Until fairly recently anyone wanting to enter into wide format print production with a modest investment was restricted to an ink formulation that prevented true versatility in terms of handling and productivity. Roll fed machines provide many strong opportunities for users wanting to generate applications on flexible media but being able to work with rigid substrates, too, required a more costly and complex purchase.
Today there are several options which use UV curable inks and that can work with both rigid and flatbed materials but, in most cases, you get what you pay for. This means, for an entry level printer users will find they have to compromise in terms of ink capabilities, output quality and expensive curing lamps.
However, following on from the success of its VUTEk series of wide and superwide format printers that incorporate LED curing, EFI has now added its ‘cool cure’ technology to the EFI Wide Format H1625 LED. Acknowledging the tremendous growth in demand for a well constructed and reliable 1.6 metre combination platform, this new machine now brings the advantages of printing direct to rigid sheets and roll fed materials within the price range of all companies who want to produce outdoor durable output at very high quality but with low operating costs.
The H1625 LED is designed for greener productivity and, unlike most wide format printers in its category, its LED lamps enable users to work on sensitive, very thin materials and those with tricky surfaces that, conventionally, have been difficult to print. This broadens the ability to produce applications on a diverse range of substrates up to 5.08 centimetres in thickness, with a maximum width of 1.65 metres.
With four colours and white, this printer includes eight levels of variable droplet greyscale handling, making it ideal for photographic images as well as solid colours, with smooth graduations and strong saturated shades. The addition of a highly opaque white ink makes it easy to work with coloured and transparent media with a variety of workflow options, all of which add to the overall versatility of the H1625.
For print shops of all sizes, it is important that devices are able to merge with a company’s existing or planned workflow, and the H1625 is integration ready for use with EFI’s web to print and MIS/ERP productivity software. Delivered with Fiery XF, this printer’s DFE (digital front end) can RIP and print on demand, or work with files that have already been processed.
For companies that believe that adding the comprehensive capabilities of a good combination flatbed and roll fed wide format printer is beyond their expectations, it is certainly worth investigating the H1625 LED. Starting on the EFI ladder to success also ensures that future production needs are catered for, with the comprehensive VUTEk portfolio, Jetrion label systems, and business and productivity software solutions that cover virtually every eventuality.
