Business - Events

Roland DG has reported that its 30” UV-curable integrated printer/cutter, the VersaUV LEC-300, was the main attraction at Sign & Digital UK 2009, while its engraving solutions also drew plenty of interest. The VersaUV is the first UV-curable inkjet printer in the world to integrate printing and cutting functions and many visitors to the show had come to see for themselves examples of the machine’s tactile output such as Braille, faux animal skin and leather.

Despite an apparent drop in visitor numbers at the show, the company received a healthy number of leads across its product range and it welcomed the opportunity to highlight the versatility of wide format inkjet technology at the show. The company’s stand had over seventy different applications on display, including window graphics, personalised musical instruments, garments and even a vinyl wrapped snow board. Between the Roland DG stand and those of its dealers, every Roland DG printing, print & cut and engraving machine was available to buy at the show.

Following the show, Roland DG (UK)’s Head of Product Development, Brett Newman, said: “In my view, the market has maintained some of its buoyancy, despite the recession, because businesses in this sector are combating the downturn by diversifying their service portfolio in order to keep their output high. This is highlighted by the interest in engraving this year - engraving is a high value service, yet the technology required is available at a relatively low capital cost. The live engraving demonstrations were very popular and I think many came away with the realisation that the machinery is easy to use - with many skills transferrable from wide format printing and cutting - and will start making them money almost instantly.

“While visitor numbers seemed to be down, I feel that those who did venture out were serious about investigating investment opportunities. In general, visitors spent longer than usual on the stand discussing the products with our technical team, which I think is a reflection of how carefully new capital investments are being considered at the moment. Even so, it’s still difficult not to get carried away when you consider that some of our printers will pay for themselves in a matter of months when used for just four hours a day.”

Beyond printing and engraving, Roland DG also had value-adding personalisation solutions on display such as Xpres’s Gem Tec system for rhinestone personalisation of garments and Eurodrop’s multi-colour doming process for both fabric and printed items.

Concluded Mr Newman: “Considering the challenges that the market and the economy as a whole is facing Sign & Digital UK 2009 has to be classed as a success for Roland DG and its dealers. We were there to showcase the money-making opportunities presented by our products and all of our dealers reported sales over the three days. The show provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to customers, both old and new, the versatility and sheer range of profitable applications that our machinery is capable of”.

At Fespa in Amsterdam on 12-14 May, Screen’s growing commitment towards environmental trends will be demonstrated with its large-format, high quality Truepress Jet2500UV showing its capabilities as a textile printer which complements its versatility to output onto most roll-fed  and rigid materials. Using the company’s own flexible UV-curable ink technology, display producers can now print direct to textiles for a wide variety of durable soft signs, banners and flags without having to resort to traditional two-stage dye sublimation processes.

The Truepress Jet2500UV uses Screen’s flexible UV-curable inks and drop-on-demand variable dot piezo-electric grayscale printheads to make it suitable for producing applications  on virtually all roll-fed and sheet materials. To meet the growing demand for textile-based  displays, these inks have been formulated with the correct levels of flexibility to make them  ideal for printing direct onto fabrics without the need for machine modifications.

The precision achieved from the 6 picolitre droplets, in combination with the elasticity in the  ink’s technology and the correct strength of UV curing, results in strong adhesion with no  flaking and cracking. Typical speeds of 34 square m/hour enable the Truepress Jet2500UV to  compete favourably with dedicated textile print on demand systems. Colours are strong and  vibrant and there is no need for special pre- or post-treatment of the materials.

Because of the drive throughout industry to use greener criteria where possible, producing  display applications onto polyester-based material is becoming increasingly popular because  of its recyclable properties. Polyester fabrics also benefit from being resistant to creasing, lighter and more portable than many traditional flexible alternatives, saving costs on logistics and deliveries as well as simplifying many installations.

At Fespa, the Truepress Jet2500UV has produced all the banners on the Screen stand,  printed at 900 dpi direct onto 2.5m wide polyester banners. This demonstrates not only the convenience of being able to produce applications in one step but also shows the cost and  time benefits gained by printing direct when compared with traditional two-stage sublimation  where additional calendering or a heat press is essential.

The Truepress Jet2500UV is a truly versatile performer and, as well as textiles, it can print  direct to other flexible and rigid materials, with fast and simple change-over between flat-bed  and roll-fed configurations. It has a maximum print width of 2.5 m wide and handles  substrates thicknesses of up to 5 cm and rolls up to 100 m in length. There is a maximum  production speed of up to 67.5 square m/hour, a choice of output resolutions up to 1500 dpi,  and its six-colour ink-set of CMYKLcLm can be enhanced with the addition of a white option.

Screen believes that, by adding digital textile production to the existing capabilities of the  Truepress Jet2500UV, this feature will appeal to users who want to benefit from being able to  utilise a single wide-format printer for all types of application. The printer ships with the  Screen edition Wasatch SoftRIP TX Gold which includes Screen’s own screening algorithm  for accurate, consistent output on all materials.

At the FESPA DIGITAL EUROPE exhibition (May 12th – May 14th, 2009, Amsterdam, Netherlands), wide-format printer & cutting  plotter manufacturer Mutoh Europe nv will display its latest innovations in the field of large-format digital inkjet printing & sign cutting.
 
Brand-new products on display at Mutoh’s booth (Hall 1 – A30) will be the Viper Extreme dye sublimation printer, the ValueJet Hybrid bio solvent printer as well as a new series of
aqueous inkjet printers called the ValueJet water based series.
 
Visitors will also be able to discover the Zephyr 65 UV printer and to explore the multiple benefits of Mutoh’s proprietary Intelligent Interweaving technology (i²), now standard on all Mutoh piezo inkjet printers.
 
 
New Viper Extreme Dye Sub Printers
 
Mutoh’s new Viper Extreme printer family has been purpose-developed for digital transfer printing. The new printer series is suited for transfer sublimation printing (on paper) for transfer to fabric or transfer to object, as well as for direct sublimation printing (coated closed  polyester  fabric). Available in 1651 mm – 65” and 2240 mm - 88” widths, the Viper Extreme printers are targeted at businesses focusing on volume production of soft sign banners for indoor use and/or short term outdoor use.
 
Production speeds range from 6 to 37 m²/h.  Top speeds up to 77 m²/h can be obtained. Viper Extreme printers allow volume printing on the thinnest available transfer papers (70 g/m²). The printers utilise Mutoh high speed quick dry disperse dye inks, offering deep & vivid colours and washable prints. Being a water-based ink, Mutoh dye sub inks enable environmentally sound printing. 
 
 
New ValueJet Hybrid Printer
 
The ValueJet Hybrid is a 64” (1625 mm) wide inkjet printer capable of printing onto both roll-to-roll and rigid substrates. ValueJet Hybrid utilizes a non petro-chemical based ink, originating from corn. A heated air knife system blowing hot air onto the prints made will promote quick drying of the bio solvent ink and ensure that prints are dry when they come off the printer. The machine is suited for print supply to customers demanding “green” output, i.e. prints on
recyclable media.  It will address the needs of print businesses exploring high-quality direct print applications onto a vast range of roll and rigid media, such as PP, PE, ABS, PET, polycarbonate, cardboard, PVC foam board, aluminium sandwich board, non-pvc and PVC based self-adhesive media, polyester, banner, uncoated tyvek, recyclable fibre-based paper.
 
Adopting Mutoh bio solvent inks in their digital printing workflow and using these inks on media for which a recycling path is established in their region, will help digital print providers in reducing their print shop’s environmental footprint.
 
New ValueJet Water Based Printer series
 
Based on Mutoh’s popular ValueJet Eco Solvent printer series, the new ValueJet piezo drop-on-demand water based inkjet printer series is available in 1371.5 mm – 54” and 1625 mm – 63.97” widths.  The printers are fit for roll-to-sheet and roll-to-roll applications and use worry-free water based Mutoh dye and pigmented inks.  
 
Compactly designed and easy-to-use, the Mutoh ValueJet aqueous printer series is targeted at print providers focusing on production of indoor prints.  Prints made with Mutoh pigmented inks can also be used for short-term outdoor application.
 
 
About Mutoh’s Zephyr Printer 
 
Zephyr is a CMYK 64” (165 cm) wide professional UV inkjet printer for roll-to-sheet, roll-to-roll and rigid board printing.  The machine was previewed at Fespa Geneva 2008.  First shipments started end of 2008.
 
The printer incorporates 4 high-end Xaar variable drop heads, offering high image quality combined with high productivity. The heads produce droplets as small as 8 picoliter. Drop sizes go up to 40 pl. 
 
Zephyr 64 offers five production speeds ranging from 3.5 to 30 m²/h.   Top engine speed goes up to 45 m²/h.  The machine combines the ease of use of a compact digital solvent printer with the benefits of Mutoh UV inkjet technology, i.e. VOC free inks, zero drying time, minimal operator attention and maintenance.   The Intelligent Interweaving print technology incorporated in the Zephyr will suppress gloss-banding effects typical for UV inkjet printing. 

About Mutoh Intelligent Interweaving Print Technology 
 
Under the motto “Impeccability and Predictability lead to Profitability” Mutoh Europe invites visitors, customers and partners to discover the unique benefits of Mutoh’s proprietary intelligent interweaving technology that is now standard on all Mutoh piezo printers.   With Mutoh’s Intelligent Interweaving Technology – called i² (pronounced  I squared) – ink is laid down in carefully optimized wave forms versus straight lines as used with most wide-format printers.  The result is a drastic reduction or even total elimination of defects such as horizontal banding, ink mottle, bleed and the visible effects of missing or misfiring nozzles.  Dedicated “print weave patterns” have been  developed per individual printer and ink type.    
 
One of the biggest benefits of Mutoh i² technology is that it offers predictable and reproducible output quality. Printer users will be able to print ideal quality images fit-for-purpose every time, in the shortest time.  As such, i² stands for an unprecedented level of user comfort for the printer operator. Per printer incorporating Mutoh i² technology, a “guided printer  setup” is available, allowing the printer operator to easily select the most suitable print mode and moreover to predict how long printing will take.

FUJIFILM Sericol is showing its latest line-up of wide format printers and business solutions on stand D30 and C30 (Hall 1) at FESPA Digital Europe 2009 from 12th – 14th May 2009 at the RAI, Amsterdam. The Inca Onset S20 will be launched at the show and the Spyder V will be showing for the first time in Europe.

Visitors to the stand can view the newest model in the high performance Onset series, the S20: a UV curing inkjet flatbed printer that boasts production speeds of 250m2/hr and 50 full bed sheets (3.12 x 1.6m), with the ability to process substrates as thick as 50mm. The higher productivity Onset S70 will also feature on a big screen. Both of these revolutionary printers represent a major change in business dynamics for the industry, as digital flatbed becomes an economical method of producing high-impact visual images.

FUJIFILM Sericol will also show the Spyder V for the first time in Europe and will present it with the Uvijet Ultratone ink system. Based on the design of the popular Spyder 320 platform, the Spyder V has a production speed of up to 93m2/hr onto a wide range of flexible and rigid substrates of up to 30mm thick. The Ultratone ink system increases the colour gamut, producing improved colour reproduction and more accurate spot colours.

The Acuity Advance X2, a wide format UV inkjet printer will be on show with the additional white ink option that allows inline printing. It has a print area double that of the current Acuity Advance, with the same high quality. With a speed of 22m2/hr in production mode and 15m2/hr in high quality mode, it prints near photo-realistic quality onto substrates of 3.05m x 2.5m and as thick as 48mm.

“We are pleased to be able to show such a strong line-up of wide format print solutions, including our launch of the Onset S20 and the first European viewing of the Spyder V,” says Keith Harley, European Marketing Director at FUJIFILM Sericol. “Smaller large format printers right through to high-end, high productivity printers will be attending FESPA Digital Europe 2009 to view the latest print and business solutions on the market, and our knowledge of this market space combined with such a wide service offering will provide a solution for every visitor to our stand.”

Completing the line-up, FUJIFILM Sericol’s highly developed business solution, the Euromedia brand, which provides a dedicated offering for wide format printing, will complement its flatbed offering. This well known brand of media, software, inks and support comprises hundreds of media products for all water-based, solvent-based and laminating applications from low cost posters, indoor and outdoor banners, flags, exhibition graphics, signmaking and vehicle wraps to backlit and art prints.

HP today announced that it will be presenting the first public UK showing of the HP Designjet L65500, HP Scitex FB950 and HP Scitex XP2750 Printers at Sign & Digital UK (Stand H20), 28 - 30 April, at the NEC, Birmingham.

HP today announced that it will be showing its range of new wide format printers, on its stand Hall 1 Stand K21 at Visual Communication Italy, 13 - 15 November, Fieramilano.

Visitors to the stand will also be able to find out more about the new HP Scitex FB7500 Printer, which delivers industry-leading productivity along with high print speeds and standard three-quarter automation.