EFI introduced the EFI VUTEk HSr press, its fastest production-class roll-to-roll product on the market. The company’s other offerings displayed at Fespa included end-to-end workflow automation, 7-picolitre greyscale UltraDrop Technology for near-photographic imaging, new SuperRange Ink and energy-efficient, “cool cure” LED imaging at full production speeds, and VUTEk GO, an innovative Android-based monitoring application for the high-end VUTEk HS Pro series.

With more than 500 LED inkjet printers installed worldwide, EFI delivers higher-quality, versatile imaging on a broader range of substrates, with virtually no VOC emissions and significantly reduced energy usage. EFI customers are gaining a competitive advantage from their ability to print on thin, inexpensive films, corrugated board and other materials that cannot withstand the heat associated with other drying or curing methods.

UltraDrop Technology offers an additional competitive advantage with the ability to print smaller drop sizes with more precise control thanks to its native 7pL printheads and true multi-drop addressability in each dot position. The results are outstanding smoothness in shadows, gradients and transitions, superb text quality with four-point text in both standard and knockout with fewer satellites, and more clarity in all print modes.

EFI demonstrated the EFI H1625 LED printer, which gives printing companies with mid-level production needs the same advantages as higher production LED systems at a significantly lower cost. Thanks to the four colour plus white inks that come standard and eight-level variable drop greyscale capability, the printer produces near-photographic image quality, saturated colours and smooth colour gradations. The easy-to-operate, low-maintenance system prints on an extended range of flexible and rigid substrates. Its single-pass, multi-layer print capability allows printing companies to offer premium-margin applications with greater profit opportunity.

“In combination with the high resolution, the H1625 LED surpasses screen printing in many respects. When you tell customers you can now print in 162 x 300 cm format at a thickness of up to 5 cm, they just can't get over it,” said user Josef Rechberger, general manager of Druckerei Walding (Linz, Austria) regarding his talks with customers.

The VUTEk GS3250LX Pro LED printer with UltraDrop Technology was also on display. This high-productivity LED printer allows users to produce more jobs, and extend their applications offering with more substrates and lower operating costs. It offers rigid and roll-fed printing capability, white ink and single-pass multilayer printing. "We opted for the new LED printer because it was a press with the latest technology enabling us to create the best-quality prints in the market and thus increase our competitive edge," said managing director André Stutz of richnerstutz ag, located in Villmergen, Switzerland. For him, the LED ink curing at full speed is especially important. "We can now print thinner plastic films, the whole machine does not heat up as much and the lamps save an enormous amount of energy."

EFI also showed the 5-metre VUTEk GS5500LXr Pro printer with new SuperRange Inks, which offer the industry-leading 3M™ MCS™ Warranty when printing on 3M flexible media. This high-performance roll-fed printer delivers precise imaging thanks to its innovative and eco-friendly LED curing and EFI’s UltraDrop Technology. Co-branded EFI and 3M SuperRange Inks, available for VUTEk GSLXr series printers in six-colour and eight-colour plus white configurations, offer a hard surface cure, a wide color gamut and excellent adhesion properties, making them the ideal choice for a wide range of materials and printing applications.

With the VUTEk HSr press, EFI is introducing a dedicated, production-class roll-to-roll printer, its fastest printer on the market. The new VUTEk LED/UV Pin & Cure imaging press is a 3.2 m high-speed roll-to-roll printer that targets the replacement of older solvent printers for the high-volume production of vehicle wraps, lorry sides, banners, posters and more. It has six colours plus white ink with multi-layer print capability for the production of perfect day/night backlit graphics. The HSr press features EFI 3M™ SuperFlex HSr Ink and backs graphics with the 3M™ MCS™ Warranty.

EFI exhibited also the award-winning 3.2-metre, hybrid EFI VUTEk HS100 Pro press, a high-volume printer that uses a combination LED/UV Pin & Cure imaging process to provide exceptional quality and high productivity. The press also features automated material loading and unloading systems, along with a material edge guide system for printing corrugated board and other challenging substrates at press-rated speeds.

At Fespa, EFI demonstrated VUTEk GO, a remote monitoring application for the VUTEk HS Pro series that allows customers to:Monitor print queue in real time (what job is printing, how long left in the print run, what job is next) : Monitor real time status of ink levels, lamp settings and lamp life. Review history of printer status and print queue within last 24 hours. Receive push notifications on printer alerts or errors. The 2-metre, hybrid EFI VUTEk H2000 Pro UV inkjet printer features UltraDrop Technology and gives users a more-affordable entry point into mid-volume, premium production printing while giving them the option to add features – including white ink, clear varnish and roll-to-roll media handling – as they grow their business.

EFI demonstrated its mid-market Productivity Suite, which gives users an integrated solution to end-to-end automation including certified workflows and synchronized releases across multiple products. It allows companies to simplify the implementation and maintenance of their management system and operations tasks as they need to grow into new markets and strategically run their businesses. In its heart is EFI Pace™, a browser-based, scalable and customizable print management system that streamlines operations and reduces costs by providing real-time data for estimating, production, accounting, sales management and e-commerce.

Other key elements of the Productivity Suite demonstrated at the show were EFI DirectSmile cross-media marketing software and the newest version of EFI Digital StoreFront®, a web-to-print software providing an industry-leading print buyer experience that extends variable-data and personalized print capabilities and highly-customisable responsive SmartStore libraries. Printing companies can profitably produce more work using the industry’s top online job submission solution offering real-time, bi-directional integration and data sharing with EFI MIS/ERP and EFI Fiery® digital print workflows.

EFI also demonstrated thermoforming techniques of pre-decorated thermoplastic sheets printed on an EFI VUTEk GS Pro-TF printer. EFI thermoforming inks stretch during the heat-forming process without cracking or loss of opacity and adhesion. Digitally pre-printed sheets can be formed into custom signs, point-of-purchase displays and other 3D objects, eliminating costly and time-consuming screen-printing, hand painting and vinyl lettering processes for thermoformed object decoration.

EFI also brings the advantages of LED technology to label and narrow web printing. The Jetrion® 4950LX printer represents a new level of digital label production systems—with improved image quality, finer text, higher speeds and advanced LED technology. It gives label producers a competitive edge with the ability to print on heat-sensitive and speciality substrates. At Fespa, EFI showed a wide range of labels that are possible with this newest Jetrion model, giving digital and screen printers the means to seek new opportunities and target new markets.

“EFI’s mission is twofold: to help the industry transition from analogue to digital technology and to guide our customers towards markets and applications that generate growth. As a result we design technology that enables new, more profitable applications so our customers can profitably expand. At EFI’s stand visitors could see this technology in action,” said EFI senior vice-president of worldwide marketing and sales, Frank Mallozzi.