Digital Sign Services has purchased its second EFI Vutek 5r+ LED super-wide roll-to-roll printer in six months. The Guildford-based company installed the first unit earlier this year and the second will arrive in the coming weeks.
The purchases give Digital Sign Services the ability to produce high-volume, high-end graphics whilst saving costs and increasing sustainability thanks to the printers’ ‘cool cure’ LED technology, which requires up to 82% less energy compared to mercury lamp UV curing or latex printing.
The company’s current Vutek 5r+ has a four-colour plus white configuration, while the incoming machine will have seven colours (CMYK, light cyan, magenta and black) as well as white. The lower-heat/lower-energy curing process means Digital Sign Services can successfully print on thin or delicate substrates that cannot withstand the heat required with latex and mercury lamp UV printers.
The Vutek 5r+ model features a re-engineered print head control algorithm that EFI says achieves higher ink densities and an overall quality improvement. Printing resolution is up to 1200dpi, with 7-picolitre variable-drop printheads for ‘outstanding’ visual quality. The printers also offer automated backlit and blockout printing.
‘The big reasons why we choose EFI again and again is their after-sales care and their response to any issues or problems we may have,’ said managing director Tom Weaver. ‘We also think the 5r+ is a better machine in that it uses LED lamps for curing rather than mercury vapour lamps.’
Digital Sign Services runs its operations solely on EFI machinery. In addition to the two new printers, the company has a Vutek GS3250LX Pro hybrid roll-to-roll/flatbed LED printer and a Vutek FabriVU 340 dye-sublimation model.
