The 3x2m LED UV EFI Pro 30f features six channels, CMYK plus double hit white, running 12 Ricoh Gen 5 UltraDrop printheads with variable drop size of 7-12 picolitres. It is capable of 210sqm/hr.
Sitting above the Pro 24f in EFI’s portfolio, offering almost double its smaller sibling’s productivity and bed size, it also offers twice the maximum media height at 100mm.
“That significantly broadens the application range, particularly in terms of the industrial applications out there,” said EFI vice-president of marketing for inkjet Ken Hanulec.
The new machine also features a six-zone selectable vacuum bed and is being shown at Fespa running EFI Prographics Series UV Rigid inks, with additional inksets coming on stream later.
Commercial launch for the EFI Pro 30f is slated for September, with beta machines being delivered immediately after Fespa.
The Pro 30f is the first launch since CEO Bill Muir highlighted earlier this year that he wanted EFI to plug some of the gaps in its high-end product portfolio.
“If you look at our portfolio, from $100,000 to a couple of million dollars with Nozomi, there really are very few gaps, but this was one,” said Hanulec.
While he conceded that that the 3x2m production flatbed market was fairly congested, he said he was confident that along with the machine’s performance EFI’s strength in offering customers a full eco-system, from workflow to hardware and inks, would be its key draw.
“There are players in the market, clearly, but we’re excited to bring the Pro 30f and we’re expecting big things,” said Hanulec.
“We believe the value in the Pro 30f is the sum of its parts.
“If you take the EFI printer and all the engineering we put it into that, the ink technology and all the engineering we put it into that as the largest UV ink manufacturer in the world, and combine that with our Fiery fast RIP technology then we believe that we’re the only company that when we develop a new printer, we develop it from the ground up to offers systems that are perfectly harmonised to maximise the value and productivity for the market.”
EFI is also running a number of other machines on its booth, including the Vutek h5 superwide hybrid, Vutek 3R+ roll-to-roll and the Vutek FabriVU 340i dye-sub.
“Unfortunately, I can’t bring all the children, there’s never enough room,” quipped Hanulec.
