The 630mm-wide machine, prints onto metal, fabric and plastic using eight colours: CMYK, light cyan, light magenta, light black and light light black. Previously the printer was only available in a four-colour configuration.
Sawgrass UK marketing communications director Mike McEvoy said the extra colours allowed for improved light tones and skin tones and the extra blacks were particularly useful for reproducing black and white photography.
President Darcy Mauro said the size was “a big win” as most comparable printers were smaller.
“Nobody else has one in that size and the output is spectacular.
“We’re now going to play in markets where we haven’t been able to play before. The machine is really flexible,” she said.
The Virtuoso VJ628 printer is based on a Mutoh eco-solvent machine that Sawgrass adapted to water-based production to fit with its ink portfolio. It is sold as a package with the company’s Powerdriver software and Creativestudio RIP for a combined price of €5,500 “so clients can plug and play”.
The revamped Virtuoso prints on 330mm-, 432mm-, 610mm- and 630mm-wide transfer materials at speeds of up to 4.9m2/hr. It also features variable drop printheads with a minimum drop size of 5pl.
Mauro said the printers were popular with “Mom and Pop businesses” and can be used to print on fabrics, metals and plastics to create personalised gifts, interior signage, art prints and even socks.
“We have solutions in 67 countries. We aren’t the least expensive solution – we believe in a high-quality solution – but people really care about something that looks great.”
Mauro said that its smaller Virtuoso A3 SG800 printer and A4 SG400 desktop printer, which are also displayed on its stand, had also been very popular since appearing at Fespa 2015 in Cologne.
“In the first year we doubled anticipated sales. The response to this type of product has been overwhelming. The thing that people are loving about it is it’s integrated,” she said.
