EFI launches EFI VUTEk hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll display graphics printer

EFI has announced its new VUTEk XT hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll display graphics printer at its Engage global users conference. The printer brings world-class innovations – including the next generation of multi-pass pin-and-cure imaging, ink delivery and dot placement technologies – to signage and graphics providers looking to address higher-volume needs with a reliable, premium-quality print solution offering a lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

Scheduled to be available mid-year, the new VUTEk XT model is the redesigned, next-generation successor to the EFI VUTEk HS series of hybrid high-volume printers and will deliver an unprecedented productivity boost, printing more than 375 boards per hour – nearly twice the throughput of the VUTEk HS125 F4 printer.

“Print businesses need the next level of capability with a lower TCO, and EFI has focused our global R&D expertise to meeting those goals with this printer and a complete EFI technology offering that together make super high speed inkjet display graphics a profitable reality for customers,” said Ken Hanulec, vice president of worldwide corporate marketing, EFI. “The new VUTEk XT printer – with its outstanding quality, superior substrate capability, robust productivity and almost unheard-of ink yield – delivers greater versatility and value in the display graphics market.”

The new VUTEk XT represents the next-generation hybrid architecture for EFI’s proven pin-and-cure technology, which sets UV ink using LED lamps for sharp definition and accurate placement, followed by a full UV cure at high production speeds.

The printer includes a new media transport that eliminates the need for material edge guides, ensuring highly accurate registration and smooth transport of even thick boards. The printer’s new vacuum belt and vacuum table ably handle a wide range of materials. As a result, printing even difficult types of materials can be easy and accurate, reducing waste and improving overall throughput.

The VUTEk XT also features superior front-to-back registration, within 1 mm, and produces boards in up to three printing lanes that can be the same or different files.

Another advantage, the XT model’s unique CP5G ink system, delivers complete ink circulation, superior dot placement, 5-picoliter drops and grayscale imaging – a robust combination of features that provides fine text imaging and near-lithographic quality without expanding beyond four-color CMYK ink sets. CP5G also expands users’ capabilities further in media compatibility, providing improved adhesion to a broader range of substrates.

In addition to the VUTEk XT setting a new image quality standard with its 4-color grayscale printing, thanks to CP5G, the printer also gives customers the significant economic advantage of a 30-50% ink yield increase compared to other display graphics inkjet printers.

Customers can choose from a number of automation options to configure the printer to their exact needs. This includes the ability to feed one or two large rolls of media, as well as three-quarter in and out and full pallet-to-pallet automation options. All options minimise the need for operator intervention and speed work through the printer.

The EFI VUTEk XT is part of a new super high-speed class of printers from EFI designed to drive the analog-to-digital transformation of display graphics into newer, even higher volumes. The super high-speed portfolio also includes EFI’s successful VUTEk h5 hybrid UV LED printer with three-quarter automation and a new single-pass for display graphics UV LED printer that leverages EFI’s industry leading, award-winning Nozomi direct-to-board corrugated printing technology.