Signs of the Times - April 2014 - (Page 44)
Te c hno lo g y R e v i ew
By Chris and Kathi Morrison
EFI's UV-cure, VUTEk®
GS2000 Pro-TF and GS3250
Pro-TF digital-hybrid printers
Chris and Kathi Morrison
own and operate
The Image Specialists,
a full-service graphics
company based in
Clements, CA. Chris
is also a Microsoftcertified systems
engineer.
For signs, POP, endcaps, formed parts, and vending and gaming panels
T
thermoplastic ink - the secret
recipe here - is formulated to work
with the 2-meter-wide, VUTEK
GS2000 Pro-TF and 3.2-meter-wide
VUTEk GS3250 Pro-TF digitalhybrid printers. With an extended
color gamut, the eight-color (plus
white) inkset can achieve unexpectedly vivid colors. Additionally,
VUTEk GS-TF inks exhibit superior
elongation characteristics while
maintaining first-rate adhesion and
opacity.
The printers' true, variable-dot,
grayscale printheads provide a standard, 600-dpi resolution selectable
to 1,000 dpi, for high-end imagery.
An EFI Fiery® XF RIP comes
with the package.
The VUTEk GS-TF thermoplastic
ink's chemistry allows deep-draw
thermoforming with pre-printed
images, but the process demands
much more than first meets the
eye. Imagine drawing a filled square
on a flat, white balloon with a
hermoforming, the art of shaping
plastic to a specific form through a
heat and vacuum system, is a unique
process and, today, any imaging on
such components is usually accomplished through screenprinting,
affixed vinyl letters or airbrushing
the second surface. Generally, a
high set-up cost accompanies such
processes, so short-run work is out
of the question. Also, due to costs,
most prototyping is limited to one
or two colors.
Now, however, through the
application of EFI's new, UV-cure
inks and your choice of two printers - EFI™ VUTEk® GS2000 Pro-TF
and GS3250 Pro-TF - the international firm offers a direct-tosubstrate option for custom imaging
onto numerous, flat, thermoplastic
materials that will be thermoformed
into 3-D shapes.
UV-curable, thermoplastic ink
EFI's VUTEk GS-TF UV-curable,
Specifications:
EFI VUTEk GS3250 Pro-TF and EFI VUTEk GS2000 Pro-TF
EFI VUTEk GS3250 Pro-TF
Printhead
Technology
EFI VUTEk GS2000 Pro-TF
True, variable-drop grayscale
Ink-Drop Sizes
0-36pL drop sizes
DPI
Dual-resolution 600 or 1,000 dpi
Ink
Eight colors, plus white; switchable to Fast-4™
Media Size
Up to 126.5 in. wide
Media Depth
Print Speed
Up to 80 in. wide
Up to 2 in.
Up to 44, 4 x 8-ft. boards/hr.
44 SIGNS OF THE TIMES April 2014
Up to 32, 4 x 8-ft. boards/hr.
Key Information
EFI
One VUTEk Place
Meredith, NH 03253
(404) 931-7760
www.efi.com
Contact: David Lindsay, PR Manager
(404) 931-7760
david.lindsay@efi.com
Sharpie® pen, and then picture how
your drawing would look with the
balloon inflated. Would the Sharpie
ink maintain its original color?
No.
EFI has concentrated on the pigmentation of its new inks to ensure
these printers' images, after having
been stretched, will display saturated,
brand and Pantone colors. Achieving
accurate color also requires such
features as Adobe® Photoshop's™
Spray-Paint tool, which can add
saturation to the file image's areas
of greater elongation.
The VUTEk GS Pro-TF system
can print on such materials as
PETG, acrylics, polycarbonates,
polystyrenes, PVC and more.
The system is ideal for such
applications as custom-formed
outdoor signs, POP displays, vending
and gaming panels, endcaps and
numerous formed parts for consumer and industrial applications
- including any odd requests from
inventors or architects.
Generally, screenprinting businesses that create thermoforming
graphics have established relationships with firms that carry out the
actual mold-making and forming.
However, equipped with a VUTEk
GS Pro-TF printer, either center
could easily adopt a full-finish
system. n
http://www.efi.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - April 2014
Signs of the Times - April 2014
Columns & Departments
Features
ST Update
Technology Update
ISA Sign Expo 2014 – Making the most of it
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review: Roland’s SOLJET Pro 4 XF-640 printer
Technology Review: EFI’s VUTEk GS2000/3250 digital-hybrid printers
Sign Museum News
New Products
The 2014 Intl. Sign Contest
2nd Annual Readers’ Choice Award
For the Record
ISA Expo Adds SEGD Component
Surprising Evidence about Neon’s History
Editorially speaking
Advertising index
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