Electronics For Imaging (EFI), a global technology company, introduced the EFI VUTEk Q3h XP printer – a high-speed hybrid flatbed/roll-fed LED printer offering superior-quality imaging along with flexible and versatile production-level throughput – and the next generation 3.2-meter EFI Pro 33r roll-to-roll LED printer at the 2024 Fespa Global Expo.
In addition to introducing the new printers, EFI showcased its leading digital inkjet technologies for the sign and display, packaging, and textile markets at the show held at Rai, Amsterdam, from 19-22 March.
The innovations are part of its bid to advance its customer-focused commitment to delivering innovation that creates more opportunities for sign and display graphics producers to be more competitive and grow profitably, the company said.
“Our leading-edge technology at Fespa Global gives customers unmatched capabilities and opportunities to achieve profitable growth in digital inkjet production printing,” Ken Hanulec, EFI VP of worldwide marketing, said. “With a comprehensive portfolio of production printers with the most advanced technology and innovative inks and coatings for the sign and display. packaging, and textile markets, our exhibit in Amsterdam is an essential stop for growth- and profit-minded print providers.”
A portfolio of innovation
Visitors to EFI’s stand at the RAI Amsterdam Exhibition and Convention Center saw a strong line-up of new and leading-edge printers along with workflow technologies that streamline job management and help boost efficiency.
The new, 3.3-meter-wide VUTEk Q3h XP hybrid flatbed/roll-fed LED printer, making its worldwide debut, is designed to provide high-quality imaging and production-level printing for faster turnarounds. The printer is available with four (CMYK) or six (CMYK, lc, lk) colors and optional white and clear inks. Industrial built for multiple shift operation and 24/7 printing, the VUTEk Q3h XP printer produces up to 96 boards per hour (up to 905 square meters per hour), and features advanced board/sheet and roll-to-roll media handling and high-speed automation options, which are critical with today’s labor issues and cost-reduction initiatives.
The new 3.2-meter EFI Pro 33r roll-to-roll LED printer is based on the highly successful Pro 32r+ platform, with notable enhancements to overall printer performance – up to a 35% speed increase in POP mode – and higher imaging quality, reliability and dot accuracy with the new 5 pL Ricoh Gen-6 printheads. Standard features that drive process efficiencies include an integrated mesh kit for printing on porous substrates, a wrinkle analyser to help avoid printhead strikes, built-in backlit proofing lights, and a built-in Fiery digital front end (DFE).
Value-added options that add even more versatility and process efficiencies include white and clear (UltraClear Coat) inks, Y-slitters, automatic blockout and backlit printing, and more. With print speeds up to 260 square meters per hour, the Pro 33r platform is built to help customers be more competitive and profitable, win more jobs, confidently commit to larger capacity runs, and lower their operational costs.
EFI also exhibited the 3.5-meter-wide EFI VUTEk Q3r roll-to-roll LED printer that provides a complete print-to-finished graphic workflow, from RIP to finished product. The fastest superwide-format roll-to-roll solution in its class, it prints at up to 558 square meters per hour. The printer, which can print both white and clear ink together, has a true output resolution of up to 1200 dpi.
The clear ink, EFI’s UltraClear Coat, is a versatile spot or full clear coat ink that can be used for decorative, high-quality effects on prints or as a final coating to help protect graphics against abrasion, chemicals and fading. UltraClear Coat prints inline, simultaneously with the image – without slowing down production speeds in certain printer models – in gloss or matte finishes.
Fiery DFEs (digital front ends) will be driving all the on-site printers in the stand, allowing attendees to experience the difference Fiery DFEs provide in improving efficiencies and ensuring vibrant colors across printing applications.
Capabilities to drive new revenue streams
Visitors to EFI’s exhibit at Fespa Global learned how to expand into profitable new applications with the advanced capabilities of EFI’s full portfolio of digital inkjet printers. Samples produced on the EFI Nozomi 14000 SD single-pass inkjet printer for sign and display graphics, market-leading EFI Nozomi single-pass technology for corrugated packaging, and the EFI Reggiani ecoTERRA pigment solution – an all-in-one solution for water-based pigment printing that simplifies the entire textile printing process to one step – to name just a few, will be exhibited in the applications gallery and throughout EFI’s stand.
Technology with a sustainability message
EFI also announced a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool, developed by the Clear Agency, for Nozomi digital print users, prospective customers, retailers and brands to calculate the environmental impact of their print jobs, and compare against the footprint of other printing technologies. Calculations through the LCA tool show that printing corrugated materials on an EFI Nozomi digital press reduces Global Warming Potential (GWP) by approximately 50% when compared to analogue printing technologies.
This new tool adds to the sustainable reputation that Nozomi technology has built, already being the only single-pass inkjet offering that is certified for Old Corrugated Containers (OCC) recyclability and repulpability by the Western Michigan University Recycling, Paper, and Coating Pilot Plant. Nozomi printers also are recognized as energy efficient based on the ISO 20690 energy standard.
