An EFI Nozomi has been delivered to ImageData Group’s Howden factory where it will be erected and staff trained over the next couple if months ready for the high productivity press to have an impact on this year’s seasonal peak period.
The company will primarily use the Nozomi 14000SD for retail display work, though some corrugated boxes are possible. The company had previously invested in a pair of EFI Q5R roll to roll printers and, says COO Glen Patrick, the Nozomi investment “is a natural progression, giving us room to grow”.
It certainly will. Throughput on the single-pass printer can be upwards of 1,100 sheets an hour, well in excess of the company’s Onset flatbed printers.
“This is not a 10% uplift in productivity,” says Patrick. “It’s not a 20% increase. This is multiple times the speed of what we have. Nozomi is in a completely different league.”
There are no immediate plans to replace any existing machines. Something may change as the new printer beds in and ImageData gets to grips with its capabilities. Further investment in finishing technology will be necessary, says Patrick. First comes the lengthy installation and then thorough training for staff. It is unlikely to be in production under the end of Q2 he explains.
The printer runs with Greenguard certified LED cured inks, eliminating VOCs and certified as repulpable. It prints in CMYK plus white, orange and violet inks at 720dpi on a wide range of substrates from papers and boards, corrugated and synthetic materials.
Patrick adds: “This investment in the Nozomi will allow us to significantly ramp up our sign and display volumes without losing the superior print quality. This represents a significant milestone for ImageData and will empower us to keep delivering exceptional printing solutions that exceed our customers’ expectations.”
Those expectations are starting to include questions about the carbon impact of printing. It is currently about questions, says Patrick. Nevertheless ImageData is trying to stay ahead. The Q5R printers replaced machines that had a greater energy use. Last year, the company installed extensive arrays of solar panels on its Howden and Willoughby factories.
“We are reducing our carbon footprint all time. At the moment customers are asking questions, but it’s not something that is enforced as yet,” he says. Over the coming years that may change. So too will adopting high speed single-pass printing. Currently few display printers can offer the technology. “But we think that within the next couple of years this technology will be more of the norm, setting the bar at a higher level and that productivity will be what people are competing with.”
