Hands on - Image Reports

Hands On: Mtex 5032

Oct 27, 2014 | Hands on

Nessan Cleary asked users for their take on this all-in-one textile printer aimed squarely at the graphics market.

In recent years there have been quite a number of textile printer launches, mainly due to the growth in the garments and home furnishings markets. But there has also been movement in the soft signage market with textile printers producing flags and exhibition graphics as well as outdoor banners. But printing to fabrics is not quite as straightforward as with other substrates and many textile printers are designed to print to transfer paper first, necessitating a heat press for the actual sublimation – and the prints will also require fixation so they can be washed without the inks disappearing.

Hands On: Agfa Asanti

Oct 1, 2014 | Hands on

Nessan Cleary talks to Asanti user Barry Laver of Wincanton Print about his experiences with this wide-format workflow solution.

As wide-format printing continues to grow, so too do the individual service providers with most now having multiple printers. That usually means having to manage multiple Rips, which can complicate the workflow. We’ve taken a closer look at some of the issues around workflow and the various software options available elsewhere in this issue, but for this story we’ll concentrate on just one of these – Agfa’s Asanti – which was formally announced at the London Fespa show in June 2013 and has been shipping with most Agfa wide-format printers since the start of this year.

Hands On: Inca Onset S40

Sep 3, 2014 | Hands on

The Onset S40 promises high productivity but does it justify the cost? Nessan Cleary asks the question.

Until a few years ago people thought of digital printing as being only for short run until a couple of high production flatbeds appeared on the scene to challenge offset and screen printing. This month Image Reports looks at one of these, the Onset S40i, developed by Inca Digital but sold by Fujifilm.

Hands On: HP Wall Art

Jul 14, 2014 | Hands on

These days everything can be personalised. So how useful is this HP solution? Nessan Cleary asks those who have bought it.

Home furnishings and interior decoration are rapidly becoming popular wide-format print applications, with wall coverings high on the list. There’s a good range of wallpaper substrates available now and HP has built a complete solution around its latex printers that also includes design software, called Wall Art.

Hands On: Colorific Lightbar

Jun 11, 2014 | Hands on

The two most common ink technologies in use in wide-format today are solvent, which continues to offer good performance at low cost, and UV-curable, which will work with a wide range of media and can print direct to board. But now we are seeing a new type of ink emerge that combines the best of both of these ink technologies. The new inks are a hybrid technology with both solvent and UV-curable components. Essentially, the solvent is used in very small quantities to soften and key the media surface so that the pigments can penetrate into the media. The UV element then immediately cures the inks so that they are ready for immediate use, with no waiting around for the prints to out-gas. These type of inks typically have a bright colour gamut and a lower film thickness than with UV-curable inks.

Category: Hands on

Hands On: Mtex 5032

Hands On: Agfa Asanti

Hands On: Inca Onset S40

Hands On: HP Wall Art

Hands On: Colorific Lightbar

Latest Headlines

Upcoming Events