Review: Infiniti America

Choosing wide-format, print-market trends is easy. Simply keep your ear to the ground, track emerging technologies, and hold your fire until you see what emerges first. We like to wait even longer, to assess outcomes, once everything settles. So, let’s examine some recent printer trends and see how they’ve evolved, starting with UV-cure printers.

Remember the first UV-cure reports? They said the printers’ inks would adhere to virtually anything. Great news if you had $150,000 laying around. Once the novelty waned, we saw technological and print-quality improvements, advanced applications and, thank you, price reductions.

In the real world, one must eventually start participating, because, you have to print to make the dough. Cash flow is the ink that underwrites all businesses, and, although many of us purchase equipment outright, others prefer the advantages of leasing, or installment payments.

Unfortunately, the latter two are now subject to world economics, thanks to various banking and insurance-group disruptions. Properly purchased and applied, digital-print machines can create cash flow and profits.

Let’s say you’ve discovered profit opportunities and want to get started. However, budget difficulties require an affordably priced printer – but how do you make your equipment dollars stretch? One method is to speak with a company whose product offerings don’t so much rely on producing new, radical ideas, but emphasize a traditional system with standardization and quality, where it counts.

Aeromatrix has imported Infiniti and Fina digital printers to the Americas since 2000 (the company says it has 20% of the South American marketshare and boasts a high satisfaction rate). And, although the brand is known in the United States, Aeromatrix wants to establish an even higher marketshare here. Let’s examine the machines.

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Products
Aeromatrix manufactures num-erous, digital-print machines and usually focuses on solvent and UV-cure ink systems. It has invested in reliable, Xaar-head technology that provides excellent resolution and performance. In this review, we’re probing its 128-in.-wide Fina 320 series of grand-format, solvent-ink printers, and the 64-in.-wide Fina 1612S UV-cure-ink, flatbed (hybrid) printer. After having analyzed these printers’ features, speed, image quality and price, we’ve determined that Aeromatrix has an excellent manufacturing strategy.

Head starts
Xaar is an established manufacturer of reliable and easily maintained piezo printheads, and its Xaar 126 piezo printhead is standard in numerous Fina printers. The 126 printheads feature 126 individual nozzles, each of which produces 30-picoliter dots to image at a 1,440-dpi maximum resolution.

The head works with either UV-cure or solvent-based printers, which is a manufacturer’s dream because commonly used components share production lines. It allows a manufacturing firm to reduce inventory, training and maintenance costs, and also ease a machine owner/operator’s concerns over available parts and their interchangeability.

The Infiniti Fina 320 family
The 1,440-dpi, Fina 320A is a 10-ft.-wide, four-color, solvent-based printer equipped with 12 XaarJet, 126/30-pl printheads. The 1,440-dpi, Fina 320B is a 10-ft.-wide, four-color, solvent-based printer that offers three printhead options – eight, 12 or 16 XaarJet 126/30-pl printheads. The 1,200-dpi, Fina 320SW is a 10-ft.-wide, four-color, solvent-based printer that offers either eight or 12 Spectra Sky Walker printheads.

The Fina 320B is designed for printmakers who want to process 128-in.-wide (126-in. print width) media with CMYK ink at a 54-in.-wide, print-machine cost. When ordering, you can specify eight, 12 or 16 Xaar 126 heads (Fig. 1). More printheads print faster, but at a higher purchase cost. Overall, the printer appears well built. It has a stout media-handling system and features an uncomplicated, LCD control panel (Fig. 2) for operations and maintenance.

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The 320B’s draft mode is 360 x 360 dpi; standard is either 360 x 720 dpi or 720 x 1,080. The high-quality modes are 720 x 720 or 720 x 1,440 dpi (Fig. 3). The ink system handles 800ml per color, which, Aeromatrix said, requires fewer cartridge changes.

The 320B printing speeds depend upon the chosen head configuration. The 16-head configuration ranges from 213 sq. ft./hr. for the highest quality, to 540 sq. ft./hr. in draft mode. The standard mode prints at 409 sq. ft/hr. The eight-head configuration acceptably halves the 16-head model speed.

The printer comes bundled with Infiniti’s RIP software, so you can get it up and running out of the box. Its interface is a high-speed USB 2 connection. (Ethernet would be nice, but it’s fairly easy to share a printer which is directly connected to a system.)

What makes this printer so inviting? Check out the list price: A 12-head 320B lists at $33,998; the 16-head version is $35,998. Infiniti provides a solid, no-frills, grand-format printer at a price comparable to a smaller one.

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Engineers, like children, will reach further if a certain cookie has more sprinkles, and the Aeromatrix design group reached deep when designing the Fina 320SW. They chose the Spectra Skywalker 128/50 printhead, which features more sprinkles in the form of significantly faster printing speeds.

Therefore, if you need faster speed and prefer eco-friendly solvent inks, study the Fina 320SW. It’s very similar to the 320B, but uses the Spectra Skywalker printheads. The Skywalker printheads provide more speed and support eco-friendly solvent inks, and, predictably, you may choose a 12- or 16-printhead unit.

Maximum print speed for the 12-head unit is 742 sq. ft./hr.; the 16-head unit races at 1,054 sq. ft./hr. The high-quality modes are 193 for the 12 head and 280 sq. ft./hr. for the 16.

The Skywalker JA128/50 piezo printhead is manufactured with a non-erosive, steel faceplate that resists scratches and deterioration (for better jet straightness); it also includes crystal and ceramic electrical components – all of which provide an extended product life. Additionally, these features allow greater ink velocity (128 individually accessible channels) and more accurate addressing (.020-in. nozzle spacing). Both increase image quality.

The Infiniti 1612S UV-cure flatbed
Perhaps you’re examining a type of specialty printing that only a flat- bed printer can provide and have learned that, in today’s market, it takes a chunk of change to get into the flatbed game. The Fina 1612S hybrid could ease your pain.

The 1612 designation is the printer’s imaging width, in millimeters. A quick calculation says it’s a 64-in.-wide machine (65-in. maximum media width) that will easily process the 4 x 8-ft. material signmakers often use.

Though the 1612S uses the same Xaar 126 heads as the 320B, the print speeds differ, due, mostly, to the six-color print mode (CMYKLcLm). The 1612S print speeds range from 107 sq. ft./hr. (four-pass mode) to 46 sq. ft./hr. (eight-pass mode). While it doesn’t match the 320 family’s high production speeds, it’s fast enough for an entry-level, UV-cure, flatbed printer.

The hybrid, 1612S is equipped with both a roller table (Fig. 4) and a media roll system. Its automatic, rigid-material, feed system handles up to 121 lbs. (Fig. 5). A USB 2 connection links the system’s interface, and its control panel is similar to the 320 series. Like the 320, it ships with the Infiniti RIP.

Aeromatrix also offers an optional, media-width, auto-detection system and incorporates a USB 2 connection as its only system interface.

The 1612S isn’t the flashiest UV-cure printer, but it does a workman’s job and produces nice images on various media (Fig. 6). The pricetag makes this printer exciting. The system, with the tables, roll and take-up system, 12 printheads and a RIP, lists at $44,500, a very aggressive price for a UV-cure hybrid machine.

Conclusion
Aeromatrix is a solid supplier of digital printers for the sign industry. And, although it’s not a household name, Aeromatrix has a strong marketshare in South America, where it enjoys high customer satisfaction. Its no-nonsense approach should help it build an even bigger name in the United States. Recent events say equipment dollars will be tight and credit even tighter. If you want to produce grand-format or UV-cure printing, Aeromatrix/Infiniti America should be on your list.

Key Information
Infiniti America
10500 NW 29th Terrace
Miami, FL 33172
(305) 477-6333
www.infiniti.dt.com

Company Profile: In 1981, Aeromatrix Inc. inaugurated its computer systems and components R&D bureau in Hong Kong. Ten years later, in Beijing, it initiated an assembly and sales operation for computer systems, digital cameras and digital audio equipment. In 1995, Aeromatrix established its Florida headquarters and simultaneously expanded its market realm to the United States and Latin America. Five years later, it expanded its sign-industry trade between China and the Americas – Infiniti America became the marketing/sales/service arm for Aeromatrix’s products. After one year, Aeromatrix introduced the Infiniti series of solvent-based, wide-format digital printers. In 2006, the company announced the Fina line of Infiniti printers; these feature higher resolution and faster throughput speeds than previous models.

At a Glance: Aeromatrix’s 128-in.-wide Fina 320 series of grand-format, solvent-ink printers and the 64-in.-wide Fina 1612S UV-cure-ink, hybrid, flatbed printer feature practicality, speed and image quality, at a working man’s price.

Contact: Fiorella De Fina at (305) 477-6333, ami@aeromatrix.com.