Hardware - Wide Format Print

Digital Print Innovations Ltd (DPI) has announced the introduction of a new digital textile printer with integrated fixation unit and Vapour extraction. Branded the MTEX 3200, the new solution will be available for demonstration from the 26th of June at the Derby-based Digital Print Innovation Centre.

According to DPI, the MTEX 3.2m wide digital textile printer brings 'excellent quality printing with brilliant, vivid colours at a price point never before available'.  The unit, based upon the industry proven Mimaki JV5 is available with a 4 colour, (double CMYK) inkset, in 3.2m or 1.6m wide and incorporates an inline dye-sublimation fixation unit and vapour extraction unit.

The MTEX 3200 prints to a maximum resolution of 1440dpi x 1440dpi, with 7-21 picolitre variable drops in 4 staggered high resolution Epson DX5 heads. The fixation unit has 12 high resistant individually controlled infrared heaters to provide even temperatures across the whole width of the fabric, including the outside ends of the fabric. The open system to load/unload material means it is quick and easy to replace textiles and manage media when required with little or no fuss. Servo engines integrated into the take-up roller ensure that the step is perfectly synchronised throughout the printing process. 

Stewart Bell, managing director of DPI comments, “This new MTEX 3200 within its price point is unique. It’s a high quality industry-proven printer using dye based sublimation inks and inline fixation unit incorporating a user-controllable vapour extraction unit, sub-£135k delivered and installed. There really is nothing quite like it in the market today and those looking to either upgrade their digital textile print capabilities or those looking to enter the market in a serious way should be considering the MTEX.”

The fixation unit, though integrated, is set forward of the printer thereby eliminating any contamination issues such as ghosting. The integrated extraction unit also stops any oil contamination issues which means printed fabrics can be finished quickly and easily, saving time, money and energy.

Please visit www.dpi-uk.com for more information.

Print and packaging specialist, Fingerprint FO+, wanted a proofing, prototyping and short-run production solution that could match its versatile offset technology, and found it in Roland’s multi-talented VersaUV LEC-540.

Using its new Roland UV-curable wide-format print-and-cut solution, the Welwyn Garden City-based company can now create accurate packaging prototypes and short-run applications straight from its desktop computers onto exactly the same challenging and diverse range of media it puts through its two Heidelberg Speedmasters.

Constantly working with new materials to push the boundaries of what is possible in high-end packaging is a pillar of Fingerprint FO+’s innovative culture. The company regularly prints on a broad range of substrates from polypropylene, PVCs, foils and boards to more specialist substrates like Mirri reflective media.  It also produces applications using clings and lenticular effects. As such, it is critical that Fingerprint FO+ is able to produce cost-effective proofs and prototypes on-demand, as well as short runs and specials, using the actual materials used for the main print run.

In this respect the Roland VersaUV LEC-540, provided by Atech, a Roland Authorised Dealer, was the natural choice. It ticked every box on Fingerprint FO+’s criteria for generating mock-ups and experimenting with different materials. The highly flexible integrated print and cut machine, with its maximum width of 1370mm, high quality UV-curable ink with additional white and clear options, has eliminated costly wet proofing and makes it a simple job to create concepts for customers and designers.

“Since we’ve taken ownership of the machine, we’ve gone far beyond just proofing and increasingly use it to trial new materials. Previously we were working with an aqueous-based wide-format unit for proofing but, whilst it could produce accurate colour, it didn’t offer the high levels of flexibility we get from this UV-curable system,” explained Doug McBride, Sales Director at Fingerprint FO+.  “The VersaUV LEC-540 integrated seamlessly with our existing abilities to output to a comprehensive range of plastics, corrugated and carton board. But now we have the freedom to explore new materials, textures, contours and finishes.”

The Roland VersaUV LEC-540 is unique in the way it combines printing and cutting in a single unit for packaging and point-of-sale work and mock-ups. The print and cut functionality has allowed Fingerprint FO+ to operate at the boundaries of creativity and technology when it comes to complex and eye catching packaging concepts.

“For a company that specialises in producing innovative packaging and point-of-sale applications, the Roland VersaUV LEC-540 can open new doors to even greater creativity in the future. At Fingerprint FO+, it’s quickly proved to be the ideal solution for prototyping and experimenting with new materials and finishes,” comments Steve Chappell, Roland DG’s Business Manager – Proofing, Packaging and Industrial Labelling.  “Additionally, this integrated print-and-cut system with its durable, flexible UV-curable inks is the only machine of its kind which can produce design concepts and short-run applications in a single unit. This technology is proving to be increasingly successful amongst the commercial print and packaging sectors.”

Roland’s VersaUV LEC print-and-cut series is becoming increasingly attractive to companies in the commercial print, packaging and label sectors that want an efficient, colour-accurate proofing system. Its compact footprint is complemented by the fact it only needs a standard 13 amp power supply, thus making it a very cost-effective unit both in purchase and usage terms.

Available in two sizes - 762mm and 1370mm - which both fit perfectly into a typical B1 (720 x 1020mm) workflow, the Roland VersaUV LEC-540 chosen by Fingerprint FO+ is the larger option. It incorporates low energy LED-curing with long-life lamps that are able to work with a broad of range of traditionally tricky and sensitive materials without damaging the surface or buckling the media.

For more information on Fingerprint FO+, please visit www.fingerprint.uk.com

For more information on Roland DG, please visit www.rolanddg.co.uk

[photo shows (left to right) Allan Ashman of Atech, with Doug McBride and Foad Saberian, Managing Director of Fingerprint FO+]

Colourgen has announced the availability of the new Seiko I Infotech (SIIT) ColorPainter H2 series of mild-solvent inkjet printers. The printers, which were previewed last October in Japan, are available now from authorised Colourgen Business Partners.

The new ColorPainter H2 series is available in two widths , 104” (the H2-104s) and 74” (the H2-74s) . Two colour configurations are available - four colour configuration for higher productivity and economy, and eight colour configuration for better image quality and true grey-scale printing.

Melanie Enser, product marketing manager at Colourgen, says, “The ColorPainter H2 Series has unmatched productivity as it prints images with consistent colour density at a maximum printing speed of 100 m²/h in four colour mode and 50 m²/h in eight colour mode.  In fact, the quality in four colour mode at 100sqm per hour is extremely impressive and makes this printer a true contender for users who need very high speed, quality banner printing."  

She continues, "Several new innovative printing functions taken from the ColorPainter W-Series are now standard in the H2 series including Smart Nozzle Mapping - which offers the ability to remap a clogged nozzle instead of having to replace a print head - and Dynamic Dot Printing (DDP) Technology - which allows the printer to jet three different drop sizes per print pass. This means the printer can print at maximum printing speed without density loss.”

Colourgen also now supplies Seiko I Infotech’s new low odour, HAPs-free (hazardous air pollutants) inkset for the ColorPainter W -Series large format ecosolvent printers. The new IX ink is better for both the environment and for employee health as SIIT has eliminated HAPs from both the ink chemicals and the pigments.

Seiko I Infotech’s IX inks have been specially formulated for low odour printing. The residual odour of the printed image evaporates quickly, extending the application range of the ColorPainter W series printers from outdoors to the more odour sensitive indoor market, such as signage in grocery shops and small space graphics in trains and lifts.  The IX inks are supplied in ink bags designed for SIIT’s innovative re-loadable cartridges, which reduces environmental waste.

Melanie Enser concludes, “We are delighted to be able to offer both new developments from Seiko I Infotech and believe they will be popular products with our customers.”

To see the printer in action, please view the short video on Colourgen's website: http://bit.ly/LETHbh

Cotswolds-based high-end domestic design practice Yiangou Architects has added an Epson Stylus Pro 9700 printer to its studio to enable the production of A0 drawings and to improve the quality of its presentation graphics.

Supplied and installed by Design Software Solutions - whose Vectorworks Training arm provides training and support for Yiangou Architects’ 30-seat installation of the eponymous 2D/3D CAD and BIM software - the 44-inch roll-fed printer offers resolutions of up to 1440 dpi, which coupled with Epson’s UltraChrome K3 ink set with Vivid Magenta, gives accurate, vivid and long-lasting prints.

Although it was mostly chosen by Yiangou Architects for its ability to print A0 production drawings, the Stylus Pro 9700 has found greater use in producing presentation and even decorative materials than originally anticipated.

Yiangou Architects’ IT Manager Daniel Vesma explains, “Although we’ve worked on many large projects, we had never been able to produce prints larger than A1 and we were at the physical limits of what could be done. The A0 capability of the Stylus Pro 9700 means that we can now produce entire floorplans at our usual 1:50 working scale, but the printer has also impressed us with its capabilities for presentation work – the vibrancy of the colours is amazing, the inks are great.”

As well as printing out 2D drawings and 3D renderings of work created in Vectorworks, the Stylus Pro 9700 has been used to produce interior décor panels as part of a large office move and redecoration project, with A0-sized photographic images being output onto mount-board and coated matt stock. Printing onto canvas has also been tested with excellent results.

The printer’s colour quality has also come into play reproducing hand drawings. “There’s been a watershed point in the last few years,” reflects Daniel Vesma, “now everyone has CAD, the ability to produce good hand drawings and illustrations adds a legitimacy to the creative aspect of the work. We take pride in the visual quality of our work and have a carefully considered aesthetic for both colour and monochrome drawings and images which the printer enables us to reproduce.”

The more technically-focused use of the Stylus Pro 9700 has more than met expectations too. Line work is ‘pin-sharp and beautiful’ according to Vesma and the ability to precisely reproduce different line weights is extremely valuable in the preparation of production drawings.  “The Epson’s ability with fine line weights is very impressive, the clearly-distinct lines avoid potential ambiguity in the production drawings between a structural opening and a joinery item, for example,” he explains.

As a result of this accuracy in line art reproduction, Yiangou Architects is now trialling the printing of production information in monochrome. Although colour print would appear to offer the potential to carry more information, it is often the case that electronically produced drawings are either printed in mono by contractors, or photocopied, thus losing the distinctions between colours. Since clarity is essential for safety reasons as well as aesthetic ones, anything that improves the accuracy of interpretation of drawings on-site can only enhance the process as a whole.

“We have also noticed that the Stylus Pro 9700 prints mono using only the black ink, not all four process colours as other printers do, which improves accuracy and should save on ink usage too,” notes Vesma.

[photo shows Daniel Vesma]

“A good product at a good price in good time” – that’s the philosophy behind ASBO Graphics’ remarkable success as a one stop shop for design and display work.  It is also a philosophy that ASBO sees reflected in its latest investment - the VersaSTUDIO BN-20 desktop printer/cutter from Roland DG. A cost-effective, compact and productive machine, the VersaSTUDIO BN-20 is helping Jordan Watret, owner of Loughborough-based ASBO Graphics, turn the highly creative design work he produces for customers into high-value finished articles.

The versatile Roland VersaSTUDIO BN-20 is a complete desktop production studio that combines high-quality, vivid and durable print with integrated precision cutting, and comes bundled with all the necessary software. Its ability to print metallic ink enables Jordan to produce graphics and displays with added “WOW!” factor – quickly and easily while ensuring at the same time that he maintains full control over the production - and the profit-margin - on almost every job he wins.

In fact, the VersaSTUDIO BN-20 has been so successful it has helped make the desktop in Jordan’s home office the most profitable space per square inch in the entire business.  "The integrated print and cut functionality of the VersaSTUDIO BN-20 is just one of the features that help us achieve a bigger bang for our customers’ buck. It’s a highly efficient way of working, which keeps our service competitive, and it is more cost-effective than investing in separate printing and cutting devices - not to mention the amount of space it saves.”

“I often get asked for custom labels using the metallic ink which I can charge a premium for but don’t require any costly set up. Take, for example, my entry in the Roland Creative Awards – a 30th birthday bespoke bottle label using metallic ink. My customers love this sort of thing. It’s not the core of my business but it’s nice to be able to offer your customers something that your competitors can’t and make a decent margin on it” he said.

Jordan started his career in print typesetting, before moving in to design and taking an in-house graphic designer position at a traditional litho printer.  This combination of manufacturing experience and design expertise means ASBO can add real value by engineering solutions that make clients’ budgets go as far as possible, this is all the more achievable with innovative production hardware like the VersaSTUDIO BN-20.

ASBO Graphics’ VersaSTUDIO BN-20 was supplied by Revolution Transfers, a Roland Authorised Dealer. It is his first Roland machine and he is already reaping the benefits of the improved print quality and reliability that comes with using Roland’s specially formulated Eco-Sol Max inks.

“You should never have to repeat a job, it should be right first time. That’s why in the long-term Eco-Sol Max inks are the most cost-effective solution. I value my customers too much to risk giving them print work that is anything less than perfect,” he said. “It’s a competitive market place, but giving them stunning prints time and time again is everything I can do to ensure they keep coming back.”

ASBO Graphics provides a wide range of graphic design and display services, including, flyers, booklets, brochures, posters, banners, vehicle graphics, logo designs, bespoke labels and branding solutions.

Today Jordan feels confident that ASBO Graphics can handle any job that comes its way – nothing is too big or too small. Business cards, vinyl graphics, workwear, stickers, window graphics – with a Roland VersaSTUDIO BN-20, ASBO Graphics can do it. The Roland machine runs for 10 hours solidly nearly every day and “never misses a beat”.

Jordan will soon be looking for a faster and wider Roland machine and is considering the VersaCAMM VS-540 as his business goes from strength to strength.  He concludes, “The demand is already there,” says Jordan. “It’s just a case of finding the space!”

For more information on ASBO Graphics, please visit www.asbographics.co.uk

For more information on Roland and its VersaSTUDIO BN-20 machine, please visit www.rolanddg.co.uk

Graphic Printing Technologies (GPT) has announced some 'sizzling summer deals' from Mimaki. These include up to £4,000 cash back when trading in a Mimaki JV3 for either a Mimaki JV33 160 or Mimaki CJV30 160 and a £2,000 cashback deal on the Mimaki CJV30 60 24” printer, making it great value at just £5,995.

As well as the money back offers, GPT has also announced an exclusive warranty offer on the Mimaki CJV30 60. A second year Gold Service warranty, which includes all parts and all labour for complete peace of mind, is available, half price, for just £995.

Stuart Cole, general manager of GPT, comments, “There are some really exciting offers on Mimaki printers at the moment and GPT is bringing them to our customers straight away. We also focus on adding more value wherever possible with deals on warranty and consumables. There are sure to be plenty more hot offers coming through the summer, so keep visiting www.g-p-t.co.uk for the latest information.”