Nicholas M. Hellmuth

FLAAR Reports

Solvent Ink PrintersPresented at FESPA Trade ShowSummer 2005

August 2005

Introduction bedigital DuPont ColorSpan Flex-Europa Flora Infi niti JHF, JinHengFeng Digital Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd. Keundo Matan MegaJet Mimaki Mutoh Oce Seiko Skyair-ship Vutek Yishan Wit-Color Thermal Transfer (Wax Ribbon) Printers

Caption for front cover photgraph: Wit-Color solvent printer at the FESPA 2005 trade show.

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Introduction

This report lists the solvent ink printers that we can remember from FESPA trade show from May 31-June 4, Munich, Germany. Many of these printers were already shown in the US at ISA trade show a month or so before. But several of the other solvent ink printers were fi rst revealed at FESPA, such as from Mutoh.

We cover eco-solvent printers in a separate FLAAR Report.

bedigital showed their rebranded Roland printer as the solBejet. They use solvent ink. True solvent ink in early Roland printers ate away components that were only made to handle normal Epson/Roland water-based inks. The components in 2005 have long ago been improved, but still, these Roland printers could be considered retrofi tted: their inherent structure was not designed from the ground up to handle solvent inks, or eco-solvent either.

The bedigital uribe looks like a re-badged Mutoh or Mimaki. If you check around you fi nd out it is a rebranded Mimaki JV3-250SP.

DuPont rebrands Flora printers made by Shenzhen Runjiang in ChinaChromaPrint 25S, 2.5 m, 98 in, 6 colors, Spectra 128SL printheadsChromaPrint 32S, 3.2 m, 145 in, 6 colors, Spectra Nova 256 printheads.

ColorSpan showed their Gator 72SI. We have done a site-visit case study of the earlier Gator 72S and found that it worked just fi ne and overall functioned better than the Mutoh Toucan and its heads lasted longer than the Seiko. There is a stretch model of the ColorSpan available now, their 98sx.

Flex-EuropaAlthough they list a telephone # for the US, this company does not exhibit in the US, and I do not remember seeing them at DRUPA or Photokina either. Of course with so many printers at a show, perhaps they did exhibit and I just did not notice it. Their headquarters is in the UK. Elsewhere I have a note that Flex-Europa is the distributor for “Lyrics.”

Flora is the brand name for printers made by Shenzhen Runjiang in China.Flora HJ 3200, 3.3 m, 4 colors, Xaar 500 printheads

Flora LJII 1800, 6 colors, Spectra 128 printheadsFlora LJII 2500Flora LJII 3200

Flora HJII 3200, 4 or 6 colors, Spectra 256 printheadsFlora HJII 5000

bedigital Roland solBejet solvent ink printer.

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Infi niti Europe is independent of “Infi niti USA” which is Aeromatrix. Infi niti Europe printers have different names (even if sometimes the same printer). The quality in the booth in Germany was noticeably better than the banding and splotchy output seen at Graphics of the Americas, IGA, and SGIA in the US.

Infi niti Xterius 15, 1.52 m, 4 printheads, Xaar XK126-300 printheadsInfi niti Xterius 16, 1.62 m, 8 printheadsInfi niti Xterius 18, 1.8 m, 4 or 6 colors, Xaar XK126-300 printheadsInfi niti Xterius 25, 2.5 m.Infi niti Xpert 32, 3.2 m, 6 colors, Spectra Nova JA 256 printheadsInfi niti Xplorer 33, 3.3 m, 4 colors, Spectra Nova 256 printheadsInfi niti Xtream 23s, 1.6 m, 6 colors, Konica printheads.

JHF, JinHengFeng Digital Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd.Beijing Jinhengfeng Digital Science & Techology Development Co., Ltd, uses Xaar printheads and produces printers that are very wide but very simple: in this respect they remind me of the even more basic Lyric printers. These printers look rather lightweight when compared with D.G.I. printers from Korea (Dilli). JHF makes so many different models it is impossible to keep track (we list as many as we know in our main Solvent Printer List). Here are those that were listed on the brochures at FESPA 2005:

Vista-5004, 5 m, Xaar 500 printheads, seemingly 180 native dpi; up to 360 dpiVista-5006, 5 m, Xaar 500 printheads

Vista-3504, 3.4 m, Xaar 500 printheadsVista-3506, 3.4 m, Xaar 500 printheads

Vista-1808, 1.85 m, Xaar 128Vista-2508, 2.55 m, Xaar 128Vista-3308, 3.25 m, Xaar 128Vista-3312, 3.25 m, Xaar 128

JHF is one of the few Chinese companies that has no fl atbed, neither solvent nor UV.

In the US, they don’t use the Chinese name; they just use the model designation Vista (don’t get these confused

Infi niti Xterius 18 solvent printer.

Infi niti Xpert 32 solvent printer.

Kuendo SupraQ Series 3300 fl atbed solvent printer.

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with printers that are also called Vista from D.G.I. or Dilli in Korea). Although the US models were not shown in the JHF booth in Munich, we list them here to make the record complete.

The mix of models is slightly different, albeit some of the identical model designations are available in America.Vista 1808Vista 2508Vista 2908 (not in the JHF brochure from FESPA)Vista 3308Vista 3312Vista 3316

Keundo had a large booth at FESPA, showing their SupraQ Series 3300 and the fl atbed version too (solvent ink; not UV).

Matan is an Israeli company that does not manufacturer their own solvent ink printers (they do design their own thermal wax ribbon Sprinter printers). Matan resells printers from Teckwin, mainland China. I have heard questions relative to one of the Gerber printers being similar to one Teckwin printer as one sold by Matan. But Gerber (Spandex in Europe) did not exhibit at FESPA; so I will have to wait until SGIA to compare them.Matan JetSet P 2.5, 6 colors, Hitachi printheads, 96 nozzles per head, 300 dpiMatan JetSet P 3.2

MegaJet 3206 appears to be a rebranded D.G.I. printer (from Korea).

Mimaki had its usually JV3 printers at FESPA. Their brochures featured their UISS-12 ink system to hold the new 440 ml cartridges. Any manufacturer that uses Epson printheads is required by Epson to sell ink bought by the manufacturer through Epson. Obviously Epson itself does not make ink, but they earn on every drop that goes through their printheads. Epson stipulates no bulk ink supplies (after all, if you have a

Matan JetSet P solvent printer.

MegaJet 3206 solvent printer.

Mimaki JV3 solvent printer at FESPA 2005.

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Mimaki Printers from ISA 2005 and FESPA 2005

ISA 2005

Mimaki JV3-250 SP eco-solvent printer.

Mimaki JV3-160 SP solvent inkjet printer.

Mimaki JV22-160 dye sub printer.

Mimaki Display Maker Series XII/.

Mimaki Display Maker Series XII/.

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FESPA 2005

Mimaki UJF-605C UV inkjet printer.

Mimaki JV3-160 SP printer.

Mimaki Textile Jet TX-1600S printer.

Mimaki JV3-160 SP printer.

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bulk ink system it is too easy to pour in Triangle Ink, Bordeaux ink, Lyson ink, etc). The Epson ink comes only in Epson-style cartridges. 110 and 220 ml have been the style so far. These are too small for a productive solvent ink printer. So now a 440 ml size is available (which still is not even a half-liter). So you end up needing a kind of ridiculous system that holds 24 cartridges. Just calculate the wastage in packaging materials alone, along with the cost of not being able to buy in bulk. Now you see why ColorSpan, and even Seiko (parent of Epson), use different printheads that don’t have this restriction.

Mimaki JV3-75SPII, 31 inch, $12,895Mimaki JV3-160SP, 63 inch, $29,995Mimaki JVS-250SP, 98” stretch-model, $49,995

The Mutoh Osprey and Mutoh Phoenix have more majestic names than Mutoh Albatros. The Mutoh Osprey only two heaters (platen and post); so lacks a pre-heater.

Width of material

Width of printing

Print heads colors Ink capacity

dpi Dpi at more

passes

comments

Osprey 102.36 in 2.6 m

98.43 in 2.5 m

6 Spectra, 256 noz

6 180 360 720 dpi is for high ink loads

Phoenix 3.3 m 3.3 m Not listed Not listed, as though this is a prototype

The Phoenix has vague spec sheet; even says it can take eco-solvent, solvent, and UV-cured inks, as though it is a “concept car” rather than an actual printer that you can buy today. Of course you can’t put UV-ink into a printer until you have UV-lamps.

Mutoh Phoenix solvent printer.Mutoh Osprey solvent printer.

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ISA 2005 Mutoh Printers

Mutoh FALCON II Outdoor eco-solvent printer.

Mutoh FALCON II Outdoor HD eco-solvent printer.

Mutoh Toucan 646 Solvent printer.

Mutoh Toucan Hybrid solvent printer.

Mutoh Toucan Hybrid solvent printer.

Mutoh Toucan LT eco-solvent printer.

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Oce Arizona T220 was shown with the vacuum forming option alongside. The Arizona T220 is one of the few remaining fl atbeds that still use solvent ink. The reason is because Oce offers a special ink that can be vacuum formed using an optional vacuum-mold press from Sign-Tronic. The ink does not break when the material is vacuum formed into a 3-dimensional shape. You can vacuum form a 3D image up to 24 inches.

Oce showed their re-branded version of the Seiko ColorPainter 64S, called the Oce CS6060. I am curious if it has the same quirks as the Seiko (which is overall one of my favorite printers, but like any machine, it has its quirks; read the FLAAR site-visit case study for details).

The Oce Arizona 600 is one of the few Oce solvent ink printers that has survived; the Arizona 30, 80, and 180 are all older technology. 1.9 m, 6 colors. Not a peep on which printheads are used.

Oce also resells the Gandinnovations JETi 3300 solvent ink printer in Europe and the US.

Seiko solvent ink printers were both in the Seiko booth and in the booths of European resellers and distributors. We now have two FLAAR Reports on the Seiko ColorPainter 64S: an evaluation and a site-visit case study.

Skyair-ship (Shenyang Sky Air-Ship Digital Printing Technology Co., Ltd.They hyphenate different parts of their name, depending on whether they are using the long version or the short version.Their Skyjet Little Fairy has Xaar XJ-128 printheads. The Little Fairy comes in more fl avors than I can remember. This makes realistic inventories of this kind of printer impractical.

Skyjet 3308HQ-4CSkyjet 3312HQ-6CSkyjet 3312HQ-4CSkyjet 3318HQ-6CSkyjet 3316HQ-4CSkyjet 3324HQ-6C

Skyjet 3312HS-4CSkyjet 3316HS-4CSkyjet 3324HS-4C

Seiko ColorPainter 64s solvent printer.

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At ISA 2005 Vutek introduced their fi rst really low-end (entry-level) printer. Someone said it looked like a re-branded Mutoh. So I have to check all this out.

A few years ago Vutek was king of wide format printers, with only Scitex Vision, NUR, and a few other companies competing. Now Roland, ColorSpan, Seiko, Mutoh and Mimaki have all created stretch-models that mimic grand format printers. Plus a dozen Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese competitors. And more serious new competition from Gandinnovations too.

Technoplot GmbH is a German company that sells a fl atbed solvent printer. The SolventJet-Combi consists of a Roland printer with a simple roller table. I am not sure that a fl atbed with no legs will survive without being bent out of shape. And if tilted even a few centimeters, stiff material will lift up at the end and hit the printheads. Printers of this nature have a limited range.

These printers are manufactured in China by Yishan and sold by Digirex, a company in Turkey (PIMMS Group Company), www.digirex-tr.comYishan Technojet Tiger / Technojet Plus, Xaar printheads.Yishan Digirex Technojet Smart, 4-color, Xaar heads, 3.5 media width.Yishan Digirex PrintStar, entry level, in two widths: 2.5 m and 3.2 m.Yishan Digirex PrintMaster, two widths: 2.5 m and 3.2 m.Yishan Camelon Pro 3216, 3.2 m.Yishan Camelon Pro 3208, two widths: 2.5 m and 3.2 m.

Wit-Color, Shanghai Wit-color Digital Printing Equipment & Technology Co., Ltd.Wit-Color Ultra 720, 2.2 m, 4-color, XaarWit-Color Ultra Max, 3.3 m, H4, 4-colorWit-Color Ultra Max H6, 2.6 m, 6-colorWit-Color Ultra 3320, 3.3 m, 4-color, Xaar XJ128Wit-Color Ultra 8H, 2908, 2.9 m, 4 colorWit-Color Ultra 8H, 3308, 3.3 m, 4 colorWit-Color Ultra 12H, 2912, 2.9 m, 4-colorWit-Color Ultra 12H, 3312, 3.3 m, 4-color

At ISA 2005, the brochure also listed the

Yishan Digirex solvent printer.

Wit-Color Ultra solvent ink printer.

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Thermal Transfer (Wax Ribbon) Printers

The heyday of this technology was 1999-2001, with Matan in the forefront. But the ribbons were very expensive for two reasons: you only used a small portion of the colorant on the ribbon but you still had to run all colors through the same amount. On top of this a lot of ribbon was used up in starting the printer up each time it had been turned off.

By the time of FESPA, only about two companies were using wax ribbon other than narrow format Gerber and wide format Roland. The Roland system was prone to banding, the width of the ribbon. Matan still offered its Sprinter B system.

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