Arizona is coming up roses for Oc

Arizona is coming up roses for Oc?

Oc?'s latest addition might look similar to other Arizona models but it yields several differences. Sophie Matthews-Paul investigates

The history of the Arizona 250GT saw a change for Oc? after several years of private label machines from various wide-format manufacturers. Announced originally at SGIA in 2006, the company claimed that, by the end of the following year, it had sold more than 500 of these units worldwide. A year later came a roll media option along to give an option for working with flexible materials, and the company has retained this format throughout its flatbed family.

Later additions have included the Arizona 1.25 m x 2.5 m 350GT, which Oc? says more than 90% of its customers order with the white ink option, and the Arizona 350XT which brought a larger size into the portfolio with a bed size of 2.5 x 3.05m and the ability to output to a maximum of 2.2m wide roll-fed materials. These machines have hit the sweet spot with display producers wanting to work direct to substrate, and are deceptively easy to use. Despite the fact they all use a standard CMYK ink set, with the addition of white, quality is good and speeds have been sufficient to date to satisfy those looking for an entry-level machine which, primarily, is going to work with rigid materials.

Having captured a sizeable market share of the true flatbed market, it was inevitable that Oc? should continue along its success path with its Arizona models. In size terms, many of the smaller display producers to whom these machines appeal, the generous footprint needed could be a deterrent to companies with small premises. Yet the convenience of knowing the material is held securely by vacuum whilst the gantry passes over it, maintaining absolute stability during printing, is seen as a benefit.

Thus Oc?'s next decision has been to build on the main features of its existing models but ramp up the throughput speeds on a unit which has a heavier duty look about it. The resulting machine, designated the Oc? Arizona 550GT, now has twice as many printheads to give it a maximum rate of 67m2/hr. Test files produced at the company's Venlo site in the Netherlands demonstrated its performance on a variety of materials which brought out good colour density and fine dot quality.
As with the earlier Arizona models, Oc? uses what it calls its VariaDot printing technology which the company states enables up to 50% ink savings to be effected when compared with six-colour printers that use fixed droplet technology. The range of drop sizes is between six picolitres and 42 picolitres, with the smaller sizes and variable ink amounts being put down on the material making it possible to produce good photographic quality. Where solid colours are required, then the larger picolitre size comes into play with the intention of producing good uniform results.

The Oc? Arizona 550GT has a bed size of 1.25 x 2.5m, and a maximum thickness of 50.8mm and will be suitable for use on pre-cut and shaped materials, plus double-sided jobs. Edge-to-edge printing is possible and, when used with the Onyx Rip, registration for multiple panels is straightforward.
This printer has a roll media option which, like the other Arizona models, is narrower than the flatbed printing width to be accommodated within the machine's design. Nonetheless, it can handle reels ranging from 90cm up to 2.2m, with a maximum weight of 50kg. Because the gantry moves to the end of the unit when printing to flexible media, it's easy to switch modes without disrupting operations.

The cogent change between the Arizona 550GT and the earlier models in the family lies in the printhead array and, because there are more heads, there are a fewer passes as a result. It is this element which has enabled Oc? to up the throughput speed although, realistically for most types of display application, the second fastest option of 40.2m2/hr is more suitable. The choice of printing modes features Express as the fastest where applications are being viewed from a distance, a choice of Quality and Fine art where the rate drops to 28 and 20m2/hr. Once white is introduced, the two-layer option sees a reduction to 14m2/hr and, using the three-layer selection for backlits and dark materials, users can expect a maximum of 9.3m2/hr.

Some of these speeds might seem slow but it has to be remembered that this range of options comes in a unit which sits squarely in the mid-range price bracket. The Oc? Arizona is expected to be priced at around ?170,000 and is supplied with Onyx Oc? Edition 7.3 which offers plug-and-play connectivity and a large library of profiles, plus a range of tools.