Visitors to the Fujifilm stand in Hall 8b at drupa 2012 (Dusseldorf, Germany May 3rd – 16th), will be able to see the following new products that were launched today at the drupe press conference.
Brillia HD LH-PXE
Fujifilm adds long-run thermal CTP plate to its ‘low-chemistry’ family with the launch of Brillia HD LH-PXE, a positive working thermal CTP plate for long-run commercial sheet-fed and web applications. The latest addition to Fujifilm’s renowned ‘low-chemistry’ family of products, Brillia HD LH-PXE offers an extra long run length of up to 500,000 impressions unbaked, and an extended run length of over 1,000,000 when baked. Visitors to the Fujifilm stand will be able to see the new plate in the Commercial Print Zone, and it will be commercially released in Q2 CY2012.
This new plate features all the quality and consistency benefits provided by Fujifilm’s High Definition coating technologies, together with the additional advantages of low chemistry working. It also benefits from Fujifilm’s latest electrochemical graining surface treatment technology.
Fujifilm XR-1200F
The introduction of the XR-1200F unit is the result of Fujifilm’s “Design for Environment” strategy which has, as a core philosophy, the reduction of the impact of Fujifilm products on the environment. This strategy has seen the launch and subsequent enhancement and extension of Fujifilm’s processless and low chemistry plate production systems, including the highly successful Brillia HD PRO-T and PRO-V plates and Brillia HD LH-PJE/PLE/PXE and FLH-Z ‘ZAC’ processor systems. With the launch of the XR-1200F, Fujifilm is in the unique position of going one step further. Used in combination with any Fujifilm plate production system using chemistry, this unit can reduce water use and waste disposal costs even further.
The XR-1200F system works by separating plate chemistry into ‘concentrated waste’, reducing it by 70 to 90%*2, and ‘distilled water’ that can be reused either in the plate production process, or in other parts of the printing process. This results in a significant reduction in waste and water usage. It is based on ‘Low pressure / Low temperature distillation’ using a ‘heat pump’ system that has been developed from technologies found in our ‘ZAC’ processors.
Major additions to its XMF Workflow and Production Management Suite
Major updates to its entire XMF Workflow and Production Management Suite were announced, making it one of the most fully featured and comprehensive systems for managing print production on the market. These include the launch at drupa 2012 of a new cloud-based colour management system called XMF ColorPath, designed to help printers manage colour consistency across multiple print processes, and the launch of XMF Workflow V5 and XMF Remote V9, both with a host of new features and capabilities. These major enhancements to the XMF product range take advantage of new cloud-based technologies to extend the reach of the system into new areas of print production, and are the result of significant continued investment at Fujifilm’s headquarters in the XMF portfolio.
Commercial availability of FLENEX DLE system
The commercial availability of its FLENEX DLE (Direct Laser Engraving) B2 CTP system for the production of flexo printing plates was also announced. The system will be commercially available in Q2 CY2012.
Flexo printing is used mainly for packaging applications such as labels, flexible packaging and folding cartons, with a predicted annual market growth of 4-5% in the next few years. Fujifilm will be offering a benchmark solution using its unique flexo plate-making technologies for packaging print applications.
FLENEX DLE system
By developing a new DLE flexo plate and multi-channel CTP platesetter, Fujifilm has created a revolutionary new solution for flexo printing applications that achieves extremely high quality image reproduction.
Compared to common LAM (Laser Ablation Mask) systems, Fujifilm’s FLENEX DLE system has been optimised as a quick and eco-friendly way of making flexo plates. This is helpful for any job requiring a rapid turnaround, and particularly important in the event of a plate remake, considerably reducing press downtime.
The FLENEX DLE system eliminates the multiple processing steps (UV exposure, solvent or thermal processing and drying) that are required with current LAM technologies, which in turn creates a much more streamlined process and allows companies to make better use of their resources. The FLENEX DLE system is eco-friendly as it removes the need for the multiple pieces of equipment associated with the current LAM plate-making process, and is completely 100% free of VOCs.
Fujifilm Announces B2 Inkjet Digital Press For Folding Carton Package Printing Applications
The new B2 inkjet digital press for folding carton applications will be unveiled at drupa 2012 as a technology showcase. Using some of the core components pioneered within the Jet Press 720 inkjet digital press for commercial print applications, this new press is set to revolutionise the production of short-run packaging print.
Since the last drupa exhibition in 2008, the global economy has seen a number of downturns including, more recently, the European debt crisis. The print industry tends to be directly influenced by the status of the worldwide economy and this influence is greater now than it has ever been. These challenges, along with ever shortening product life cycles, the re-distribution of advertising spend, and the introduction of smart phones and tablet computers, have increased the focus on short-run print and the ability to meet tighter production deadlines. The demand for high speed digital presses to meet these needs for a wider range of print applications is therefore growing at an accelerated rate.
Fujifilm’s Jet Press 720 inkjet digital press, announced at drupa 2008, marked the first application of the company’s groundbreaking SAMBATM printhead and water-based ink technologies, enabling single pass inkjet printing at an unprecedented 1200dpi x 1200dpi native resolution with 4 levels of greyscale. As a result, this B2 format press, targeted at commercial print applications, raised the bar in terms of the quality and format size that was available from a digital press. Since its commercialisation in Japan in late 2011, the Jet Press 720 has been installed in several locations around the world. Its speed, simplicity and high quality (with a particularly wide colour gamut), together with its ability to simplify post press operations, means it is set to continue the expansion of digital print into new application areas.
During the development and commercialisation of the Jet Press 720, Fujifilm explored the potential of applying some of these core technologies to other print applications. As a result of this work, Fujifilm will be demonstrating a new B2 inkjet digital press designed for short-run folding carton package printing applications at drupa 2012. Although this new press utilises some of the core components pioneered within the Jet Press 720, particularly the SAMBATM printhead, Fujifilm has developed a new UV inkjet ink to meet the particular performance requirements of folding carton applications. This new UV ink, called VIVIDIA, will have the dual benefit of not only being able to reproduce ultra-high quality images, but will also be better suited to handle the thicker paper and different post press operations that this market demands.
Fujifilm has overcome a number of technical challenges in order to deliver a UV-based single-pass inkjet digital press. Conventional UV inkjet systems generate pile height on the print surface, reducing image quality to an unacceptable level, especially on paper substrates. Fujifilm has successfully developed a unique technology to reduce the pile height, enabling superior quality images to be reproduced on these substrates.
At drupa 2012, Fujifilm will be showcasing both of these two single-pass inkjet digital systems running live, demonstrating how the company’s leading-edge inkjet technologies can meet the growing need for quick turnaround, high quality short-run print for an even wider variety of applications. During this period of digital press commercialisation, Fujifilm is responding to the diverse demands of print buyers in each business sector and giving its customers the power to succeed.
FUJIFILM Dimatix introduces SG-1024 industrial single-pass printhead and adds RediJet™ jetting technology to its printhead line-up for drupa 2012
FUJIFILM Dimatix will use drupa 2012 to display its extensive printhead product line for wide format graphics, commercial printing, decorative and material deposition applications. Visitors to the stand will see a select range of material deposition systems, including the DMP-2831 and DMP-3000, designed for fluids, process and product development for diverse applications including printed electronics.
The company will also use the show to introduce and demonstrate its new SG-1024/M – a high nozzle density, drop-on-demand, inkjet printhead designed specifically for demanding industrial single-pass printing and decorative applications.
The strength of the SG-1024 lays with its easy to integrate, high performance repairable construction that combines superior jetting performance in a compact, self-contained design. Each printhead has 1024 independent jets arranged in 8 rows, each with 128 channels.
With a singular, durable metal nozzle plate, the first model, the SG-1024/M has a nominal 20-30 picolitre drop size (fluid-dependent) and is compatible with aqueous, oil-based ceramic inks and associated maintenance fluids. When combined with VersaDrop™ jetting technology, this printhead has full grayscale operation with drop sizes to 80 picolitres.
The SG-1024/M incorporates Dimatix‘ new RediJet jetting technology. RediJet consolidates several breakthrough innovations such as unique nozzle plate design, special conformal and non-wetting surface coatings, enhanced on-head electronics, ink recirculation and waveforms tailored to specific fluids.
RediJet unlocks the full productive capacity of a printhead while lowering the recurring service cost. The defining characteristic of this technology is minimizing initial start-up and ongoing maintenance times along with reducing associated fluid consumption, especially when using faster drying and/or heavily pigmented ink formulations like those found in high-speed, industrial, single-pass systems. As the name invokes – RediJet is “ready to jet” when you are and is a key enabler of SG-1024 based high speed, industrial single-pass inkjet system designs.
FUJIFILM Dimatix will also display its ‘SAMBA™’ MEMS printhead on a chip technology – a core component used within the ‘Jet Press 720’. Developed jointly by FUJIFILM Dimatix and FUJIFILM Corporation, SAMBA is an extensible ‘printhead on a chip technology’. It is analogous to the evolution of the Integrated Circuit (IC) from a single chip with limited functionality to Large Scale Integration (LSI) incorporating thousands of integrated functions. This breakthrough in printhead design results in the potential of achieving the packing density and cost of Thermal Inkjet (TIJ), with the high throughput of Continuous Inkjet (CIJ), yet providing the operational flexibility associated with Piezo Inkjet (PIJ).
FERROSTAAL EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS JHB (+27 11) 608 4445 DBN (+27 31) 701 4830 CT (+27 21) 948 0820 ppjhb@printprod.co.za www.ferrostaal.com
