Retaining many of the features of the DisplayMakers Series XII, the DisplayMaker Esprit builds on proven technology and years of experience with six and eight colour printing. Redesigned with a straight-through paper-path, Esprit prints on sheet-fed rigid media as well as roll-fed flexible media. This newest addition to the DisplayMaker line is positioned to be the 'best value printer' in its price class. With features such as 1,32 m (52") print width, eight colours, Automation Eye, adjustable print head height and touch-screen control pad, the benefits of the award-winning Series XII are now accessible by a broader audience of first-time buyers, as well as repeat buyers looking to broaden their capabilities.

Ken Bezuidenhout, Managing Director of Protea Graphics, says, "The DisplayMaker Esprit brings high speed, high quality wide-format printing to the next level by making our technology available to a wider market. Some customers do not need all the advanced features of our Series XII printer, and some need even more flexibility with respect to media choices. MacDermid Colorspan has been listening to the market, and I believe Esprit is a feature-rich, yet cost-effective alternative, all while maintaining the high quality and productivity for which they are known."

Product features include:

* Eight printheads enable a flexible choice of print modes - Esprit users have the choice of 4, 6 or 8-colour printing. Esprit is configured with a combination of up to eight colours for either high apparent image resolution or for expanded colour gamut. Choices are medium cyan, light cyan, medium magenta and light magenta for higher detail and smoother gradation, delivering an apparent resolution of up to 1800 dpi, or orange, green, red or blue process colours to expand the gamut beyond CMYK.

* Fast print speeds for rapid job cycle time - 13,9 m²/h in four-colour mode at 600 dpi resolution. 4 and 8 m²/h in eight-colour mode at 1800 dpi 'apparent' resolution.

* Thermal inkjet cartridges enable high reliability - the Esprit uses 600 dpi print heads under licence from Hewlett-Packard. This proven technology offers high reliability, without the uncertainty of so-called 'permanent heads'.

* Straight-through paper path and adjustable printhead height enables the widest choice of media - the printer is designed to print on sheet-fed, rigid media up to 3,175 mm thick extra-heavy weight art papers, archival canvas, photo pre-mounts, rigid packaging - as well as on the same roll-fed media as are used with the Series XII.

* ColorMark inks for wide gamut and proven durability - the device prints with either Endura chrome dye inks or Perma chrome pigmented inks. Endura chrome inks are available in CMYK, medium cyan, light cyan, medium magenta and light magenta, plus orange, green, red and blue process colours. Perma chrome inks are available in CMYK, plus medium cyan and medium magenta. Changing from one set to another is easy due to ColorSpan's patented Big Ink Delivery System, consisting of inkjet cartridge, tubing and 500 ml of ink in a single piece, no-mess design.

Protea Graphics

(011) 887 2626