Experience with Versant 2100?

[lfelton]

Does anyone have any real world experience with the Versant 2100 yet?

 

[MailGuru]

I'm not sure any actual "installs" have happened yet. I know they have them in Xerox's shops for Demo's, but, I don't think installs are scheduled to start until October. I could be wrong.......

Best

-MailGuru

 

[DYP]

Does anyone have any real world experience with the Versant 2100 yet?

I will looking at one tomorrow.

Will report back if I have time.

 

[DYP]

Very impressed. Looked at Minolta's 1100 the Xerox 1000. The Versant was the best output. 10-bit output rocks - what banding. EX-P is one cranking RIP. Nice smooth matte or semi-gloss finish depending on how your paper setting. Not the gaudy gloss of the 1000.

Supposed to be installed in the next week or two.

 

[kdw75]

We are due to get one installed in the middle of October. Hoping there won't be too many bugs with it.

 

[DYP]

The Versant is in the building. Now the fun begins.

 

[kdw75]

The Versant is in the building. Now the fun begins.

Anxious to hear how it goes. Who is installing it? In the past we have had people install our 560 and C75 printers that the previous day had installed home appliances. They did a pretty good job but missed the finer points such as leveling the machine. I wondered if on the Versant they had more experienced installers.

 

[DYP]

The installers are pretty good, they have installed printers before for me. But this was their first Versant.

I am up and running and I suspect both the Xerox and EFI people that they send out will be learning things from me. More about all that later. I suspect I will have a big day with feedback to EFI and Xerox about the way they have the inline array implemented, unless I am missing something.

 

[kdw75]

How long was it between signing the contract, and delivery? We signed last Monday, and they are saying it will arrive the 2nd, or 3rd week of October.

 

[DYP]

I wouldn't worry about getting it to quick unless you have a backup machine. The techs need trained etc. and this thing is so new that nobody really has much experience with it. Unless you're like me that likes to play with new toys and provide lots of feed back to manufactures I would be too quick to want. The way the array is implemented and used definitely needs to be rethought and I will be fighting on this one. As it is the array is really not useful for creating a good quality paper profile only the default profile (which is about worthless as you have no control over black, etc. in the profile creation process) and not even able to build off the calibration from the array because the initial calibration has to be done with the ES-2000. Once the calibration is done with array there is no way to use it to create a profile as it is not a selectable choice in Fiery Color Profiler.

 

[kdw75]

I wouldn't worry about getting it to quick unless you have a backup machine. The techs need trained etc. and this thing is so new that nobody really has much experience with it. Unless you're like me that likes to play with new toys and provide lots of feed back to manufactures I would be too quick to want. The way the array is implemented and used definitely needs to be rethought and I will be fighting on this one. As it is the array is really not useful for creating a good quality paper profile only the default profile (which is about worthless as you have no control over black, etc. in the profile creation process) and not even able to build off the calibration from the array because the initial calibration has to be done with the ES-2000. Once the calibration is done with array there is no way to use it to create a profile as it is not a selectable choice in Fiery Color Profiler.

We have our C75 as a backup, with the ES-2000.

We run color critical work, so we frequently have to calibrate during the day, with our ES-2000. We have also profiled all of our stocks.

 

[kdw75]

Do they seem receptive to your complaints about how the array works?

 

[DYP]

Do they seem receptive to your complaints about how the array works?

Here is the whole tread about this.

Color Profiler Support of the Full Width Array on the Versant 2100

They have been good at explaining their point and I understand where they are coming from. It is just going to take some testing to figure out which is the best workflow as there are a couple of different ways to do the calibration and profiling. One thing you don't want to do is use a different calibration instrument than what was used for the calibration your paper profile is built off of.

There is a tool to the left of the density adjustment tools that appears to allow you to base-line the press. Of course you would want to use the same and hopefully consistent paper to do this. This I will have to test a lot more to say whether this will be effective in keeping the press in a known state.

 

[kdw75]

They pushed back delivery on our Versant by a week, in order to have the installers, and tech people, trained on it before delivery.

I noticed that in the Customer Expectation document, it lists the maximum sheet size as roughly 19 inches, they give it in mm. On the Japanese website, which I was looking at as someone posted a link to the Versant 80, it lists the maximum sheets size as 660mm, roughly 26 inches.

So which one is correct? Can I feed a 660mm sheet out of tray 5?

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

That's a Fuji Xerox machine, I would say that the 13 x 19 is the max for the 2100 and 13 x 26 (six page) is max for the 80, since they are developed completely separate.

 

[kdw75]

On the Japanese website, both Versants say they handle a 660mm sheet.

So unless they are somehow different mechanically, the U.S. Versants can run 26", I would think.

 

[DYP]

They pushed back delivery on our Versant by a week, in order to have the installers, and tech people, trained on it before delivery.

I noticed that in the Customer Expectation document, it lists the maximum sheet size as roughly 19 inches, they give it in mm. On the Japanese website, which I was looking at as someone posted a link to the Versant 80, it lists the maximum sheets size as 660mm, roughly 26 inches.

So which one is correct? Can I feed a 660mm sheet out of tray 5?

The Maximum sheet size for the Versant 2100 is 13 x 19.2. What is a PITA right now is that the image area of the print engine on a 19 inch sheet is 475mm lead to trail edge but for some reason the EX-P 2100 will on image 470mm. I haven't tried a 19.21 inch sheet so I have no idea what the the RIP will image on that size sheets. Hope EFI fixes this real soon as I run a lot of 13 x 19 4up 6 x 9 cards and 9 x 11 tab sheets and it sure would be nice to have trim and registration marks showing.

As for have the installers, and tech people, trained on it before delivery, that would be a good thing. It has its quarks and teething pains, so the more they know the better.

 

[lfelton]

Does anyone know how they deal with mixed media yet? We have the Horizon HOF-400 so have to run jobs with a spine < 200mm as mixed media. So for instance, a 300gsm cover and 130gsm inners?

 

[arossetti]

Full width array is worthless in my opinion for color management. You need a spectro not a scanner. It might have some validity for linearization but definitely not for profiling.

 

[kdw75]

Full width array is worthless in my opinion for color management. You need a spectro not a scanner. It might have some validity for linearization but definitely not for profiling.

My hope was to use the full width array for day to day calibration, after the profiling was done using the spectro.