EFI launches 1000sph single pass display printer

EFI will launch what it says will be a 1000 boards an hour inkjet UV printer later this year, based on the Nozomi C1800 Plus, and which is targeted at high-volume sign and graphics businesses.

 High volume: The 1000sph EFI single pass display print system, due to be launched later this year

The new solution will be the first single-pass inkjet printer from EFI dedicated to display graphics, with EFI saying it will leverage the proven capabilities of the Nozomi C18000 Plus printer, which is being used for direct-to-board corrugated packaging production.

EFI says with this new 63-inch wide single-pass solution, users can print skids of synthetic media and paper-based materials at speeds of up to 1000 sheets or boards per hour. A future upgrade for the printer will also allow for conversion to roll-to-roll production.

EFI says the new printer will challenge screen printing for long run display graphics work, saying its total cost of ownership and per square metre cost will be competitive. Digital print systems for display have until now bowed to screen when it comes to longer runs.

“When EFI announced EFI Nozomi single-pass technology at drupa 2016, the company was surprised at the level of interest expressed in this printer by display graphics customers, and we have been able to respond to demand with the most productive solution dedicated to that market,” said Ken Hanulec, vice president of worldwide corporate marketing, EFI.

“Single-pass technology, done right, has the potential to change every print vertical it touches and give our customers unprecedented new opportunities. As the leader in advanced UV LED digital production solutions, we are excited to bring the important efficiencies and throughput advantages of EFI’s proven single-pass technology to the display graphics market.”

EFI says the new single pass printer will be operating at speeds that are “up to three to four times faster than the most productive shuttle-based/multi-pass printers” and says this translates into a lower total cost of ownership, and higher profit potential, for high-volume demand.

EFI claims the printer can give users the lowest cost per square metre in the market, while also giving them the greatest application range. The seven-colour printer delivers a wide colour gamut with six colours - CMYK with optional orange and violet inks - plus white.

The printer’s on-board quality inspection system checks for colour uniformity, as well as for nozzle-out and other defects, to further ensure optimum print quality.

EFI says all of these factors make the single-pass for display graphics printer the digital competitor on a cost basis to many analogue print applications. It says the new system will enable display graphics producers to bring digital print’s versatility advantages, such as seamless versioning and design change capabilities, to long-run work.

According to EFI this new high volume single-pass digital solution will deliver the benefits of digital to new quantity levels that some print providers traditionally approached with analogue methods. It says users can eliminate the significant waste associated with analogue screens and production make-readies, bringing a significant environmental advantage to digital display graphics printing.