French-based company BS2i recently purchased a new EFI VUTEk 5r+ LED superwide roll-to-roll printer. Designed to offer the lowest total cost of ownership, the highest image quality at the highest rated throughput speeds in its class, the roll-to-roll LED inkjet printer delivers fast production speeds up to 479 square metres per hour.
‘The EFI VUTEk 5r+ is a production printer that’s capable of taking on large volumes of printing with very high-quality results,’ said BS2i CEO Janette Cacciopo. ‘Its very small drop size allows us to position ourselves at the high end of five metre printing, especially when it comes to textile printing like with coated polyester, diffusion fabric, etc. It can also be adapted perfectly to the current proliferation of requests for backlit graphics.’
BS2i’s 5.2 metre wide digital printer, which has a four-colour plus white configuration, drives greater value in high volume work with its superior ink coverage, high colour density and wide colour gamut. But what really caught Cacciopo’s eye is the LED curing technology. ‘It was the performance of the LED in general compared to classic UV that interested me, as well as the improvement in both speed and quality.’
EFI’s ‘cool cure’ LED technology requires less heat compared to traditional UV or latex printing, which provides a savings in energy costs. Plus, compared with mercury arc lamps, the LED lamps in the printer last longer and do not have the type of degradation issues that can result in wasted prints. ‘There is no longer the risk of the printing getting worse because of the quality of drying,’ Cacciopo said. That’s really good to know. There’s no need to monitor it like with the other machines.’
Cacciopo purchased the printer after visiting EFI’s showroom in Belgium to learn more about its capabilities. The visit convinced her not only that the printer was the right technology for her business, but that EFI also would be a reliable business provider.
‘We were totally convinced by the printer,’ she said. ‘It was the obvious choice for BS2i. But for an investment of this size, I had to choose a well-known and reliable company with after-sales service and strong technical support that would be able to guarantee end-to-end service provision. We wanted a company with the same ethos as BS2i, and that was EFI.’
BS2i blocked out a week to set up the printer, but the installation was completed in two days. ‘At the time, we had an order for a wrap to go in a strategic location right in the heart of Paris, on the most beautiful avenue in the world, for an incredibly demanding customer. The tarpaulin was printed on the EFI VUTEk 5r+ three days after it was installed, and the customer congratulated us,’ said Cacciopo.
Training on the printer also went well. BS2i’s printer operators particularly like how simple it was to get the VUTEk 5r+ up and running, and the way it is designed so parts inside the printer are easily accessible.
The printer’s 7 picolitre UltraDrop Technology provides superb transitions, vignettes, skin tones, and shadows. The printer also offers improved white printing with up to 30% faster throughput compared to the original VUTEk 3r/5r printers. Several new optional features are available for the printer, including double-bladed slitters and multi-roll support for automated backlit and blockout printing.
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