Wide Format Scanner EvaluationContex HD Ultra

Summarizing an independent test report by Buyer’s Lab, Inc.

March 2012

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IntroductionIn a comprehensive test performed by Buyers Laboratory (BLI), an independent equipment testing lab, Contex’s HD Ultra 4290i+ wide format scanner was analyzed for scan quality, durability, speed, and productivity. The HD Ultra received high honors from BLI.

Tested alongside a leading competitor, the Contex scanner outperformed it in categories ranging from ease-of-use and durability to image quality and batch scanning. BLI reports, “The Contex model represents superior value for money, given its clear superiority in overall performance.”

The following summary uses excerpts and data from the evaluation report produced by BLI. For the full test report contact us at marketing@contex.com

BLI states that the overall design of the Contex HD Ultra is “superior to the competition.” Built with easily replaceable parts, routine maintenance can be handled in-house, avoiding a service call and associated fees.

Installation is straightforward and calibration is automated. The HD Ultra “contains removable glass that, thanks to its user-friendly design, requires no tools to remove and clean.” The user simply pulls the glass forward using metal grips at the sides of the scanner array, which allows the user to clean both sides of the glass without having to remove it from the assembly. The Contex model has a “user-replaceable (as opposed to service-

replaceable) fluorescent light source and white background platen, which are easy to clean and replace as required.” It also consumed little energy in the lowest energy-save state.

Hardware Design

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The Contex model represents superiorvalue for money, given its clear superiority in overall performance.

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The large feed area and magnetic paper guides make loading paper easier with less misfeeds than the competition.

One-touch scanning with Nextimage eliminates multiple steps, in turn, saving valuable time. Achieving remarkable results is as easy as pushing a button.

BLI reports favorably on Contex’s Nextimage software: “Contex has added a number of useful enhancements in the latest (2.0.1) version of Nextimage, including three programmable one-touch buttons, which can be used to program a wide range of Copy, Scan and Scan to e-mail functions in color or black and white, and can be reserved by any workstation on the network. The one-touch buttons are programmable on individual PCs.” The software can be easily set up by a novice or a pro.

Nextimage’s new accounting feature makes it easy to determine the scanner’s return on investment by tracking its productivity. Users can also catalog and archive projects

A key enhancement to Nextimage is its support for multipage TIFF and PDF documents.

The user-friendly design makes documents easy to load without checking to see if they are perfectly centered. This is because the device uses right-alignment instead of center-alignment. “The removable metal paper guides provide a secure feed path for the documents. These are attached using both magnets and microscopic suction cups, which are non-adhesive and help to prevent damage to the scanner’s deep document table,” states BLI.

The versatile HD Ultra lets users scan all document types -- thick, thin, new, old. The Contex device “quickly adjusts to new media weights,” notes BLI. “Its removable paper return guides and funnel-shaped feeder makes for ease of loading.” BLI recognizes “other notable features, including automatic thickness adjustment control (ATAC), automatic contour correction, and a new paper pressure adjustment feature that can cope with anything from newspaper-thin lightweight documents to heavier media up to 0.6” thick.”

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Software Design, Ease of Use

Replacing the color-matched lamp takes just seconds for the user

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easily by tracking the number of scans and copies per customer or job. BLI states that “it enables a log of usage by individual, department, specific project or customer code and can be exported in XML file format and used with third-party cost recovery applications.”

BLI also notes that a “key enhancement to Nextimage is its support for multipage TIFF and PDF documents.” The new SnapSize autosizing feature also lets users spend less time making software adjustments. Further, BLI states that the HD Ultra “easily detects width boundaries and accurately crops images, requiring no further user intervention.”

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Exceptional single-page scanning speed delivers a tremendous advantage for the occasional user that scans just one or two pages. BLI reports that in the single-page A1 landscape scan productivity tests, the Contex model “outperformed the competition across all resolutions. In the single-page A1 landscape full-color scan productivity tests, “honors were in favor of the Contex model, which was faster at all resolutions.”

Batch scanning also delivered exceptional time savings. BLI states that “batch scanning of multiple documents is easy with the Contex scanner due to its large document table and ability to advance load documents.” Using a Gigabit Ethernet connection, the Contex scanner “outperformed the competition, achieving between 20-40% more scans per hour, aided by a faster pre-scan procedure.”

The Contex model also “excelled in its speed to copy” a single A1 landscape page to a Canon iPF8300S wide-format

Productivity

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printer in all modes. BLI reported favorably on batch scan in both draft and high-quality copy modes, noting, “During batch copy tests, the Contex model required a much shorter time to complete the batch scanning process in both draft and high-quality copy modes, freeing up staff to conduct other tasks while copying commenced.”

Image QualityContex’s superior cameras and correct light source deliver high quality scans. Better-quality technology inside the scanner captures an exceptional level of detail. BLI states that the color matching on the profile generated for the Contex device “proved to be more accurate,” with a low mean and maximum Delta E across BLI’s 12 corporate logo color test document. The Contex scanner “delivered superior fonts with crisper character formation than those produced by the competition.” No color fringing was observed when scanning at 200-dpi or 300-dpi resolution in full RGB full-color mode.

Portrait photographs reproduced an “extraordinary amount of detail.” BLI also notes that “fine lines produced with the Contex scanner are crisper, with less noise between lines.” Additionally, the Contex device delivered “pleasing, healthy skin tones.” Its higher level of magenta added to skin tones resulted in more natural-looking skin tones.

Exclusive to the HD Ultra, Accucolor takes color accuracy a step further. More than just capture and processes 48-bits of color, the HD Ultra and Nextimage software can

Contex scanner produced more accurate colors, natural skin-tones, finer details, better contrast

Competition missing details and color, suffering from LED light problems and poor lenses

With color-matched lamp, 48-bit processing and better optics, Contex captures lighter shades properly.

Even with a whitepoint set at maximum, the competition cannot capture the lighter shades.

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also create 48-bit files, which is a market first that results in high-quality image accuracy. BLI states that the Contex device offers “true 1200-dpi optical resolution, and can scan at either 24-bit or 48-bit depth.” Fine lines produced with the Contex scanner are “crisp, with minimal noise between lines.” BLI found it easy to get optimum image quality out of the Contex device with less need to use adjustment options in the bundled software.

BLI states that the Contex model also “captured very light tints better than the competition did in default settings, with the competition dropping off at the lowest tint level.”

When copying with the Canon iPF8300S, the Contex device “gave superior results with solid patches, particularly at the highest levels of saturation, fine lines and small fonts, as well as light shades of gray,” notes BLI.

ConclusionThe independent test results from BLI have proven that the HD Ultra is the fastest and most productive wide format scanner in the market, while providing the best image quality available in wide format scanning.

The Contex HD Ultra wide format scanner offers superior productivity, both for single page and batch scanning processes, where it delivered sizable productivity advantages to the competition.

BLI concludes that the Contex model represents exceptional value for money, given its clear superiority in overall performance during its test.

This document has been prepared by Contex A/S using excerpts and data from a comparative evaluation report commissioned from BLI. For the full test report produced by BLI, contact us at marketing@contex.com

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For more information about the Contex HD Ultra series or our other large format scanners visit www.contex.com