Onset X HS: the ultimate flatbed production platform

At a recent UK launch event, Inca Digital and Fujifilm announced the introduction of a powerful new addition to the market-leading Onset X UV flatbed series – the Onset X HS (High Speed) range. These new UV inkjet flatbed machines offer a substantial increase in productivity thanks to significantly higher print speeds and reduced job set-up times and, in combination with Fujifilm’s new Uvijet OX ink, offer much greater versatility for printing on rigid plastics at high speed. 

Featuring two new machines, the Onset X2 HS and Onset X3 HS, the new models offer a dramatic increase in speed and productivity, with the ability to print up to 1450m2/hr using a new ‘single cycle’ mode. The new Onset X HS models are launched with a new Fujifilm UV ink, Uvijet OX, which features a brand new, unique & patented ink technology developed by Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems in the UK, to achieve exceptional adhesion on rigid plastic media at the highest speeds. 

The Onset X HS has been introduced to help print service providers meet the increasingly demanding requirements in the display and POP market, both in terms of productivity and the versatility to print on a diverse range of media. It is capable of radically improving job turnaround times thanks to its high performance in four key areas which, in combination, put the Onset X HS platform well ahead of its competitors when it comes to real world productivity:

1. Job set-up time. The time taken to change jobs is one of the biggest causes of machine downtime, due to the set-up changes often required. These can include robotic automation adjustments, the alignment of UV shutters and the adjustment of the table skins. In the Onset X HS, these set-up procedures have now been fully automated, taking the job set-up time from around 15 minutes down to around 30 seconds, resulting in far less operator intervention, less opportunity for human error and a substantial boost to printer uptime and utilisation. As run lengths continue to come down across the industry, reductions in job set-up times become ever more significant.
   
   
2. Raw print speeds. In addition to the radical improvement in job set-up times, the Onset X HS also offers headline speed increases of over 50%. This is because of the introduction of a new ‘single cycle’ print mode, together with a new high performance Uvijet OX ink. The single cycle mode features optimised print and jetting profiles that allows speeds of up to 1450m2 per hour to be achieved. Combined with the introduction of Uvijet OX, adhesion can be achieved across a wider range of media at the highest possible speeds. This means high speed, high quality, single cycle printing is suitable for a much wider range of applications
   
   
3. Press uptime and reliability. Print speeds and job set-up times are important, but an often overlooked area is machine reliability, as when a press is down for maintenance, it’s obviously not making money for its operators. Fujifilm and Inca Digital are immensely proud of the justified reputation Onset printers have developed for extraordinary reliability, achieving 90% uptime. Intelligent features enable all Onset X printers to achieve optimum performance, and monitor and diagnose potential problems remotely before they occur. Onset hardware is built to last, with 95% of all Onset platforms ever installed still working tirelessly today. The Onset X HS, with all its added benefits, maintains this ultra-high level of reliability.
   
   
4. On the floor productivity. The productivity of the Onset X HS is further enhanced due to the automation options available. With ¾ and full automation for standard display and point of sale applications, along with a specific fully automated solution for corrugated board, the ultra-fast productivity of the Onset is matched with superb media handling systems.

Profitable sustainability

As the sign and display industry moves increasingly away from PVC to more easily recyclable and environmentally friendly polypropylene materials, one of the major challenges facing large format print businesses has been the difficulty of achieving consistent ink adhesion to these substrates, particularly at high speeds.

Often, production has to be slowed down to ensure that the ink adheres effectively and, in a highly competitive market, where fast, efficient production can mean the difference between turning in a profit and making a loss, this poses a huge challenge. So how can large format print businesses ensure that this important, environmentally sustainable switch is also sustainable in a business sense? In the new Onset X HS and Uvijet OX UV ink range, Fujifilm and Inca Digital have met this challenge head on.

The Onset X HS can, when paired with Uvijet OX, print on many more challenging rigid plastic substrates, reliably and at the highest possible speeds. So as applications in the sign and display sector move increasingly towards these more easily recyclable substrates – the Onset X HS and Uvijet OX ink provide the perfect solution to help large format print businesses to boost their profitability and their environmental credentials simultaneously. 

Developed in the UK by Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems, Uvijet OX features a completely new UV ink technology that makes use of a specifically weighted monomer blend. The blend’s key qualities include particularly low shrinkage when polymerised and inherently low polarity. These two factors combined offer excellent wetting properties both before and after polymerisation, providing exceptional adhesion at the interface between the plastic media and ink. This adhesion is achievable even at the highest ‘single cycle’ speeds of the new Onset X HS, without an impact on the quality of the finished print. 

The ultimate production flatbed platform and Fujifilm’s unique high performance ink, in combination, mark a milestone in the inkjet industry. Together they are set to help open up new markets for large format print businesses all around the world, while also helping these businesses to dramatically improve their environmental credentials. 

Uvijet OX – Key features

1. Outstanding adhesion to a wide range of rigid plastic substrates, especially polystyrene and fluted and flat sheet polypropylene (achieved in both four-pass satin and gloss modes)
2. Powerful curing performance in all print modes without loss of adhesion
3. Can be used with more environmentally-friendly and non-hazardous polypropylene materials without compromising print quality or finish
4. Improved scratch resistance
5. Same gloss uniformity, colour gamut and finishing characteristics as other Uvijet ink systems
6. Same stability and jetting performance as other Uvijet ink systems