The Canadian manufacturer is promising a “low cost and low risk” route for firms making the move into direct-to-board printing, at a more affordable price point than with its existing high-end range.

A 2.2m-wide Sl8te Hybrid model is being demonstrated on the Gandy booth (B2-450). It is available in four widths: 1.6m, 2.2m, 2.6m and 3.2m and can operate in flatbed or roll-to-roll mode. Pricing starts at €80,000 (£65,000).

The Sl8te True Flatbed comes in two formats: 1.6x2.6m and 2.6mx3m. It has pin registration and a zoned vacuum bed. A roll-to-roll attachment is available as an option.

Both versions can handle substrates up to 70mm thick.

Gandy Digital chief executive Hary Gandy said: “Many customers want to buy our printers, but €300,000 is too expensive for them. Our client base want these machines and it opens up a new area of the market for us.”

The firm is using Ricoh’s Gen 4 6pl printheads, which Gandy said provided a further advantage over competing models. “Our competition is using older heads so not quite the same quality, and of course our pricing is going to be better. Another advantage of the newer heads is better speed,” he stated.

The Sl8te models print at 25sqm/hour.

Also on show for the first time is the latest version of the firm’s Domin8tor printer, with new features including its High Density Ink technology that Gandy said delivered an average ROI period of just one year.

The printheads on all of the new models are protected by Gandy’s new Crash Sensor technology, which the firm claimed could save users €10,000-€15,000 a year. It means printed jobs can’t collide with the printheads if the substrate proves to be uneven.

The new models are available immediately, and Sl8te Hybrids have already been installed at customers in Canada and Mexico.