Summa Vinyl Cutters

Thermal printers are not very common since the rise of solvent inkjets, but many of you will know the Gerber Edge and Roland ColorCAMM Machines which were very popular not long back. Well, there are few machines left on the market, due to limited types of materials they would print onto and their high running costs. However, for certain types of output only a thermal machine will do, and the Summa DC series is the latest and best of the bunch.

Thermal printers punch their colour out of a resin ribbon with heat onto the media (normally vinyl). They are suitable for using a wide range of different coloured ribbons over and above the normal process colours. They can layer colours in whatever order you want and even print double sided images on clear media. Printed output is very tough but photo images do look coarse close up. They are excellent for fine text bold vector image type work.

The DC4sx is Summa's entry level thermal print and cut machine. It has a 670mm print width and can hold 5 different coloured ribbons which it can change automatically. In addition to CYMK, there are 18 spot colours to pick from, plus white and metallic silver and gold. With 600 dpi resolution, it is possible to print characters smaller than 1mm high. Printed output is instantly dry and ready for application. Resin ribbon printing can last for up to 5 years outdoors without lamination. The SRP of the DC4sx is £9,990 + VAT.

The bigger brother of the DC4sx, the DC4 is 1275mm wide, and is again a print and cut machine. The machine can also take 8 different coloured ribbons at a time for extra flexibility. Items such as internal hard drive, media basket, take-up roll and the Summa Colour Control RIP, which are optional extras on the DC4sx, are supplied with the DC4 as standard. The SRP of the DC4 is £16,990.00 + VAT