What are the major advantages with solvent based printers in comparison to water based printers?

Speed and Efficiency: Solvent printers (such as the Roland XJ640, and the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000) are generally faster than water based (such as the Epson Stylus Pro 9880, Epson Stylus Pro 9800, Epson 7800, and Epson 4800) at producing giclee prints. Usually 25-50% more efficient. Solvent printing is geared more for production and is an industrial type machine. Commercial printer businesses predominately use solvent printing machines. These printers are designed to print wide rolls like 64" and above. They also have wider in diameter and higher in weight media capacity.
Cost of Ownership and Consumables: Solvent printing technology is designed every day, long-term high volume production runs. Their built to last, total workhorses! I know of companies that have the same machines in production for over 8 years and going. You will not have to upgrade or update your hardware every few years like most aqueous technology. Solvent inks cost 50-75% LESS than water based ink, this is a substantial savings considering it’s the most expensive consumable you purchase! Inkjet media like canvas and paper is one more cost savings component. This varies of course with the quality of the substrate, and if there’s an inkjet coating layer applied to the base. Solvent ink does not require an inkjet receptive coating, but it will indefinitely improve the output.
No Coating Saves Time and Money: there’s no top-coating (giclee varnish or giclee coating) necessary with so is the most important advantage solvent inks have over water based! You print onto canvas, you wrap your canvas prints, you ship the canvas prints. There’s no post treatment with top-coating canvas prints. What does this mean to you? You eliminate a huge step of production, perhaps the longest step if you include lamination dry time for every canvas print. And of course the waste incurred on canvas with coating rejects, or the trial and error with rolling and spraying liquid laminates. Your turnaround will be cut by 50% opposed to water based printing on canvas. Then there’s the actual cost of the coating chemistry itself, ranges from $30-$110 per container. Finally, the cost of labor(s) that are needed to apply the canvas varnish. This is a big expense that varies from shop to shop but without a doubt adds up over time.

Early to Solvent Printing

Here's my view....In 2004, there were a few early adopters or perhaps "risk takers" that delved into the solvent printing world! Prior to this, these decor art publisher/printing companies had been operating production and producing giclee prints with aqueous inks on Iris, Epson and Roland printer's (such as the Epson Stylus Pro 9800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, Epson Stylus Pro 4800). The Roland 540, 740 Sol-Jet and Mimaki Jv3 solvent based printers produced the best giclee print quality and resolution. Solvent technology now appealed to some canvas transfer companies and they embraced digital canvas printing. At this time Giclee was really acceptable on all levels......finally! Fine art inkjet canvas was making a big splash in the market now. The goal for these companies was to break into the hotel market, furniture outlets and mainly big box stores digitally with a giclee canvas art prints at an extremely competitive price. The price point at this level was unobtainable with their current water based giclee printing technology. Before this transformation took place, the giclee art prints provided by suppliers for big box stores were lithography canvas and digital prints imported from overseas. The materials costs were too high for ink and canvas, along with the extra steps in production like top-coating canvas. These businesses had to be more responsive with faster turnaround times and more efficient print speeds. They had to manufacture a canvas print at the absolute lowest cost possible. Of course the image quality had to meet this market standard. This digital solvent canvas product was far superior to the competition.

Imaging USA & the Current Economic Environment

We just finished exhibiting at the Imaging USA Trade Show in Phoenix Arizona, its always interesting to feel the real pulse of the economy at these shows. The response to our new products, especially our newest fine art paper Optica One, was fantastic.

But there's no debate that the economy has taken a toll on business in general. Usual exhibitors that you would have found at the show in the past simply werent there at all. Attendance appeared to be down, and people were actively using the show to look for jobs. The companies who attended and exhibited clearly represented themselves as the strongest and healthiest companies out there. Photographers and other attendees who offer giclee printing or canvas prints appreciated our presence and we believe it makes a big difference. Anyone printing with the usual Epson Stylus Pro 9800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, Epson Stylus Pro 4800, etc. or a Canon ipf9000, ipf9100, or an hp designjet z3100 certainly made out like bandits with us. Hec, discovering higher quality products at a better price is exactly what trade shows are for.

We officially launched our PureG products, the world's first line of certified archival solvent media. Printing on the 64" Roland XJ-540 solvent printer, our optical brightener free Urth™ solvent canvas prints were mind blowing. Customers couldnt believe they actually saw a solvent printer at a photography show (another innovative move in typical Breathing Color fashion ;) - but the quality we were able to demonstrate on the spot was awe inspiring.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Epson Stylus Pro 9800

Just a note on the Epson Stylus Pro 9800 printer. Despite the release of the Epson Stylus Pro 9880, the Epson Stylus Pro 11880, or other wide format printers from Canon and HP, these printers havn't yet offerred enough to convince the majority of this base of users on this printer to upgrade. We guess the question is, in reality, how much better can the quality of prints get? Furthermore, will the increase in quality really make a difference for a giclee printing service business to the extent that they feel compelled to make the upgrade? This is the hurdle that wide format printer manufacturers have to cross whenever they release a new giclee printer into the market. Of course these newer inkjet printers make sense to those who have a need to purchase additional inkjet printers.

We are curious to see if and how the recent release of the Epson 9900 will change things. Will it be the "game changer" many have said it will be....but wait a minute....wasn't that the pitch on the Epson 11880? The addition of a built-in specrophotometer (for on-the-fly icc profiles)on the Stylus Pro 9900 is certainly interesting and will benefit many...

We still find the Canon technology very interesting. Canon publishes a document that is backed by their legal department, stipulating that their giclee printers such as the Canon ipf9100 allow for at least 30% ink savings when compared to the Epson Stylus Pro series printers. This is big. All giclee reproduction houses should take this into account in their purchasing decisions. With arguably no difference in print quality between these two technologies, could Canon be the best kept hidden secret? All you have to do is ask those who own them. Then again, it wouldnt be a secret anymore would it....

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...