At Fespa Barcelona, Mimaki threw down the latex challenge and, according to reports, took more than 150 orders from clients willing to pick up the gauntlet. Now, DGS Mimaki brings that technology to Australia
DGS Mimaki intends moving the Australian wide-format community into new territory when it unveils its latest printers this month. The Mimaki JV400 series includes a latex ink printer that can print six colours plus white, the first latex inkjet printing technology to introduce white ink: the JV400-130/160LX.
Brad Creighton, national sales manager at DGS Mimaki, believes that Australian wide format specialists are ready for what the new printers from Mimaki can bring to market in terms of print performance, colour accuracy and environmental safety. He says, “It’s not just that these new Mimaki printers can print six colours plus white, which is a first for latex inks. The inks they use will also cure at just 60 degrees on certain media. Many substrates that are usually heat-sensitive can be used on these printers, so users will now have a much wider choice of media they can show to clients.”
The JV400 series printers can print at up to 18sqm per hour using four colours at 900x900dpi. Creighton says, “These new printers have been designed to meet the high productivity needs of sign and graphics printers. This is helped by the use of three heating stations in pre-print, print and post-print positions, and boosted by the use of drying fans on the printer. The three-way intelligent heater improves the colour reproduction and fixability of ink by heating the media to the proper temperature before, during and after printing. In combination with the three way intelligent heater, the added drying fan heater is employed to help resin dissolve to form a membrane.”
Mimaki has placed newly developed high-speed print heads on these printers. Creighton adds, “Depending on the media or output density, the drop sizes of ink from the print head can be selected to a minimum of 4 pl. The multi-drop function provides three different drop sizes at once, producing fascinating, non-grainy and smooth printing results. This proprietary head control technology delivers high definition and high resolution prints.”
New ink
The printer uses a new ink circulation system, MCT (Mimaki Circulation Technology), to regularly circulate white ink. He says, “MCT provides stable output, from the time of machine start up, by effectively avoiding the settling of white pigment in the ink lines.
Mimaki provides ink delivery with a reusable eco-cartridge removing the necessity to change small ink cartridges during ink replacement. These reusable eco-case cartridges don’t have to be recycled, which leads to better ecological and economical production.
Creighton sees the new JV400LX series printers as Mimaki’s step into a much more environmentally friendly sphere. He says, “Mimaki has gone in a different direction with this. Latex ink fixes pigment to media because resin contained in the ink dissolves with the heater, forming a membrane. Therefore, it can be outputted on PVC film, banner material, backlit film and most media that are currently used in eco-solvent / solvent inkjet printing machines. The most exciting, non-coated media without acceptance layer, such as paper and textile, can be printed as well. This excellent media capability is very attractive as it supports new applications and can expand future print business.”
Show buzz for latex
Mimaki has already created a stir with its latex printers. Creighton attended the international launch for the JV400LX series at Fespa Barcelona. He says, “The buzz throughout the show was clearly Mimaki, specifically its new latex printing technology.”
The JV400LX series printers feature among the latest Mimaki technology that DGS will highlight at this year’s Visual Impact Image Expo on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The company will also showcase the new UJF-3042HG, a desktop LED UV inkjet printer.
Creighton says, “The UJF-3042HG is a modified version of the UJF-3042 that was introduced in September 2011. The maximum height for printing materials is expanded to 150mm, and applicable ink colours are six-colour plus white by adding two ink slots.”
The VIIE Gold Coast exhibition takes place from April 19-21. Digital Graphic Solutions has its display on stand F13.
