day all month all year can also learn how to maintain and repair it if they have the interest and inclination This policy varies by manufacturer Interest in doing their own repairs varies by the end user and by the cutter operator A few operators like the op portunity to take service training at the factory and thereby to be able to do basic repairs on their own Some manufacturers discourage this
41. er improve their printer or drop it and start from scratch and design a new and better one And naturally end users like the opportunity to learn about various printers from a single source that covers the entire range from UV through latex through all flavors of solvent We have also learned that distributors often prefer to accept for distribution a printer or other product on which a FLAAR Report already ex ists We turn down offers of funding every year These offers come from PO Box enterprises or products with no clearly visible point of manufac ture Usually the company making the offer presumes they can buy advertising space just by paying money But that is not what our readers want so we politely do not accept such offers of money Contributions grants sponsorships and funding for surveys studies and research is however open to a company who has an accepted standing in the industry It is helpful if the company has a visible presence at leading trade shows and can provide references from both end users and from within the industry Where possible we prefer to visit the company in person or at least check them out at a trade show Obvi ously the product needs to have a proven track record too Competing companies are equally encouraged to support the FLAAR system We feel that readers deserve to have access to competing information Competition is the cornerstone of American individualism and technologi cal advancement FLAAR also
42. ere the operator can park tools cleaning liquids iPod or other accessories The work space provided by Kongsberg is indeed large enough so the operator can put a few small tools cell phone coffee mug or bottle of water etc Increasingly too many other machines have slick exterior skins They look like a designer style but are impractical because there are no ledges for storing cleaning fluid wipes Coca Cola cans or coffee mugs etc 66 Where does the operator stand or sit The operator stands in front of the LCD computer monitor that is on the table affixed to the right corner near the front of the machine 67 What aspects of the cutter can you operate from be hind the loading area There are no controls along either of the long sides of the machine nor at the end 68 Is a foot pedal included for operating aspects of the cutter did not see any foot pedal 69 How many operators or operator assistants does this cutter require You only need one operator unless you are loading a really large thick MDF board which may require two people to pick up and move onto the table The operational area has a keyboard a regular computer monitor about 15 or 16 and a control pad area with a usual set of buttons to make various selections a el i z M d 5 pr ET Wy r omi ir EFO Ta a m E ks The operator stands in front of the LCD computer monitor that is on the table affixed to t
43. eta stage when you buy it It takes a while for the firmware and hardware to be improved and updated After speaking with many different printshop owners what am learning is that if the cutter is cheap and junky you will have constant down time due to the cutter breaking down reports from owners of Infiniti brand of UV cured hybrid printer If the cutter is expensive and complex it takes longer to understand everything and achieve full productivity And when an expensive and complex cutter does break down it takes longer to repair TECH SUPPORT amp WARRANTY 96 What is the original warranty period The normal original warranty period is one year but some Gerber products had a special offer of second year free if you buy before such and such a date 97 What happens if the tech support from your local distributor is uninspired or inadequate Can you telephone the manufacturer directly If so willbe manufacturer actively assist you or only begrudgingly An inadequate dealer or distributor is a good recipe for endless headaches Choosing a distributor is as important as selecting a brand and model of cutter So far have met the Kongsberg distributors or dealers in South Africa and Ukraine Both these companies are pleasant and helpful ra MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers CLEANING amp MAINTENANCE NEEDS 98 Is there a vacuum suck cleaning system like a traditional vacuum cleaner The cutter has a suction hose
44. even if the board s position is not parallel to the sides of the table 39 Is there a registration gate that is lowered across the back printing area Most printshops report that most rigid media is crudely cut at the factory and rarely are the edges really at 90 to each other So you don t really want to align a corner you want to align one side on one end 40 Can you be feeding or aligning new material at one end of the cutter while the previous job is still being moved out the other side Yes some models have feeding and also take up systems 41 Do you have to hand measure the media height to enter it manually into the software The Kongsberg can measure where the top of the surface of the material is automatically The operator does not have to waste his or her time with such a task 42 Do you have to measure the media size width and length manually and then enter it yourself into the software The media is autimatically measured by the software _ a o Kongsberg take up feeding media system ra MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers FLATBED ASPECTS for dedicated flatbeds 43 Does the table move Or only the gantry above it The table itself is always fixed in one position If there is a conveyor belt running over the top that can move Each model offers one option or the other But in all cases the gantry can move in X and Y axis 44 How much weight can the table hold The table can hol
45. eyor belt or a version with a conveyor transport belt But in all cases the gantry can move the cutting tool in both the X Y and Z axis ga Kongsberg XL24 stationary table with no conveyor belt at Miami GoA 2008 Kongsberg XL24 stationary table with transport belt at GDS printshop site visit 2009 FLAAR Reports OPERATING THE CUTTER Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 60 In the main area for operation is the machine soft ware based touch screen or with physical control but tons Or both The operational area has a keyboard a regular computer monitor about 15 or 16 and a control pad area with a usual set of buttons to make various selections But there are no old fashioned metal knobs or other antiquated controls from the last century 61 Do you get an LCD screen in the cutter or other real computer monitor How big is the screen or monitor You get a real computer monitor about 15 or 16 inches 62 Is the position of the LCD screen or monitor user adaptable The LCD monitor is fixed to the table but the entire table can be swiveled to any position that the operator prefers 63 Where does the computer keyboard sit The computer keyboard is on top of the operator s table area The key board can be moved anywhere on the table 64 Is there a drawer under where the computer keyboard is a drawer for storing odds and ends No drawer 65 Is there a ledge or other space wh
46. full range of health and environmental hazards are not yet fully revealed It is es sential you use common sense and in general be realistic about the hazards involved especially those which are not listed or which have not yet been described FLAAR is not able to list all hazards since we are not necessarily aware of the chemical components of the prod ucts we discuss Our reports are on usability not on health hazards Most inks are clearly not intended to be consumed Obviously these tend to be solvent inks and UV curable inks Yet other inks are edible seriously they are printed on birthday cakes Indeed Sensient is a leader in a new era of edible inks Therefore the user must assume the entire risk of ascertaining information on the chemical contents and flammability regulations relative to inks media or laminates as well as using any described hardware software accessory service technique or products We have no idea of your clients expectations What students on our campus will accept may not be the same as your Fortune 500 clients In many cases we have not ourselves used the products but are bas ing our discussion on having seen them at a trade show during visit ing a print shop or having been informed about a product via e mail or other communication Results you see at trade shows may not be realistic Be aware that trade show results may not be realistic Trade shows are idealized situations with full time tech support
47. he right corner near the front of the machine r DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 70 What can you control as operator e Start button Stop button e Vacuun on off e Initialize the system e Servo on off e Move the tool head in the desired direction e Incremental jog Tool down e The air pressure e The camera 71 Is there a pole with beacon lights There is a small light sticking up from the carriage that covers the took area But it is not a pole only one light yellow when the cutter is turned on Dilli was among the first to use a vertical pole with beacon lights on a UV cured printer One person said that DuPont s UV printer from RTZ Flora was really the first of all Most oth er printers do not have such a beacon Presence of a beacon is not a major plus point absence of a beacon is not a signifi cant minus point There is a small light sticking up from the carriage that covers the took area But it is not a pole only one light yellow when the cutter is turned on CONSTRUCTION BUILD QUALITY 72 When designed what is the life span that each part is test ed for For many manufacturers parts life span is a new concept especially when the cost of the printer needs to be kept down But if the EU requires a guaranteed parts life span this will impact Chinese printer manufacturers in particular li 1 Frenne 4 m Ww Egl an 73 What is the solid ness of the construction of the
48. his is because piezo has definite ad vantage for some applications thermal printheads have advantages in different applications Our reviews have universal appeal precisely because we feature all competing printhead technologies Every printer RIPs inks or media we have reviewed have good points in addition to weaknesses Both X Rite and competitor GretagMacbeth provided spectrophotometers Again when all sides assist this pro gram there is no incentive to favor one by trashing the other Printer manufacturer ad campaigns are their own worst enemy If a printer did not make false and misleading claims then we would have noth ing to fill our reviews with refuting the utter nonsense that is foisted on the buying public It is not our fault if some printers are more user friendly print on more media than other brands It is not our fault that the competing printers are ink guzzlers are slow beyond belief and tend to band or drop out colors all together We don t need to be paid by the printer companies whose products work so nicely in both our universities on a daily basis The printers which failed did so in front of our own eyes and in the print shops of people we check with And actually we do try to find some redeeming feature in the slow ink gulping brands they do have a better dithering pattern they can take thick media that absolutely won t feed through an HP So we do work hard at finding f MAVAN Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cut
49. ies Cutter Routers rough pot holed highway or kept in smeltering heat or freezing cold during shipment Taking into consideration we do not know the conditions in which you may be using your hardware software or consumables neither the author nor FLAAR nor either university is liable for liability loss or damage caused either directly or indirectly by the suggestions in this report nor by hardware software or techniques described herein because Availability of spare parts may be a significant issue Chinese printers tend to switch suppliers for spare parts every month or so So getting spare parts for a Chinese printer will be a chal lenge even if the distributor or manufacturer actually respond to your e mails at all Fortunately some companies to have a fair record of response Teckwin is one based on a case of two problematical hy brid UV printers in Guatemala The distributor said that Teckwin sent a second printer at their own expense and sent tech support per sonnel at their expense also But unfortunately both the hybrid UV printers are still abandoned in the warehouse of the distributor they were still there in January 2009 But Teckwin has the highest rating of any Chinese company for interest in quality control and realization that it is not good PR to abandon a client or reseller or distributor all together Recently we have heard many reports of issues of getting parts from manufacturers in other countries not Asia
50. inters costing 300 000 also requiring this such as Gandinnovations Jeti flatbeds r DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers STRUCTURE OF THE CUTTER Media Transport Mechanism amp Media Path 25 Is this a dedicated flatbed with no roll to roll capability Or is this a true flatbed or just add on feeder platforms at front and back The model at VISCOM Paris 09 was a dedicated flatbed with no roll to roll capability 26 Is there a moving transport belt combo style or a stationary flatbed The cutter can be equipped with an optional conveyor belt that helps to move the material to be cut 27 Describe the surface s of the table The surface of the table is usually covered with so many mats that you can t see the actual original surface of the table 28 What kind of protective mats can be obtained as options One other brand of cutter at the Paris 09 trade show had a somewhat crude piece of Masonite looking material as a cutting mat It is not always a good idea to have a rigid mat since large rigid boards tend to be warped as this one was it was curled up at its ends As you would expect on a professional cutter brand with a Kongsberg you can obtain milling mats to protect the conveyor belt material Of course a milling mat will also protect the main flatbed table surface below the conveyor belt as well 29 Are their edge guards at each side end of the table At left or at right or both No there are no
51. is project is flatbed cutter routers They also handle roll fed materials but we are not talking about simple Graphtec vinyl cut ters Today s sophisticated printshops need to cut thick materials being printed upon by UV curable flatbed inkjet printers Signage and display are the primary applications but there is a trend to also cut thick cardboard for dispos able recyclable chairs tables and bookshelves A FLAAR has our own a long range interest in XY cutters for i their ability to cut signage and display materials for mu seum exhibits and to cut materials for making recyclable furniture with X board by Xanita Re Board BioBoard etc a In other words we are inherently interested in evaluating which XY cutter is the best for our own applications As we acquire knowledge and do our evaluations we issue them to the rest of the world as FLAAR Reports i nET This is a polite way of saying that we are not a PR agency We do our own research using our own team And most Kongsberg XL24 flatbed cutter view SIGN Africa 2009 importantly our first step is to ask end users whether a particular brand is adequate Earlier this year we asked the owner of the other main brand of cutter if he was satisfied he said no he did not like that other brand because it was not made specifically for cutting really hard material this was not their G3 model it was the earlier model from three years ago So it was okay for normal foa
52. it and have a work around And not all glitches manifest themselves in all situations so our evaluator may not have been sufficiently affected that he or she made an issue of any particular situation Yet such a glitch that we don t emphasize may turn out to be adverse for your different or spe cial application needs Equally often what at first might be blamed on a bad product often turns out to be a need of more operator experience and training More often than not after learning more about the product it becomes pos sible to produce what it was intended to produce For this reason it is crucial for the FLAAR team and their university colleagues to interact with the manufacturer s training center and technicians so we know more about a hardware or software Our evaluations go through a process of acquiring documentation from a wide range of resources and these naturally include the manufacturer itself Obviously we take their viewpoints with a grain of salt but often we learn tips that are worthy of being passed along FLAAR has no way of testing 400 specifications of any printer much less the over 101 different UV printers from more than 46 manufac turers Same with hundreds of solvent printers and dozens of water based printers We observe as best we can but we cannot take each printer apart to inspect each feature And for UV printers these are too expensive to move into our own facilities for long range testing so we do as
53. l The double sized Oce Arizona 350 XT is not really to print the entire table size but rather to print on only half while the other half is used for loading another 4x8 board 51 Do you need to provide an additional table at the front or back In most cases it should not be necessary for a print shop to jerry rig an extra table at the front or back since once a job is finished the cut pieces are much smaller than the original board And cut pieces tend to be moved elsewhere in the printshop A ee x z l _ Te Lug z ai 7 Da Tr i Jore o MR F It should not be necessary for a print shop to add extra table at the front or back since the final job is smaller than the original board r DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers STRUCTURE Miscellaneous 52 Does the cutter have levels built into the structure of the cutter Levels are not common The only entry level or mid range hybrid or combo printer where I have noticed levels actually incorporated into the structure of the printer are the UV curable printers of Dilli 53 Does the cutter have leveling supports How many and how strong There are six leveling supports on the XP cutter that inspected at VIS COM Paris 2009 54 Does the cutter have wheels How many and how strong The cutter has 3 very strong wheels each side 55 Are the leveling supports part of the wheel or are the pe A wheels and leveling supports separate E The leveli
54. l expenditure we have made in the last several years Just wanted to tell you how much we appreci ate your evaluations FLAAR is a non profit educational and research organization dedi cated for over 36 years to professional photography in the arts tropi cal flora and fauna architectural history and landscape panorama photography Our digital imaging phase is a result of substantial funding in 1996 from the Japanese Ministry of Public Education for a study of scan ning and digital image storage options This grant was via Japan s National Museum of Ethnology Osaka Japan That same year FLAAR also received a grant of 100 000 from an American foun dation to do a feasibility study of digital imaging in general and the scanning of photographic archives in particular The FLAAR web sites began initially as the report on the results of these studies of scanners Once we had the digital images we began to experiment with digital printers People began to comment that our reports were unique and very helpful So by 1999 we had entire sec tions on large format printers FLAAR has existed since 1969 long before inkjet printers existed Indeed we were writing about digital imaging before HP even had a color inkjet system available In 2000 FLAAR received an educa tional grant from Hewlett Packard large format division Barcelona Spain for training for equipment and to improve the design and navigation on the main web sites of the F
55. l the costs of our publications and all FLAAR Reports were free in those early years As that early grant naturally expired after a few years we had to begin charging for some of our reports to cover costs Now in 2009 we are seeking corporate sponsorship so we can gradually make another 20 of our publications free to our readers Since 2006 we do a major part of our evaluations at a factory and headquarters demo room Since the university does not fund any of these trips it is traditional for the manufacturer to fund a research sponsorship In the US this is how most university projects are initi ated for decades now and it is increasing In fact there is a university in Austria that is not an edu but is a GmbH funded by the cham ber of commerce of that part of Austria In other words a university as an educational institution but functioning in the real world as an actual business This is a sensible model especially when FLAAR staff need to be on the road over a quarter of a million miles per year roughly over 400 000 km per year total for the staff Obviously this travel is hosted since unless money falls from heaven there most realistic way to obtain funding to get to the demo rooms for training is direct from the source It has been helpful when companies make it possible for us to fly to their headquarters so we can inspect their manufacturing facili ties demo rooms and especially when the companies make their
56. level there is more brand recognition for Z nd as a brand In other words Kongsberg is respected for being the best flatbed cutter par excellence but since if you did a survey and asked for a synonym of the word digital XY flatbed cutter the name Z nd comes up like Kleenex is synonymous for tissue paper 150 If so why would you recommend that others buy this same cutter This present stage evaluation is precisely what evaluation means we look at inspect and write about what we find The recommendation per se comes when we have undertaken additional site visit case studies which are being planned But since an evaluation is a long term process there are good reasons why no one else takes the time to do a serious evaluation we wanted to get this first version out by the time of SGIA There are four stages to a FLAAR evaluation e first look at major international trade shows accomplished over the past three years all around the world e demo room testing initiated at MGE headquarters Lake Geneva northeast of Chicago e factory visit will be a next stage e and site visit case study in a printshop two inspections of an XL Kongsberg cutter at DGS in Illinois in June and again in September two more site visits are being planned for the near future f MAVAN Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Pros So far this is literally the cleanest XY router system I have seen In other words there is less splatter dust an
57. m board but he needed to cut other materials for giclee and interior d cor This was a spontaneous question and answer session since FLAAR was visiting this giclee atelier to inspect their Cruse scanner which he liked so much be bought a second one So this is how we undertake our studies The initiation of the present report is the result of seeing a large Kongsberg model i XL cutter in a printshop in Illinois halfway between St Louis and Chicago was in this printshop to test their new Drytac VersaCoater and an equally new Seiko ColorPainter H 104s Several days later through the courtesy of several Esko managers it was possible to have an entire day of training on an XL and also and XP series cutters at the world Headquarter of i cut Inc previously MGE Then the following week it was possible to inspect a Kongsberg i XL24 flatbed cutter over a three day period at VISCOM Paris The week after this was in Kiev Ukraine doing research for a translation into Russian language of FLAAR Reports on UV cured printers While in Kiev the local distributor of Kongsberg printers provided hospitality and answered questions So you will notice the hallmark of a FLAAR Report abundant research on multiple examples of a specific digital imaging technology plus an interna tional coverage To undertake this much research involves thousands of kilometers of travel day after day of taking notes and then an entire team of graphic designers to prepare
58. ng supports are separate from the wheels i BAM ae pa 3 P P Le Pani There are six leveling supports on the XP cutter that inspected at VISCOM Paris 2009 56 Do the wheels have a lock on them For any cutter weighing over one ton it is assumed that no locks or brakes are needed on the wheels because a tank will not roll anywhere if parked on a level floor UPGRADES Future Improvements 57 What features have been added or changed since the cutter first appeared e Registration avility i cut system e Cutting speed 58 What features are being added or changed further out in time As hundreds more UV curable flatbed printers are installed around the world new kinds of thick flat or rigid material are being printed on So Mi U ticUT I new tools or variations on traditional tools are being designed Kongs 4 berg is such a company their engineers are not obsolete So you can ex Kongsberg pect European innovation and quality engineering alt x a o Ta One of the features that have been changed since the cutter first ap peared is the i cut registration system r DAVAN A Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Miscellaneous 59 What moves e conveyor belt over the flatbed area e the gantry e and when desired the material fed by transport belt what moves and how it moves is determined by whether you have a stationary table model with no conv
59. ng the operator Does operator have to wear safety glasses The user manual recomend that all personnel working near the machine should use eye protection a ii Here you can see the moving parts of one model of Esko Kongsber XL Series r DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers VISION TECHNOLOGY 118 Which brand vision tech nology is used Esko bought i cut so they own their own vision technology D 119 Is the actual origin of the vision technology identified in the spec sheet brochure by brand or also by model or not at all Yes you quickly learn that i cut is part i Lf E y m MultiCUT 4 Wii a a ND MAAN NNW of the Esko Artwork family of products Min i Kongsberg fly r jj IH Wi 120 How many cutters are sold with the vision system as com pared with cutters sold with no vision system In the Sign amp Display industry more than 75 of tables are supplied with i cut and less than 25 without Natu rally the percent of people who order cut vision system is increasing you can also obtain the cut vision system on some other brands of flatbed cutters i i Fj Fy PT ei Haai a HA Fi i pr Ne d E i I i p p f Esko Kongsberg iXL series count with their own i Cut vision technology as you notice on the picture Features 121 How many passes can this cutter achieve The cutter has two or three passes quality 122 Does th
60. o assure that 6 F LAAR Reports any ink or media will be acceptable for your specific needs in your specific print shop As a result products are described as is and without warranties as to performance or merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose Any such statements in our reports or on our web sites or in discussions do not constitute warranties and shall not be relied on by the buyer in deciding whether to purchase and or use products we discuss because of the diversity of conditions materials and or equipment under which these products may be used Thus please recognize that no warranty of fitness or profitability for a par ticular purpose is offered The user is advised to test products thoroughly before relying on them We do not have any special means of analyzing chemical con tents or flammability of inks media or laminates nor how these need to be controlled by local laws in your community There may well be hazardous chemicals or outgassing that we are not aware of Be aware that some inks have severe health hazards associated with them Some are hazardous to breathe others are hazardous if you get them on your skin For example some chemicals such as cyclo hexanone do not sound like chemicals you want to breathe every day Be sure to obtain read and understand the MSDS sheets for the inks media and laminates that you intend to use Both solvent eco solvent and UV curable inks are substances whose
61. oll to Roll 3 LED Curing a i Teckwin 3348 UV JetSpeed LEC 300 Mimaki UJV 160 romerynurtempouvaatbea E Gandinnovations Jeti VersaUV Print amp Cut DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers These are some of the most Recent FLAAR Reports 2007 2009 You can find these and more reports at www wide format printers NET Comments on UV Inkjet Printers at Major Trade Shows 2007 2009 s PLAAR Rept Trends in UV Flatbed Printer k LARR Repeti UV Printer i DLA Hna TAA Hitiri UV Printers Flatbed amp Rall to Rall nites 2008 _ vie ibis be Bata Rar _hinese Made UV Flatbed Printers San 5 T coe E eee Ta DRUPA 2008 PART I Part II Trends TRENDS Part I TRENDS o h UV pi ir S a at Markets amp pej TSN TE J Analysis One by TA A UV cured printers at of the uv cured printers ISA 2009 ie LAAR Recor n AAR Rer Ajal TRENDS UVCOMBO TRENDSINAYBRID oF WV Cuned Wide Format Pinters F nani m E Observa ble at Analysis One by One of FESPA Digital the UV cured printers at Eu rope 2009 FESPA Digital Europe b LAAR Reports UV Roll to rollf UV Flatbed eee Printers Se VISC SON y Germany 08 f Observable at z at APPPEXPO Shanghai 2009 Shanghai 109 Shanghai 09 Shanghai 2009 Shanghai 2009 UV Printers Manufactured in China Korea and Taiwan amp TLAAR Raports amp TLAAR Reports TLAAR Reports amp TLAAR Report amp FLAAR Reports Chines
62. ot keep in stock The European demo center is at Esko Artwork headquarters in Gent Belgium Asia demonstration centre is Singapore Far East in Japan Local demon stration centres also in Uk Germany and Italy Plus many OEM partners who run demonstration systems in many countries Success Stories Every major brand of any kind of high end digital signage product has success stories FLAAR tends to prefer a site visit case study because a Success Story is usually just a few paragraphs or if in a trade magazine two to four pages A Success Story does not mention the aspects of the equipment that perhaps should be improved features which are missing etc But it is still useful to look at the Success Stories that a company provides The one like the most is the use of a Kongsberg cutter to prepare materials for the Inaguration of President Obama January 2009 First issued November after SGAI 2009 6 FLAAR Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers PLA Hrt I mi RAR Rip t Books and Publications on Color Management amp ICC Color Profiles i hs for wide fonmat print Glossary of terns on Color Management les a dighal cameras amp scanners Seve Wee Cii Betp th ie ed Pre Shea pad Caa Per These reports on RIP software and Color Management for serious UV printers are free downloads on all FLAAR web sites follow the link to free downloads http Avww wide format printers net reviews_reports_evaluations f
63. outer body Is it plastic Metal Heavy gauge This cutter is designed and made in Europe so the construction is what you expect solid 74 Is there a hood There is a hood over the carriage but not over the overall gantry area 75 How would you describe the overall workmanship of vis ible parts Clean Swiss made or flimsy and uneven several _ i gt Chinese made p rinters There is a hood over the carriage but not over the overall gantry area This is not a flimsy machine 76 Does the cutter wobble back and forth when cutting The cutter is not cheap so it does not shake or wobble when working 7a AVN Reports nr Try a a T 7 gt f 7 j Vi ee n Fo ti Bo G r h i a i i ic 5 z This cutter is designed and made in Europe so the construction is what you expect solid DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers AESTHETICS 77 How would you describe the design of the cutter The design is functional This is a professional machine for accomplishing work it is not intended to be chic 78 Can you easily distinguish which is the front and which is the back call the front the area where the LCD and operator panel s are situated This usually means that the other side is where you feed the material in call that the back It makes no difference as long as you define what you mean in advance Kongsberg iXL24 at FESPA 2007 SET UP OF THE PRINTER PR
64. ow at ReaderService FLAAR org We do not mind eating crow though so far it is primarily a different philosophy we practice because since we are not dependent on sales commissions we can openly list the glitches and defects of those printers that have an oc casional problem FLAAR and most universities have corporate sponsors but FLAAR web sites do not accept advertising so we don t have to kowtow to resellers or manufacturers We respect their experience and opinion but we prefer to utilize our own common sense our in house experi ences the results from site visit case studies and comments from the more than 53 000 of our many readers who have shared their experiences with us via e mail the Survey Forms Licensing Information If you wish to distribute this report to other people within your company please obtain a site licensing agreement for multiple copies from FLAAR by contacting ReaderService FLAAR org Substantial discounts are available for licensing to distribute with in your company we call this a subscription The advantage of a subscription license is that you can opt for automatic updates You may have noticed that FLAAR reports tend to be updated as additional information becomes available In some instances a license would be available to distribute out side your company including in other languages To distribute this report without subscription license violates federal copyright law To avoid such violations for
65. ow hu midity This is one of several reasons why you should have humidity control in your printshop to allow maintaining proper humidity level for optimum performance of your printer Static control is as much an issue with your printshop environment as it is with the pros and cons of the individual printer though some machines handle static better than others ye i i TABASCO 4 Fe LEGENDARY HARLEY DAVIDSON MOET amp CHANDON yuh lay TT hon irem kia 1 mirni hran Here are some sticker application samples This cutters can be a fast solution for short runs on packing markets r FLAAR Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers ee ea a be f LTE TRL Ta L T T T A TL NE E wae 7 as E N i Above you can appreciate some kongsberg XL Series applications 2009 Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers FLAAR Reports TOOL replacement Cost 137 Where is dust and detritus collected In a tray In a bottle This are collected by a suction hose and a vacuum cleaner 138 How often does the waste container need to be emptied This should keep clean and do not leave the machine running if is full because might cause damage to the machine n F P J ATI eE k kongsberg XL has a suction hose and a vacuum cleaner to collect the dust and detritus The waste container should keep clean and do not leave the machine running if is f
66. py which you know is the complete re port with nothing erased or changed and hence a report with all the original description of pros and cons please obtain your origi nal and full report straight from www FLAAR org Your only assurance that you have a complete and authentic evaluation which describes all aspects of the product under consideration benefits as well as deficiencies is to obtain these reports directly from FLAAR via www wide format print ers NET Citing and Crediting A license from FLAAR is required to use any material whatsoever from our reports in any commercial advertisement or PR Release If you intend to quote any portion of a FLAAR review in a PowerPoint presentation if this is in reference to any product that your company sells or promotes then it would be appropriate to ask us first FLAAR reports are being updated every month sometimes and our comment on that product may have been revised as we learned more about the product from end users Also we noticed that one company cited the single favorable comment we made on one nice aspect of their printer but neglected to cite the rest of the review which pointed out the features of the printer which did not do so well For them to cor rect this error after the fact is rather embarrassing So it is safer to ask before you quote a FLAAR review on your product The material in this report is not only copyright it is also based on 6 FLAAR Reports Kongsberg
67. r reliable But with hundreds of makes and models of printers and sometimes when information about them is sparse or conflicting we can only work with what we have available Thus you should be sure to rely also on your own research especially asking around Find another trustworthy end user of the same make and model you need to know about Do not make a decision solely on the basis of a FLAAR report because your situation may be totally different than ours Or we may not have known about and hence not written about one aspect or another which is crucial before you reach your decision The sources and resources we may list are those we happen to have read There may be other web pages or resources that we missed For those pages we do list we have no realistic way to verify the ve racity of all their content Use your own common sense plus a grain of salt for those pages which are really just PR releases or outright ads We are quite content with the majority of the specific printers RIPs media and inks we have in the FLAAR facilities We would obviously never ask for hardware software or consumables that we knew in advance would not be good However even for us a product which looks good at a trade show sounds good in the ad literature and works fine for the first few weeks may subsequently turn out to be a lemon Or the product may indeed have a glitch but one that is so benign for us or maybe we have long ago gotten used to
68. r that every machine has quirks even the ones we like It is possible that the particular kind of images resolution inks media or other factors in your facility are sufficiently different than in ours that a printer which works just fine for us may be totally unsatis factory for you and your clients However it may be that the specific kind of printing you need to do may never occasion that shortcoming Or it may be that your printer was manufactured on a Monday and has defects that are atypical show up more in the kind of media you use which we may not use as often or at all during our evaluations Equally possibly a printer that was a disaster for someone else may work flawlessly for you and be a real money maker for your com pany So if we inspect a printer in a printshop a site visit case study and that owner operator is content with their printer and we mention this don t expect that you will automatically get the same results in your own printshop In some cases a product may work better on a Macintosh than on a PC RIP software may function well with one operating system yet have bugs and crash on the same platform but with a different oper ating system Thus be sure to test a printer under your own specific work conditions before you buy And if a printer RIP media or ink does not function return it with no ands ifs or buts Your best defense is to show an advertising claim that the printer simply can t achieve Such
69. ree_download ph Once you have a serious UV curable wide for mat printer you may prefer to have an equally serious RIP software and color management equipment The RIP software for simple water based print ers such as Canon Epson and HP may not be the same RIP software that could be most effective and productive on a UV curable flat bed or UV cured roll to roll production printer first noticed Caldera RIP on Gandinnovations UV printers several years ago then saw Cal dera being used at the Mutoh Europe factory demo room in Belgium When was visiting the Durst factories in Eu rope again noticed that they were using Cal dera RIP software Caldera also offers a highly regarded spectrophotometer from Barbieri the leading color management company in Italy they are headquartered in the same city as Durst the manufacturer of Rho UV cured printers So requested access from Caldera so could visit their world headquarters in Strasbourg France to spend several days learning more about their RIP As a result there is now a FLAAR Report photo essay on this software Most recently have seen Caldera RIP at the Shanghai printer trade show in China at DRU PA in Germany at FESPA Digital in Geneva SGIA 08 and Viscom Italy 08 When visited a large printshop in Maribor northern Slovenia they were using Caldera RIP and the manager of technical services for this company said Caldera does a
70. research engineering and ink chemistry staff available for discus sions When received my education at Harvard was taught to have a desire to learn new things This has guided my entire life and is what led me into wide format digital imaging technology it is con stantly getting better and there is a lot to learn every month Thus actively seek access to improving my understanding of wide format printer technology so that we can better provide information to the approximately quarter million readers of our solvent and UV printer web site www large format printers org and the over half a million who read either our wide format printers org site or our roughly half million Combined who read our digital photography org and www FineArtGicleePrinters org sites Barbieri electronic color management Caldera RIP ColorSpan DEC Durst EskoArtwork Gerber Grapo IP amp l Mimaki USA Mu toh Dilli GCC NUR Oce Shiraz RIP Sky AirShip Sun Teckwin VUTEkK WP Digital Xerox Yuhan Kimberly Zund have each brought FLAAR staff to their headquarters and printer factories Bordeaux InkWin and Sunflower ink have brought us to inspect their ink manu facturing facilities and demo rooms We have visited the world head quarters and demo rooms of HP in Barcelona and received informa tive and helpful technology briefings roughly every two years We are under NDA as to the subjects discussed but it is important that we be open where we have
71. room results Actually you may have people with even more experience than we do since we deliberately use students to approximate newbies FLAAR is devoted to assisting newcomers learn about digital imaging hard ware and software This is why Nicholas Hellmuth is considered the Johnny Appleseed of wide format inkjet printers Therefore this report does not warranty any product for any quality performance or fitness for any specific task since we do not know the situation in which you intend to use the hardware or software Nor is there any warranty or guarantee that the output of these products will produce salable goods since we do not know what kind of ink or media you intend to use nor the needs of your clients A further reason that no one can realistically speak for all aspects of any one hardware or software is that each of these products may require ad ditional hardware or software to reach its full potential For example you will most likely need a color management system which implies color measurement tools and software To handle ICC color profiles you may need ICC color profile generation software and a spectrophotometer since often the stock pre packaged ICC color profiles which come with the ink media printers and or RIPs may not work in your situation Not all RIPs handle color manage ment equally or may work better for some printer ink media combi nations than for others Be aware that some RIPs can only accep
72. s there is a measuring foot which is lowered to the material surface before the job is started in order to measure the material thickness 131 Ifyou have to load a really long roll are their clamps or any other system to allow you to secure the first portion so the first portion won t undo itself while you are several meters away trying to load the other end The Durst Rho 351R has clamps so if only one person is available to load a long roll he can clamp down the first portions that he feeds up and over into the platen area while he is still working on the other end of the roll to get that up and into the roll feeding system SUBSTRATES Materials Applications and Issues 132 What materials can this cutter cut perfectly At VISCOM Paris 09 watched the Kongsberg XL cut Re Board very nicely there are about five different brands of this kind of recyclable material 133 What materials can this cutter cut only okay It helps if the material is a clean homogeneous surface and should all be the same thickness A zE Dave Nevell Esko Kongsberg operator kindly help us cutting the FLAAR samples A FLAAR Maya sculpure cutting sample printed on dibond by Grapo in the Manta UV printer and then cut by Esko Artwork SGIA 2009 f MAVAN Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 134 Heat concerns will the heat generated by the cutting cause adverse effects to some delicate forms of heat sensi tive media Which materials
73. s a principle called academic freedom in this case e The freedom of a professor or student to speak out relative to the pros and cons of any equipment brought to them to benchmark The freedom to design the research project without outside meddling from the manufacturer Fortunately our budget is lean and cost effective as you would expect for a non profit research institute As long as we are not desperate for money we can avoid the temptation to accept payment for reprinting corporate PR hype So the funding is used for practical research We do not accept nor believe and certainly do not regurgitate corporate PR For example how many manufacturer s PR photos of their prod ucts have you seen in our reports or on our web sites 6 F LAAR Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Besides it does not take any money to see which printers and RIPs function as advertised and which don t We saw one hyped printer grind to a halt malfunction or otherwise publicly display its incapa bilities at several trade shows in a row At each of those same trade shows another brand had over 30 of their printers in booths in virtu ally every hall each one producing museum quality exhibits Not our fault when we report what we see over and over and over again One of our readers wrote us recently Nicholas last month you recom mended the as one of several possible printers for our needs we bought this It was the best capita
74. s individual reports on solvent printers and on giclee printers but subscriptions on these are not yet available these FLAAR Reports on solvent eco solvent and water based wide for mat printers have to be purchased one by one Please Note This report has been licensed to download during several months on one other web site in addition to all FLAAR web sites But if you receive this PDF from any other manufacturer distributor dealer sales rep RIP company media or ink company you may have a pirated copy If you have received a translation in a language other than Eng lish this translation is not authorized unless posted on a FLAAR web site and may be in violation of copyright plus if we have not approved the translation it may make claims that were not our intention Also since this report is frequently updated if you got your ver sion from somewhere else it may be an obsolete edition Some FLAAR reports are being updated all year long and our comment on that product may have been revised positively or negatively as we learned more about the product from end users If you receive any FLAAR Report from a sales rep in addition to being violation of copyright it is useful to know if there is a more recent version on the FLAAR web site because every month new UV printers are being launched So what was good technology one month may be replaced by a much better printer elsewhere the next month To obtain a legitimate co
75. t ICC color profiles you 6 F LAAR Reports quickly find out the hard way that you can t tweak these profiles nor generate new ones So be sure to get a RIP which can handle all aspects of color management Many RIPs come in different levels You may buy one level and be disappointed that the RIP won t do everything That s because those features you may be lacking are available only in the next level higher of that RIP often at consid erable extra cost Same thing in the progression of Chevy through Pontiac to Cadillac or the new Suburbans A Chevy Suburban simply does not have all the bells and whistles of the Cadillac Escalade ver sion of this SUV Don t blame us besides that s why we are warning you This is why we have a Survey Form so we can learn when you find products that are inadequate We let the manufacturers know when end users complain about their products so that the manufacturers can resolve the situation when they next redesign the system Most newer printer models tend to overcome deficiencies of earlier models It is possible that our comparative comments point out a glitch in a particular printer that has been taken care of through an improvement in firmware or even an entirely new printer model So if we point out a deficiency in a particular printer brand the model you may buy may not exhibit this headache or your kind of printing may not trigger the problem Or you may find a work around Just remembe
76. tend to give priority to getting new re ports out on printers about which not much info at all is available elsewhere So we are pretty good about reporting on advances in LED curing But glitches in a common water based printer will take longer to work its way through our system into an update especially if the glitch occurs only in certain circumstances for example on one type of media With several hundred media types we may not yet have utilized the problem media While on the subject of doing your own research be sure to ask both the printer operator and printshop owner or manager you will generally get two slightly different stories A printer operator may be aware of more glitches of the printer than the owner If a printer is no longer a prime model then there is less interest in that printer so unless a special budget were available to update old reports it is not realistic to update old reports As always it is essen tial for you to visit printshops that have the printers on your short list and see how they function in the real world But even when we like a product and recommend it we still can t guarantee or certify any make or model nor its profitability in use because we don t know the conditions under which a printer system might be utilized in someone else s facility For ink and media espe cially after market third party ink and media it is essential that you test it first under your conditions We have no way t
77. ter Routers the beneficial features even of printers are otherwise get the most critique from our readers Over one million people will read the FLAAR Information Network in the next 12 months 480 000 people will be exposed to our reports on wide format printers from combined total of our three sites on these themes You can be assured that we hear plenty of comments from our readers about which printers function and which printers fail to achieve what their advertising hype so loudly claims An evaluation is a professional service and at FLAAR is based on more than 11 years of experience An evaluation of a printer an ink a software laminator cutter or whatever part of the digital printing workflow is intended to provide feedback to all sides The manufacturers appreciate learning from FLAAR what features of their printers need improvement In probably half the manufacturers FLAAR has dealt with people inside the company did not themselves want to tell their boss that their pet printer was a dog So printer software and component manufacturers have learned that investing in a FLAAR evaluation of their product provides them with useful return on investment Of course if a printer manufacturer wants only a slick Success Story or what we call a suck up review that simply panders to the manufacturer obvi ously FLAAR is not a good place to dare to ask for such a review In several instances it was FLAAR Reports that allowed a company to eith
78. th cutters Another third is often inadequate cleaning and maintenance of the ink and printhead system The other third cause of problems would naturally be weak parts that wear out before they should wear and tear happens even to the strongest parts made in Switzerland and features that need improvement etc 91 Where is training location On site or in demo room Several manufacturers prefer that training be away from the print shop because too many things can cause disruption if you are still in your own building So increasingly when you purchase a large high end level of equipment the manufacturer will recommend that training be in their main demo room 92 Is classroom training available No classroom training is not common 93 Is factory training available No factory training is rare though some companies do welcome fac tory visits and a few companies do indeed offer training at the fac tory az ORN 5 Nicholas Marc Rannow Applications Specialist and Reidar Evju Product Coordi 94 What on line training is available nator Sign Short run Graphics EskoArtwork Not many cutter manufacturers offer on line training 95 Between the day the cutter arrives how soon is it realistic to achieve full productivity If a cutter is mature and out of beta stage you can achieve full productivity within a few days or week The longest time before a cutter is really pro ductive is when a cutter is still in b
79. that with over 200 different FLAAR Reports on UV printers you need to be sure to check the more obscure ones too If a printer has a printhead issue the nitty gritty of this may be in the FLAAR Report on printheads The report on the model is a general introduction if we discussed the intimate details of printheads then some readers might fall asleep And obviously do not limit yourself to the free reports The technical details may be in the reports that have a price to them Our readers have said they prefer to have the general basics and to park the real technical material in other reports that people can buy if they really want that level of information So it may be best to ask for personal consulting The details of the problems with the ColorSpan 5400uv series are rather complex namely the center row of the Ricoh printheads This would require an expensive graphic designer and consultants to show the details And the design of the printhead would probably be altered by the time we did any of this anyway So it is essential to talk with people with other end users and with FLAAR in person on a consulting basis Acknowledgements With 19 employees the funding has to come from somewhere so we do welcome project sponsorship research grants contributions that facilitate our educational programs scholarships for co op interns and graduate students and comparable project oriented funding from manufacturers The benefit for the end user i
80. the final report Next comes the team of web designers who put the finished FLAAR Report onto the Internet we cur rently have a team of five web designers and programmers So it is rather obvious that a publication would not be possible without at least modest funding Thus appreciate research funds from EskoArtwork to make this report possible Because most printshop owners know flatbed UV curing printers many of the comments in the evaluation of the flatbed aspects of the cutter make comparisons with printing tables since some aspects are indeed comparable both have gantries both have vacuum systems etc There are many similarities between cutter tables and flatbed printers DAVAN A Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers THE BASICS 1 Brand name model Kongsberg XL series i XL when offered with i cut vision system Kongsberg have also two other machine series Kongsberg XE series i XE when offered with i cut vision system Kongsberg XP available with i cut vision system as an option Harvey Meister GDS printshop owner and Dr Nicholas Hellmuth evaluating the Kongsberg i XL24 flatbed cutter at his recent GDS site visit 2 If there are two or three or more widths of this cutter what differences exist other than the width i XL is a multi purpose cutter router Available models i XL20 i XL24 i XL42 i XL44 A Area mmIn 1680x1270 1680x3050 2210x1270 2210x3050 In 66x50 66x120 87x50 87x120 The XP is the brand ne
81. tion company and receiving training on their products Also realize that no hybrid or combo UV printer can feed all kinds of rigid materials precisely Some materials feed well others feed poorly others will skew Although we have found several makes and models to work very well in our facilities how well they work in your facilities may also depend on your local dealer Some dealers are excellent others just sell you a box and can t provide much service after the sale Indeed some low bid internet sales sources may have no technical backup what soever If you pay low bid price you can t realistically expect special maintenance services or tech support later on from any other dealer they will tell you to return to where you paid for the product This is why we make an effort to find out which dealers are recommendable Obviously there are many other dealers who are also good but we do not always know them To protect yourself further always pay with a level of credit card which allows you to refuse payment if you have end up with a lemon A Gold American Express card allows you to re fuse payment even months after the sale This card may also extend your warranty agreement in some cases check first Most of the readers of the FLAAR Reports look to see what print ers we use in our own facilities Readers realize that we will have selected the printers that we like based on years of experience and research Indeed we have met people
82. tions into English are stilted and not similar to standard English words They have the comparable issues in their product spec sheets Most manuals of Chinese products vary from totally inadequate to almost unusable 87 What kind of cut away drawings or other drawings exist that show the various parts of the cutter The best exploded views of any product in the world are those by Canon camera 88 How hard or easy are the manuals to obtain BEFORE you buy the cutter Some cutter manufacturers hide their manuals because they don t want anyone to see them Yet MacDermid ColorSpan offered their printer manuals openly on line on their web site So the policy varies by manufacturer We do a full report only on those cutters where the manual is available to us r DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers TRAINING 89 How many of your staff should be trained When the cutter is installed it is recommended that a graphic design person be present to receive training in addition to the printer cutter operator s and a plant manager There are several kinds of graphic design software that can prepare cut out lines such as Adobe Photoshop But the recommended software is Adobe Illustrator 90 Is training necessary Yes training is essential for any cutter whether an entry level ma chine or high end Lack of training incomplete training and lack or of experience are a factor in about a third of the problems that people have wi
83. ts maybe ours came down the assembly line on a Monday or Friday afternoon when workers were not attentive One costly color management soft ware package was judged incapable by two reviewers one from the university second was an outside user who had made the mis take of buying this package So it s obvious that providing products or even a grant is no shield from having your products fail a FLAAR evaluation The reason is clear the end user is our judge The entire FLAAR service program is to assist the people who need to use digital imaging hardware and software If a product functions we find out and promulgate the good news If a product is a failure or more likely needs some improve ment in the next generation we let people know If a product is hyped by what an informed user would recognize as potentially false and misleading nonsense then we point out the pathetic discrepancies very clearly This is what you should expect from an institute which is headed by a professor Actually most of our reviews are based on comments by end users We use their tips to check out pros and cons of virtually every product we discuss You can t fool a print shop owner whose printer simply fails to function as advertised And equally a sign shop owner who earns a million dollars a year from a single printer brand makes an impact on us as well We have multiple owners of ColorSpan printers tell us that this printer is their real mone
84. tton will show you the vacuum setup configuration for your model 20 Are the vacuum areas size and position user definable Yes you can define the vacuum area acording to the material size 21 Can you turn one or the other section s off and on The vacuum is divided in two parts each one has four sections that you can turn on or off The vacuum system in the table is created by an air pump e MAVAN Re ports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers You can define the vacuum area acording to the material size this is divided in two parts each one has four sections that you can turn on or off 22 Just Off and On Or variable You can turn on off and variable acording to the material size 23 Does the system shut the vacuum off automatically after the cutter has not been used for a certain amount of time Vacuum is automatically switched off when the job is finished 24 Is the vacuum too weak for some materials Does this mean you have to waste your time and tape materials down to the top of the flatbed table With many flatbed UV printers such as the Mimaki JF 1631 1610 the Oce Arizona 250 and the Gerber ion it is necessary to put paper or thin foam core material on top of the entire flatbed area where you are not printing If you don t do this those vacuum holes will suck open air and there will not be enough vacuum under the piece of material that you need to print on But I have also seen flatbed pr
85. ull because might cause damage to the machine AVA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Supply System Tubing Filters etc 139 What kind of e chain is used Igus brand The energy chain is the plastic linked system that holds all the cables and ink tubing so that it does not get rubbed while being moved back and forth to feed the carriage Most mid range and almost all high end UV printers have an energy chain from the company Ilgus The energy chain is the plastic linked system that holds all the cables and ink tubing so that it does not get rubbed while being moved back and forth to feed the carriage J DAVANA Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers ODOR caused by cutting of the material 140 How much odor is emitted by cutting or routing Odor will vary greatly depending on what material is being worked which tool is being used and at what speeds For normal signage materials could not detect any smell when cutting Forex have a very sensitive nose PRODUCTIVITY amp ROI Return on Investment 141 Can you sell the output at the machine s fastest output speed or is the quality at that speed not acceptable to most client standards 90 of the different brands of printers can unlikely produce usable output at their fastest claimed speed So I call these speeds junk mode It is false advertising in probably half the spec sheets As we move further along in our inspections of flatbed cutters w
86. urer or if they are a clever counterfeits Be realistic and aware that not all materials can be printed on equally well Many materials don t feed well through hybrid pinch roller on grit roller systems or combo UV systems with transport belts Banding both from poor feeding and from bi directional lawnmower effect are common on many UV curable inkjet printers It is typical for some enthusiastic vendors to claim verbally that their printer can print on anything and everything But once you unpack the printer and set it up you find that it requires primer on some materials on other materials it adheres for a few weeks but then falls off And on most hybrid and many combo printers some heavy thick or smooth surfaced materials skew badly Since the claim that the printer will print on everything is usually verbal it is tough to prove this aspect of misleading advertising to a jury Not all inks can print on all materials And at a trade show many of the materials you see so nicely printed on the manufacturer may be adding a primer at night or early in the morning before you see the machine printing on this material We feel that the pros and cons of each product speak more than adequately for themselves Just position the ad claims on the left put the actual performance results on the right The unscrupulous hype for some printers is fairly evident rather quickly Be sure to check all FLAAR resources Please realize
87. w Kodak and Cruse both in Germany have kindly provided scanners for our staff to evaluate We really liked some of the results whereas some of the other prod ucts were a bit disappointing Providing samples does not influence the evaluations because the evaluators are students professors and staff of Bowling Green State University These personnel are not hired by any inkjet printer company they were universities employ ees as was also true for Nicholas Hellmuth The testing person for the HP ColorPro desktop printer said he frankly preferred his Epson printer When we saw the rest results we did not include this Heweltt Packard ColorPro printer on our list of recommended printers but we love our HP DesignJet 5000ps so much we now have two of them one at each university Sometimes we hear horror stories about a printer The only way we can tell whether this is the fault of the printer design or lack of training of the operator is to have the printer ourselves in house Of course some printer manufacturers don t understand the reasons we need to have each make and model they are used to loaning their demo units for a week or so That is obviously inadequate for a seri ous review Some of the media provided to us failed miserably Three printers failed to meet common sense usability and printability standards as well HP 1055 one older desktop model HP Color Pro GA and one Epson Yet we know other users who had better resul
88. w cutter router for short run production XP20 XP24 XP44 Area mmin 1680x1430 1680x3200 2210x3200 In 66x56 66x126 87x126 The i XE models are dedicated cutting machines for rollbased material and light duty sheeted material The i XE models available are Work Area mmIn 800x1100 1300x1620 1600x3050 In 31x43 51x64 63x120 fe MAVAN Reports Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers 3 What is the nature of the company Is this company the manufacturer distribu tor or rebranding a machine made by someone else The single company is Esko Artwork Esko Artwork has operations in many countries The cutters rout ers are made in Kongsberg Norway legal entity Esko Graphics Kongsberg the i cut vision system in Lake Geneva Wisconsin legal entity i cut Inc 4 What other cutters are the same or simi lar chassis from this manufacturer or dis tributor There are three series of cutters from Longsberg XE XL and the new XP XL is the model series that tend to see at most printshops XP is new and will see it more often in the future 5 Ils this same model s rebranded and sold under other names Although i cut vision system is available with other brands Kongsberg cutters themselves are not re branded elsewhere Esko Artwork booth at SGIA 2009 6 If this is arebranded cutter what features are different than the original cutter No this is a original brand of Esko Kongsberg 7 When and wher
89. y earner for example We know other print shops where their primarily income is from Encad printers Kinkos has settled on the HP 5000 as its main money maker production machine and so on Yet we have documentation of several print shop companies whose business was ruined by specific brands that failed repeatedly It is noteworthy that it is always the same brand or printer at both loca tions one due to banding and printheads then simply no longer print ing one color the other brand due to pokiness of the printer simply not being competitively fast enough Same with RIPs we have con sistent statements of people using one RIP and only realizing how weak it was when they tried another brand which they found sub stantially better Thus we note that companies which experiment with more than one brand of product tend to realize more quickly which brand is best This is where FLAAR is in an ideal situation we have nine RIPs and 25 printers Hence it is logical that we have figured out which are best for our situation Grant funding sponsorship demonstration equipment and training are supplied from all sides of the spectrum of printer equipment and software engineering companies Thus there is no incentive to favor one faction over another We receive support from three manufactur ers of thermal printheads Canon ColorSpan and HP and also have multiple printers from three manufacturers of piezo printers Epson Seiko Mutoh and Mimaki T
90. you and your company you can easily order additional copies from www wide format printers NET Update Policy Starting in 2008 updates on UV curable wide format inkjet printers are available for all individuals and companies which have a sub scription or to companies who are research project sponsors If you are a Subscriber or manager in a company that is a research sponsor you can obtain the next update by writing ReaderService FLAAR org If you are neither a Subscriber or a research sponsor simply order the newest version via the e commerce system on www wide format printers NET Please realize that because we have so many publications and many are updated so frequently that we have no realistic way to notify any reader of when just one particular report is actually updated There is a free PDF that describes the UV curable inkjet printer Sub scription system Subscriptions are available only for UV related wide format printer publications FLAAR Reports on UV curable roll to roll flatbed hybrid and combo printers are updated when new information is available We tend to update the reports on new printers on printers that readers ask about the most and on printers where access is facilitated such as factory visits demo room visits etc Kongsberg XL Series Cutter Routers Reports on obsolete printers discontinued printers or printers that not enough people ask about tend not to be updated FLAAR still publishe

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