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COVER FEATURE: FUJIFILM ACUITY PRINTERS
Fujifilm’s ‘Blueprint Live’ Acuity printers gain wide appeal
Fujifilm launched its Acuity range of wide format printers last year as part of a concept entitled ‘Blueprint Live’. The printers have been well received in the local and global industry, and the company tells us why
Over the past few years, Fujifilm has completely rethought the design of its wide format presses to maximise value, productivity, and ease of use. The result of all that work is the Blueprint strategy, an Acuity range which according to Fujifilm, not only fulfils the intended objectives, but also achieves exceptional levels of print quality. Fespa Berlin presented the perfect opportunity to showcase the new range on the global stage last year, which includes the Acuity Prime, Acuity Ultra R2 Series and Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED printer. The range has since been met with wide appeal.
Acuity Prime Range
The Acuity Prime range offers high quality printing on a range of rigid and flexible media, supported by five dedicated vacuum zones and a jettable primer, and according to Fujifilm is a “true flatbed with a unique, exceptional design”.
The latest from the range, the Acuity Prime L, is a large-sized LED UV flatbed benefiting from all of the features of the standard Acuity Prime, being designed with the user in mind whilst offering a competitive ROI. It is very easy to operate, and produces high quality results at high speeds.
The Fujifilm Acuity Prime flatbed printer offers unique, exceptional design and high value
The Acuity Prime L provides a larger size table for printers that need to combine high productivity and high quality printing on larger sheet sizes.
It features six vacuum zones and 16 media location pins, as well as the ability to print side by side jobs with its dual zone function.
– Fujifilm
The Acuity Prime range also features a vacuum table that can handle almost any sheet material, securing both rigid and flexible media perfectly for high quality print across every sheet, Fujiflilm said. The option to print with white and clear inks, and to print directly to almost any material in perfect registration, enables Acuity Prime printers to produce high value, creative work. In addition, it can be used with Uvijet HM LED UV curable ink. Thanks to the optional jettable primer, it is possible to print on a wide variety of industrial media, opening doors to further revenue streams.
With a new and user-friendly GUI, easy clean printhead maintenance, a dedicated nozzle check zone and visible status lights for the ink tanks, Acuity Prime operators can spend less time maintaining the machine and more time printing, the company said.
Acuity Ultra R2 Series
The “powerful” roll-to-roll inkjet superwide format Acuity Ultra R2 can print on a range of out of home applications where close viewing requires images to be exceptionally clear and vibrant.
According to Fujifilm, the Acuity Ultra R2 offers “excellent high quality, productivity and reliability on a massive industrial scale” – up to 5m wide; and includes 3.5 picoliter drop sized industrial printheads and specially developed LED UV inks.
With its massive format size, 2- or 3-up multi-roll potential, and ability to print on a broad range of materials, the Acuity Ultra R2 can be used to produce exhibition graphics, POS displays, high-value graphic art, backlit displays, outdoor displays, outdoor signage and more. In addition, Fujifilm’s LED versions can offer value and versatility to workflows, based on customer demand.
The Fujifilm Acuity Ultra R2 is a powerful roll-to-roll inkjet superwide format press
The Acuity Ultra R2 is also equipped with advanced features for flexible and productive printing, including a unique chilled vacuum table to enable printing of thin heat-sensitive substrates; an onboard backlighting feature to enable image quality to be checked during printing; and an automatic nozzle spitting system to maintain consistent print quality and onboard registration for double-sided printing. With features to speed up job set-up times, enable the status of the print to easily be reviewed, through to the day-to-day maintenance of the machine, the ease of use of the Acuity Ultra R2 is a key contributor to improving the user’s overall print ROI, Fujifilm said.
Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED
Part of the Acuity Ultra product family, the Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED offers all the benefits of ease-of-use, “ultra-high” quality and a competitive ROI, combined with the ability to print to both rigid and flexible substrates, according to Fujifilm.
The Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED is a 3.3m highend printer that offers “superb, high quality” printing to both rigid and flexible substrates. Printing at speeds of up to 218 m²/hr (RTR), and delivering a print resolution of up to 1200 x 1200 dpi, the Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED is “unique in being able to combine ultra-high quality and a competitive return on investment, for both rigid and flexible applications, all in one platform”.
Along with media loading and unloading tables, the Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED also features a dimpled table surface to support all media types while allowing easy media positioning. A robust catch mechanism protects against accidental damage, and secure locking allows for media feed accuracy throughout every print run.
The GUI features the same “exceptional design features” found on the Acuity Ultra R2 and includes additional functionality to handle rigid media production – up to six sheets simultaneously.
The Fujifilm Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED is a high-end printer that offers quality
An intelligent vacuum control system automatically turns on the correct vacuum zones needed for any print job based on the width of the media, and the vacuum motor power constantly adjusts to maintain optimal media hold down, regardless of media type and size, ensuring an “accurate and high quality print finish,” Fujifilm said. For maximum flexibility when printing roll- to-roll, a bespoke designed airshaft allows dual roll functionality, so two media rolls of different diameters (each up to 36cm) can run at the same time.
Fujifilm has created an entirely new ink range, Uvijet UH, especially for the new machine, with six colours (CMYK, light magenta and light cyan) available as standard and white ink also available as an optional extra. The new ink has both Greenguard Gold and AgBB certification.
Uvijet UH has been carefully designed to adhere to a broad range of rigid and flexible substrates, while also matching the “exceptionally high quality” of the Uvijet GS and AU inks used in the Acuity Ultra R2. The machine and the ink have both been designed by the company and they work together to maximise quality while also minimising ink usage, helping to keep running costs down and boosting ROI, Fujifilm added.
Acuity Prime key features:
Dedicated flatbed design
Compact footprint
Registration pins
Various colour channel options
Vacuum zones
Maximum print speeds of 75.8m2/hr in Express mode for the Acuity Prime L model
Uses Fujifilm Uvijet HM UV LED curable inks
Long lasting, low energy LED curing system
Ricoh Gen 5 greyscale, variable drop printheads
2.1m by 4.9m by 1.5m in dimensions
Acuity Ultra R2 Series key features:
Print speeds up to 402m2/hr
6-color (CMYK, Lc and Lm), 6-color + WW and 2 x CMYK configuration options available
3.5 picoliter grayscale printheads
0.1mm to 2.0mm media thickness capabilities
Available in 3.2m and 5m models
Industrial UV and LED curing systems
Chilled vacuum table for handling heat-sensitive materials
Very quick start up and simple operator maintenance
3-level greyscale printheads
Auto media thickness and position measurement
ColorGATE or Caldera RIP
Acuity Ultra Hybrid LED key features (COMING SOON):
Native 3.5 picoliter
3-level greyscale printheads
Linear-driven printhead carriage
A 3.3m high-end printer
Accurate and reliable media transport system
UV LED Curing
Fujifilm Uvijet UH inks
Ultra-high quality 6 channel with white option
Print speeds of 218m2/hr
Up to 51mm media thickness
Multi-roll printing
Prints on heat-sensitive materials
Print resolution of up to 1200 x 1200 dpi
For both rigid and flexible applications
