Hardware - Print Finishing

Mutoh America Inc., who did much of the early field development on the hybrid Mutoh 1608 printers, have announced the next generation, the ValueJet 1608HA hybrid printer.

Specifically designed to meet the demands of customers, and priced at $49,000 (under £30,000) the technical advancements are as follows:

- A compressor is no longer required. The VJ1608HA includes a medical grade air pump to drive the heated air nozzles. The air pump incorporates external filters that help reduce condensation and damage from foreign particles.

- New heavy duty design and construction of the feed and take-up tables.

- VJ1608HA integrates the hot air nozzle controllers into the printer thus enabling control of the HAN from the RIP or control panel.

- Advanced new print modes including a 1440x1440 dpi resolution with double the speed!

- Now incorporating the latest Epson print head that has 5 variable dot sizes.

- Improved air flow and circulation through the printer cabinet.

"The technical innovations made to the ValueJet 1608HA raise the bar. The new model maintains high image quality with user-friendly features, says Brian Phipps, Director of Sales.

Effectively and efficiently designed to increase productivity and can be used to print on both rigid substrates and roll to roll including car wraps. The ValueJet 1608HA prints directly onto corrugated plastics, polystyrene, PVC, acrylic, Polycarbonate, foam board, aluminum composite, banner, wall covering and more.

A flatbed with brilliant results at a price you can afford, reaching speeds up to 120 sq/ft/hr in production mode using Mutoh's patented Intelligent Interweave print technique that virtually eliminates banding.

The ValueJet 1608HA uses MUBIO INK, recognized by the EPA Design for the Environment program composed of 80% plant derived substances, containing no harmful VOC's. A  4-colour printer with a maximum resolution of 1440 dpi, and automatic media thickness detection. The MUBIO INK is available in 880 ml ink packs.

Daige has introduced Solo, an affordable cold laminator designed to be a one person finishing system. It is easy to use and provides essential features found on more expensive models. Features include top and bottom nip rollers covered with hard silicone, steel cores for better pressure, automatic take up, spring loaded top rollers and a heavy duty motor. A print holder in front makes it easy to laminate long prints. Solo accommodates boards up to .5-inches thick for mounting prints. Ruggedly built from steel and aluminum. It is available in 25-, 38-, 55-, and 65-inch widths.

Gerber Scientific Products unveiled its new M Turbo high-powered cutter/router at the recent trade show in SGIA New Orleans.

The M Turbo is a new and more powerful version of the reliable M 3000 cutting system, part of Gerber's M Series of flatbed finishing tables. The M Turbo has the same proven features as the rest of the M Series machines, but offers a stronger, faster one kilowatt router. Visitors to the Gerber booth at the recent PRINT 09 Chicago show and the 2009 SGIA Expo in New Orleans were surprised by the new capabilities offered with the new M Turbo.

"We are very pleased with the response the new Gerber M Turbo received at the shows. Graphic industry veterans know what a great asset the higher-powered one kilowatt router can be for their business, since it allows them to perform a wider variety of jobs and perform them faster, especially the ability to rout metal," said Steve Albert, senior strategic accounts manager, Gerber.

Another attractive feature of the M Turbo is its reasonably priced turnkey system. "Show attendees were pleased to learn the M Turbo is priced lower than comparable systems. The attractive price of the M Turbo includes everything needed to get started. Instead of pricing the way competitors do, advertising a base price that includes only the table and then up-selling the customer for all the other elements they need, Gerber gives one price point for the entire, ready-to-use system," said Albert.

The Gerber M Turbo's turnkey system includes the cutting table, modular cutting head, M Vision optical registration system for print-to cut applications, OMEGA software, a PC, reciprocating and tangential knife tools, the 1 kw electric router tool, a starter kit of knife blades and router bits and even a one year comprehensive warranty. It's the perfect system for any business in the industry who wants a powerful router at a great price.

i-cut, a division of EskoArtwork, kicked off its European launch by exhibiting at one of the print industry’s leading trade shows, Viscom 09.

i-cut specializes in software development and materials automation for digital cutters, and will run live demonstrations of its new Vision Pro 7.0 software at the event. To support its launch the company has established a European sales team and created an online store – www.icuttools.com– where customers can order the new Vision Pro software, obtain technical information and product support, and buy cutting consumables, such as bits, blades and conveyor belts. Viscom 09 is being staged on October 1-3, 2009 at Exhibition Centre Düsseldorf, and the i-cut booth is in Hall 8a at stand C20. At the event, the company held a draw for a free i-cut Vision Pro 7.0 upgrade, and were handing out €20 discount coupons for its online store.

Vision Pro 7.0 offers full non-linear distortion correction, a simple and intuitive user interface, and full prepress and RIP integration, ensuring jobs are prepared quickly and sent to the cutting device without errors. Print runs from just one sheet to thousands are contour-cut reliably, precisely and economically.

Using the software, print material specifications are taken from the work stream – including cutting keys that supply operators with optimized tool settings and blade/bit recommendations – and are processed with preset cutting parameters. This makes the finishing set-up even easier and simplifies the tasks necessary for starting each unique job. Subsequently, set-up times are minimal – and in many cases, virtually eliminated.

The solution is ideal for commercial printers, digital printers, sign makers and screen printers that digitally finish their products using any of the popular XY cutting tables from companies such as Esko-Kongsberg, Zund, Mécanuméric, MultiCam, Axyz and more.

The new i-cut online store, icuttools.com, has been created to give printers in Europe the opportunity to equip themselves with the best possible cutting software and consumables. With more than 15 years’ experience in the sign, display, advertising and packaging markets, i-cut has conducted extensive research into all materials common in these markets, and has created tools specifically for each type of material.

The store carries accessories for many of the i-cut enabled cutting machines on the market, as well as consumables for printers’ everyday cutting needs – from blades, router bits and conveyor belts through to i-cut software upgrades.

In addition to sales, the icuttools.com store offers excellent advice and support. Users can contact the Tool Support Helpline, which takes the guesswork out of cutting speeds for new materials. Also, the Materials Testing Service lets users test their material in i-cut’s facility for free – the company tests different tools and speeds before providing users with a detailed report on how it should be cut. Plus registered users can take advantage of the new Resource Center, which allows them to download software, updates, documentation and guides.

Steve Bennett, Director of New Business Development, i-cut, comments: “Viscom 09 was the perfect backdrop to introduce ourselves to the European market, and gave us an excellent platform to demonstrate how Vision Pro 7.0 can streamline a printers’ set-up.

“One of the best things about the software is that it’s so easy to use. Operators with limited or no computer skills can produce precision-cut graphics after only a few hours’ training. Meanwhile, owners and managers can bank on the efficiency and reliability of the solution, and never need worry about costly mistakes or missed deadlines.”

From October 1 to 3, at Hall 8b, Booth G80 at Viscom Dusseldorf, visitors will have an opportunity to see the Zünd G3 cutter in new and interesting configurations.

Showing for the first time is the semi-automated production option on a G3 M-1600. With a built-in guide to facilitate accurate placement of sheets or boards, this setup turns the G3 high-performance cutter into a non-stop production machine. The operator becomes available to work a second machine or perform other tasks.

In addition, Zünd will be demonstrating the latest version of the V-cut tool. This cutting device makes it possible to create three-dimensional designs from rigid materials folded along v-grooves cut at up to 5 different angles. Set up for another live demonstration is a Zünd M-800 equipped with feeder for fully automated processing of sheeted materials. In this configuration, the Zünd cutter becomes a standalone production system.

Gerber Scientific Products Inc. has launched its new flatbed digital die-cutting system, the M Turbo.

"The M Turbo is an important new product in the M Series family. The M Turbo features a more powerful, 1-kilowatt electric router that will expand any shop's capabilities. The M Turbo allows you to rout .080 aluminum and thick rigid materials up to 1-inch thick, such as wood and acrylic. It can also rout thinner rigid boards, like aluminum composite materials, up to 4 times faster than our standard M Series router," said Steve Albert, Gerber's senior strategic accounts manager.

"In addition to the more powerful router, the Gerber M Turbo flatbed cutter offers new software improvements that allow the user to control the rpms at which the M Turbo routs, giving even greater flexibility to our customers. The high-powered router head is configured into the M Series T3 Tool Head design, so the M Trubo still takes advantage of all of all the standard M Series tools, such as the reciprocating knife, crease wheel, tangential knives and more.

"The new M Turbo will have all the strengths that the other M Series cutters already enjoy, such as the robust table construction design, the M-Vision optical registration system which ensures accurate print-to-cut registration and the zoned vacuum system which allows for accurate material hold down," said Albert. "The Gerber M Turbo flatbed cutter is a complete turnkey system that includes everything you need to run the machine in production."