LFP - Large-Format-Printing
Oce Adds Versatility to the Oce Arizona 250 GT UV Flatbed Printer With a Dedicated Roll Media Option
Wednesday 19. March 2008 - 'No Compromise' Printing for Rigid and Roll Media
Oce, a global leader in digital document management and delivery solutions, today announced it has added a Roll Media Option for the Oce Arizona(R) 250 GT UV flatbed printer. The Oce Roll Media Option gives customers the ability to print on flexible media including vinyl, self-adhesive vinyl, scrim banner, paper, film and textiles without compromising the productivity of the rigid printing workflow. It will be on display in the Oce booth #436 at the ISA International Sign Expo(R) in Orlando, FL, March 27-29, 2008.
The Oce Roll Media Option expands the functionality of the Oce Arizona 250 GT and increases opportunities for users by enabling roll-based printing of flexible media to create banners, point-of-sale displays, backlit graphics, paper-based posters and fabric panels. The ability to exactly match print quality across a wide range of media gives users an edge in the competitive pay-for-print market when bidding on complex print campaigns. The Oce Roll Media Option can be shipped with new orders or it can be added in the field — all existing Oce Arizona 250 GT units can be upgraded without hardware modification. The award-winning image quality of the Oce Arizona 250 GT printer is now extended to a vast array of flexible, roll-based media.
“No compromise” roll printing
Unlike most systems, the rigid and the roll printing areas do not interfere with each other. The two printing surfaces can be used sequentially: while one is printing, the other can be handled without disrupting the printing process.
Once a rigid print is finished, the print head assembly is positioned over the Roll Media Option and begins printing on flexible media. Meanwhile, the rigid material is swapped out and a new board is placed on the vacuum table and prepared for printing. Once the flexible media printing is completed, the print head assembly moves back to the table to resume printing on the rigid media. The roll media can then be unloaded without disturbing the rigid printing function. There is absolutely no down time to reconfigure the system to change from one print mode to the other.
Unique technologies ensure accurate, high quality prints
As an added benefit of this architectural approach, the patent-pending system used to move the gantry assembly over rigid media can also be used to make micro-corrections in position when printing on flexible media. This enables the printer to actively correct for any media advance errors encountered as the flexible media is advanced through the printing path. Unique to the Oce Arizona 250 GT, this technology results in the highest quality roll media printing yet seen in a UV curable inkjet system. It greatly reduces the amount of wasted prints when media advance errors occur because of anomalies in the roll stock.
The Oce Roll Media Option is a ‘touch-free’ system — at no point does any part of the printer or the transport contact the printing surface of the media. Unlike roll-based systems that use pinch rollers, this feature enables customers to print on media sensitive to mechanical marking without marring the printing surface.
Roll Media Option features
The Oce Roll Media Option can support roll-based stock from 35.4 inches to 86.6 inches wide. Maximum print width is 86.2 inches. A cutting guide slot is included to enable the user to cut media in a perfectly straight manner while viewing the finished print. A wind/rewind foot panel to control roll-to-roll movement is included. This feature is used to advance and rewind media during loading and unloading and also enables the operator to view any part of the roll before cutting and dismounting.
The Oce Roll Media Option for the Oce Arizona 250 GT is expected to be commercially available in the second quarter of 2008. For existing Oce Arizona 250 GT customers, the field-upgrade to install the Oce Roll Media Option can be accomplished in one-half day or less.
Oce Arizona 250 GT printer basics
The Oce Arizona 250 GT is based on a new Oce-developed platform that combines a true flatbed design and a separate, dedicated roll-to-roll capability. It can print onto rigid media up to 49 inches wide by 98 inches long and 1.89 inches thick. With the Oce Roll Media Option, users can print onto flexible media up to 87″ wide. It uses four-color (CMYK) UV curable inks and Oce VariaDot(TM) imaging technology with near-photographic image resolution and delivers a true production print speed (sellable prints) of 172 square feet per hour.
Awards
The Oce Arizona 250 GT won the Digital Printing & Imaging Association (DPI) 2007 Product of the Year Award in the category Output Device Rigid Substrate UV. DPI Product of the Year Awards compare output from competing devices using a common test file designed by DPI. The prints are reviewed by a panel of judges, each with a background and expertise in digital printing and imaging. The judges look for color appeal, detail and tonality, and the output is also judged on how closely it matches the test print.
The Oce Arizona 250 GT flatbed UV printer was designated “a truly innovative product” when it won the viscom Innovation Award 2007 in the Large Format Digital Printing category. The award was announced during the viscom 2007 international trade fair for visual communication, held in Dusseldorf, Germany in September 2007.
The Oce Arizona 250 GT won the DPI Vision Award, which is given to an exhibiting manufacturer whose new product has the best chance of positively impacting the digital imaging industry. The decision is based on the product’s relevance to the market, potential industry influence and prospective value to the product’s end users. The award was presented in September 2006.