Capitalising on a new promotion with Rugby AU, there was plenty of rucking and scrumming on the Smartech Business Systems stand, by customers keen to get a closer look at the company’s latest hardware offerings.
One person pcitured is Jamie Adamson, inside centre for the NSW Waratahs, one is the NSWNational Sales Manager for Smartech...we'll let you decide which is which, but both are consummate team players!
Leading the metaphorical pack, the new HP Latex R530 - a fourth-generation hybrid printer, featuring HP’s advanced Pixel Control technology – described by Brett Wark, NSW National Sales Manager and National Product Manager, Smartech as ‘HP’s best printer to date’!
Jeremy Brew, responsible for HP’s Sales Enablement for Greater Asia and India, explained why the Pixel Control technology is so important: “Most large format digital printers still treat ink separations the same way that traditional analog printers do: they ‘digitally’ separate out the colour into cyan, magenta, yellow, black screens, and then compile that ink on paper.”
“With Pixel Control, the file is processed on the printer and the control function essentially analyses every single pixel that it's going to lay down and then optimizes the exact combination of inks to achieve what's represented in the file. So it might be for one particular pixel, you will get the best colour combination by putting two drops of magenta, three drops of light magenta, one drop of yellow, one drop of cyan. By analysing it this way, rather than laying down a cyan, magenta or yellow, a black screen on top of each other, you can see how this is an entirely new, truly digital colour pipeline.”
Initially developed for large format photographic printers in the design jet range, the technology has now been brought across to HP’s mainstream and production machines, to facilitate even higher quality, dense, ‘better’ colour ‘with beautiful, deep transitions’, without stepping and at speed.
Wark, who has recently celebrated 15 years with Smartech, confirms: “The quality we’re seeing off this press is exceptional, with smoother gradations, sharper detail, and continuous tone output for both rigid and flexible materials.” He also cites ease of use, minimal setup, and seamless media switching as key advantages. “The HP R530 also offers flatbed and roll-to-roll capabilities in a single, compact footprint, so it’s a great option too for anyone with space constraints.”
Delivering a Sure Colour
Visitors to the Smartech PacPrint stand were definitely spoilt for choice when it comes to the display of industry-leading digital colour technology.
Epson SureColor S9160 now includes a new Green to enable true-to-life colours
Epson’s SureColor S9160 utilises an advanced 11-colour ink set, including Red, Orange and an all-new Green for vibrant, high-impact prints with true-to-life colours, as well as opaque white ink, which can be used on clear or dark substrates to add versatility and enhance colour.
The net effect is exceptional image quality and consistent results, thanks to Epson's PrecisionCore MicroTFP printhead and UltraChrome GS3 inks. While the expanded ink set delivers a broad colour gamut and accurate prints on a variety of media types, including vinyl, canvas, film, wallpaper and other roll media up to 1625 mm.
Eins, Zwe1, Drei…Jwei!
Also making its official Australian debut on the Smartech stand was the new Jwei SG 1625 flatbed cutter: a gear-driven system with an auto tool changer supporting both knife and router tools, enabling unassisted switching for increased automation.
Enabling precision cutting of 1mm micro-circles at speeds up to 2m/s, the modular design of the cutter makes it customisable for various production needs and Wark says, “It’s a robust machine which will sit comfortably in the mid-range of our finishing lineup. We already have over 200 Jwei systems in the Australian market, and we’re actively taking orders for the 1625 even though it commercial delivery won’t commence until next year. But our customers can see that we’re fully committed to investing in local service and support for the platform.”
Watch out too for the new MEFU laminator from China. This model offers an industrial-sized 1.7 x 3.2m bed, fixed installation height, and heat-assist rollers as standard. This helps combat silvering in laminated prints, especially for users of non-latex print systems.
