Signs of the Times - January 2018 - 24

TECH
REVIEW

WIDE-FORMAT
DIGITAL PRINTERS

Like the Six Million Dollar Man - better, stronger, faster.

CHRIS & KATHI

MORRISON

own and operate The
Image Specialists, a fullservice graphics company
based in Clements, CA.
Chris is also a Microsoft-certified systems
engineer.

UST a few years ago, we
were writing about digital
large-format printing as
the new thing. Today, of
course, almost everyone in the sign
industry owns at least one largeformat printer and 2017 could be
titled "the year of the textile printer,"
with manufacturers offering fabric
printing and soft signage as new and
innovative profit centers. However,
digitally printed soft signage is relatively new to the sign industry and much
education - and manufacturing/
processing pioneering - needs to
occur before everyone gets on board.
Still, the bread-and-butter income
for most commercial shops is from
creating signs, banners and graphics
with such traditional media as adhesive-back vinyl and standard banner
materials, but a prime and appropriate question addresses what new

and profitable trends signmakers
should consider. The good news is
that we are seeing some interesting
developments, but, because they're
new, many of these innovations
are found only in high-dollar machines.
Fortunately, complementary trends
have found their way into more affordable segments. LED lamps in UV-cure
printers, for example.
UV-cure printers have been the
eye-catching actor in digital printing
for the last few years - and what's not
to like? With this technology, you
can print directly on practically any
media, drying is almost instantaneous
and print durability is robust. Today,
LED curing lamps are more the norm
than alnico-based, UV-cure lamps,
which are expensive to buy and operate. LED lamps are more economical
to buy and use, and because they
operate at cooler temperatures

than the alnico lamps, they have
expanded printmakers' range of
usable substrates.
Initially, signshops could rarely
justify the expense of UV print machines; but, because of manufacturers'
innovations, UV-cure printing now
offers more affordable machine choices
for signshops. (Note that UV-cure
is advertised as quick-to-dry, but this
facet depends upon a thorough
curing system.)
Because flatbed UV printers, especially those with roll-to-roll abilities, can
produce numerous sign types, they
are excellent tools for signshops. We're
seeing excellent print quality with
increases in print speed, media processing and high-volume vacuum
systems that allow printing on heavier
media, including corrugated boards.
The lifeblood of any inkjet printing system is the ink, and ink choices

OCÉ COLORADO 1640

UCJV300-160 UV-LED

JETI TAURO H2500 LED

oce.com

mimakiusa.com

agfagraphics.com

J

CANON USA

24

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

JANUARY 2018

MIMAKI USA

AGFA GRAPHICS
http://www.agfagraphics.com http://www.mimakiusa.com http://www.oce.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - January 2018
