Hardware - Wide Format Print

Ricoh is demonstrating a prototype of 'the future of large format inkjet technology for the graphic arts market' at drupa. The Ricoh Pro L4000™ series features the next-generation of Ricoh’s piezo-electric print heads with durable latex ink in seven colours; CMYK, light cyan, light magenta and white.  It offers extensive media support on a range of substrates and is ideal for the environmentally conscious buyer of printed signage, point of purchase and indoor and outdoor display. It will be available in North America and Europe in the first quarter of 2013.

The aqueous nature of the latex ink means that is has a low environmental impact, while the introduction of a white ink means that print buyers can optimise colour vividness on transparent or coloured materials. Print clients will benefit from brilliant colour on all substrates when ordering signage, branded materials and marketing collateral.  The print service provider can fulfil client needs quickly and efficiently – avoiding time consuming steps such as foils or cut-outs — to produce highly vibrant and crisp whites.  Productivity is further enhanced with an output speed of up to 18.1 m2 per hour.

The Ricoh Pro L4000 series also features multiple jetting print head technology to produce three different drop sizes at once and as small as four picolitres in size.  The result is smooth, lifelike images every time.  Furthermore, its extensive media support enables clients to order print on a wide range of substrates such as PVC, tarpaulin, synthetic paper, coated-paper, non-coated paper, textiles and more.

Stephen Palmer, Production Print Director, Ricoh UK says, “The Ricoh Group has been at the forefront of inkjet technology research and development for many years and now the time is now right to launch an extremely competitive large format inkjet printer range for the graphic arts market.  As the benefits of digital printing technology continue to be realised through its ability to deliver shorter print runs, on demand, with faster turnaround times — the application demands from print buyers are also increasing.  Today, the Ricoh portfolio provides a broad range of technologies and applications to suit specific business needs, without compromise.”

Ricoh Pro L4000 series features summary

• Next generation piezo electric print head
• 7 colour printing — CMYK, light cyan, light magenta and white
• Durable printing for outdoor and indoor applications
• Aqueous latex ink means a low environmental impact
• High productivity printing up to 18.1 m2 per hour
• Wide range of media support from PVC to paper to textiles and more
• Choice of two print widths (1371 mm or 1620 mm)
• Multiple jetting print head technology as small as four picolitres

For more information, please visit www.ricoh.co.uk/drupa2012

Epson has launched the 8- and 10-colour wide-format SureColor SC-S70600: the company’s first 64-inch (162.6cm) roll-fed printer to support white and metallic inks simultaneously.

The SureColor SC S70600 is designed for companies that need maximum quality and application flexibility. It combines ultra high-quality, versatile wide colour gamut capability, flexibility and productivity in a printer that is capable of producing everything from simple signage to high-end displays and décor.

Print quality is assured through the combination of Epson’s UltraChrome GSX Ink and the proven Thin Film Piezo printhead, which gives precise droplet formation and long production life. Support for resolutions up to 1440 x 1440dpi enables the SC-S70600 to deliver print with outstanding clarity, fine detailing and smooth blends. Productivity is ensured at up to 27.3m2/hour in 8-colour high-speed mode, and up to 4.1m2/hour with metallic ink enabled - substantially faster than most competitors.

The UltraChrome GSX ink-set includes light magenta, light cyan, light black and orange in addition to standard CMYK, giving the SureColor SC-S70600 the widest colour gamut in the SureColor range. The 10-colour version of the printer adds both white and metallic inks, increasing versatility and scope for production. Both models achieve ultra-smooth tonal gradations and transitions through the use of light inks, including light black for enhanced neutral greyscales. The advanced ink formula means that prints are lightfast for up to three years outdoors without lamination.

Richard Barrow, senior product manager at Epson Europe, comments: “The SC-S70600 allows users with demanding high-quality applications to reliably and cost-effectively print vivid colours, solid whites and a range of special metallic effects on clear film, vinyl, canvas, photographic paper and other popular substrates. It dramatically expands the user’s creative options and therefore market appeal, without compromising productivity.”

The SC-S70600 can produce everything from exhibition displays, posters, banners, textiles, backlit panels and POS materials to vehicle wraps, wallpaper and labels. Its productivity is further boosted by its ergonomic design, which minimises both downtime and materials wastage. A jack system at the rear of the printer makes loading a new media roll a one-person job, while the media loading lever can be reached from either the front or the back of the printer for greater convenience. Users can make feed adjustments during printing without stopping and re-starting the printer.

UltraChrome GSX ink is odourless and nickel-free, making the SC-S70600 kinder to the environment and suitable for use in an office environment. The printer’s running costs and environmental impact are reduced further through its ENERGY STAR-qualified power efficiency.

Epson has further expanded its SureColor wide-format printer range for signage and POS applications with the global launch of the high-speed SureColor SC-S50600.  A 64-inch (162.6cm) width, 4- or 5-colour (CMYK /CMYK + white) roll-fed printer, the SureColor SC S50600 sets new performance standards in the highly competitive indoor and outdoor signage sector.

Its speed is complemented by support for a wide range of media, ease-of-use, low cost of ownership and environmental credentials, making the SC-S50600 a compelling package for companies with high throughput requirements.

With twin Thin Film Piezo (TFP) Epson printheads and dual ink-sets for maximum productivity, the SC-S50600 provides super-fast printing at over 50m2/hour, enabling busy commercial printers, POS printers, professional signmakers, digital copy shops, screen printers and photo labs to increase their wide-format throughput.

Designed throughout to offer a very high level of efficiency, the SC-S50600 incorporates reliable Epson-engineered components to minimise downtime, while a built-in dryer ensures that prints are ready quickly for subsequent production stages. For very high throughput applications, an optional additional drying system is available.

The printer’s ergonomic design and time-saving features ensure that sustained workloads are easily managed. Thanks to a new jack system, loading a new media roll is a one-person job, with the media loading lever conveniently accessible from both the front and the rear of the printer. Once the roll is loaded, the SC-S50600 automatically optimises media tension and printhead alignment.

“The SC-S50600 has been designed for busy companies who need a printer that can produce quality work at speed. It is a very flexible printer and can very quickly produce everything from posters, signs, banners, backlit panels, window displays and POS materials to vehicle wraps, decor, labels and exhibition displays,” says Richard Barrow, senior product manager at Epson Europe. “Users can print reliably and cost-effectively on vinyl, PVC and clear film, photographic paper and a range of popular banner substrates. The 5-colour model allows them to add value to their portfolio of services by producing high-quality white prints on both dark and transparent substrates,” he adds.

The SC-S50600 uses Epson UltraChrome GS2 Ink, which is specifically designed to work with Epson’s new generation of TFP printheads, and is lightfast for up to three years outdoors without lamination.  UltraChrome GS2 is odourless and nickel-free and so is kinder to the environment. It requires no special ventilation, allowing the SC-S50600 to be used in an office environment.

Running costs and environmental impact of the SC-S50600 are reduced further through the printer’s ENERGY STAR-qualified power efficiency.

The Epson SureColor 64-inch range now includes the 4-colour 29m2/hour SureColor SC-S30600, the 4/5-colour 53.2m2/hour SureColor SC-S50600 and the 8/10-colour 27m2/hour SureColor SC-S70600 (also launched today).

SwissQprint will launch Nyala, its new precision flatbed printer, for the first time at drupa 2012 on stand C57, Hall 9.  The new printer has a width of 3.2m and can be equipped with fourfold CMYK - quadrupling the output compared to a basic configuration.

Either 3.2m x 1.6m board material or 3.2m roll material can be printed with the basic configuration or with the roll to roll option.  Increased productivity has been enabled with the introduction of 'four times CMYK' - meaning four print heads per colour, including white, printing simultaneously. The draft printing mode allows the Nyala to print up to 200m2/h - double the speed of an Impala model.

As well as the Nyala printer, swissQprint will also be showing its Impala and Oryx models at the show.

For more information, please visit www.swissqprint.com

Mutoh will showcase its latest wide-format digital piezo inkjet solutions at drupa in Hall 9, stand A44.  These solutions include the new ValueJet 1324 – 54” and 1624 – 64” eco printers and the ValueJet TD 64” & 104” direct to fabric printers featuring new head technology and a new set of electronics for improved quality and performance. Drupa also coincides with the availability of the first 2 models of Mutoh’s new ValueJet 1638 line, featuring a staggered dual head setup, offering improved productivity.

Arthur Vanhoutte, president of Mutoh’s European Operations comments, “Drupa will be an excellent opportunity for us to show the realignment of Mutoh’s manufacturing processes to the printing industry. As part of Mutoh’s worldwide strategy to improve efficiency, all key manufacturing and development activities are now centralised at our factory and R&D Centre in Suwa, Japan.”

Vanhoutte adds, “The timing of drupa is excellent for us. During the past 8 months, Mutoh has brought to market a completely new generation of wide-format printers that cover just about every aspect of wide format digital printing, from sign & display and dye sublimation through to dedicated textile machines for soft signage, flags and garment/apparel applications.”

“Drupa will also coincide with the commercial availability in Europe of the first two models of our new ValueJet 1638 range, with more models to come out later this year. The ValueJet 1638 printers are the first Mutoh ValueJet printers offering a staggered dual head setup. The printers offer an impressive increase in production speed in combination with an optimised ink spread and improved drying behaviour.  They will enable us to perfectly address the needs of volume-oriented users requiring high print speeds and who at the same time put impeccable print quality on top of their wish list,” concludes Arthur Vanhoutte.

New ValueJet 1638 64” high speed sign printer

The new ValueJet 1638 - 64” printer, offering production quality speeds up to 36 m²/h at 720 x 720 dpi, is targeted at the sign & display market. The printer utilises Mutoh Eco Ultra CMYK inks and will address the needs of PSPs and commercial printers looking for a high volume printing solution.

Incorporating a staggered dual head setup for increased performance and Mutoh’s award-winning Intelligent Interweaving print technology, the printer enables high volume and high quality production of long-term outdoor posters, signs and banners, backlit signage, POS displays, vehicle graphics as well as high quality durable prints for indoor use.

New ValueJet 1638W 64” high speed dye sublimation printer

The ValueJet 1638W 64” dual head model was developed specifically for the sublimation transfer market: soft signage & graphics for events, home decoration, flags & pennants, sportswear, in-store banners.  Printing on any typical transfer papers from 66 g/m² to 150 g/m², the VJ-1638W printer delivers production speeds up to 65 m²/h.

The printer utilises Mutoh’s high-speed disperse dye inks, offering excellent nozzle stability for high-speed and high-volume printing.  The inks produce rich and vibrant colours and offer excellent colour-fastness. Being water-based inks, they are a preferred choice for environmentally conscious customers. Available in 1 and 5 litre bottles, the inks deliver top scores in wash fastness, rubbing and perspiration.

ValueJet 1324 & 1624 eco printers

Launched in Q4 of 2011, the ValueJet 1324 – 54” and ValueJet 1624 – 64” printers are targeted at the sign & display market and are suited for the production of long-term outdoor posters, signs and banners, backlit signage, POS displays, vehicle graphics as well as high quality durable prints for indoor use.  Incorporating new print head technology and Mutoh’s award-winning Intelligent Interweaving print technology, the printers deliver typical production speeds up to 14.5 m²/h and top speeds up to 29 m²/h.

ValueJet TD series printers

For printing on both open and closed structure fabric, Mutoh will display the new ValueJet TD series printers. The new 8 channel ValueJet TD printers incorporate two new 1440 nozzle piezo drop-on-demand print heads mounted in-line. The ValueJet TD printers allow typical production speeds up to 24 m²/h and top speeds up to 41 m²/h. This makes the machines suited for volume printing as well as for customised one-off projects. The printers utilise Mutoh’s worry-free water-based direct disperse inks for direct-tofabric printing. They can also be used with Mutoh’s high-speed dye sublimation inks for transfer paper printing.

InkTec Europe has announced that the latest addition to the Jetrix range of UV printers - the Jetrix 1212FK - will be officially launched and shown for the first time in Europe at drupa on stand F54 / Hall 3.

The new Jetrix 1212 is a compact 1.2m x 1.2m flatbed printer. It’s smaller in size than the other models in the range and is ideal for print companies who have a limited amount of space. However, for larger requirements, there is an optional 1.2m extension table available which makes it possible to print 1200mm x 2400mm sized substrates. The new model is 'very robust and extremely well engineered' and uses the 'best components' from around the World.

Like its big brother (the 2030), the Jetrix 1212 utilises the Konica Minolta 1024 (6 pico litre) print head which offers speeds of up to 26sqm/hr and a maximum print resolution of 1440dpi for true photographic quality edge-to-edge printing. There is also a multi-layer print function built into the easy-to-use operating system. This time-saving feature cleverly enables the user to schedule their print in layers instead of having to do multiple passes.

New UV ‘Primer’ ink

The most unique feature of the 1212 model is the brand new proprietary Jetrix UV ink that goes inside it. This patented ink-set is specially formulated to adhere to many substrates, like glass, acrylic and metal, without the need for a primer. It can also be printed on to softer substrates, like polypropylene, and then folded without cracking.  

The Jetrix printers are all compatible with industry leading RIPs, including Oynx and Caldera.