Flatbed Inkjet System Is Fastest Selling Printer

MacDermid Colorspan debuted the Displaymaker 72UVX wide-format flatbed UV inkjet printer at the Viscom 2005 trade fair in Dusseldorf (Germany).

MacDermid Colorspan debuted the Displaymaker 72UVX wide-format flatbed UV inkjet printer at the Viscom 2005 trade fair in Dusseldorf (Germany).

Based on the design of the Displaymaker 72UVR, the Displaymaker 72UVX features the ability to print on nearly any rigid material up to 0.5" (12.7mm) thick and up to 73" (185cm) wide, said the company.

Colorspan has added a 600 dots per inch (dpi) x 300dpi print mode to double the print speed to a claimed 400 square feet (37.2 square metres) per hour for producing sellable, production quality prints.

Displaymaker 72UVX uses 16 600dpi Micro-Quad piezo-electric printheads and instant-cure Solachrome UV pigmented inks to produce POP displays, outdoor-durable signs and banners on nearly any type of print surface, added MacDermid Colorspan.

Colorspan's Automation Eye technology uses an on-board image sensor and spectrophotometer to automate the set-up and calibration steps for achieving and maintaining print quality, whilst extending the useful life of the printheads.

Bruce Butler, director of marketing at MacDermid Colorspan, said: "At less than one-third the price of other flatbed UV printers, the Displaymaker 72UVR in its first 10 months in the market has quickly become the fastest selling UV printer in the world, outselling its top three competitors combined.

Now, with the new Displaymaker 72UVX and its ability to print on even thicker boards and at faster print speeds, we have once again set a new standard for flatbed printing performance and value.

The 72UVX combines production speed with award-winning quality, ease-of-use and low cost of operation.

And, at well under US$100,000, it is affordable to a broader group of sign and screen print shops that are looking to increase productivity, whilst saving material and labour costs." The Displaymaker 72UVX uses an open, non-obstructive design that reduces the footprint space requirements whilst making it easy to use, said the company.

When configured for printing rigid materials, two 36-inch (91cm) x 75-inch (190cm) roller tables are attached to the front and rear of the printer to accommodate sheets up to 60" (152cm) in length.

Optionally, two additional tables can be added for sheets up to 120" (305cm).

The tables can be removed for printing of roll-to-roll flexible media.

The loading of rigid materials has been made easier in a number of ways, claimed MacDermid Colorspan.

First, the 72UVX features a releasable pinch roller system for easy insertion.

Once in place, the pinch rollers are engaged with a variable force adjustment to work with a variety of materials.

Pressing the load button causes the printer to use its integrated Automation Eye to sense the right, left and front edges, whilst also checking for media skew.

It then automatically positions the media for printing.

The Media Wizard feature stores many of the characteristics of a particular media, such as media feed advance rate and platen vacuum force.

When selecting a new media type, the Media Wizard restores those values, reducing the time to switch from one type of media to another, said the company.

Sixteen industrial-quality Micro-Quad, long-life piezo-electric printheads are configured as four interlaced heads using 384 jets per colour.

The 600dpi printheads jet a micro-sized 25picolitre droplet.

The result is higher quality prints at lower production costs when compared to typical 360dpi, 70picolitre, six-colour printers.

Designed-engineered as a production sign system, the Displaymaker 72UVX uses 16 piezo-electric printheads with 1,536 total jets.

The printer has a 600dpi x 600dpi print speed of 400 square feet (37.2 square metre) per hour in its billboard quality print mode.

Its production quality mode has two print resolutions that both turn out sellable graphics, added MacDermid, whilst turning out 200 square feet (18.6 square metres) per hour at 600dpi x 600dpi and 400 square feet (37.2 square metres) per hour at 600dpi x 300-pi.

A 600dpi x 600dpi high quality mode is also available at 100 square feet (9.3 squar metres) per hour.

Solachrome UV-curable, pigmented inks are available in cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Each comes in a sealed three-litre container that allows for ink changes without causing any mess it is claimed, whilst protecting the ink from light exposure.

Solachrome-UV inks, which have no solvent odours, are designed for reliable jetting, low maintenance, extended head life, low cost of operation and a long-term outdoor display life of two to three years, depending on application.

The inks are claimed to cure instantly and print directly on inexpensive uncoated rigid and flexible substrates for durable, indoor and outdoor graphic applications.

The Advanced Automation Eye, which is only found on Colorspan printers, uses a high-resolution imaging sensor, colourimetric spectrophotometer and embedded software to automate the set-up and calibration steps critical for achieving and maintaining print quality, said the company.

Autoset calibration analyses dot placement of printed patterns and automatically sets the head-to-head alignment and bi-directional (bi-di) dot placement alignment to compensate for variable print speeds, head height settings and media thickness.

At the same time, autojet calibration eliminates banding in prints and extends the useful life of the printheads by mapping out jets that are not up to performance standards and compensating by using another jet in their place.

MacDermid Autospan added that the printer's autotune scheduler schedules the Autojet calibration to occur during unattended print runs to ensure maximum print quality and minimise waste or reprints.

Auto edge detection uses the image sensor to aid in the loading of rigid materials by detecting right, left and leading edges, allowing the printer to move the material in to position for printing.

It also checks for and warns the user if the board appears to be loaded askew.

The printer's on-board spectrophotometer supplies colour and density data to the external RIP's colour management software.

The colour management system then linearizes the colour curves to ensure accurate and consistent colour.

Using the on-board spectrophotometer, the Displaymaker 72UVX prints and automatically reads hundreds of colour swatches to allow the RIP and Colormark Plus colour management software to create custom ICC and Colorark profiles for third party media, said the company.

MacDermid Autospan belives that with the Displaymaker 72UVX's ability to print directly on to rigid display materials it is suitable for sign makers, screen printers and other print-for-pay service providers that produce indoor and outdoor signs, banners, POP and exhibition displays by reducing their finishing and labour costs.

In addition, the Displaymaker 72UVX prints on flexible roll stock for the high-speed production of outdoor signs, banners, floor graphics and other high volume work.

The Displaymaker 72UVX has a US retail price of US$89,995, which includes four litres of Solachrome-UV ink, three litres of printhead cleaning solution, 600 square feet of banner vinyl, installation and on-site training.

The printer is available through MacDermid Colorspan's worldwide network of value-added distributors and resellers beginning in October.

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