Good news. Maybe Chromira will keep moving forward with LF laser technology. I can not go without my silver halide flex prints! The only thing that has prevented me from using the Chromira so far is their inabailiy to print at 300- 400 ppi. I think 250 is their max?
I believe the LightJet was similar in design to the Kodak LED printer, where the paper was held stationary and a system of lasers (LED's in the case of the Kodak) moved across the paper. While both printers pioneered new imaging technology, the mechanics of moving the lasers and especially the LED's in Kodaks case was very challenging and very complicated. We operated two of the Kodak LED printers and output quality was terrific. The main drawback (other than overly complicated mechanics) was the printer was limited to a maximize size (24x30 in the case of the Kodak), something which changed with the the Lambda and later generation printers where the paper itself moved under the laser head assembly and 30" or greater widths were introduced.
The ZBE Chromira is actually a 300dpi native device and is not laser but uses a small LED head and prints very much like an inkjet printer.
They also claim to have a mode which improves "visual" resolution ...from their website..." ZBE's Resolution Enhancement Technology improves on that and increases the visual resolution to 425 PPI, ensuring that you receive a quality image every time."
I have no clue what they mean by "visual resolution" as opposed to actual resolution, and we've never tried it with our Chromira so I have no opinion either way as to what it delivers. It may be worth checking into if the lab you are using prints with a Chromira.
Noritsu's 24" version is very good, but obviously limited width. We operate one of those as well and side by side the Noritsu seems to have a slight edge. This is judged from portraits, not landscapes, and if I remember my plant managers comments correctly it was based on slightly better flesh tones.
Personally I think the Lambda is still the best of the bunch, but all 3 produce outstanding sliver halide prints. As you mentioned, on Fujiflex (or Kodak Metallic) the results can be remarkable.