Machine Matters

Drupa saw the launch of this larger version of SwissQprint’sexisting UV flatbed models. Nessan Cleary takes a closer look.

Among the new large-format printers launched at Drupa came the Nyala from SwissQprint, which will be handled in the UK by Spandex. The Nyala is a UV flatbed based on the same platform as SwissQprint’s existing Oryx and Impala flatbeds, but with a larger chassis giving it a 3.2 x 1.6m bed complete with a 3.2m wide roll-to-roll option. It has the same solid engineering approach as the other models, hardly any surprise giving that most of the people behind SwissQprint used to work on Zund’s UV printers, setting up their own company when Zund opted to concentrate on cutting tables.

Epson has a brand new solvent printer aimed firmly at the outdoor signage market. Nessan Cleary takes a look. 

Epson launched the SureColor SC S30600 at the Fespa Digital show in Barcelona earlier this year and these are now beginning to trickle into the UK.

Nessan Cleary reviews this entry-level printer which that claims the fastest speed in its class.

Fujifilm has launched the Acuity 1600 LED, a 1.6m hybrid printer built around a roll-fed chassis with tables supplied for handling rigid media. It’s built on a Mimaki chassis but product manager Gary Barnes says that it’s the Fujifilm technology that sets it aside: “This includes the ink that is developed by us and tuned for LED. That then passes through Q class heads from Fujifilm Dymatix, the same family that is used on the Inca Onset. And then there is the Fujifilm designed LED curing system.”

Nessan Cleary takes a look at the automated cutting tables as they return to the UK market.

Many readers may remember seeing the DYSS X7 series of automated cutting tables when they were launched in the UK last year. However, the tables have been hard to get hold of since the original distributor, B&P Graphics, went into administration. But earlier this summer a new distributor, AG/CAD, took up the baton and has since installed a demonstration model at its Cheshire office.

Sophie Matthews-Paul reports on the capabilities of this UV-curable printer, designed specifically for the production of traffic and safety signs.

With diversification and niche production opportunities now being sought by wide-format print service providers, manufacturers are seeking areas where their existing technologies can be adapted to suit new market needs. One such example lies with the Mutoh Zephyr, in itself a perfectly acceptable UV-curable machine, which has been modified so that it can now be used for the production of high quality road traffic and safety signs. This version is designated the Zephyr TS and incorporates modified UV-curable inks to cater for the specific requirements of this sector.