Fujifilm has added a third ‘value’ setting for the Jetpress 750 B2 inkjet press. The third way comes a year after the company introduced a high speed option to the press. This was achieved by switching resolution from 1200x1200dpi to 600x1200dpi. This gave a boost to speed, running at 5,400sph, but a cost to quality, though not apparent on many jobs.
Now the company has added a third setting which retains the highest imaging resolution, but which reduces the cost of printing by removing the requirement to lay down a primer before printing. This will cut costs by 1¢ a sheet says product manager Mark Stephenson, which will increase the range of work where the Jetpress can be competitive.
On some papers the may result in a slightly flatter image if the ink penetrates into the paper’s fibres or an increase in artefacts should there be an increase in droplets coalescing, though this not likely to be noticeable. On other papers, those that have been optimised for inkjet printing, any drop in quality will be indiscernible.
The technology was announced at a two-day open house event at the company’s Advanced Print Technology Centre in Brussels, attended by more than 200 printers from across Europe. Delegates also saw a printbar put through its paces on a demonstration rig printing on a roll to roll set up to showcase the acquisition of Unigraphica as a way to grow its inkjet integration business.
Of more interest to the commercial printers in attendance was news that a carton version of the Jetpress 750 is now available. A first has been installed at German printer Ebro where it sits alongside an older generation Jetpress 720 which had been running the carton work.
The carton version runs a food safe ink and is designed to sit on a 300mm plinth with deeper feed pile and delivery to accommodate the extra calliper of cartonboard. “This is enough for the press to run for an hour before the piles need changing,” says Stephenson.
Fujifilm’s interest in the packaging sector was further demonstrated via video link to Japan to show the FP790 inkjet press for flexible packaging. This has two print towers, the first applies a single- or double-hit opaque white on PET or BOPP films with the second tower used to print CMYK. The challenge of drying the substrate without distortion is solved by an extended paper path which follows a series of concentric circles around drying rollers.
It runs at 50m/min and output can be handled through standard lamination and pouch making lines.
