Epson has announced the successors to its popular SurePress L-4033 series of small inkjet label presses: the SurePress L-4533A, a six colour aqueous resin ink machine, and the L-4533AW, a six colour plus white aqueous resin ink press.
Epson has four presses from the L-4033 series currently installed in Australia, as well as four in New Zealand. More than 200 are in operation worldwide. Terry Crawford, business development manager for professional print solutions at Epson, says the L-4533 series offers more than thirty upgrades over its predecessor. "One of the big ones is productivity – they’ve increased the speed. Previously most jobs would be printed in six and eight pass, and are now able to be printed in four and six pass. That translates to a 39 percent increase for coated and uncoated papers, and a 28 percent increase for coated and cast paper," he said.
The speed for variable data printing has also increased by 80 percent in four-pass mode and 28 percent in six-pass, and the machine can print on its own for longer. "It can now operate unattended for up to eight hours, up from four for the previous model, and uses a new edge smoothing function to deliver a higher quality print," said Crawford. "It can also print on unsupported films used for sachets and product samples."
Crawford says the L-4533 series is aimed at small to medium converters and at commercial printers looking to enter the label sector, and describes it as a cost-effective solution for short-run work. "If someone’s in the market for a model like this, they’ll certainly be looking at it particularly if they need to print white on clear and textured materials. Inkjet also has the benefit of not being a contact technology and prints beautifully on textured materials," he said.