Issue #0816/1 – New printing technologies don’t come along too often, so when Océ announced a new hybrid toner/ink technology for use in its large format printers, “CrystalPoint” using proprietary “TonerPearls”, we ask the question, “does this technology have a place in the office market”? In this article, we examine the technology and explore that potential.
Large format printers are, of course, targeted at particular markets. Printing at anything from A2 size up to several metres in width, these devices are used for a vast range of applications from building and vehicle signage, through display materials and posters to CAD and GIS documents, maps and plans. Then, in addition, they may be used for large-scale business graphics.
At this initial launch stage, the new Océ printer running with CrystalPoint technology is the ColourWave 600. This printer is targeted largely at the CAD and GIS markets and not at the graphic arts market. However, indications are that its high print quality will soon result in the printer finding a place in certain graphic arts environments.
From CAD and GIS, where? Certainly there must be significant opportunities in the graphic arts industry as the technology matures but there are also indications from Océ that early development of colour MFPs for the office environment may already be under way, with a product coming to market perhaps as early as next year. Leading on from there, there should be no reason why the technology cannot be scaled down to allow for development into desktop devices.
First of all, what is CrystalPoint technology?
CrystalPoint is a wholly owned Océ technology, developed entirely by Océ and therefore not available to any other printer manufacturer (at this stage). It joins traditional thermal and piezo electric inkjet technologies and also the newer variant, geljet, as a technology that physically spits droplets of colour onto the paper from a print head that traverses the paper from side to side as it builds up the image. Note, solid ink technology differs slightly in that it spits the ink from a full width static print head onto an intermediate drum before the image is transferred to the paper.
From this point of view, CrystalPoint can be considered to be an inkjet technology.
However, the colourant is not ink. It is a toner-based substance, where the toner is suspended in a gel that, at normal room temperature, is hard. In fact, Océ refers to the printing process as ‘tonergel jetting’. However, because it is a toner-based technology, we will refer to it as toner rather than ink, even though it goes against the grain to refer to a liquid being fired from an inkjet print head as ‘toner’!
One of the key features of CrystalPoint is that the toner begins life in a dry and solid state as TonerPearls. These globules of toner look very much like paintballs, but are slightly smaller, at about 1cm in diameter. In constitution, they are very much akin to Xerox’s sold ink sticks – they are moulded and can even be used as wax crayons to make marks on paper and other materials.
In the printer, they melt (just like Xerox’s solid ink sticks) and the molten toner gel flows to the print head where it is fired from nozzles in just the same way as ink from an inkjet print head.
Océ refers to CrystalPoint as a ‘solid in, solid out’ technology. This is because the droplets of toner gel crystallise once they come into contact with the paper – a crystallisation agents determines how long the gel remains fluid and when it crystallises back to a solid. Océ claims that this process creates a firm bond with the paper that holds the droplet in a discreet dot on the paper without the feathering or bleeding that is associated with liquid ink on plain paper (see "Does ColorLok paper offer inkjet printing the advantages claimed?" regarding ink bleed).
Prints are water-fast and can be used indoors or outdoors. The fact that the toner is a solid substance also means that there is no interaction with liquid markers, so prints can be used for mark-up without being ruined in the way that liquid ink prints are ruined by a mark-up pen.
Because the toner solidifies just after contact with the paper, there are also no issues with dry time. The finished print is not susceptible to smudging in the way that liquid ink prints are and is ready to be handled, stacked, folded or drawn on immediately – so maximum productivity is assured.
Sceptics immediately question whether the toner on the finished prints will crack in the way experienced with some (particularly older) laser printers - and certainly as seen with most of the early solid ink printers. But, experience seems to show that there is no significant issue here and that the prints behave as well as current laser or solid ink prints.
One concern though, must revolve around the question of toner temperature, liquid flow and print head cleaning.
What is critical here is the ability of the machine to keep the molten toner at the right temperature as it is transported to the print head from the melting chamber. The toner is said to melt at about 130 degrees Celsius (so hotter than boiling water!) and any cooling would result in a catastrophic clogging of the toner channels and print head nozzles.
Océ ColourWave 600 wide format printer showing TonerPearl hoppers
(Photo courtesy Barry Hickley – PrintView)
That aside, there are environmental benefits to CrystalPoint technology. For instance: there is none of the ozone emission or nasty odours that are associated with laser printers; there is no contamination of the printer or operators as a result of toner spillage or rogue toner powder flying around in the air; toner gel is non-toxic; as is the minimal amount of waste that accumulates, mainly as a result of cleaning cycles, meaning that it can be disposed of safely by regular waste disposal methods.
We won’t dwell on the ColourWave 600 printer because it is outside our target area. Suffice it to say that it is a phenomenally fast Large Format Printer, driven by a large print head that delivers a wide print swath on each pass across the media. The printer is capable of producing an A0 colour print in just 31 seconds!
So, what of the potential for putting this technology into an MFP or a desktop printer?
As indicated earlier, it is believed that Océ does have plans for a CrystalPoint-driven MFP in the relatively near future.
Certainly, the technology lends itself very happily to scaling into the office, though there is one particular issue to overcome – a dedicated print head would need to be designed for an MFP or desktop product. This is because the print head contained in the ColourWave 600 Large Format Printer would, in itself, be too large for a smaller machine.
Conversely, if the existing print head were used, the resulting MFP would be noticeably large for the environment it is desirable to place it into.
This does not in any way mean that scaling the technology is impossible though. Depending on the physical construction of the print head, Océ could even investigate the possibility of developing a page-wide print head – Xerox has one in its solid ink printers and Hewlett-Packard has the technology to produce one as and when it desires, with the potential for producing a very fast machine.
Another issue that might require some attention is the size of the TonerPearls. The cartridges produced for the ColourWave 600 are, quite naturally, large and are held external to the machine itself. If these were to be used in a desktop machine, then again, we have a size compatibility problem. But, a desktop machine is not a Large Format machine and therefore would not need such a large toner capacity. So, the number of TonerPearls in a cartridge (toner capacity) could be reduced to the point where a smaller cartridge could be held internal to the device.
In addition, the size of the TonerPearls could be reduced, from resembling Paint Balls to resembling BB pellets (say, 2mm or 3mm in diameter instead of 1cm). This would allow more efficient packing within a cartridge and enable easy flow of the TonerPearls into the melting chamber through a smaller channel.
Taking this approach would allow the technology to be scaled down to any size desired - literally to entry-level consumer desktop level (although this technology would not really suit the consumer environment).
Success in the office will depend on two major factors.
Firstly, the market approach – is Océ a name that will be recognised easily enough in the office or will an existing big name vendor be required to break into the market?
Secondly, cost – any company could break with traditional sales models but a new technology has added potential for setting new boundaries in the market. If financial conditions allow, Océ could challenge the low Cost of Printing we see in printers using the Hewlett-Packard HP88 ink series – primarily Officejet Pro models – or the Xerox Phaser 8860 solid ink models (see article Issue #0730/1 – "Has Kyocera met its match as Xerox turns the clocks back 20 years?" - but, bear in mind that the sales model relevant to the Phaser 8860 is not common to all solid ink printers).
Economy should be one area in which Océ can score. A printer based on a traversing, inkjet-style print head is not as expensive to produce as a laser printer, yet print quality will be comparable. In addition, production of the TonerPearls utilises a low cost flow moulding process whereby an aluminium tray mould is used to produce the pearls – one tray filling a cartridge. Because there is no mechanical hardware or technology involved in the cartridge, as with ink tank cartridges, the cost of cartridge production is kept to an absolute minimum.
Where we do see a significant advantage for Océ (in the short term anyway), is that this new toner product cannot be reproduced by third party supplies manufacturers and, even as the technology matures, the multiple patents held by Océ should mean that it is virtually impossible for any third party to manufacturer a compatible supply legally.
CrystalPoint technology, therefore, represents a challenge to the players in the office hard copy environment and an opportunity for Océ either to make an entry into the office market with a CrystalPoint product directly or indirectly by licensing the technology to another manufacture more aligned with the office market already.
~End~
