In an interview with PrintWeek, John Kaufman, product marketing manager - digital presses, Fujifilm North America, would not name the companies that placed the initial orders, but said, "What I can tell you is that these particular customers reside in the commercial print space with the intent of running a variety of applications. This machine is designed to address the demand and growing need for customized and target marketing materials as well as provide the commercial printer with the ability to meet the changing market."

There is plenty of competition in the high end digital printing space, but Kaufman expressed confidence the feature set of the J Press 720 - Fujifilm's first high volume digital inkjet press - will enable it to quickly have an impact in numerous segments within the US commercial printing industry, including digital, offset and packaging printing.

"The J Press 720 has several advantages, including its sheet size," he added. "Capable of running a half-size (20' x 29") sheet, the J Press 720 enables users to run a number of jobs digitally that, previously, would have had to have been run offset because of the size.

Additionally, while digital printing has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, it still isn't on par with the quality that can be achieved by an offset press. With the Samba printhead 'printbar' from Fujifilm Dimatix, the J Press 720 is able to achieve offset quality according to the company, being capable of printing four-level grayscale.

A source at Dimatix told PrintWeek that production of the printbars was being ramped up: "Samba printbars are being shipped in volume," he said.

The J Press 720 can print up to 2,700 29.5x20.8in size 4-up sheets per hour, or 10,800 8.5x11in pages per hour, meaning it is suitable for both high volume and short run work. The J Press 720 prints on coated offset stocks, allowing for printing on standard offset-sized sheets.

But while the J Press 720 is aimed squarely at competing in quality with offset, Kaufman stressed it is not a complete replacement for all work printed via an offset printing process. "Again, to compare it simply against offset ignores the other segments of the industry that will be affected by this device," he continued. "But, for a specific class of offset work, the J Press 720 offers tremendous advantages."

The technology inside the J Press 720 eliminates issues and challenges associated with the offset printing process, such as managing ink and water balance, streaking, ghosting, make-ready waste, make-ready time, and press chemistry, Kaufman noted.

"It also eliminates a number of consumables from the process - fountain solutions, blankets, washes, etc. - and the variables associated with them," he added. "Yet it delivers offset-quality printing and users will see both economic and environmental advantages."