Kip Wide Format Color- 5 Things to Like

One of the highlights of Graph Expo 2016 was the chance to see the Kip Color Wide Format Series in person. You see, I am a wide format geek through and through. At the beginning of my sales career, the first sales class my dealership sent me to way back in 1995 was for Ricoh Wide Format.

Ever since then I have loved the products and the AEC marketplace. We have come a long way since the Ricoh FW760 and FW830 units. Everything is now digital, multifunctional and now color is coming to the forefront of this part of the industry.

All the major players have color wide format products in their lineup. Some have more than one model others have only one model (Ricoh, I am thinking of you here).

Now to the subject of this blog.

Kip America has a full lineup of color wide format models and I was fortunate to see them in action.

I was not disappointed.

First off let’s look at a little information on the series.

There are technically 5 models but they are all the same unit only configured differently. All using the same consumables and basic parts.

The models are the 850-860-870-880/890. http://kipnews.kip.com/_Public...00SeriesBrochure.pdf

The 850 retails for $28k and is a 2 roll network printer, the 860 is a 2 roll multifunction unit and the 870 is a 4 roll network printer, both retail for $31K. And finally the 880 is a 4 roll multifunction unit with the KIP 720 CIS scanner/the 890 is a 4 roll multifunction unit with the KIP 2300 CCD production scanner, both retail for between $35-40k respectively.

Here are a few things I really liked about these systems.

1. Full speed output of 8D per minute for all models on both color and b/w images in all modes.  I watched the different models of this unit multiple times print an 80 page set of “D” size images that were a mix of both b/w and color CAD technical drawings and full color and b/w images at anywhere from %10 to %80 coverage and it did not slow down or pause when switching modes.
2. Cost per square ft. Kip claims that the cost per square ft. at a %10 coverage for a b/w drawing is $.017 sq. ft. and for a color drawing is $.029 sq. ft. These numbers are for parts and labor and do not include supply costs which would add an additional $.035-$.04 per sq. ft. at %10 coverage. Very good pricing indeed.
3. 12” Smart System K Touchscreen. I found this GUI to be one of the easiest to use interfaces that I have come across to date. Everything was right there on the front of the screen, functions were simple to access and I was able to operate the system with complete confidence in less than 10 minutes. Sure, it helps to have sold wide format systems for over 20 years but I believe anyone could learn how to use this in a very short time with minimal training involved. 
4. LED process vs. Inkjet. I am not saying that I do not like the ink process; however, I believe that there are certain advantages when comparing LED to ink technology.  First thing is paper. You can run a lot of different media. See the link. http://kipnews.kip.com/_Public...SeriesMediaGuide.pdf
5. You can run standard 20lb bond paper on the KIP when printing color or b/w with no worries. An inkjet system will not work well when utilizing 20lb bond paper for any applications requiring more than a small amount of coverage as you have the issue of bleed through of image. Most inkjet systems (HP-Canon-Ricoh) will recommend you run a heavier weight of bond or a coated inkjet paper for best quality and unfortunately this results in a higher consumable paper price. Also take into account the ability of toner vs. ink to resist water and UV light. I know not everyone takes their prints outside in the sun or rain but this can happen and ink does not make very good friends with either element, although to be fair, both units can print onto a waterproof paper which helps takes one element out of the equation.
6. Software functionality. The Kip comes standard with Kip Print Pro which is an extremely easy to use and powerful batch plotting, accounting and print management tools, very similar to PLP Plotworks/OpCenter but with much added scanning functionality. Kip’s competitors offer a software package but at an added premium cost of up to $6k retail (HP Pagewide Smartstream).

In conclusion, I would like to thank Justin Stowe (left below), Kip’s Regional Sales Manager, for his time and patience in answering all my questions and providing a great, in depth look at their suite of products.

I believe KIP has a great series here that would be perfect for a growing segment of the wide format marketplace where there is a need for quality color and b/w output at an industry leading low operational and supply cost per page. If this series isn’t already enough for you then just wait until 1Q of 2017 when we will hopefully see their High Speed color-b/w system at 16 “D” plus speeds.

John Anderson