​Choosing a suitable large format machine is often a daunting task. We often meet customers who are spoilt for choice when it comes to the types of machines that can be suitable for their needs. So lets get down to the criteria that customers needs to choose from when it comes to selecting a machine that will be suitable. 

​1. What size of plan drawing you wish to print or scan?

• By paper size: A1, A0, B0, B0+.
• By paper width: 24 inch, 36 inch, 44inch, 60 inch. 
• A common misconception we have noticed in this industry has to do with the size of the drawing.
• Typically most customers believe if they are printing A1 size they should buy an A1 size machine
• This is not recommended and here is why.
• When you purchase an A1(24″) plotter then what your doing is printing A1 size in portrait.
• Doing so means you print the short edge first (594mm) and leave the long edge (841mm) trailing behind.
• This consumes paper, a lot of paper. So you will raise consumable price for paper
• We suggest to you to print A1 in landscape meaning the long edge is printed first this way the paper consumption will only be (594mm ) trailing behind.

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2. How many pages do you print in one day?

• Low volume: 1 to 5 A1 A0 print outs per day,
• Medium volume: 30 to 60 A1 A0 print outs per day,
• High volume: 70 to 100 A1 A0 print outs per day.

3. Do you require black and white or colour prints?

• For medium to high volume of mainly mono prints, we suggest a A1 A0 laser printer.
• Laser printing machines such as the Canon Oce Fuji Xerox offers fast mono prints.
• However if you have a mix of medium to high color and mono prints,
• You may need to consider a colour inkjet printing machine such as the Canon HP Epson
• If you have low volume print of mono and colour A1 A0 printing, we suggest to consider a colour inkjet printing machine Canon HP Epson
• These days with the new technology found in the A1 A0 colour inkjet plotter, for mono and color printing cost wise is practically the same​.

4. Do you need a scanner or any large format multi function feature?

• A multifunction machine allows a consumer to print/copy/scan/save to network.
• Amendments that are done in hard copy is to be saved and so the best way to do this is to scan the document.
• Here is a quick tip; if yo already have a plotter then all you need is an upgrade of hardware.
• You can easily upgrade your existing plotter to a multifunctional A0 and A1 size by using the following machines from Contex
• This allows independence from the large format printer and the large format scanner and allows a consumer a redundancy feature.
• Meaning if your plotter is spoilt then you can still use the scanner.
• The other alternatives of an inbuilt Multifunction are found in the following machines: Canon TM5300Me

5. Running costs

• The most critical mistake consumers make is the overlook the running cost.
• Some machines in the market are cheap to buy but extremely costly to maintain.
• So doing your research is extremely important.
• Large format printing machines which are not on a service contract have the following consumables: maintenance waste ink tank, print head, and inks.
• The standard mono laser printer Canon Oce Fuji Xerox comes with 5 years of  consumables (except paper) being taken care of and the consumer pays per use of a sq meter program.
• However the only machine in Malaysia that gives the consumer the advantages of a pay-per-use scheme is the Canon TM5300Me allowing color and mono prints to be charged per use.
• This model is really good for the cost conscious customer and those with low to medium volume needs.

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6. Printing cost calculation software

• Calculating print costs has never been easier! 
• Every Canon plotter comes with the FREE Accounting Manager software to show accurate print costs based on factual data rather than estimates. 
• This video show this software is simple to configure and use.

7. Batch printing features

• It is often cumbersome to open pdf files one by one at a time.
• If you often have to print a number of pdf files this can be extremely exhausting
• As each file needs to be opened individually and then parameters set and then you may send it for printing
• Batch printing allows for a drag and drop function such as is found on software which are bundled with the Canon TM5300Me like the Direct Print Plus.
• You can also see how this software is implemented in the Canon plotter you can watch a demonstration of this here.
• Typically machines that come bundled with this machine tend to have a higher price point.
• So should your organization mainly send the files through Autocad, PDF or other software then there is no need for any batch printing and a normal range of plotters are available.

8. Cloud connectivity

• Having a cloud connected printer offers some unique advantages.
• It allows users to send print files remotely without having to be in front of the machine.
• Supposing your working on a project and its a sat or sun and you need to have the drawings first thing monday morning.
• With the Canon Direct Print & Share cloud connected machine you can send print jobs from your home or wherever you are to the machine and have them ready when you need them.
• Canon Direct Print & Share Video show Step by step guide on how to use the direct print and share features for your Canon.

9. Overall budget

• The budget really assist in determining the best solution for your needs
• Consumers often want the best at the cheapest possible price however their expectation of cheap is extremely skewed from what is actually possible.
• In nutshell we have summarised the price ranges as follows
• Low volume plotter = RM5,000 to RM15,000
• Medium volume plotter= RM16,000 to RM35,000
• High volume plotter= RM36,000 to RM60,000

It is our hope that this guide really narrows down how you can go about selecting the right large format printer for your needs. We will be more than happy to meet up with you to learn more and to give you the advice you deserve. We believe customers for far too long have dealt with sales people that are out to recommend something really expensive for a higher commission. I find this to be abhorring and unethical. So if your looking for a clean cut easy to understand and a proposal that will match your requirement do send us enquiry or visit our website for further information.

When we need to print A1 drawings or plans then we must actually have a plotter that is A1 size. Most end users are unsure of the difference between an A1 plotter or an A0 Plotter. So i hope that this article will provide some insight towards understanding these differences. Manufacturers such as the following will usually carry these sizes of machines (Canon, HP, Epson, Ricoh, Oce, Fuji Xerox)

First lets understand the common plotter sizes which are available :

• A1 Size, 24 inches
• A0 Size, 36 inches
• B0 Size, 42inches
• B0 Size, 44 inches
• B0+ Size, 60 inches

The above plotter sizes here are typically used to denote the maximum media sizes that you can load onto a machine. In the context of architectural , engineering or construction environments the discussion will only revolve around two paper sizes that is basically machines capable of loading 24″ or 36″ paper.

So lets breakdown the paper sizes available for end consumers here:

• 594 mm or 24″ length can vary 50 meters, 100 meters, 150 meters, 175 meters.
• 841 mm or 33″ length can vary 50 meters, 100 meters, 150 meters, 175 meters.

Here is what is important to realize, the longer the length of paper the cheaper the roll of paper gets, so if the objective is to achieve a lower cost of consumable then taking an often overlooked part which is paper is essential. 

​Lets take a look at the diagram below:

Diagram A: Shows what happens when you purchase a A1 plotter or 24 inch large format printer.

• More paper is used length wise,
• So if your loading 50 meter paper, you will only yield the following number of A1 drawings, 50 meters / 0.841 = 59 pages A1 Drawings,
• Since the print head has a shorter path to travel because your printing A1 in portrait then this will slow down the printing process as the print head must make more passes.

Diagram B: Shows what happens when you purchase a 36″ plotter.

• Less paper is used length wise, 
• So if your loading 50 meter paper, you will yield more number of A1 drawings, 50 meters / 0.594 = 84 pages A1 Drawings,
• This is 25 pages A1 sheets more then the previous version a 30% more paper situation.
• Since the print head has a longer path to travel because now your printing A1 in landscape then this means that your prints are going to be much faster.

So finally we need to understand why are there then 24 inch models available, these so called A1 models. Well, the prime reason they are there is because then you can print sizes such as A2 more. As we have shown you in the diagram, if you load a 594mm paper roll then it will print A2 in landscape. Thus reducing once again the length of the paper that is used.

So please do not make the mistake of purchasing a 24″  plotter model instead of a 36″ plotter model if you primarily print A1 size drawings. This will only cause the cost of your paper consumable to increase and you will end up use more time changing the paper rolls more often.


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