Signlink - August / September 2023 - Issue 248

UNDER THE HOOD / EPSON SC-F6400/F6400H 17 Issue 248 - August / September 2023 email: news@signlink.co.uk Printed textile production post-Covid-19 has started to see large gains and the retail and commercial sectors have seen the capacity for printed materials growing strongly in terms of demand. There are a number of machines in the market but two that can very suitably provide the resources to provide high-volume, wide-format capacity. The Epson SC-F6400 and F6400H have a substrate width of 1,118mm (44”) with both able to produce superior quality printed textiles with reliability but with a keen eye on the cost of ownership and production. The difference between the two models is mainly the ink configuration you need. The SC-F6400 comes with a bank of process colours (CMYK) whereas the SC-F6400H comes with the process set but with the ability to print light cyan and magenta. The SC-F6400H can extend the colour gamut to include fluorescent pink and yellow along with capacity for orange and violet ink as it is a six- opposed to a four-colour printer. The ink capacity of both printers is 45% larger at 1,600ml but more importantly they come in easy-to-use ink packs. There is no need to transfer the ink from container to printer, as users can simply shake the pack to agitate the product and insert it into the printer. The increased size of ink pack not only allows for longer uninterrupted running but also reduces waste and improves the green footprint of the machine. Regardless of which printer you choose, both come with inkjet heads containing the now proven Epson Thin Film Piezo (TFP) technology. The technology contained in the head is deemed by Epson to be a market leader and is in a large number of the manufacturer's printers. In 2007, Epson came to the market with this new concept TFP technology which is used across the complete range of printers and is now truly tried and tested. The Piezo element of a printhead is common to all printers using this technology and has to be produced in very thin sections. Epson chooses not to follow this path and instead actually uses a proprietary process to form a dense piezo crystal element that is just one micron thick on a silicon wafer. The heads are produced with what Epson calls Micro Electro Mechanical SysThe Epson SC-F6400/F6400H are two printers that can deliver high-volume inkjet-printed textiles and promotional goods. Brian Sims takes a deeper look at what makes this claim sustainable The increased size of ink pack doesn’t only allow for longer uninterrupted running but also reduces waste and improves the green footprint of the machine Colourful Textiles ► The UltraChrome DS inks used with these printers can print on a wide range of substrates also needed for point of sale Printheads: Dual PrecisionCore TFP Colours: SC-F6400 4 colours & SC-F6400H 6 colours Resolution: 600 x 1,200 dpi (max) Statistics

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