SignLink - June / July 2024 - Issue 253

UNDER THE HOOD / SWISSQPRINT NYALA 4 23 Issue 253 - June / July 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk SwissQprint has a stable full of high-quality machines that have several operational functions and features meaning the widest range of materials and substrates can be colourfully enhanced with vibrant high-resolution images. Comprising the Kudu, Impala, Oryx, and Nyala, all machines in swissQprint’s flatbed range stand out from the crowd, but the king of the group has been the Nyala for nine years running. This is in relation to the Nyala having been the machine of choice in the category ‘UV Flatbed/Hybrid Printers >60” (152.4cm) in the €130,000 – 650,000 price segment’ since 2015, according to Geneva-based market research institute Infosource. At its heart, the Nyala 4 has up to 18 printheads from which it can deploy your choice of colours. Obviously, you can take the CMYK process colours as standard but there is the option of adding light colours (black, magenta, and cyan), orange, neon (yellow and pink), and any combination of white, varnish, or primer. Regardless of the colours you choose to print, the Nyala 4 can provide you with an addressable resolution of up to 1,350dpi which translates to a maximum visual resolution of 2,540dpi. This combination of colours and varnishes gives a wide range of applications which can be applied to an equally impressive series of substrates such as acrylic, aluminium, composite panels, wood, banners, polyester, polycarbonate, polystyrene, (high-density) PVC, flexible foam panels, glass, metals, and many more. SwissQprint focuses a lot on the green credentials of all its flatbed printers and central to this are the UV curing lamps which are LED. Due to this technology, the lack of the need to heat up or cool down the system gives the utmost production levels and the ability to print on, what is described by swissQprint as, the lucrative market of heat-sensitive plastic substrates. Added to this, swissQprint has a system that is robust. To ensure the machine is always ready to go and the costs are driven down, the manufacturer recommends regular preventative maintenance and this is also required for its new 36-month warranty. Running costs all add to the eco footprint and the equipment is highly energy efficient meeting ISO standard 20690:2018. The ozone on this equipment is also missing due to the process so the environment is perfectly safe for the operators and you can rest assured not only will the drying system not add unwanted constituents to the environment, but being energy efficient it does not draw heavily from it either. Substrate Heaven With the inks resolved, the next issue is the substrates and the choices you have here to produce on them. There are several options to choose from and swissQprint has clever media handling options in all three of its Generation 4 machines – Nyala 4, Impala 4, and Oryx 4. Obviously, as a flatbed printer you will expect it to handle flat board; which it clearly does, and does so extremely effectively. One of the key issues on any rigid media printer is how to locate the substrate in the correct place. The Nyala 4 has in the design of the flatbed a fine grid system in which you can easily peg in registration pins which the substrate is then easily Nine Years of Success SwissQprint has a series of UV flatbed printers in its portfolio but the Nyala has been Europe’s top seller for the past nine years. Brian Sims explores what it is that makes the Nyala a stand-out machine Flatbed size 3,200 x 2,030mm Flatbed substrate thickness (max) 50mm Roll width (max) 3,200mm Addressable resolution (max) 1,350 dpi Colours C, M, Y, K, Lk, Lm, Lc, neon yellow & pink, White, varnish, primer, and orange Printheads Max 18 Statistics

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