Digital Prints

Table 6.3 Noise Levels of Selected Printers (in printing mode)
Printer/Source Max. Decibel Level (dB) 1
Canon i9900 37 dB(A) 2 (in quiet mode)
HP Photosmart 7960 37-43 dB (depends on quality mode)
Lexmark P707 40 dB(A)
Epson 2100/2200 42 dB(A)
Canon W6200 55 dB
Epson 4000 50 dB(A)
Epson 7600/9600/10000 50 dB(A)
Roland Hi-Fi JET Pro II 65 dB
Common Noise Levels
Quiet Whisper 15-20 dB
Airport terminal 55-65 dB
Subway 90 dB
Chickens inside a building 105 dB
Loud Rock Music 115 dB
1 A decibel (dB) is the unit used to measure the intensity of sound. Each increase of 6 decibels doubles
the noise level. Twenty decibels is not twice as loud as 10 dB, but three times as loud. Sound
above 130 decibels causes pain. 2 Because the human ear doesn't respond equally to all
frequencies, sound meters use filters to approximate how the ear hears sound. The A weighting
filter (dBA) is widely used.
Wide-Format
Printer Size & Setup: As can be expected, wide-format inkjets are bigger and typically
more complicated to set up and use (count on at least a half-day for setup). A drum-based
printer like the IXIA is basically a big box about the size of a very large copying machine—
four feet wide and three feet deep. Most plotter-type printers sit on their own stands, and
their widths vary depending on the maximum print area. The Epson 7600 is 43 inches
wide, and the 9600 is 64 inches. The Roland HiFiJET Pro II is 106 inches wide, the widest
Mutoh Falcon II is 143 inches, and the largest HPs run anywhere from 78 to 96 inches
wide. All are about four feet high including the stand, and they weigh in at anywhere from
200 to 550 pounds!
Add up the printer and stand, plus the space needed for paper loading and output, and
any extras like a separate server or RIP station, and you’ll probably end up devoting at least
a portion of a room to a wide-format printer. However, some wide-format owners, like
digital artist and educator Teri Brudnak, are able to maximize space by having their printers
on rollers and moving them around as needed (see Figure 6.5).
Chapter 6 ■ Selecting an Inkjet Printer 199