45 Issue 248 - August / September 2023 a staggered setup. The first head will print CMYK, and the second head white and varnish, which will enable two-layer printing or braille and 2.5D structure prints without speed loss. Fast curing is enabled by two new 4”-wide UV LED lamps.” More and more printers and end-users are focusing on special effects like braille, 3D, and embossing to make print truly stand out. Because of this, machine manufacturers are heavily investing in new technologies in order to enable print service providers (PSPs) to offer as much variety as possible. An Extra Layer A manufacturer that has focused on new tactile applications is Canon, which at this year’s FESPA unveiled two new products, the PRISMAelevate XL and Arizona 1300 flatbed printer series. The Canon stand focused highly on applications with the theme ‘make it BIG’, building a streetscape which featured an applications store, concept store, café, and inspiration wall. The company also debuted the Canon Colorado M-series to the European market. The system is the first roll-to-roll large- format graphics printer platform that is modular in speed configuration and media handling. Thanks to its ability to produce special effects and white ink printing, the machine recently won the EDP Award for Best Rollto-Roll Printer <170 cm in the Printing Systems category. Jennifer Kolloczek, European planning, marketing, and innovation senior director for production print at Canon Europe, says: “Ever since they burst onto the market, Colorado printers with UVgel ink have set the highest bar for speed, quality, and all-round productivity. “On top of these business-critical performance criteria, large-format graphics providers today want to make smart, environmentally responsible investments in printing solutions that can evolve with them and help them tap into lucrative creative applications, products, and growth markets. “With its modularity and the addition of an easy-care white ink option, the new Colorado M-series is the growth engine that businesses can rely on to level up their capabilities and turn ideas into reality.” The scalable M-series offers a choice of output speeds, Colorado M3 or M5, with the option to upgrade from one speed to another, either temporarily or permanently, making it a much more future-proofed system. Canon UVgel ink means printers can produce a fast build-up of dense and opaque images using white ink in fewer passes than conventional printing technologies. The PRISMAelevate XL software also highlights Canon’s focus on tactile print applications and elevated prints by creating textured effects and raised lettering of up to 2mm. This solution succeeds the Arizona Touchstone and delivers twice the elevation with up to 20% higher speeds. Being a part of the PRISMA XL Suite, customers are able to design creative and high value applications for signage, interior and exterior décor, awards, fine art reproduction and packaging prototyping. The software supports the Canon Arizona 1300 and 2300 flatbed series of printers, both of which use FLOW technology. Discussing the launch of the Arizona 1300, Matthew Faulkner, EMEA director of marketing and innovation at the Wide Format Printing Group of Canon Europe, says: “Having launched the first Arizona flatbed printer 17 years ago, we’re building on a solid foundation with our world-leading flatbed printing technology to support the growing mid-volume segment of the market and respond to print buyer demand for faster turnarounds. “We’re now expanding the Arizona 1300 series with FLOW technology and automation enhancements, these new models deliver the proven Arizona quality and versatility, but make production quicker and easier than ever, boosting our customers’ competitiveness.” Just as other manufacturers have demonstrated the ability to print on a range of substrates with various effects, producer of wide-format kit, swissQprint, has made this one of the key benefits of its machines. The company has recently celebrated key moments like selling its 1,000th Nyala model, winning two EDP Awards, and highlighting its sustainability concept. Since 2015 swissQprint’s Nyala flatbed printer has been ranked as one of Infosource’s top-selling machines in Europe. The model was launched in 2012 and is now on its fourth generation and sits among five other flatbeds in the swissQprint range. The machine has a 3.2m x 2m print bed with the standard model outputting up to 206 m²/h, or 370 m²/h with the speed model. With its roll-to-roll option, the flatbed printer is capable of a wide range of high-quality applications. Christof Lüchinger, production manager at swissQprint, says: “Right from the start, practically every customer has ordered the roll-to-roll option and thus, so to speak, gets two printers in one.” Carmen Eicher, chief sales and marketing officer at swissQprint, adds: “Nyala's unbroken success confirms something enormously important to us: over multiple generations, our products meet customer needs.” SwissQprint is known for its high-quality range of applications including wood, glass, fine art, and interior décor. Its flatbed range including the Oryx, Impala, and Nyala are all known for their versatility and efficiency and are capable of being used with special inks like neon, white, and varnish. Customers can enhance and differentiate themselves thanks to the capabilities of swissQprint’s other roll-to-roll and high-end printers. The Karibu 2 has special capabilities thanks to its neon, varnish, white, and relief printing as well as features like the Tip Switch Vacuum, and multilayer mode for registration accuracy while overprinting various layers. The only printer in swissQprint’s range to include ten colour channels and up to 30 printheads is the Kudu. Speaking about the machine’s presence at FESPA, swissQprint said: “Audiences at the stand were impressed not only by Kudu’s print In 2022, Geneva-based market research institute, Infosource, named swissQprint’s Nyala model as the most sold 60" or above UV flatbed/hybrid printer in the €130,000 to €500,00 (£111,000 to £428,000) price segment in Europe Factoid ▼ SwissQprint is known for its high-quality range of applications including wood, glass, fine art, and interior décor TASTE FOR SUCCESS / WIDE-FORMAT PRINT KIT PT.2
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