EFI (Booth 2000) has introduced the EFI VUTEk GS3250LX UV-curing digital inkjet printer as an addition to its growing GS Series family of printers. Engineered to dramatically lower the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the printer, the VUTEk GS3250lx incorporates "cool cure" LED technology and increased productivity to facilitate faster and more efficient job production than ever before. With no VOCs, less consumables and waste, low energy consumption, and the ability to print on recycled and other materials without introducing warping or head strikes, users can more easily satisfy customer requests for a greener printing solution.
"This is a true breakthrough in high-speed superwide inkjet printing technology," said Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager of EFI VUTEk and Rastek. "Not only does this printer expand what is possible in terms of substrates and applications, but it also delivers a significantly lower cost of ownership. That translates into greater profit-earning potential for owners. The VUTEk GS3250LX builds on the success of our previously released GS3200 printer. To date, we have shipped 135 GS3200 printers which have produced over 100 million square feet of output for our customers. We expect the GS3250LX to be even more productive."
The combination of innovative GS Series image quality and LED technology enables the VUTEk GS3250lx to produce high-definition point-of-purchase graphics with true 1000 dpi and advanced three-layer white ink printing. The LED system features instant on/off and requires less maintenance, increasing the uptime to produce more profitable jobs. Since there is no warm up time required and the LED bulbs last the lifetime of the printer, owners will consume less energy and lower hard costs to help reduce overall operating costs. The VUTEk GS3250LX expands the range of substrates that can be printed to include, for instance, poly banner materials and some cardboard/corrugated materials by eliminating 100 percent of the infrared heat associated with a mercury bulb curing process. In addition, the innovative ink curing technology delivers high adhesion so you can reduce your material costs with less expensive substrates like thinner styrene and other rolled materials.
Nick Olson, owner of PVS In-Store Graphics, is already seeing the benefits of his new VUTEk GS3250LX. "We've been able to print on a much wider gamut of materials than ever before which is opening up new opportunities we couldn't pursue previously. Equally important has been the benefits of the new cool cure technology. For example, with a much lower UV cure temperature, we have been able to use thinner styrene sheets at half the cost of what we previously had to order."
The high continuous board productivity of the VUTEk GS3250LX also allows users to take on more jobs and turn them around faster. With a time between boards of less than five seconds, it's possible to produce up to 55 four-by-eight foot (1.2m x 2.4m) boards per hour. Unlike competitive devices, a precision alignment fence accurately aligns every board for highly-consistent image placement without adjustments. The addition of a VUTEk MediaMaster automated material handling system also aids the production of high-speed, high-volume jobs without manually loading materials.
Users will find that the new printer software improves overall printer performance and simplifies operation. For example, multiple jobs can be run at once across the width of the printer with the multi-queue functionality available right at the user interface. Audit information is also available on every print job (printing time, media usage, and ink usage) through bi-directional communication between the Fieryâ XF RIP and VUTEk system. The enhanced Fiery XF 4.5 RIP enables better color and performance, as well as easier job deployment. Users can also optimize their business processes and profit potential with seamless printer integration to EFI Web-to-Print and MIS solutions with native JDF connectivity. Maintenance is simplified because there are fewer mechanical parts and because the software provides information that helps improve troubleshooting and reduce the possibility of errors.
Additional good news for current EFI VUTEk GS3200 customers is that the new "cool cure" LED technology, along with the continuous board speed enhancement and software functionality described above, will also be available as an upgrade to their existing printers in the near future.