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PRINT.IT
01732 759725
COVER STORY
Enterprise print centres face
many of the same challenges as
commercial print service providers
(PSPs), including the need to
diversify their print offering and
provide value for money.
Pressure on managers to run
in-house print rooms on a more
commercial basis raises many
questions: Are there new services
that I could realistically offer internal
print customers? Are there jobs I
currently outsource that I can bring
in-house? Are there opportunities
to extend my services to customers
outside the business? What
investment do I need to compete
with outside providers? What impact
will my choices have on broader
corporate commitments to cut costs
or reduce carbon emissions?
These are the sorts of questions
that PSPs have grappled with for
years. For many, the answer has
EFI H1625 At a Glance
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Entry-level to mid-level wide format printer
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LED ‘cool cure’ inkjet technology
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Hybrid roll-to-roll & flatbed printing
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Fast change-over from rigid to roll-fed materials
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Wide range of media supported thanks to top
temperature of 40 °C
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Prints direct onto boards up to 3m in length
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Four colour inks (CMYK) and two white channels as
standard
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Resolution of up to 1200 x 600dpi
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Eight levels of variable drop greyscale for high quality
gradients and solid colours
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Variable print speed, from 7.4 m
2
/hour in Ultra-
Quality Mode (1200 x 600dpi) to 42 m
2
/hour in
Express Mode (300 x 300dpi)
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Energy-efficient
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Supplied with EFI Fiery XF Digital Front End (DFE) for
fast, accurate job processing
been to diversify into wide-format
printing, such as billboards, signage,
posters, banners, wallpaper and
window film.
More than half the 1,200
print professionals surveyed by
Infotrends for the 2015 FESPA Print
Census expressed an interest in
buying digital wide format printing
equipment. Of these, almost one in
two (45%) said the investment would
enable them to enter new markets
with new services.
UV inkjet
There are many wide format printing
technologies to choose from, but the
most popular, according to the FESPA
Print Census, is UV printing. It was
the technology of choice for 27% of
respondents, ahead of textile printers
(21%), solvent printers (17%), eco
solvent printers (16%) and latex
printers (14%).
The fastest growing segment
of the overall UV printing market
is UV inkjet printing. In its report
The Future of UV Inkjet Printing to
2018
, Smiths PIRA states that the
market for UV inkjet-printed products
increased from $3.9 billion in 2007
to $6.7 billion in 2012, and is set to
grow even more strongly to $15.9
billion by 2018.
The distinct qualities of UV
inkjet, notably durable, weather-
proof, lightfast output, have made
it particularly suitable for outdoor
advertising, and this will remain
the dominant application. However,
as the market expands and new
applications are developed, Smiths
PIRA expects advertising’s share of
the total volume to decline.
LED ‘cool cure’
EFI is a major player in the UV inkjet
market. It provides a wide range
of UV inkjet printers based on LED
‘cool cure’ technology, and has so
far installed more than 500 units
worldwide.
One of the big benefits of UV
inkjet is that it virtually eliminates
VOC emissions by rapidly fixing ink
before evaporation can occur. This
creates a more comfortable working
environment for employees and
removes the need to set up printers
in specially ventilated areas.
Traditionally, UV curing has been
achieved through the use of mercury
vapour lamps. EFI UV wide format
printers use energy-efficient LED
lamps instead.
Cool cure LED technology has a
number of advantages over mercury
lamps. These include:
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Significantly lower power
consumption. According to analysis
EFI’s hybrid wide format printers give print centres the flexibility to
bring more jobs in-house and develop new service offerings
Widening
your horizons
Walding Printers,
Linz, Austria
Broader appeal: Evolution Graphique
