Alongside the existing stand-alone roll-to-roll version of the.factory, dotrix will demonstrate its suitability for point-of-purchase and folding carton applications.
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At drupa 2004, dotrix - now owned by Agfa - will demonstrate enhanced configurations of the company’s single-pass digital inkjet press - the.factory - designed for industrial print applications. Capable of printing 907 sq m per hour at widths of up to 63cm wide, the.factory is claimed to be the most productive industrial digital print solution available today. Alongside the existing stand-alone roll-to-roll version of the press, dotrix will demonstrate its suitability for point-of-purchase and folding carton applications with the integration of a jumbo unwinder and sheet cutter.drupa will also see significant developments to the software and construction of the.factory which will further improve the stability and quality of the press and its suitability for key industrial print markets such as the packaging, display/signs and decorative sectors. These enhancements include a new UV curing unit, software developments including pantone matching capabilities as well as extended portfolios of substrates and inks.
Comments Rob Haak, dotrix CEO: "This is an exciting time for dotrix. Not only will we be part of a major worldwide graphic arts organisation but we are also continually enhancing the.factory to ensure it is "fit for purpose" for industrial applications and integration into our customers production environments whatever their own business requirements".
Fit for purpose - Integration
On show for the first time at drupa will be the.factory engine coupled with a jumbo unwinder and sheet cutter. dotrix has developed a mechanical interface which connects the components together and revolutionises the possibilities for inline digital/conventional industrial production workflows.
The press is suitable for connection with standard finishing equipment, such as unwinders, rewinders, varnishing units and sheet cutting devices running at speeds of up to the speed of the.factory.
In addition, the printing engine of the.factory – SPICE (Single Pass Inkjet Color Engine) – can be incorporated into compatible, conventional OEM production solutions to provide a digital component with variable data capabilities to converting workflows.
To further enhance suitability for industrial applications, the new the.factory has an improved UV curing system to increase the range of possible substrates. The cooled, double lamp system allows printing and curing on thinner foils commonly used for industrial print applications.
Fit for purpose - Stability
At drupa, the.factory, already a stable production device, will demonstrate an improved, automated maintenance unit with automatic inkjet head cleaning. Coupled with the jetting reliability of the press, the improvements ensure both continued and consistent print results with the 1000th sheet matching the first sheet output. The consistent print quality, vital for branded packaging applications makes the.factory a productive and accurate industrial tool.
the.factory uses UV-curable inks, compatible with industrial manufacturing processes and substrates. The environmentally friendly inks do not only offer a wide colour gamut but also provide further jetting stability.
Fit for purpose – Software enhancements
A significant development to the.factory digital front ends is the improvement of Pantone matching capabilities. The colour management system can automatically match and convert Pantones – an essential capability for corporate branding applications particularly in the packaging sector.
This development expands the achievable colour spectrum and produces accurate colour reproduction from substrate to substrate. Manual fine tuning of colours by the press operator is still possible through dotrix’s FINETUNE. FINETUNE provides easy-to-use, powerful tools for colour adjustments using production inks or a mixture of inks.
dotrix has developed a range of workflow products for the packaging, decorative and security sectors connecting through JDF to other workflows. These will all be demonstrated at drupa 2004.
Fit for purpose - Quality
the.factory incorporates industry-standard drop on demand, greyscale, inkjet technology with inkjet heads from Toshiba TEC. The heads, integrated into the dotrix’s cartridges in the.factory, are able to produce different tints of ink by varying the droplet sizes, thus providing a 300dpi resolution with three-bit greyscale or eight levels of grey per spot, resulting in an apparent resolution of 900 dpi. These different intensities combined with stochastic screening result in a high level of print quality.
The piezo print heads not only enhance greyscale capabilities and quality but also provide high levels of stability and reliability, as well as a longer life span.
Concludes Rob Haak: "We are targeting entrepreneurs in the industrial print sector and strongly believe that our integrated solutions will provide major opportunities to printers in the more traditional industrial markets and allow them to respond to the challenges and changes happening around them".
