The new, currently unnamed, device can reportedly print at up to 30,000sqm/hr and is a 1.6m-wide printer fitted with Fujifilm Samba printheads.
Inca chief executive John Mills will be hosting daily talks at the expo, running from 15-18 May, where the machine’s potential will be demonstrated by video. Inca staff will also exhibit a 50 metre-long print sample that the machine produced in 10 seconds.
Mills said: “We think this preview will cause the biggest stir at Fespa. It is still in development and we have sights on a commercial launch in a couple of years’ time.
“Our plan is to introduce it now so that people can start talking about it and having conversations with us about what they want from it. We are talking to companies in the corrugated sector who are very interested.”
Inca will enjoy an “expanded” presence at this year’s show, with its own stand in Hall 1.1 and a second in conjunction with Fujifilm in Hall 5.2 to show off its flagship Onset X3 press.
Taking the spotlight will be the Onset X series’ “mini” counterpart, as Inca has chosen Fespa as the site for the commercial launch of its new Onset M B1 press. Running off the same technology as the X series, the M is designed for versatility in short-run work.
Following an extensive beta testing period and a preview at last year’s Fespa, the M is ready to enter the market at a price of £450,000-£500,000, depending on configuration.
“The Onset M is designed to serve four key markets – short runs with expensive substrates; small-format; carton and board; and printing on metal such as cans,” said Mills. “It is our most-tested machine ever and we have worked with our customers to make sure it can be used on every substrate they would possibly want.
“In the past year, our testing phase has seen an improvement in the press’s print quality and reliability. It is full automated to reduce labour costs and waste.
“People may not quite understand what it is for at first look, but we will use Fespa to show them there is nothing else like it on the market and we are sure they will be reviewing gaps in their capabilities and find that the M can fill them.”
The Onset M prints UV-cured inks to a resolution of 1,350dpi at a rate of up to 200sph on substrates of thickness from 0.1-10mm.
Fespa 2018 will fill nine halls of Messe Berlin, Germany, from 15-18 May.
