PRINT.IT
15
COVER STORY
by FOGRA, LED technology offers
an energy saving of 82%, compared
to mercury-based alternatives. This
lowers running costs (as well as
CO2 emissions), helping to offset
the higher purchase price of UV LED
printers;
n
A maximum temperature of 40°C,
which enables a wider choice of
heat-sensitive materials to be used;
and
n
Less environmental impact than
mercury lamps. This is an important
consideration for customers in the
European Union, where plans next
year to ban mercury from lighting
could impact printers that use
mercury lamps for curing.
Mid-level models
In addition to its VUTEK range, EFI
provides mid-level wide format
printers that are more suitable for
print centres and PSPs that are still
finding their feet in a new market and
have limited print volumes.
The EFI H1625 (see panel) is an
increasingly popular option for PSPs
aiming to develop new opportunities
in wide format digital printing. It
also suits corporate/public sector
print centres that want to bring
outsourced work back in-house and
expand or commercialise their own
service offering.
A big attraction is its support for
both roll-to-roll and flatbed printing.
The flexibility to print on rigid and
flexible substrates expands the range
of services that can be offered and
enables print providers to profit from
non-core applications.
Fast and flexible
When Evolution Graphique made the
move to wide-format digital printing,
co-owner Jérôme Eytier wanted a
printer that gave him the option
of switching to rigid media, even
though, at the time, this represented
only a small portion of his business.
After running tests on several
machines, he selected an EFI H1625
LED. “We were interested in classic
UV curing at first, but LED was a
great surprise. It is very fast, which
allows almost immediate finishing or
packaging, and because it doesn’t
heat up, it doesn’t distort the media,”
he said.
It is still early days, but Eytier
is excited by the possibilities: “We
wanted a hybrid machine from the
start, even if our needs were initially
geared more towards flexible media.
Six months later, we’ve begun to
evolve. If a client comes in for a
poster and sees plexi, PVC and forex
panels, beautiful white prints on a
black background, printed mirrors
or glass plates with a laminated
adhesive, for example, then he will
get ideas from that,” he explained.
One-stop-shop
Walding Printers in Linz, Austria is
moving into wide-format printing, as
part of a strategy to transform itself
into a one-stop-shop.
For general manager Josef
Rechberger, media flexibility was the
key requirement. “As a small business,
we cannot assert ourselves on the
market through sheer volume; we
need to deliver custom solutions. The
UV technology of the EFI H1625 with
LED curing is the key to being able to
print on virtually all media,” he said.
This flexibility enables Rechberger
to produce a wide range of
personalised output, from posters
and banners to interior design
elements, such as custom wallpaper,
kitchen backsplashes and doors – in
run lengths of just one, if required.
“Exploiting all the possibilities is now
up to our own creativity and that of
our customers,” he said.
Diversification
The possibilities that the EFI H1625
opens up for small PSPs are equally
valid for corporate print centres.
Quick, on-demand production
of banners, advertisements and
exhibition collateral might be the
primary application of the printer –
and essential for cost justification
– but as print centres develop
a stronger commercial sense,
diversification will be key.
Print centres that seek to market
their services beyond their existing
internal customer base might find
that they, too, benefit from the
flexibility provided by a cool cure LED
wide format printer with the option
of roll-to-roll and flatbed printing.
According to the FESPA Print Census,
rigid materials already make up a
quarter of respondents’ wide format
output.
Whether you plan to use it to bring
outsourced work back in house or to
develop brand new applications, the
EFI H1625 is worth a closer look.
When offset printing business Crescent Press
acquired the company to which it used to outsource
wide-format printing jobs, such as display boards
and interior and exterior banners, one of its first
actions was to invest in new machinery.
In addition to new roll-fed printers, Crescent Press
managing director Andy Matthews identified a need
for a flatbed unit that could print directly onto rigid
substrates. The solution he chose was an EFI H1625
LED printer, as this provides the flexibility, print quality
and value for money that the company demands.
“We’d always admired the VUTEk technology from
EFI, but as this was a new venture for us, we needed
to justify our investment and had decided on a more
realistic investment that suited our customer and
budgetary requirements. The EFI H1625 shares many
of the characteristics of its larger brother without
compromising on value for money, reliable inks and
good service and back-up when required,” explains
Matthews.
He says that the investment has already given
a big boost to productivity. “Instead of mounting
finished roll-fed prints onto boards we can now output
straight to rigid sheets, and this means that the
manual, time-consuming labour element has largely
been eliminated. The result is that we’ve increased
productivity so that our production teams can now
concentrate on what they do best, and that’s to
generate more print without the need to add more
staff members.”
The printer has also expanded the type of wide
format jobs that Crescent Press is able to fulfil. These
now include pull-up, tension and fabric banners;
pop-up stands; exhibition counters; life-size cut-outs;
3D lettering; window vinyls; vehicle graphics; and
bespoke wall coverings.
“The EFI H1625 LED has given us a new direction
in the type of job we can now produce. Its quality
matches the specifications required by our customers,
and the inclusion of white ink means we can produce
applications which weren’t possible when just relying
on standard colour options,” adds Matthews.
On
the cover
