VUTEk GS3200 Super-wide Format Printer - IT Enquirer

Product Report 

VUTEk GS3200 

Super-wide Format 

Printer

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Contents 

Executive Summary 

iii 

INTRODUCTION The printer 2 

FINDINGS/ANALYSIS Flexibility 4 

Performance 6 

Three Resolution/Smoothing/Curing combinations 7 

Resolution 8 

Colour Accuracy 8 

Creative capabilities / Vertical Markets 9 

Environment 10 

Conclusion 11 






Executive Summary 

Specialised printing is a growing market. Together with short runs and print-on-demand, 

super wide format printing has strong appeal to advertisers. Super wide format technology 

has reached the point that it is also attractive to the art reproduction market. Some 

vendors in the super wide format printer market focus on high speed and offer low to 

decent quality. 

VUTEk has always claimed it focuses on quality first, and only then on high performance. 

In the report that follows we had the opportunity to test a VUTEk GS3200 for a 

day. 

We could see the machine produce photo/art quality on any type of medium. We measured 

the machine’s throughput speed and were impressed to find that it performs closely 

to what VUTEk claims in its marketing collateral. 

We found the GS3200 to be equipped for efficiency — strictly speaking, one operator 

can control this printer, although we would like to think an extra hand will be welcome 

when large and heavy rolls of media must be handled — and a minimal need for technical 

support. 

Finally — and judging from the data sheets that were made available to us — VUTEk 

goes to great lengths to ensure the environmental burden of printing with UV curable 

inks is kept at an absolute minimum. 

iii 







Introduction

1 

With the iPad, iPhone, Kindle and other 

digital reading devices, some analysts 

seem to believe the entire printing market 

is as good as extinct. Publishers complain 

about not finding advertisers and therefore 

losing income. 

Analysts seem to think advertisers have 

abandoned printed advertisements altogether, 

and many of them are investing all of 

their money into videoclips, animation and 

Flash content. Print — for the umpteenth 

time in recent history — has been declared 

dead. 

All of this couldn’t be further from the 

truth. Advertisers are still printing, but they 

no longer focus exclusively on printed magazines 

and newspapers as the ultimate outlets 

for high-quality, attention-grabbing ads. 

Instead, advertisers are using large format 

ads to help shape our environment visually. 

Besides advertisers, print will always appeal 

to artists because the combination of media, 

colour, and print medium (ink, paint...) allows 

them to create effects that are impossible 

with digital media. Art photographers, 

graphic designers, fashion photographers, 

package designers of fashion products — all 

of them prefer high-quality printed displays 

with high enough resolution so people can 

see detail without having to squint. 

Currently only printed media can deliver 

such high resolutions together with the necessary 

colour accuracy to guarantee a company’s 

logo will be presented the way it 

should. 

For prints with dramatic impact, such as 

large banners, displays, see-through images, 

etc., screen printing used to be the only option. 

Screen printing is very labour-intensive 

and often environmentally aggressive, and 

there is a digital alternative: inkjet based 

printing technologies. 

Inkjet printing technology, and super wide 

format inkjet printers to be more specific 

have come to a point where they can replace 

screen printing technology in 99% of 

the cases. Super wide format printing takes 

about 20% of the labour involved with 

screen printing and can be environment 

friendly. 

Super wide format printers can also print 

to larger media, and with the continuous 

evolution of inkjet technology, output resolution 

and colour quality becomes better 

every year. 

When we were given the opportunity to 

thoroughly test a VUTEk GS3200 super 

wide format printer, we paid particular attention 

to output quality and performance. 

These are the features EFI claims to focus 

on — in that order. 

Hence, our testing revolved around the following 

issues: 

Flexibility. We wanted to know if the 

GS3200 is capable of printing on multiple 

media from third party suppliers. We also 

focused on the ways we could lay down 

the ink on the media. 

Different usage patterns. We examined 

the markets in which the VUTEk GS3200 

can be used. 

Quality of output. We focused on colour 

accuracy and resolution. 

Speed. How fast printed media leaves the 

printer was our next subject of analysis. 

Environment. We analysed the environment 

friendliness of this printer. 






2 

The printer 

The VUTEk GS3200 is a 3.2 meter wide 

combination flatbed/roll (also called “hybrid” 

by some) UV printer with a moving 

transport belt that gives the printer a maximum 

speed of 223 square meters per hour. 

ÃÃ 

Ink composition 

ÃÃ 

Waste control 

These characteristics also influence the operating 

costs, keeping those to a minimum, 

and therefore ensuring a shorter pay-back 

time of the investment in a VUTEk GS3200. 

Unique characteristics of the VUTEk 

GS3200 are its photo quality resolution at 

1000 dpi, its selectable 12pl or 24pl ink 

drop sizes, and its multiple zero points. 

Further features that characterise the 

GS3200 are its switching capability between 

8 colour and 4 colour printing — both with 

the addition of two white ink print channels, 

with each channel representing two 

heads. 

The VUTEk GS3200 print head features two 

UV lamps that can be opened in various 

configurations, giving the operator multiple 

ways to finish a print job and obtain subtle 

and different effects. The intensity of the 

lamps can be set to 5 pre-defined levels or 

a custom mode for critical media. 

Multiple vacuum zones make media — especially 

roll media — less susceptible to 

wrinkling, giving a better ‘tack’ and an easier 

positioning than with super wide format 

printers lacking this feature. 

Finally, the printer has been built with an 

eye for easy handling of all parts. A good 

example of this principle is the side-door 

that allows operators to self-service the 

print head, e.g. the exchange of a defect 

UV-lamp for a new one. 

Finally, the printer has been designed to be 

as environmental friendly as possible. Features 

that show care for the environment 

include: 

ÃÃ 

Power requirements 







Analysis & Findings

4 

Most super wide format printers will 

print on a large range of media. The 

capability to print on many different media 

from many different suppliers improves a 

wide format printer’s ROI. 

Flexibility 

During our tests, we saw the VUTEk 

GS3200 being used for printing on materials 

such as: 

It allows the printer to be used in many different 

vertical markets without being locked 

in by the printer manufacturer when it 

comes to media. There is always a lock-in 

on the level of ink, but this is understandable 

as a manufacturer can only guarantee 

quality results when using the standard 

inks. 

However, in super wide format printing a 

lock-in at the level of ink and media makes 

a printer less flexible 

and more expensive (in 

operating cost terms; 

manufacturer branded 

media is usually sold 

at a premium) than it 

should be. 

Media flexibility is of 

crucial importance as 

users will need to exploit 

the printer for as 

many vertical markets 

as possible. This benefits 

the printer’s TCO 

(Total Cost of Ownership) 

and rapid payback 

of the investment. 

It also benefits TCO 

because — in cases 

where media quality 

is less important — it 

enables users to shop 

around for the best price/quality ratio materials 

available. 

ÃÃ 

Construction materials such as concrete 

and stone tiles 

ÃÃ 

Glass plates and film 

ÃÃ 

Plastics, Polypropylene, Vinyl, and 

other synthetic rigid and roll-based 

materials 

ÃÃ 

Wood, metal, mesh 

The range of materials that can be used with a super 

wide format printer partly depends on drying time and 

the curing system used. 

A water based ink such as Latex will use a lot of energy 

(heat) to create the necessary bonding between 

the inks and the media. A UV curable ink does not need 

heat but UV light to make the ink polymerize. This 

process is much faster and more energy efficient.. 

In order to keep curing times within efficiency ranges, 

the applied heat is higher with water-soluble inks. 

Many materials will deform or melt at high temperatures 

even if they are only exposed for a couple of seconds. 

Hence the need for either drastically reducing the 

number of materials a water based inkjet printer can 

use or the introduction of media that has been made to 

the printer’s specifications. 

The latter are usually not to be readily found with materials 

suppliers. Vendors will regard these branded 

materials as “consumables” for which they can charge 

extra. 

ÃÃ 

Fabrics, including curtain, materials, 

losely woven fabrics, etc. (Open media 

needs backing aka. 

“liner” to avoid printing 

on the belt). 

All of the materials 

we tested were supplied 

by third party 

suppliers —none were 

VUTEk branded or 

VUTEk sold. Given 

the fact that ‘media’ in 

a super wide format 

printing environment 

can mean anything, the 

VUTEk GS3200 therefore 

doesn’t lock in the 

user at all. 

The VUTEk GS3200 

uses a temperature 

point at which practically 

all materials are 

unaffected. 

The VUTEk GS3200 proved to be a flexible 

device in more ways than just media independence. 

For example, the VUTEk GS3200 

can be equipped with multiple zero points. 

This requires the operator to install up to 






5 

four additional “break points” at the front 

end of the printer’s feed mechanism, after 

which the GS3200 will treat these points 

as size limits to the flat media fed into the 

printer. This allows the operator to feed the 

printer with up to five separate sheets of 

the same media, which will all be printed 

simultaneously.(*) 

The GS3200 can also handle two rolls 

of media simultaneously, using two zero 

points. In all of these use cases, the operator 

can choose to print the same image/layout/design 

on all plates/rolls, or a different 

layout on each plate/roll. 

Another example of the flexibility of the 

VUTEk GS3200 is its vacuum system, 

which is divided into zones. Most printers 

have one vacuum zone stretching the entire 

width of the device. The GS3200 has 

three vacuum zones. When media does not 

stretch along the entire printer width, only 

one or two vacuum zones will kick in. This 

decreases power draw and enhances the 

operation of the media as a large enough 

vacuum can be created, even when the entire 

width of the printer is not in use. 

Finally, the VUTEk GS3200 is capable of 

printing in high quality, 8 colour mode, but 

also in lower quality 4 colour mode. Whereas 

some competing products force the operator 

to physically change the ink supply to 

the print heads in order to only use 4 colours, 

the GS3200 provides software switchable 

4/8 colour printing. 

In 8 colour mode the GS3200 prints using 

light cyan, light magenta, light yellow and 

grey. The heads that carry these light inks 

are equipped with two input channels and 

The print job is RIPped in EFI Fiery XF, then sent to the VUTEk GS3200’s Control panel, 

which has its own workflow and job settings. When the operator decides the job can 

be sent to the printer, he loads the media, hits the Print button and the job starts printing. 

(*): Actually, one can insert as many zero points as one wants. Theoretically, one could feed the 

printer with A4 sheets — placing as many on the vacuum table as will fit. 






6 

can from the operator panel be switched 

over to dark inks. This will double the 

available nozzles for the dark colours and 

will therefore have following benefits: 

ÃÃ 

Double the speed of the printer 

ÃÃ 

Low waste when switching from 4 to 

8 colours or the other way around 

ÃÃ 

A quicker return to printing. 

exclude media handling before the actual 

print run starts. 

For our tests, we used two different parameters. 

First is handling a job: positioning a 

roll of media of 3.2 meters wide by an operator 

and an assistant. Secondly, we measured 

the time it took to switch from roll to 

plate. Finally, we also measured the time it 

took for an actual print run to finish. 

Flexibility in terms of control 

The VUTEk GS3200 is controlled by a 

machine control panel, but the actual 

printing job is sent to the printer through 

an EFI Fiery XF RIP controller. 

The advantage of this workflow is that 

the Fiery RIP acts as 

a colour capabilities 

controller as much 

as a (Postscript) print 

job controller. The 

Fiery RIP will for 

example detect errors 

in the print file 

before it ends up at 

the printer’s control 

panel. These errors 

can therefore be corrected 

before the job 

gets queued, leaving 

the operator with a 

‘clean list’ of jobs that are guaranteed to 

print correctly. 

Performance 

Speed on super wide format printers is 

expressed in square meters per hour, but 

almost no vendor will explain how they 

measure. For example, tests can include or 

The VUTEk GS3200 uses a proprietary technique, 

called ‘smoothing’ by the EFI/VUTEk people. This is 

a software controlled technique of firing ink droplets. 

Without smoothing reflective banding can occur as a 

result of the print head firing droplets from left to right, 

and from right to left. 

VUTEk has solved this problem by developing an algorithm 

that mixes some of the droplets from the leftto-right 

firing sequence with the right-to-left sequence. 

This effectively and efficiently produces smooth transitions. 

We used two different speed setups, both 

with 8 colours: one with 600 dpi and the 

other with 1000 dpi. 

At 1000 dpi and heavy smoothing applied 

(highest possible quality, identical to photo 

print), we witnessed the GS3200 providing 

a sustained throughput speed of 30 square 

meters per hour on a solid area of blue, 

including changing 

the media in-between 

printing jobs, which 

took 45 seconds to be 

exact. The test was 

performed using one 

3.2 meter roll printing 

a landscape fill of 180 

cm x 140 cm. 

At 600 dpi and light 

smoothing, performance 

rose to 84 square 

meters/hour. 

In real-world circumstances, 

these figures are quite high. Although 

some manufacturers will advertise 

much higher speeds, the top speed at 

which a super wide format printer is capable 

of producing usable quality results is 

sometimes 50% lower than the brochure 

text promises. 

The VUTEk GS3200 isn’t a speed demon, 

but the quality level at which this printer 

outputs a job is far higher than what one 






7 

would expect from a super wide format 

printer of which most prints will be viewed 

from a distance. We therefore wouldn’t hesitate 

to call this printer capable of art photo 

printing. 

We did not test the GS3200 with 4 colours 

and at highest throughput speed — in this 

lower quality mode the GS3200 should be 

capable of speeds in excess of 200 square 

meters or 44 rigid media plates per hour. 

Changeover to print on flexible from rigid 

substrates happened in less than a minute 

(45 seconds to be exact). 

Furthermore, the VUTEk GS3200 is capable 

of printing directly to substrate, eliminating 

Three Resolution/Smoothing/Curing combinations 

The leftmost image shows the best obtainable quality with the VUTEk GS3200. This is 

pure photo quality. By playing with shutter, smoothing, curing and resolution, different 

patterns of usage emerge: from banners hanging from buildings to accurate reproduction 

of art that may be viewed from close-up. 

Resolution: 1000 dpi 

Smoothing: Heavy 

Curing: Low 


Smoothing: Light 

Curing: Medium 


Smoothing: Light 

Curing: Low 






8 

the need for mounting and lamination of 

flexible materials for rigid applications. 

Print quality can be expressed in different 

parameters. Three of them define 

the VUTEk GS3200: 

ÃÃ 

Resolution 

ÃÃ 

Colour accuracy 

ÃÃ 

Creative capabilities. 

To test resolution and colour accuracy, we 

used two methods: a visual assessment of 

the quality of a photo shot and the evaluation 

of an Altona chart with and without 

ICC profile loaded. 

To further test the printer’s minimal colour 

gamut, we measured its standard ICC colour 

profile. Creative possibilities were tested 

with the help of an experienced operator 

who has a degree in graphic design and 

who has worked in the graphical/printing 

industry. 

Resolution is independent of the colour 

mode the printer is in, i.e. in 4-colour mode 

(actually, 5-colour mode, white included, 

which is why VUTEk calls this “Fast-5”) the 

GS3200 can still print at 1000 dpi or 600 

dpi. 

The highest resolution prints that we saw 

coming out of the VUTEk GS3200 were 

photo quality resolution prints with smooth 

gradients and skin tones. We feel the resolution 

and colour capabilities of the GS3200 

are very close to making this printer fit for 

art reproduction. 

The VUTEk GS3200 prints on any medium 

and on some the ink must be dried quickly 

in order to create a good bonding between 

ink and medium. A test photo of a Chinese 

gate was printed in 1000 and 600 dpi 

modes. Even at the highest possible speed 

— when the operator can make the printer 

fire solid streaks of the image with no 

feathering in-between onto the medium — 

we never saw any banding occur at all. 

Resolution 

The VUTEk GS3200 can handle 1000 dpi 

output by setting the ink droplet size to 

12pL — a setting which can be changed at 

the control panel in software. At 12pL/1000 

dpi, the GS3200 is capable of printing at a 

4-point character size. 

The printer will use the smallest droplet to 

print with a vertical resolution of 1000 dpi 

and a horizontal resolution of 720dpi. The 

bigger droplet will be used with a vertical 

resolution of 600 dpi and a horizontal resolution 

of 360 dpi. 

The horizontal resolution is defined by the 

linear encoder and the vertical resolution is 

defined by the jetpack. 

Colour Accuracy 

To visually evaluate the GS3200’s colour accuracy, 

we printed an Altona 1.2a chart. 

Without its standard ICC colour profile loaded, 

the Altona chart showed discernable 

colour banding on he gradient discs, as well 

as a clearly visible colour shift in the skin 

tones and the yellow to red colour range. 

However, printed with the default ICC colour 

profile turned on, the GS3200 printed 

the Altona chart with all colour shifts corrected. 

Gradient banding had gone and skin 

tones were beautifully rendered, with good 

detail in skin tone gradients. 






9 

Especially the red-on-green patches of the 

chart showed considerable improvement 

when the ICC profile was loaded. 

The colour gamut of the GS3200’s default 

profile is fairly large. It is about 50% of the 

AdobeRGB gamut and about 90% of a professional 

inkjet photo printer. We expect the 

default profile to have been created with a 

rather conservative approach, so we expect 

a colour management expert to be capable 

of squeezing a larger gamut out of the 

GS3200 without giving in on accuracy or 

quality. 

A large colour gamut is interesting because 

it makes the printer more attractive to a 

larger number of vertical markets. Especially 

the profile’s skewness towards the yellow 

and red areas make the GS3200 exceptionally 

well suited for printing gradients and 

portraits such as those used in fashion advertisements. 

We also tested the GS3200’s Pantone colour 

accuracy, and the printer passed the test 

with flying colours. 

Creative capabilities / Vertical 

Markets 

The VUTEk GS3200 has three-layering capabilities 

which enables white to be printed 

in six variations (overprint, underprint, spot, 

underspot, fill and overspot). All three layers 

can be printed in a single pass. 

This allows the GS3200’s white ink to be 

used in creative ways, e.g.: 

ÃÃ 

as a “primer” on coloured materials 

ÃÃ 

to provide depth to a colour image 

ÃÃ 

to play with see-through characteristics 

on transparent or translucent materials. 

The GS3200 operator has more creative 

capabilities than just 8 colour or 4 colour 

printing with or without whites. 

He/she can also combine images at the 

control panel to be printed onto one medium. 

Furthermore, the UV-lamps can be 

operated on individually. By opening them 

The white area represents the GS3200. The red area in the image on the left shows a medium-format 

professional photo printer’s gamut. The blue area in both images shows the AdobeRGB colour space. 






10 

at different times while printing, the lamps 

can be used to influence Tonal Value Increase 

(dot gain), so the image can be 

made to appear lighter. 

logo banners, art exhibition promotional 

banners, large photograph prints, fashion 

photographs, and many more. 

The GS3200 Control Panel, where the operator can be creative in view of the desired results. 

“Playing” with the UV lamps can also influence 

the ink’s brilliance. 

Combined with the large range of materials 

the GS3200 can print on, the printer can be 

used for a great many purposes, from traditional 

advertisement board printing over 

printing a logo on a short-fibre carpet, to 

see-through or sandwich prints attached to 

windows, etc. 

We saw the GS3200 used for jewelry, perfume 

ads, one-colour filled areas, Pantone 

Environment 

The VUTEk GS3200 is relatively environment 

friendly in that it is conservative with 

respect to power and ink consumption. 

VUTEk also shows care for ink composition 

and waste management. 

The GS3200’s power consumption can be 

kept to an absolute minimum by using the 

printer’s capabilities, e.g. the capability to 

set multiple zero points, to load multiple 

rolls of the same or different media. 






11 

An efficient use of the GS3200 can also 

bring costs down. 

In terms of waste management, the GS3200 

has built-in capture capabilities for cleaning 

cycle ink. To keep ink waste at a minimum, 

the operator should plan printing jobs as 

much as possible, and avoid too many 

switches between 4 colour and 8 colour 

mode. 

VUTEk made sure the ink composition 

is among the least polluting and the least 

health risky. Contrary to common belief, 

water based inks such as Latex inks are not 

better for the environment or less dangerous 

than traditional UV curable inks. 

In fact, in the technical data sheets of manufacturers 

that use Latex inks, the user will 

read the level of solvents to be near 20%. 

We also did not expect the operator of such 

a printer being capable of adding a creative 

touch to the output, which essentially 

means there will be differences between 

the output of one GS3200 operated by a 

skilled user and one operated by someone 

who only adheres to the user guide. 

Even without experience and talent, however, 

the GS3200 can output great looking 

prints no matter who is at the printer console. 

Business wise, the GS3200 has many characteristics 

and parameters that allow for a 

quick pay back on investment and a nice 

ROI. The printer has plenty of features that 

allow it to operate at very low TCO as well. 

In contrast, VUTEk’s UV curable inks contain 

solvent levels of below 3%. As it was 

correctly stated in an article in Print Action 

dating from April 2010 by Danny Ionescu: 

“There are a lot of questions about solvent 

and eco-solvent, but, no matter how 

you classify it, solvent is solvent — period. 

There are VOCs being emitted from ecosolvent 

technology.” 

All the more reason then not to fall for the 

marketing talk of some companies that 

claim their water based inks do not contain 

solvents. 

Conclusion 

When we set out to test the VUTEk GS3200, 

we did not expect a super wide format 

printer to be capable of printing high resolution 

images that can successfully compete 

with dedicated photo printers targeted at 

the professional photographers’ market.

VUTEk GS3200 Super-wide Format Printer - IT Enquirer

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