MacDermid ColorSpan has unveiled its industrial-grade ColorSpan 9840uv. Capable of printing onto both rolled and rigid media, the 9840uv accommodates media up to 98-in. wide and up to 2.75-in. thick.
Designed for 24/7 operation, the printer uses 16 600-dpi Micro-Quad piezo-electric Ricoh printheads that produce 25-picoliter droplets. In 600 x 300-dpi Billboard mode, the 9840uv hits a top speed of 811 sq ft/hr; its Production Quality mode offers two print resolutions: 225 sq ft/hr at 600 x 600-dpi and 438 sq ft/hr at 600 x 300-dpi.
Sheets are fed into the printer using its belt-fed vacuum media drive system. The 9840uv’s onboard Automatic Eye detects the left and right edges of each board and sends this data to the RIP for accurate printing. The input and output media rollers are also pneumatically controlled to hold warped media flat throughout the print zone.
In addition to single sheets, the printer allows printing onto multiple rigid pieces using its Multi-Sheet N-Up feature. Users can aligned up to six boards across simultaneously, using media-alignment pins. The Automatic Eye detects the exact location of each sheet and feeds that information to the RIP. Once these sheets have exited the “load” zone, the vacuum is turned off, and a second set of sheets can be loaded before the first group finishes printing, using the previously placed media-alignment pins.
In addition to including a sensor to align sheets for printing, the Automatic Eye system also features a colorimetric spectrophotometer, profile-making software, jet-mapping and compensation, scheduler for efficient unattended printing, and software to automate the setup and calibration steps.
Utilizing 4-color UV-curable pigmented SolaChrome-UV inks, the 9840uv is compatible with a wide variety of uncoated media-from vinyl, paper, and canvas to foamboard, plywood, and glass. These inks offer an outdoor display life of 2 to 3 yr when unprotected; outdoor life extends to 7 yr when graphics are protected with Avery cast vinyl film or DOL overlaminates. Ink refills are available in 3-l containers.
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The 9840uv comes standard with input/output roller tables (for media up to 98 in.), 12-l ink, 3-l printhead flush, installation, training, 1-yr warranty, and media (600 sq ft banner vinyl and 20 pieces of Alcan media). No RIP is included, but the printer is compatible with MacDermid ColorSpan ColorMark and Onyx ProductionHouse RIPs. Other optional equipment includes a second set of roller tables (to support rigid media up to 150-in.long) and supply/take-up system for 98-in. rollfed media.
Price: $149,995.
MACDERMID COLORSPAN
www.colorspan.com