40 Issue 254 - August / September 2024 www.signlink.co.uk UNDER THE HOOD / FUJIFILM ULTRA HYBRID PRO Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu opted for an upscaled drive mechanism in the form of a linear motor. This provides a number of advantages. They are friction-free meaning there are no moving parts to affect the printhead placement and due to this, the speed of movement is up to 1900mm per second making it one of the fastest on the market. A further advantage of the linear motor feeds back into the fact it has no moving parts, this ensures that no vibration feeds back into the head which could affect ink droplet presentation. Making Life Easy As stated before, the operator has been considered in all aspects of the Ultra Hybrid Pro, the operation panels are placed on both sides of the printer meaning you do not need to be walking for ever to make minor adjustments for production. Added to this, the GUI produced by Fujifilm is intuitive and easy to use. Scoping the whole machine, it cannot be ignored that the Ultra Hybrid Pro is a large machine capable of handling large cumbersome sheets, but due to the detail designed into the machine by Fujifilm, the operation is simplicity itself. If large-scale production is your market and you have floor space, the Ultra Hybrid Pro could well be the answer to your question, ‘What machine do I need?’. to the substantial steel construction of the internal framework of the printer. This delivers rigidity and stability for the printhead as it moves from side to side and this in turn ensures there is no vibration to either deflect or distort the ink droplet. As for the moving of the printhead itself, most manufacturers use belts or gear drives to drive it from side to side. The weight of the printheads is not light and this can provide challenges in itself. Fujifilm has means it can handle both reel and flat board, but by using the word ‘handle’ this doesn’t mean it is not done with ease. What adds to the latest of the series is automation of the process meaning one person can print full-size pallet to pallet production without physically moving a sheet. The media transport system throughout the machine has been designed with the operator in mind. The media tension roller adjustments are on both sides of the machine meaning regardless of where you stand, you can make the adjustments required. Should thinner materials be the order of the day, the input media roller can be adjustable both up and down to ensure the tension on the reel-to-reel substrate is kept at an optimum – flat and wrinkle free. The printer comes with aluminium media shafts either 3.3 metres long or if required, two 1.6 metres wide for dual reel operation. An additional function of the dual reel option is a special airshaft allowing two reels of the same substrate but different diameters to be used in production at the same time. Built to Cope When you are printing on materials that are up to 3.3 metres wide, this starts to put designers under real pressure to ensure the machine is durable and stable enough. If you are deploying ink droplets as small as 3.5 picolitres, then the smallest deviation of the printhead halfway across the pass will alter the printed outcome significantly. So, it is no surprise the Ultra Hybrid Pro weighs in at 8,300kg and this is due
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