10/02/2014 Update added for the Konica Minolta/Komori KM1 UV inkjet launching at IPEX2014
23/09/2013-Added updates and new image for the Landa Nano Presses, which are now delayed by a year.
16/12/2012-I have added some updates re installations and availability of these presses. Also the new OCE ColorStream 5500 color inkjet press has just been announced.
Back from Drupa with sore feet but with more info, so added two more presses and amended some of the others.
Also included is the Xerox CiPress 500 Production Inkjet. It is a interesting press from Xerox, not B2, its web fed, around 406mm width using waterless inkjet with piezo print heads. I guess based on the ‘old’ ‘Phaser’ technology with solid ‘waxy’ inks. Used at present for uncoated light weight papers. Runs at 1000 to 2000 A4 pages per minute. This could be the tech that Xerox use for a higher spec B2 machine?
There’s been lots of talk, articles and blogs on these presses, many to be shown for the first time at DRUPA, and their impact on the offset litho market, so here are my thoughts!
Firstly not all are new. Not all are ready for the market, and some seem to represent a possible disruptive technology to offset litho more then others.
The interesting area is speed, and which print markets these presses are aimed. The two or three presses are close to being commercially available, these, and most others, all run at around 3000 sheets an hour, most can use variable data, so the commercial, direct marketing, book and trans promo areas I guess?
Some are being ‘adapted’ for the carton and flexible packaging areas.
But is 3000 sheets an hour fast enough and the presses economic enough when printing non-variable product to complete with a highly spec’d B3 or B2 sheet fed litho press. Do your own calculations! I am unsure at present.
This brings me to the speeds quoted by two of the latest presses announced, the Ryobi/Miyakoshi prototype and of course Benny Landa’s Landa Nanography technology/presses. The first is quoting up to 8,000 sheets per hour B1! But is the resolution high enough for the quality commercial colour market?
Nanography quotes 11,000 sheets per hour and a quality better then litho (a larger colour gamut and higher resolution), all which remains to be seen at DRUPA. So while the 3000 sheets an hour may find a market, they may not disrupt offset litho. So could Nanography be the disruptive technology for offset litho, in the same way as offset litho was to letterpress in the late 1950s early 1960s?
27/4 Komori and Landa enter a global partnership to build presses using the nanography printing system. This is in addition to the Komori partnership with Konica Minolta on the KM1 UV inkjet? Can both coexist? It seems that the Komori/Konica Minolta will be the system thats is aimed at the variable print market?
30/4 And now Landa have partnered with ManRoland sheetfed, UK owned, to allow them to use the Nanography technology, what next, Heidelberg?
A deal between Heidelberg and Landa was announced 2/5/2012.
Also the new Memjet inkjet technology used in the Delphax Elan SRA2 printer gives speeds up to 500 pages per minute! The technology is also being used in wide format printers from OCE, Fuji Xerox and Xanta.
So watch this space closely.
So lets look at the basic specifications of whats on offer, errors and omissions expected:
Size: B2 sheet fed
Perfecting: No
Variable data: No
Speed: 2,700 B2 sheets per hour
Stocks: Most litho papers and boards
Available: Now? Seems to be ending its beta testing stage
Price: 1,500,000 euros
Pros: Available now. Very good quality.
Cons: Not variable, slow compared to the latest in this market
First shown at the last DRUPA and fully demo’ed at IPEX 2010, one of the first in this field. Built like a printing press with litho like paper feeds and delivery. A packaging version will be shown at DRUPA.
Over 12 of these press have been sold worldwide with two due in Europe.
Screen Truepress Jet SX
Size: B2 sheet fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 1,620 B2 sheets per hour one side only, 810 perfected
Stocks: Most litho papers and boards
DPI: 1440 x 1440, 1440 x 720
Type: Inkjet, water based pigment, hot air dryers
Available: Now
Price: NA
Pros: Available now. Very good quality.
Cons: Slow compared to the latest in this market
Shown at DRUPA 2008. Fully demo’ed at IPEX 2010, one of the first in this field. Now has packaging ‘additions’.
One installation in the UK at RCS in Retford, Nottinghamshire doing personalised packaging. This press is also available from Ricoh, which sells the press as the Infoprint 5000, and concentrates on the transactional sector.
HP Indigo 10000
Size: B2 sheet fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 3,400 B2 sheets per hour, 4,600 in ‘Enhanced Productivity Mode’, basically a CMY process with no black.
Stocks: HP approved papers and boards
Available: At beta testing stage, and there are to be a twoUK beta testers. Available at the end of 2013
Price: 1,500,000 euros
Pros: Very good quality.
Cons: Slow compared to the others in this market.
Not a inkjet press, its an Indigo! DRUPA 2012 will be its first showing, but looks from many reports is close to a being finished product. Built like a printing press with litho like paper feeds and delivery. There are other versions, the 20,000 and 30,000 for the packaging markets.
There are now many Beta sites testing these presses, including two in the UK at Pureprint and Precision Printing.
KBA Rotajet 76
Size: B2 web fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 150 meters per minute perfected
Stocks: NA
Available: NA
Price: NA
Brand new machine from KBA to be shown at DRUPA, web fed, a low resolution at 600dpi? Uses Kyocera K64 heads, seems to be aimed at books and commercial print. Print quality is an area to be looked at?
KBA say that the print quality is now good and have two orders for the press, but will not say at present who and where.
OCE ColorStream 3500
Size: B2 web fed portrait
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 75 meters per minute can be single sided or double with an additional printing ‘unit’.
Stocks: 60gsm to 160gsm
DPI: 600 x 600
Type: Inkjet, pigment or dye inks
Available: Now?
Price: NA
Brand new machine from OCE to be shown at DRUPA, web fed, a low resolution at 600dpi? Uses Kyocera K64 heads as the KBA Rotajet 76, seems to be aimed at books and commercial print? Print quality is an area to be looked into? The spec seems to place this press in the transpromo market
OCE ColorStream 5500 full colour inkjet press
Size: 762mm wide,web fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 254 to 200 meters per minute.
Stocks: 60gsm to 160gsm
DPI: 600 x 480, 1200 x 1200 at the slower mpm.
Type: Inkjet, pigment
Available: Now?
Price: NA
Konica Minolta/Komori KM1 UV inkjet
Size: B2 sheet fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 3,300 sheets per hour, 1.750 perfected
Stocks: normal offset papers and boards with no pre-coating
DPI: 1200 x 1200
Type: Inkjet, with UV drying
Available: The latest version will be shown at IPEX 2014 with a new name. Could this be the launch?
Price: NA
Pros: Very good quality, faster then others in this market
Cons: Slow compared to some others in this market.
Ryobi/Miyakosh Digital Press 8000 prototype
Size: B2 Sheet fed
Perfecting: TBC
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 8,000 sheets per hour, increasing to 10,000 as developed
Stocks: normal offset papers with no pre-coating
Available: Prototype
DPI: 1200 x 1200
Type: UV liquid toner
Price: NA
Pros: Very good quality. One of the fastest B@ digital,presses
Cons: Not available until 2013.
Brand new machine, a development by Ryobi and Miyakoshi to be shown at DRUPA, they say it is a prototype, but it is very fast with very good image quality
Impika iPrint eXtreme
Size: up to B1 web fed from a 710 mm web width
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: TBA
Speed: 375 meters per minute, 22,500 B1 sheets per hour
Stocks: TBA
Available: TBA
Price: NA
Very fast machine, but it is not clear at what dpi the speeds quoted used? It can print at up to 1440dpi. Another DRUPA launch.
Landa Nanography
Size: B3, B2, B1 sheet fed and web fed
Perfecting: Unknown
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 13,000 sheets per hour B1
Stocks: Any paper and some plastic films.
Available: Now delayed until late 2014 for first beta due to re design of press touchscreen. This now wraps around the front of the press.The first units will be B1 for the packaging carton printers. The press is much bigger. due to this, than the prototypes shown at drupa 2012.
Price: NA
Pros: The fastest digital presses. Only B1 sheet feb digital press. Quality should be good when development is complete.
Cons: Will quality be good when development is complete? Is this nano tech safe?
Is this the new printing process to take over the world, it will be an interesting DRUPA? Now in partnership with Komori, ManRoland sheet fed and Heidelberg to build presses based on Nanography.
Lots of marketing and PR now going on. Say they are still expecting to start selling the presses in 2014. Not much info from the other offset litho press manufacturers who paid to use the technology at the moment. Guess they are awaiting developments. Some also have partnerships with other inkjet/digital vendors so covering there options.
Delphax Elan
Size: SR2 sheet or web fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 500 pages per minute, so 7,500 SRA2 sheets per hour at 1600 x 800dpi
Stocks: 60gsm to 350gsm, needs an inline primer coat for some coated stocks
DPI: 1600 x 1600 or 1600 x 800
Type: Memjet thermal inkjet
Available: End of 2013
Price: £310,000 TBC
Pros: Very good quality. Fast
Cons: An SRA2 sheet size.
Another fast machine. Aimed at many markets; books, security, and commercial printing
MGI Alphajet
Size: B2
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: up to 3000 sheets per hour
Stocks: up to 500gsm
DPI: 1200 x 1200
Available: A prototype, available for sale in 2013
Price: TBA
Xerox CiPress 500
Size: A3 web fed
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: up to 1000 to 2000 pages per minute
Stocks: up to 50 to 160gsm uncoated
DPI: 600 x 400 dpi
Type: Piezo DOD, solid inks
Available: TBA
Price: TBA
Very fast press for light weight uncoated papers using an inkjet method that shows potential for other papers and sizes
Jadason QPress
Size: B2
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: up to 1080 sheets per hour
Stocks: up to 64gsm to 350gsm coated and uncoated
DPI: 1200 x 1200
Type: Dry Toner
Available: Now
Price: £250,000
Pros: Reasonable quality at a reasonable price.
Cons: Very slow compared to the others in this market.
Slow, but lower priced machine which was one of the first commercially available B2 digital presses, also unclear if it perfects.
Founder EagleJet P5200
Size: B2 portrait web
Perfecting: Yes
Variable data: Yes
Speed: 75 metres per minute,
Stocks: uncoated and inkjets papers
DPI: 1200 x 1200
Type: inkjet Piezo
Available: TBA
Price: TBA
Clearly aimed at the book and transpromo markets
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