​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.