Higher levels of productivity, opportunity and growth that fuel customer success reflect the key advantages on display from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (Nasdaq:EFII) at this year’s FESPA exhibition, May 8-12 in Hamburg, Germany. New products include the EFI™ Reggiani ReNOIR FLEXY, an industrial textile printer making its worldwide debut. In addition, EFI is presenting a pair of new LED inkjet printers offering exceptional returns on investment, as well as the latest version of the company’s Midmarket Print Suite, based on the award-winning Pace™ MIS/ERP software, offering advanced tools for superwide format production management.
The Reggiani ReNOIR FLEXY launching at FESPA 2017 is new equipment that allows nearly any business to get into industrial textile by offering the outstanding performance and results of larger Reggiani printers. Customers can run the widest variety of fabrics — from knitted to woven as well as low- and high-stretchable and stretchable materials — with confidence using the printer’s brand new “Dynaplast” fabric adhesion device. The 1.8-meter printer is available with eight printheads and has a production speed of more than 400 square meters per hour with a resolution of up to 2,400 dpi. It incorporates the latest digital technologies for best-in-class performance, is easy to operate and has a low maintenance cost, making it an ideal solution for production and sampling alike.
The printer is the first EFI industrial textile printer to have a new green housing reflecting Reggiani’s brand heritage as well as the product line’s environmentally friendly production advantages, such an ink recovery feature that dramatically reduces ink consumption.
The new EFI Pro 16h wide-format hybrid roll/flatbed LED printer on display sets the standards by which other entry-level hybrid roll/flatbed LED production printers will be judged. This new Fiery Driven™ printer is extremely affordable, includes white ink, and its feature set assures lowest total cost of ownership, superior image quality and a broad range of applications. This new printer platform has faster speeds than other EFI entry-level hybrid production platforms, with some print modes offering up to a 30% higher throughput.
Best-in-class print resolution and speed in roll-to-roll printing
EFI is also showcasing its next generation of VUTEk® roll-to-roll printers, with the new, industrial 3.2-meter EFI VUTEk 3r roll-to-roll LED printer on exhibit at the show. This printer has the highest resolution in its class, offering superior quality using EFI UltraDrop™ Technology 7-picoliter print heads. It also boasts the highest productivity in its category with speeds of up to 345 square meters per hour.
Designed to be the industry’s most technically advanced LED roll-to-roll production offerings, the new VUTEk roll-to-roll printer line includes unique, integrated production workflow benefits that allow print professionals to do more work in less time. Users gain a competitive advantage in quality and throughput thanks to the complete set of available value-added options, including an inline finishing system for all-in-one printing, x-cutting, slitting and collecting, and additional white and light colors.
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Another model in the new roll-to-roll printer line, the 5-meter EFI VUTEk 5r LED printer, also boasts best-in-class print resolution and productivity with throughput speeds up to 455 square meters per hour. Béflex, a print service provider in Budapest, Hungary, was the first in Europe to install the VUTEk 5r.
Asked what they think about the machine, László Bárán, CEO said: “Currently, this is the most up-to-date printer on the market. It prints significantly faster and with a better image quality than our previous 5m wide printer while only needing half the ink and power. EFI has established a real partnership with us. I honestly believe we have a five-year technological advantage over others with this equipment. That is a huge competitive advantage in the European market.”
EFI customers now have the added benefit of the 3M™ MCS™ Warranty on their outdoor graphics and fleet and vehicle graphics work printed on VUTEk 3r and 5r printers, along with EFI Quantum 3 and 5 roll-to-roll printers. The printers are now eligible for the warranty using new co-branded EFI – 3M™ SuperRange XF series LED inks along with 3M premium media and overlaminates.
EFI’s Midmarket Print Suite: end-to-end integration in varied environments
EFI is also showing the latest release of its workflow productivity software at FESPA – version 5 of its Midmarket Print Suite, which drives end-to-end efficiencies for display, signage and graphics customers. Improvements include an upgrade to the suite’s Superwide Format component database for easier estimating, planning and management in dedicated signage and graphics production printing environments, as well as a new workbench tool and deeper integration with imposition and fulfillment components.
Other products in EFI’s booth at hall B7, stands E30 and E35, include:
• The EFI VUTEk FabriVU® 340, an aqueous dye-sublimation soft signage textile printer that builds on EFI Reggiani’s 70-year long experience in advanced textile imaging. The 3.2-meter device prints up to 2,400 dpi with four-level grayscale printing and 4 to 18 picoliter drop sizes. It enables direct print to textile or transfer paper with changeover capability from one to the other using the same ink set. The printer is also available 1.8m and 5.2m widths.
• The EFI VUTEk LX3 Pro, a 3.2-meter, eight-color, LED hybrid roll/flatbed inkjet printer for POP businesses designed for high production throughput, higher volumes and shorter lead times while maintaining the image quality needed for retail signs and point-of-purchase displays. Its cool cure LED gives access to more substrates, including heat-sensitive materials, such as chipboard, foam and acrylics.
• The latest versions of the EFI Fiery® proServer and Fiery XF digital front ends, which provide accurate and superior color management on a wide range of substrates, including soft signage and transfer paper for textile production. Next to an advanced set of production tools available for both solutions, Fiery proServer also features a highly advanced FAST (Fiery Accelerated System Technology) RIP engine for quick file processing for EFI superwide, hybrid and roll-to-roll printers.
• EFI’s Digital StoreFront® e-commerce and EFI DirectSmile™, a fully integrated marketing software solution for data-driven print, PURL, email, SMS, social media, mobile media and image personalization that enables customers to offer robust, customizable and flexible eCommerce job submission and campaign management across multiple media, including traditional and soft signage.