An ultra-highspeed inkjet imprinter that is additional to the US manufacturer’s product portfolio, the Hayabusa can reach speeds up to 305m/min with a native 600dpi resolution. It uses the same Kyocera KJB4 piezo printhead technology as MCS’ existing Eagle inkjet devices.

Designed to be integrated with most high-speed web presses and finishing lines, the device adds monochrome variable data printing to those machines and MCS said it can deliver offset-like quality while keeping up with press production speeds with little downtime.

MCS international sales director Kevin Loos said: “The Hayabusa is built on a decade of success that we’ve had with our Eagle inkjet product line.

“Imprinting at speeds of 200m/min or greater have been dominated by aging continuous inkjet technologies; we saw an opportunity to introduce an alternative that can bring piezo inkjet’s famous reliability and easy maintenance to this application.”

Designed with increasing uptime kept in mind, the Hayabusa features quick disconnects between the print module and the controller, easing the process of moving heads between print stations.

“We worked closely with high-volume printers to design the Hayabusa. They required a solution that reduced their downtime and can be ready to print on demand,” said Loos.

“The Hayabusa hit both of these points with a head life measured in years, not hours, and a startup time of five minutes."

The device, which features a high-volume ink delivery system, has a flexible range of inks to choose from thanks to MCS’ sister company Think Ink. These include monochrome inks for coated and uncoated stock, PMS colour matches, security inks, and MICR.

The Hayabusa comes in 4.25-inch and 8.5-inch modules for addressing, spot colour, and full-page A4 printing at web press and finishing line speeds. The device’s workflow supports both PDF and IJPDS.

The machine, which was first launched in the US last year, will be available in the UK from Brackley-based Promail, the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for MCS, “starting in Q3 of 2021”.

Loos told Printweek the most significant competition for the Hayabusa is Kodak’s Versamark and Prosper S10 platforms. “Capex and maintenance cost is less than a comparable S10 print module,” he added.

In-person and virtual demonstrations of the Hayabusa will be available from MCS’ demonstration centre in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

In 2019, MCS launched the Condor 250, a four-colour inkjet envelope printer for use on high-speed inserters and for offline printing.