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Hardware

Wide-Format Devices Revisited, Part 2

10 May, 2006 By: Sara Ferris

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In this follow-up to Cadalyst's recent round-up of printers and scanners, we look at the latest from Vidar

Vidar 703.471.7070 www.vidar.com Price: $7,900-$29,900

The April edition of Cadalyst magazine featured a round-up of the latest tools for wide-format printing and scanning. A few vendors missed the deadline to submit products for that review, so we're taking a closer look at those in Cadalyst Daily. On Monday, we featured the Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 printers from Epson. Today we'll catch up on the latest offerings from Vidar.

Vidar's latest wide-format model is the Titan H36, a 36" color and monochrome scanner. It features a built-in, Linux-based processor that for many scanning and copying tasks eliminates the need for a host PC. Optical resolution is 600dpi. The Titan captures 48 bits of color data and outputs the best 24 bits to maximize color fidelity.

The scanner is available in a BASE model for $18,900 and a PLUS model for $20,900. The difference between the two? The BASE model offers resolution to 1200dpi via software enhancements, while the PLUS provides 9600dpi resolution. The PLUS model is also faster: It scans at speeds to 3"/sec for full color and 12"/sec for monochrome at 400dpi turbo settings. The BASE model scans 1.5"/seconds in color and 6"/second black-and-white at the same settings.

Also new are two 42" models. The Select H42 (BASE, $13,900; PLUS, $15,900) handles images as wide as 42" and 0.6" thick. Color scanning speed is 0.6"/sec at 400dpi turbo RGB. Native optical resolution is 508dpi, with software enhancement to 800dpi on the BASE model and 9,600dpi for the PLUS. The Atlas H42 (BASE, $19,900; PLUS, $21,900) offers similar resolutions but faster throughput: 3"/sec for full color and 12"/sec for black-and-white.

Vidar's line features many other models, ranging in size from 25" to 54". The company also offers an 18" flatbed model, the Designer 18 ($10,900), for those who need to scan thick (more than 0.5") or delicate originals.

The Select P25 accepts documents 25" wide and 0.6" thick. The BASE monochrome model ($7,900) provides resolution to 800dpi, and the PLUS color model ($9,900) to 9,600dpi.

The Atlas P25 is a color scanner that offers 48-bit color capture and 16-bit graytone capture. Like the Select, the BASE model ($11,900) scans at 800dpi, and the PLUS version ($13,900) at 9,600dpi. The PLUS version also delivers speedier color scans at 1.5"/sec, compared with 0.5"/sec for the BASE model. Both process black-and-white scans at 4"/sec.

In the 36" realm, Vidar offers five models. The Select MP36 (BASE, $9,900; PLUS, $11,900) and the Nova MP36 ($8,900) are monochrome scanners with 2400dpi maximum resolution. Scanning speed for the Nova is 10"/sec. Top speed for the Select is 8"/sec. For color scanning the company offers the Select P36 (BASE, $11,900; PLUS; $13,900) and the Nova XP36 (BASE, $10,900; PLUS $12,900). The Atlas P36 (BASE, $17,900; PLUS, $19,900) also offers color scanning to 9,600dpi with native optical resolution of 400dpi.

At the top of the width chart is the Atlas P54, a 54" wide scanner. An all-wheel drive paper guide keeps originals feeding smoothly. Top speed for the BASE model ($27,900) is 4"/sec black-and-white and 1.5"/sec color. The PLUS model ($29,900) posts speeds of 8"/sec black-and-white and 3"/sec color.

Beyond the hardware, Vidar offers TRUscan, which provides scan-to-disk capabilities, batch scanning and batch conversion. It supports more than 50 file formats and includes a viewer with tools for postscanning tasks.

The WIDEsystem application allows companies to share scanners across a network. Additional plug-ins support direct scanning into applications such as AutoCAD and Photoshop.

Editor's note: Be sure to consult the Cadalyst article "Big Prints" by Ron LaFon (April 2006) for general tips about buying a plotter or scanner, as well as a run-down additional models from other vendors.