FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO: Shigetaka Komori) has developed Acuity LED 1600 (tentative, hereinafter “Acuity LED 1600”), a printer that supports UV-curable ink and features a long-life and low-power-consumption LED light source. It will join a lineup of wide-format inkjet printers for producing large-size posters, in-store POP and window displays. Acuity LED 1600 achieves the best-in-class productivity of 20 square meters per hour*1 while offering exceptional image quality at the same time.
In recent years, large-size posters, in-store POP and window displays are produced increasingly in a smaller print runs, with short delivery time and with increased graphical designs. This has promoted the use of digital printing, with the printing service market based on wide-format inkjet printers expanding at the annual rate of 7%*2. The market is particularly embracing the use of wide-format inkjet printers that support UV-curable ink, which is environmentally friendly with no volatile organic compounds (VOC), fast-drying and suitable for printing on a wide range of materials including PET, acrylic, and polycarbonate substrates. The market segment continues to enjoy double-digit annual growth*2.
The new Acuity LED 1600 is a high-performance wide-format inkjet printer featuring a proprietary-design LED light source, high precision and high speed printhead, and fast curing UV-LED ink. Fujifilm's proprietary Fast Accurate Marking technology*3 enables best-in-class productivity of 20 square meters per hour to address customers' needs for short delivery time. The printer comes standard with eight color inks, namely cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, white and clear. When combined with the Intelligent Curing Control technology*4 for controlling ink curing profile on printing substrates for improved ink-substrate affinity, the printer achieves wide color reproduction and smooth gradation. Enhanced ink adhesion also expands the range of substrates that can be used.
Furthermore, the combined use of color ink and clear ink can produce high-gloss output for premium finish. The ability to apply color and clear inks in a single pass, which is difficult in conventional printers, can dramatically improve output efficiency.
The printer also comes with Spot Color Matching software, which can automatically generate a color comparison chart against the desired output color. This simplifies the process of matching spot colors, e.g. those used in a logo, to reduce the workload of print producers.
For many years, Fujifilm has globally handled the development, production and marketing of a diverse range of pre-press products, such as PS/CTP plates for offset printing, workflow software and plate setters, as the leading company for printing and plate-making equipment. The company is committed to continuing to develop and provide epoch-making products in the ever-growing digital printing field, thereby contributing to the development of the printing industry around the world.
The Acuity LED1600 will be showcased at GRAPHEXPO 2011, to be held in Chicago, IL, U.S.A. on September 11-14, 2011, as well as the international printing equipment exhibition IGAS 2011, scheduled for September 16-21, 2011 at Tokyo Big Sight.
*1 Using a 64-inch or less roll type UV-LED wide format inkjet printer
*2 According to research firm I.T. Strategies on the basis of value including the sales of ink, devices and substrates
*3 Marking system technology that involves moving the printhead from left to right to achieve stable and high-speed ink discharge for accurate drop placement
*4 Technology that combines unique LED light source alignment and light volume adjustment to regulate ink curing speed
1. Product name:
Wide-format UV-curable inkjet printer Acuity LED 1600 (tentative)
2. Main features:
(1) High-performance wide-format inkjet printer that amasses the technologies of the Fujifilm Group
High-performance wide-format inkjet printer that features a proprietary-design LED light source unit, high-precision and high-speed printhead, and high-sensitivity UV-curable ink
The printer is a culmination of Fujifilm Group technologies, including Fine Chemical and Image Processing technologies of Fujifilm, printhead technology of the U.S. FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc. (hereinafter “FDMX”), which is a leading company in industrial-use inkjet printheads, and ink technology of the British FUJIFILM Specialty Ink Systems Ltd., which has the top-class market share in UV-curable ink for industrial inkjet printers.
(2) Best-in-class productivity of 20 square meters per hour
The printer features a newly-developed printhead by FDMX, and uses fast-drying and high-sensitivity ink to enable for immediate processing.
The proprietary Fast Accurate Marking technology achieves the best-in-class productivity of 20 square meters per hour to meet customers' need for short delivery time.
(3) High picture quality and wide substrate support
The printer comes standard with eight color inks, namely cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, white and clear.
The Intelligent Curing Control technology combines unique LED light source alignment and light volume adjustment to regulate ink curing speed. It controls ink curing profile on the substrate surface to enhance ink-substrate affinity.
The use of 8 color inks combined with the Intelligent Curing Control technology achieves wide color reproduction and smooth gradation. Enhanced ink adhesion expands the range of substrates that can be used.
(4) Value-added single-pass printing with clear ink
The combined use of color ink and clear ink can produce high-gloss output for premium finish. Conventional printers apply color ink first, and print again with clear ink after rewinding the substrate. In contrast, Acuity LED 1600 delivers color and clear inks in a single pass, thereby dramatically improving output efficiency.
The printer can handle single-pass application of two-layer application with white and color inks, or even three-layer application with color, white and color inks.
(5) “Spot Color Matching” software for convenience
The printer comes with Spot Color Matching software, which uses advanced image processing technology to automatically generate a color comparison chart against the desired output color. This simplifies the process of matching spot colors, e.g. those used in a logo, to reduce the workload of print producers.
(6) Long-life yet low-power consumption
The printer features a LED light source, which lasts longer yet has lower power consumption than more generally-used metal halide lamps. This reduces the workload associated with light source replacement for enhanced serviceability.
(7) Support for roll-type as well as rigid*5 or sheet-type substrates of up to 13mm thick
The printer supports substrates of up to 13mm in thickness, which includes lightweight boards. It can also handle sheet printing to accommodate additional poster printing.
The printer supports substrates of up to 1,610mm in width.
*5 Thick substrates such as foam boards and card papers
3. Main specifications:
Printing method - Inkjet
Maximum printout width - 1,610mm
Supported substrates - Roll-type, sheet-type and rigid substrates (up to 13mm in thickness)
*A printer table unit is used to print on rigid substrates.
Printout speed - 20m²/hour (600dpi x 400dpi)
Printhead - Q-Class printheads by FDMX
Ink - UV-curable ink
Ink colors - 8 colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, white, clear)
Output resolution - 400dpi-1200dpi
Interface - USB2.0
Power - AC 100-120V, 200-240V, 50/60Hz
External dimensions - (W) 2,620mm (D) 750mm (H) 1,050mm
Weight - 260Kg
