No more printing restrictions

I was once discussing with a printer if there were limitations with regards to which substrates or media that could be used. The answer was “I would print on concrete blocks if there was market”. This conversation was with a general printer running a series of commercial presses and the answer was rather flippant, but given changes in customers’ requirements and advances in technology, I think there is now a desktop printer that could actually print on bricks.

This month we are looking at the new offering from Roland DG, the VersaUV LEF-200. It is an inkjet printer that will fit on the desk of any printer wishing to offer the personalisation of special products or print on small batches of everything from pens to golf balls.

Roland DG has a large number of products in its catalogue and the company has always been keen to push the boundaries on product development; the VersaUV LEF-200 is no exception.


This technology is the recent development of the VersaUV LEF-20 and boasts some impressive new developments, notably the increase in size of the bed to carry the media, to be printed up to 538 x 360mm and, incredibly, the maximum height of an object at 100mm.

At the heart of the VersaUV LEF-200 is a piezo-electric inkjet printer that uses eco-friendly UV inks. The print head itself can produce images of up to 1,440dpi, which means when a client wants a personalised product, the quality of the output is not compromised.

It is important to be able to produce a dot reproduction of a high dpi, but if that is in monochrome, you are not likely to entice any clients. If you can couple the high dpi with a range of colours, then you could be fighting potential customers away. The VersaUV LEF-200 can use a number of colours, up to six, and this includes at a base level, CMYK, along with white and/or transparent gloss.

One configuration of the VersaUV LEF-200 can be a flood of white to make the images on the product deeper and more vibrant. The inks all come in 200cc capacity ink containers and can be easily interchanged or replaced when needed, and are known as ‘clean hand’ cartridges by Roland DG. All of the inks have a high durability value, which is vital as the products produced are likely to be exposed to the elements at some point. The claim of Roland DG is that its eco-UV inks can remain undiminished for up to two years.

Lay the foundations

When it comes down to being able to print on a multitude of substrates, you may need to consider the use of a primer to allow the inks to adhere to materials such as leather, wood, canvas, glass, or maybe even on my famous bricks. If you wish to print on these materials, a primer will be required and will need to be substituted for one of the additional colours. There is no compromise here, you still use the basic CYMK, but you will need to change either the flood white or gloss varnish depending on what you wish to achieve.

The flexibility of the printer is only bound by the size and weight of the object. If any object is less than 100mm tall then it can be printed on with gloriously vivid colours. You have to secure the objects you are printing, and by using the Roland VersaWorks Dual you can not only provide the RIP files needed for printing, but you can also set up the masks needed if you are printing multiple products in one go. The laser guided inkjet heads ensure the alignment on a product is to pinpoint accuracy, even on curved surfaces.



Say, for instance, you wish to print a number of golf balls with a logo for an event or charity match, by securing maybe up to 100 balls in one go on a bulk location plate, the Roland Versa Works Dual software will know where the balls sit on the table and then accurately reproduce the image required on all of them in quick order. Should the client return the following year and request a repeat of the job on a different object, the Roland Versa Works Dual software will easily change the image to allow the job to be reproduced.

The VersaUV LEF-200 can print any colours within the Pantone library and the Roland VersaWorks Dual software can also provide you with a unique colour palette. Depending on the client’s requests, with this inkjet printer you can also add value with deep UV gloss, matt, and satin varnishes, and even embossing and spot effects can be achieved.

The use of the VersaUV LEF-200 and application software run lengths can start at one and go up to small batch production. The printer has intuitive controls and can be easily operated by inexperienced and experienced operators alike.

Looking deeper into the construction of the new design of the VersaUV LEF-200, it has a new low energy lamp arrangement, which means the effects of the UV process are greatly reduced. We all know there are a number of potentially harmful chemicals that can be emitted when printing with UV inks and varnishes, but every effort has been taken with the VersaUV LEF-200 to reduce the effects on operators. Importantly, the inkjet printer does not emit Ozone when printing and the printer uses LED UV lamps, which are a safe alternative to conventional UV lamp arrangements. You can easily operate this machine in an office with no adverse effects to staff.

If a printer is still concerned about the potential uncomfortable emissions of a UV printer, Roland DG can supply an optional air filtration system. The filter system sits under the VersaUV LEF-200 activated carbon filter, which effectively removes the odour and volatile substances that occur during UV printing.


When you view the flexibility that this machine can provide, it really is quite impressive; as long as you can hold a product, you can print on it. Mobile phone covers, pens, canvas pictures, golf balls, and USB pen drives—maybe even my bricks...


Brian Sims, principal consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu
   


Your text here...