The ultra-high productivity Inca Digital Onset X Series, sold globally and exclusively by Fujifilm, took centre stage in Fujifilm’s dedicated Wide Format Zone at drupa 2016. Featuring alongside a variety of mid-range flatbed and hybrid machines such as the Acuity LED 1600 II, the Acuity F and the new Uvistar Hybrid 320, visitors could see why the Onset X Series, launched in October 2015, has so rapidly established itself as the new benchmark for throughput, quality, supreme reliability and ‘future-proof’ scalability.
The three base models in the Onset X Series, Onset X1, Onset X2 and Onset X3, owe their unique combination of quality, productivity and flexibility to the common scalable platform that they all share. This common platform accommodates up to 14 ink channels, which users can configure in a myriad of different ways, depending on their unique individual requirements.
ONSET X1
With a maximum throughput of 560sqm/hr (or 112 full-bed sheets/hr), the Onset X1 is ideally suited to printers producing a mix of fast-turnaround retail graphics requiring high-quality images that stand up to close range scrutiny, as well as graphics for distance viewing. The Onset X1 features eight active channels: four print CMYK and the remainder can be configured as required using a combination of light magenta, light cyan, white and orange (LmLcWO). Finally, when it becomes necessary, an additional carriage can be included to scale up to an Onset X2 or X3.
ONSET X2
With a second set of CMYK channels, the Onset X2 takes productivity to another level, printing at 725sqm/hr (145 beds/hr), while an optional six LmLcWO channels add versatility. Also upgradeable according to customer needs, the 14-channel Onset X2 increases capacity, extending the range of jobs companies can handle. A choice of uni-directional, bi-directional and ultra-high quality print modes can be selected depending on the specific requirements of the job at hand.
ONSET X3
The Onset X3, capable of printing at an astonishing 900sqm/hr (180 beds/hr), sits at the pinnacle of productivity. Featuring three CMYK ink channels plus the choice of white or orange, it offers users of traditional commercial offset or analogue screen printing lines the option to take the digital route, confident they can print long runs of extremely high-quality print with superb consistency and reliability.
Central to the quality and reliability on offer in each model of the Onset X Series is Fujifilm’s robust, high-performance Dimatix printheads, widely recognised across the industry for their reliability and long life. Depending on whether applications are focused on quality or speed, Onset X customers can select the printhead class that best suits their needs, with the option of 14-picolitre and 27-picolitre drop sizes. White recirculating printheads have a 40-picolitre drop size.
FUJIFILM UVIJET INKS
As any printer knows, the ink/printhead relationship is critical to consistent high-quality inkjet printing, day in, day out. Onset X printers use Fujifilm’s Uvijet inks, which have been optimised to remain stable in the print circulation system and printheads.
The inks offer:
• A wide colour gamut for accurate reproduction and vibrant graphics.
• Ultra reliable jetting for the highest quality printing over long periods with minimal operator intervention.
• Consistent high-quality images and colours, print-to-print and batch-to-batch.
• Excellent adhesion and instant drying, tack-free, and durable for up to two years with excellent fade and water-resistance.
• Efficient and cost-effective inks for maximum productivity.
The new Onset X Series features some of the industry’s latest technological advancements, representing the very best of Inca Digital and Fujifilm hardware, software and inks, and confirming the reputations of both companies for consistently developing large-format UV solutions that combine unrivalled productivity and quality with industry-leading reliability.
One of the most notable technological advances to be incorporated into the Onset X series is the new 25-zone vacuum table, which features a powerful new vacuum solution and choice of skin designs according to the user’s needs. A further innovation allows frequently-used formats to be automatically programmed and stored in a user-generated database – increasing productivity by up to 20 per cent compared to previous Onset printers.
Other new features available across the Onset X Series include a productivity pack which incorporates:
• Advanced high-speed shuttering systems that protect printheads from UV damage when printing thick substrates.
• Optional automated substrate cleaning using an adhesive roller system to remove debris and improve up-time.
• A new-design roller for corrugated board printing that, in a single pass before printing, presses the substrate onto the vacuum bed to ensure good contact.
Since 2013, Inca Onset customers have enjoyed the multiple benefits of a highly-flexible flatbed UV inkjet production platform that can grow and change with their businesses. Strong sales of the Onset have shown that the modular concept is appropriate for the highly dynamic, high-end, large-format UV sector, where the pace of change is such that print service providers often have difficulty in choosing the right printer.
The Onset X Series has been designed to remove the traditional compromise of quality and productivity and make the choice of machine the easiest decision a printer has to make. The series combines an easy-to-understand upgrade path with a comprehensive choice of options, so that whatever stage a business is at, it has the ability to configure or re-configure an Onset X printer with the appropriate colour performance and productivity to match their budget and changing business needs.
'The development and launch of this platform was no fluke,' said Tudor Morgan, Segment Manager, Sign & Display, Fujifilm Europe. 'Offering unrivalled productivity and unbeatable quality, it represents the culmination of the combined hardware, ink and application expertise of Fujifilm and Inca Digital over the last decade and a half. This partnership has produced multiple leading inkjet systems over this period, and with the Onset X Series, it has now delivered the high performance flatbed inkjet production platform by which all others are measured, as the increasing number of installations globally makes clear.'
