FREMONT, Calif. – Electronics For Imaging, Inc. is helping customers re-define the market opportunity enabled by high-volume, roll-to-roll signage and graphics printing with two new UV LED inkjet printers offering the fastest throughput available in their product class. The EFI™ VUTEk® 5r and VUTEk 3r printers are two of the new technologies that EFI is discussing with customers at tradeshows, including the Shanghai AD & Sign Expo in March, the ISA International Sign Expo in Las Vegas in April and Fespa 2017 in May in Hamburg, Germany.

The new printers are the most technically advanced LED roll-to-roll printers on the market, designed to offer the highest image quality at the highest rated throughput speeds, with a range of options to drive efficiencies in the production process and expand the capabilities customers can offer. The printers feature:

• Powerful LED curing technology that delivers both cost savings and environmental benefits
• Resolutions up to 1200 dpi and native EFI UItraDrop™ Technology seven-picoliter printheads with true multi-drop addressability for smoothness in shadows, gradients, and transitions 
• A unique color distribution algorithm that provides superior economic advantages with ink usage, with a single liter of ink covering up to 1,600 square feet, on average, across all print modes
• Superior productivity that helps customers do more work in less time, with the 3-meter-wide 3r model offering speeds up to 3,715 square feet per hour, and the 5-meter 5r model offering speeds up to 4,896 square feet per hour.

The printers’ large selection of optional features gives users the ability to drive greater efficiency for faster, turnkey production in high-volume environments. Inline roll-to-sheet cutting, slitters and a sheet collector kit are key additions that help users improve throughput by reducing or eliminating altogether the need to handle printed jobs on separate finishing tables. The VUTEk 3r and 5r also offer optional features for automated double-sided backlit and blockout printing; a mobile app for remote printer monitoring; multi-layer white ink imaging; additional light colors for extended-gamut imaging and more. 

“We have listened to our customers,” said Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager, EFI Inkjet. “They are pushing the envelope in terms of the applications they are producing and the speed and quality with which they can do so. Our response is continued innovation, and the VUTEk 3r and VUTEk 5r are an example of the results.”

Premium-quality imaging at production speeds

Strong initial demand for the 3r and 5r printers has resulted in early installations to customers in North America, Europe and the Middle East who wanted to replace slower, less-efficient, roll-to-roll printers. New units are going into full production at customer sites each week and customers are reporting important productivity benefits compared with their previous print equipment. 

Clifton, New Jersey, based Sandy Alexander – the first company in the U.S. to install the 5r model – benefits from high-quality imaging and increased efficiency. The company’s new printer has delivered optimum productivity with less downtime between jobs because of its integrated finishing systems. Sandy Alexander President and CEO Michael Graff discussed the advantages his company gains with the printer in a video posted to YouTube at: https://youtu.be/OxOl9u5d1fI.

The new VUTEk 3r model, which also boasts best-in-class speed and cost-efficiency for a 3-meter-wide roll-to-roll printer, is similarly having a strong, positive effect on customers’ profitability and service capabilities. Rishon Le Zion, Israel-based Campus Digital Imaging Ltd., the first company to install the 3r, replaced three slower devices with the new VUTEk printer. Because of the printer’s integrated in-line finishing capabilities, Campus was able to move many of its roll-to-roll graphics jobs from two- and three-day turnarounds to same-day delivery. The company is also winning additional work from current and new customers.