durst process june 2007

Durst process : Issue 33 June 2007

EDITORIALLarge Format UV Printers

NEWSRho 800 • Rho 351R • Glass Decoration System

INSTALLATIONMainospyora, Finland • McKenzie Clark, UK • Ferrari Color, US

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYWhat is RIP?

MEDIA & HANDLINGThe Future - UV printable truck tarpaulins

APPLICATIONCustomcolor, Mexico • Procedes, Germany

EVENTS

In 2002, only approx. 200 units of large format printers using UV curable inks were sold. In 2005 Lyra Research predicted for 2007 a sales volume of 1400 units and IT Strategies estimated the market for 2007 to be 2705 units. The truth as always will be somewhere in between, at say 2200 units. The market is equally distributed between USA, Canada, Latin America on one hand and Europe on the other, whereas Asia with approx. 2% market share seems to be a “developing country” in this respect. The market itself is still fragmented with hardly a single company achieving a global market share higher than 25%. Of these sales 78% are “hybrid units” (flatbed + roll to roll), 10% are pure roll to roll printers (Nur and Durst) and 12% pure flatbeds (Inca and Lüscher). Our estimate is that 34% are printers in the price range between 200 and 250K Euro, 25% in the range between 125K and 150K Euro, 19,5% priced at and below 100K Euro and 21% around 300K and above. The strongest increase we have experienced in the

past 2 years was in the price range of 150K Euro. We believe that, in the future, the volume of units at 100K Euro and below will show the sharpest increase. The potential for sign makers, small screen printers and start-ups in digital printing is large and unexploited. The fact is that, as IT Strategies pointed out, the UV printer market will grow at an average annual rate of 25% until 2010, whereas the market for large format printers using aqueous inks is stagnant and that for solvent ink printers will grow by just 7%.

The reason for that projection is not only the growing consciousness of “ambient pollution” but the increased interest in board printers, which eliminate the labour intensive lamination of printed rolls onto rigid surfaces. The low cost of labour in Asia is the reason for the low penetration of flatbed printers in that part of the world.

UV inks have the big advantage of allowing printing on almost all surfaces without pre or after treatment.

FESPA 2007 Special edition

Large Format UV Printers - a growing market

UV printers by price range

egnar ecirp yb sretnirp VU

21%

34%

20%

25%

< 100 K Euro

125 - 150 K Euro

200 - 250 K Euro

> 300 K Euro

Durst Phototecknik AG Vittorio-Veneto-Street 59 I-39042 Brixen, Italy Tel: +39/0472 81 01 11 Fax: +39/0472 83 09 80

Editorial

An even sharper growth of 38% annual average is predicted for UV inks (which is starting from a low level of 1300 tons compared to the 20 times larger solvent ink volume) and also for media (+35%). In this area water based inks are stagnant and solvent inks show a growth of 28%. A lower growth for UV is doubtful as the transfer towards “green technology” coupled with European and global legislation will, in our opinion, push UV inks further.

UV technology will also show growth in the roll to roll area, the domain of solvent inks until today. The reasons are: the increasing consciousness of “ambient pollution”, decreasing UV ink prices, media variety and increased demands of end users for eco-friendly production of their print requirements.

7002 sretnirP PFL lanoisseforp ni emulov knI 2102 sretnirP PFL lanoisseforp ni emulov knI

Ink Volume in professional LFP Printers 2012

4%

UV

Solvent

Aqueous

UV

Solvent

Aqueous

81%

15%

69%

18%13%

7002 esab dellatsni sretnirP PFL2102 esab dellatsni sretnirP PFL

LFP Printers installed base 2007 LFP Printers installed base 2012

UV

Solvent

Aqueous

UV

Solvent

Aqueous

4%

50%

46% 45%

13%

42%

Ink Volume in professional LFP Printers 2007


The world’s first continuous board printer

The new Durst Rho 800 Presto represents a new generation of UV flatbed printers. Innovative improvements give the new Rho 800 Presto a production output in a class of its own amongst UV flatbed printers.

The combination of a compact, robust design with the facility for the continuous printing of any number of boards, without interruption, and an unrivalled print quality, provide a level of productivity and quality previously unattainable in industrial printing. The Rho 800 is capable of printing up to 100 sheets per hour (125 x 80cm/4 x 2.6 ft) with the Continuous Board Printing Option.

The mechanism for continuous board feeding is created by a combination of mechanical and new software developments. Materials are registered at the leading edge by means of mechanical front stops, making parallel loading of sheets possible. You can then load the next series of boards pushed up against the first. The special transport system

subsequently takes over and ensures the continuous printing of boards without interruption. The mechanical front stops also allow for narrow boards to be printed across the full width, maximising output speed. An encoder measures the transport sequences, ensuring utmost precision in image alignment and perfect print registration on long boards.

The Rho 800 prints up to a maximum width of 250cm (8ft) by any length. In addition, it will print white and light colours without loss of speed.

Durst Quadro Array print head technology ensures the finest quality of print with exceptional print speed, featuring pin sharp text (as small as 4 point) and solid areas of colour with high colour density. And with Durst providing the highest reliability in the market, users can rely on 24/7 production.

Users of the new Rho 800 Presto will appreciate many new or improved business opportunities. Print orders are completed more cost efficiently than previously, increased productivity provides extra capacity for additional business and, above all, increased levels of profit for your business are realized.

Announcing the Rho 800 Presto

News

Introducing the Rho 351 - Roll to Roll UV Inkjet PrinterThe Rho 351, a further development of the Rho 350, is a high-speed UV inkjet printer for roll media, including: paper, fabrics, vinyl and PVC films, up to a width of 3500mm (11.6 ft). The high print quality, featuring fine text (as small as 4 point) and solid areas of colour with high colour gamut and density, is achieved using Durst Quadro Array print head technology, innovative European mechanical engineering and Durst’s proprietary image software.

The Rho 351 uses Durst Rho Roll Ink, a virtually odourless, high pigmentation ink, which has been specially developed for excellent flexibility, adhesion and colour stability on flexible material. It is ideal for printing on such material

as soft banners (fabrics) and backlit textiles, tents and awnings, truck side curtains, POP/POS signs, large format posters, building wrapping, wallpaper and PVC films for backlighting, etc... The high colour density of 2.25 D and the ability to underprint white or use it as a spot colour, enables both the printing of coloured media and the production of photo-quality backlits. The printing of backlits is automated by the special backlit function which applies double the ink coverage in one printing operation. The high productivity, up to 170m²/hr on mesh, for example, is further optimised by the ability to print two 1600mm wide, different diameter


News

rolls simultaneously, thus utilising the full width of the equipment. Productivity is enhanced still further by the stepless skip-white function in an XY direction.

The printing operation is enhanced by an integrated manual cutting device and the user friendly, industry standard LINUX operating software. The built-in security system allows for unattended printing of large rolls and double sided printing is made possible thanks to the laser driven registration.

The Rho 351 is suitable for printing on a whole range of different fabrics. Brush-stretch rollers and a tension regulation device transport even thin fabrics precisely and crease-free through the printing equipment, whilst the UV lamps, with dichroitic coated reflectors, are adjustable in steps and cure the UV inks even on temperature-sensitive media. The high flexibility of the Rho Roll Ink means that uncoated fabrics are printable without wicking and UV pre-coated fabrics show no white breaks.

Glass Decoration System

Durst launches its Digital Glass Decoration System at FESPA 07

As part of Durst’s ongoing research into developing new applications for large format UV inkjet printing, we have perfected the process of printing on glass. Samples will be shown on our stand at FESPA.

Durst Rho Rigid ink has always had the best adhesion in the market for traditionally difficult rigid media such as glass, acrylics and polycarbonates. However, previously printed glass could only be used for indoor applications. Now, with the new Digital Glass Decoration System, printed glass will withstand outdoor or wet conditions for long periods of time.

The Digital Glass Decoration System is specifically targeted at the screen printing industry as a hybrid process. The special UV primer is applied by the screen printing process onto the glass which then passes into the Rho in a continuous process. The image is printed and passes under the Rho’s UV lamp where the primer and ink are cured together. The wet on wet printing forms a chemical bond and provides the print with excellent adhesion. Furthermore, Durst Rho printers have industrial printing options for handling heavy boards and are therefore ideally suited for printing large, heavy glass panels.

To highlight the development, Durst will exhibit the work of Ernst Fuchs, the leading Austrian artist, printed on glass panels, at the Sony Center in Berlin during FESPA. The Sony Center, located in the Potsdamer Platz in the centre of Berlin, is an ideal venue for exhibiting the artwork. Its striking architecture, entirely in steel and glass, features a spectacular glass roof spanning a large plaza area. By printing on glass panels, Durst brings to life a stunning collection of Ernst Fuchs paintings whilst demonstrating our printing capability.

Durst commissioned standardised adhesion tests for the Digital Glass Decoration System. The system passed, amongst others, the following important tests for outdoor usage:


Water Resistance Testing of Coatings in 100% Relative Humidity (ASTM D2247). The printed glass panels are placed in an enclosed chamber maintained at a temperature of 100°F (38°C) at 100% relative humidity. The test samples are cooled at the back so that condensation forms.

The test samples are then evaluated: there was no colour change, blistering, loss of adhesion, softening or embrittlement.

Water Resistance of Coatings Using Water Immersion (ASTM D870). The test panels are immersed in water maintained at a temperature of 100°F (38°C). The test samples are evaluated as above and they passed all the criteria.

An important benefit to come from these tests is that Durst’s process for UV digital glass decoration is the first to meet the requirements for outdoor application.

News

InstallationFinnish company installs a Rho 160R for printing vehicle livery

Mainospyörä, based in Espoo, is a pioneer in the Finnish brand building industry and part of the Nordic Brand Factory Group. The company has developed through the conception, planning and implementation of new identities and well known brand elements in thousands of outlets. The company was founded in 1964 and has been actively developing new production techniques, documentation and process control methods for the past 40 years. There are 80 highly skilled professionals working in its Espoo offices and about 4,000 square metres of production facilities. Together with its

Swedish daughter company Brand Factory Nordic AB, the company has a Nordic turnover of EUR 26 million.

Mainospyörä specialises in producing durable printing solutions for every environment whether for outdoor vehicle livery, advertising and signage or for indoor applications such as retail displays, advertising and exhibition graphics. Its customers span the widest range of national and international brands and corporations, from airlines to train operators and from retail stores to real estate companies.


The company purchased the Rho 160R in February of this year, primarily as a replacement for an old electrostatic machine. It already has several other inkjet printing machines but only one other UV curing machine.

“The main reason for our investment in the Durst Rho,” said Timo Ojavuo, Deputy Managing Director of Mainospyörä, “is that it is accepted as a 3M MCS warranty printer. Most of the work that we produce on the Rho is for vehicle graphics using 3M inks and media, which is covered by an MCS warranty for up to 5 years.”

“We first noticed an article about Durst in 2005, which prompted us to find out more. The initial studies gave us a positive signal to start evaluating the Durst Rho. The Rho 160R passed all our tests so we took the decision to invest.”

“What impressed us most about the Rho was its printing quality. Since its installation we have also found that it gives us the benefit of reduced production costs, including lower ink and labour costs. Faster turnaround of work and lower production costs have certainly had a favourable effect on profitability.”

“The Rho has an important role in our business both now and in the future”

For more information on Mainospyörä, telephone+358 10 3442 00.

Installation

McKenzie Clark is one of the UK’s largest graphics and display companies. Established in 1994, the company offers a range of products and services designed to take a client’s concepts and manage them through production, implementation or distribution. Much of their business is in the retail and cosmetic sectors where quality and fast turnaround of graphic material are essential.

The company has always been quick to invest in the latest digital technology in order to provide a better, more cost efficient service and the best possible quality. In fact, McKenzie Clark has a long history of technology “firsts” with Durst. Many years ago, it was one of the first companies to install a Durst Lambda, then the world’s first production Rho 160, followed by a Rho 205. Now it is one of the first to add a Rho 350R to its extensive equipment base.

“We installed the Rho 350R to meet the demand for increased capacity, greater efficiency and more flexibility,” said Graham Clark, Managing Director of McKenzie Clark. “We have found that the trend for larger graphics over the last five years continues to grow. This, coupled with the need for increased efficiency and speed of turnaround, has placed more demand on direct to media printing, both roll and rigid media. We first saw the 350 at FESPA last year and were immediately impressed by its quality of print and

productivity. This coincided with our decision to build a new factory which was completed last month when we installed the Rho.”

“It made sense,” continued Graham Clark, “to put the new machine in the new premises and this allowed us to dispose of our two old roll machines, one of which was a solvent printer. We now have no solvent printers in the company, which is something that we have been moving towards for both quality and environmental reasons. We are certain that solvent inks will come increasingly under pressure from environmental legislation and that UV inks are much more eco-friendly. In addition, solvent and UV inks have different colour management profiles, so it is has saved a great deal of colour management time being able to use the same profiles throughout the production area.”

“Since its installation, the Rho 350 has exceeded our expectations for its quality of print, it really is excellent. So much so that one of our cosmetic company clients is considering switching from a photo output for their display transparencies to using the Rho to print directly on to opal film.”

For more information on McKenzie Clark, telephone, 020 7231 6070.

McKenzie Clark in the UK adds a Rho 350R to its portfolio of Durst machines


Installation

Ferrari Color installs entire suite of Durst Rho UV inkjet printers to address both environmental and client needs

Imager is phasing out solvent printers to make room for $1M+ in new UV curing process equipment.

One of the most successful and respected large format commercial imagers in the U.S., Ferrari Color, with operations in Salt Lake City, Sacramento and San Francisco, has acquired an entire suite of UV inkjet printers from Durst Image Technology U.S. The equipment is to replace several of its solvent-based ink printers in a $1 million-plus equipment acquisition motivated in part by Ferrari Color’s support for the environment.

Ferrari Color’s President, Kirk Green, said his company’s decision to begin phasing out its solvent-based printers by installing three new Durst UV inkjet printing platforms was motivated by both business and environmental considerations. Ferrari Color recently collaborated with Utah Power & Light to install an energy-efficient air conditioning system into its Salt Lake City facilities, and it is known for producing quality visual displays for national retailers, convention centers, stadiums, and such major sporting events as the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the NBA Playoffs.

“As quickly as new technology becomes available, our clients come up with innovative ways to market themselves,” Green said. “By providing more printing options, we give our clients a wider breadth of choices to bring their ideas to life. By choosing to expand our capabilities around this innovative Durst technology, we can offer them superior output utilizing a more environmentally responsible process.”

Ferrari Color, with on-site support and expertise from Durst technicians, is currently in the process of installing three of Durst’s newest and most innovative UV inkjet printing platforms at its Salt Lake City facility. They are the Durst Rho 350R, which prints on roll media up to 11.5ft (3.5m) wide; the Durst Rho 600 Pictor, a versatile, compact, large format printer that delivers high quality output on rigid or roll materials; and Durst’s latest introduction, the Rho 160R, developed in conjunction with 3M primarily for producing

vehicle wraps utilizing the 3M Series 2700 UV inks and media, which are certified for 3M’s five-year MCS guarantee. Ferrari Color is the first commercial imager in the U.S. to install the Durst Rho 160R.

“Ferrari Color is always looking for the best new options in the industry,” Green said, noting that the company’s Durst UV inkjet printing platforms offer its clients a wider selection of substrates on which to print, as well as white ink capabilities which, until now, had not been an option for short run digital printing. “Ferrari Color has found that extra large prints from the Durst printers display sharper text and more consistent image quality for long run digital printing,” he added.

The new Durst equipment represents the largest one-time equipment installation in Ferrari Color’s 20 year history, and is one of the largest single sales of Durst equipment.

“Durst and Ferrari Color have enjoyed a long business relationship, since Ferrari Color’s first Lambda digital photo imager,” said A. Ron Waters, President and CEO of Durst Image Technology U.S. “We are thrilled that Ferrari Color has decided to partner with Durst and its Durst UV inkjet printer family as they make the transition from solvent technology to the more environmentally responsible UV inkjet process.”

“Currently, U.S. regulations regarding solvents and Volatile Organic Compounds are not as strict as Europe’s, but more and more North American clients are openly preferring vendors who employ ‘green’ processes to deliver the image quality they require,” Waters added. “Durst UV inkjet printers are best at directly and effectively addressing those dual needs. Durst’s UV cured inks are less harmful to the environment than traditional solvent-based inks currently in wide use in large-format printing.”

For more information on Ferrari Color, contact the company’s Marketing Director, Heidi Hall, (801) 355-4124.


Science & Technology

What is RIPIn answering that question, one thing is sure, it does not mean “Rest In Peace”, as there is no peace and certainly no rest in being in the large format printing business... The abbreviation “RIP” stands for Raster Image Processor. Its main functionality is to convert a page document or an image file into the native language of a printing device.

There was a time when hardware RIPs were available, but computers have evolved so dramatically, and deliver so much power, that no proprietary hardware equipment is needed anymore. Today, most RIPs are just software RIPs, running on computers such as PCs or Macs or on embedded computers directly installed within the printer in the case of laser copiers or plate setters.

The essence of a RIP is to convert a document or an image made up of vectors, lines and pixels into the ink dots that a printer is designed to squirt on the media. In principle, the RIP is a translator of vector data into raster data. All the magic of a RIP will lie in its ability to create the screening of the image, creating dots from the squared pixels of your computer display! And that is not as simple as its seems since in the process, the RIP will have to deal with complex colour management and profiling issues, resizing and rotation factors, dot placement and of course the interpretation of the various image formats such as Photoshop, TIFF, JPEG to name but a few, as well as PostScript and PDF page description language.

The reality is that today, and more specifically in the work intensive world of the large format printing business, a RIP is no longer the dark and remote functionality that it was many years ago. It is now a key component of the printing itself. Some will even say that it is the brain of the printer. This is not only because the conversion of pixels to dots is important but also because the whole industry has changed. We are now in the era of the WorkFlow, where the RIP is required to display and pre-flight the content of the file, place it on a virtual roll or plate of media, mix or lay it out with other jobs while optimising the printable surface, create tiles from one document and even soft-proof the result to check colour consistency at the monitor level before printing... Not to mention the need for profile simulation to match one printer with another, Pantone or spot colour matching and much more!

Some will still call it RIP, we at Caldera will call it RIP WorkFlow. And it is not the end... As we learn from end-users, we will go on adding to it. Cost and quote management, finishing features for contour or XY cutting and barcode identification are some of the features already available in the Caldera RIP Workflow product line. And the heavy duty ability to mix different colour spaces in the same document, creating splashy colours at printing time, is a must.

For years, we at Caldera have believed that the OS was not a concern but more a differentiation. There was a time when Windows was so poor in performance that only Linux or Unix based Mac OS X was a solid alternative. And we have

made the choice of delivering more power for the money, better reliability and stability in the working day! It seems that today, everything is PC based since Apple, Linux and Windows are running on Intel! So it becomes a non-issue. Years of experience in multi-tasking and multi-processing OS such as Linux make us stronger to deliver a solid RIP architecture capable of driving multiple Windows or Mac client users’ equipment and driving an unlimited number of devices from ONE control centre!!! Speed in displaying a file, predictability when it comes to colour, agility and flexibility to prepare it for its final printable destination, and manage all files from one central web-driven spooler, are key factors in saving hours of printer productivity.

As we say at Caldera, in CMYK, the K is certainly not for Kilo but more probably for Knowledge as more and more knowledge is injected into every new release of RIP software to make it more production oriented and more profitable at a time when colour is king.

Caldera Graphics, Wide Format Imaging

Vector data is a series of points, lines and polygons. Vector data has both magnitude and direction. Vector graphics structure is a means of coding lines and area information in the form of units of data expressing magnitude, direction and connectivity.

A line drawn in vector format is defined by coordinates at each end of the line or coordinates at the start point and the direction and length of the line in raster data is a grid of cells covering an area of interest. Each pixel, the smallest unit of information in the grid, displays a unique attribute. A line drawn in a raster format must be defined by a group of pixels along the length of line. As a result, the size of a raster file is greater than that required by a vector file.


Media & Handling

The Future – UV printable truck tarpaulins

Durst UV prints on Sattler Hightex fabrics

The Austrian company Sattler AG has been the top manufacturer of quality solar protection and high-tech fabrics for 130 years.

A highly innovative enterprise, Sattler AG relies on keeping new technologies and trends constantly under observation. This is why we have focused for so long on the use of digital printing for solar protection and technical fabrics.

Company headquarters is in Graz, capital of the province of Styria, Austria. Other subsidiaries in Rudersdorf, Burgenland, Austria and Greven, North Germany supply Sattler products to more than 50 countries worldwide.

Over the past few years, digital printing has become an absolute must in the advertising medium sector. High-brilliance, large-surface advertising screens spreading all kinds of information in all kinds of ways are found everywhere. One of our goals for the near future is to make the largely unused potential of tarpaulin surfaces on the sides of trucks and vans accessible to the advertising industry.

This application is currently restricted to calligraphic methods, allowing the design of simple logos and lettering, and to screen printing, which permits more complicated company logos and graphics in greater volume. In the past few years, more and more digital printing has appeared on trucks on the road.

The main problem still faced by digital printers is print durability. Given the fact that truck tarpaulins are usually changed only every 3 to 5 years, digital printers, tarpaulin manufacturers and suppliers must ensure that the printing outlasts this period without deterioration, in spite of wear and tear due to exposure to wind, washing, environmental factors and solar UV-radiation.

Screen-printed advertising on the side-curtain of a semi-trailer truck.

In order to protect the printing from such conditions, digital prints are usually lacquer-coated with varnish, quite a problematic technique because of its difficult application.

In addition to solvent-based digital printing, a number of significant developments have taken place in the digital UV-printing sector. Our awareness of this problem was raised during a visit to the Durst Phototechnik AG information stand at the FESPA 2006 fair in Amsterdam; ensuing in-house quality tests of prints on Sattler fabrics yielded outstanding results in the above mentioned problem fields.

Print specimen for our quality 641 D12, printed on a Rho 350R in autumn 2006. The print yielded excellent colour brilliance and very good test results.

The ensuing printing tests carried out on Sattler fabrics in the Durst trial plant at Brixen, Italy confirmed the progress achieved by Durst’s UV-printing machines in terms of quality.

In addition to outstanding printing results on solar protection fabrics, our qualities 953 D12 and 641 D12, specially optimised for use as digitally printable truck tarpaulins, yielded excellent printing results.

In order to determine the quality of digital prints, our specimens undergo a whole series of tests that have been carefully designed in accordance with the future requirement profile of truck tarpaulins. In addition to flexing tests to determine the fabric’s fluttering behaviour on the truck, soiling and cleaning tests regarding environmental impacts on the road, cross-cut tests, scratch tests and tests assessing the adhesion of the ink, tarpaulins are also exposed to UV-weathering in the UV-box.

Flexed specimen tested according to DIN 53 359. The specimen is exposed to as many flex cycles as it takes to break the print on the surface.


Media & Handling

Cross-cut test determining the adhesion of the ink on the tarpaulin.

Soiling test using the Martindale abrasion tester, rubbing soiled fabrics against the test specimen.

After an initial exchange of information between Sattler and Durst, the ink to be used by Durst Photo AG for UV-printing has meanwhile been developed to a stage where regular application tests on our truck tarpaulin qualities 953 D12 and 641 D12 now promise excellent results.

Another highlight of our test series on truck tarpaulins were digital prints on coloured 953 and 641 qualities. We tried to realise highly brilliant digital graphics by simultaneously back-printing the graphic with white ink, and were successful!

Highly brilliant UV digital print on blue 641 tarpaulin quality. The back-printing with white completely neutralises the blue ground colour of the tarpaulin in the printed area.

The double coat of ink applied to the printed area leads to strain in the outer ink coat, which is higher than in a comparable simple print on white tarpaulins. This causes the print to break earlier than usual in flexing tests. This problem could be solved by developing inks of greater elasticity.

We are convinced that the intense joint research efforts of Durst Phototechnik AG and Sattler AG will soon provide our customers with a UV-printable truck tarpaulin displaying all the necessary properties.

Michael PichlerResearch & DevelopmentSattler AG

Application

Rho used to print giant mural on Venetian glass tiles for Mexican restaurant


Customcolor in Mexico City has printed 270,144 Venetian 2x2cm tiles to form a 40 metre mural for Mexico’s most famous restaurant.

Mario Peynetti, CEO of Customcolor, said: “As soon as our Rho was installed, we started to create printed samples to show our customers that we could now print “on any” substrate. Immediately, one of them asked if we could print a 3 x 40m mural on a mosaic of Venetian glass. We then realised that we should have said “almost any” substrate! We thought that this request was almost impossible.”

“Nevertheless, we asked him to send us a few boxes of the mosaic pieces for testing purposes. These we printed on the face but the glassy surface was easily scratched, so we then printed on the back as they were transparent.”

“When the installation team tried to glue them, the ink was washed away because the glue used for the purpose was water based. However, we were not about to give up, so we made several tests using varnish and with the UV lamps set at different temperatures. Also, the glue was prepared using less water. Bingo! It worked just fine.”

“Before printing the final version, we counted the number of mosaic pieces we would be printing on the Rho; each

individual mosaic tile was 2 x 2cm, and was supplied glued together on paper in groups of 30 x 35cm, making a total of 270,144 tiles to print.”

“We made a template which was 3m long by 2m wide. The size of each of the printed panels was 1.80m x 3m and each had to register exactly with its neighbour, which really was not a major problem, due to the precision of the RHO software. Each printed mosaic sheet had 1200 - 2 x 2cm glass pieces and was extremely heavy, but the Rho had no trouble at all dealing with it.”

“It was imperative that we kept the mosaic tiles in a very precise order, as the installers had to work with a giant 270,144 piece puzzle.”

The overall image was a collage of many portraits of one of the most famous Mexican movie stars of the 40’s, Maria Felix, in tribute to a film of hers “Maria Bonita”. The film’s title is also the name of the fine restaurant where the mosaic is installed, at the Hotel Camino Real, one of the foremost hotels in Mexico City.”

“Our customer was so impressed and enthusiastic that we have already made them another two murals, although smaller, for other hotels in the same chain, in different parts of the country.”

Application


The idea that marketing promotion is more than advertising, billboards or displays and that digital printing can realise innovative ideas, is proven by the giant surprise Kinder Schokolade egg at the exit from the motorway near Bonn (Germany).

Procedes Chenel beilken digital printing Werbeges. mbH, based in Lemwerder near Bremen, specialises in promotional campaigns and concepts and has produced this egg by printing 32, 1m x 18.65m strips of frontlit material (450g/m²), which were then precisely mounted on a steel structure and sealed to make the egg watertight.

The completion of this project was only made possible by the precise printing registration offered by the Rho 350-16.

Procedes switched last year from solvent to the environmentally friendly “green” technology of UV curing inks. “We are not only delighted by the precision of the Rho’s printing,” said Mr. Maik Raute, Managing Director of Procedes, “but also love the pin sharp printing of fine text as well as the colour gamut, density and brilliance of the Rho Roll Inks.” He was also pleased with the fact that the target ink cost/m², set at Euro 70 cents/m², could be achieved.

Procedes Chenel is more than just a digital printer. The three core disciplines of the company are very large format, textile printing and profiling systems. In-house facilities include conceptual planning of marketing themes, manufacturing of aluminum constructions, specialized digital printing on fabrics and one-off communication strategies.

Surprise Egg

Events

05.06.2007 - 09.06.2007Fespa 2007Berlin, Germany

Durst Digital Technology, Lienz, Hall: 4.2, D430

08.11.2007 - 10.11.2007Viscom-Visual CommunicationMilan, Italy Durst Divisione Vendite ItaliaHall: 1, Stand: L19/M20

Application

durst process june 2007

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