Flatbed Inkjet Prints On Glass And Acrylic

Cardiff (UK) screen printer Premier Aspects is to take delivery of one of Europe's first Spyder flatbed inkjet printers from Cambridge manufacturer Inca Digital Printers.

Cardiff (UK) screen printer Premier Aspects is to take delivery of one of Europe's first Spyder flatbed inkjet printers from Cambridge manufacturer Inca Digital Printers.

Premier Aspects said that it is so confident of the Spyder's potential performance that it has already placed an order for a second machine, which will be delivered early in 2005.

The Cardiff business is a specialist in printing the glass panels used in gaming and amusement machines and the printer's manufacturer said the order demonstrates how the recently launched Spyder is expected to take Inca into new markets.

At the same time, Premier Aspects is planning to use the Spyder to win greater work from sectors such as point-of-sale and display.

Premier Aspects' director Paul Hunter explained: "The Spyder is the first machine that we have seen that allows us to achieve what our customers require - it ticks all the boxes and allows us to deliver our products quicker, cheaper, at a much higher resolution and in sensible sized batches.

The machine will enable us to offer our customers something significantly different and it ends a search for a suitable digital print solution that has gone on for more than two years." He continued: "About 60 per cent of the substrates that we print on are rigid, including glass, acrylic and polycarbonate and amongst our requirements was the need for a print solution that didn't require post print processes such as laminating.

We also need the combination of very high resolutions, as our gaming products are viewed up close, with vibrancy and depth of colour for our backlit prints." During the company's research Paul Hunter and his technical team spent more than 100 hours at Inca's factory, testing the Spyder on every material the company had to handle.

"We really put the Spyder through its paces and the results have been excellent.

The combination of 1,000dpi resolution, with the accuracy of registration and the superb four-colour UV ink set from Sericol provides a near photographic image quality that will enable us to raise the bar in the standards of quality we offer our customers.

We're looking forward to testing it even more when it is delivered.

For example, the Spyder's ability to print directly on to a lens makes it very cost effective at producing lenticular printing." Paul Hunter completed a management buyout at Premier Aspects in 1997 along with fellow director Ian Johnson and managing director Sean Walker.

The company employs 47 people and has customers throughout Europe.

To accommodate the new Spyder it has set up a digital printroom, which will form the basis of new digital print services moving forward in the future.

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