Protea Graphics recently supplied two large format printers to Spectrem Air, an airborne geophysical company based in Lanseria and owned by Anglo American. Spectrem is an airborne electromagnetic system used to locate buried ore bodies, monitor environmental parameters and carry out geological mapping. The company operates worldwide for governments and mining houses and has, in the past year, been active as far afield as Canada, Morocco, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

Once the aircraft has completed its survey and returned to land, the data it has logged has to be printed out so that it can be analysed and further processed. The information that it records is vitally important for the countries concerned so it is essential that the maps generated be clear and accurate. The HP DesignJet 1055CM large format printers purchased from Protea Graphics are ideally suited to this purpose.

Spectrem Air's Peter Holbrook says, "The installation was carried out well within the allotted time frame, with the speed and efficiency that typifies Protea Graphics commitment to service. They were also able to answer the many questions that we had. The menu system is easy to use and it is nice to be able to see what is in the print queue as well as what has already been printed. It is also great that changing the paper is easy.

"Previously we had a plotter that was too slow for our purposes. Last year I had to plot more than 450 A0 maps for a survey carried out on behalf of the Canadian government, and with the two HP DesignJet 1055CMs I was able to complete the job over a single weekend."

The HP DesignJet 1055CM is suited to mechanical engineers, architects, GIS professionals, retailers and office workgroups. It offers best line quality and near-photo-quality graphics for maps, renders, images and signs with true 600-dpi black and colour and addressable 1200 dpi for black lines.

Protea Graphics

(011) 719 5700

www.protea.co.za