If it’s the end of the year it’s time to announce the Angel Awards. Each year Image Reports picks products introduced to the UK during the last year, and considered by the editorial team as innovative and likely to impact the wide-format sector. The accolades this year go to…
Inca Onset X
The new Onset X Series of flatbed UV printers feature a 25 zone vacuum table and UV control system to eliminate masking, and a carriage that can incorporate up to 14 ink channels. The range comprises the Onset X1 (560m2/hr), Onset X2 (725m2/hr) and Onset X3 (900m2/hr). Each can handle substrates up to 3.22m x 1.6m, and thicknesses up to 50mm.
Frequently-used formats can be automatically programmed and stored in a user-generated database, which Inca said can increase the Onset X Series’ productivity by up to 20% compared to previous Onset printers.
MTEX Blue
This is a real entry-level 1.8m direct-to-textile sublimation printer with in-built non-contact heat fixation. The four-colour roll-to-roll printer uses dye-based disperse or pigment ink and has adjustable resolutions of 360, 720, 1080dpi. It was announced last year, but started only shipping to the UK at the start of 2015.
Durst Rho WT 250 HS
Durst used Fespa 2015 to present printers running its Water Technology, a long-term development strategy to provide an eco-friendly alternative to UV-curing inks. The result of two years’ research is the Rho WT 250 HS for rigid and flexible large-format media. This hybrid printer takes materials up to 250cm wide and 40mm thick. It prints with a droplet size of 10 picoliters and can be configured with six-colours. Speed is up to 400m2/hr.
Roll-to-roll system for Screen Truepress Jet W3200UV
Inca had a hand in developing the roll-to-roll option for Screen’s flatbed 3.2m Truepress Jet W3200UV. The roll-feeder can handle rolls up to 3.2m wide and can keep up with the printer’s maximum speed of 150m2/hr. It attaches to the front and back of the W3200, with the media stretched across the bed. The system can be bought with the printer, or retro-fitted in the field.
SAi Flexi HP Wall Art interface
HP used Heimtextil 2015 to introduce its third generation WallArt Cloud-based service that helps simplify the design, visualisation and production of customised wall graphics. SAi followed with a new interface for large-format print providers to operate the application. With SAi Flexi’s new interface, jobs are now displayed with a preview in the Production Manager tool, a dashboard where the operator manages the queue and output device/s, checks job status and selects the order of files for printing. As is usual with SAi Flexi, the new interface uses JDF workflow to handle HP WallArt jobs.
Mimaki TX300P-1800
This 1.8m, roll-to-roll, direct-to-textile inkjet printer is just coming to market in the UK via Hybrid Services. The eight-colour machine can run dye sublimation, disperse dye, pigment, reactive dye, and acid dye inks to meet a wide range of application needs. Dye sublimation inks are available immediately, the others will follow soon. Resolution is up to 1,080dpi with drop sizes ranging from 6 to 24pl. Print speeds are up to 68m2/hr. Available is a choice Mimaki RasterLink 6 or TxLink3 Lite front ends.
Epson SureColor SC-P
Epson has added four new SureColor SC-P large-format inkjet printers to its range. Available in 24in and 44in widths, and eight- or ten-colours, the SureColor SC-P6000, SC-P7000, SC-P8000 and SC-P9000 incorporate Epson’s PrecisionCore printhead technology and Advanced Black and White (ABW) mode. The SC-P8000 and SC-P6000 use Epson’s eight-colour UltraChrome HD pigment-based inkset, while the SC-P9000 and SC-P7000 use the company’s ten-colour UltraChrome HDX inkset, incorporating a new violet ink. Both models are said to be able to achieve 99% of the Pantone colour library.
Onyx 12
This is latest generation Onyx wide-format workflow/Rip product delivers Rip speeds twice as fast as Onyx 11, provides a simplified user interface and has more advanced finishing tools. The system is available for the full Onyx product line including Thrive workflow software, ProductionHouse, PosterShop and RipCenter.
CMA Perfect Trans
Five years in development, this is marketed as a recyclable alternative to Duratran. Mark Sanderson, CMA MD said early versions required lamination to achieve the same sort of glossy effect, but the advent of HP’s latex technology proved a breakthrough. When
printed with water-based latex inks CMA Perfect Trans can be recycled in normal waste streams.
HP Scitex 11000
The HP Scitex 11000 is essentially an updated version of the HP 10000 and uses the same HDR printheads but with a HDR250 inkset that is suitable for a wide range of substrates including corrugated boards. Plus, the 11000 gains a new varnishing system, grandly titled Smart Coat technology, which HP says can obviate the need for any further lamination. It can produce up to 650m2/hr.
Cadlink UV Edition of Digital Factory Rip
Cadlink Technology provides this UV printing version of Digital Factory Rip software, which currently supports Mutoh, Mimaki and Roland printers as well a selection of third-party custom printers. Features include: automated underbase features including support for .pdf and .eps workflows; colour management, including handling of white ink as well as clear coat ink application; specialised production plug-ins directly within the Rip; and an automated black background ‘knock-out’ feature. It supports both bitmap as well as vector files, and allows printing directly from any design application.
EFI Midmarket Productivity Suite
Midmarket Productivity Suite has EFI Pace software as the core MIS and has various capabilities including marketing automation, ecommerce, Web-to-print, planning, imposition, scheduling, shop-floor data collection, fulfilment, warehousing, shipping, and direct integration to JDF-enabled EFI Fiery digital front ends. It delivers17 certified workflows for commercial, digital and wide-format printing.
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