EFI Launches ‘D’ series of VUTEk printers

EFI announced the launch of a new midrange roll-to-roll printer line targeting sign and display graphics. EFI’s signature Connect event was the launchpad for the ‘D’ series of VUTEk inkjet printers, consisting of the D3r and D5r. By

Sha Jumari

The new EFI VUTEk D3r and D5r LED inkjet printers leverage the capabilities from the VUTEk 3r+ and 5r+ printers. According to EFI, the ‘D’ series is designed to offer the right mix of features, productivity, and cost to create opportunities for signage and graphics professionals. The ‘D’ series of printers was created upon customer feedback for a mid-range, mid-volume solution.

“The ‘D’ series lands itself well to the mid-level shops that need the flexibility. It is a truly unique product that leverages all the same technology from our higher-end roll to roll devices with the same quality output. It’s just more flexible. This is what’s really important about it, is that it gives people choices when they previously can’t make a choice,” said Rodd Harrison, Sales VP for EFI Asia Pacific. if super high volume is not the goal, but flexibility is, then the ‘D’ series is perfect. The D3r and D5r comes slightly under the 3r+ and 5r+. While it is not as fast, the ‘D’ offers greater flexibility,” Harrison continued.

The D3r and D5r are dedicated roll to roll machines, but they can have table attachments to allow them to print board as well. The new printer line supports other options including inline x-cutters and y-slitters; automatic backlit and block-out printing; media spreaders and motorized winders; and more.

“For someone who is looking for higher volume and high productivity, they would go with the 3r+ or 5r+. But “Instead of buying multiple devices, they can do more on one. For example, with a D3r, you can do vehicle wraps for trains, buses and taxis, and just one hour later, you can be printing a cosmetics display backlit for a department store. Totally different applications, on one single machine,” said Harrison.

According to Harrison, the ‘D’ line of printers is perfect for markets in Asia, which requires a ‘Swiss Army knife’ type of product. “In the US and Europe, the markets are big enough where printers can buy different machines for different applications. But for markets in Asia Pacific like Singapore or Australia, the markets and volumes are not that huge. So businesses here really need to buy a piece of equipment that’s more like a Swiss Army knife that allows them to do many things. The machines need to be able to do multiple prints, not just in terms of customer’s jobs, but even the type of output. The more flexible we make our products, the better it will suit more markets in Asia,” Harrison continued.

White and Clear Inks in a Single Pass

One of the main differentiating features of the ‘D’ series is the use of white and clear inks – all in one pass. The VUTEk D line is equipped with additional printheads and is able to offer matte and glossy effects to cover a wider amount of unique applications such as wall decorations and murals, window graphics, flooring, high-value prints with selective gloss effects, fleet graphics, truck-side curtains and more.

EFI Launches ‘D’ series of VUTEk printers

an ultra-high-definition print mode offering near-photographic quality.

“The ‘D’ series is the only EFI printer that does the clear and white coats at the same time. With the other printers, you would have to choose between the white or clear. With the D3r and D5r, you can essentially do colour, white and clear, all at the same time, all in a single pass,” said Harrison.

Both white and clear ink can be produced together for premium applications. The ‘D’ series supports multilayer printing, advanced white printing modes, and clear ink with glossy or matte coating modes.

“The clear ink can also be a flood coat, or a spot coat, and it can be a semi-gloss or gloss finish,” Harrison continued. “What this means is that you can put a clear coat on top of everything, like a flood coat, with either a gloss or a matte finish. That’s really good for lots of applications, but you can also do a spot colour, like a spot clear,” said Harrison.

Clear ink enhances the output, adding an extra pop to the colours and opens up beautiful creative possibilities: “Imagine you’re doing something for cosmetic display, and there’s an image of a bottle of makeup, you can just have that with a high gloss coat. This would make that part really stand out with its reflective qualities as well as having that enhanced pop of colour. The clear coat is also a protective coating,” Harrison added.

The ability to print clear ink meant that time is significantly saved by eliminating the need to have separate offline coating systems. The clear protective coating provides three years of outdoor protection against abrasion and scratching, chemicals such as detergents, weather damage, air pollution, UV fading and yellowing.

Mid-Level Solution for High Quality and Efficiency The VUTEk D3r prints up to 204 sqm/hr, while the D5r can produce up to 244 sqm/hr. The D3r and D5r printers come at 3.5- and 5.2-meters wide respectively. The printers are equipped with UltraDrop Technology and delivers precise and sharp 3-point size text, and a true resolution of up to 1,200 dots per inch. The ‘D’ line also features the Museum print mode, The printers’ LED curing ensures not only cost savings but also a more environmentally sound printing solution, consuming less energy and enabling the use of thinner, heatsensitive substrates. The ‘D’ series has obtained the highest category Gold Greenguard certification for low chemical emissions, which means the machines meet some of the world’s most rigorous chemical emissions standards and can be used in sensitive indoor environments like schools or healthcare facilities.

The ‘D’ series uses environmentally friendly, LED-curable EFI 3M SuperRange XF UV inks. EFI VUTEk SuperFlex 3M inks are also available for manufacturing of popular and profitable vehicle wraps and fleet graphics.

The printers utilize EFI’s Fiery proServer SE digital front end, allowing increased productivity as well as accurate colour matching. For added productivity, users can choose to add a software productivity pack and are able to remotely connect with the printers using a mobile application.

For more information on EFI’s portfolio of solutions for the display graphics industry, visit www.efi.com.