Hardware - Industrial Print

Canon has announced that it has now installed the 5,000th Océ Arizona flatbed printer unit in Europe, marking a significant milestone for the award-winning UV flatbed printers.

This milestone achievement reflects the strong demand for the award-winning UV flatbed printers across Europe and beyond, firmly establishing the Arizona as the industry’s flatbed printers of choice.

The first Océ Arizona systems were installed in May 2007. Since then, the series has transformed the sign and display printing industry, setting new standards for quality and expanding the range of applications for flatbed printing.

Leading London-based print service provider Benchmark Reprographics invested in a Canon Océ Arizona 460 GT as part of its ongoing growth plans and in order to aid expansion into new markets.

Jeff Hall, Managing Director at Benchmark Reprographics, said: “We’ve seen increased demand from customers for the display graphics side so the Arizona was a natural choice for us. As the largest supplier of flatbed printers in the market, Canon’s expertise and support are also important in ensuring our ongoing expansion.”

“Our choice of the Arizona was made largely on the versatility of the device and the ability to print accurate, high quality images, in a selection of inks including white. We’ve also seen a massive reduction in the turnaround times on our jobs and are now working with a simplified workflow. “

“Our relationship with Canon Océ extends over twenty years and their market expertise and technical knowledge means they continue to be an ideal partner as we develop this side of our business.”

 

Events and exhibitions print specialist Rocket tackles growing trend for textile printing with new MTEX 5032Pro wide-format printer.

Watford-based Rocket, a large format digital production company focusing on events, exhibitions, retail, interiors and environments, has added a new MTEX 5032Pro direct-to-textile digital printer to its growing stable of printers.

Rocket specialises in large and grand format digital print onto a wide range of materials for both internal and external applications.

Commercial Director Antony Rider said: “We decided to purchase the 5032Pro as it meets our needs as far as speed and quality go, and it was the most up to date model. It’s also commercially viable as a part of our overall fleet and it came out at the right price.”

The company, which currently has 42 staff, was founded in 1996 and has seen double digit growth over the last three years.

The experiential market is constantly looking for innovation, with a strong move at the moment towards textile, skins and stretchable print rather than hard board. The development in textile print technology driven by companies like MTEX, coupled with developments in proprietary frame systems, are driving this trend.

“There is a growth pattern – both for our company and in the digital textile industry in general - and this investment in the new MTEX will support that growth and keep us at the forefront of technology,” added Antony.

Commenting on the installation, Production Director Phil Eames added: “When the MTEX 5032Pro was installed in June, it replaced an older machine with a matching footprint – as there’s no need for a separate calendar with the MTEX we didn’t need to take up any valuable extra space.

“The installation itself, the training and support have all been professional, on time and ongoing – essential to us because as soon as the printer went in we were putting live work through it and we needed to be up to speed.

“The 5032Pro complements the work we were already producing, meaning we can expand our offering to our clients, and some jobs where we would previously have printed with UV as standard can now go on the 5032 for better quality and colour gamut.

“We’re generally working with a base set of substrates while we’re still learning about this new machine, but when we have more stability we’ll be looking at additional media and applications, and we look forward to working with the MTEX team on that.”

MTEX Technologies Managing Director Stewart Bell says they are delighted to be working with Rocket. “The 5032Pro is a great addition to the print fleet for a company like Rocket, which stands out from the crowd by remaining at the leading edge of wide format digital print technology.

“The Pro model of our market-leading MTEX 5032 3.2m wide textile printer has a new integrated platform as well as a new feeding and take up system which supports bigger and heavier rolls for greater productivity and unattended printing. There is also a new continuous ink feeding system and integrated infrared fixation.

“With a print speed of up to 58sqm/h and resolution up to 1440dpi, what you have is a high quality, production standard dye sub printer that delivers brilliant and vivid colours, ideal for brand implementation across a range of applications for demanding clients who know exactly what they want.”

Antony concluded: “While we have a solid forward order book with annual events and exhibitions booked well in advance, we can’t rest on our laurels. Our clients want their spaces to stand out so we need to keep ahead of the curve, and lead not follow on new trends – and at the moment, the new trend is textile.”

 

When large format sign and display specialists Aztec discussed upgrading their print workhorse, the speed and quality offered by the VUTEk GS3250Pro made it the obvious choice.

The firm, based in Leeds, had bought a VUTEk QS3220 around three and a half years ago and found that they needed to upgrade it to keep up with customer demand and the ever faster turnaround times expected.

Director Tom Wilton explained: “We’ve got various printers including a HP Designjet and a new Latex 360, but the VUTEk was our main print engine.

“We knew it was time to upgrade it when we started struggling to turn around the volume of work we needed to in the timescales we were given. We spoke to the team at CMYUK and they recommended the GS3250Pro with its top speed of 225sqmh coupled with dpi up to 1000.

“The top speed on the previous machine was 88sqmh, so we should see double the productivity out of it. Equally important to us though is the quality of the white ink printing and the high end finish that it offers.”
Aztec’s client base is split evenly between trade and end users, ranging from other signmakers, advertising and design agencies, to blue chip companies in the leisure, museum, retail and food industries.

“We produce a lot of high-margin, precision work like backlit acrylic displays for day and night, so the multi-layer printing that allows us to put down the reverse image, white ink then the mirror image in one sweep is invaluable as far as both speed and accuracy are concerned,” added Tom.

“The improved white ink also means we can now print onto materials like coloured acrylics easily by putting down the white layer first.

“We certainly have plenty of work to keep the new printer busy at all times, but the GS3250Pro has also given us more confidence to start challenging traditional screen printers for the higher volume jobs as well.”

Just over a year ago Aztec purchased a new cutter and CNC machine which they can now also partner with the new printer to increase the amount of packaging, mock ups and POS work that they do.

Thanks to this investment in direct print and cutting, Aztec will now even be able to offer same day turnaround on bespoke, cut to shape vinyl, foamex, pvc and Dibond orders.

CMYUK Director Robin East said: “We recommended the 3.2m flatbed and roll-to-roll UV GS3250Pro to Aztec because it offers both the productivity and improved quality that the team were after. The eight-colour plus white and Fast-5 printing gives photorealistic quality at production speeds, and for top-end graphics there’s the option of 1000 dpi.

“There’s also the ability to print directly onto both rigid and flexible media, which will expand the number of applications the company can produce with great levels of profitability.”

Tom concludes: “Customers are notoriously tight in their deadlines and the turnaround times are only getting more demanding. If you don’t move forward you’re moving backwards – and the GS3250Pro was a great step forward for us!”

Durst will be launching the Alpha series - a new generation of super multi-pass inkjet printers for the digital production of home textiles and fashion - at ITMA 2015 at stand C103 in hall 18.

The Alpha series offers print widths of 190-330 cm and can be configured with up to 8 colours and 64 Alpha-S print heads that achieve a native resolution of 600 dpi and a print speed of 460 lm/h.

With these performance parameters Durst is positioning the Alpha series in direct competition to traditional screen-printing – with all the benefits of digital printing. Compared with the single-pass trend, the Alpha series has the advantage of more economical, more efficient and more reliable printing technology. The Durst Alpha series provides continuous ink circulation in all ink circuits in order to guarantee constant ink quality and reliable stand-by availability. In the event of a print head failing, an automatic emergency mode will deactivate the affected print head row and continue printing with the greatest possible number of print heads. When necessary, Alpha-S print heads can be replaced by the customer within a very short time. A new intelligent feed system has been developed for the Alpha series that adapts automatically to different textiles and roll diameters. An integrated spray system allows materials to be chemically pre-treated before printing. Durst provides its own OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certifiable ink systems and a GOTS-certified reactive ink system. In order to give users greater flexibility and efficiency in production, Durst has also developed a new pigmented ink (Alpha Ink P) which can be used on a wide variety of textiles and which, after printing, offers an impressive feel. In addition, no pre- or post-treatment is required for standard materials such as cotton or polyester. Besides excellent print quality, high flexibility, industrial productivity and scalability, the Alpha Series also offers process solutions. The newly developed Durst Textile Workflow System simplifies precise color reproduction on different fabrics and enables continuous quality control and one-step profiling for new materials and colour matching.

“The Alpha series makes digital textile production more economical and efficient,” says Martin Winkler, Segment Manager Textile Printing, Durst Phototechnik AG. “Super multi-pass technology allows us to achieve similar production capacity as with screen printing and provide 24/7 reliability that is not possible with single-pass technology. It’s not just about pure print speed but the simplification of printing processes so that the user can start production immediately. The Alpha series combines new process technologies in order to make the interaction between print head, ink system, material, type of fabric as well as pre- and post treatment manageable and reproducible at all times. The Alpha series print head technology also ensures high fail-safe performance and permanent availability. Furthermore, with the new pigmented ink, we are also offering users a universal solution for standard materials in order to increase flexibility and efficiency in production.”

Durst Alpha series at ITMA 2015
At ITMA 2015 Durst will be exhibiting the flagship from its Alpha series, the Alpha 330, for the industrial production of home textiles. Moreover, Durst will be presenting the Alpha 180 TR, a dye sublimation printer for polyester and polyester blends. Besides transfer printing, the Alpha 180 TR also offers an optional “direct-print kit”.
Durst is a Gold Sponsor of the ITMA Digital Textile Conference 2015 and will present its new products against the backdrop of the event.

The Durst textile printing team will be available for individual meetings at the Durst stand in hall 18, stand C103, during ITMA 2015. Please contact Martin Winkler by e-mail to arrange individual meetings and for further information: MWinkler@durst.it 

Durst Alpha Series Video Preview
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5FVWy11BBk 

With EFI's newly developed inkjet products and an expanded product line from recent acquisitions, signage and graphics professionals can gain more profitable business opportunities with digital printing than ever before using the EFI™ technologies on display at this year's SGIA Expo. The 4-6 November tradeshow also represents the first exhibit of EFI's newly expanded inkjet production technology portfolio, with recently acquired EFI Reggiani soft signage textile printers and EFI Matan roll-to-roll printers shown along with the company's VUTEk® and Wide Format offerings.

The worldwide unveilings at EFI's booth include:

• The EFI VUTEk HS125 Pro inkjet press - the fastest VUTEk product ever developed - 3.2m, hybrid roll/flatbed product offering true analogue replacement capabilities with quality approaching offset, production speeds up to 125 boards per hour, and a variety of automated material handling options including one for corrugated board.
• The new EFI VUTEk GS3LX Pro LED printer, a 3.2m hybrid, high-end printer offering high print speeds, high-resolution grayscale imaging and LED cool curing technology, along with maximum versatility to support higher volumes and shorter lead times.
• The EFI H1625-SD, an entry-level production, 1.65m UV hybrid printer with award-winning EFI SuperDraw UV ink for near-photographic imaging direct to thermoformable substrates.
• EFI Armor, a new line of UV roll and water-based coatings that provide three- to five-year weather and chemical protection on customers' high-value rigid, flexible and thermoformable inkjet graphics output.

Both the VUTEk HS125 Pro and VUTEk GS3LX Pro printers feature new UltraFX Technology, an advanced, inline clear print capability that enhances the visual impact of printed images and reduces the appearance of unwanted visual artefacts without adding time-consuming or costly steps to the production process.

For one early VUTEk GS3LX Pro user, Carlstadt, N.J.-based visual imaging solutions provider Coloredge, EFI's newest LED inkjet technology provides greater productivity and quality.

"The EFI VUTEk GS3LX is 30% faster speed than our GS3250LX Pro printer when running at the same speed/quality setting," said Eric Anderson, Coloredge's production technology manager. "Plus we can get 50% greater productivity with the GS3LX Pro model by using a faster speed setting, and the quality is still comparable to what we achieve running our other VUTEk LED printer on its slower, point-of-purchase mode."

EFI is focused on giving customers the best opportunities to fuel their success, from UV, LED and water-based printers used in some of the industry's most successful signage and graphics operations, to versatile inks and time-saving digital front end and production workflow products.

Leading-edge technology for the growing soft signage market
EFI is showcasing the remarkable, high-margin production opportunities possible with efficient, reusable textile soft signage with industry-leading EFI Reggiani technologies and water-based dye sublimation inks. The EFI Reggiani ONE 180 soft signage printer on display in the EFI/NextWave booth (No. 2435) is a 1.8m printer for direct-to-textile or transfer paper printing. The versatile printer offers high speeds up to 310 square metres (3,336 square feet) per hour, dramatic four-color printing with a wide colour gamut, ultra-high resolutions up to 2,400 dots per inch (dpi) and four-level grayscale imaging. The Reggiani ONE 180 is an ideal solution for businesses looking to capture dynamic opportunities in the fast-growing digital textile soft signage market.

Additionally, EFI is showing a second printer Reggiani printer in the EFI/NextWave booth: an EFI Reggiani PRO 180 shown printing transfer work on Coldenhove sublimation paper. The PRO model prints up to 600 square metres (6,458 square feet) per hour, providing superior quality and high productivity in soft signage applications.

Fuelling success in LED and UV digital print
EFI is helping its customers win in additional, growing digital print applications as well with UV and LED inkjet and print workflow products at SGIA Expo, including:

• The EFI Matan Quantum LED printer, a seven-colour product with optional white ink and unique feature sets like double side printing, wrinkle analyser and many more. The printer offers high-quality imaging with 7 picolitre grayscale imaging in resolutions up to 1,200 dpi. Plus it has labour-saving inline finishing and single-operator media handling capabilities. The printer sets a new benchmark in reducing waste in media handling, with only 40 cm of wasted material on every roll.
• The 5m, roll-to-roll, EFI VUTEk GS5500LXr Pro LED printer, which features 7 picolitre UltraDrop™ Technology and the greener, more-efficient advantages of "cool cure" LED imaging. The printer will be running highly flexible EFI - 3M™ SuperFlex Inks on a new textile substrate shown for the first time, 3M™ Printable Fabric 9100 that offers a 3M™ MCS™ Warranty for up to six years on outdoor vertical applications.
• The 2m EFI VUTEk H2000 Pro printer, a production-level, high-quality UV inkjet printer that gives customers a more-affordable entry point into mid-volume, premium production printing while giving them the option to add features - including white ink, roll-to-roll media handling, and an award-winning clear ink - as they grow their business.
• The EFI H1625 LED printer, an award-winning, entry-level hybrid printer for printing rigid and flexible substrates that has quickly become a popular production-level LED inkjet device thanks to its high quality, eight-level greyscale capability and its superior white ink offering. EFI partner Nazdar SourceOne is also exhibiting this popular, 1.6m hybrid printer in booth 3737.
• VUTEk Go, an Android-based, remote monitoring application for the VUTEk HS Pro series that streamlines high-volume inkjet production management with real-time mobile print queue and press status monitoring and automatic push notifications for printer alerts or errors.
• The EFI Fiery® proServer, version 6.2, an upgraded digital front end platform for VUTEk printers that can process print files 60% faster than earlier versions of the proServer, or 170% faster than alternate inkjet printer RIPs.
• The EFI Midmarket Productivity Suite, an end-to-end, modular business and production management workflow that includes award-winning EFI Pace™ MIS software and an array of market-leading technologies for marketing automation, eCommerce, Web-to-print, planning, imposition, scheduling, shop floor data collection, fulfilment, warehousing, shipping, and direct integration to JDF-enabled EFI Fiery products.

"Visitors who come to see EFI products at the SGIA Expo will walk away with many new ideas they can use to improve profitability and establish new revenue streams," said Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager, EFI Inkjet Solutions. "In the past year, EFI has invested significantly in acquisitions, R&D and product development so our customers can continue to outperform in the industry's highest-growth markets."

EFI's exhibit is in booth 3411 at the SGIA Expo, 4-6 Nov. at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. For more information about EFI products, visit www.efi.com 

Inca Digital announces a new benchmark for throughput, quality, supreme reliability and ‘future-proof’ scalability with the launch of the new Inca “Onset X” Series of large-format, flatbed UV inkjet printers, sold globally and exclusively by Fujifilm.

A major evolution of Inca’s pioneering ‘Scalable Architecture’ concept, each Onset X printer is based on a new common scalable architecture platform which features a larger 25-zone vacuum table and UV control system to eliminate masking, and – uniquely among high-end large-format flatbed printers – a carriage that can incorporate up to 14 ink channels. This allows print service providers to configure their Onset X printer for the combination of productivity, colour and quality that best matches their changing production requirements.

If they wish, users can start out with the Onset X1 (560m2/hr /6027sqft, 112 full-bed sheets/hr) and, as their business develops, upgrade to the Onset X2 (725m2/hr /7803 sqft, 145 beds/hr) and eventually to the new ultra-high-productivity high-quality printer that sits at the pinnacle of the Onset X Series – the Onset X3 (900m2/hr /9687 sqft,180 beds/hr).

The speeds and productivity of the Onset X Series printers are dependent on the choice of Fujifilm Dimatix printhead and can be configured for each customer depending on their desired quality/speed requirements. Each model in the Onset X Series can handle substrates in sizes up to 3.22m (126 inches) x 1.6m (63 inches) and thicknesses up to 50mm and is compatible with different types of automated media handling systems to optimise productivity.

Onset X, model by model

Onset X owes its unique combination of quality, productivity and flexibility to the common scalable platform that the Onset X1, Onset X2 and Onset X3 share. This is built to accommodate up to 14 ink channels, which users can configure in a variety of ways depending on their requirements.

Onset X1: With a maximum throughput of 560m2/hr (equivalent to 112 full-bed sheets/hr), the Onset X1 is ideal for companies producing a mix of fast-turnaround retail graphics requiring distance viewing as well as high-quality images for close-up viewing. The Onset X1 features eight active channels: four print CMYK and the remainder can be configured as required using a combination of light magenta, light cyan, white and orange (LmLcWO). When the time is right, an additional carriage can be added to scale up to an Onset X2 or X3.

Onset X2: With a second set of CMYK, the Onset X2 delivers even higher productivity — 725m2/hr (145 beds/hr) — while an optional six LmLcWO channels can be populated to add versatility. Also upgradeable according to business needs, the 14-channel Onset X2 provides the capacity to extend the range of jobs companies can handle. A choice of uni-directional, bi-directional and super high-quality print modes can be selected depending on the specific job requirements.

Onset X3: Capable of printing at a blistering 900m2/hr (180 beds/hr), the Onset X3 features 3 x CMYK ink channels plus the choice of white or orange, and 14 or 27-picolitre printheads. The Onset X3 sits at the pinnacle of productivity. With this printer, users of analogue screen printing lines can take the digital route, confident they can print long runs of high-quality print with superb consistency and reliability.

“Since 2013 Inca Onset users have benefited from a highly-flexible flatbed UV inkjet production machine that can grow and change with them,” says John Mills, Inca Digital’s CEO. “Strong sales of the Onset have shown that the modular concept is right for the highly dynamic high-end large-format UV sector, which is evolving at such a pace, and in so many directions, that print service providers often face a dilemma in choosing the right printer. The new Onset X Series is designed to remove the traditional compromise of quality and productivity and make the choice of printer the easiest decision they have to make. The Series combines an easy-to-understand upgrade path with a comprehensive choice of options, so that, whatever stage the business is at, management can configure or re-configure an Onset X printer with the right productivity and colour performance to match their budget and evolving business needs.”

Industry-leading productivity, quality and reliability

The new Onset X range incorporates hardware and software advances that further enhance Inca’s reputation for developing large-format flatbed UV printers that combine productivity and quality with industry-leading reliability.

Especially notable is the new 25-zone vacuum table, featuring a powerful new vacuum solution and choice of skin design depending on the user’s needs. This completely eliminates bed masking for substrates of any size, greatly reduces set-up times for standard POS substrates and increases throughput of short-run, fast-turnaround print. Vacuum zones are independently controlled and easily managed by the operator using the auto zone function. Frequently-used formats can be automatically programmed and stored in a user-generated database. This innovation alone can increase the Onset X Series’ productivity by up to 20 per cent compared to previous Onset printers.

A completely level table surface is crucial for accurate, repeatable drop positioning, particularly in bi-directional print mode. A new patented ‘print-a-shim’ process takes Inca’s class-leading technology to the next level to ensure a completely flat table with zero-tolerance. Using the Onset X’s in-built sensor, the ‘print-a-shim’ process precisely measures the profile of the table and defines a contour to accurately create ink shims to produce a completely level platform on which the final table skin is mounted.

For the Onset X Series, Inca has also developed a new GUI to provide a powerful yet simple-to-use printer and job management tool. The operator can finalise and initiate jobs, save settings, create print queues and manage and optimise every stage of the print process. Improved off-machine job set-up means that when jobs arrive at the printer, more parameters (substrates, print speed, quality mode, gloss levels, etc) are already defined. Password control and web browser access enable production management to control the decision-making process and amend print queues remotely.

Other new features available across the Onset X Series include a productivity pack which incorporates: advanced high-speed shuttering systems that protect printheads from UV damage when printing thick substrates; optional automated substrate cleaning using an adhesive roller system to remove debris and improve up-time; and a new-design roller for corrugated board printing that, in a single pass before printing, presses the substrate onto the vacuum bed to ensure a good contact.

“The launch of a platform with the features of the Onset X doesn’t happen by chance. It represents the culmination of the combined hardware, ink and application expertise of Fujifilm and Inca Digital over the last 15 years,” says Steve Wood, Marketing Manager, Fujifilm. “This partnership has delivered many leading inkjet systems over this period, and we are proud to support Inca Digital in the launch of what is going to be the flatbed production platform by which all others are judged. The evolution of the Onset over the last two years has already made it the leading flatbed inkjet production platform, and the launch of the Onset X is only going to make it more attractive for many more print service providers.”