Hybrid’s Duncan Jefferies looks at the benefits of the new age of digital printing, and what it can offer to those printers who are considering upgrading to the new technology. How many times have you heard that? Digital print will take over the world ‘screen-printing is dead - abandon all hope!’

Of course, screen-print retains a unique place, a position of strength in a number of key areas, but there are some tasks that digital printers can do that traditional screen-print can’t, and with the development of certain digital printers, that number of tasks is increasing.

Mimaki’s UJF-605C flatbed UV curing inkjet printer is a little bit different to the raft of large format UV curing machines that have been available for a number of years; for a couple of reasons pretty key to any screen-printer looking at augmenting their offering.

Mimaki’s white ink - a proper, bright and opaque white ink - is a vital component for a digital printer that's attempting to replace a screen-print operation, and the Mimaki has this as a key feature. It enables print onto either coloured substrates - with a full colour process print on top, or equally, an in-register backing to reverse prints onto clear substrates.

The white ink opens so many doors, and with the latest version of the bundled RIP software integrating multi-layer printing in one process, it's incredibly simple to create stunning output in a very short space of time.

The 600mm x 500mm vacuum bed and extraordinary registration capabilities let users easily produce prints that are created far more accurately than through a screen-print process, to the extent that it is even possible to create Braille signage through the print process alone!

The second consideration for a screen-printer is that practically every UV curing printer on the market has a relatively low quality output, which is ample for banners, building wraps and some point of sale but really not good enough if you’re in the business of producing high quality, small format products. This is where the Mimaki UJF really wins, it’s never going to take market share from an 8Óx4Ó high volume flatbed; not apart from it not having the available print area, it’s pitched at a very different sector.

With an unrivalled print quality of 1200 x 2400dpi, it offers an output that alternative machines simply can’t touch, which is why it has scored so highly with a broad range of specialist screen-printers.

The Mimaki prints to all the usual UV printable substrates, such as acrylic, board, metal and plastics, polyesters, styrenes and glass, but this machine is all about applications so start thinking golf balls, badges, CDs, backlit rigid branding created in one piece, direct-to-substrate small signage and circuit boards as perfect examples.

The one common denominator amongst all the many installations of this printer is the forward thinking nature of the decision makers within their businesses. Not prepared to be tied by the shackles of screen print (volume, creativity constraints and time to market, being just three), these companies have immediately benefited from the Mimaki’s very unique features.

Admittedly, if you’re producing thousands of impressions of an identical product, day in, day out, traditional methods still hold sway over smaller format digital, but how many times do you need to turn away lucrative short runs before taking the plunge?

How about offering your customers interchangeable and replaceable time sensitive branded goods, instead of waiting long periods of time between orders? What about gaining complete control of your products, without subbing out your printing? Even if you do have the urge to produce substantial volume, there’s an example of one of Mimaki’s customers with twenty-two of these machines!

The Mimaki UJF-605C sits at the forefront of available technology, and at just £70,000 for a complete system, makes for an attractive financial argument too. Available exclusively from Mimaki’s exclusive UK distributors, Hybrid Services Ltd, it can be demonstrated at their offices or reference sites around the country.

Hybrid are Mimaki's exclusive distributors, providing market leading dye-sublimation, graphics, solvent, UV curing and textile inkjet printers, cutting plotters and a full range of inks, media and consumables. Visit them at www.hybridservices.co.uk or call 01606 860044.

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