Hardware - Industrial Print

Agfa Graphics is extending the Jeti Titan series of modular UV-curable wide-format printers at FESPA 2013 with the launch of the Jeti TitanX.  The new printer, with its proven moving table flatbed technology, is designed as a versatile wide format printing platform that caters for both higher productivity and superior print quality with extreme colour accuracy.

Configured for the ultimate in flexibility, the Jeti TitanX offers the operator fast switching from four (CMYK) to six-colour (high fidelity CMYKLcLm) imaging and back on a job-by-job basis. In both modes it offers the versatility of white ink with eight dedicated white print heads out of the total of 48 configured to generate exceptional levels of productivity.

The only true industrial flat-bed in its class, Agfa Graphics' Jeti TitanX is ideal for the production of close-viewed output such as quality point-of-purchase as well as high resolution backlit applications (day-and-night). Additionally, the printer is designed for high productivity wide-format applications such as general displays.

The Jeti TitanX has a generous bed size of 3.1 x 2m with the table finished to incredibly tight tolerances over the whole surface. It is built on a robust steel frame, complemented by advanced linear motion technology for superior production accuracy. The impact of microscopic variations is further minimised through the Topology Optimization, a powerful set of measurement and jetting compensation algorithms. An optical camera scans the bed to create a topographical map of the imaging area. In the background, the algorithms make velocity compensation calculations to ensure optimized dot placement. The result is a spectacular image quality whether printing uni-directionally or bi-directionally.

For greater productivity Jeti TitanX utilises Agfa Graphics' fast curing Anuvia UV-curable inks that are designed specifically for high-end production platforms. Anuvia inks offer great resistance to chemicals and abrasions plus good adhesion on the substrate. Their sharp, vibrant colours combine with high fade resistance and excellent lightfastness.

Since the original launch of Agfa Graphics' Jeti Titan the modular range has evolved to incorporate seven different configurations, each based on the same strong technology which has evolved to meet customer requirements. The Jeti TitanX now addresses speed and quality needs, as well as the ability to work with a broad range of rigid and flexible substrates in a choice of print modes, according to the type of application.

The Jeti TitanX will be on at display at FESPA 2013 in ExCeL London Exhibition Centre South Hall Stand C30S.

PressOn took delivery of an EFI VUTEk QS2 Pro 3.2m wide-format flat-bed and roll-fed UV-curable printer on 7th June 2013.  The VUTEk QS2 pro will add to PressOn's UV-curable printing arsenal and help it to satisfy increased customer demand for the highest quality, fast turnaround graphics and display materials.

The company has enjoyed a period of growth in its large format digital printing business in the past 24 months - particularly over the past 12 months.  As a result of increasing demand, PressOn has also made a number of substantial machinery investments over this time including a Kongsberg XPi 24 digital cutter in August 2012 and a Supracoater 1600 liquid laminator in December 2012.

On the new purchase, joint founding managing director of PressOn, Andy Wilson, comments, “Our customers have always insisted upon high quality print from us, but the demand for the absolute best image quality has become more and more evident. To continue to satisfy customers in this higher premium market we needed a machine that was flexible, could print on any substrate even on heavily textured materials. Any addition needed to be guaranteed to always produce the quality print that PressOn are trusted to deliver. With the tight deadlines our customers need, high production speeds were extremely important too.”

The VUTEk QS2 Pro was chosen after much research by PressOn as it demonstrated some compelling features. It was supplied by UK specialist CMYUK.

The VUTEk’s in-line multi-layer print capability and greyscale technology with variable droplets was a feature that will help PressOn to offer its customers premium quality print. This technology offers solutions to the increasing challenging project requirements PressOn is receiving such as printing pure white ink on coloured substrates. The machine will be linked through to PressOn’s existing GMG Colour Management software to ensure colour critical print remains accurate from one off jobs through to multiple items of printed media on different substrates.

Joint PressOn managing director Nigel Webster adds, “The VUTEk QS2 Pro will perfectly complement our high quality print offering at PressOn. Our retail customers will love the quality and flexibility it will offer, enabling us to print straight to wood, board and even aluminium. It will also help us with the very creative bespoke work we are seeing more frequently from the fast moving retail display market.”

CMYUK’s Robin East, concludes, “The installation of this machine at PressOn reflects the company’s desire to increase productivity and quality with a true hybrid printer that benefits from EFI’s latest technology.  Combining true greyscale capability with a very wide colour gamut is complemented by the VUTEk QS2 Pro’s versatility on rigid and flexible materials, plus its optimised ink usage for lower costs per print.”

For more information on PressOn, please visit www.presson.co.uk

Your Print Specialists (YPS) says it has completed the first UK installation of the Mimaki JFX500-2131 printer at Victory Signs.  Based in Cramlington, Northumberland, Victory Signs has built a core of end users interested in its engraving, fascia, retail and specialist output, but sought to make its production more efficient – hence its decision to invest in the 2.1 x 3.1m wide-format UV-curable industrial flat-bed printer from Mimaki.

"We've been a Mimaki house for some time, and already own a 1.6m CJV30-160 and a UJF-3042," explains Neil Wood, manager of family-run Victory Signs. "Investing in the JFX500-2131 means we can keep production of larger display boards in house, and the ability to print direct to the media avoids transfer and other multiple-stage processes that can introduce liabilities. It's a real step up for our business, and for what we'll be able to do for our customers."

The JFX500-2131 improves throughput by some 2.5 times compared with previous models and features both LED curing and specially formulated LUS-150 flexible ink to allow high-speed production onto a range of sensitive substrates. A maximum 60sq m/hour print speed when printing in four colours makes it a viable alternative production process to screen, while the imminent addition of white ink will give the functionality of over- and under-printing for high-value display applications and onto transparent media.

Underpinning the JFX500-2131's production abilities is an array of technology developments. Mimaki's Intelligent Microstepping System helps to eliminate banding and enables the production of text sizes as small as two points – a capability that works in tandem with the minimum drop size of four picolitres to guarantee the exceptionally smooth graduation crucial to high-end display work. Multiple print passes can be easily programmed on a case-by-case basis using the Mimaki Advanced Pass System to eliminate any hint of banding.

For Wood and Victory Signs, though, the key differentiator was the support they would receive from the supplier. "We've worked with Garry Brown since 1998," Wood continues. "The personal support we have received from him and the whole YPS team was the clincher. In our business good service is absolutely vital. Once we'd decided to invest in the JFX500-2131 there was no question where we would buy it from – it was always going to be YPS."

Service is an aspect of business appreciated particularly by Victory Signs. The 13-strong company has built a large engraving footprint over the last 30 years since its incorporation, servicing sizeable military contracts for machinery parts and other, confidential industrial applications. It will use the Mimaki JFX500-2131 to expand in two key business areas – shop fascias and confidential display work for local representatives of major multi-nationals – freeing up its CJV30 for the company's fully unattended outdoor durable graphics work.

"As we transfer existing work to the JFX500-2131 and put it through its paces, we're also assessing all the new revenue areas it can take us into," Wood says. "We're certain that we'll be able to provide a high-quality trade service for other local companies, but beyond that the possibilities are very exciting. Whichever road we take, we know YPS will be there to help us make the most of the machine and its capabilities."

"Victory Signs exemplifies our customer philosophy perfectly," explains Hazel Watt, commercial director for YPS. "We only want to match businesses with machinery that makes total commercial sense, and for us the journey only begins with installation. That's reflected in the support embedded within the entire Hybrid Services ecosystem for the Mimaki range in the UK. We're truly enthusiastic to see what Victory Signs will achieve, and how it will grow, with the Mimaki JFX500-2131."

"It's a great personal pleasure for me to see one of my longest-standing customers become the first UK display house to take on the JFX500-2131," adds Garry Brown, YPS's managing director. "Seeing this flagship machine driving a key customer's business forward is the perfect capitalisation on a buoyant 2013 for YPS so far. It's proof indeed that service, support and true commercial understanding are key to solid business – and we look forward to developing that value with new and existing customers alike."

California, USA-based AMP Printing purchased the EFI VUTEk HS100 Pro UV inkjet press on display at the ISA International Sign Expo in Las Vegas.

AMP decided to add a new press to meet surging demand for superwide printing. Company Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Main selected EFI and the VUTEk HS100 Pro based on the continuous innovation he sees from EFI and the positive experience his company had with a pair of VUTEk GS3250 UV inkjet printers.

"EFI is a very professional company that stands behind its equipment," said Main. "Plus, EFI invests its money into R&D to strengthen its technology. The progress we have seen EFI make in the past few years with the development of the HS100 Pro proves it."

"It was a thrill to start this year's ISA Sign Expo with a sale to a company like AMP Printing, a company that is known for its thorough commitment to high-quality work," said Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager of EFI's Inkjet Solutions.

The new 3.2-metre wide press, which will be installed at AMP Printing's facility this month, offers the productivity of screen printing, with image quality that approaches offset. The press's fast speeds, as well as its flatbed and roll-to-roll printing capabilities, will help AMP further develop its growing superwide format revenue streams.

The HS100 printer's speed will be especially beneficial on some of the work AMP produces for national retailers - targeted signage requiring quick and accurate output. The press also can meet the company's stringent colour management requirements - all of AMP Printing's offset, digital production and proofing devices are configured to conform to the industry's GRACoL 7 specification.

The EFI VUTEk HS100 Pro is a versatile, high-speed digital UV press that offers print service providers (PSPs) a cost-effective digital platform to produce longer sheet runs. The press features EFI's Pin & Cure imaging technology for precise ink lay-down for critical colour accuracy and consistency, gloss control and an increased colour gamut - all with the productivity and digital efficiencies needed to accommodate more versioning and localisation.

Offering impressive throughput speeds of up to 100 boards per hour, the VUTEk HS100 Pro prints in up to eight colours, including white. True, variable-dot greyscale print head technology on the HS100 Pro helps PSPs maximise their ink yield while reducing their cost per print.
At AMP, the ability to print more high-quality work, with a lower total cost of ownership, is key to driving success in a challenging economic environment.

"Now is the time to invest in new technology - adding the VUTEk HS100 Pro is part of presenting a new vision for the future to our customers," said Main. "Leading-edge businesses know that they need to boost productivity to thrive."

For more information, please visit www.efi.com

Company increased business 30% by giving customers these dual benefits

In the Scheldt estuary, in southwest Netherlands, sea level is a full 3 metres above land. It’s the area where the river Scheldt flows into the North Sea, where one eats the best oysters in the world, where people live under constant threat of flood, and it’s where ‘green’ products are probably appreciated more than anywhere else in the world.

Businesses here usually specialise in ship repair, yacht maintenance and the making of hi-tech fishing nets. It’s also the place which JMC Signmakers, a company founded by CEO Cees Bolijn, his wife, and his brother in 1991, calls home. The company started life as a supplier of sign products, lettering and associated graphic design services. Being a family business, its three founders are intensely engaged in day-to-day activities, from managing the workplace to the marketing and purchase of new technology.

Today, the company offers a wide variety of services including cutting, printing, and installing billboards, point of purchase displays and other sign products.

Full service and care

In a market that thrives on delivering large volumes for a low price, JMC Signmakers employs a two-pronged strategy to drive the company’s success: offer customers a first-class customer care experience and never invest in markets that don’t grow. Since 2005, the company’s return has never fallen below 30%.

JMC Signmakers almost never over-capacitates their superwide printer, the EFI VUTEk GS3250LX. “We want to be able to fulfill urgent orders,” says CEO Cees Bolijn. “You can’t do that if the machine is tied up 24/7.” JMC Signmakers isn’t interested in spitting out as many square metres as possible. Instead, the company wants to be ready for a large diversity of assignments. They will handle everything from indoor billboards and wall posters to safety instructions printed on 2mm polyester in 8-point type.

Bolijn takes customer care to an even higher level. He has installed online tracking on every vehicle that’s on the road. Apart from showing the location of the vehicle, it will even forewarn when the weather will prohibit working outdoors so Bolijn can inform his customers in time.

Growth markets only

When the company planned on purchasing the EFI VUTEk GS3250LX, they first ran a survey: “We asked 24 of our customers — advertising firms — if they thought they would need higher resolution and better colour,” Bolijn explains. “They all answered they didn’t.”

Despite this negative result, the company went ahead anyway, as the three founders were convinced their customers couldn’t imagine what would be possible when they could suddenly have razor-sharp six-point type and photo-quality gradients. In addition, they realised a printer with environmental benefits would appeal to many prospects who previously would have regarded JMC Signmakers as just another sign services firm.

Their vision worked. Even before the printer had output one piece of printed material, JMC Signmakers became the centre of attention in the whole Dutch business community. They were the first to have a printer with a tiny ecological footprint —Bolijn reports a power consumption of 75% less than their first VUTEk— and an output quality that is simply gorgeous.

The EFI VUTEk GS3250LX is an LED-based printer designed to lower total cost of ownership over the printer's lifetime. It lowers operating costs with cool cure technology and high productivity features. It contains no VOCs, uses less consumables, produces less waste, uses less energy and has the ability to print on recycled and other materials without warping or head strikes. Yet, the VUTEk GS3250LX produces stunning point-of-purchase graphics to impress the most demanding professional.

“We noticed our customers started running more indoor applications over the years,” he says. It took the discerning eye of the professional to realise that their first EFI VUTEk — an entry model QS220 — wasn’t going to cut it if they wanted to produce photo portraits for perfume stores, invitations, small printed boxes, etc.

“As soon as they saw the results of what is possible with this new machine, our customers started finding new applications they had not thought of before,” says Bolijn. “They had simply failed to imagine what better all-round quality could mean for their business,” he says.

New applications equals new business. JMC Signmakers is all set and ready to grow another 30%.

Click here for further information on the EFI VUTEk GS3250LX printer

Challenge

JMC Signmakers wanted to expand their reach by producing higher quality photo portraits for perfume stores, invitations, small printed boxes, etc.

Solution

The founders were convinced their customers couldn’t imagine what would be possible when they could suddenly have razor-sharp 6-point type and photo-quality gradients of the VUTEk GS3250LX.  In addition, they realised a printer with environmental benefits would appeal to many prospects.

Result

“As soon as they saw the results of what is possible with this new machine, customers started finding new applications they had not thought of before.”

Click here for further information on the EFI VUTEk GS3250LX printer

Inca Digital Printers has launched a new ‘Accelerator’ option for its Inca Onset S20i and S40i UV flatbed inkjet printers which delivers significantly increased productivity.  Developed and tested in conjunction with Fujifilm, Inca’s exclusive global distribution partner, Inca Accelerator is an optional enhancement, which increases overall production speed whilst maintaining the same outstanding level of print quality.

The increase in print throughput is dependent on the particular Onset model, and the number of print passes. The maximum throughput of the Onset S40i with automation has been increased from 470sqm/hr (94 beds/hr) to 560 sqm/hr (112 beds/hr) – a 20% increase. This equates to an additional 720 sqm (144 beds per shift) that can be printed within the same 8-hour shift or - put more simply - the equivalent to adding an extra mid-range printer.

Accelerator has been thoroughly beta tested by Superior Creative Services in the UK on the Inca Onset S40i. “We have regularly achieved 110 sheets an hour on the floor since we started testing this, although it does depend on the substrate we are running. Having this on our machine had been pretty invaluable to us in peak times – it’s like us having a turbo charger,” says Stewart Powell, production director, Superior.

“As part of our continuing product development initiatives, our teams identified a way to significantly increase print throughput across all of our Onset print engines,” says Heather Kendle, Director of Marketing at Inca Digital. “Thanks to Inca Accelerator, new Onset users can enjoy an increased total capacity per shift, faster job turnarounds, an increased ability to handle tight deadlines, reduced overtime costs and all of this whilst maintaining the outstanding image quality that the Inca Onset is renowned for. Inca Accelerator is yet another result of our continued commitment to provide the best possible combination of quality, productivity and flexibility for our customers.”