Monday, 08 Aug 2016 15:56 GMT

Wide-format Flatbed Printing

With wide-format flatbed printing one of the fastest growing segments of the print industry, Brendan Perring asks: “Why should you purchase a higher productivity system?”

Pursuing higher margins

Many businesses find that there is a distinct advantage to flatbed/rigid substrate work. On a piece per square metre basis, it usually generates higher margins for printing companies compared to roll-to-roll work.
 
In the UV and LED inkjet space, the sheer variety of compatible materials also really drives profitability and volumes. Indeed, rigid-substrate work opens the door to any number of materials—such as wood, glass, acrylic, veneers, and even some metals for premium jobs.
 
Sometimes this is work that was printed on film and then mounted to a substrate, and any printing company that is doing that now can see the immediate time and cost savings that comes with eliminating that process.

Our main mid-level production device in the hybrid space, the EFI VUTEk H2000 Pro printer, really fits the profile of a commercial printing company looking to step up affordably into rigid production. It is a highly extensible product with an affordable base configuration and a range of additional options, such as white and clear inks, that customers can add as their volumes grow and they receive requests for different types of jobs.

It is a highly extensible product with an affordable base configuration”


For many of our customers, the H2000 Pro is a way to take advantage of the demand that keeps growing for flatbed work without taking on the additional expenditures—such as paying to install automated loading and unloading equipment—that might come with a truly high-volume flatbed/right inkjet production operation.
 
Our customers also get a lot of use out of their hybrid roll/flatbed printers, because they, of course, still provide the ability to print on roll media without taking a hit in productivity. Businesses that have a solid base of roll-printed work who want to meet their clients’ unmet demand for rigid work are not taking a big risk with EFI’s hybrid printers. The flatbed setup provides excellent results in just about any standard rigid-substrate application, and set and changeover between flatbed and roll configurations can happen in a matter of minutes on any of our printers.
 
Rigid substrate printing can also lead to unique and even more valuable speciality app-lications as well. These include roadway/traffic signage printed on metal and 3D-shaped, thermoformed work that is printed flat and then shaped using heat and vacuum-forming processes. EFI has pursued a number of new innovations to drive those types of opportunities, and our customers are creating new successes replacing old screen-printing, vinyl decal, or even airbrushing signage applications with EFI inkjet printers that take a lot of cost, uncertainty, and time out of the production process.

Undeniable versatility

Mark Elvidge, business development manager, Roland DG
 

When looking to purchase a new flatbed printer, productivity is obviously important, however it is also as important to consider versatility as this could be the differentiator that opens up new markets and opportunities to your business.

Flatbed printing technology is seen as a feather in the cap for most companies, and the introduction of UV flatbed technology can provide a great many benefits to a commercial business. Being able to print directly onto a wide variety of materials can open doors and return good margins. When you choose to invest in a more versatile flatbed, however, you can take this to the next level.
 
With more height capacity you are maximising the potential media or objects that can be printed. If you only invest in what the competition already has, this generally leads to market saturation and price reductions, squeezing the margins and lengthening the return on investment.

The versatility and profitability of LED UV flatbed technology is undeniable ”


The Roland DG VersaUV LEJ-640FT is the ideal solution for businesses who value quality and versatility on a wide variety of media and objects. The bed size of 1,600 x 2,490mm means it is capable of printing industry standard sized boards or non-standard items up to 150mm high and 100kg in weight, such as 1,900 golf balls, 375 smartphone cases, or two large custom glass desks for a high end client. As such, the versatility and profitability of LED UV flatbed technology is undeniable.

The VersaUV LEJ-640FT uses long life, cool running LED UV lamps that mean even heat sensitive media can be used. And to add even more value to anything being printed, white and gloss inks are included as standard allowing for amazing special effects and finishes to be added easily.

Room to grow


Ben Woodruff, head of national sales, Inktec



Simply put, the business argument is straight forward; one of lost revenue and decreased margin opportunities for the commercial printer, if they do not invest in a system that gives them room to grow.

The realities in the market place are that most commercial printers that do not have a UV flatbed are highly likely to be outsourcing their work to a company that has. The result of which is that each party is likely to be adding their own margin to make some profit from the transaction. While this approach is in principle a sensible one initially, as demand increases, so does the loss in potential revenue. So, to determine the practicalities of the investment, it is important to explore the details of the outsourced UV flatbed work—looking at the commercial details of what is involved in purchasing a machine and the potential revenue generated. From my experience, the arguments for purchasing a flatbed can be quite compelling once properly evaluated. Indeed, the cost justification quite often demonstrates an increase in profits that will comfortably cover the monthly repayment.

The arguments for purchasing a flatbed can be quite compelling”


The question then becomes which mid-productivity level flatbed to invest in. From our perspective, most of the models from the Jetrix portfolio would fall within the ‘mid-range’ bracket with prices starting at £50,000 and moving up to £150,000 for the larger machines. All of which have white ink and clear ink capabilities, supported by a two-year warranty.
 
However, an ideal starting point for a new venture moving into direct-to-substrate printing would be the entry level Jetrix KX5. At around £75,000 and with print speeds of up to 30sq m/h, the Jetrix can also retro-fit a second bank of heads at any stage after purchase at a competitive fixed price. The results of which would double the production output and therefore future-proof the investment to ensure the printer can grow with the increased demands without the need to reinvest in a brand new machine in two to three years’ time.

Big picture thinking


Stuart Cole, national sales manager for industrial products, Hybrid Services



When it comes to diversifying into flatbed printing, it is of great importance that commercial printers consider the bigger picture for their businesses when they make the investment in hardware. Making the right choices by way of productivity from the outset will save money in the future and enable more solid business growth over time.

It is natural for a printing company to want to spend the minimum amount possible if it wants to dip its toe in the flatbed printing water, but what can appear to some as playing it safe may turn out to be detrimental in the long run. By investing less on a lower-productivity machine, capacity will very quickly be reached and printers will be faced with the choice of either upgrading hardware, or dealing with a bottleneck of work.

High productivity is a big factor for printers taking this next step. For this reason, Mimaki has developed a really strong mid-productivity offering with the JFX series of LED UV flatbed printers, which offer a sought after combination of quality, speed, and value. The Mimaki JFX200-2513 offers print speeds of up to 25sq m/h in CMYK in a handy, industry standard 8 x 4” size at just under £60,000 and has proven itself as the front runner in this market sector.
 
For those looking to stretch their flatbed legs, the Mimaki JFX500-2131 achieves print speeds of up to 60sq m/h with a print area of up to 3.1 x 2.1m. The JFX500 has set new performance benchmarks, with outstanding capability that can print down to two-point text with terrific clarity and a recently repositioned price of £99,000. It can really pay off to invest more initially when it comes to flatbed printing—it may involve spending more at the outset, but the costs can be recovered far quicker due to the additional capacity, creativity, and productivity at the printer’s disposal.

Making the right choices by way of productivity from the outset will save money”


What is really important is that commercial printers consider what a mid-weight flatbed printer can bring to the table. So many different applications are possible with direct-to-object printing, it is a process of acquiring the right education and information, and looking at what return on investment can be achieved. If print providers aim for the mid-weight flatbed sector from the start, the scope for what they can become far exceeds the initial investment—whether it is fine art, photography, bespoke interior décor, or straight forward direct-to-board signage that cuts out the finishing process.

What Mimaki also bring to the table are the benefits of LED UV technology, which have a very positive impact on return on investment for the printing company that utilises it. The ecologically advanced, long-life ‘cold’ LED UV lamps, that are utilised by Mimaki flatbed printers like the JFX series, have many benefits over the traditional metal-halide ‘hot’ lamps such as less downtime due to far fewer lamp changes, 75 percent less CO² emissions, and a 75 percent reduction in electricity usage.


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