Vivid signage solutions converge at drupa 08”
drupa 2008, surely lived upto its expectations, further developing its global significance and attracting around 3,91,000 visitors from 138 countries. The expo was truly digital for both narrow as well as large format, with a host of new offerings from the established players in the field.
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The world’s largest and most important fair for the printing and media industrydrupa (May 29-June 11, 2008) – far exceeded the expectations of the visitors as well as exhibitors. At the end of the 14-day fair, the 1,971 exhibitors from 52 countries were unanimous in reporting an extremely high number of promising contacts and successful deals. “drupa 2008 has sent out a clear signal: thanks to numerous innovations and new fields of business the print media sector is as agile as ever,” summarised Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, drupa president and CEO at Koenig & Bauer AG. “This is clearly reflected in the numerous deals concluded with virtually all key business regions.” Overall, drupa exhibitors announced deals worth more than Euro 10 b. Sectoral insiders suspect the actual investment sum to be considerably higher.
Around 391,000 visitors from 138 countries and 3,000 journalists from 84 countries travelled to Düsseldorf to gather information on innovations, further developments and new fields of business. Accounting for 59 % of visitors the proportion of international visitors rose by four percent, over the last event four years ago.
A clearly positive response was also recorded on the specialist supporting programme. With its over 130 exhibitors as hub for innovations in the digital supplies sector, the drupa innovation parc reported an extremely successful initiative. New in 2008 drupacube at the exhibition centre provided a symposium centre for print buyers at the fair. Payable at an extra charge, these nine focal days prompted more than 830 print buyers to attend drupa. The exhibition “Outstanding Print Products from throughout the World” went down very well with drupa visitors and different firms and used the drupacube as a party location for their staff parties. Another highlight was the Xing party where different Xing groups celebrated deep into the night of June 7, 2008 under the motto “print sells”. Here are the highlights of the major exhibitors from the signage industry:
Agfa: The company’s stylish stand caught the eye of the crowd and their innovative solutions met with general approval from numerous print professionals.
The first generation of Agfa Graphics’ inkjet systems met with great success at drupa. The company sold Anapurna wide format printers, Dotrix single-pass inkjet presses and high-end M-Press industrial inkjet presses for a total value of approximately 15 million Euro. In the wide format UV arena, Agfa Graphics took orders from all over the world for over 100 systems, with the new Anapurna XLS, launched at the show, as a star performer.
Anapurna XLS, a new wide format UV inkjet is a 2.5 m wide printer, available with choice of speeds. It uses Agfa’s Universal Print Head technology with 1,440 dpi maximum resolution. Also launched at drupa were Anapurna My and M4f, new variants of 1.6 m wide M model, which can print on both rigid and roll-fed media. My is an entry-level UV inkjet, whereas M4f is for industrial use as it is designed for heavy workload.
While speaking to journalists, Richard Berhan, VP, inkjet said, “We want to double the turnover in India. We are already very successful in newspaper and pressroom supply as well.”
Croma: The Croma Digipress, a high speed wide format digital press is a perfect fit for urban advertising system, it opens the new market of the short runs by allowing one to print paper posters at high speed in the shortest time.
The Croma Digipress joined the very selective club of the high speed wide format digital printing with the maximum speed of 350 sqmts/hr in 4-colour and resolution of upto 600 dpi at drupa.
Canon: The company demonstrated new XPS solutions at drupa 2008, using Software Imaging’s PrintMagicXPS raster image processor (RIP) and XPSDrv driver, specifically designed for Canon’s large format printers (LFPs), to print CAD and general office documents on the new LP17. The accurate, high-speed XPS rendering results in high line fidelity for CAD applications and an exact rendition of colour, making Canon’s LFPs perfectly suited for the output of technical drawings and office printing where colour accuracy is key. According to Jon Williams, group product manager for Software Imaging, “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate XPS printing with Canon at drupa. Since PrintMagicXPS supports accurate colours through to 16-bit/channel colour rendering, Canon’s large format printers can take full advantage of these XPS solutions, ensuring that colour fidelity is maintained throughout the printing process – which results in stunning output.”
Durst: Durst launched the Rho SP 60 inkjet with a printing speed of 1050 m²/h at drupa and demonstrated a new quality standard for industrial roll-to-roll. The Rho SP 60 (Single Pass) is an industrial inkjet printer capable of printing at speeds up to 35 m/min in CMYK on a range of different materials including, cork, MDF, ceramic tiles, cardboard for packaging, plaster ceiling panels, plastics, and many more, up to a thickness of 3 mm and a width of 63 cm.
It is the world’s first industrial scale high speed direct digital printer for the decoration of wood panels. It offers significant economic benefits as well as exciting design advantages over traditional methods. With this technology, one can create an unlimited range of panels with different designs and by using several designs at the same time each panel can become unique.
Also launched was the new Rho 320R UV inkjet printer that established a new quality standard for industrial roll-to-roll printing. Precision components developed and perfected by Durst, such as the innovative Quadro Array printhead technology and the new print carriage concept, which includes a magnetic linear drive system, are important features of the Rho 320R. The unique and reliable high quality ‘white’ printing option, the light colour option and the enhanced user software with an integrated maintenance programme further support this new quality standard.
Eckart: With JETFLUID, ECKART offers the world’s first metallic digital ink for industrial digital printing. This digital ink offers completely new perspectives for print production, as the use of metallic colours in digital printing to date was unavailable. Starting with a solvent based silver inkjet ink the product portfolio will soon be expanded to UV and water borne systems.
Over the last two years, Eckart has put considerable resources into developing decorative metallic digital drop-on-demand inks. The first of these is a solvant based ink developed for Epson print engines demonstrated on a Mimaki JV 3160. As the products will need to be tailored to specific print engines and printing machines a whole line of products will emerge under the JETFLUID brand name. The company is currently working with most important printhead manufacturers, printing machinery producers and system integrators to qualify products for the individual systems.
EFI VUTEk: The company previewed the VUTEk DS series digital high speed, flatbed UV printer, which provides a digital solution for the production of POP-quality graphics at breakthrough speed with the advantages of UV technology and digital economics. The models displayed during the show were nonworking models, so visitors missed the chance to witness the actual action. This series is a new category of high speed digital flatbed printers, representing a tipping point in productivity, image quality and flexibility. It signifies a call to action for both analog screen printers and leading edge digital printers in terms of new economics and capabilities now available with digital print. The innovative DS Series design and architecture enables the cost-effective production of higher volume jobs than ever before possible using a digital press. The incredible speed and resolution made possible by the DS Series’ innovative high density print array sets this VUTEk printer apart from all other competitive offerings available in the market today.
VUTEk’s super high-speed digital flatbed DS Series produces sellable output at up to 557 square meters (6,000 square feet) per hour and uses a unique high productivity UV curing system, newly engineered from the ground up, to provide full curing at the fastest speeds. The DS Series accommodates a wide range of rigid and cut-sheet materials with a maximum media size of 1.6 meters by 2.4 meters (63 inches by 96 inches), up to 5.08 cm (two inches) thick.
Epson: The company displayed Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900, which boast high resolutions and advanced ink and colour, especially conceived for art prints and proofs. With their 11 new UltraChrome HDR pigment inks, including orange and green, one gets a large palette of colours as well as soft colour gradation. The smaller of the two printers, the Stylus Pro 7900 has a printing width of 24 inches, while the larger 9900 offers 44 inches. Both printers use the new TFP technology, which gives a resolution of 2,880 by 1,440dpi and produces droplet sizes starting from 3.5 picoliters. The system uses Epson variable ink droplet technology and operates at speeds of up to 40 m² per hour. The prints produced are said to have a durability of up to 200 years. At the Epson booth, the first solvent printer from Epson, the Stylus Pro GS6000, was also displayed. This model, with a printing width of 1.626 metres, is equipped with the capacity to produce water and UV resistant, scratchproof and quick drying prints for indoor and outdoor. When printing with special solvent inks, no VOCs are said to be set free, since the inks are based on ecological solvents where no additional ventilation is needed.
Esko: The company displayed a new line of high-performance Kongsberg XP tables specifically targeted at short-run digital converting. SignUp, a powerful but easy-touse layout program for digital sign and display applications, made the i-XE and i-XL tables even more productive and cost efficient.
Fujifilm: At drupa 08, Fujifilm Corporation unveiled their wide format printers line up, with ‘something for everyone’ from the highest performance UV flatbeds to an entry-level rollto- roll printer – all featuring Fujifilm Sericol inks.
The recently launched high-end printer Onset from Inca Digital at drupa had represented a breakthrough in digital printing technology, allowing Fujifilm to offer the world’s highest productivity of 500sqm/hr. Also launched a mid-range printer, the Fujifilm Acuity, capable of near-photographic image reproduction, has been highly successful since its introduction as a flatbed printer for PoP applications.
Additionally, the latest variant of the bestselling Inca Spyder 320 had also demonstrated live and features the Ultratone system to give extended colour gamut plus white. While entry-level printer at drupa, Fujifilm made a product technology announcement with a new XP200 printer, featuring the latest technology Fujifilm Dimatix printheads, designed for a range of applications from high resolution close up prints to PoP printing. This unique printer also features on-board colour measurement giving improved colour profiling and increased efficiency. In addition to the products featured, there were also the demonstrations of finishing equipment, 3D image reproduction.
Gandinnovations: The company, a world leader in grand format digital printer innovations showcased its top-of-the-range products at this drupa. Key highlights included the introduction of the new NanoJet UV True flatbed digital printer, the new Jeti 3348 Jetstream UV RTR digital printer and the award-winning Jeti 3324 Aquajet direct-tofabric digital printer as well as its full Jeti range of grand format digital printers.
Specifically designed to print photo-realistic quality outputs, the NanoJet uses 24 Spectra high performance printheads. Equipped with a silicone nozzle plate, this 15 pico liter head is specifically designed to deliver high resolution droplets. Printing at speeds of 220 sqft/hr (20.4 sqm/hr) in high quality mode with superb results, the NanoJet has a print area of 4’ x 8’ and prints in 6 colors at 1200 dpi, using Gandinnovations UV-curable branded inks. The NanoJet may become a true winner for any printshop needing to output a high quality product. With capability to print on glass, acrylics, dibond, aluminum, wood, steel, coroplast, formboard, styrene and much more. Gandinnovations also presented the Jeti 3348 Jetstream UV RTR, their brand new 3-meter UV RTR digital printer, which prints at lightning speeds of 2500 sqft/hr (230 sqm/ hr) in a 4-colour configuration; Jeti 3324 Aquajet direct-to-fabric digital printer; and Jeti 2030 X-2 UV True flatbed digital printer.
HP: HP announced theri latest digital printing products and technologies, which are designed to enable graphic arts customers to build their competitive advantage and successfully pursue profitable growth opportunities. These included the HP 104-inch Designjet L65500 Printer – the first of a new category of large-format signage printers with HP Latex Inks that reduce the impact of printing on the environment and offer broad outdoor and indoor application versatility, while delivering quality and durability at high print speeds. Print service providers can expand their offerings with this single, versatile printer that can produce a variety of outdoor and indoor applications – from point-of-purchase displays, transit signage, wall murals and exhibition graphics to vehicle graphics and fleet marking – while delivering quality and durability at high print speeds. Prints produced with HP Latex Inks are odourless and emit extremely low levels of volatile organic compounds. No special ventilation is required to meet occupational exposure limits.
According to Santi Morera, vice president and general manager, large-format printing commercial solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP, “We want to make sure that we are providing the best solutions for our customers and the environment. The HP Designjet L65500 printer with HP Latex Inks offers print service providers a compelling new alternative that allows them to expand the variety of environmentally-conscious outdoor and indoor applications they can offer while also improving their overall printing atmosphere.”
The company also launched new large-format media – including five recyclable substrates that are compatible with HP Latex Printing Technologies. Using a new, proprietary HP media surface-treatment technology, HP Tyvek Banner and HP High Density Polyethylene Reinforced Banner provide high image quality and durability when printing with HP Latex Inks or HP low-solvent inks.
Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP’s Imaging and Printing Group, during his presentation in the jam-packed hall on the opening day of drupa’08, said, “Driving a Print 2.0 revolution, focusing the internet and printing, in a new era to transform and move the industry forward, HP is growing apace, making printing relevant, with new digitallybased technologies, powered by the internet, driving real-time collaboration, fueling dynamic content creation and poised for unprecedented growth. Key enabler internet is driving parity to accelerate adoption, with tipping points, including speed, cost and quality in regard of organization, personalization and customisation.”
Vyomesh further revealed, “As analog screen printing limits efficiency, productivity, causing low margins, it is opportunity to capture bigger share of growing digital market in the world of signage. As per our estimate, there is $21 billion market opportunity for signage segment globally. With “turn-key” solutions enabling higher margins and ensuring brand consistency across applications, HP digital publishing ecosystem is the best option for that. Britten, under their landmark project for Daytona Motor Speedway, printed a series of 18m x 15m outdoor banners for the 50th Daytona 500 and over 14,000 square metres were printed under two weeks, achieving colour gamut and consistency across large and small banners.”
Konica: The company displayed a new piezo on-demand printhead with 1024 nozzles. The new KM1024 inkjet printhead features 1024 nozzles, twice the number of the nozzles of the KM512 series, which has been favourably accepted in the industrial market. The printhead width of the KM1024 measures 72mm, double that of the KM512 series currently available in the market, greatly enhances the productivity. Technologically, the newly developed actuator structure, coupled with the increased head width, contributes to the enhancement of piezoelectric efficiency and allows the printhead to be driven at a lower voltage, resulting in lower power consumption. In addition, the new IC incorporated in the product allows images to be printed with eight tone levels, ensuring higher quality printed images. A slim design of KM1024 allows users to design compact print unit with multiple printhead units. It is also compatible with various types of inks, including solvent, oil, UV and aqueous inks to better serve industrial needs, and respective models are scheduled to be added to its product line.
Full-colour inkjet printer, KMIJ-X Printer (reference exhibit), incorporating high performance KM512 printhead suitable for printing colour-proof sheets, packages, and graphic posters, was also demonstrated at the booth for the first time. It enables to print at maximum width of 44 inches with 720dpi/ 1440dpi resolution on various media – coated paper, uncoated paper, PVC, synthetic paper, etc.
Matan: Matan, the original innovator of the Super-wide Format (SWF) digital printing industry, presented the next generation of their Barak5 – now offering production speed of over 300 m²/hr, while maintaining its versatility and high print quality. Live demonstrations of the Barak line were given during the show.
According to Hanan Yosefi, president and CEO, “Matan is constantly seeking new ways of improving their products and meet the most demanding customers’ requirements. The new Barak5 allows users to improve productivity and the overall performance of their print shop, while enhancing quality for their customers.”
The Barak is a SWF line of digital printers, using UV-curable inks, available in 5m & 3.5m widths, easy to operate and said to be guaranteeing a low total cost of ownership. It incorporates leading print-head technology, featuring 32 print-heads with drop sizes starting at 30 picoliter for high-quality output. Its extended colour gamut and flexible inks (Barak UV 300) enable it to target a wide range of demanding applications.
Barak is the only 5m wide UV, hybrid printer in the market that handles both flexible and rigid materials, either coated or uncoated. Its optional multi-roll feature enables the Barak to easily print on up to three rolls simultaneously, making it the perfect solution for printing in demanding production environments. In addition, the printer can run at various printing modes from POP quality to billboards beyond 300 m²/hr – no ink switching needed – which saves precious production time as well as significantly improving ink consumption.
In addition, Matan exhibited the flagship of its Thermal Transfer product line – the Matan SprinG, an industrial 12 inch (30 cm), roll-toroll digital printer, designed for fast, durable, short runs with vivid colours for labels, decals, membranes, traffic and other signs. Matan’s Thermal Transfer product line also features the Matan Spot4 – A unique, industrial 36’’ wide (91.5 cm) digital printer, perfect for short-run productions of window decoration and traffic applications. The Spot4 enables printing up to 4 colours in one pass using special “etching” ink for imitating traditional sandblasting and creating permanent and customized images on glass.
Meital: At the recently concluded drupa, One Solution unveiled SA Meital-3000 10 UV flatbed printer for advertising POP POS with Xaar HSS 1001 grayscale printheads. This flatbed printer is the first printer to harness the Xaar HSS 1001 printhead.
Based in Belgium, One Solution is a new company established by experienced people from wide-format inkjet printing industry and other fields. And Meital is a company formed by the engineers coming out from NUR.
Mimaki: The company unveiled the hybrid UJV-160, a 60″ roll-to-roll large format UV curable inkjet printer. Since the printer utilises UV LED curing technology, the curing heat emitted by the UV lamps is very low. Therefore, this printer can accommodate heat sensitive media, such as PVC, which could not be printed upon before. Also for printing on rigid materials, an optional table is available. UV LED curing technology cuts the power consumption of the printer by about one forth in comparison to conventional UV curing methods. Through elimination of ozone generation during the curing process, the technology is far more environment-friendly and results in far less harmful working environments for operators.
The company also displayed JF (JF-1610 and JF-1631) UV curable inkjet printer series, which offers users the possibility of direct digital printing on large uncoated substrates, such as corrugated plastics, polyacrylics and uneven or irregular materials with resolutions of up to 1200 dpi at affordable prices. Both, JF-1631 and JF-1610, can be used for ondemand production of smaller items for various industries or jobs for larger applications, such as PoS displays. The effective maximum print area is 160 x 310 cm (JF-1631) and 160 x 100 cm on the JF-1610.
Besides the UV curable roll-to-roll inkjet printer, Mimaki also showcased their productive JV5-160 solvent printer for the sign market, which can print up to 1.6 m in width, with a top speed of 58 m2/h at 540 x 720 dpi in 4-colour mode.
Another innovation exhibited, IPH-300-L achieves a standard resolution of 600 x 600 dpi and can also be operated at a resolution of 600 x 1200 dpi for highest quality label production. Available with and without variable dot printing capabilities (four different sizes), the machine is equipped with a high speed RIP and processing features.
Mutoh Europe: The company showcased their latest innovations in the field of digital inkjet printing technology for commercial print applications, including their proprietary i² Intelligent Interweaving technology, drastically improving overall print quality and operator convenience. Apart from the latest Mutoh printer equipment, drupa visitors discovered Mutoh’s new wide-format UV inkjet printer, called Zephyr, engineered and developed at Mutoh’s European R&D centre.
Zephyr is a CMYK 64″ (165 cm) professional UV inkjet printer for roll-to-roll printing (vinyl, flex, mesh, PVC, soft sign, etc). The printer also handles rigid boards up to a thickness of 20 mm. It incorporates 4 high-end Xaar variable drop heads, offering high image quality combined with high productivity. The heads produce droplets as small as 8 picoliter resulting in pin sharp text and line art, whilst larger drops (16, 24, 32 & 40 pl) ensure excellent image saturation. Enabling 6 levels of greyscale, which is equivalent to 6 densities of CMYK, the printheads eliminate the need for extra process colours.
The company also showcased thier awardwinning Blizzard series printer, available in 165 cm (65″) and 224 cm (90″) widths.
Visitors also witnessed Mutoh’s ValueJet family of Eco-Solvent Ultra printers, i.e. the new ValueJet 1614 eco ultra printer. ValueJet 1614 is a 165 cm (64″) wide printer, which incorporates a newly designed vertical cassette slot system, enhancing printer ergonomics and increasing ink capacity (440 ml), leading to lower production costs / m².
Océ: The company announced that they are set to transform the wide format printing industry with the launch of the new printing technology called Océ CrystalPoint. Customers can now enjoy consistent high quality toner prints in wide format colour, and the first system to utilise this new technology is the new Océ ColorWave 600.
The Océ ColorWave 600 delivers CrystalPoint quality prints on plain paper with world-class productivity for a wide range of applications. The 1-metre wide printer holds up to six media rolls and prints at speeds of up to 31 seconds per A0 sheet. This, said Océ, offers the best of both toner and inkjet technologies using patented Océ TonerPearls.
Océ claims their CrystalPoint technology is ideal for a wide range of applications including CAD plots, GIS documents and business graphs. Mass-market retailers can rapidly produce high quality colour signage with attractive prices to localise promotions and optimise sales opportunities.
The company also demonstrated the Océ Arizona 250 GT digital flatbed printing system, with a roll-to-roll option. This add-on enables users to print rolls and simultaneously prepare the next print job on the fixed-installation suction table. With one and the same system, customers can print signage, displays and banners, posters and backlit signs in superlative quality and at ultra-fast speed.
Roland DG: Visitors to the company’s booth saw the Roland Gallery – a showcase of inspirational products that stretches far beyond traditional signs, posters and banners. The Roland Gallery featured snowboards, sports wear, serving trays, roller-blinds and even shoes, lampshades, a fridge and a grand piano, all adorned with prints produced with Roland DG machines.
A trip to Roland DG’s 111m² booth got the opportunity for everyone to see the company’s SolJet PRO III XC-540W with CMYK plus white ink, which can be used to print an extensive variety of applications or used as an undercoat to create stunning effects on a broad range of substrates. Along with this new technology, Roland DG’s stand also featured the latest in the world’s best-selling series of printer/cutters, the VersaCAMM VP-300/540 and the SolJet Pro III XC-540 and XJ-640, as well as the AdvancedJet AJ-740.
Seiko Infotech: The company previewed a new 104-inch solvent inkjet printer, the “ColorPainter H-104S,” which achieves the class-fastest printing speed of 55 sqm/h with 8 colours while maintaining extremely high image quality and density. This printer achieves this speed by utilizing eight superwide, piezo inkjet heads. The speed is revolutionary because it is approximately 1.5 – 2 times faster than competing models in the same price/width class.
The new inkjet heads offer true 720 dpi resolution and bigger droplet sizes by firing multiple drops to maximize ink density levels – even at high print speeds. The printer offers new “mild solvent” ink set that has excellent colour and adhesion. The printer comes with 8 heads and can be configured two unique ways: eight colours with one head per colour (Y, M, C, K, Lc, Lm, Grey and Light Grey) for maximum image quality, or four colours with 2 heads per colour (Y. M, C, K) and thus can almost double the speed for maximum productivity.
The new ColorPainter H-104S incorporates new features, “Smart Pass Technology” to optimize pass-to-pass dot placement for smooth spot colours and gradients and “Automatic head height adjustment” to ensure the best image quality. In combination with these features as well as high speed and high ink density, this printer meets requirements for professional quality outdoor graphics and high volume users.
Shinko MechatroTech: The Company was established in 1937 and is headquartered in Tokyo Japan. Their principal areas of operation are manufacture, sales and maintenance service of communication equipment, peripherals and terminals. They launched DigiCube printer at the show. Sun Chemical: This ink giant partnered up with German company IMG Digipack to beta test their FastJet press, which is said to be the world’s fastest inkjet printing machine for corrugated packaging. The press uses UV inkjets which have been designed specifically for FastJet and are produced by SunJet, a division of Sun Chemical. It is based on fixed colour arrays, with nearly 500 printheads that allow full-colour printing at speeds of less than one second per square meter. Elsewhere at drupa, Sun Chemical announced details of new partnerships with environmental and health sciences consultancy Environ, Radius Solutions and Sigma Breakthrough Technologies. SunJet, the inkjet ink division of Sun Chemical, also announced about development of new and novel ink chemistry specifically designed for curing under exposure to UV light from LED sources. In laboratory tests line speeds in single pass applications have exceeded 100m or 300ft per minute.
Another introduction from them was UV cured inks for printing on thermo-formable media designed specifically for use with Durst digital presses. Durst is a leader in digital printing technology and with the creation of the new ink allows their customers to access new markets for advertising, displays and decoration of functional items. New opportunities include coordination of traditional advertising and point of sales displays with molded and formed displays. Durst and SunJet also see huge opportunities in the customization of sports and protective equipment such as cycle helmets. Technically, the new ink and printer system allows full forming on styrene, acrylic and many other plastic materials commonly used in displays and functional equipment. Highly challenging molds with 90 degree edges and more than 10cm (4 in) depth showed exceptionally good results on a wide variety of thermoplastics in customer trials.
Screen: Screen set out their stall to become a major player in the print-on-demand (PoD) arena by putting key focus on digital print at drupa. The company showcased new upgrades to the Screen Truepress Jet520, among other innovations. According to Tim Taylor, marketing manager, Screen, “This has been the best ever drupa for Screen. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our vision for a digital future in print. We have shown the broadest range of digital print technologies for the wide range of applications, spanning labels, transactional, newspapers, commercial and large format.”
Triangle Inks: Triangle Digital Inx Co, a member of INX Digital, has stepped up the pace in global ink leadership, partnering with LED curing specialist Summit UV in developing EVOLVE UV — the first UV LED-curing ink to deliver eyepopping 4-colour with single-pass throughcure at speeds of 80’ per minute or higher, running with Xaar 1001 piezoelectric printheads. All with no inert curing atmosphere.
“Compared to conventional high-intensity LED lights,” explained Mario Carluccio of Summit UV, “our Black Diamond 365 Series has a shorter (365nm) UV-light wavelength and much higher focused outputs — in excess of 6.0 watts per cm2.”
Xaar: A large number of Xaar printheadenabled printers were demonstrated at drupa by key industry suppliers, including at least six new products, making their worldwide debut. This sets a new record for Xaar, an independent supplier of industrial inkjet printheads, inks and peripheral equipment, and was the driving force behind Xaar’s ‘Unleash the power of inkjet’ theme for the show.
Designed for high-speed, single-pass and scanning applications, the latest Xaar 1001 printhead is based on Xaar’s innovative Hybrid Side-Shooter and TF Technology, which ensure accurate drop control, outstanding quality, productivity, and reliability. Most of the new products launched at drupa rely on either the Xaar 1001 or the Xaar 760 and XaarDOT (Xaar Drop Optimisation technology) for their highend performance.
Xaar’s on-stand technology demonstrations illustrated the impressive performance and ‘added-value’ potential of its latest printheads for commercial applications. Three ‘single-pass’ inkjet products show the industrial-strength Xaar 1001 producing high quality, high-speed single-pass printing producing fine detail and readable small text, as well as smooth tones.
Xaar also potlighted the flexibility and benefits of XaarDOT (Xaar Drop Optimisation Technology) and range of drop formation options and ability to fine tune them to specific applications. XaarDOT is incredibly versatile in giving printers the choice of what drop size or resolution to use for a specific job both in terms of image quality and substrate flexibility. By tuning the options, printer manufacturers can produce anything between high quality photographic results for close-up indoor viewing, and high productivity larger drop work for outdoor viewing on billboards or other signages.
Xennia: Xennia outshined at drupa, showing successful reliable industrial single pass printing. The heart of this reliable industrial inkjet system based on the Xaar 1001 head is the unique ink delivery system that recirculates the ink through the printheads. In a joint development programme with their Croatian partner; Hijet, Xennia has created an unrivalled industrial inkjet print platform. When combined with Xennia’s ink expertise this can be applied to a range of industrial applications where production reliability is a pre-qualifier to success.Xennia demonstrated two systems based on these developments for contrasting applications.
Zünd: The company, a worldwide leader engaged in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of multifunctional flatbed cutters demonstrated a digital cutting systems configured specifically for automatically trim-cutting any rolled materials used in digital printing, including textiles at drupa. Having decided to withdraw from digital printer market, Zund wished to take full advantage of the opportunities coming out of synergies of digital printing and finishing. Besides, showing a cutting system configured for contour cutting of lighter- weight materials, such as foam-core and corrugated cardboard, as well as for heavyduty routing of MDF, acrylic, and ACM materials like Dibond and Alubond, Zund also created its new logo, making it dynamic and international look.
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