MacDermid ColorSpan Announces 5400uv Printer Series

MacDermid ColorSpan has unveiled its ColorSpan 5400uv series, the company's newest line of UV inkjet printers. A family of four printers targeted at small to medium-sized print shops, the series comprises the ColorSpan 5440uv (4-color), ColorSpan 5445uv (2 x 4-color), ColorSpan 5460uv (6-color, CMYKcm), and the ColorSpan 5465uv (2 x 6-color).

All four models have a 54-inch (137cm) print width and feature a set of integrated tables that fold up and can extend outward to accommodate rigid media in excess of 8 ft (244 cm) in length; the tables fold down and out of the way for printing on roll-fed media.

Engineered as a production sign system, the ColorSpan 5445uv and 5465uv use two piezo-electric printheads per color, and boast a top print speed of 388 ft2 (36 m2) per hour in their 600 x 600-dpi Billboard Quality print mode or their 600 x 300-dpi Production Quality print mode. The ColorSpan 5440uv and 5460uv, using one printhead per color, are one-half the speed of the other two models. The 5440uv and the 5445uv can achieve addressable resolutions of 600 x 300, 600 x 600, and 1200 x 600 dpi, while the 5460uv and 5465uv 6-color models can achieve resolutions up to 1800-dpi.

All of the 5400uv series printers utilize the company's SolaChrome-UV inks–extended-gamut, UV-curable, pigmented inks that come in sealed 1-liter containers allowing for easy, no-mess ink changes while protecting the ink from light exposure. The inks have no solvent odors, MacDermid ColorSpan reports, and are designed for reliable jetting, low maintenance, extended head life, low cost of operation, and long-term outdoor display life – 2 to 3 years unprotected and up to 7 years using Avery? cast vinyl and digital over laminates.

Other features include:

* Color touch-screen display: An operator control interface with a 7-in. color touch-screen display panel. Its dynamic graphical user interface is simple to use and the printer's status (such as ink levels, print quality settings, UV lamp status and media configuration) are visible at a glance.

* Auto-adjustable head height: The printer uses a media-thickness sensor and precision motor-driven mechanisms to automatically adjust the printhead height to accommodate materials up to 1-in. (25.4 mm) thick. Due to its precision, the company reports, there's no need to perform bi-di calibrations between material changes.

* Advanced Automation Eye: Consists of a high-resolution imaging sensor, colorimetric spectrophotometer, and embedded software to automate the setup and calibration steps.

* AutoSet calibration: Analyzes dot placement of printed patterns and automatically sets the head-to-head alignment and bi-directional dot-placement alignment to compensate for variable print speeds, head height settings, and media thickness.

* AutoJet calibration: Eliminates banding in prints and extends the useful life of the printheads by mapping out an individual jet that is not up to performance standards and compensates by using another jet in its place.

* AutoEdge detection: Uses the image sensor to aid in the loading of rigid materials by detecting right, left and leading edges, allowing the printer to move the material into an exact position for printing.

* Color calibration and profiling: An on-board spectrophotometer supplies color data to the external RIP’s color-management software. The ColorSpan 5400uv series prints and automatically reads hundreds of color swatches to allow the RIP and color management software to create custom ICC color profiles for third-party media.

Prices: ColorSpan 5440uv (4-color), $54,995; ColorSpan 5460uv (6-color), $61,995; ColorSpan 5445uv (2 x 4-color), $68,995; and the ColorSpan 5465uv (2 x 6-color), $79,995.

MACDERMID COLORSPAN
www.colorspan.com