<<The trading is a little thin today and a half dollar spread?>>
As of 12:00 EST, we have a total of 0 for volume and a big spread. Welcome to the world of RGFX. Somebody has got to make some laws.
<<The current offerings seem a little pricey for a small print shop>>
They are pricey for a small print shop because they are not made for the small print shop. This printer was designed for shops that handle tremendous volume. A small print shop would be better off with a cheaper Encad or something like that. There are several shops out there that are buying several of these low output printers when they could be buying one P5000 or DCS printer.
Piezoelectric technology can be used in cheaper machines. The P5000 uses several heads for each color to increase output but it also uses a patented media transport mechanism that costs plenty. Remember, when printing speed increases, *accurately* moving the media under the print heads becomes increasingly important - especially as resolution increases. I don't have the specs with me for the accuracy of the P5000 prints but I do remember them being extremely accurate. Remember, if you print 4 colors seperately and each are off by a tiny margin, the end result looks like garbage. RGFX seems to be pretty superior to others in this respect.
One example of the cheaper piezoelectric printing is the P1000, which retails for $18k (they just dropped the price). Roland and Fuji, among others have cheaper piezo printers out there. Here is a link that I found while researching the P5000 (posted previously). It has great remarks about RGFX and will give you a good idea about who they are up against. Read the whole article from top to bottom if you are or thinking about being a shareholder. Compare speeds and resolution.
seyboldseminars.com
here are some highlights -
"There is another force coming, which should cause all three of the leaders to look over their shoulders. Raster Graphics, until now a player mainly in the high-end, elecrostatic market, has cut its entry-level price nearly in half with its first ink-jet device, the PiezoPrint 5000. It uses piezoelectric printing technology, which is claimed to support longer life for the print head and, since no heat is involved in the printing process, it may provide better color consistency across a print. It is still a comparatively expensive technology compared with standard ink-jet printing, but when the cost comes down, the major vendors of ink-jet systems had best beware. "
"The advantage this printer offers is its use of piezoelectric technology, which we think will dominate the market when it becomes more affordable for end users. Piezoelectric devices don't rely on heating the ink, so color across a print should be more consistent than with conventional, heat-based ink-jet units. In addition, the technology is reputed to enable more durable print heads."
"Being about ten times faster than other large-format ink-jet devices on the market , the PiezoPrint 5000 is best suited for production environments. Its price is notable, too, since it has become the industry's first real workhorse-caliber printer with a price tag lower than $100,000." |
