The Inca Onset S50i.
Inca Digital has announced a new version of its Onset digital flatbed UV inkjet printer, one that has been built for high productivity. The Onset S50i is also the first to be created using the company’s new ‘Scaleable Architecture’ platform, upon which all future Onset systems will be based, giving customers greater field upgrade options. Showcard Print in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, has been named as the first European user of the Onset S50i.
Inca said that it has already been building new Onset printers, not just the S50i, using the Scaleable Architecture since April of this year. It means that components such as ink tanks, print heads, UV curing lamps, automation, speed modes, electronics and software, can all be adapted in the field, so that customers can upgrade their system as the needs of their businesses evolve. It will also enable Inca to streamline its own manufacturing and reduce lead times from order to build by 25%.
Display graphics printers looking for extra productivity to meet increasingly tight deadlines will be interested in the newest Onset, the S50i, which is capable of printing at 725 square metres per hour (equivalent to 144 beds per hour). It uses Fujifilm Uvijet OB or OZ inks to print onto a wide variety of rigid and flexible media up to 3.14 x 1.6 metres, and up to 50 mm thick. Inca said the system would cost ‘below £1 million’ for a printer with three quarters automation.
Fujifilm sells the Inca Onset printers and Tudor Morgan, systems marketing manager for Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems, commented: ‘The desire for a greater level of personalisation, combined with shorter run lengths, is well documented in the industry. The challenge for the OEM is to satisfy this in an economical way. The speed and quality of the Onset S50i makes this achievable.’
Longstanding Inca user Showcard Print took the Onset S50i for beta testing between May and August 2013 and has signed it for full production. The company supplies display work for both national and foreign retail markets, and needs to guarantee quick delivery and timely response. Operations director Kenny Harper said: ‘When we learnt about the new Onset S50i we thought that this model would be ideal to satisfy our specific demands and give us extra digital print capacity. Our first impression was the right one.’
He also highlighted the properties of the Uvijet OZ inks, which are ‘extremely flexible’, he said, and ‘enable us to fold, crease and cut different printed media’.
Inca has launched a new remote monitoring system for its printing systems, called Inca Vision. It collects a massive amount of data from every machine in the field, and can use this to monitor performance and diagnose potential issues before they become a real problem. It has been using this system in the UK to help customers for some time but has now formally launched the service and intends to roll it out in additional territories.
