Arizona 480 UV Flatbed Printers

Océ has announced the new Océ Arizona 480 GT and Océ Arizona 480 XT printers that feature remarkable application versatility and improved productivity while maintaining the uncompromising quality favored by Océ Arizona Series customers. The Océ Arizona 480 GT printer will make its worldwide debut in Océ booth #435 at the Specialty Graphic and Imaging Association (SGIA) annual exhibition taking place from October 18-20, 2012 in Las Vegas.

Production efficiencies, application versatility are keys to growth

In a recent SGIA survey, the Graphics & Sign Community was polled to determine paths for business growth. The survey found that “in an effort to grow, even in an uncertain economy, sign and graphics companies are focusing on production efficiencies.” In addition, application versatility is seen as a key element to industry expansion. The report summary continues, “the most common method for graphics and sign companies to achieve projected growth is through market expansion, either within existing markets, or by developing new markets.” The new Océ Arizona 480 Series printers include features designed to increase throughput and broaden the range of applications that can be offered by print service providers.

Serious tools for serious craftsmen

Creative professionals dedicated to the production of high quality sign and display applications demand high quality tools. The Océ Arizona 480 printers represent the latest generation in this market-leading product family. Featuring the same award-winning Océ VariaDot imaging technology as in every Océ Arizona printer, these models offer even more application versatility and production efficiencies. New features include:

• Eight independent ink channels with support for varnish or double-opacity white ink printing, including additional cyan and magenta channels for higher print quality at faster speeds.
• Active pixel placement compensation for optimum image sharpness, density and uniformity over the entire printing area - both flatbed or across the Roll Media Option.
• Precise vacuum system, configured to match the majority of standard-sized graphic arts media.
• Batch mode operation for streamlining multi-layered jobs or facilitating set collation.

Eight independent ink channels for application flexibility, increased productivity

Both Océ Arizona 480 GT and Océ Arizona 480 XT models include eight independent ink channels with the first four configured for standard CMYK printing. Channels five and six can be configured in two ways that offer flexibility to meet the demands of various jobs:

• Varnish + White: Using white ink, print service providers can produce exceptional quality prints on a variety of non-white substrates – including backlit prints – that can command premium prices. Varnish can be used as a ‘spot’ (targeted) or ‘flood’ (overall) decorative element for attention-getting results at premium prices. These two features can be combined to create truly unique applications for sign and display or fine art applications.
• Double-White: Alternatively, when not required for use in printing varnish, the sixth channel can be used as an additional white ink channel to provide double the opacity in a single printing pass for higher productivity when printing white ink jobs. This is particularly beneficial for backlit and industrial applications.

Print service providers can use these two channels in whichever configuration best suits their needs, changing from varnish + white to double-white (and vice versa) on demand.

Channels seven and eight are used to enhance both print quality - beyond the level already available in every Océ Arizona printer - and print speed by adding extra cyan and magenta nozzle capacity. Called CM2 [C-M-squared], the additional cyan and magenta nozzle capacity offers Production print modes that rival the slower Quality-oriented modes in terms of sharpness, uniformity and smoothness. Users can take advantage of this improved print quality to realize higher net productivity since more demanding jobs can now be printed in the faster print modes. The additional nozzle capacity over existing Océ Arizona models[2] also enables a Production print mode that is 25% faster than normal Production mode on models not equipped with CM2 capability. In short, CM2 printing offers higher quality at faster speeds.