The Fujifilm Jetpress is the granddaddy of sheetfed inkjet presses, appearing first at Drupa 2008 and every show since, usually with some improvement to improve throughput or functionality.
The story started with the Jetpress 720 and is now in its fourth generation and is the Jetpress 750S HSM. It is more productive, offers greater automation, a larger sheet format and is more versatile than before.
It is clearly built around a sheetfed litho press, the chassis being built by RMGT. There are no paper drawers as found on presses with a heritage in toner printing. It is all about pallets of paper delivered to a conventional feed board, side lay and grippers.
Once in the press and ahead of the printing unit there is application of a priming coat to ensure consistent adhesion for the water based inks. This is quickly dried before application of the inks. The Fujifilm Samba print heads are arranged in an arch above the paper, itself held in place by vacuum, which then passes a scanner to check quality and the condition of the nozzles.
At one time the scanner was positioned above the delivery, but this meant that a number of sheets might be printed before compensation takes effect. Now the sheet is checked immediately after printing.
Other changes over the years have included a speed increase and ink upgrades. On the HSM model thee are two settings, one at the full 1200x1200dpi resolution the other at 1200x600dpi. At this high performance setting the press can print 5,400 sheets/hr. At the high quality setting, output is 3,600 sheets/hr.
The inks deliver a wider colour gamut than a standard offset press, reaching a greater percentage of the PMS range for packaging and higher impact colours for photo printing or promotional material. The settings can also be detuned to ensure that there is a better match for litho printing.
Inkjet printing tends not to suffer the dot gain that can afflict litho printing and with a microns thin layer achieves brighter colours. The inks can carry a heavier pigment load and do not need the resins and varnishes that are essential to the performance of a litho ink.
The printed sheet on the JetPress continues on a heated belt through a drying setting that includes an impinged heated air section with the sheet held flat by a vacuum. After this a cooling section brings the temperature of the paper back down before delivery to a standard litho stacker.
If necessary Fujifilm can supply an additional drying cabinet where sheets can be fluffed to dispel any lingering humidity and to ensure heavy ink coverage on an awkward paper does not cause problems. Drying remains an issue.
The real Achilles heel of the technology comes with printing the reverse side of the sheet. It is in many cases a conversation stopper, though in practice this is not a real problem. Other manufacturers have been only too keen to point out that the Jetpress does not duplex as toner machines are equipped to do. But few B2 litho presses perfect and not every job requires personalisation where matching front and reverse is critical.
Fujifilm’s answer to this quandary is to print a unique barcode on each sheet in a non image area. When the sheet is turned, the barcode in the feeder calls down the correct artwork for that job. It works.
Jetpress users have tended to be in niche areas. This includes cover printing for books, where the scuff and scratch resistance from inkjet is noticeably better than equivalent toner presses and where the Jetpress can match print on demand and book of one production modes if required. The B2+ format is perfect for paperback books. In the UK CPI Books and Clays are both Jetpress users.
Across the world, there are photobook companies with multiple installations, enjoying the expanded gamut feature. It is a small step from this to production of high quality illustrated books and exhibition catalogues exploiting the absolute consistency that inkjet printing promises once the job is locked in.
Then there are locations where the inkjet press sits in tandem with a litho press handling the work that is too short to be practical on the litho machine. Now there are an increasing number of carton printers doing just this, thus increasing capacity on their litho press or presses by reducing the number of makereadies that are needed.
Exploiting this, Fujifilm demonstrated the press with an inline Kompac coater at Drupa. Sheets from the press were delivered to a belt to take them to accept a UV or aqueous coater and then to a stacker. At Drupa this was Kompac’s Phoenix coater which applies a flood coating, better suited to photo and commercial products than cartons. Now Fujifilm can offer the Kompac Onyx coater for both flood and spot coating. When coating cartons this can leave the carton flaps and glue areas coating free, essential in carton production.
The extensive real life experience that Fujifilm has gained through the several hundred worldwide installations of the Jetpress shows that it stands up to the rigours of commercial printing. Engineer visits are regular but not frequent, the printheads last far beyond their anticipated expiration date and crucially that printers can make money with B2 inkjet.
However, this has not been enough to save it, in Europe at least. As part of a wider shake up of its graphic communications business Fujifilm is ceasing to sell the Jetpress in Europe, though will continue to look after later models for at least three more years. It seems likely that a solution will be found for users of the older models.
