EFI has unveiled two new roll-to-roll printers in the higher-volume end of the superwide-format signage and display graphics market.
The new EFI VUTEk Q series product line aims to set new levels of production and efficiency by delivering superior quality and a complete system solution with advanced roll-to-roll LED technology.
The new EFI VUTEk Q3r and Q5r UV LED printers produce a wide range of applications, like premium POP with multi-layer white and cosmetics displays that demand high print quality, to high volume campaigns that require low cost of production.
The fastest, most productive roll-to-roll display graphics printers in its class is the 198-inch wide VUTEk Q5r printer, which runs at speeds up to 672 square meters per hour, and the 138-inch wide VUTEk Q3r model, which prints up to 558 square meters per hour.
The VUTEk Q3r and Q5r printers, launched this week during EFI’s Engage virtual users event, showcase new solutions for better throughput, that can be up to a few times faster than existing models in the market.
The new printers feature up to nine ink colours (standard CMYK and optional light cyan, light magenta, light black, white and clear coat), enabling exact customisation of each printer to users’ needs and strategies.
They also boast EFI UltraDrop Technology, featuring native 7-picoliter print heads with multi-drop addressability for high-definition image quality.
The printers also showcase smoothness in shadows, gradients and transitions, as well as precise and sharp three-point size text with a true resolution of up to 1,200 dots per inch.
They also feature UV LED curing, less energy consumption (which enables the use of thinner, heat-sensitive substrates), and EFI’s Power Tool options for advanced productivity and capabilities, including in-line quality inspection, in-line slitting and cutting, roll and tape collection, auto-calibration, automated backlit printing, and automated blockout printing.
The printers also have newly designed mobile operator touch screen stations, which direct users to new EFI IQ optional cloud-based applications for easy monitoring and analysis of production activity.
Both printers include EFI’s Fiery proServer Premium digital front end (DFE) with Fiery FAST RIP for accelerated file processing. The printers’ Fiery DFE systems also include options such as Fiery Spot Color, Fiery Color Profiler Suite and Fiery Color Verifier for colour management.
“We designed the EFI VUTEk Q3r and VUTEk Q5r to go beyond printing to provide a complete print to finished graphic workflow – from RIP to finished product – on the same platform,” EFI worldwide marketing vice-president Ken Hanulec said.
“This new printer series is one big competitive edge for our customers, bringing unprecedented speed to our portfolio and a host of valuable features and options that take profitable roll-to-roll print production to a new, higher level.”
The Q5r is currently available in A/NZ, with the Q3r to “follow closely behind”, according to EFI.
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