Inca Digital has launched the Onset S50i, the first of a new series of UV flatbed printers to have been designed from the ground up using new Onset Scaleable Architecture developed to increase machine longevity. Letchworth-based Showcard Print is the first European company to install an Onset S50i having beta tested it between May and August.
By designing a new modular Onset platform with the ability to adapt ink tanks, printheads, UV curing lamps, automation, speed modes and electronics, Inca aims to give Onset users the power to evolve the productivity/colour specifications of their printers – on-site – to match their budget and changing business needs. The S50i is the first Onset to have been fully developed in this way, though new Onset S40i include the scaleable architecture and so will future S20i’s, in effect massively widening the amount of possible Onset variations.
“Onset Scaleable Architecture is a dynamic futureproof technology that protects a company’s investment for the long term and provides a highly flexible production centre that can grow and change with them,” said John Mills, Inca CEO.
The S50i, the first new-generation Onset printer, is a dual CMYK flatbed UV inkjet printer capable of printing 725m2/hr (7,803sqft/hr). Sold exclusively worldwide by Fujifilm, it is the most powerful large-format printer in the Inca Onset range. It uses Fujifilm Uvijet OB or OZ inks to print onto rigid and flexible media up to 3.14m x 1.6m and up to 5cm thick. A choice of print modes can be selected, alongside satin and gloss finishes. The Onset S50i incorporates 224 (56 per colour) Fujifilm Dimatix printheads on a full width print array and two UV lamps ensure high-speed curing.
The printer also incorporates both hardware and software technologies that have been developed by Inca to improve quality, reliability and productivity. These include: iNozzle mapping; sophisticated drive and control electronics; a 15-zone vacuum table to reduce bed masking requirements and, consequently, set-up time for thin substrates; a UV sensor system that monitors printer condition; and substrate height detectors to prevent contact with, and damage to, printheads. Plus, Inca’s variable data Print Run Controller software module offers advanced job management capabilities and ReporterPro software gives users detailed information about the productivity of their Inca printers. The S50i is compatible with Inca’s flexible automation system, which gives users a choice to operate manually or using semi or three-quarter modes from the same configuration.
The basic S50i will cost just below £1m, cheaper than the S70 and said to have a higher productivity when set-up times are taken into account.
Inca has also launched ‘Inca Vision’, a remote diagnostics service that continually monitors Onset printers to determine how well they are performing and flag up issues that require technical support. The service uses similar data collected through Reporter Pro, the service launched by Inca in January, that provides detailed reports to Onset users on machine utilisation, productivity and costing.