One of the more interesting recent developments is the rise of color CAD printing when it comes to large format reprographics. The technology for wide format printing has been expanding thanks to new technologies that include LED-type printers and the improved inkjet large format printers that are arriving on the market.
However, the overall rise in color CAD printing is being caused by a number of factors that will only appear to increase over time.
- Growing appreciation and respect for color printing
- More color printing options
- Blending of color and monochrome prints in a single project
It is these factors that have allowed for the expansion of this type of printing, but growing consumer and business interest is driving it as well.
Color Appreciation
There is a wide variety of CAD drawings that are color printed and what has been noticed almost immediately is that the drawings appear more clear which is very helpful in spotting errors. The fact that being in color makes it easier to spot potential errors as well as the aesthetic beauty of the color itself has helped to boost the overall appreciation of introducing color into the large format for CAD.
Availability
Ever since the first inkjet printers were produced, color CAD printing was available in the smaller formats. Today, the wide format printing devices have been somewhat slow to catch up until recently. Now, the reprographics industry along with new advances in technology has seen the release of new printers that will take advantage of the large format and demonstrate all the advantages that color printing offers. In particular, printers such as the KIP C7800, Memjet and the new Hewlett-Packard models are now making color wide format printing for CAD even more available than ever before. All things considered, this has helped to revolutionize the industry when it comes to color printing as more availability means lower cost and greater variety.
Color & Monochrome Mix
By allowing color and monochrome to mix on the same machine, it makes it much easier to create different sets depending on the printing requirements. Until recently, such printing required that color docs on an inkjet had to be printed first, followed by monochrome docs on another machine that had to be hand collated. With the new printers being able to do this in one run, it eliminates the need for having two sets of machines and speeds up the overall process. This in turn will mean lower costs and better quality that consumers and those in the industry will enjoy.
Overall, color CAD printing has been given new life in wide format printing process. When it comes to the advancement of reprographics, technology and a new emphasis on producing better wide prints, the printing machine manufacturers have responded by creating new devices that allow for CAD drawings and images to be reproduced in full color in a format that has only increased in popularity in recent years.