“When scanning artwork, you need a flatbed scanner, such as a Kurabo 24x36-inch flatbed scanner.” the past three years, Hollingsworth reported. Steve Blanken, general manager of Contex Americas in Rockville, MD, said better lighting is a factor. “The lighting in CIS technology is getting to the point where color quality is getting very, very close to CCD. The ability to produce a good reproduction of bad-quality originals is also a beneficiary of lighting advancement. And there has been a complete flip of the pricing model with the technology evolution in general. The CIS evolution has driven down costs, widening the market.” Kockler is another expert observer who traces the quality improvements in CIS technology directly to in enhanced illumination. “Typically, we would target more of the line-drawing applications, whether color or black-and-white and manufacturing renders,” he said. “In those instances, the contact image sensing has improved and become much better. In many cases the ability to capture the fine detail of the lines has improved, as has the ability to avoid fringing and any unwanted shadows or backgrounds.” CCD is a more expensive technology, and is primarily used to capture old images, or images with full-color graphics, Kockler said. Great applications would include, he said, “satellite images, where it is very discerning in color transitions, or land-management applications needed in color, or high impact graphics. There you will want a high-definition scanner using camera-based technology. It will do a much better job of capturing the color transitions and nuances. It will also allow you to control your color quality management.” According to Hollingsworth, scanner technology changes right alongside computer technology. Speed and quality have increased; costs have dropped. Profit Centers for PSPs That appealing blend of improving quality and more affordable price points affords PSPs greater opportunity than ever to turn scanning into profits. One way is through managed scan services. Contex Americas has recently unveiled the first desktop wide-format scanner. That product is the lightweight and very portable SD One, in either 24-inch or 36-inch configurations. “High-volume PSPs and copy shops can acquire one of the scanners at a very affordable price, place it in their customer’s office and do managed scan services, charging the customer by the scan or simply renting it to them on a monthly basis,” Blanken said. “Because of their affordability, anyone—from one-man shops to large corporations— can buy them, and can scan directly to Dropbox. This could be a profit center for PSPs. Any of these scans can be sent to wide-format printers to make copies.” HP approaches the marketplace in several ways. One is through integrated devices, or multi-function printers that provide the opportunity to scan in CIS, copy and print. “There are some people out there looking for robust printers with the added advantage of scanning, allowing them to perform convenience scanning,” Kockler explained. Then there are printer-scanner bundles. Where PSPs are scanning high-impact or professional photo images, full-function scanning is needed. “You’d want to have a printer-scanner bundle with full-functionality available to manage the color and quality associated with capturing the image,” Kockler said. “Once you capture the image, you can print or transmit that up-to-44-inch wide image.” Finally, those with fleets of printers can add complementary stand-alone scanners, providing the option of scanning as well as printing, Kockler said. Among the notable success stories for HP is the experience of Copie Sjop in Delft, Netherlands. The evolution in technology that made large-format more affordable, faster and higher quality resulted in a huge increase in demand. Students at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) felt the school’s printing capabilities did not meet their needs and began relying on Copie Sjop to print technical documents and other essential elements required for their courses, from building plans to maps. Cinco Veldman, Copie Sjop founder and managing director, approached the university with a suggestion. “I proposed taking over the university’s in-house print shop in an effort to provide better service to the students,” he recalled, adding HP “was a natural choice for the new print shop located in the faculty of architecture.” Among the machines that Veldman ensured were installed in both of his company locations was the HP Designjet T2300 44-inch eMFP, which carries a 36-inch integrated CIS scanner. The T2300 has now been replaced by the T2500 and T3500. One final approach to profits is suggested by Hollingsworth. “There are a lot of lower-end, less-expensive scanners that are in various architectural and business offices,” he said. “Each business tends to have only one scanner, and is more and more reliant on it. They need to rely on backup services to respond if their scanners go down, and those are services PSPs can provide.” Blanken perhaps best sums up this moment in time in the world of scanners and scanning services. “The direction of the market is this,” he said. “We scanner manufacturers have all taken advantage of the high end of the market, but now we want to spread out in the low end of the market space. With the introduction of the SD One desktop model, we can do that. “For PSPs, it will be an opportunity to put low-cost, wide-format scanners into their accounts for managed scan services and account control.” Head to the Web Download a PDF of the 2015 Wide-Format Scanner Resource Chart at MyPRINTResource.com/12053555 Wide-Format MyPRINTResource.com Imaging | April 2015 39
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