Never judge a book by its cover

Value can mean a number of different things to different people. Given the changes to consumer choices, the word value has now gained far more kudos amongst us. Value was previously a synonym for cheaper products, but since the financial meltdown of recent years, the word has been repositioned meaning it represents something that is desirable, sought and fresh faced.

Much the same could be said for the piece of equipment we have decided to take the covers off this week; namely the Mutoh Valuejet 1638UR.

Being frank, the name Mutoh is not one that is the first to trip off the tongue when you consider wide inkjet printers. There was a time when household names such as Tesla and Dyson were also so uncommon that they would not be mentioned in conversation. Today, they have entered the language as a substitute for the products they represent.

Mutoh was founded as long ago as 1954 and is one of a growing number of companies well known in Japan and Asia but not so well known in Europe or North America. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 1985, Mutoh is now a business that has a wide sector presence in areas such as 3D printing, printing supplies, drafting and design products, exercise equipment and IT solutions. Most interesting is its large product range of inkjet printers.

Mutoh has designed and built a large number of inkjet printers which can produce high quality output for display, industrial, textile and digital output. Mutoh produce a LED UV printer as small as an A2 flatbed sheet size, the Valuejet 626UF, but of most interest to us is the Valuejet 1638UR.

Regardless of the name of a product, the most important issue is the product it produces. The Valuejet 1638UR is capable of printing to an extremely respectable 1,440 x 1,440 DPI at speeds of 2.9m to 13.5m2/hr depending on quality setting.

The printer is a sibling to the Valuejet 1638UH, which is considered as a hybrid printer being a roll to roll or rigid printer. That said, there is no compromise with it being a roll-to-roll version, Mutoh very much feel this is a complementary addition to the stable.

So, what lies underneath the cover of this printer that makes is worth taking more than a carefree glance?

First of all, you must respect the fact the printer is punching well at the aforementioned resolution. This fine detailed output means that regardless of what is printed, it will stand up to the most intense scrutiny. Regardless of the fact the name Mutoh may not be one we are at first aware of, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we need only concern ourselves with the quality of the printed material.

As for colours available, the Valuejet 1638UR comes in a couple of versions: four or six colours. In the drop-on-demand Micro Piezo inkjet technology of the printer the ink is dropped down onto the substrate in two staggered print heads, with 180 nozzles in eight lines across both heads. The droplet range is wide and depending on the quality of the print required it can be dispensed at 3.8 to 28 pico litres.

From the point of view of colours, this is also wide and allows for an array of products to be produced. Colour range is four colours in single layer mode and consists of the standard CMYK configuration. When you increase to the six colour option, you can print in a number of layers and configurations.

The Valuejet 1638UR can print in single layer at 5.2m2/hr in CMYK, double layer which includes the process colours twice down, plus white and clear ink 2.5m2/hr and at the highest quality output Mutoh’s triple layer being simultaneous CMYK plus white and clear printing at 2m2/hr.

As for productivity, the Valuejet 1638UR has UV LED flexible inks in volumes of 220ml cassette or a 800ml bag depending on option. The white colour can come in 220ml or 500ml again depending on option chosen.

You should never judge a book by its cover and regardless of how familiar with the name Mutoh you are, you must only judge it by the output which is equally comparable with any of the more well-known variations of the wide-format inkjet printers.

Like the aforementioned competition, the Valuejet 1638UR comes with the now common place LED UV ink curing system. There are two lamps inside the printer which are going to be active for up to 14,250 hours.

As we are all now aware, the benefit of the LED UV printing process is the low heat input in the process means a wide range of substrates can be used. Mutoh claim the Valuejet 1638UR can print on even heat sensitive products between 0.3/1.5mm or as a variant, 1.3/2.5mm. Compatibility of the Valuejet 1638UR means it can print on self-adhesive films for auto signage, non-woven products, PC, PE, PET and PVC materials.

Being a reel to reel printer, the Valuejet 1638UR has the capacity to transfer material between 182mm up to 1,625mm in width, with the maximum print width of 1,615mm. The maximum weight of the substrate is 30kg but with a motorised option, the reel to reel Valuejet 1638UR can carry a mass of 100kg.

The Valuejet 1638UR is capable of very high quality output for a wide range of products any client would need such as window graphics, general signage, customised structured wallpapers, event banners and exhibition graphics, backlit prints, and packaging.

Mutoh can quite rightly claim that the high quality print is very achievable on transparent, non-white substrates. This quality is achieved via the multi-layer printing and quite rightly positions this lesser known manufacturer level with many more famous names.

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