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Soft signage is an increasing trend

Gradually clients are getting away from vinyl signs printed with solvent ink. The trend in 2008 will grow in 2009 for more soft signage. In 2004 there was one lone roll-to-roll UV printer, the venerable NUR Expedio. Today in 2009 there are a dozen models with a new one already out at the end of February and a still another new one announced in March. But there is still one brand and model that offers proven reliability (if you prefer top quality and not just billboard output).

The Durst Rho 320R can print at 126 inches wide, hence the name 3.2 meters. That is over 10' wide. Or, you can print two 62” rolls side by side.

Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth inspecting the Durst 320R roll to roll UV-curable printer at VISCOM Italy 2008.

If I remember correctly, some of the print samples that I did during my inspecting and testing at the Durst factory were on material from Dynajet – Dollfus & Muller, a company in the former Germanic part of France. Dynajet – Dollfus & Muller offer fabrics for solvent printing and for UV-curable inkjet. Naturally not all UV inks would be idea since some UV inks are for rigid materials. But the Rho 320R is a dedicated roll-to-roll system.

These machines are produced at the Durst factory in Brixen, South Tirol (northern Italy). The same factory produces the industrial printers such as the Durst Rho SP60, Gamma 60 (for ceramic tiles) and others; the venerable Durst Lambda (yes, it is still being manufactured), the Rho 351R, and Rho 160R (special version for specific kinds of reflective material for traffic signs with a particular ink from 3M).

The other factory of Durst Phototechnik AG is Durst Digital Technology GmbH in Lienz, Austria. Here they produce the Rho 700 and Rho 800. Naturally there is a major presence in the US: Durst Image Technology US LLC.

Here is the Durst 320R roll to roll UV-curable printer printing samples at SGIA 2008.

Precision

There are many ways to build a grand format printer: some are lightweight, some are heavy duty. Then there is the Durst. The normal saying is that “it is built like a tank.” Or “it is built like a Mack Truck.” But for Durst they are equally strong but definitely more refined than either a tank or a truck.

I have been to the Durst factory and demo room in Lienz twice during 2008 and to the Durst factory in Brixen three times in 2008. Brixen is also the home of BARBIERI electronic, color management spectrophotometers for grand format inkjet printers, such as the Durst Rho family.

Since I have been in the Durst factories many times, I have definitely come out with many impressions, but I would surmarize them all with a single word: precision.

It is no wonder that the Durst Rho 320R was awarded “Product of the Year 2008” by DPI at SGIA.

Here are several Durst Rho 160 printers, the initial model (that I first saw at DRUPA 2000 and Photokina 2000). Here are more than one of these Durst Rho 160 printers, still working, at Print DiVision, Maribor, Slovenia. I inspected them during autumn 2008. In another printshop south of Ljubljana, of another company, I saw additional Durst Rho printers happily at work.

Since there is already a FLAAR Report available on the Rho 320R, we can keep the text on this page short. You can obtain the FLAAR Reports on the Rho 800 and Rho 351R merely by clicking on them. For the Rho 700 and 320R report, simply fill out a Survey Inquiry Form and the FLAAR Reports will be sent to you (if you have a Subscription, or if you are asking for consulting from FLAAR, then we will send you these reports at no cost during the consultation period).

On the Durst Rho 320, no banding in most situations

At VISCOM Italy 2008 I noticed visible banding on the NUR Expedio printer (HP Scitex XP-whatever). The operator smiled politely and said, “But it's a billboard printer.” I was also surprised and disappointed to see banding on the L&P Digital Technologies Virtu HD8 several months earlier at another venue, but that printer has been withdrawn since the MEMS heads are no longer available. It will be replaced with the Spuhl Virtu RS25 and RS35 under the new brand name, WP Digtal (no banding on these Swiss-made versions).

But you get the point: not all printer manufacturers have understood that banding is no longer acceptable for Point of Sale. Neither bi-directional banding (cure banding, lawnmower effect), or feeding banding (feeds to far or not far enough with each pass) is acceptable because nowadays (actually since 2008) there are software technologies to overcome, elminate, or at least obscure the harsh horizontal banding lines.

On backlit produced from entry-level or mid-range printers, banding lines stand out on most dark areas of solid fill, especially black. So the next time you are at SGIA or ISA, FESPA or VISCOM, or at the factory demo room, be sure to have them run the printer in all modes, and see whether they can control banding. Also realize that some materials may be more prone to banding than others. No printer is perfect, but Durst comes from the world of photo labs. Durst is not from the world of 15 dpi air brush billboard printers.

I bring with me to the Durst demo rooms images from FLAAR photography with a 22-megapixel P25+ digital camera or from our 48-megapixel BetterLight. Naturally I prefer to see them with no banding lines. I am consistently pleased with the results from the Durst Rho when they print enlargements of my own photos.

Yes, you can do billboards, banners, and building wrap with this printer. But you can also produce the kind of museum-quality image that is what FLAAR seeks. Our background is art history, archaeology, architectural history, tropical ethno-botany, ethno-zoology and geology of preHispanic Central America. We want our museum exhibits to be gorgeous: we use a Cruse, a BetterLight or a Phase One P25+ to take the original photos.

Now perhaps it is easier to understand why FLAAR goes to the time and trouble to evaluate printers. Very simple, we seek the best printer to accomplish our exhibit material. As long as we are doing all this research, we share our results with the 340,000 people who read this web site, 360,000 photographers who read our www.digital-photography.org, 150,000 artists who read our www.FineArtGicleePrinters.org, and over 900,000 who read our general web site on wide-format inkjet printers: www.wide-format-printers.org.

Popularity

The company I work with a lot in Ohio (SFC Graphics) now has their second Durst printer, the Rho 800. Meisel, one of the leading top quality printshops from the former photo lab era has both a Rho 800 and a Rho 320R. So sophisticated companies around the world favor Durst products.

Used Durst Rho printers last and last

In a printshop in Slovenia, I noticed they had three Durst Rho 160 printers, still at work. Although we rarely recommend used printers that old, it is worth noting that a Rho holds up for eight years.

Visit the Durst factory yourself

Durst welcomes visits to their factory and demo facilities. Bring the whole familty if they like to ski or hike in the mountains. Brixen is in a pretty area and Lienz is equally spectacular.

Nicholas Hellmuth at Durst factory visit in Brixen, 2008.

Most recently updated April 2nd, 2009.