The Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED was unveiled on the firm’s booth (2.2-C30) at the Berlin show. It’s a 3.3m-wide device that can print up to 218sqm/hour in roll-to-roll mode, with a top resolution of 1,200x1,200dpi.
Two rolls of different diameters can run at the same time, or up to six sheets when printing onto rigid media. It features an intelligent vacuum control system that adjusts to different media sizes and types.
Fujifilm has developed a new inkset for the printer. Uvijet UH has six colours (CMYK, Lm, Lc) as standard with white as an option. The ink has Greenguard Gold and AgBB certification.
Kevin Jenner, European marketing manager at Fujifilm Wide format Inkjet Systems will celebrate 30 years with the business, and Sericol before it, tomorrow (1 June).
“I’ve been through the analogue to digital transition and this is another big transition for us,” he said.
“Three years ago we decided to go back to the drawing board to redefine the future of wide-format. We thought about what the market needed in terms of the right balance of price, performance and quality – and alongside that ease-of-use.”
He said the all-new Fujifilm Acuity range had been built to its “Blueprint” concept, “designed to offer exceptional performance and unbeatable value”, and it was exciting to bring all six of the new printers together at Fespa for the first time.
Jenner described the Ultra Hybrid LED as “a print shop in one”.
“It takes us into the Agfa/Durst space, but with a very different offer in terms of ease-of-use and ROI,” he stated.
Jenner highlighted a host of features across the range designed to make users’ lives easier and more efficient.
On the Acuity Ultra there is a viewing window and webcam feature so the operator can see everything that’s necessary on the printer from one position. Seven litre ink tanks reduce ink waste when refilling with five litre bottles.
Also new at the show is the Acuity Prime L flatbed, which has a maximum print area of 3.2m x 2m and prints at up to 202sqm/hr. It can have up to seven ink channels including white, clear and primer.
The €145,000 Prime L “fills a missing part of our portfolio”, said Jenner, and joins the Acuity Prime 20 and 30 models announced last year.
A new jettable primer boosts adhesion on tricky substrates.
The Prime 30 will be put through its paces running at 98sqm/hr “for the whole show, we’re not stopping it, we want to show the quality it can achieve at that speed,” Jenner added.
Both of the new models will be available later this year.
Regarding Inca’s recent sale to Agfa, Jenner commented: “As you can see there is no Onset-shaped hole on this stand.
“There are no hard feelings. Inca have been a brilliant partner and we’ve done terrific business over hundreds of units around the world with them. And those customers will still be supported,” he explained.
“But you can see we’re starting to move in a different direction and we have developed our own style. Our blueprint will underpin everything we do for the next few years.
“You can imagine there are still gaps in our portfolio that we need to build, but we will fill them using our blueprint concept. This is the start of a new generation of Fujifilm platforms that are coming through – we’re going to get bigger and better.”
