designed a unique feature to hold the substrate firmly to the table. The bed has 256 vacuum areas which can apply a powerful draw down, but that is only half the story. There are a series of flip switches cleverly designed into the front of the bed so you can place the substrate on the table and then you just flip over the switches to a closed position in the areas not covered and the vacuum is then focused on the area needed. Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu As with any quality flatbed printer, the Impala 4 comes with light curtains which slow the printhead carriage if the area is encroached maintaining printing conditions and should there actually be a crash on the machine, the Impala 4 has software that works out where the stop happened, meaning it picks up where it left off; very clever. Pulling the Parts Together Key to high volume production and happy clients is the ability to have confidence in being able to produce the expectation of the client themselves. SwissQprint does this by making the Impala 4 compliant with Fogra’s Process Standard Digital (PSD). At the heart of PSD is three values. The first is ‘Output Process Control’ which ensures repeatable print, time after time. ‘Colour fidelity’ is the second goal which addresses a consistent colour representation via authentic image reproduction and the motto for the process is ‘Printing the Expected’. The third feature is ‘PDF/X compliant workflow’ to ensure pre-flighting and printing is as seamless as possible. The Impala 4 is an impressive package of technology, all of which pulls together all the printing variables to provide the highest of quality and unrivalled production levels. 39 Issue 251 - February / March 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk ► Tandem printing: the table has a front and rear section meaning the operator can load the rear section whilst the front section is printed ◄ Dual roll option: the Impala 4 can hold two reels of 1.2 metres in width UNDER THE HOOD / SWISSQPRINT IMPALA 4 improve production is what swissQprint has called Tandem printing. The principle is very simple in as much as the table has a front and rear section meaning once the operator has loaded the front section with the new substrate, the printer sets off printing on those sheets but the operator then turns their attention to the rear section loading new substrates there. As the printhead carriage has passed over the front sheets it starts to print the sheets placed on the rear of the machine allowing the operator to exchange printed sheets on the front of the machine with new substrate; all very clever and most of all, productive. One of the key issues on any rigid media printer is how to locate the substrate in the correct place. The Impala 4 has in the design of the flatbed a fine grid system in which you can easily screw in registration pins which the substrate is then easily aligned against for accurate repeatability. If you are completing double-sided printing on the Impala 4, this register pin system comes to the fore. By planning the image on pre-cut substrate, you can simply flip the board and register it back on the same edges from the first image and the second will back up accurately. The final part of the multi-substrate printing puzzle is how to secure the materials securely and yet again swissQprint has Registering each sheet can be easily achieved using a series of clever registration pins fitting into a fine grid on the table
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