Mimaki has introduced two new UV technology roll-to-roll printers - the UJV100-160Plus and the UCJV330-160 - that extend the company’s popular 100 and 330 series and feature numerous production benefits.
UCJV330-160 integrated printer/cutter, latest addition to Mimaki’s 330 series
The entry-level UJV100-160Plus
“Mimaki launched the world’s first UV printer with white ink in 2004 and has continued to expand and develop UV technologies that enable versatile, high quality sign graphics printing,” said a press release from Mimaki Europe.
“The introduction of its entry-level 100 series and its more advanced 330 series printer range took Mimaki’s established technology platforms and applied these robust technologies to the needs of different market sectors and customers at different stages of their digital print business journey. Today, with a strong commitment to sustainable print production and the UV printing process perfectly aligned with this goal, Mimaki has added a UV technology solution to its 330 series and developed an enhanced UV model within its 100 series.”
Arjen Evertse, GM Sales Mimaki Europe said: “The pressing need to be more sustainable, as well as the recent pressures associated with rising energy prices, has accelerated the industry-wide need to adopt UV technology. UV printing requires considerably less energy throughout the printing process than other technologies, not least due to the fact that UV-LED inks cure instantly. This both improves the printer’s environmental impact but also saves on production costs and delivery times.
“At Mimaki, we are committed to supporting the move to UV to ensure more sustainable, efficient print production, future proofing the businesses of our valued customers and of course, ensuring we are working towards improving sustainability for all our sakes. The UJV100-160Plus and UCJV330-160 are the latest results of our efforts to expand the UV printing options available to print service providers, whilst also delivering the unparalleled benefits that are synonymous with Mimaki technologies.”
The new UV printers are also compatible with Mimaki’s new cloud-based printer status monitoring tool for all Mimaki products – PICT. Available for customers to download, PICT has been designed to improve the efficiency of Mimaki customers’ print operations and production management by giving them the power to monitor the operational status and performance of their printers from a PC or mobile device. The printer operation and ink usage results are captured for each Mimaki printer in production or within designated groups, providing customers with improved ink inventory management and maintenance and production planning.
UCJV330-160
The new UCJV330-160 integrated printer/cutter offers extremely versatile UV-LED roll-to-roll inkjet printing with significantly improved productivity and image quality for sign graphics applications, Mimaki said.
With a practical speed of 28m2/h for a four-colour configuration or 18m2/h with white and/or clear inks, the UCJV330-160 enables users to provide their customers with impressive turnaround times and produce more jobs with increased efficiency. In addition, the high speeds achievable with this technology does not compromise the image quality. This is thanks to Mimaki’s newly developed ink ejection technology that reduces colour irregularities in high density areas even in high-speed output mode.
The UCJV330-160 has also been developed with application and media flexibility in mind to support Mimaki customers with the move to non-PVC, more environmentally friendly substrates. The printer is equipped with the white and clear inks as standard, in addition to basic colour inks. As such, users can print high quality images on traditional media used for outdoor sign graphics applications, but also on milky white (translucent), transparent, and coloured base sheets. The variety of substrates customer can choose to print on include PET, PU (polyurethane) and other resin films, cloth, and paper (including uncoated paper).
This media flexibility combined with the option to offer 2.5D print, watermarks or 5-layer printing further supports print service providers with their goals to provide customers with a more diverse and high value product range that will increase their competitive edge. 2.5D prints can be used to create more textured surfaces to replicate the real product in the image, such as a leather surface on a shoe or handbag. Clear inks used to create watermarks can reveal a silhouette or additional image when a light is shone behind the print. Using the UCJV330-160 to produce layered prints can simply enhance the image on clear or coloured film, improve the image depending on how it is lit or even allow brands to have different images or colours in different lights or if viewing the graphic from the inside or outside of a shop window, for example.
Being an integrated printer/cutter, the UCJV330-160 is also equipped with advanced features for contour cutting, enabling applications like stickers, decals and labels. In addition to the efficiencies provided with the UV printing, the UCJV330-160 offers further time savings with automatic changeover from print to cut mode.
UJV100-160Plus:
The entry level UJV100-160Plus model features new capabilities and it has been designed to consume an exceptionally low amount of power. At just 0.5kW, the UJV100-160Plus consumes less than half of the power of eco-solvent and latex/resin printers on the market, helping print businesses to reduce running costs and their CO2 emissions. The new functionalities of the UJV100-160Plus have been incorporated to expand the range of applications users can include in their product portfolio as well as improve operational and cost efficiencies.
The new ink saving function added to the UJV100-160Plus reduces ink consumption by up to 50% while maintaining the colour balance of the printed design. Ink reduction levels can be easily altered and set by the operator using RasterLink7 software. As such, there is no need for specialised knowledge or equipment for colour adjustment.
The “pull-back printing function” included in this new printer pulls back the printed substrate to enable up to 3-layer printing, extending the application possibilities when using this machine. This printing function allows the user to print colour-white-colour or white-colour-clear, giving customers more flexibility to offer a wide range of applications. Using up to 3-layer printing to further enhance the appearance of graphics in different lights or settings creates yet another opportunity for Mimaki customers to differentiate their products and services. Alternatively, Mimaki customers can utilize 3-layer printing with clear ink to create exquisite finishes, adding value to their print applications like window graphics.
The UJV100-160Plus also links seamlessly with Mimaki’s CG-AR series cutting plotter series. This new and practical benefit enables users to output cut data directly from RasterLink7 to the plotter, improving workflow efficiencies and linking the printing and cutting even if the output PC does not have design software. When paired with a CG-AR cutting plotter, the UJV100-160Plus can also benefit from Mimaki's ID Cut function, which enables automatic print-and-cut operations with minimum need for intervention by the operator, reducing the risk of human error.
