Page 64 - Print 21 Magazine Sep-Oct 2018

Blog
Focused market strategy
Andy Yarrow, EFI
EFI is launching its new high-volume hybrid platform, and Australia is firmly in its sights, says its Asia Pacific vice president Andy Yarrow
In an industry like ours the launch of a new product is always met with excitement, and being able to use the words from the ground up
is especially exciting, because it means we are able to wax-lyrical about the product.
Over the past two years or so, EFI has had that opportunity more than most, what with the Nozomi C18000 single-pass printer for the corrugated market, the productive Vutek 3R and 5R roll-to-roll printers, our Pro 24f flatbed wide- format printer, and the FabriVu range, most recently the 340i with integrated heat-press.
As if all these printers weren’t enough, we are now pleased to introduce our latest new products, the EFI Vutek h3 and h5.
The excitement for us is especially palpable in Australia, where our hybrid platform has been traditionally successful. The new Vutek h range gives print service providers two choices; the h3, which has three rows of 7pl greyscale printheads, and the h5, which has five - the h3 being upgradable in-field to the h5 at a later date.
The h platforms, partly developed in our old Meredith location and
our new facility in Manchester,
New Hampshire, join the established GS and LX3 hybrid printers that have been widely accepted by printers all over the world, including here in Australia - most recently at ADS and at Fleetmark, both
in Melbourne.
The new h series now gives us a
great range of hybrid options, and for discerning customers who love the 7picolitre, 1,200dpi, Ricoh Gen
5 heads on the 3R and 5R platform, this new hybrid technology gives us the chance to produce quality output on perhaps our most versatile
of platforms.
As I travel around Asia Pacific
it is clear to me what people love about our hybrid printers; that is the quality, robustness, versatility and productivity, and I am thrilled to say that we have improved all of these areas on the h series. The h3hasatopspeedof273sqman hour, while the h5 produces 390 sqm an hour.
Both printers are ten-channel and can print five layers in a single pass and run either CMYK plus Lc, Lm,
Ly, Lk and two channels of white. They are also available as Fast 4 printers, which essentially trades out the light colours and gives double CMYK for faster speeds.
In addiiton the HS100 and HS125, are now available with the Fast 4 option.
What our engineering team
has also done for this platform is introduce new feeding options, with three-quarters or full in and out automation, being made available. Having a press this fast without some form of automation is like putting diesel in a Ferrari.
"In an industry like ours the launch of a new product is always met with excitement"
While I am on the subject of productivity; other time-saving, or should I say, profit making features on the h series includes; ImageEdge technology for fast printhead replacement, automated table and carriage alignment, and camera- based subpixel alignment.
Add all this to the EFI offering
of management information software, colour management,
Fiery front-end, EFI inks, and now
a more focused market strategy in Australia, and we believe that we have what it takes to deliver ROI for Australian printers. 21
New: EFI Vutek h3
64 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018