First Look at new Contex G600 Wide Format Scanners
Contex has released an entirely new scanner line with new features and enhanced performance.
by Henrik Vestermark
This article is kindly reproduced courtesy of the author, Henrik Vestermark, an independent consultant with professional experience in the wide-format scanner industry since 1988. Previously Contex's Vice President for the Americas his expertise includes all aspects of the wide-format and large-format digital capture market, with experience in development, sales and marketing for a wide-format scanner manufacturer. In 2006, Vestermark started The Other Solutions, a web-based company focusing on delivery of affordable solutions and consultancy to the IT and wide-format markets, specializing in the identification of business needs and justification of solutions. He currently lives in Idaho.
hve@theothersolutions.com
http://www.theothersolutions.com
The New Contex G600 Large Format Scanner Line-up (August 2006).
Contex has released an entirely new scanner line with new features and enhanced performance, replacing their existing scanner line from the 25" wide TOUCAN G25 to the 54" wide MAGNUM G600 scanners. The new scanners are also available under Contex' different brands of GTCO Calcomp, www.gtcocalcomp.com, and Vidar, www.vidar.com.
The new scanners utilize Contex 8th generation scanner controller technologies and all are compliant with Restriction on Hazardous Substance (RoHS) and Energy Star compliances. In Europe the RoHS standard is mandatory as of July 1st 2006. The US will soon follow with similar requirements. California is expected to make it mandatory by January 1st, 2007.
Contex has also improved their scanning technology. They are using new camera lenses with considerable less color aberrations and they have improved their digital enhancement of the image data. This is giving Contex scanners a boost in scan quality. Most of the new scanners are available from August 1st, 2006.
The two copy scanners Puma and COPYmate will be in limited quantities until their successors are available in the beginning of October 2006 under the new names of PUMA G600 iJET and COPYmate G18 iJET.
The new series retained their name from their predecessor with an added suffix G600, G25 and G18 to indicate the added image enhancement and speed. Some of the previous 36" scanners have been widened to a 42" scan width and enhanced to a higher optical resolution.
With the exception of the new 25" wide scanner, the remaining wide format line have been aligned using the same CCD sensor and controller board and they have very similar specifications. The scanner speed now tops at 12"/sec in Black & White and 3"/sec in 24-bit color. The 25" scanner tops at 4.0"/sec Black & White and 1.5"/sec color speed.
With the new release Contex is shifting away from specifying optical resolution in their scanners. Instead they just use the term "resolution" as for what quality the scanner is capable of delivering. (Contex believe that) The term Optical resolution only tells the physical capability of the scanner sensors.
According to Contex, image quality is dependent on the lenses, light source and the digital image enhancement of the capture data, hence optical resolution is not an adequate term to describe the image quality in a Contex scanner. All the new 36", 42", and 54"scanners with the exception of the 36" HAWK-EYE have an optical resolution of 508 dpi but with the Contex enhancement it should be equivalent or surpass any 600 dpi scanner in the market.
(Editor's Note: This statement is not a scientific one. It should be regarded as an example of Contex's marketing hype until such time as they show clear proof.)
The new scanner name suffix G600 on these scanners is an indication of the new naming convention.
Another interesting note is that with all color scanners you get the full black & white speed usually around 12"/sec in the base model. That is a break from the past where full Black & white speed could only be reached in the Plus model.
In regards to color speed most models top out at 1.5"/sec in the Base models and 3.0"/sec in the Plus models. While this looks like a great speed enhancement it will be limited by the capacity of the connected PC. Most PCs can't handle a data load of more than half that speed at 400 dpi. This makes Contex's Base model an excellent choice for blending price with performance for most buyers.
All new scanners support USB 2/Firewire with the exception of the COPYmate and the PUMA which support USB 2 and LAN.
Here is what has changed
The top of the line the 54" MAGNUM is replaced with the MAGNUM G600 with a top speed of 1.5"/sec color and 12"/sec in Black & White. The price remains the same and the model is available in both a Base and a Plus version. The Plus version has improved color speed to 3"/sec for an additional cost of $2000 (£1430).
(Editor's Note: Where possible we show equivalent UK list prices. Curious readers may want to perform USD / GBP conversions at the current rate of exchange to see if UK CAD users pay more - or less - for Contex scanners!)
The 42" CHROMA and CRYSTAL has been renamed CHROMA G600 and CRYSTAL G600. Both scanners top at 12"/sec in Black & White speed. The real difference is the color speed with 1.5"/sec for the CHROMA and 0.6"/sec for the CRYSTAL. With the Plus upgrade the speed improved to 3"/sec and 1.0"/sec for the two models. Both the CRYSTAL priced and the CHROMA G600 price remain the same.
In addition, a monochrome-only (Black and White) 42" scanner, the PREMIER G600, has been introduced as a replacement for its 36" counterpart at the price point of the old model, starting at $9,900 (£7195). The PREMIER G600 Base model speed is 6"/sec and the Plus version double the Black & White speed to 12"/sec for a modest $2000 (£1695) increase in price.
The new PUMA G600 has the same specification as the PUMA HS600 it replaced except that it is now able to support a 42" scan width instead of the previous 36" scan with.
The new COUGAR G600 will still be 36" scan width but with added Black & White speed that tops at 12"/sec in the Plus model (6"/sec in Base). The color speed remains the same.
The new CHAMELEON G600 is a major boost of the previous CHAMELEON model. It shares the same specification as the COUGAR G600 but with a lower color speed of 0.6" in the Base model and 1"/sec in the Plus model.
A new 25" scanner replaces both the COUGAR 25 and CHAMELEON 25. The TOUCAN G25 has a moderate Black & White speed of 4"/sec and 0.5"/sec in color (Base) and 1.5"/sec (Plus). However the biggest news is a huge price drop of $3000 making the starting price for this 25" scanner $8,900 (£6495).
And finally, the HAWK-EYE G36 will retain its specification but with a color scanning capability even in the Base model. The previous Black & White only HAWK-EYE has been discontinued. The new HAWK-EYE model has received a modest price increase of $1,000, so it now starts at $9,900 (£6995).
The table below summarizes the changes and main specifications for the new models.
(Editor's Note: We have substituted all USD prices for GBP ones. Please bear in mind though that this article was originally written for US readers, as its spelling conventions show!)
Contex models before August 1 |
Contex models after August 1 |
MSRP New Base Price GBP |
What's Changed? |
25" Scanners |
|
|
|
CHAMELEON Sx 25 |
discontinued |
|
|
COUGAR Sx 25 |
TOUCAN G25 |
£6495 |
Same specs. Reduced price Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
36" scanners |
|
|
|
HAWK-EYE Mx 36 |
discontinued |
|
|
HAWK-EYE Cx 36 |
HAWK-EYE G36 |
£6995 |
Reduced price Color speed increase from 0.3"/sec-1.5"/sec (base) Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
PREMIER Tx 36 |
discontinued- replaced by the 42" PREMIER |
|
|
CHAMELEON Tx 36 |
CHAMELEON G600 |
£8495 |
Increase from 2 cameras to 3 cameras Optical resolution increase from 400dpi to 508 dpi Added auto thickness control ATAC B/W speed increase from 3"/sec-12"/sec (base) Color speed increase from 0.3"/sec-0.6"/sec (base) Color speed increase from 0.3"/sec-1.0"/sec (plus) I/F change from SCSI/ USB 2 to USB 2/Firewire Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
COUGAR Tx 36 |
COUGAR G600 |
£11495 |
Increase from 2 cameras to 3 cameras Optical resolution increase from 400dpi to 508 dpi Added auto thickness control ATAC B/W speed increase from 3"/sec-12"/sec (base) I/F change from SCSI/ USB 2 to USB 2/Firewire Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
Puma HS 36 |
No change but will be replaced by a new 42" PUMA later this year. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
42" scanners |
|
|
|
|
PREMIER G600 |
£7195 |
New replaced the 36" PREMIER Tx Optical resolution increase from 400dpi to 508 dpi Added auto thickness control ATAC B/W speed increase from 4"/sec-6"/sec (base) Added auto thickness control ATAC Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
CRYSTAL HS 42 |
CRYSTAL G600 |
£10750 |
B/W speed increase from 5"/sec-12"/sec (base) Color speed increase from 0.6"/sec-1.0"/sec (plus) Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
CHROMA HS 42 |
CHROMA G600 |
£14495 |
B/W speed increase from 5"/sec-12"/sec (base) Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
|
Puma G600 iJET |
£14995 |
New scanner replacing the 36" Puma HS B/W speed increase from 6"/sec-12"/sec (base) Added RoHS and Energy Star Compliant |
54" Scanners |
|
|
|
MAGNUM XL 54 |
MAGNUM G600 |
£19995 |
B/W speed increase from 4"/sec-12"/sec (base) I/F change from SCSI/ USB 2 to USB 2/Firewire |
This First Look was written by Henrik Vestermark of The Other Solutions, Inc.
hve@theothersolutions.com
http://www.theothersolutions.com
For comments, discussion or consultancy don’t hesitate to contact:
Henrik Vestermark,
The Other Solutions,
866 E Tuweep St,
Meridian, ID 83642
USA
Phone: +1 208 887 4780
Cell: +1 571 276 4050
Email: hve@theothersolutions.com
Web: www.theothersolutions.com
Skype: henrikvestermark
© Henrik Vestermark 2006.
Henrik Vestermark working the GTCO Calcomp booth at the ESRI Exhibition, 7-10th August 2006, San Diego, CA, USA.
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