Fourteen Days in Large-Format Heaven

Editors note: The Drupa tradeshow is the largest print-equipment exhibition in the world. (“Drupa” is an acronym for the German phrase “druck und papier,” that is, print and paper.) The 14-day event is held every four years at the Messe Düsseldorf tradeshow center in Düsseldorf, Germany. This year, approximately 391,000 visitors from 138 countries travelled there to visit 1,971 exhibitors from 52 countries.

Two weeks of trudging the halls of the Messe Düsseldorf left me a happier person. Unlike other journalists, who claim Drupa is an arduous task, I enjoyed every minute. In time, I became a familiar sight, weaving from hall to hall and soaking up information on printers, inks, printheads – and anything else of interest.

I could have stayed another week.

Drupa’s various booths revealed new, large-format digital printers and many established ones. The exhibits ranged from high-end prototypes to the oblique realms of proofing, labeling, barcoding, RFID and entry-level devices.

HP’s Designjet L65500 printer, with its latex-ink printing technology, was surely the top-viewed item. The company’s PR department had ensured that everyone knew about this machine’s advantages (including the environmental benefits). The L65500’s world debut didn’t let us down.

The new, EFI VUTEk DS Series printers were a top secret until shortly before the show. The DS Series will compete with Agfa’s M-Press and Inca’s Onset; they target the high-end market by featuring 6,000-sq.-ft./hr., eight-color output. EFI showed a prototype machine (no installed printheads), but it was easy to see the configuration of the printer and its ink tanks. EFI said it will have on-shelf units for sale in Q1, 2009.

Oddly, I found Rasterprinters’ inexpensive, flatbed T600UV, with its UV-curable option, at the back of the EFI booth. I think EFI’s marketers should’ve made more noise about this unit’s remarkable output and its innovative, Fujifilm Dimatix MEMS-technology printheads.

Another discovery was Gerber’s new ion, a practical (in size and price) cationic-ink-based printer, which was exhibited at ISA and, at Drupa, in a Gerber distributor’s booth. Konica Minolta’s booth also held a cationic, UV-curable ink, roll-fed printer prototype that produced impressive quality, albeit onto art papers. Its heads – and curing process – were behaving impeccably.

I’m not sure who cationic-ink technology will appeal to, particularly because Gandinnovations and Hexion now offer a flexible, UV-cure ink option. Further, Sun Chemical and Durst have announced a joint-development agreement for thermoformable, free-radical, UV-curable inks.

Meital, a newly formed company with faces familiar to anyone who had associated with the NUR Europe staff prior to December 2006, introduced its Meital 3000-10. The printer uses Xaar’s 1001 printheads, which weren’t originally developed for the display market. The company has the weight of Kobi Markovitz, Nur’s past chief technology officer, behind it. Kobi has overseen the design and production of many successful wide-format, inkjet machines.

Agfa launched its Anapurna XLS, a Belgium-developed and -built, 98.5-in.-wide, hybrid machine that will fill the company’s mid-range, UV-cure slot. It’s a good option for buyers who want a broader range than Agfa’s Anapurna M can provide. This entry-level printer’s price and capability sells itself.

I also found Screen’s Truepress Jet 2500UV producing respectable output, and, I predict, it will compete with Agfa’s Anapurna XLS. Both machine builders enjoy a favorable view from the graphic arts’ sector, and, therefore, both should attract offset printers who want to enter the large-format market while remaining with a familiar supplier. Additionally, both companies realize they must offer sensible workflow options to offset-based buyers.

Drupa provided a view of new equipment and a chance to review existing printers – all aligned within a massive arena where wide-format, digital inkjet printers jostled for position with manufacturers of standard print processes. Drupa’s summarizing press release said, “Overall, Drupa exhibitors announced deals concluded worth more than Euro 10 billion.”

U.K.-based writer, photographer, editor and consultant Sophie Mathews-Paul is an acknowledged authority on digital printing worldwide. You may contact her at sophie [at] rockstr [dot] net.