33 www.printmonthly.co.uk November / December 2023 - Issue 345 UNDER THE HOOD / DUPLO DDC-8000 B2 DUSENSE We are always looking for the advantages of making print look better and from time to time there is even the need to make it feel better too. Whilst the tactile nature of products is not always a box that needs to be ticked, when it does, it needs to be right. However, the use of UV spot varnish, foiling, and other types of embellishment can come at a cost which is why normally we see them only when the client can pay for the extra work required to produce tactile products. As with almost all areas of the graphic industry, in-roads are being made to bring down the cost of being able to add value to the printed product. For sheet embellishments, Duplo has a range of machines that can add value to any sheet up to B2 in size. The DuSense DDC-8000 range of machines brings spot UV, sheet treatment, and foiling to both offset lithographic and digital printed sheets. What is as impressive as the product itself is the fact the features can be added when your requirements change. Four In One Duplo clearly sees that it is important to ensure customers that their equipment is future-proofed and to this extent, you can add to a base machine three times resulting in the full scope of features despite starting out with a basic machine. The first of the four configurations is the base unit called the ESSENTIAL which has feed and print capacity. The first step up is the additional foiling unit which upgrades the base machine to what is known as FOIL. The next step is to treat the sheet and this version is called PRO. The final step is to combine all processes in the ULTIMATE mode which combines feeding, treating, printing, and foiling. Regardless of the version of the machine you opt to install, at the heart of the machine is a 600 x 600dpi printhead that can produce outstanding spot UV embellishment on a sheet. The print element of the models can place the spot UV varnish with the use of Duplo’s Image Register Mark (IRM) system that is used throughout the range of machines they produce. IRM can hold a sheet to within 0.2mm meaning the placement of the embellishment can be completed into the tightest of placement. One issue that can occur when you want to add spot UV is that when using more traditional methods, you are required to produce a forme or stereo of the image you need. If you want to change it, you need to re-make the aforesaid consumables. With the DDC-8000 UV you can easily place and adjust the position and even thickness of the UV spot required through the use of a very user-friendly GUI. The profile of what you want to overcoat is prepared via a PDF and pulled down to the GUI. Move the sliders to the required position and the machine will lay down what is required for the spot and thickness meaning even one-off production can be given a lifelike feel. This is all that is required and the Spot UV coating and cold foiling used to be expensive and difficult to attain, however, Duplo’s DDC-8000 B2 DuSense range of machines make these offerings available to anyone. Brian Sims finds out more EMBELLISHMENT MADE EASY ▲ The range comes in four options: ESSENTIAL, FOIL, PRO, and ULTIMATE The Surface Treatment Unit adds an electrical discharge to the sheet which reduces the surface tension of the substrate and allows a 10-micron capacity to be applied to the sheet
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