Hardware - Industrial Print

When furniture company Funkids wanted to update its traditional range of children's bedroom furniture to make it more attractive and appealing, Extrema Publicidad in Mexico turned to its Inca Eagle H printer for the solution. Extrema printed directly onto MDF and HDF to produce the range of colourful, themed designs.

Several processes were involved from digitally cutting the individual pieces—more than 150 different pieces were registered - to the substrate treatment and primer preparation before the pieces could be printed, then UV varnished.

With its Eagle H printer Extrema Publicidad was able to produce consistently high-quality, richly-coloured graphics which were ideal for children's bedrooms.

This project was an innovation for the Mexican furniture market as other companies were using decals or vinyl for decoration, which produced an inconsistent quality.

 

Sherine Industries of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada has helped usher in a new era of reflective sign making with its recent installation of the first Durst Rho 161 TS Roll-to-Roll UV Inkjet Printer in North America.

The company will host B.C. Ministry of Transportation officials, the BC Minister of Public Safety, the Mayor of Surrey, the news media and others on March 2 at its Surrey facility outside Vancouver, for a "demo" of its new ability to produce vibrant, durable reflective signs that meet stringent traffic safety and "green" government standards in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost.

"We constantly strive to provide the best-quality signs available, and our Rho 161 TS helps us achieve even better results," Sherine Industries President Steve Hocaluk said. "This state-of-the-art printer allows us to fill orders at a faster rate—we can output 700 square feet an hour. And by printing directly onto media, we're able to eliminate steps, which improves our cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency. The Rho 161 TS employs an environmentally friendly printing process. It's also very versatile and very flexible, with the ability to make fast media changes, so we can do more with multiple media types and satisfy every customer request."

The Durst Rho 161 TS, developed primarily for traffic sign manufacturers and already in use in other parts of the world, is a large-format (157.5 cm / 62 inches wide) "direct-to-print" digital inkjet printer designed to produce eye-catching, long-lasting public and private signs for traffic, informational and other uses. It represents an entirely new, environmentally friendly approach to the creation of signs for a variety of official, institutional and other applications that require, or would benefit from, rich and durable reflective properties.

"Sherine Industries is an industry leader because Steve Hocaluk and his team are constantly working to raise the bar in terms of their performance, innovation and the products they deliver," said Christopher Howard, Senior Vice President, North American Sales & Marketing for Durst US. "Their Rho 161 TS helps them minimise the time, materials, waste and dollars required to produce better output for their clients faster and more efficiently, with a reduced impact on the environment. We're pleased to have Sherine Industries as part of the Durst community."

 

Mimaki’s exclusive distributor, Hybrid Services Ltd, is pleased to announce the newest addition to its award-winning portfolio of large format printers; the JV34-260. Based on the award winning JV33 series, the new model features a print width of 2.6m and achieves significantly faster speeds resulting in higher productivity while at the same time appealing to cost-conscious print service providers. The JV34-260 is available from April 2011.

Mimaki’s new JV34-260 is not only one of the most productive wide format printers in its class, it also comes at a very competitive price. The JV34-260’s high throughput of up to 30 m2/h alongside a host of further standard features allow print service providers to cost-effectively produce outstanding graphics and images using Mimaki’s proven RIP software that is included in the package.

Suitable for all sign and graphics printing requirements, including banners and flags

The sign and graphics market is characterised by different requirements for indoor-outdoor applications. Mimaki’s new JV34 series covers all of these and more. Be it banners, flags or other substrates, the new super wide inkjet machine enables printers to produce outstanding results with outdoor durable or sublimation inks on a wide variety of materials including polyester – while at the same time streamlining workflows.

The Mimaki JV34-260 incorporates two newly developed print heads in a staggered arrangement, resulting in a print speed of around 30 m2/h (at 540 x 720 dpi). Further productivity improvements are gained through the implementation of a range of Mimaki functionalities that enable largely unattended production, freeing personnel and workload for other tasks. Mimaki’s Automatic Media Feeder provides continuous web tension over the whole width of the substrate enabling impressive image quality, even on long jobs. As standard, the Mimaki AMF supports a maximum roll weight of 100 kg.

The JV34-260 features Mimaki’s UISS (Uninterrupted Ink Supply System) which delivers continuous ink supply for long print jobs. As soon as one ink cartridge is empty, the system automatically detects this and will start supplying ink from another cartridge of the same colour. In combination with the optional MBIS (Mimaki Bulk Ink System), comprising of ink contained within two litre sacks; significant cost savings and environmental benefits can be achieved.

High print quality makes for a sound investment

Three variable dot sizes enable accurate and high quality images with smooth gradations even when printing in four-colour-mode. A three stage intelligent heater before, during and after printing ensures fast drying times, as the pre-heater warms the substrate before printing while the automatic drying fan dries the ink even at high speeds so that the media can be taken up directly after printing. A print head height of 2 to 3 mm can be adjusted easily according to substrate and for prints with sublimation inks, print head height can be adjusted according to the thickness of transfer paper between 3 and 4 mm.

This combination of a feature rich printer at a competitive price is something that Hybrid’s national sales manager, John de la Roche is confident will appeal to print providers looking to increase their capacity. “The Mimaki JV34-260 makes a sound investment,” he says. “The proven platform coupled with Mimaki’s production printing know-how ensures print providers will benefit from the increase in capacity and quality that the JV34 can deliver.”

Market-leader Océ will be demonstrating a diverse range of applications on its multi award-winning flatbed printing systems at Sign & Digital UK at the NEC in Birmingham from 12-14 April 2011.

The Océ Arizona 550XT and Océ 350 GT systems, both part of the Océ Arizona family, the world’s best-selling UV flatbed printers for the display graphics market, will star on Océ’s stand D10 at show in Halls 17 and 18.

Océ is also planning to have significant customer interaction for its stand that will also include state-of-the-art technologies and products being showcased.

The Océ Arizona 550 XT UV curable flatbed printer is twice as large and nearly twice as fast: the Océ Arizona 550 XT printer, delivering the same award-winning print quality. It will have pride of place alongside the Océ Arizona 350 GT UV curable flatbed printer, both powered by ONYX® Workflow Software X10 Océ Edition market-leading RIP software.

Other products at Sign & Digital UK will include the Océ ColorWave® 600 poster printer, which incorporates Océ CrystalPoint® technology that uses toner pearls. Solutions for creating durable graphics on coated and uncoated media will also be shown.

Once again at the show, Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, will be partnering Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd, the UK distributor for Zünd Systems Technik AG, the Swiss manufacturer of digital flatbed cutters. The two companies will be displaying the Zünd G3 L2500 digital cutting system. Products from Océ Imaging Supplies will also be shown, and Océ will host daily competitions, in which prizes will be awarded to visitors.

Océ and its partners will use the event to demonstrate the latest labour-saving innovations, designed to reduce waste and increase productivity. There will also be online access to the popular Océ Media Guide, which provides detailed advice and guidance that helps printing professionals select the best media for their printers and applications.

Derek Joys, Océ UK’s Display Graphics Systems’ Programme Manager, said: “Once again our stand will be a must-see part of the show experience for all our customers and prospects, as well as other visitors. Sign & Digital UK is an important platform for us to demonstrate with world-leading technologies our commitment to this all-important market sector.”

Visit Océ on stand D10, Hall 17-18 at the NEC, Birmingham from 12-14 April 2011

 

Mills Styrox, Australia, is a sign manufacturer and point of sale distributor specialising in product presentation and visual communication for the retail environment. They were commissioned by the Outback Steak House restaurant to produce a rustic graphic to cover a large open wall in their restaurant. It had to be relatively low cost to produce and install but still had to look effective. To achieve this they used 10mm distressed plywood sheets painted white and printed directly to these full sheets using the Inca Columbia printer, which were then cut to size and mounted on the walls. The end result was a stunning feature wall which won them a Highly Commended placing in the Inca IDEAS Awards 2010.

Beyrich DigitalService GmbH & Co. KG, based in Brunswick, Germany, has extended its wide-format printing services with the recent installation of an HP Scitex XP5100 Printer. The latest addition to the company's printing arm follows the previous installation of an HP Scitex LX600 Printer(1).

Beyrich offers digital printing services for outdoor advertising campaigns, exhibitions, and for the interior design industry, and prints onto a wide range of media such as paper, foil and textiles. Other customers served by the company include museums, advertising agencies, the automotive industry, and the fashion industry.