Melony Rocque-Hewitt finds out just what’s so intelligent about this mini-beast.
As is the case for all families, in order to understand the offspring you have to consider the parent, so before we take a closer look at Onset S20i introduced last summer, we need to look at the Onset series as a whole.
The Onset dynasty began in 2007 with the introduction of the Fuji Inca Onset 70, a hungry beastie (about the size of a small island!) that was created with the sole intention of spitting out print for the busiest, most demanding of customers without pause for breath.
Right from the word go the Onset 70 was designed to be the ideal and it has lived up to its technical vision to become the Fuji/Inca flagship printer. The Onset 70 is the world’s fastest automated UV flatbed system and the first machine on the market to utilise full width print arrays. It handles print sizes up to 3.2 x 1.5m and runs at maximum speeds of up to 750m2/hr (the equivalent of 150 bed sheets per hour).
A hugely powerful and capable solution, the Onset 70 is specifically designed for seriously high volume customers and as far as sales go, has a worldwide fleet of about 18 installations. Interestingly, according to Tudor Morgan, European group marketing manager at Fujifilm Europe, Graphics Division, most customers that bought the Onset 70 also opted for a second system.
Morgan says that from the off, it was always the Fuji/Inca intention to introduce new models to market. In late 2008, a more modest, mini–me version of the Onset 70 was introduced. Running diligently with top production speeds of 275m2/hr and a moving printable bed size of 3.14m x 1.6m, the S20 featured Fujifilm’s Uvijet, four-colour CMYK inkset with light cyan, light magenta and white ink options available in satin, semi-gloss and gloss finishes. In short, the S20 made Onset technology available to a whole swathe of smaller print shops at a far more accessible price point.
A larger sibling that plugged the gap between the S70 and S20 was launched in 2011. The Inca S40 featured the new Fujifilm Dimatix printhead, which enabled the printer to handle speeds of up to 475m2/hr across a bed size of 3.14 x 1.6m. The S40 was superseded by the upgraded S40i (i standing for intelligent) later in the year and this upgrade was applied to the S20 in the summer of 2012.
The new features of the S20i have been implemented to improve print quality, reliability and speed. Firstly, the S20i also features the new Fujifilm Dimatix printheads, which at 26 per colour have a maximum print speed of 310m2/hr (62 full bed sizes). The upgraded system also offers a choice of an improved UVijet inkset in configurations of either CMYKcm or CMYK + white in matt, satin and gloss finishes.
The S20i offers faster setup times, courtesy of a new 15-zone vacuum table that reduces the need for any masking of the bed to eliminate any UV light bounce onto a print. Now, says Morgan, masking is not required between 80 – 85% of the time, increasing customer productivity. Also now, the Onset 20i can cater for 80 ercent of standard media sizes used throughout the world.
A new sensor system has also been implemented that continually monitors the condition of the machine and automatically instructs the operator when to clean the machine as maintenance depends on the type and volume of work undertaken thus avoiding any unnecessary downtime.
The appearance too of new mechanical sensors means that substrate height can be detected far more accurately and as a result greater protection can be given to the printheads and the receiving substrate.
The addition of a ‘machine setup files’ function allows a huge number of variables to be captured and reloaded again and again, enabling machine operators to change quickly between substrates.
The Onset S20i is also available with Inca Digital’s optional flexible automation system, giving users the choice to operate the machine manually or with semi or three-quarter automation from the same configuration and supports Inca’s Print Run Controller (PRC) software module for variable data printing.
The Inca S20i, six-colour printer with three quarter automation, service, installation and warranty has a list price of £650,000.