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NEW LARGE FORMAT SCANNER:

ArtSystems' mysterious Contex SD44SE scanner is the least expensive yet!

Cut-price SD44SE is the mid-range SD4450

Contex SD44SE large format scanner
The Contex SD44SE (aka the SD4450)
 

Scanners4CAD is a web site dedicated to large format scanners and scanned image quality. We are always eager to be first to announce new products.

As the large format scanner industry is small with only a few manufacturers, every new product is noteworthy. Imagine then our surprise when we found a new and unannounced Contex SD Series large format scanner in the UK - with a wonderfully low price.

In mid-July 2009, we came across ArtSystems, the UK Contex distributor, listing the "SD44SE Colour Scanner" with a price of GBP £3,995 (excl.), about USD $6,500 at the current rate of exchange.
 

Contex SD44SE large format scanner
The Contex SD44SE as
advertised by ArtSystems
on 17th September 2009, two
months after we were told it
was soon to be discontinued.
 

We immediately contacted Contex to ask for more information about it. The response we got was lukewarm. Contex indicated that they preferred us not to cover the SD44SE as it was a temporary product on limited UK Special Offer which was soon to be discontinued. At the time we took Contex's explantion at face value.

Some two months later, on 17th September 2009, ArtSystems was seen promoting the SD44SE in the UK for £3395, about US $1000 less than the SD44SE's already fantastically low price! We asked ArtSystems what was going on. Again, we were told that the SD44SE was a time-limited product near the end of of its promotional life. We were again asked not to write about it for fear of confusing the market.

Cheaper even than any other similarly sized monochrome scanner

Although the SD44SE is no longer listed on ArtSystems' web site, it is being promoted. As a result, we decided that we should write about it. Our coverage of large format scanners would be incomplete if we did not mention it. At the original price of £3,995, the SD44SE was, after all, the least expensive color A0 / E-size scanner available in the UK. At its latest advertised price of £3395 it is cheaper even than any other similarly sized monochrome scanner.

So what is the Contex SD44SE?

The Contex SD44SE is the Contex SD4450 by another name.

Quite simply, Contex has taken its mid-range SD4450 and renamed it as the SD44SE (Special Edition) as a promotional tool for ArtSystems to use in the UK.

According to Contex, the SD Series comprises four 44" wide, 1200 dpi optical resolution, ENERGY STAR compliant large format scanners. The only difference between the SD Series scanners is their ability to scan color and their rated scanning speeds. The SD44SE shares all the features of the SD4450, including its scanning speeds.

Contex SD Series Scanning Speeds

  • SD4410 - fast monochrome 10 ips (inches/sec.)
  • SD4430 - slow monochrome 5.0ips / 1.0 ips slow color
  • SD4450 - fast monochrome 10 ips / 1.5 ips medium speed color
  • SD4490 - fast monochrome 10 ips / 3.0 ips fast color

Contex-SD44SE-Brochure
Contex SD44SE Brochure -
Word for word, a description
of the SD4450.

The Contex SD Series large format scanners are described in a family brochure which does not include the SD44SE. It does, however, have its own brochure.

Just like the publicly announced, "official" SD Series scanners, the SD44SE is described in its brochure as giving "exceptional professional-grade performance with true 1200dpi optical resolution with speeds of up to 10 inch/second. ... The 44" imaging area is designed to produce clean, sharp image quality on technical documents, sketches, and maps."

The Specifications on the reverse of the brochure show a 1.5 ips color scan speed.

The Contex SD44SE is quite clearly the SD4450. Because it has a different name - and a different price - we have decided to add the SD44SE to our Large Format Scanner Comparison Chart.

While the SD44SE will not be available in the USA, we understand that Contex may introduce the SD44SE into other markets it wants to open up. In these circumstances, and despite Contex and ArtSystems both advising it will be withdrawn from the UK soon, we feel it appropriate to list the SD44SE as a Contex device.

The complete list of Contex's SD Series scanners should now read:

  • SD4410 - fast monochrome 10 ips (inches/sec.)
  • SD4430 - slow monochrome 5.0ips / 1.0 ips slow color
  • SD4450 - fast monochrome 10 ips / 1.5 ips medium speed color
  • SD44SE - fast monochrome 10 ips / 1.5 ips medium speed color
  • SD4490 - fast monochrome 10 ips / 3.0 ips fast color

Recommended UK Retail Prices

SCANNERUK LIST PRICEUS LIST PRICE
Contex SD4450GBP £5621US $10450
Contex SD44SE
as seen on 17th July on ArtSystems' web site		GBP £3995N/A
Contex SD44SE
as seen in 17th September advertisement		GBP £3395N/A

UK Buying Summary
A UK buyer purchasing a SD4450 for the full List Price of £5621 (excl.) will pay either £1627 or £2227 more than if they had bought the SD44SE - exactly the same scanner.

Some questions - and possible answers -about the Contex SD44SE

Why no fanfare?

The SD44SE large format scanner has entered the UK without the public announcement which Contex's PR department excels at. Normally you would trumpet a scanner with a ground-breaking low price, as Contex did with its new XD2490. Apparently, however, the SD44SE is an ArtSystems initiative, not a Contex one.

Scanners4CAD can only imagine that ArtSystems does not want buyers to find out that it is selling the same product under two different names for two different prices in the UK. Despite some selected Contex resellers making Special Offers on the SD44SE, some UK resellers still offer the SD4450 at close to the full price. Every SD44SE sold in the UK undercuts a Contex reseller trying to sell the same SD4450.

Another possible reason for the stealth is that ArtSystems is conducting market research into selling on-line, possibly direct. With a strong Contex brand name and a cut-price, the SD44SE is ideal for on-line sales.

Do UK resellers profit from selling the cut-price SD44SE?

Probably not. ArtSystems is using the SD44SE to expand its UK network of Contex resellers ravaged by the success of Colortrac. According to Contex, the resellers which ArtSystems are signing up understand that the SD44SE will eventally be replaced by the more expensive and more profitable Contex SD4450. So, we wonder, why not just make Special Offers on the SD4450. Well, no-one would buy the entry-level SD4410 and SD4430 if they did!

Is the SD44SE available in the USA?

Contex has no intention of releasing the SD44SE in the USA.

Why is ArtSystems selling the SD44SE so cheaply in the UK?

We believe the answer is that ArtSystems is using the SD44SE as a tool with which to drum up interest in its products from resellers and buyers while at the same time bludgeoning its rivals, specifically Colortrac, whose UK market share has been growing in recent years at Contex's expense. For this purpose, as well as internet market research, ArtSystems has given the Contex SD44SE an aggressively low UK price.

Conclusion

Companies usually only make Special Offers like this when their products are not selling - or when they are trying to undercut a competitor - or when they are testing the market.

It is our view that in recent years Contex sales have taken a beating in the UK from Colortrac. The SD44SE is ArtSystems' payback time, a double-edged sword designed to hit Colortrac where it hurts - in the UK and in the low cost market - while at the same time discovering the pricing points at which products sell best on-line, either direct or via resellers.

However, ArtSystems' methods raise questions. We could understand it if ArtSystems and its resellers made Special Offers on the SD4450. That would be an honest and open way to cut prices. However, bringing in the same product under a different name at a lower price while continuing to expect buyers to purchase the same product at a higher price is, to our minds, wrong.

ArtSystems has disadvantaged some buyers who are expected to pay more for the same product. Hopefully, by throwing light on the SD44SE, we have put you in a better position to buy a large format scanner in the UK. Assuming availibility, we would recommend the SD44SE over the SD4450 any day.

For further information, please contact Contex A/S:
www.contex.com