Wide format printing represents the best opportunity for new revenue streams for many print businesses. Next month sees the the world’s premier trade show Fespa Global open its doors, and many ANZ print businesses will be making the trek to Munich. Print21 looks at what we can expect to see.
Agfa (stand B4-L10)
Agfa will have a new ink, the VGF UV ink developed to fit the Jeti and Anapurna series, that the company says will provide a great abrasion and chemical resistance performance, making it suitable for outdoor applications. Key advantages of the VGF ink include the wide range of media type from rigid to more flexible media, large color gamut and low ink consumption saving on costs.
Printers on show on the Agfa booth are the Tauro H3300 and Anapurna H3200i.
The 3.3m wide Jeti Tauro H3300 LED runs with full automation and is available as a roll-to-roll system or with manual loading and unloading, semi-automation or full automation.
Three colour configurations are also available; the six-colour (CMYK, light cyan, light magenta) Jeti Tauro H3300 LED 6C, the sixcolour plus white Jeti Tauro H3300 LED 6C W12 and the six-colour plus white and primer Jeti Tauro H3300 LED 6C W8P4.
Aristo (B4-K20)
The German manufactured Aristo cutting tables are supplied in Australia by Neopost. There are currently four models in the range, with the largest the Aristomat LFC large format cutter, available in widths up to 5345mm and lengths 7400.
Canon (B5-E30)
Among the technology on its booth Canon will have its new imagePrograf TM series of wide format printers, designed for poster printing, CAD and the AEC markets.
The imaging giant will also have four types of waterproof poster media with adhesive backing, that it says achieves excellent weather resistance, enabling users to create outdoor signage for a variety of scenarios.
Canon says using the new printers and the new media means there is no need to laminate prints for outdoor work. The company says the prints are light resistant, and water resistant, so can be used for both indoor and outdoor applications.
The new imagePrograf TM range is available in 24” and 36” versions.
Durst (B4-J10)
At the show printers can expect to see the Durst Rho roll-to-roll Rho 512R Plus and Rho 312R Plus, and the new Rho 512R and Rho 312R with LED UV curing technology. Durst says the newly developed LED ink enables higher performance in terms of adhesion, no tack and less odour.
There is a new unwinding and rewinding system, productivity is up to 386 sqm/hr and versatility includes multiple roll printing, double side printing, and on the textile printing option a cutting device.
Also on the booth will be the Rho 1300, for customised mass production. With customconfigurable automation, Durst says even complex orders can be processed profitably with short response times.
The new Rhotex 325 dye sublimation printer will also be shown. Durst is expanding its successful portfolio of printers for soft signage and textile, which now includes direct- and transfer-printing systems for all market needs.
EFI (B5-E10)
New from EFI are the h3 and h5 Vutek LED printers. The belt-driven 3.2m-wide h3 is a completely new hybrid platform that is not based on anything that has gone before. Its prinheads have a drop size of 7pl and operate in greyscale mode. The 10-channel h3 can print up to nine layers in a one pass. Resolution is up to 1,200dpi. The h3 is field upgradable to the h5 configuration, which has five rows of heads, compared with three on the h3.
Target market is out of home, point of sale and high quality graphics markets. The h3 will run in variety of combinations in its ten channels, with either double CMYK or CMYK plus light magenta, light cyan, light yellow, light black and double white.
Maximum speed for the h3 is 288sqm an hour, while the h5 will reach 362sqm per hour. Maximum media thickness is 50.8mm for the h3, with two 1.52m rolls and maximum width of 3.2m.
Epson (B5-G10)
Epson will have a wide range of solutions on the shop floor, including new releases, and will be showing printers how to produce soft signage, home décor, t-shirts, as well as wide format printing. The F2160 is Epson’s latest generation direct-to-garment (DTG) printer. It features enhanced production flexibility, higher productivity, reduced maintenance, and a lower running cost.
Optimised for customisation and value-adding on cotton based garments such as t-shirts, polo tops, jeans and sweats, it will image onto a range of polyester sports and leisure wear, and can also be used for promotional and décor items including tote bags, tea towels and cushions. Prints can be made on pre-cut fabric or directly to finished garments with a heat press used to fix the dye.
Esko (A5-G10)
The Danish cutting table manufacturer has a range of products covering signage, POP, and corrugated, and sample making, which can come with automated feed and delivery.
The Kongsberg cutters for signage come with a MultiCUT tool head. This tool head offers milling productivity and a camera system. A wide range of printed materials can be cut, routed and creased with perfect results.
The Kongsberg cutting tables for POP and corrugated production have the power it takes to finish POP displays and corrugated items quickly and accurately.
Fujifilm (A5-G15)
Imaging giant Fujifilm will have its latest grand-format print system – the Acuity Ultra – on the stand. It describes Acuity Ultra as ‘a high quality, cost-effective, super-wide UV platform for the production of high-end interior graphics and outdoor signage’.
Available in both 5 metre and 3.2 metre models, the Acuity Ultra is available with up to eight colour channels, using a new, high-quality, low film weight Uvijet GS Fujifilm ink, which is Greenguard approved. It has a throughput of up to 236sqm per hour.
With a 3pl drop size ensuring what the company says is the highest possible quality, the Acuity Ultra is aimed at the high-end indoor display market, especially for luxury brands, with the quality comparable with litho and leading water-based ink systems.
Based around conventional UV technology, it also runs at much higher speeds than LED cured machines, but as the vacuum table is efficiently water-cooled, there is not an excessive build-up of heat on the print plate, meaning no shrinkage.
HP (A5-F30)
On the stand wil be the new HP Latex flatbed printers, including the 64m-wide Latex R1000 which prints on substrates up to 50mm thick. The R1000 is a 1.64m-wide machine designed for printing signage and displays on both rigid and flexible media. It is a smaller version of the R2000, a 2.5m wide printer.
Both machines make use of HP’s redesigned Latex inks. The R1000 is capable of printing at up to 57sqm/ hr. The HP Latex R1000 has been developed to print a wide range of flexible and rigid media including applications for retail, outdoor signage, window graphics, events and exhibitions, and decorations.
Capable of printing onto substrates up to 50mm thick, the R1000 makes use of HP Latex White ink to deliver glossy white on transparent and coloured media waste-free.
Kornit (B6-A13)
Among other products on the stand Kornit Digital will have Atlas, a new heavy-duty direct-togarment (DTG) printer created to produce digital t-shirt and garment decoration on an industrial scale on the stand at Munich.
Supplied in Australia by Kissel + Wolf, the Atlas will deliver a typical annual production capacity of up to 350,000 impressions.
It is aimed at highly productive garment decorators, mid to large size screen printers, and, according to Kornit, businesses looking to combine digital technology with the lowest cost of ownership for a move into textiles.
It will typically be used in flexible garment production for print-ondemand and e-commerce, producing run lengths from one to 1,000, with set-up time virtually zero according to Kornit.
Mimaki (B6-A30)
Mimaki will have a large range of products on show, with roll to roll and flatbed, including its new TS55- 1800, a 193.8cm dye-sublimation transfer inkjet printer.
Mimaki says the TS55 will run unattended, and is aimed at the textile and apparel markets, offering a cost effective solution which Mimaki says brings high end features to the entry level and mid level markets.
The TS55-1800 prints at 140 sqm/hr. The transfer paper comes in 2500m lengths from Neenah Coldenhove. It prints at a resolution of 480x600dpi, and runs eight channels, which can be configured with Mimaki’s Sb610 inkset, available in CMYK plus light black, cyan, magenta and fluorescent pink or yellow.
Mutoh (B5-F29)
On the stand at Fespa, among its other printers, will be the VJ1638- UH hybrid printer, that offers both flatbed and roll-to-roll printing options. Capable of printing on roll and rigid media, Mutoh says it is designed for print businesses looking to move into UV.
With its long-life cool LED lamps and its ink adhesion qualities, the 1638UH is a versatile printer that can print on a wide variety of substrates up to 15mm thick and rigid medias up to 1.6metres wide.
For promotional companies, the new VJ-626UF LED-UV printer has a large bed size (594 x 483mm), and the ability to print in the round with the optional rotary unit which can print onto cylindrical items.
ANZ visitors to the Mutoh booth should also keep an eye out for the flatbed PJ2508, just launched in Europe, and set to arrive here later in the year. It has a 1200x2400mm bed.
Océ (with Canon)
Océ will have its new Arizona 1300 flatbed printer series on show, the printer designed for mid-volume sign and display graphics producers, aimed at production efficiencies, and addressing market demand for more varied applications.
Suited for producing up to 15,000sqm per year, and offering printing speeds up to 52.8sqm per hour, the Océ Arizona 1300 Series comprises six models.
To maximise productive uptime, the Arizona 1300 printers are the first Océ flatbed products to feature LED curing options, offering customers the scope to print as needed from standby mode, without waiting for UV lamps to heat up.
Also centre-stage will be the Colorado 1640, whose UVgel ink technology uses a gel-based ink, ensuring instant pinning and dot gain control, low-temperature curing suitable for thin and heatsensitive media, and odourless, instant-dry printout.
Ricoh (B4-K31)
On its 304sqm stand Ricoh will present solutions designed to support print production environments that want to enhance or expand the services they offer.
There will be a new large format flatbed system. There will also be some DTG, ink and printhead technology news. We’ll have to wait for the show to find out what.
Among the systems designed to meet an increased need to deliver broader job capabilities, as well as faster short run production and elevated productivity, is the Ricoh Pro L5160 latex roll-to-roll printer.
For those intending to move into garment decoration, there is the easy to use Ri 100 Direct to Garment printer. For higher production demands, there will be the Ri 6000 Direct to Garment solution. Both enable print providers to deliver flexible, cost-effective digitally printed offerings including T-shirts, cloth bags, hoodies and sweatshirts.
Starleaton (various)
Wide format, commercial and textile printers looking for the latest print solutions are beating a path to Starleaton’s door, with the national supplier bringing a wide range of hardware, software and media into Australia from leading overseas developers. Its presence at Fespa will be large, with all its wide format principals at the show, and many of them having new releases.
Among the hardware supplied by Starleaton is EFI, for which it is the sole Australian supplier. In addition Starleaton supplies Epson, Ricoh, Roland DG, Oki and Canon print systems. Multiple solutions means Starleaton is strong in various markets, for instance in textiles it supplies both EFI with its FabriVu, and Epson with its SureColors. Similarly while it supplies the grand format EFI printers it is also in the centre of the roll to roll market, with the entry level Canon imagePrograf systems through the mid tier Roland, Epson and Ricohs.
In finishing it supplies the Zund systems for flatbed cutting, The Swiss manufactured Zund range of cutters is extensive, with three models and three or four versions of each model. Fespa will have the latest developments on the stand. Starleaton also supplies laminators, and calendar units. Media comes from an exclusive range of world leading companies, including the likes of Neenah Coldenhove and Hahnemuhle.
swissQprint (A5-H30)
Swiss wide format developer swissQprint – supplied in Australia by Pozitive - is set to launch Karibu, its first reel-to-reel wide format print system, with Fespa in May slated for the launch. Pozitive, managing director Philip Trumble tells Print21 that all will be revealed at the show. He says, “We don’t have many details but what we do know is that it will have the renowned swissQprint quality and reliability.”
The company claims that Karibu ‘has features and capabilities like no other large format printer’, and comes ‘packed with all the experience we have gained over decades of developing and manufacturing high-quality flatbed printers’.
Trumble says, “We will be taking orders at the show, when we will know what the production schedule will be.”