Friday, 04 Jul 2014 17:37 GMT

Wide-format Presses

With end-users demanding increasingly rapid turnaround times, Brendan Perring asks: “How important a factor is speed in the development of new wide-format presses?”

A flexible focus

The speed of the print is only one part of the puzzle. The whole workflow has to be quick; so you want an easy RIP software that enables you to quickly get the artwork in and set it up correctly, and then get the machine printing quickly, allowing you to finish the overall job in a very good time.

It is important your software integrates well with your printer, which is where Roland DG can help. We supply all of our machines with our own software, so the integration is very quick and easy. Features like the Pantone library built into it means it is easy to get the exact colours your customers are looking for, while having a wide availability of ready to go profiles means it makes no difference which material you print, you can still get that high-quality output for your client really quickly and easily.
 
The other thing to consider is the reliability of your printer. It is all very well to have a fast machine, but if it cannot do it day-in day-out then it is not going to be able to provide the on-demand production that you require. What you want is a tried and tested platform that is built to last. The XF-640 is the fourth generation of the SolJet, so it certainly ticks that box. It has the ability to cope with faster turnaround times, but people may not use this speed on an everyday basis. It offers the flexibility to print very high quality, while offering the extremely high speeds when required.

Speed needs to be considered in combination with the application. It is about educating the customer on what they are going to get at the speeds they require.

Speed needs to be considered in combination with the application. It is about educating the customer on what they are going to get at the speeds they require”


Do not compromise


Marc Verbiest, international public relations manager, EFI




Speed covers many considerations in today’s wide- and super wide-format printers. It is an element that should not just be judged on a standard throughput rate offered by manufacturers on the specification sheet, where various passes and resolutions are outlined to justify the numbers. These days, there is certainly immense pressure put on machine suppliers to generate faster results, driven by the perceived need by service providers and display producers to improve turn-round times and increase their workloads.

However, how quickly a print engine performs is reliant on many variables and not just on how fast the head carriage passes across the material. The secret to a consistently fast wide-format printer lies in its productivity, and this relies on efficiency and optimal handling of a job from the moment it is generated to the delivery of the end result. The fastest printer in the world will not show its benefits if preparation is slow, RIP times are cumbersome, and set-up is onerous and error-prone.

EFI’s philosophy has always been to include the relevant elements of a job when asked to quantify true production rates. This is because we take into account every aspect in the cycle, from incoming data from various sources, through prepress to the printing of the job. This is the only way to help customers assess true speeds.

It should also be considered that higher speeds of throughput should not compromise quality at any point in the process. Speed tends to be a contentious topic among print-service-providers, so manufacturers should make sure that any quoted and claimed statistics can be justified to ensure that the expectations of their end-users are satisfied.

EFI’s philosophy has always been to include the relevant elements of a job when asked to quantify true production rates”


Keep your quality


Michael Lackner, head of marketing, Durst Phototechnik Digital Technology GmbH




Speed is only part of the equation to provide a rapid turnaround. Of course it is a vital ingredient. At Durst we continue to develop new, faster, UV wide-format inkjet printers and the new machines that were demonstrated on our stand at FESPA Digital 2014 are all the most productive in their class.

However, productivity is more than just speed alone; workflow is also a vital factor as it could easily lead to a bottleneck of work. It requires fast pre and post-printing systems. These can include sophisticated software packages, careful monitoring of the whole production process, and other software help such as PPS systems. Our wide-format roll printers, for example, are able to print more than one roll of media side by side, each with its own print queue effectively doubling the number of printed jobs. Also, we have found that post-production digital cutters can provide highly-sophisticated finishing, but they are not always able to keep up with the output from our printers and, again to avoid a bottleneck, some customers use analogue finishing equipment for speed.

My third point is flexibility. To successfully process many different jobs it is necessary to be able to change both media and digital files (images or data) very rapidly and also be capable of fast ripping and continuous printing of different data held in a print queue. Once again, Durst printers are the most flexible on the market and a single operator is able to change one material for another in seconds, even heavy rolls.

Finally, we must not overlook quality with printing at higher speeds, as customers now take quality of print as a given. 

Productivity is more than just speed alone; workflow is also a vital factor as it could easily lead to a bottleneck of work”


Creating a balance  


John de la Roche, national sales manager, Hybrid Services














We live in an increasingly fast-paced world and the wide-format print industry is no exception to this. Look at the history of print technology over the past 20 years and you will see product development has been driven by more than just print speed. Factors such as performance, price, and reliability need consideration prior to investment, while running costs, green credentials, after-sales service, and technical support are also thrown into the mix. Print-service-providers  (PSPs) rarely want to compromise on quality, so as with many things, it is about creating a balance.

When investing in new technology, PSPs need to find that balance and then assess the products available to them based on real life scenarios, such as how long will it take to produce their work and what will their end product look like. There is a lot of excitement around Mimaki’s SUV printer, which scores strongly on this. It marries impressive production speeds to an instantly dry print, so any trimming or finishing, such as laminating, can be carried out immediately with no gassing off required. This shortens the ‘real world’ job time enormously—allowing print companies to respond rapidly to short turnaround jobs.

Mimaki has a substantial collection of printers with speeds that range according to budget and need. With the world’s fastest dye- sub printer and a whole host of other volume production solutions in its line-up, there’s plenty there to feed the demands of companies requiring significant throughput, but it continues to listen to the requirements of the market. Developing products that deliver output that matches end-users’ requirements without compromising on print quality. Speed, as many people know, is nothing without control.

Print companies rarely want to compromise on print quality, so as with many things, it is about creating a balance”


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