Océ NV has extended its series of wide-format printers. The launch of the high-speed Océ Arizona 550 XT flatbed printer at the FESPA trade show in Munich builds on the success of the Océ Arizona 550 GT system introduced in February 2010. By doubling the size of the flatbed, the Océ Arizona 550 XT offers customers the best value in the market for high-quality, large format rigid graphics production. High capacity print providers can now produce high quality display graphics on the largest rigid boards their customers need, at even lower costs.
With nearly 2,000 printers to date, the Océ Arizona Series of UV flatbed printers is the world's number one selling product family, outselling all competitors combined. The robust industrial design of the Océ Arizona 550 XT makes it the fastest yet. It prints approximately twice as fast as the Océ Arizona 350 GT printer, and three times as fast when printing banner and outdoor work. Most importantly, the image quality of the Océ Arizona 550 XT is superior to all competitive systems. In a turbulent market in 2009 where sales of printing equipment and supplies by competitors dropped by about one-third, Océ's business grew. This development was largely attributable to the popularity of the Océ Arizona Series, designed using an efficient cost engineering approach that makes it more affordable—by as much as 30 to 40 percent—than comparable competitive systems.
The Océ Arizona 550 XT display graphics printer reaches out to high capacity print providers, typically companies printing larger (or many smaller) jobs of graphics for sign and display applications, for whom total or peak capacity is crucial. It can produce more than 40 square meters of high quality printing per hour, or more than 100 full-size (125 xx 250 cm) boards per eight-hour shift. Unlike most high capacity flatbed printers, the Océ Arizona 550 XT printer features an extra-large flatbed table for oversized rigid media or objects and provides image quality suitable for closely-viewed point-of-purchase signage. The image quality is also suitable for printing on transparent media for use as illuminated backlit signs such as those in the cosmetics section of large department stores. The Océ Arizona 550 XT flatbed printer uses a vacuum system to hold media stationary on a flat surface, ensuring accurate registration even on multiple imaging passes. White Ink and Roll Media Options are available. It employs the same Océ VariaDot imaging technology used in other members of the family such as the Océ Arizona 550 GT, the Océ Arizona 350 GT and the Océ Arizona 350 XT printers.
Priced significantly lower than many competitive systems with similar productivity, the Océ Arizona 550 XT printer offers the lowest ink consumption rate in the market, generating savings of up to 50 percent. Océ anticipates its customers producing an estimated 10-12 million square meters—that's about 2,000 football pitches—of printed output on Océ Arizona Series printers this year.