EFI has used the 2014 Shanghai Ad and Sign Technology and Equipment Exhibition to reveal its new 5m Vutek GS5500lxr Pro roll-to-roll printer that uses the company’s 7pl greyscale UltraDrop technology and LED cool curing. The eight-colour (plus optional white) printer uses the new EFI Vutek GSlxr 3M SuperFlex ink, said to provide solvent-like elongation characteristics, and can handle substrates up to 3.2mm thick. Output speed is up to 260m2/hr (65m2/hr high quality), with resolutions of 600 or 1000dpi.
China-based Baicheng Group is one of the first to buy one of the new machines that Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager, EFI Inkjet Solutions, said “eliminates barriers businesses face producing greener, high-volume and high-quality roll-to-roll graphics."
EFI’s UltraDrop technology employs 7pl printheads with multi-drop addressability in each dot position for high apparent resolution and high-definition quality with four-level greyscale and two ink density levels. The new technology is said to produce outstanding smoothness in shadows, gradients and transitions, as well as superb text quality with four-point text in both standard and knockout with fewer, stray droplets and more clarity in all print modes.
A 3M MCS warranty is offered for vehicle graphics produced on the new printer using the appropriate 3M base film and over laminate with EFI Vutek GSlxr 3M SuperFlex UV Inks (excluding white).