Fujifilm has announced that the Jet Press 540W digital inkjet web press, formerly known as Jet Press W, is now available commercially.
Launched as a technology showcase at drupa 2012, the press is targeted at high quality, short run digital print such as leaflets and personalised magazines, as well as school textbooks, book printing and newspapers. Available immediately, it has recently been installed in the company’s Advanced Print Technology Centre in Brussels for European demonstrations.
The press features a unique design that enables duplex printing within a single tower. This results in an extremely compact footprint of 6.6 m x 2.8 m. Supporting both inkjet and non-coated papers of between 64 to 157 gsm, with a maximum width of 540 mm, it offers a top printing speed of 127 m/min and ultra high quality printing of 600 dpi, upgradeable to 1200 dpi later in 2013.
The company’s XMF workflow system is used to drive the front end of the Jet Press 540W and allows full variable data printing. Already popular amongst commercial printers for its speed and flexibility in handling work across digital and offset print processes, XMF is continuously evolving, and today boasts an improved user interface, which increases automation, efficiency and ultimately profitability. It represents one of the most comprehensive and advanced production management systems on the market, addressing many of the issues faced by today’s print service providers.
The press also utilises the company’s own screening technology, which is based on FM screening and allows for smooth colour tones and sharp text as well as eliminating moire and rosette patterns.
It will be available as a standalone system, or as a complete solution with the integration of Fujifilm’s own post press equipment (consisting of a sheet cutter and sheet cut and roll). It can also integrate with post press equipment from Hunkeler, predominantly for newspaper use, and Muller Martini equipment for commercial print. This means that it will slot seamlessly into a production environment, producing finished printed products within days of initial installation.
The Jet Press 540W uses Vivdia ink that allows high density images to be printed at high speed, with less ink transfer from sheet to sheet, making high quality reproduction possible even on thin paper.
Fujifilm has used its experience and knowledge to develop both pigment and dye-based inks for use with this press which, when combined with the ultra-compact footprint, maximise the application flexibility and versatility of the machine. The Vivdia WP-S pigment ink features a wider colour gamut, suffers from less ‘see through’ on the page and can be used in nearly all graphic applications.
The combination of short-run and variable data capabilities allows the Jet Press 540W to accommodate a wide variety of jobs and opens up new opportunities for a growing number of applications requiring these particular features. It can also help to reduce paper waste when compared with commercial web presses, making the press a more sustainable solution.
‘We are excited to be launching our digital inkjet web press to the market,’ commented Taro Aoki, manager of product development and marketing, ‘We had a lot of interest in the technology showcase at drupa and have high expectations for European beta sites in the near future.’
