10 Oct 2024

KI&C Explores New Markets with HP Latex Inks and HP Designjet L65500 Printer

KI&C GmbH, of Norderstedt, near Hamburg, has installed the first HP Designjet L65500 Printer in Germany and is using it to explore new markets as well as replacing solvent-based prints.

Though a very small company with only three employees, KI&C is an extremely productive one and has attracted leading companies as customers for its large and wide format printing, including ones in the United States. An HP customer from the time it was a software business, KI&C has evolved its strategy, products and markets from its first HP Designjet 650 Printer in 1999, and an HP Designjet 3500 Printer, to the installation of the HP Designjet L65500 Printer, using HP Latex Inks.

Event firm boosts production prowess with VUTEk

GTMS’ production capabilities and client satisfaction are set to soar in 2010 thanks to the arrival of new printing and finishing machinery.

The leading event production company is kick starting the spring with the purchase of a Vutek Flatbed UV Printer set to ensure quicker turnaround time and greater throughput.

As the first flatbed printer at GTMS, the Vutek machine will allow printing direct to substrate up to 2m wide and printing 3m x 2m sheets in one piece is now achievable - a marked improvement on the firm’s former printing process of roll to roll printing.

The Hampshire based firm is complimenting the purchase of the flatbed printer with a Kongsburg CNC cutter which will also increase its efficiency. As finishing times can bottle neck the production process, this new cutting machine will speed up finishing times by 50-60%.

Dominik Short, GTMS’ Director said, “We are delighted with the two fantastic additions to our printing and finishing departments. Investing in equipment is essential in order to ensure we remain at the forefront of the industry and can consistently offer our clients a bigger and better service.”

The Vutek flatbed printer can print directly onto many substrates from foam PVC, foamboards, cardboard, dibond and acrylic. GTMS are also trialing a new plywood based material that will be advantageous to the building industry for hoardings.

“We decided that purchasing a used flatbed printer was a sensible option given the current climate. The Vutek printer will look after existing requirements and allow us to develop new business with a view to upgrading in 18 months’ time,” added Dominik.

In addition to offering branding and event production, GTMS provides exceptional print services for large scale and complex projects, in addition to offering branding and event production. With 25 years’ experience under its belt and a wealth of prestigious clients – including the BBC, Bacardi, Fat Face and an array of experiential, marketing and PR agencies, GTMS takes care of every aspect from the initial design through to the production and installation by its expert team.

GTMS’ forward-thinking team of 26 employees operates from under one roof – a 38,000 sq. ft purpose-built site complete with offices, print house, build workshops and warehouse.

DPI gets out the big guns with the Virtu RR50

In a bid to challenge the limits of superwide-format display production, the Virtu RR50 UV-curable roll-to-roll ink-jet printer manufactured by WP Digital is now available in the UK and Ireland from Digital Print Innovations (DPI). Armed with the ability to print on almost any flexible material up to five metres wide at speeds up to 320sq m/hr, the RR50 is not only highly productive but brings 1200dpi addressable resolution to this end of the market in configurations which can include six colours (CMYK, Lc and Lm) and white, making it a formidable proposition for display businesses.

This combination of speed and quality makes the RR50 suitable for a plethora of applications for both indoor and outdoor use, including point-of-sale, vehicle wraps, banners and flags, but also for the creation of billboards and hoardings in one piece. “Previously, five-metre machines were limited by the variety of substrates that they could print to and the type of quality they would receive at the business end, restricting them to external applications with long viewing distances,” explains Stewart Bell, managing director of DPI. “The addition of superior graphics quality to the five-metre width creates an armoury of new opportunities for display producers.”

The Virtu RR50 benefits from the heritage of meticulous Swiss engineering that WP Digital, formerly known as Spühl, is renowned for, giving the machine its compact yet robust footprint – (h) 2.5 x (w) 8.3 x (d) 2.3m, weight 10,000kg – while featuring innovative and practical developments in ink-jet technology. Linear motors eliminate belts, instead running the heads on a monorail-type system; this reduces a bandwidth of traditional problems – such as vibration – while improving acceleration and dot placement. Other sensible production features include an in-built, multi-station X-Y tool for accurate cutting and an anti-static device on the head-assembly, as well as multi-roll capability.

“The machine’s strengths start with complex inventions – such as the linear motor-driven technology – but continue to pragmatic inclusions such as front-loading,” says Bell, whose experience in the UV-curable market stretches back to its inception. “These types of invention mean that the RR50 can actually be handled by a single operator with the aid of a remote control loader. The precision of the rollers and excellent material handling help to put the print quality and ease-of-use in a class of its own. For example, it’s able to print a bulk five-metre roll of flag material with ease.”

Available in 36 or 48 print-head configurations which can add white to either a four- or six-colour workflow, the Virtu RR50 features a high-productivity ink-feed system which provides for six litres per colour. This allows the user to benefit from bulk prices and, most significantly, the fact that less time is wasted changing the inks. The UV-curable, pigmented inks provide prodigious durability while also being VOC-free.

“DPI’s pedigree in UV-curable systems is a perfect match for the Virtu RR50, and we know that there is room to make in the display market for a printer that can do both high quality and high volume,” Bell continues. “With many specifiers demanding these traits from an eco-friendly production machine, we can say, comfortably, that this is the solution. We have already seen significant interest from clients using five-metre machines who want to trade up and take advantage of better material handling and print quality.”

While the RR50 is suited to the whole gamut of display production, DPI says that it will be of particular interest to all printers who are looking to convert to digital, especially from the screen-printing discipline. Bell stresses that DPI is best placed to provide this service. “Because we understand the precise calibration needed to get the best out of this formidable machine but can also provide the ongoing service, we know the RR50 will appeal to all sorts of producers,” he concludes.

Océ installs UK’s first Arizona 550GT at Colouration

Colouration, a London-based visual solution provider with a strong footprint in producing retail and store displays for the fragrance and cosmetics industry, has become the first company in the UK to install the high speed Océ Arizona® 550 GT UV flatbed printer.

Océ, an international leader in digital document management and printing for professionals, has strengthened its range of Océ Arizona UV flatbeds – the world’s number one selling product family in this sector – with the launch of the Océ Arizona 550 GT printer. The system is the fastest yet, printing at twice the speed of other Océ Arizona models; it can produce more than 40 square metres of high quality printing per hour, with stunning prints suitable for closely-viewed signage and Point of Purchase, made possible by Océ’s unique VariaDot™ imaging technology.

Colouration first saw the new system late in 2009, during a trip to Océ headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands, and was immediately impressed, says Managing Director Tony Dennington: “We went to Venlo and we liked what we saw. We did some tests of our own, and the quality was as good as, or better, than anything else out there. There are more expensive machines, but this is better. It was by far the best machine we looked at.”

Dennington reveals that the Océ Arizona 550 GT printer, which was installed in late January, will have a significant impact on the 31-staff company’s business. Colouration produces a lot of “visual merchandising” for retail and department stores – anything from magnetic wallpaper to backlit display units to hanging banners. Clients have included prestigious brands such as Thierry Mugler, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Before installing the Océ Arizona 550 GT printer, the company had to print onto rolls, and then mount the substrate onto board or perspex. Now, using the flatbed Océ Arizona 550 GT printer, Colouration can print direct to a wide variety of media types, including metals, woods, acetates and acrylics. The system also comes with a Roll Media Option, which Colouration has chosen to take, as it also has with the White Ink Option to augment the four-colour output with under- and over-printing capability.

Dennington says: “This is going to open the door to so many new ideas, things that we hadn’t even talked about in the past. Our creative team are falling over themselves coming up with new applications. For visual merchandising, the Océ Arizona 550 GT printer is a dream, with the quality, the detail it can produce, and the speed. I’m very, very happy.”

The Océ Arizona 550 GT printer allows print companies to take on peak demand and rush jobs with confidence, due to its productivity and image quality. The next generation model in the award-winning Océ Arizona Series, it uses UV curable inks and Océ VariaDot technology to deliver near-photographic image quality. Designed as a true flatbed, it can print on a wide range of rigid substrates up to 1.25 by 2.5 metres, and roll media up to 2.2 metres wide.

Dominic Fahy, Business Group Director, Display Graphics and Imaging Supplies, said: “The initial response to the Océ Arizona 550 GT printer has been overwhelmingly positive, as companies like Colouration have found.  Océ is proud of its reputation as an innovative company that’s continually bringing new products and services to the market. This is a major step forward with another addition to  the world’s number one selling product family in this sector. We are delighted.”

Durst Rho 320R with Rho Roll ink listed by 3M Performance Guarantee Program

The Rho 320R using Rho Roll inks have been listed by the 3M Performance Guarantee Program, guaranteeing that the printers are designed, engineered, developed, tested and manufactured for optimal compatibility and performance for 3M’s qualified media portfolio (ControlTac Graphic Films, Controltac Graphic Films with Comply Adhesive, Scotchcal Graphic Films and Scotchlite Reflective Graphic Films).

More details available: PDF-download

The above mentioned media are 3M trademarks.

 

Inca Onset S20 extends gamut at FESPA

Inca Digital shows an enhancement to the high-performance, wide-format Inca Onset S20 UV inkjet flatbed printer at FESPA on Fujifilm Sericol's stand (Hall B1 Stand 220). Inca will demonstrate an expanded gamut capability using Uvijet Ultratone ink to increase quality perception. This, coupled with Inca's use of 28 picolitre drop print heads, produces smooth colour transitions reducing the graininess of light colours and producing smooth skin tones. This capability is critical for closely-viewed point of sale advertising, particularly for high value cosmetic and fashion products.

The Inca Onset S20 is the newest addition to the Inca range of printers and enables companies to offer print volumes on a wide variety of materials with shorter turnaround times at highly competitive prices. Following its launch last year, Inca Onset S20s are in operation across Europe today and buoyant sales are continuing as companies invest to enhance their production capabilities.

"It's 10 years since we launched the first Inca Digital flatbed printer and we continue to lead the industry with innovative systems such as the Spyder range and the flagship Inca Onset and Onset S20", says Linda Bell, CEO, Inca Digital. "The market for large format digital print has grown exponentially and our latest developments in software, automation and ink options are all about giving our customers new levels of productivity and flexibility."

With the capability to print edge to edge onto substrates of 3.14m x 1.6m and 50mm thick, at speeds of up to 250 sq m/hr, the Inca Onset S20 also features a gloss level control to produce finishes from matt, through satin to high gloss, depending on application. Flexibility is a key feature of this machine and the ability for printing companies to choose a colour configuration to suit their business is an important factor in its success. The introduction of light cyan and light magenta expands its capabilities and opens up lucrative new sectors for our customers.

In addition, both the Inca Onset and Onset S20 have the ability to maximise productivity through Inca's new Print Run Controller (PRC) software module. PRC assists in the production of an individual order incorporating different elements whether they are images, text variations or languages. It is also applicable when a large number of images need to be output in varying quantities with variable elements to a large number of recipients, preventing workflow bottle-necks, streamlining production and thereby reducing both operator error and post-print collation requirements.

Inca offers a range of UV inkjet flatbed printers in a choice of formats, speeds and colours. Go to www.incadigital.com to see full details.