Our direction is to be a viable replacement for some offset work such as mail order catalogues, said marketing operations manager Monteen Jones.

One of the first customers for the technology will be Japanese telecoms firm NTT.

At the heart of its BC2 technology is an improved print head, which produces ink droplets one third the size of its current machines, which it said produced sharper images and a wider colour gamut.

BC2 technology will be used in the firms flagship VX5000 machine (formerly the Versamark Ultra). It will begin beta testing after Drupa and be commercially available by the end of the year.

The product at Drupa is the first step of an evolution, said Jones.
At Drupa the firm will also rename the other Versamark machines. The JetBlack becomes the VJ1000 and the Vantage the VT3000.

Among the firms new products is a UV-cured version of its 4300 series overprinter, the 4350, which the firm says will open up a greater range of substrates and applications.

It also said that there will be a NexPress on the Versamark stand, although there are no further details of the fate of Heidelbergs stake in NexPress. Former Heidelberg Digital ink-jet specialist Markus Pahler has joined the firm in a marketing role.

The company revealed details of Stream, its next generation of print head. Commercial products are three to five years away and promise lower cost and compatibility with a wider range of inks and fluids.

Stream combines continuous and drop-on-demand ink-jet technologies with semi-conductor manufacturing techniques.

Story by Barney Cox