The Revoria takes lead on formats

Fujifilm believes it has identified a gap in the market, one that will be filled by its Revoria GC12500 plus sized B2 press. Whether or not paper merchants asked to provide a new paper format would agree is another matter.

The maximum format is 750x662mm, which, says Fujifilm, enables the printer to print six A4s, 50% more than a standard B2 machine and 25% more than any other B2 digital press. It is also simpler to operate than an offset press or Fujifilm’s own Jetpress 750S with which comparisons are inevitable.

For Taro Aoki, head of digital press solutions for Fujifilm Europe, this is like comparing different cars by their power unit, some use petrol engines, some diesel and some have electric motors. All have their place and Fujifilm believes there is space for two technologies addressing the B2 sector. 

Aoki explains that the inkjet press is better suited to an offset printer moving into digital with expectations of quality, speed and so on. The toner press is better suited to a digital printer moving to a larger format. The technology is what they are used to, operation is similar, skill levels are less and the press is capable of printing on a wide range of substrates, synthetics included. High degrees of automation are possible.

What is not possible, at least not in this iteration of the technology, is inline finishing. Booklet making remains something for the SRA3 format and the sheet path on the new press makes it difficult to see where inline finishing might fit, even if considered desirable. Much more likely as a future upgrade is inclusion of an extra colour. This is currently satisfied by the Revoria PC1120 and the argument is that enhancements of this nature are a better fit with the smaller format.

What then does the Revoria GC12500 do? It was first announced as some kind of mock up at Igas in 2022 and a year later arrived at Printing United in the US. The European debut was at a Peak Performance Print event at its head office and showroom near Dusseldorf.

Fujifilm was over subscribed on numbers, partly explained by an increase in the number of distributors across the continent, but explained too by the interest in this press. Certainly demonstrations were well attended.

Some details have still to be worked out.

Fujifilm still has to calculate to what extent a click charge covers the additional care and attention the first machines are likely to need. Fujifilm will be mindful of not pricing this machine out of the market, however. 

The demonstration machine also lacked the furniture of name plates and model numbers that a ready for sale press would to be expected to have. Currently it has a black and silver grey livery unlike the heavy black of the Jetpress or the white of the other Revoria machines.

The press was only printing on coated papers during the demonstrations. There is no reason to think that it cannot print on uncoated, simply that the press has not yet been profiled for European uncoated. This will be put right by Drupa. 

The first beta machine is in operation at an unnamed printer in Italy and the first machines after the official launch will be installed on a controlled sales basis within reach of Fujifilm’s support teams. The company wants to be able to manage those early adopters – potential customers in the north of Sweden for example will need to wait until later in the year.

Behind the side panels (which sit on wheels to cut strain on hinges) the workings of the press are somewhat different to other toner presses. This has been needed to manage the larger sheets and to include innovations that Fujifilm has developed. Consequently paper is picked up from one of two bins that are located beneath the delivery at the operating end of the press. Each can carry 2,200 sheets of any size of paper from 636x469mm to the 750x662mm maximum. The paper ranges from 62gsm to 450gsm or 0.06mm to 0.6mm, covering applications from wrapping paper to cartons.

Vacuum heads and air knives avoid double sheets as the sheet is fed between a pair of rollers to correct for skew and into a front lay to register on the side. Grippers take then pick up the sheet and lift it through a curve to meet the image belt.

This has picked up the EA toner (the finest available according to Fujifilm) and checked for density and registration through a first set of onboard sensors. Imaging is at 1200x1200dpi with a 10-bit colour depth, on par with existing digital technology. There is a new design of application roller using finer brushes and a way of pushing the toner onto the belt. This delivers a more consistent density of toner than relying on the pull effect of a charged belt alone. 

After toner has been applied to the sheet, there is a section of IR and hot air warming to begin the melting process ahead of a soft touch pressure roller to fuse the toner without causing the paper to distort. A series of ten fans above and below the sheet bring the paper back to ambient temperature while the hot air has been ducted away from the press. 

The sheet has now reached the apogee of its journey and can proceed to a stacker or to a 100-sheet top delivery. It can also be turned and directed back to print the reverse side. Front to back registration is within 0.5mm says Fujifilm.

The delivery stack can hold 6,200 sheets of 80gsm, enough for almost three hours of unattended running at 2,500sph. Tabbing is going to be needed to mask separate jobs. Likewise each paper bin will only need filling once an hour at full use, but enough to perhaps lead to complaints from operators used to the two up format.

The should be no complaints about operation. The console position is at the delivery end with a Revoria Flow workstation to handle set up, including AI for image optimisation, and imposition and job scheduling. There is little for an operator to do, which is how Fujifilm has intended. This is a machine that is designed to perform on commercial jobs, not a a machine that excels on designer jobs. For that inkjet reigns.