Wednesday, 20 Apr 2016 18:50 GMT

Entry-level Wide-format Flatbed

Although a relative newcomer, wide-format flatbed print technology has moved quickly to the point that it is becoming essential kit for the sign-maker. Brenda Hodgson investigates

All things wide and wonderful

The ability to print directly onto rigid substrates is leading sign-makers to review their equipment inventory in the quest to maximise production efficiency and profitability. With this is mind, the industry is seeing an increase in demand for wide-format printers, but with the wide range on offer, what are the choices for those considering investing in this technology? Most wide-format manufacturers offer entry-level options, so here is a quick guide if you are thinking of ‘dipping your toe in the water’.

Getting your kit off

Entry-level wide-format production printing is one of the most active segments of the market for EFI, and the 1.6m wide EFI H1625 LED printer, a signage and graphics hybrid roll/flatbed production device, is one of EFI’s top selling printers worldwide. The company reports that customers are achieving profitable growth using grey-scale imaging and white ink, which is a standard feature on the H1625 LED. “EFI also has two new entry-level products that open the doors to opportunities for signage and graphics providers,” says EFI’s public relations manager, David Lindsay.
 
The EFI H1625-SD printer that was shown at FESPA Digital is a UV hybrid production printer that uses EFI SuperDraw UV ink for near-photographic imaging directly to thermoformable substrates. The SuperDraw ink won a 2015 Must See Ems Award for its ability to withstand heat forming and stringent finishing processes, such as die-cutting/routing and sawing, with no chipping, cracking, or loss of adhesion.
 
“Digital printing of thermoformed signage and other thermoformed products presents an important new opportunity in high-impact, 3D formed applications including outdoor signage, POP signs and displays, day/night backlit signs, promotional products, beverage lights and signs and vending and gaming panels,” explains Lindsay, adding: “With this printer, customers can replace very labour-intensive processes where signs are decorated by hand, or replace screen print applications that are only profitable or cost-competitive when used for large-quantity orders.”
 
Another new, entry-level hybrid roll/flatbed production offering from EFI, the EFI H1625-RS printer, allows for direct-to-substrate printing of regulated and non-regulated roadside safety and tourism signage using 3M inks.

Joe Wigzell, academy and creative centre manager at Roland DG states: “Today’s sign market is typified by intense competition due to the diverse range of wide-format inkjet printers available and an increasing demand for quick delivery in high quantities.


Joe Wigzell, academy and creative centre manager at Roland DG recommends checking out the wider services included before purchasing as it is not just the product you are purchasing but the services a company will provide post-purchase



Roland DG’s machines are, therefore, designed with the end-user in mind, offering functional, reliable and creative printing solutions to support profit-driven ventures.”

Today’s sign market is typified by intense competition due to the diverse range of wide-format inkjet printers available ”


Roland DG’s newest addition to its flatbed inkjet printer range is the VersaUV LEF-300, a powerful wide-format printer that enables users to customise a range of products and virtually any substrate up to 100mm in height and 8kg in weight. The LEF-30 has a larger capacity print area of 770mm wide by 330mm long, four print heads, and two UV-LED lamps which enable fast bi-directional direct printing.


Roland DG’s newest addition to its flatbed inkjet printer range is the VersaUV LEF-300, a wide-format desktop printer that enables users to customise a range of products and virtually any substrate up to 100mm in height and 8kg in weight



“With a growing consumer trend to-wards bespoke and highly personalised items and a demand for instant delivery, the Roland DG VersaUV LEF-300 printer enables customers to exploit this lucrative market by providing fast on-demand custom printing services,” adds Wigzell.

Hybrid Services’ national sales manager for industrial products, Stuart Cole says that Mimaki’s JFX200-2513 has become a real industry benchmark for entry-level flatbeds due to its affordable price tag. He comments: “However, its attractive price point is really the only thing about the JFX200 that is entry-level as it delivers superb quality and performance in a handy, industry standard 8’x4’ bed size and offers an array of diverse application potential with printing direct-to-object or onto rigid board.


Hybrid Services’ Stuart Cole says that what makes it so exciting for sign-makers branching out into flatbed printing is that they will quickly realise the tremendous potential at their fingertips



“The sky is the limit with a flatbed printer like the JFX200 and its ease of use gives great scope for print providers dipping their toe in the waters of direct-to-substrate printing to very easily become creative hothouses for bespoke, lucrative applications.”

The Fujifilm Acuity F is the recommendation of Steve Cookman, wider format inkjet solutions manager at Fujifilm UK. He explains: “For sign-makers looking for an excellent wide-format flatbed, the Fujifilm Acuity F offers extremely high productivity along with seven years of market-leading image quality, cutting edge engineering, and inkjet technology that delivers a state-of-the-art platform capable of a wide range of print applications. With a maximum print speed of up to 155 square metres per hour, the Acuity F was built for production.”


Fujifilm’s Acuity F, with a print speed of up to 155sq m per hour, has been optimised for efficient and high speed production of rigid media applications



The Acuity F also allows users to select the right production speed and image quality to produce close view to display print, while the addition of white ink further extends the application and media range to include clear and coloured substrates.
 
“Maintaining all the advantages of the popular and successful Acuity Platform, including near-photographic image quality, versatility and ease of use, the Acuity F has been optimised for the efficient and high speed production of rigid media applications,” expands Cookman.

Taking the plunge

The decision to add an entry-level device for rigid substrate printing often comes when signage companies evaluate the amount of time and labour they spend mounting prints. Moving that work to direct-to-substrate printing on rigid can create a significant cost and productivity benefit while leading to new and different applications that a signage producer or its customers may not have considered before.

When long-established offset printing company Crescent Press made the move to digital, it was determined to maintain its reputation for excellence. High quality, higher turnover, and a high return on investment were their key considerations when they chose EFI’s H1625 LED printer.

When choosing a large-format digital solution, Crescent Press’s emphasis was on achieving the best results throughout so that its inkjet applications would be produced to the same exacting levels as it had always achieved using offset.

“We were being asked to produce jobs such as interior and exterior banners plus display boards. And, although we started by outsourcing this type of work, it was obvious that our future plans would need to include our own wide-format production capabilities,” says Paschal Edwards, operations manager at Crescent Press.

O Factoid: Wide-format digital printing has a very short history within the context of the print industry overall as it only emerged at the end of the 20th century. O


When Crescent Press subsequently acquired the company to which it had been outsourcing all wide-format production requirements, it also inherited some solvent-based print-and-cut machines and an early hybrid UV-curable system. Recognising that the need to upgrade was essential, investment was made into a series of newer roll-fed printers but the increase in demand for printing direct-to-rigid substrates meant that a high-quality flatbed unit was required and, if it could work with roll-fed materials that would be an added bonus.

“High quality is extremely important to us, and this meant we needed to assess all the options available before drawing up a short-list and making a final decision,” adds Andy Matthews, Crescent Press’ managing director, adding: “After finalising the two primary contenders, we opted for the EFI H1625 LED printer.


The EFI H1625 LED wide-format printer is able to print direct to boards up to 3m in length, with fast change-over from rigid to rolled materials as required

 
“We’d always admired the VUTEk technology from EFI, but as this was a new venture for us, we needed to justify our investment and had decided on a more realistic investment that suited our customer and budgetary requirements. The EFI H1625 shares many of the characteristics of its larger brother without compromising on value for money, reliable inks and good service and back-up when required.”

The EFI H1625 LED wide-format printer is able to print direct to boards up to 3m in length, with fast change-over from rigid to rolled materials as required. Designed to be an entry- and mid-level production printer, it incorporates dual white ink channels that complement its CMYK ink-set, and its eight levels of greyscale ensure the highest quality of gradients and solid colours. Supplied with EFI’s Fiery XF digital front end for fast and accurate processing and RIPping of jobs, the resulting end-to-end workflow is highly efficient and results in optimised uptime. Working direct with rigid substrates is also a boost to productivity.

Edwards says: “Instead of mounting finished roll-fed prints onto boards we can now output straight to rigid sheets, and this means that the manual, time-consuming labour element has largely been eliminated. The result is that we’ve increased productivity so that our production teams can now concentrate on what they do best, and that’s to generate more print without the need to add more staff members.”

Matthews concludes: “The EFI H1625 LED has given us a new direction in the type of job we can now produce, its quality matches the specifications required by our customers, and the inclusion of white ink means we can produce applications which weren’t possible when just relying on standard colour options. Our intention is to increase our turnover while maintaining sensible margins and the addition of this wide-format printer is allowing us to do this in return for a modest investment cost.”


Andy Matthews, managing director at Crescent Press, says: “The EFI H1625 LED has given us a new direction in the type of job we can now produce”



Look before you leap

Roland DG’s Wigzell offers some advice: “One tip would be to consider the promotional items that you are intending to print onto and then measure up the flatbeds available on the market place to ensure you choose the one which can fit the highest number of items onto the bed per print run. With the largest desktop flatbed print area on the market, the LEF-300 performs well in this area with the added benefit of having a vacuum table to hold materials in place.”

Wigzell also recommends considering the wider services included in the box as it is not just a product you are purchasing; you are also buying into the services a company will provide post-purchase.
 
“For example,” he continues, “included in the box with the VersaUV LEF-300 is a 1 year on-site RolandCare Silver Warranty, meaning that you are also buying into peace-of-mind knowing that you will have factory trained RolandCare Engineers on hand if needed. Additionally, RolandCare provide telephone technical support for the life of your machine whether you have a RolandCare Warranty in place or not. Finally, the LEF-300 comes with Versa-Works Dual RIP Software included in the box - developed to include the latest native PDF and Postscript engine for better image translations when layers and transparencies are used.”

Fujifilm’s Cookman concurs: “Sign-makers looking to make the move into wide-format need to look for more than just an excellent platform. Partnering with a supplier who can help them to develop and grow their business in the long-term is the real key.”

Sign-makers looking to make the move into wide-format need to look for more than just an excellent platform”


An example of this is leading Northumberland-based printers Potts Print. Having recently acquired large-format specialist, Digital XL Services, Potts Print saw Fujifilm’s Acuity F as the ideal next step in strengthening their position in the wide-format market and a visit to the Fujifilm advanced Print Technology Centre in Brussels confirmed their decision.

“That visit really opened our eyes to our potential future in wide-format,” says Potts’ large-format printing division director, Keith McHugh, adding: “We were very impressed with the Acuity F and were pleased to become the first UK company to invest in one of these machines. However the decision to go with Fujifilm wasn’t just about the Acuity F—or any other single machine—but about Fujifilm’s product portfolio as a whole, and the excellent support they offer along the way.”

“What makes it so exciting for sign-makers branching out into flatbed printing is that they will quickly realise the tremendous scope and potential at their fingertips. We’re seeing an increasing number of bespoke direct-to-substrate applications including localised slate placemats, wedding invitations with exquisite texture and one-off glass splash-backs, offering new revenue streams and attracting in new customers,” summarises Hybrid’s Cole enthusiastically, showcasing the potential this area of the market really provides to sign-makers.


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