Just in time for the Photo Marketing Association Show March 2-5 in Las Vegas, VUTEk has reduced the price of their eight-color, 600-dpi UltraVu? 2600 EC 6.5-ft. wide solvent-system inkjet printer. Introduced in 2002 at a price of $425,000, the printer now lists for $325,000. Vutek officials hope the reduced price was will accelerate the machine's adoption among commercial imaging labs.
In its eight-color, highest-quality mode, the UltraVu 2600 can produce super-fine photographic line and text detail on a wide range of flexible substrates. (For less demanding, higher volume, fast-turnaround jobs, it can also be operated in a faster 4-color mode.) In contrast to photo imagers that require darkrooms and post-imaging chemical processing, the UltraVu 2600 EC can save production time, maintenance costs, and floor space.
Photo labs can also use the UltraVu 2600 to expand the range of indoor and outdoor graphics they can produce, including P-O-P displays, outdoor banners, and window and floor graphics.
High-Res PressVu 180/600 EC: At the PMA show, Vutek will also be highlighting its eight-color PressVu UV 180/600 EC printer that uses UV-curable inks to image to rigid or flexible substrates up to 1.8 meters wide. Vutek is touting the fact that theirs is the only eight-color digital on the market equipped to image at 600 dpi for optimal photorealism.
For more automated operation, the optional Auto Sheet Feeder 180 can feed stacks of rigid plastic sheets and foamboards through the printer. The feeder accepts up to 144 sheets up to 72-in. wide. Its telescoping platform extends to 96 in. to accommodate boards of different lengths.
Vutek has further enhanced the productivity of PressVu operation by improving the data transfer speed from the RIP workstation to the printer. According to Vutek, data is now transferred 8 to 10 times faster than before. (Vutek: www.vutek.com)