Océ ColorWave 600 to combat QLD floods

Equipping its Local Disaster Coordination Centre (LDCC) with a ColorWave 600 has increased Brisbane City Council’s reaction time to natural disasters.

According to Océ spokesperson, the wide format printer is capable of the anticipated tenfold speed increase over existing equipment needed to respond to a disaster, in the printing of GIS maps and aerial photographs.

“Arduous performance tests were undertaken on a variety of plotters before the Océ ColorWave 600 was chosen. A key feature of the ColorWave 600 that made it ideal for Council in its multiple role capability, was its ability to produce a high quality A0 print that is waterfast without stipples or banding,” he says.

By printing onto Tyvek, the LDCC can produce virtually tear proof and water-resistant collateral that can be taken into a disaster zone without getting damaged. The Council purchased the printer to ensure maps could be printed as efficiently as possible to avoid delays.

In addition to the technical and functional aspects of the ColorWave, value for money over a whole of life investment was a Council consideration. Running costs are reduced over time as printing is done on standard paper rather than rolls of expensive coated stock. The printer will utilise Océ Publisher Select as the interface between the printer and desktop users.

Pictured: Jeff Sangster, spatial information operations manager, Brisbane City Council, with the new Océ ColorWave 600.



The Océ ColorWave’s speed also delivers significant productivity advantages when it is used on a day-to-day basis in the office for standard printing jobs.

Five regional command centres also installed a Canon IPF 650 A1 colour printer each, which can be linked to the LDCC for similar plotting purposes during localised situations.