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NEW LARGE FORMAT SCANNER:

Océ launches new CS4236 high resolution wide format colour scanner

New Oce CS4236 wide format scanner
The new Océ CS4236 large format scanner.

Océ, a global leader in corporate, professional SME and bureau service digital document management solutions, has introduced the Océ CS4236, its first wide format color scanner with a high optical resolution of 1200 dpi.

The new Océ CS4236 is aimed at AEC, CAD and GIS users in small offices and organisations. Océ claim leadership in this environment which, they say, is a 36 inch wide market, one for which the new CS4236 large format colour scanner is well-suited.

Océ's head office is in the Netherlands. It sells Denmark's Contex scanners under its own brand name internationally. Océ has had a long association with Contex as an OEM of its older CCD (charge coupled device) scanners. Now, Océ has put its good name to the new SD Series, Contex's first generation of CIS (contact image sensor) scanners. The Océ CS4236 is based on the lower mid range Contex SD4430 which is marked by modest monochrome and slow color scan speeds. Importantly, the new Océ CS4236 has a 36" image width compared to the Contex SD 4430's 44 inches.

1200 dpi optical resolution

A benefit of the Océ CS4236's 1200 dpi optical resolution, say Océ, is that "architects, engineers and designers in small offices and organizations can now have the same high resolution scanning capabilities as their colleagues in larger companies."

This is not entirely correct. True 1200 dpi optical resolution has only recently become available. Larger companies are unlikely to have had 1200 dpi optical resolution any longer than anyone else. So, this feature of the Océ CS4236 will appeal as much to larger companies as to smaller ones.

Due to the pace of technical innovation, 1200 dpi is rapidly becoming the new industry standard for optical resolution. However, and most importantly, anyone with 1200 dpi will almost never use it because there is no practical benefit to scanning technical documents at 1200 dpi. Doing so simply creates impractically large files too big and too slow for many programs to open and work with.

Defying technological advancement, 600 dpi optical resolution covers all practical requirements and is usually more than you need. Ironically, most operators using the 1200 dpi optical resolution Océ CS4236 will seldom stray outside the range of 200 to 400 dpi when scanning technical documents in monochrome, greyscale or colour.

The Océ CS4236 with Océ Copy Easy software provides a scan-to-copy monochrome and colour solution in conjunction with an Océ large format printer. Despite popular misconceptions about the benfit of higher resolution, especially in providing more detailed images, 200 to 300 dpi optical resolution suits the scanning of most graphics for copy purposes. Even when expanding an original A1 image to fit a bigger A0 sheet size, a higher than 400 dpi resolution is seldom needed.

Océ Printers

We asked Océ North America "which printer is most likely to be used with this scanner in the USA?"

The new Océ ColorWave printer


The new Océ ColorWave
wide format color scanner -
industry-leading colour printing.

They replied that there were two - the Océ TDS700 or the Océ ColorWave™ 600 printer. The list price for the Océ TDS700 starts at $26,200 while the Océ ColorWave 600 starts at $55,990.

Given that the Océ CS4236 is a CIS-based scanner aimed at scanning technical documents, we cannot understand why Océ North America is recommending these high performance colour printers. Anyone spending so much on a colour printer would do better to spend a bit more and get a CCD-based large format scanner with high fidelity colour, like the new Océ CS4300 scanner series.

We asked Océ UK the same question and were told that the printer the CS4236 was most likely to be sold with was the Océ CS22xx series which has a price more in line with the cost of the scanner. The CS2224 Colour Inkjet Printer has a UK list price of £2,445 (about $3495) while the CS2236 costs £3,695 (about $4995). These prices are more sensible and are in line with what you would expect to pay for a AEC, CAD and GIS technical document colour printer.

Suggestions that buyers consider the Océ CS4236 (CIS) over the Océ CS4336 (CCD) scanner due to its better value/price ratio is good advice only if the buyer is an undemanding colour user who does not require high fidelity color graphics capture.

Interpolated resolution

Océ North America has announced the new Océ CS4300 series of CCD-based scanners with 600 dpi optical resolution. The Océ CS4300 Series is better suited to scanning colour artwork and photographs to higher professional standards than the 1200 dpi optical CIS-based CS 4236 which is more suited to technical documents and maps. It is based on Contex's HD Series.

The new Océ CS4300 wide format color scanner


The new Océ CS4300
wide format color scanner.

Océ's press release makes the prominent claim that the "optional interpolated resolution of up to 9600 dpi" makes the CS4300 series "ideal for CAD, GIS and other professional users in need of high resolution scans for a wide variety of applications." This claim for high interpolated resolution takes precedence over optical resolution. See Press Release.

For exactly the same reason that almost no-one will attempt to scan A1/A0 or D/E-size documents at 1200 dpi optical, no operator will scan such documents at 9600 dpi interpolated. The file will be too big. Also, interpolation adds no more detail. We challenge Océ to show us just one CAD or GIS user who scans at 9600 dpi interpolated and benefits from it. We will eat humble pie on the pages of Scanners4CAD if they can!

An agreement between Océ and Contex prevents the Danish manufacturer from marketing a 36" version of the SD Series.

The Contex SD Series offers much to hang the respected Océ brand name on - 1200 dpi optical resolution, 44" image width, LED illumination, ENERGY STAR compliance and fast data transfer. Contex offers all this at a competitively low street price which Océ attempts to match by including two benefits which Contex only supply as paid-for extras, a floorstand and copying software.

The Océ CS4236 scanner is priced at US $9,600 / UK £6,495 (excl).

In the USA, this price includes a floorstand, Océ Copy Easy software scanning software and a one-year on-site warranty. UK buyers get the floorstand and software but not the one-year on-site warranty.

Despite many competing products in an increasingly discounted market, the Océ CS4236 will have strong appeal within its traditional markets where Océ offer a package of service, supplies and support. One is unlikely to be fired for buying Océ products at a time when a disintegrating global economy and discounting has seen several Contex large format scanner resellers fail.

The Océ CS4236 uses CIS imaging technology. In keeping with modern CIS scanners, it scans the document face up. Like all CIS scanners, it uses RGB (red, green and blue) LEDs to capture images. The use of robust, long-life LEDs gives the Océ CS4236 the advantage of instant-on operation and allows it to qualify for a power-saving ENERGY STAR 2007 rating. For a full explanation of the benefits of LEDs, see our article LEDs light up large format scanning's future!

Speedwise, the Océ CS4236 is a modest performer, offering 1 ips color with a slowish 5 ips monochrome scanning speed at 200 dpi. To put this in perspective, this translates as five feet per minute in colour and 25 ft per minute in monochrome (black and white). Many would say that this is fast enough, but there are certainly other scanners out there that are faster. However, raw scan speed is not the measure of productivity.

It is the scanning software that determines how easily an operator can interrogate the image in order to change the settings to improve the image quality before saving it.

The Océ CS4236 is supplied with the same Océ Copy Easy software that comes with the Océ CS4300 CCD-based scanner series. Users can upgrade from the standard Océ Copy Easy to the Océ Color Copy software on site. Océ Copy Easy integrates communication between an Océ CS4236 / CS 4300 large format scanner and the chosen Océ printer.

Océ claim that both software packages provide the user with benefits such as:

  • Viewing window
  • Color and B&W filters
  • Backchannel communication
  • Scan to file, scan to print
  • Rotate, cropping
  • The ability to tune colors
  • Save TIFF, PDF, JPEG, DWF and other file formats

Océ Copy Easy has the facility to copy and scan documents to larger or smaller sizes either by selecting an output size or zooming in. We look forward to examining this software in-depth.

The term "backchannel communication" caused amusement among the more immature occupants of our office. It refers to a really useful feature - real time communication between the scanner, printer and the integrated Océ Copy Easy software. At any time, for example, the user can see the status of the scanner and printer. Has a document been inserted in the scanner? What media is currently loaded in the printer?

The Océ CS2224 wide format color printer


The Océ CS2224
wide format color printer
for AEC, CAD and GIS.

In the Océ Copy Easy software, only Océ printers are supported. These include the Océ TDS300, Océ TDS320, Océ TDS400, Océ TDS450, Océ TCS300, Océ TCS400, Océ TCS500, Océ CS2xxx series, Océ CS21xx series, Océ CS22xx series and the state-of-the-art Océ ColorWave™ 600.

The Océ CS2236 wide format color printer


The Océ CS2236
wide format color printer
for AEC, CAD and GIS.

Users who upgrade their Océ Copy Easy software to Océ Color Copy software receive a true colour copy RIP application which uses the same software interface. Chief among the benefits which Océ Color Copy software brings to a drawing office is the ability to copy to other non-Océ wide format printing devices. Océ claim that among the benefits of Océ Color Copy software are:

  • Zoom
  • Editor
  • Nesting
  • Accounting
  • Print sets, collating
  • Cropping
  • Copying to other wide format printers

The Océ CS4236 uses Contex's USB 2.0 xDTR technology for fast data transfer. USB 2.0 xDTR technology claims to increase the performance of the standard USB 2.0 interface from approximately 18MB/sec to 32MB/sec.

The Océ CS4236 is not upgradeable from one model to another, as Océ's own CCD-based scanners are. Nor does it handle Thick media. However, its media thickness of 0.04" / 1mm (this is the thickness of the Contex SD Series. Océ do not publish their supported maximum media thickness at the time of writing), is more than capable of scanning all technical documents on standard media. Frankly, thick media scanning is only used infrequently by graphics professionals. As such, the Océ CS4236 will suit the needs of most in the AEC, CAD and GIS market.

Summary

The Océ CS4236 enjoys Océ's strong brand name and support. This is enough to make it appeal to Océ's many established professional customers. The Océ CS4236's 1200 dpi optical scanning resolution is as high as it gets but is unlikely to be used practically.

The Océ CS4236 will provide AEC, CAD and GIS users with sharp images of monochrome and colour documents limited to 36" / 914 mm image width with a 46" / 1168 mm paper width. In this market the Océ CS4236 should provide a slick and useful technical drawing scan and copy solution. However, the Océ CS4236 will not provide the top quality colour scans that graphic imaging professionals need for high fidelity copying of artwork and photography. For this requirement the CS4300 series of 42" and 54" CCD-based scanners at a variety of different speeds will be much more suited.

Despite the massive 46" document width, the Océ CS4236's 36" image width will require all large format documents to be scanned in portrait mode. This means that post-scan time must be taken to rotate them into the correct orientation. Scanners4CAD understands that Océ will announce a 44" version shortly with 46" document width.

Also, despite the Océ CS4236 having an 8" shorter image width than the equivalent Contex SD 4430, there is no reduction in the physical size of the scanner. The Océ CS4236 is the same shape, size and weight as the wider Contex SD Series. Is this important? Probably not but it does mean that it occupies more space than other available 36", 40" and 42" CIS devices. It is the biggest 36" scanner we know of!

As the least expensive wide-format scanner in Océ's product line-up, the CS4236 has a largely impressive technical specification.

The Océ CS4236 will offer Océ's traditional customers an attractive 36" scanning solution that mixes ENERGY STAR compliance with instant-on operation for easy technical document scanning or copying. We cannot comment about the supplied scanning software which we have not seen.

We look forward to road-testing the Océ CS4236 shortly.

Océ North America:
www.oceusa.com

Océ UK:
www.oceuk.com

Océ Global:
www.global.oce.com.