Imagedata has ordered a 5m-wide EFI Vutek Q5r UV LED roll-to-roll printer, due for installation later this month.
The new machine – bought through CMYUK – will replace a ten-year-old Durst printer, an update the company said was left longer than usual due to capital equipment upgrades elsewhere in the company.
“Buying any new piece of kit is a bold move but you have to move with the times. However, when you change supplier and shift to another equipment manufacturer, that’s an even bolder move as you’re beginning a new relationship. CMYUK has given us both confidence and reassurance that the after sales support is there, which has been a big part of the decision-making process,” said Imagedata CEO Glen Patrick.
At present the company uses an existing flexible UV printer to output stretch fabric graphics, however the new Vutek Q5r will enable it to expand capacity and provide backup should the need arise.
The business runs three roll-to-roll machines, which at times produces a bottleneck at finishing stages. “The new printer will obviously be able to finish a lot of things inline, which will really help in removing that pressure,” said Patrick. “It’s fast, prints at very high quality, there’s much less waste when setting up, and it includes inline finishing that will reduce production bottlenecks, so it’s superior across the board.”
The Q5r offers up to nine colours, including white and clear, and prints at a resolution of up to 1200dpi. Imagedata prints volumes of clear cling vinyl, so white ink was a requirement. It also chose the clear ink option.
“We think that clear could be a useful USP to offer to customers as it adds the effect of a spot UV or an overall varnish without incurring a significant cost increase. Perfect for a Christmas campaign,” Patrick continued. “Other features like the reduction in makeready waste is impressive. Webbing the printer has reduced linear material wastage to 400mm whereas in the past we’ve dealt with four linear meters that represents a great deal of savings over the year.”
In addition to white and clear applications, the Q5r offers double sided printing, multi-layer print modes, and minimal supervision continuous printing with multi-media handling solutions for large and heavy rolls. It also offers simultaneous multi roll printing, allowing Imagedata to utilise the 5m width by printing either 2 x 2.5m or 3 x 1.6m rolls or a combination of both.
The Vutek Q5r has been designed to reduce running costs and ramp up environmental benefits. UV LED cool curing uses significantly less energy consumption at 2.9kW when compared to the 10kW it takes to run traditional Mercury lamps. Instant on/off and less maintenance increases uptime and productivity, while consistent colour and simple operation reduces needless waste.
