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Scanners4CAD eMagazine - October 2006

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HOT NEWS: Graphtec GB cut prices by up to 29% while adding unique value
INTERVIEW: Phil Kneale, Graphtec GB
NEW SCANNER: The aggressively priced Colortrac SmartLF Gx 42
WHITE PAPER: Contex host "CCD vs CIS Scanning Technologies" Grey Paper
WATCHDOG: Colortrac's Gx 42 1200 dpi optical claim examined!
NEW SOFTWARE: New Scan2CAD update; Free fully working Trial available
COMING SOON: Colortrac plan A1 scanner release by Q1 2007
THE MARKET: Graphtec to re-enter UK scanner market with new products
THE WORTHWHILE WEB: Ralph Grabowski's upFront eZine, 'The Business of CAD'.

23rd October 2006

HOT NEWS: Graphtec GB cut prices by up to 29% while adding unique value

Graphtec GB have underlined their determination to get back into the UK large format scanner market by aggressively cutting the price of their impressively engineered Japanese-built CIS scanners by up to 29%.

At the same time Graphtec GB have added exceptional value to their wide format products by including a two year on-site warranty with every scanner. Such a warranty is worth almost £1000 when bought from from rival suppliers.

Graphtec GB are now the first UK supplier to include a two year on-site warranty covering parts and labour on large format scanners sold at this price. Both Colortrac and Contex include only two year return to factory warranties.

All Graphtec scanners use CIS technology and are 42" wide with 600 dpi optical resolution. The scanners are available as 8-bit or 24-bit colour models capable of accepting media from 1.5mm to 20mm thick. All models are supplied with software and are network-ready, a feature Graphtec GB is not promoting at present.

Graphtec GB have discontinued their monochrome-only scanner in favour of the IS200-11eN Pro, an 8-bit monochrome and colour image scanner. Graphtec's new entry-level IS200-11eN Pro gives CAD users who expect to scan almost entirely in black and white the ability to do the occasional colour scan as well.

Starting at £5300 (excl) for the 8-bit IS200-11eN Pro, Graphtec GB's entry-level pricing compares favourably with the its nearest rival, the British-built 24-bit Colortrac SmartLF Cx 40c, which costs £4995 but which has no on-site support unless purchased for an extra £845, a total of £5840.

The new prices, effective from 17th October 2006, are:

IS200-11eN-Pro - Now £5300
42", 8-bit colour, 600 dpi optical, 4800 dpi interpolated, 1.5mm thick
Was £6900

CS500-11eN - Now £5600
42", 24-bit colour, 600 dpi optical, 800 dpi interpolated, 1.5mm thick
Was £8145

CS500-11eN-Pro - Now £6750
42", 24-bit colour, 600 dpi optical, 4800 dpi interpolated, 1.5mm thick
Was £9250

CS600-11eN - Now £9350
42", 24-bit colour, 600 dpi optical, 800 dpi interpolated, 20mm thick
Was £10910

CS600-11eN-Pro - Now £10495
42", 24-bit colour, 600 dpi optical, 4800 dpi interpolated, 20mm thick
Was £12300

  • Upgrades are available between some models.
  • Floorstands cost between £350 (IS) - £415 (CS).
  • Prices include Scanning Master software.
  • Upgrades to Scanning Master Pro software cost £230.

Is this the UK's first real alternative to the Colortrac SmartLF?
Will these price cuts and the addition of unrivalled on-site support be enough to offer British CAD users the first real alternative to the popular Colortrac SmartLF large format scanners that have so dominated the UK market since late 2004?

Let's look at some prices!

Assuming you want to buy a large format CIS colour scanner for CAD work, then for example and excluding discounts a Colortrac SmartLF Cx 40c with floorstand, ScanWorks software and an included two year return to factory warranty will cost you £5585 (excl). With a two year on-site warranty it costs £6430 (excl).

A comparable Graphtec IS200 with similar configuration (but only 8-bit colour) and two year on-site warranty will cost £5880 (excl). If you buy a Graphtec CS500-11eN for 24-bit colour, (which most CAD users with black and white technical drawings and occasional colour probably don't need), you are looking at £6245.

If you remove the cost of a two year on-site warranty from the cost of a SmartLF Cx 40 then Graphtec scanners are not yet quite as affordable. However, we think that for the relatively small difference in price many potential buyers will want to pay a bit more to get the peace-of-mind that an on-site warranty will bring.

So, YES, depending on how you look at it, the Graphtec's CS500-11eN does offer a real alternative to the Colortrac SmartLF Cx 40 range for 24-bit colour scanning, the 8-bit IS200-11eN-Pro less so.

However, if you need a thick media option, (most CAD users do not), then Graphtec scanners do not offer a price-based alternative to the new SmartLF GxT range. They are considerably more expensive.

The new CCD-based SmartLF GxT 42c costs £7835 (excl) with floorstand, ScanWorks software and an included two year return to factory warranty. With a two year on-site warranty it costs £8680 (excl). The similarlrly equipped CIS Graphtec CS600-11eN is wildly more expensive, starting at £9995 (excl).

22nd October 2006
The state of the UK's low-end, wide format scanner market.
Graphtec's price cuts will further fuel the downward pressure on entry-level, large format scanner prices. In particular, this will give Contex, the industry leader, much to think about.

Contex now finds itself partly sidelined in a market that was their personal fiefdom not so long ago. (They once claimed 92% market share!). They now have no entry-level scanner capable of competing with either Graphtec or Colortrac at these attractive, entry-level prices. And prices have yet to fall further!

In defence of their realm Contex are making attempts to discredit CIS scanners. (Some argue that Contex is educating the market in terms of what constitutes good scan quality). Contex argue that CIS scanners, as manufactured by Colortrac and Graphtec, are inferior to CCD ones made by themselves.

Graphtec believe that CIS is superior to CCD technology. Graphtec say they can prove that CIS is better than CCD. Graphtec USA host a similar article that argues the other point of view.

Click here to read the Graphtec white paper (PDF, 2.2Mb).

Whatever the truth of this argument, Contex's lowest priced CCD scanner, the Hawk-Eye, is struggling. It's as outdated as a biplane in an age of jets.

With a list price of £6995 and just 200 dpi optical resolution, the Contex Hawk-Eye is all but redundant in a market where entry-level CIS scanners suitable for CAD work do much more for a lot less.

In the USA Graphtec have done much to invigorate the low-end scanner market and now have the largest share of this market in North America. Graphtec GB's intiative is bold and welcome but they face a long and difficult campaign to win an equal share of the UK market alongside the well-established Colortrac SmartLF.

Where to buy a Graphtec scanner?
Some older UK CAD users will remember Graphtec from the days of pen plotters and digitisers. Younger ones may ask "Graphtec who?".

This is not a question you hear asked in the USA where Graphtec's large format scanners enjoy a high level of product awareness due to years of marketing through a successful distribution and reseller network.

In the UK little is known of Graphtec outside of the sign and cutting industry which they dominate. They now have their work cut out in the wide format scanner market. Years of neglecting their scanner products mean that Graphtec GB no longer has an active reseller network through which to channel, demo and sell scanners.

However, as prices fall traditional wide format scanner resellers become less important than internet savvy sales outlets selling discounted scanners on-line at competitive prices. But such sales can only be made once products are well-known, desirable commodities, something which Graphtec scanners are not at this time.

Graphtec GB need to increase UK awareness of their product, as their colleagues have done in the USA and as Colortrac have done for the SmartLF in the UK. If they are unable to do this they will not be able to tap into internet sales. They will find this side of the cyberspace pond a cold and lonely place.

It is not all doom and gloom. Graphtec GB do have a base of loyal UK scanner users who paid the previously higher prices to get what they perceived to be the benefits of Graphtec's superior engineering build-quality and overall reliability.

Further good news is that anyone wanting to buy a Graphtec scanner can now buy them from us at competitively discounted prices.

Graphtec scanner review
Graphtec GB have offered us scanners to review. Once we have evaluated them in-depth we will give you a full warts and all comparative report. We look forward to promoting Graphtec scanners on this site alongside the other products which we have identified as providing the most suitable large format scanners for CAD.

23rd October 2006

INTERVIEW: Phil Kneale, Graphtec GB

Scanners4CAD spoke to Phil Kneale, Graphtec GB's Sales and Marketing Director.

Scanners4CAD: "You have cut prices by up 29% on some models. Why?"

Kneale: "Graphtec GB are serious about the wide format scanner market in the UK. Our products have been very successful in the US and Asia but we now realise that, unusually, the UK market was always more cost conscious in this sector. Improved production techniques and higher volumes in our factory in Japan coupled other factors allow us to bring in this much needed price reduction".

Scanners4CAD: "What do you hope to achieve?"

Kneale: "It's our intention to make Graphtec the market leader in wide format scanners".

Scanners4CAD: "What strengths do Graphtec products have?"

Kneale:: "Graphtec products have always been renowned for their build quality and reliability. Now we are putting our money where our mouth is and providing a full two year on-site warranty. This is a UK initiative, not a worldwide one. We are funding this ourselves. The two year on-site warranty covers all parts and labour except the scanner glass platen. This is one of the best warranties in the industry. As a result, anyone can buy from Graphtec with total confidence".

Scanners4CAD: "You have discontinued the entry-level monochrome IS model. Why?"

Kneale:: "Yes, there really was no place for it in the range. We believe that most buyers will buy a colour scanner rather than a monochrome one if there is only a small difference in price. Our pricing reflects this reality".

Scanners4CAD: "Your scanners are supplied as network-ready models but you are not promoting this feature. Why?

Kneale:: "It works as described but it is slow".

Scanners4CAD: "Do Graphtec scanners conform to EU legislation to protect users and the environment?"

Kneale:: Yes. All Graphtec large format scanner products sold in Europe have been remanufactured and designed to fully conform with the new RoHS recycling regulations that have been law in the UK since July 2006".

Scanners4CAD: "Thanks and good luck. Let's have a scanner to review, please."

Graphtec GB Limited,
Coed Aben Road,
Wrexham Industrial Estate,
Wrexham,
Clwyd LL13 9UH.
UK.
Website: www.graphtecgb.com

9th October 2006

NEW SCANNER - The aggressively priced Colortrac SmartLF Gx 42

Colortrac has unveiled a new, 42" reprographics quality CCD scanner.

The Colortrac SmartLF Gx 42 series of CCD scanners has a 42" image width, (48" throat), 600 dpi optical resolution (maximimum interpolated 9600 dpi) and is capable of enhanced colour capture.

Available in three standard SmartLF models, m (monochrome), c (colour) and e (express colour), the Gx 42's UK list price starts at £5995 for the Gx 42m and at £6495 and £6995 for the Gx 42c and 42e respectively.

A GxT 42 (Thick) variant supports media up to 0.8" (20mm) thick. This costs £750 more per model. Because of the mechanical differences between standard and thick models you cannot upgrade from a Gx 42 model to a motorised GxT 42 but you can upgrade from a GxT 42m to 42c or 42e. As CAD users don't normally scan very thick media, like board or card, this thick media feature will appeal most to reprographics professionals.

When the SmartLF 4080 and it successor the Cx 40 range were introduced, Colortrac stated that these scanners were for CAD users who wanted price and performance benefits as opposed to pure perfomance. The Gx 42 now goes some way to offering pure performance. Colortrac state that the Gx 42's use of CCD technology gives it better colour recognition than is currently available in their popular CIS-based SmartLF Cx range.

Colortrac claim that the Gx 42 has an optical resolution of 1200 dpi. We're perplexed by this claim. The Gx 42 range use 1200 dpi CCDs with RGB and monochrome linear strips which capture 1200 dpi in the X (across the scan line) and 600 dpi in the Y (down the scan line). This is converted and saved as 600 x 600 dpi optical resolution output i.e. at 600 dpi.

See: WATCHDOG: Colortrac's Gx 42 1200 dpi optical claim examined!

Nevertheless, CAD users should cheer Colortrac for helping to make large format scanners more affordable. The 2006 drop in UK wide format scanner prices was largely propelled by the runaway success of the groundbreaking SmartLF 4080 and Cx 40 series of CIS scanners. The success of these scanners has sent Contex, previously unchallenged, into a flat spin - PR spin, that is!

See: WHITE PAPER: Contex host "CCD vs CIS Scanning Technologies" Grey Paper

Colortrac carefully studied the recent launch of the upgraded Contex G600 range and the price adjustments, such as they are, which Contex introduced. The SmartLF Gx 42 aggressively attacks several products in the Contex G600 range on the basis of price and performance, the tactic that has made the SmartLF a UK No. 1 best-seller.

One product under attack is Contex's new monochrome-only scanner, the Premier G600 which comes in at £7195. The Colortrac SmartLF GxT 42c scanner comes in at £7245 with the same CCD technology, optical resolution, scan speed, thick media capability PLUS the ability to scan in colour as well.

In our experience, the majority of cost-conscious CAD users will always buy a colour scanner before a monochrome-only one even if 95% of their work is scanning monochrome drawings. When presented with a colour option for a small extra cost most CAD users invariably buy a colour scanner. Colortrac now give CAD users a compelling reason to spend just £50 more to gain a SmartLF colour scanner rather than a monochrome-only Contex Premier.

Colortrac say that the Gx 42 is "designed to provide fast, high quality scans, copies or file distribution of large format photographs, satellite images, artwork, graphic designs and posters". There's no reference to CAD usage there. However, they add that the Gx 42 will accurately capture "the finest details of maps, blueprints, engineering drawings, site plans and architectural renderings". Perhaps this is Colortrac simply trying to widen the appeal of the Gx 42 to CAD users working with technical drawings?

Colortrac conclude that the Gx 42 is the ideal scanner for "professional service providers and reprographics bureaus, copyshops, graphic arts, design, mapping, survey and GIS professionals in any size of enterprise". Again, this only serves to underline the fact that the Gx 42 is more capable than 9/10 CAD users need for the scanning jobs they do most everyday - scanning technical drawings for copying, archiving and or raster to vector conversion.

However, the Gx 42's price (even without reseller discounting) is so attractive it will tempt many CAD users to stump up the extra £1500 over a Cx 40 model to gain the benefits of CCD technology, specifically enhanced colour capture. Even so, our view is that if the scanning of technical drawings is what you do most, even if you do colour work now and again, even if cost is not a consideration, the Cx 40 remains a very good buy.

Modern CIS scanners are capable of providing high quality scans for CAD, even for the most demanding requirement, raster to vector converson, an application we are expert in.

While we have little hesitation in recommending a SmartLF Cx 40 to the majority of CAD users for all their scanning needs, both black and white and colour, the Cx 40's one downside is that its CIS technology cannot capture very fine colour detail as well as a CCD scanner like the Gx 42. The area where this problem shows up most markedly on the Cx 42 colour scanner is in its inability to capture with real clarity the shiny metallic inks of highlighter pens.

Sensitivity to UV dyes is not a strong point of CIS scanners. If capturing highlighter pen detail is important to your CAD application, then the Gx 42c or 42e is the better solution. Its CCD technology captures fine colour detail at an unbeatable price. Other colour scanners from manufacturers like Contex will also capture this detail but not at this price.

Right now, the SmartLF Gx 42c is the best priced and performing colour CCD scanner money can buy. Its one downside is its media handling, the thinnest of all the scanners in our comparison chart, just 0.5mm or the combined thickness of five sheets of 80 gsm copying paper. Is this enough for technical drawings? We think so but if you want certainty and can justify an extra £750 then the SmartLF GxT 42c will give you 20mm media thickness, more than any Contex scanner on our comparison chart.

Despite the fact that it does more than 9/10 CAD users need, its excellent price and enhanced CCD performance when compared to ALL other scanners available today makes the SmartLF GxT 42c a Softcover Best Buy for CAD.

For further details, please email: info@scanners4cad.com

Use our FREE large format scanner comparison chart to see how Contex, Graphtec and Colortrac scanners compare.

Colortrac Limited,
Kings Hall,
St Ives Business Park,
St Ives,
Huntingdon,
Cambs PE27 4WY.
Website: www.colortrac.com

7th October 2006

WHITE PAPER: Contex host "CCD vs CIS Scanning Technologies" Grey Paper

A new document available on the Contex web site attempts to compare the relative benefits of CIS and CCD scanning technology.

Many believe that "you get what you pay for". As a result, they believe that the thousands of pounds they can save on a CIS scanner means that they will not get the same quality as a more expensive CCD scanner.

As Contex only sell CCD scanners it will come as no surprise to learn that this document's conclusion is that CCD scanners are superior to CIS ones.

Written by Meredith Deaver of Syntactix Communications, copyrighted 2006 and quoting IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, (January 2005), the "CCD vs CIS Scanning Technologies" white paper is clearly on the Contex web site to thwart the growing success of wide format CIS scanners, particularly in the entry-level CAD and GIS market. CIS scanners provide good quality scans for all but the most demanding reprographics applications. However, this impressive document would have you believe otherwise.

We recommend that you download and read it. But first, let's get it in perspective.

Ignoring recent improvements in CIS technology this white paper attempts to seize scanning's moral high ground for CCD technology. Contex's grey hand lies heavily on this white paper which not just defends CCD technology but intelligently attempts to advance its cause as well. It is worth remembering that Contex only sell CCD scanners.

This white paper's murky conclusion that CIS technology is only suited to scanning office documents, letters, reports, manuals, etc., will be ridiculed by many happy CIS scanner users in CAD and GIS worldwide. The fact that Contex have seen fit to place this article on their web site is an undeniable admission of the growing success of CIS technology.

CIS scanners are largely bought by cost-conscious, first-time CAD and GIS buyers who were never able to justify the high prices or see meaningful benefits in the scan quality of a Contex CCD scanner in the first place. The market for CIS scanners is almost entirely a new one created out of price and performance benefits. If you are a cost-conscious CAD or GIS user Contex have no low-cost, high performance product to fit your needs.

More worrying for Contex is their many existing customers who are buying CIS scanners in order to get adequate or improved scan quality for less than the cost of a Contex. Among these users are professionals and corporates who already have the under-powered, over-priced and outdated Contex Hawk-Eye, Contex's current entry-level A0 scanner. With just 200 dpi optical it's hard to argue its "quality" benefits with any conviction.

The fact is that the entry-level large format scanner market has grown downwards. Contex are finding it difficult if not impossible to position themselves in this lower market and compete. They show no sign of accomodating their prices for the cost-conscious. With the launch of their improved G600 product range they have maintained their previously higher prices, not dropped them to compete with CIS scanners.

So, in our view, the purpose of this white paper is to assign long-term, professional "quality" benefits to CCD scanners, Contex ones in particular. This is intended to make buyers with larger budgets think twice about buying CIS scanners on the basis of price and performance and buy Contex CCD scanners on the basis of pure performance.

There is an interesting error in this article, one that shows how CIS scanners have advanced since the article was written. It also gives the lie to the scanner industry's hype. The white paper suggests that a major shortcoming in CIS scanners is that they have a "maximum bit depth of 24-bits" (16.7 million colours) and, unlike CCD scanners, can't do "48-bit colour capture" (trillions of colours).

First, this is incorrect. CIS scanners can do 48-bit colour capture. This is a feature of the Colortrac SmartLF Cx 40's CIS technology.

Second, 48-bit colour capture is of no use to CAD professionals working with drawings that are monochrome or contain just a handful of colours. It is not even very helpful to the people for whom it would be most useful (e.g. photography professionals) because although the scanner captures 48-bit colour it only saves 24-bit colour. This negates the main benefit of 48-bit colour which is only seen after manipulating colour photos.

Is this feature of any practical use? We don't think so. It's a check-box feature for the potential buyer. It doesn't do anything of any real value but it helps sell scanners.

The problem with features like this and interpolated resolution is that their benefits are dubious. They create the illusion that you need to buy a scanner with these features and then just push a button to get a great scan. No wonder then that so many scanner users produce perfectly lousy scans on expensive CCD scanners. A badly used expensive CCD scanner creates a scan every bit as bad as a badly used, inexpensive CIS one.

Notice the language used in the article. On image stitching it says CCD technology "corrects the image data to optimise it for maximum quality" but of CIS technology it says "for accuracy to remain high, these modules must be 'stitched' together perfectly". Both technologies require their images to be stitched together, so both technologies can produce stitching errors but only CIS technology's stitching has been cast in a negative light.

Yes, there is greater likelihood of error when stitching CIS's five images together rather than CCD's three or four but as this is a process common to both technologies this statement reveals this white paper's tendentious and selective approach to stitching in particular and CIS technology in general. (We'll cover stitching in more detail in a forthcoming issue).

"CCD vs CIS Scanning Technologies" for all its supposed objectivity is just a Contex scanner sales document. Nevertheless, read it. It makes a strong case for CCD scanners. Read it and give some consideration to buying a Colortrac SmartLF Gx 42c CCD colour scanner. This brand new 42", 600 dpi CCD scanner undercuts all Contex CCD colour scanners. For those who believe that "you get what you pay for", you can now feel good about paying £1500 more for a Colortrac SmartLF Gx CCD scanner than an equivalent SmartLF Cx CIS one.

Yes, there are good reasons for buying a CCD scanner. CCD's greater colour accuracy is better suited to more demanding, professional reprographics requirements. This offers little or no benefit to CAD users working with monochrome technical drawings, as the majority of CAD users do. The fact is that CIS scanners offer CAD and GIS users price and performance benefits with good image quality suitable for the most demanding of all scanned image applications, raster to vector conversion, something we are expert in.

We do not believe that CIS technology is as bad as Contex would have you believe.

Click here to read the Contex white paper (PDF).

Graphtec believe that CIS is superior to CCD technology and have priced their scanners accordingly, as befits a well-engineered, quality Japanese product with state-of-the-art, CIS technology. Graphtec say they can prove that CIS is better than CCD. Graphtec USA host a similar article that argues the other point of view.

Click here to read the Graphtec white paper (PDF).

11th October 2006

WATCHDOG: Colortrac's Gx 42 1200 dpi optical claim examined!

As a general rule, the greater the optical resolution, the greater the detail that can be captured from the image. Generally, the higher the resolution, the better the scanner. As a result, scanner manufacturers are eager to claim any increase in optical resolution in order to distinguish their product from rivals with lower resolutions.

Optical resolution is measured by dots per inch, the number of pixels across one inch in the X and Y directions. A 200 dpi optical scanner like the Contex Hawk-Eye has 200 x 200 dpi, saving a total of 40,000 dots or pixels psi (per square inch). The 600 dpi optical Colortrac SmartLF Cx 40 has 600 x 600 dpi, saving a total of 360,000 dots or pixels psi.

The new Colortrac SmartLF Gx 42 is an impressive CCD scanner with much going for it. Colortrac's US advertising in publications like Cadalyst and Wide-Format Imaging credits the SmartLF Gx / GxT scanners with 1200 dpi optical resolution across all models. Readers will be forgiven for thinking that this means that it captures 1200 x 1200 dpi, saving a total of 1,440,000 dots or pixels psi. It does not.

Click here to view a Colortrac SmartLF Gx series advertisement from Cadalyst Digital Online (September 2006).

Once you get Colortrac's product literature or visit their web site it is clear from the not-so-small print of the technical specifications that the SmartLF Gx range has "input 1200 x 600 / output 600 x 600". Elsewhere, it expands: "The imaging system at the heart of the SmartLF Gx 42 scanners consists of five, ultra-compact, digital CCD camera units (DCUs). Each DCU is capable of scanning images at 1200 x 600 dpi optical inpt resolution (max 600 x 600 dpi optical output by the scanner)".

We think this means that the SmartLF Gx 42 is a 600 dpi optical resolution scanner.

One of many questions to ask is "at what point do we define a scanner's resolution, in the scanning capture or the output"? We believe that most CAD users and reprographics professionals expect "optical resolution" to describe the resolution of the file that is saved, not the resolution that part of the image was originally scanned at.

The obvious danger is that buyers will misunderstand the ambiguity that Colortrac have created, or worse that distributors and resellers will knowingly or in ignorance exploit this claim to exaggerate the capability of the scanner. It really isn't necesary to do this to sell the impressive Colortrac SmartLF Gx range. Its relatively low price and enhanced colour performance will give many CAD users many good reasons to buy it. Its 600 dpi optical resolution is more than enough for CAD use. In our CAD market there was no reason to exaggerate its outstanding performance.

So why have Colortrac made this claim? Well, they are not the first to do this. For too long other manufacturers have made and gotten away with similar claims for their products. Those claims were to Colortrac's disadvantage then. But now, as Colortrac take market share, their technical innovation allows them to make claims to the disadvantage of their rivals. It's tit for tat. Buyers, however, deserve better than this.

Colortrac's reply:

"Colortrac, as do most manufacturers of anything, seek to present our products in the strongest possible light. We do not want to mis-lead our potential customers and the specification for the Gx scanner range carries a clear explanation that the maximum optical resolution output from the scanner is 600 x 600 dpi. While the advantage of scanning at a 1200 x 600 dpi input resolution will be very small and not relevant to most customers, we feel justified in quoting the optical resolution of the CCD components used in the scanner and as specified by the supplier."

2nd October 2006

NEW SOFTWARE: New Scan2CAD update; Free fully working Trial available

New Update - Scan2CAD v7.5f
We've released an updated version of Scan2CAD, v7.5f.

It contains a number of user requested improvements such as CIT raster file type support; image width, height and paper size display; resampling; a pixel measure command; and improvements to selection, tiling, clipboard support and undo.

In addition Scan2CAD v7.5f adds direct support for the new Colortrac Gx 42 scanner series.

For more details and upgrade options, click: here

Users, please keep your suggestions coming!

Scan2CAD fully working 7 day trial
Even after 7 days it's FREE wide format scanning and raster editing software!

The Scan2CAD trial lets you scan via TWAIN/WIA compliant devices or directly from Colortrac SmartLF scanners, load raster images, convert them to vectors and save the vectors as full DXF files.

The Scan2CAD Trial has no restriction on the size or number of images you can convert during the trial. You can export DXF with or without the raster file attached.

The trial is fully working for 7 days. After 7 days, vector save, batch conversion, font training and the command line are disabled. However the trial continues to function as a free and unrestricted tool for scanning, raster editing, colour reduction, cleanup and tiling.

Click here to download the Scan2CAD Trial.

2nd October 2006

COMING SOON: Colortrac plan A1 scanner release by Q1 2007

In the Colortrac pipeline is a 25" SmartLF CCD scanner suitable for A1 drawings - something many cost-conscious CAD users have asked us for.

Will Colortrac get its price right? We think so!

The SmartLF Gx 25 series of CCD scanners will have a 25" image width, (28" throat), 600 dpi optical resolution and be capable of enhanced colour capture. In many ways it is just a smaller version of the Gx 42 and will be priced accordingly, we believe.

An optional extra GxT 25 (Thick) variant will support media up to 0.8" (20mm) thick. Its use of CCD technology gives it better colour recognition than is currently available in the popular CIS-based SmartLF Cx range.

Watch this space for updated information on this exciting new development.

2nd October 2006

THE MARKET: Graphtec to re-enter UK scanner market with new products

Graphtec has been a perennial under-achiever in the UK's large format scanner market. Despite being the leading CIS-based scanner supplier in the USA, Graphtec GB has made few inroads into the British market. They say they now plan to change this.

Perhaps the main reason for Graphtec's failure in the British wide format scanner market is their sucess in dominating the UK's sign and cutting industry. In doing so Graphtec GB have focussed almost entirely on this market to the exclusion of all else, in particular selling their large format scanners.

As a result, little is known of Graphtec in the UK outside of the sign and cutting industry. Some older UK CAD users will remember Graphtec from the days of pen plotters and digitisers. Younger ones may ask "Graphtec who?". This is not a question you hear asked in the USA where Graphtec's large format scanners enjoy a high level of product awareness due to years of marketing through a successful distribution and reseller network.

One reason for Graphtec's poor, (that's probably too generous), UK sales is that resellers to the UK sign and cutting industry are not typically resellers who sell CAD hardware and software. Another reason is that in the UK Graphtec scanners have higher prices than in the USA and are not as competive as they could be. As a result it is hard find a reseller in the UK to sell you a Graphtec scanner right now. Graphtec GB have their work cut out!

An examination of our large format scanner comparison chart shows that in the UK Graphtec IS and CS scanners are uncompetitive.

Graphtec GB say they are now plan to take a larger UK market share. We hope they do. The more competition there is the lower prices will fall and the better it will be for CAD users.

We've been given details of a new Graphtec product, soon to be available, which we think will hit the spot for many individual CAD users, small design practices, draughting clinics and departmental CAD groups wanting their first taste of large format scanning.

Price it right and we'll sell it!

We will carry more information on this new Graphtec product shortly.

 

THE WORTHWHILE WEB: Ralph Grabowski's upFront eZine, 'The Business of CAD'.

Grabowski, Capote and the failure of Airbus

One of the things I like best about Tuesday mornings is receiving Ralph Grabowski's upFront eZine, 'The Business of CAD'.

Ralph has been in CAD for decades and was the first and most respected technical editor of Cadalyst magazine. He is an authority on CAD and AutoCAD and has written many books on the subject. What I like about Ralph's eZine is that he doesn't lose sight of the fact that he and most of his readers have lives outside of CAD.

Unlike some CAD newsletters which chuck wadges of worthless PR at you every day Ralph's information is succinct and measured. If you want a once a week source of useful CAD information Upfront eZine is the best place to get it.

The following is from his latest Issue #490.

From the Editor
We watched 'Capote' the movie last night on my improvised home theater system. It's the story of Truman Capote writing his last book, "In Cold Blood". The title describes the murder of a Kansas family of four, and it reflects Capote's own death wish: first he funds the murderers' legal appeals so that they stay alive long enough for one to tell his story to Capote; then he wants them dead, so that he can finish the book and start collecting royalties. Present at their hanging, Capote realized the horror of his own deeds, and never writes another book.

Writers and editors are Capote. We feed off the misfortunes of others. Closer to home, if AutoCAD were perfect, none of us would have a job. It's a worthwhile endeavor to question your motives on an ongoing basis.

The A380 Delay Disaster
Over on WorldCAD Access, I've been tracking the design problems delaying the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380. The 21-month delay will cost EADS some US$3.6 billion.

The first reports blamed the delay on a switch from copper to aluminum wiring, and that the CAD software (or CAD operators) didn't model AL wiring correctly. The German-made wire harnesses were too short when they arrived for assembly in France.

A more recent report blames Airbus for running two versions of CATIA design software, which are incompatible with each other: V4 in Germany and V5 in France. Wiring design changes made in Germany could not be easily added to the master design maintained in France.

Part of the difficulty in pinpointing the problem has been EADS' relative secrecy; another part has been the general media's lack of technical understanding. For instance, take a chuckle over this explanation from German public tv:

"Software developed in Hamburg, for example, proved to be incompatible with that made in Toulouse," wrote JC, a Deutsche Welle staffer.

The blame now seems to be with EADS' failure to upgrade its CATIA 4 installations to V5 -- something that would have cost far less than $3.6 billion. Yet an industry insider explained to me that the German's reluctance to upgrade may be tied to CATIA 4 having more support through add-on software.

As Business Week's Carol Matlack put it, "Use of incompatible programs takes the rap, but behind that is a management team cobbled together from formerly separate companies."

In this case, it's not the software that's at fault, but the project's managers and their decisions.