Hardware - Industrial Print

 

High-quality inkjet will be put through its paces with a variety of media on stand 489 in Hall B3 at Fespa 2010

Screen will take the opportunity at Fespa 2010 (Munich, 22-26 June 2010) on stand 489 in Hall B3 to demonstrate the remarkable capabilities of two of its high-quality inkjet printers, the 2.5m-wide Truepress Jet2500UV and the 1.6m-wide Truepress Jet1600UV-F.

The Truepress Jet2500UV is an extremely versatile large format UV inkjet printer which visitors will be able to see producing outstanding quality work on a range of materials including the challenging corrugated cardboard and polypropylene for POP applications. It has the perfect balance of high quality and high productivity for the wide format market with near-photo quality printing and short turnaround times.

"In tough market conditions, the key is to offer flexibility and innovation to customers," says Screen Europe Marketing Manager Tim Taylor. "With its high-quality digital inkjet printers, Screen enables its customers to provide innovative ideas and flexible opportunities to their markets."

The combination of high-precision output at a maximum resolution of 1,500 dpi and high-speed printing at up to 67.5 square metres per hour on either rollfed or flatbed format material gives the flexibility to meet the expectations of the most demanding customers while delivering a good return on investment.

The multi-level grayscale printhead enables the output of smooth gradations thanks to Screen's exclusive screening technology. The Truepress Jet2500UV also supports material up to 2,500mm wide and 50mm thick and uses fast-drying UV inks to improve production and turnaround.

The Truepress Jet1600UV-F is a high-quality flatbed printing system launched in 2009 for the sign and display sector. Its high-performance production of vivid, full-colour at 1,200 x 1,200 dpi on a variety of media gives significant advantages in the field of backlit graphics, wide-format posters, POP displays, commercial furniture and construction signage.

The inks used by the Truepress Jet1600UV-F are hard-dried using UV produced by dedicated LEDs. This UV-LED light source generates very low heat during imaging and therefore accommodates heat-sensitive materials, such as foam and channel boards, PVC, acrylic and styrene panels, without warping or distortion. The UV-LED light source also lasts longer and uses less electricity than conventional UV lamps, so its impact on the environment is minimised, plus it provides a workplace mostly free of VOCs.

A newly-created imaging system features eight individual printheads that support rapid printing, with enhanced productivity that allows a rapid succession of fast-turnaround jobs. There are two types of UV ink, for flexible media and rigid media, which can be stretched by up to 200% as well as cast or bent. The rigid ink resists friction and exposure to damaging chemicals and is particularly well suited to printing on aluminium composite panels and decorative illuminated film. The addition of white ink ensures high-quality output on transparent, metallic and coloured media.

"The Truepress Jet1600UV-F delivers high precision and high flexibility," says Rob Hageman, European Product Manager at Screen Europe. "This easy-to-use flatbed device is built around the latest technology for inkjet printing and UV-LED curing."

 

 

Objectives:

• Grow business by moving screen printing jobs to digital.
• Seize market advantage with new signage production capabilities.
• Offer customers more versatility in substrates.

Approach:

• HP Scitex FB7500 Printer, with HP Scitex FB221 Ink, for digital printing of 1-3000 prints on almost any substrate.
• HP Scitex TJ8300 Printer for cost effective long run fleet graphics, banners.
• 2 x HP Scitex XL1500 Printers - 5m (16.4ft) for building wraps, over-sized banners; 3m (10ft) with HP Scitex DS upgrade fabric for banners, upholstery.
• 2 x HP Designjet Z6100 Printers for high-quality indoor signs, proofing other HP printer jobs.

Business benefits:

• Digital printer is winning business from screen printers and entering new markets, such as major sports event and venues, due to high speed, high-quality HP Scitex FB7500 Printer.
• Flatbed printing volume rose by 30-40 percent in two months, with 120 percent increase expected.
• Flatbed operator overtime costs are down by at least 20 percent.
• Longer run capabilities have increased flatbed printing revenues, with 25-35 percent growth projected.
• Gigantic Color has raised client satisfaction by enabling them to save costs through printing only what is needed, when it's needed.
• Gigantic Color has entered new markets, e.g. digital wallpaper and canvas art prints, due to HP Scitex TJ8300 Printer.
• Gigantic Color says "Yes we can!" to previously out-of-reach jobs

 

Large-format printing enterprise Gigantic Color has moved its business into a new league that fully lives up to its large-sized name, thanks to new flatbed digital printing capabilities from HP. As the first company in the world to install the revolutionary HP Scitex FB7500 Printer, Gigantic Color is proving every day that digital printing gives screen printing a run for its money. The result: dramatically larger orders are now coming Gigantic Color's way, raising the company's revenues and propelling it from a regionally focused shop onto the national stage.

Established in 1989 as a single-employee typography shop, Gigantic Color today has 65 employees in Dallas and Fort Worth, TX. It provides high-profile local, regional and national clients with the full range of large-format printing applications, including billboards, interior and exterior signage, and vehicle graphics. Over the years, the company has repeatedly turned to HP to gain new capabilities and expand capacity. Most recently, it was the first printing company in the world to install the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer, a high-speed printer that tripled the firm's flatbed printing capacity almost overnight. It was Gigantic Color's biggest-ever printing equipment purchase - and their fastest.

No hesitation on 'must-have' printer

"We saw the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer at SGIA and we were immediately impressed with its speed, image quality, substrate versatility, and user-friendly loading and unloading," recalls Gigantic Color owner John Bowers, Sr. "We said to ourselves: 'if someone else in our market had this machine and we didn't, we wouldn't be able to compete."

After installing the new printer, Gigantic Color began seeing benefits almost immediately. General Manager Troy McGinnis says: "The printer, even though it was the first one, performed way beyond our expectations. The operators loved its very intuitive operation and easy maintenance. We were able to cross-train people from other presses in a matter of days, and within a week of running live jobs we did 80 hours of printing in 10."

"We've printed on everything from styrene, expanded PVC, Coroplast, and every type of paper you can imagine, all the way to corkboard, aluminum sheets, polycarbonate, and heavy Dibond. Nothing we've tried has stopped that printer." One of the reasons Gigantic Color has been able to enjoy such high media versatility is because of the quality of the HP Scitex FB221 Ink, which adheres well and maintains consistent quality on a wide range of substrates.

Clients happy to ditch analog

Many of the jobs that Gigantic Color is now taking - such as a 500-sheet job on Coroplast and an order for 100 boxed truck fleet graphics - would previously have gone to screen printers. "We're winning quotes averaging in the 750-1500 copy range when before, we would be lucky to touch jobs that were 200-250 copies," says Bowers. "We've had many tours of large clients coming in to see the printer in action. Once they see the quality and speed, they almost always immediately send in jobs."

For the high-quality end of the market, Gigantic Color generally runs its HP Scitex FB7500 Printer at about 60-70 beds per hour, which is approximately 279 m²/hr (3000ft²/hr). For real estate and political signage accounts, it prints at the top speed of 105 1,2 x 10,4m (4 x 8ft) sheets per hour. "This combination of speed and quality allows us to go after screen printing jobs," says McGinnis.

John Bowers adds: "Something that previously took four or five days is taking just one shift. We recently printed 750 4 x 8 ft boards of expanded PVC. That kind of job would have made us very nervous, but now we can do it virtuall y without thinking. Our biggest challenge now is how to get it all through finishing."

Digital serves up big savings for eatery chain

Digital printing with the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer is bringing super-sized benefits to both Gigantic Color and its customers. A recent promotional banner job for a national restaurant chain is an excellent example of the win-win proposition. The client needed 6000 double-sided full pocket banners, in six different versions, with text and a lot of saturated reds. The turnaround time was three weeks, but due to other orders, Gigantic Color could dedicate only around six printing hours a day to that job. Printing the 0,9 x 3m (3 x 10ft) banners on a special polycoated fabric, in two-up, 3-pass mode (49 1,2 x 10,4m/4 x 8ft sheets per hour), Gigantic Color was able to print 160 banners in three hours, and easily meet all its production deadlines.

"This customer usually does silk screen, but they still were very, very pleased with the quality and color," says Bowers. "They got the benefit of digital printing in that they'll be able to order future runs of the banner according to what they need, when they need it - without compromising on quality."

"We've experienced that with other customers who would normally have to keep $20,000 to $30,000 worth of banners in stock and ship them out as needed. We convinced them that they can save money by having us print just one or however many they need. They no longer need to hold that stock."

This can result in further savings - and environmental benefits - as inventories of printed signage can become outdated even before they are used. The flexibility to print as needed can help to cut waste and thereby to reduce costs.

 

FUJIFILM Europe today announces the introduction of the new Acuity Advance HS wide format UV inkjet printer, the next generation in the highly successful Acuity series. First launched in April 2007, the Acuity platform radically changed quality expectations in UV flatbed, quickly becoming one of the fastest selling UV printers in the market. The Advance HS meets demands for a cost effective, high quality printer with even greater productivity, complementing the Fujifilm Acuity Advance and Advance X2 printers.

While the Acuity Advance HS maintains many of the leading design features of the Acuity HD2504 and Acuity Advance models, the modified print-head array virtually doubles the print speed.

Near-photographic quality images can be achieved at typical production speeds of 40m2/hr. In addition there is a new 'express' mode for images viewed from greater distances which operates at 65m2/hr. The Advance HS delivers more daily output than any other printer in its class, offering potential for high profit generation and a quick return on investment.

One of the key features of the Acuity Advance HS is the highly efficient UV curing system which delivers excellent print results. The flatbed design employs a zoned vacuum system to hold all types of media, including irregularly shaped materials or substrates with uneven surfaces. This ensures accurate registration even on multiple passes. It also prints edge-to-edge, saving time and labour in post-print finishing. In addition, the Acuity Advance HS increases print application possibilities with a white option to complement the standard four colour CMYK ink set. The optional roll media unit can be installed to print a broad range of flexible materials. To maximise print time, the operator can prepare rigid media on the bed while the roll media unit is printing.

Print performance is optimised by FUJIFILM Sericol’s uniquely formulated Uvijet inks incorporating proprietary Micro-V dispersion technology which consistently provides the ink system with strong vibrant colours, wide adhesion range and print durability.

Commercial shipments of the Acuity Advance HS will commence in March 2010. Fujifilm will be featuring the Acuity Advance HS at Ipex 2010 in the UK, and FESPA, Germany, in June.

Océ, an international leader in digital document management and printing for professionals, today announced the new Océ Arizona 550 GT flatbed printer, the highest capacity Océ Arizona model released to date.

This new printer is capable of POP-quality prints at 40 square meters hour and offers much better value than other UV flatbed models currently available in the market. The Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer is the next generation model in the award-winning Océ Arizona Series. It uses UV curable inks and Océ VariaDotTM imaging technology to deliver near-photographic image quality for nearly any application. Designed as a true flatbed system it can print on a wide variety of rigid substrates up to 1.25 by 2.5 meters. It also offers a Roll Media Option for printing onto flexible media up to 2.2 meters wide.

Production print speeds

The Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer features a Production print mode of up to 40.2 square meters per hour on rigid media without sacrificing any of the award-winning print quality for which the Océ Arizona Series is famous. This enables users to print nearly one hundred boards (125 x 250 cm) in a single eight-hour shift. With this productivity, print providers can confidently take on peak demand and rush jobs. It reduces the risk for businesses wanting to make the transition from analog to digital printing by providing all the print quality they need at production speeds. An Express print mode is also available with print speeds of up to 67 square meters per hour, nearly three times higher than the fastest print speed available on the previously-released Océ Arizona 350 GT display graphics printer.

Costs a third less than comparable systems

Like all Océ Arizona printers, the Océ Arizona 550 GT model was designed using an efficient cost engineering approach that makes it much more affordable than comparable systems. Print providers can own this high quality, high capacity printer for about 30% to 40% less than comparable, competitive UV flatbed systems. That reduces capital outlay for small- and medium-sized businesses, and enables them to acquire the best-in-class print quality and application versatility.

Opens the door to applications that command premium prices

With the Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer, print providers can offer premium priced services and achieve more competitive prices for their work. The Océ Arizona 550 GT can print on irregularly shaped or non-square items, heavy substrates such as glass, or materials that have an uneven surface such as wood. This is an important advantage over competitive rigid-capable printers that use belt or friction-based media feed systems, as they can only print on square-cornered, lightweight materials of uniform thickness. The true flatbed architecture enables printing on anything that is reasonably flat up to 48 mm thick – from a hockey puck to a DVD to a door or a piece of painted aluminum.A Roll Media Option is available, giving print providers the ability to print onto flexible media including vinyl, self-adhesive vinyl, scrim banner, paper and blue backed paper without compromising the rigid printing workflow. Print providers can use this system to expand into more exotic applications that command premium prices, from parts templates for manufacturing; CD covers and wallpaper to fast food menus and fabric; and anything needed for sign and display.

Océ VariaDot imaging technology is productive and uses significantly less ink

The Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer uses Océ VariaDot imaging technology that enables a printhead to produce ink droplets of variable size resulting in variable sized dots on the printed media. The ability to jet small droplets produces sharp images with smoother gradients and quartertones. The ability to jet larger droplets produces dense, uniform solids. The result is near-photographic image quality with sharpness only before seen at resolutions of 1,440 dpi or higher. In addition to superior image quality, Océ VariaDot imaging technology requires only four color inks to achieve the best image quality in the industry. The use of only four colors and of variable-sized droplets results in significantly lower ink consumption than six color printers with fixed droplet inkjet technology. On average, all Océ Arizona Series printers consume less than 8 ml of ink per square meter total, including all maintenance.

White ink expands capabilities

The Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer includes a White Ink Option that enables under-printing for non-white media or objects, over-printing for backlit applications on transparent media and/or printing white as a spot color. Under-printing white ink provides a base for non-white surfaces upon which color can be added, giving print providers the ability to expand their range of offerings to include specialty applications. Over-printing white ink provides a diffusion layer for backlit applications that will be viewed from the unprinted side, enabling print providers to produce high quality backlit images for point-of-purchase applications. The ability to also print white ink as a spot color enables white features of images to be highlighted for greater effect.Océ Arizona® 550 GT display graphics printer.

Expanding the premier UV flatbed product family

The Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer joins the market-leading Océ Arizona family of UV flatbed printers at the top of the range. Other Océ Arizona Series models include the Océ Arizona 350 XT printer (2.5 x 3 m table, up to 23 m2/hr print speed), the Océ Arizona 350 GT printer (1.25 x 2.5 m table, up to 22.2 m2/hr print speed) and the Océ Arizona 300 GT printer (1.25 x 2.5 m table, up to 12.3 m2/hr print speed). All share the same award-winning image quality and robust architecture, offering the Océ values of quality, reliability, productivity and user-friendliness. In all, Océ Arizona Series UV flatbed printers have accumulated 16 industry awards to date from organizations throughout the world. These awards validate the quality and innovation built into every Océ Arizona Series printer, now the most popular printer in its class.

Zyan Digital, of Aljacer, Murcia, has used its new HP Scitex TJ8350 Printer to extend its capabilities and develop personalised wide format printing. Demonstrating the versatility and speed of the HP Scitex TJ8350 Printer, Zyan printed180 180 x 300cm posters on vinyl, personalising each with the name of a car repair shop. The printer's productivity meant that Zyan could print the two-sheet job in only twenty hours. Substrate versatility is another feature that Zyan makes use of. Sixty percent of its jobs are printed on paper, with the balance printed on vinyl and canvas in equal proportions.

Established in 1989 as a photographic laboratory, Zyan entered the wide format printing market through photographic applications. Zyan Digital now has ten wide format printers, 26 employees working in three shifts and has an annual turnover of €3.2 million.

Belgium based Daelprinting expanded its service offering in December 2009 with the installation of an Inca Onset S20 with added Ultratone colour option. The large format print service provider can now offer its customers shorter turnaround times with higher quality print while simultaneously making it an environmentally friendly option.

The company, situated halfway between Amsterdam and Paris in the historic town of Ypres, delivers a wide variety of wide format materials including POS materials, wide format banners and industrial solutions to customers throughout Northern France and the Benelux region.

Arjan D’haene, commercial director at Daelprinting, said: “Up to now, our business has comprised 50% screenprinting and 50% digital services. But, as most of our customers require materials to be printed in two, three or sometimes four different languages with print runs never exceeding 500 sheets, we were keen to invest in a high performance digital printer to offer them a better service with shorter turnaround times and high quality print.

“We wanted to make an investment through a company with a proven, trusted, track and service record and FUJIFILM Sericol ticked all the boxes. We’ve used its UV curable inks for a few years and have been impressed with their fantastic durability. So, when we decided the Inca Onset S20 was the right product for us, we knew FUJIFILM Sericol could deliver to our standards.”

The Inca Onset S20, a UV curing inkjet flatbed printer, is the latest high performance addition to the Onset family which has already represented a major change in business dynamics for the industry. It prints edge to edge onto substrates of 3.14m x 1.6m and up to 50mm thick, at speeds of up to 250m2/hr. The vacuum table with accurate pin positioning allows users to print single and double-sided on a variety of media sizes.

“With the S20, we are now able to turn a job around in three to four days, shortening our lead times by 75%,” says Arjan D’haene. “Not only that, but the print quality is much better than we’ve produced before and it has resolved a problem with banding we’ve had with all of our previous digital machines.

“We are delighted that we can now offer our customers an improved service and wider selection of materials, while lowering our print cost per square metre. Digital printing used to be a high price solution for us, but with the S20 we can offer a competitive price up to 500m2. This is beneficial both to us and our customers, as they can now get so much more out of their marketing budgets.”

As the Onset prints on a wide variety of substrates, Dael’s environmentally conscious customers now have more options to choose from. Arjan D’haene continues: “More and more of our customers want environmentally friendly print, and the combination of FUJIFILM Sericol’s UV curable inks with the S20’s ability to print on paper, cardboard and Re-board allow us to offer them a number of ‘green’ options to choose from.”

The 6-colour Onset S20, combined with FUJIFILM Sericol’s award winning Uvijet Ultratone inks, allows printers to widen the printable gamut of colours to 85% of the PANTONE® colour spectrum. It also features a gloss level control to produce finishes from matt, through satin to high gloss depending on application, bringing massive versatility in the range of products that can be printed, e.g. display POS, exhibition graphics, backlit/frontlit displays and outdoor signage printing.