The UK’s first Cobalt SP800 single-pass inkjet printer is now in full operation at Bluetree in Rotherham.
The flatbed device uses HP thermal inkjet heads to print short run packaging and point of sale material. It runs at 30m/min, equating to 5,000 corrugated boxes an hour on sheets up to 800x2500mm with a maximum image format of 594x2500mm.
But that is not the market that Bluetree has chosen. Instead the press is producing 20,000 Kraft paper bags a week currently, ranging from 20 units to batches of 2,000 as breakfast bags for a budget hotel chain. Examples will be used as the give away bags for visitors to the Route1 stand at the Print Show.
“It’s very early stages for what are going to do with it,” says a spokesman for the company. “We have launched a small range of bags in different sizes on both the Route1 and Instantprint websites and there is a lot of interest from clients.”
While the unit is capable of printing corrugated boxes, it does not signal a move into mainstream packaging for Bluetree. It will also suit a growing demand for promotional products.
Bluetree managing director Mark Young says: “This installation is a key part of our ongoing investment in the latest technology to meet the evolving needs of our customers. The Cobalt SP800’s speed and quality will not only enhance our production capabilities but also allow us to offer more innovative and cost effective solutions to our clients.”
Part of the appeal of the unit is the use of HP’s FI-1000 printheads. These are based on its thermal PageWide technology so use water based pigment inks which have been passed for food safety. Nor are there VOCs or other compounds to cause alarm in use. This means too that cost of operation remains low with an ink cost of £0.02 a square metre.
The Cobalt SP800 is supplied with a Harlequin Rip which Bluetree has integrated into its production workflow.
The Cobalt SP800 is available via International Graphic Supplies which delivered the printer in July along with a JWei Titanium 330R label cutter.
The printer is headed to the NEC this month where IGS will demonstrate the machine in operation and will introduce dedicated variable data software for it.
IGS managing director Peter Flynn says: “This powerful new tool integrates seamlessly with the Harlequin RIP, empowering our customers to create personalised, high impact print campaigns faster and more efficiently than ever before.”
