“Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set.”
I’m sure—whether we care to admit it or not—that at some time most of us have sung these words from Land of Hope and Glory at the top of our voices, while watching the Last Night of the Proms or some sporting event.
It struck me that these words are also highly appropriate to wide-format printing, which, having now gone into the realms of super-wide with printers up to 5m width, seems to know no bounds beyond the capability of the machine designers and builders to meet the increasing demand for ever greater print widths. Feeding this, of course, is the growth in large-format advertising graphics and building wraps, among other applications, with clients looking for increasingly eye-catching and dramatic effects.
Bring on the big boys
The HP Latex 3000, 3.2m roll-to-roll printer with a production capability of up to
77sq m/hr
Meeting the demands of the market is a whole range of super-wide printers, and here I’ve summarised the benefits of just a few of them.
The new HP Latex 3000, launched at FESPA 2013 is a 3.2m wide roll-to-roll printer with a production capability of up to 77sq m/hr. Combined with the high efficiency print curing offered by latex inks that deliver a print that is dry and ready for lamination, finishing, shipment or display, significant reductions in turnaround time can be achieved.
The company says the machine offers a breakthrough combination of high volume and high quality that brings print-service-providers high profit printing at an industrial level. With the HP Latex Optimiser ink solution, the HP Latex 3000 will print onto wider range of media, including heat-sensitive substrates, making it ideal for applications ranging from point-of-purchase and wall graphics, to vehicle graphics and outdoor banners.
Industrial print-service-providers constantly battle increasing competition along with shrinking time lines and budgets for big projects in this buyers’ market”
“Industrial print-service-providers constantly battle increasing competition along with shrinking time lines and budgets for big projects in this buyers’ market,” says Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, large-format sign and display division, HP.
He continues: “As a leader in large-format printing, HP is offering latex solutions that give our customers a unique advantage to cost-effectively address these challenges with new levels of productivity, quality and application versatility.”
Delivering high productivity on a range of flexible and rigid media, HP’s Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press offers a variety of productivity enhancements, including in-line saturation control for backlit applications, hot folders and job queue, to help print-service-providers increase efficiency of workflow, with a capability to print up to 95 full boards an hour.
The press can also handle a wide variety of media of up to 25mm thick, and has an edge-to-edge printing feature that allows final-size sheets to be printed, which eliminates the need for trimming, thereby saving substrates and reducing product damage through additional handling.
Productivity is king
Wincanton Print's Steve Clarks says the firm's investment in an Aga Anapurna
M2050 gave it confidence to establish a web-to-web facility to further expand
the business
Also launched at FESPA 2013 is Agfa’s largest width printer, the Anapurna M3200RTR, a professionally built, mid-range 3.2m UV-curable roll-to-roll printer for the efficient production of premium quality banners and displays.
“With a new generation of print heads, the system delivers unprecedented productivity and quality at an investment level previously unavailable in the market,” comments Steve Collins, wide-format inkjet product and channel manager for Agfa UK.
Another new product from Agfa is the Anapurna M2500, offering the same versatility as the Anapurna 2050, with six colours and high density white in a 2.5m platform. With its hybrid belt-feeding option, both flexible and rigid substrates can be printed on this machine.
With a new generation of print heads, the system delivers unprecedented productivity and quality at an investment level previously unavailable in the market”
West Country printer, Wincanton Print, took the decision to invest in an Anapurna M2050 in order to expand the services the company could offer to its customers. Within just a few months of installing the machine, Wincanton had won significant new business from existing clients and made a striking impression with a display stand featuring images of the Aston Martin Racing Le Mans race car, one of the company’s long-standing major customers.
“The investment has also given us the confidence to establish a web-to-print facility to further expand our business. To prosper, we believe printers need to diversify and offer customers a total service, and wide-format point-of-sale and display is a logical way forward,” explains Steve Clark, studio manager at Wincanton Print.
A Hybrid solution
The Mimaki JV5-320DS dye-sublimation printer is a popular solution for display
graphics companies that require polyester printing
Hybrid Services is the exclusive distributor for Mimaki in the UK and Ireland. Marketing manager, Duncan Jefferies, advises that its flagship super wide option is the JV5-320, which is available in two forms—the JV5-320S and the JV5-320DS.
“The JV-320s is popular as a high quality banner printer,” he explains, adding: “At 3.2m wide, it has a quality production speed of around 45sq m/hr and delivers outstanding results thanks to its variable dot print head and 1440dpi maximum resolution.”
The machine is capable of printing to banner, mesh, vinyl, paper, canvas and other outdoor durable materials. A bulk ink system is available to allow companies to take advantage of Mimaki’s vibrant and long lasting SS21 outdoor durable inks that are now available is 2l sacks.
Sophisticated fabric handling and tensioning, a powered feed and take-up and the ability to handle large rolls of material make this machine suitable for leading exhibition graphics, retail point-of-sale and flag printing companies”
Meanwhile the JV5-320DS is a very popular solution for display graphics companies requiring polyester printing. It is a dye-sublimation printer, capable of printing to paper—for transfer to uncoated or stretchy polyester fabrics—or printing direct to coated polyester, including unbacked mesh and voile, due to its inbuilt ink trough. Flags and sheer fabrics can be printed without fear of ink marking off on the rear of the material because, at the point of printing, the fabric passes over a void that allows surplus ink to carry through.
“Sophisticated fabric handling and tensioning, a powered feed and take-up and the ability to handle large rolls of material make this machine suitable for leading exhibition graphics, retail point-of-sale and flag printing companies,” adds Jefferies.
A new star
The Uvistar Pro8 is the latest offering from Fujifilm's Uvistar super wide-format
series
Uvistar Pro8 is the latest development in Fujifilm’s series of Uvistar super-wide format printers. One of its major advancements is the inclusion of a complete set of light colours within the ink set, which increases print quality without compromising print speed. Together with its Parallel Drop Size (PDS) technology, which the company believes to be unique, this allows the Uvistar Pro8 to produce high definition display POP graphics at speeds in excess of 300sq m/hr. Uvistar Pro8 also features an auto media handling system for rigid media and is able to switch between four- and eight-colour printing modes.
“Uvistar is ideal for outdoor applications where the vibrancy of the inks and the versatility of the associated materials, including polyethylene, work extremely well together,” says Steve Wood, product manager, Fujifilm speciality ink systems.
Uvistar is ideal for outdoor applications where the vibrancy of the inks and the versatility of the associated materials, including polyethylene, work extremely well together”
He adds: “In addition, Uvistar Pro8 has been developed in combination with Fujifilm’s Uvijet QN inks, which are able to meet the strict quality requirements typical of indoor applications.”
Image Techniques is the first company in the UK to have installed the Uvistar Pro8. Managing director, James Dawson, enthuses: “It’s an extraordinarily productive and reliable piece of equipment.”
He continues: “Since October 2012, when the machine was up and running within our production environment, we have more than doubled our print capacity. We can’t be more positive about the impact of this installation on our business.”
Another major beast in the field at 5m wide is the EFI Vutek GS5000r, which offers multi-roll printing for high throughput and production flexibility with ultra-high resolution for premium value indoor graphics, and can be used for a wide variety of materials and applications.
“Users of 5m super wide-format machines now have the benefits of far better quality and versatility in latter day platforms with results that match high-end roll-fed 3.2m printers,” asserts Wesley Small, EFI Vutek sales development manager.
Users of 5m super wide-format machines now have the benefits of far better quality and versatility in latter day platforms with results that match high-end roll-fed 3.2m printers”
He continues: “Typically the EFI Vutek GS5000r is finding favour among sign-makers and display producers who need the advantages of printing at the full width of the unit but who can also optimise versatility by working with multiple rolls.
“It’s also a valuable point that the Vutek GS5000r is the only 5m printer that carries the 3M MCS warranty when co-branded EFI and 3M inks and 3M flexible materials are used. This five year warranty is an invaluable benefit for sign-makers needing to produce graphics that are printed and applied according to the 3M’s product and instruction bulletins.”
Driving forces
Graphics produced on the HP Designjet L26500 by OPG
So what is driving the growth and development of the super wide-format print sector, and what new avenues is it opening up for sign-makers?
Fujifilm’s Wood believes the growth in the super wide-format print sector has primarily been driven by the changes in outdoor advertising, as major brands tend to spend their budgets in many different ways to ensure their product stands out from the crowd: “While in recent years there has been a drive for a larger share of this spend to go to internet-based promotions, there has also been a general realisation of the impact that ‘static print’ can have on an advertising campaign.”
Due to shortening run lengths and an increased quality expectation, the traditional method for producing outdoor posters onto paper is being replaced by single skin polyethylene sheets, which lend themselves to being printed with UV ink on high speed printers to deliver high quality and vibrant images.
While in recent years there has been a drive for a larger share of this spend to go to internet-based promotions, there has also been a general realisation of the impact that ‘static print’ can have on an advertising campaign”
“This type of work is relatively high volume but low margin, so the sign-maker needs to be able to diversify and produce work for indoor POP or exhibition graphics for higher margins. The Uvistar is able to handle the fast production for outdoor applications, and then quickly switch to producing exceptional high quality images in eight-colours onto roll and rigid media,” concludes Wood.
The clear benefits for sign-makers wanting to move up to the next level of digital print is, of course, the width of applications that can be produced.
“But the trick is finding a platform that carries the advantage of high-speed versatile production while maintaining the quality levels found in narrower engines, and not all 5m machines can offer this,” advises Small, who adds: “Working at wider sizes or with multiple rolls also needs fast throughput speeds and the benefits of eight-colours plus white ink.”
Printing at super-wide widths allows companies to reduce the amount of time and labour involved in joining printed fabrics, and the benefits of a large area of fabric print over, for example, a series of sheets of rigid material or PVC banner are the low carbon footprint and associated cost of shipping and the ease of installation.
Be it a building wrap, large area of retail display graphics or a light box, the creative impact from a super-wide print is substantial”
Hybrid’s Jefferies expands: “Be it a building wrap, large area of retail display graphics or a light box, the creative impact from a super-wide print is substantial. Polyester printing is becoming especially popular—an aqueous print onto a recyclable material ticks a number of the ‘eco-boxes’, and offers a tactile and attractive solution for covering large areas with a branded message.”
He concludes: “Sign-makers investing in super-wide solutions can keep control of their processes, reduce their costs and ensure their customers are served directly, quickly and creatively.”
So, with careful research and choice of equipment, there are rich pickings to be had for sign-makers looking to diversify or offer an enhanced service, as well as achieving efficiency. Joining the ‘big league’ could be just the opportunity you are looking for.
