Foster City, CA -- November 11, 2008 -- EFI, the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today reported that its participation in the 2008 SGIA Exposition and Conference, held at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center during October, yielded results that exceeded expectations. Central to EFI's exhibit was the North American unveiling of the VUTEk DS8300 printer. This full-width array flatbed UV printer closes the gap between analog and digital technologies and is redefining the superwide format industry by providing a digital solution for the production of photo quality graphics at breakthrough speeds with digital economics and the advantages of UV technology.
 
Intent to Acquire Raster Printers
 
At the show, EFI also announced its intent to acquire Raster Printers as a demonstration of its dedication to bringing the broadest array of innovative products to the printing industry, especially in the growing display graphics market. Raster printers, currently marketed under the Daytona brand, will be rebranded as Rastek under EFI ownership and offers sign and display graphics companies an ease-of-entry strategy into the roll-to-roll and rigid substrate UV printing of display graphics.
 
Raster Printers' Rak Kumar Quote
 
"We are delighted to be joining the EFI family," said Rak Kumar, founder of Raster Printers.  "It provides us with access to EFI's marketing and technology know-how and will enable us to advance the product line more quickly than we might otherwise have been able to."
 
Chuck Dourlet Quote
 
"SGIA is always a terrific venue for us," said Chuck Dourlet, vice president of marketing, EFI VUTEk.  "This year, an even higher excitement level was driven by the presence of the DS8300 in our booth.  While we did show this breakthrough product to attendees at our August open house in Meredith, this was the first time the North American public at large had an opportunity to experience it. As a testament to the quality and capability of the broad EFI VUTEk product portfolio, we inked key 4Q business as a result of this show.  Especially considering the current economic situation, we are thrilled with these results."
 
DS8300:  A New Category of High-Speed Digital Flatbed Printers
 
The DS8300 defines a new category of high-speed digital flatbed printers representing a tipping point in productivity, image quality and flexibility. Its new digital economics and capabilities will be attractive to analog screen printers, commercial printers, and leading-edge digital printers. The innovative DS8300 design and architecture enables the cost-effective production of higher volume jobs using a digital press than ever before possible. The incredible speed and resolution made possible by the DS8300's innovative full-width print array sets this VUTEk printer apart from all other competitive offerings available in the market today.
 
The DS8300 offers:
 
- Breakthrough Speed, producing sellable output at up to 6,000 square feet (557 square meters) per hour and using a unique high productivity UV curing system, newly engineered from the ground up to provide full curing at the fastest speeds.
 
- Digital Economics, removing costly and time-consuming screen manufacturing, screen removal and reclamation. This quick turnaround makes it possible to go straight to high volume production for same day order-to-delivery capability.
 
- UV Advantages, eight ink channels, up to 1200 dpi quality and fast make-ready times. The DS8300 prints to a wide range of substrates while minimizing the health and safety issues normally associated with analog workflows, and extends the digital crossover point with traditional screen print by a factor of 4X to 5X.
 
Other Award-Winning EFI Solutions Exhibited
 
- The Raster Daytona H-700 was on display in the EFI booth. This ease-of-entry hybrid roll-to-roll/flatbed UV wide format printer prints photographic image quality at up to 320 square feet per hour at up to 1,200 dpi on materials up to 73" wide and 1.8" thick.
 
- The Raster T1000 was introduced at SGIA.  The 4' x 8' flatbed printer is capable of printing photographic images at speeds up to 600 square feet per hour and supports white ink printing.
 
EFI also exhibited a number of its award-winning superwide format, web-to-print and MIS solutions at SGIA, giving show attendees a first-hand look at the industry's leading product portfolio. This included:
 
- VUTEk QS3200r.  This innovative roll-to-roll UV printer was recognized as the 2007 grand format UV product of the year by the Digital Printing & Imaging Association (DPI).  New at SGIA was a heavy-duty media handling option and a kit that enables two-sided printing, both designed to increase the productivity of this already outstanding printer.
 
The QS3200r is an exceptionally high quality, high-speed printer that produces images up to 3.2 meters wide at 1,080 dpi with High Definition Printing (HDP), at the rate of up to 1,850 square feet per hour. VUTEk quality means that even four-point type is rendered crisply, and the printer's EFI Fiery XF RIP ensures consistent, accurate color output every time for superior unmatched quality from a UV printer. The QS3200r uses specially developed VUTEk QS Series r UV inks that are highly flexible and ideally suited for roll-to-roll applications.
 
- VUTEk 3360 with the Fusion Option.  The VUTEk 3360, a three-meter roll-to-roll solvent printer, was recognized as the 2007 DPI grand format solvent product of the year. It is available in four-, six- and eight-color versions, switchable to Fast-4? and is field upgradeable, allowing owners to add capabilities as their businesses develop. The 3360 prints up to 1,622 square feet per hour at up to 720 dpi apparent resolution for brilliant photographic color reproduction on roll-to-roll substrates.
 
The versatile VUTEk 3360 is also available with the Fusion option, which enables a clean and rapid changeover between traditional solvent and textile applications in approximately two minutes, without the need to flush the entire system. Hilord Chemical Company, an EFI partner, demonstrated the 3360 printing dye sublimation applications in Booth #2607 using VUTEk UltraTex? dye sublimation ink. This is an extremely versatile ink solution that is wash-resistant and dryer-resilient for reusable indoor/outdoor graphics.  UltraTex ink infuses into fabrics to produce vibrant colors with excellent draping capabilities.
 
- VUTEk QS3200. Recognized as 2007's best superwide format printer of the year by the EDP (European Digital Print Association), this versatile 3.2 meter printer offers superior image quality on both rigid and flexible substrates up to 126 inches (3.2 meters) wide and up to two inches (5.08 cm) thick, with changeover from flexible to rigid substrates in less than a minute.
 
The VUTEk QS3200 and QS2000 are certified for use with 3M's Matched Component System (MCS).  3M Piezo Inkjet Inks and 3M media ensure vibrant, long-lasting four, six, or six plus white color graphics when used with VUTEk QS2000 or QS3200 printers.  These UV-cured inks are durable, weather resistant and have excellent color retention.  Their flexibility makes them suitable for use on curved, corrugated or flat surfaces, with or without rivets, when producing fleet and vehicle graphics, indoor and outdoor signs, banners and flexible sign faces. They have a wide color gamut and excellent adhesion to 3M media.
 
- Fiery XF.  The EFI Fiery XF RIP supports the full line of award-winning solvent and UV VUTEk superwide format printers from EFI. It provides leading-edge technology for superwide format printing for both production and proofing requirements, delivering high-speed processing, exceptional color quality and increased productivity. It also offers exclusive connectivity to the EFI product portfolio, allowing Fiery XF customers to profit from current and future integration with other EFI products to streamline production workflows and increase productivity.
 
- EFI Digital StoreFront Web-to-Print.  This popular web-to-print solution has been deployed to more than 2,500 sites worldwide and is available in either hosted or licensed software versions.  New at SGIA are a large file submission process designed to meet the needs of the sign and display graphics market, as well as integration with EFI Fiery XF for a streamlined order-to-production workflow.
 
- EFI Pace.  This modular, fully integrated and scalable print shop management solution has already been adopted by a number of superwide format users.  Its browser-based architecture makes it device independent, operating equally well with Macs, PCs and Linux-based devices.  Because it is delivered in a turnkey hardware/software configuration, implementation is faster and easier than many other print management solutions.  In addition, this highly configurable solution can be customized to meet the needs of even the most unusual requirements in the sign and display graphics market.  EFI Pace will seamlessly integrate with Digital StoreFront and PrintFlow dynamic scheduling for a complete solution.
 
- EFI PrintSmith.  For smaller shops, EFI PrintSmith offers turnkey end-to-end management for wide format operations, commercial shops and copy centers. This entry-level solution operates in both Mac and PC environments, and includes estimating and pricing, scheduling, real-time data tracking and costing, point-of-sale, and e-commerce capabilities.  It is also integrated with Fiery XF and can leverage the capabilities of Digital StoreFront for a more sophisticated customer-facing web presence.
 
"With a successful SGIA show under our belt, we are already planning for next year," added Dourlet. "We will undoubtedly have even more new things to show by that time.  Meanwhile, sign and display graphics printers, as well as commercial printers looking to diversify their businesses, can continue to look to EFI for the broadest superwide format portfolio of products in the industry, as well as the all-important workflow and MIS solutions that will make their businesses more productive and competitive in the marketplace."
 
For more information about EFI products, please visit www.efi.com.