EFI’s new 126-inch (320cm) wide VUTEk h5 hybrid LED printer can run up to 109 boards per hour and offers eight-colour and optional four-colour printing modes plus white, as well as an up to nine-layer print capability.
 |
| EFI CEO Bill Muir at the Connect conference in Las Vegas |
Digital innovator Electronics For Imaging (EFI) has opened its 20th annual global users’ conference in Las Vegas with the official launch of several new digital print technologies, including:
- EFI’s newest high-speed, premium-quality hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll superwide-format LED printer, the VUTEk h5;
- A new, advanced FS350 platform for EFI Fiery digital front ends (DFEs);
- and new Fiery proServer Premium DFE technology offering significantly faster processing on individual jobs for EFI superwide-format printers.
 |
| EFI's new VUTEk h5 hybrid LED printer |
The high-volume, premium-quality EFI VUTEk h5 hybrid LED printer is making its debut at EFI Connect is part of the VUTEk h series of devices that global EFI R&D teams developed from the ground up.
The 126-inch wide printer can run up to 109 boards per hour and offers eight-colour and optional four-colour printing modes plus white, as well as an up to nine-layer print capability. The h5 model, which is also available as a field upgrade to the EFI VUTEk h3 printer, features UltraDrop Technology with native 7-picoliter grayscale printhead imaging and true multi-drop addressability, delivering exceptional smoothness in shadows, gradients and transitions.
Worldwide premiere of new EFI Fiery DFE technology
Fiery FS350 Pro will drive new cut-sheet and continuous-feed digital production presses from EFI partners, as well as ultra-high-speed single-pass inkjet presses from EFI. It handles extended-gamut CMYK+ configurations and offers unique tools to save on specialty toners and inks, reducing waste while delivering impressive colour results on high-value print products.
Using the newest version of EFI Fiery Command WorkStation, customers can gain an intuitive and integrated user experience with a single shared interface for Fiery Driven digital equipment, including wide- and superwide-format inkjet printers and ultra-high-speed inkjet presses. New Fiery integrations with Duplo finishing devices offer automated cutting, slitting, creasing and spot coating workflows.
Faster, better and more profitable signage and graphics production
For superwide-format inkjet production on EFI printers, the newest-version EFI Fiery proServer Premium DFE launching at Connect uses GPU-accelerated FAST DRIVE technology to process individual jobs twice as fast on average, eliminating idle printer time so users can maximize their printer investments.
The Connect exhibit floor also features the EFI Pro 24f flatbed and Pro 32r roll-to-roll LED printers, along with the EFI VUTEk 3r+, a best-in-class LED roll-to-roll printer offering even higher throughput, image quality and efficiency. Plus, attendees can see the company’s latest advancement for the expanding soft-signage market: the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340i – an aqueous dispersed dye-sublimation printer offering in-line calendering at fast production speeds.
Digital printing’s next frontier: Industrial production innovation
Connect also features displays and VR demos showcasing the broader scope of advanced capabilities in EFI’s digital portfolio, including ultra-high-speed, direct-to-board corrugated production on the multiple award-winning EFI Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED inkjet press, and advanced tile decoration using new 5th generation EFI Cretaprint printers.
“Our commitment to innovation means EFI customers have few limits in how they can create new opportunities in digital print,” says Frank Mallozzi, EFI’s chief revenue officer. “With the advanced solution demonstrations, training and networking happening this week, EFI Connect will prove that it is an exciting time to be an EFI customer.”
Several conference workshops, keynotes and demonstration areas highlight industrial production and re-shoring opportunities in textiles – a market where EFI is a leading innovator with a unique ecosystem that includes EFI Optitex 2D and 3D CAD solutions and Fiery DesignPro software for textile design. Numerous samples of creative output applications are on display from EFI Reggiani, a leading line of technologies offering eco-friendly printing and new, high-volume single-pass production, with stunning colours and colour fidelity using a variety of inks to support virtually any fabric type.
The conference also includes more than 200 presentations and hands-on training sessions. The speaker lineup includes new EFI CEO Bill Muir; Joseph Popolo, CEO of The Freeman Co.; fashion designer Ariel Swedroe; Olivier Gariépy and Michel Savoie of the Cirque du Soleil Costume Workshop; EFI CFO Marc Olin; and Gabriel Matsliach, senior vice president and general manager, EFI Productivity Software.
EFI partners participating in Connect’s solutions centre include: 3M Commercial Solutions; Aberdeen Fabrics; Berger Textiles; Duplo; Enfocus; Esko; Highcon; Kodak; Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.; Lubrizol; MBM Corporation; OneVision; The Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation; Print Speak; Printing United; Progress Software Corp.; Ricoh Americas Corp.; RISO; SpencerMetrics; Xerox and Zünd.