Colourgen interviews Stewart Bell, managing director of its distributor Digital Print Innovations (DPI), about the new Seiko ColorPainter W-Series.

What do you think of the new Seiko ColorPainter W-Series?

It appears to be a great machine, both in terms of its industrial-level robustness of design and build and the fact that it comes with a full two-year warranty. It has some great new features, such as smart nozzle mapping and smart pass technology. Seiko has managed to bring the advanced technology from its high-end H-Series machines into this new printer, but at a price that is comparable to other, supposedly similar printers.

There will also be a new IX ink set available, which has no hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). I expect customers to be quite interested in this and I hope this will prove to be a key selling point over and above the competition. On that point, the printer has shown that it uses significantly less ink than competitor machines because of the advanced technology in the print-heads.

What do you think your customers are most going to like about the new printer?

It's the sheer quality this printer delivers. Even at a respectable running speed of 18sq m/hr it produces truly spectacular output. The smart pass technology that was developed for the H-Series really does generate a new dimension of quality for this price area.

Customers are also going to appreciate the two-year warranty, particularly as it covers the print-heads. It shows how reliable the printer is. It is also very easy to use: the functions are easy to understand and follow and media is very straightforward to load and unload.

What type of company do you expect to be most attracted to the new printer?

I think owners of the old Seiko ColorPainter 64S will really like the new W-Series. Anyone in the sign market should be interested in this printer and the quality of the output also makes it a valid consideration for people looking at a high-end aqueous printer.

So, is it fair to say you expect to have some success with the new printer?

Absolutely. In fact, we have already secured our first order. I also believe that working with Colourgen will help with the overall success of the product. I have personally worked with Colourgen since my GBC days some 17 years ago. They have always been a very professional organisation offering great service and support, both to resellers and to our customers.