Inkjet’s Age
toy manufacturers and custom toy
builders around the world,” noted Perrelli.
“With CPSIA compliance in hand,
operators can print to children’s toys
without the worry of our 100% cured
ink causing issues or not meeting the
necessary compliance standards.”
California-based PromoTec, a DCS’
PRINTOVATOR (the name it uses for its
success stories) services and decorates
products for many promotional product
distributors, medical device companies,
educational material suppliers, and
electronic component manufacturers.
“I chose DCS because we truly believe
that they have the most versatile machine,”
Toy bricks—a perennial
favorite with kids of all
ages, which are typically
made of wood, plastic,
or cardboard, can be
printed with anything
from numbers to animals
to alphabet letters.
Dan Kees, president of PromoTec
said. “Th e tall print height and large
bed allow us to print a wide variety of
products. It has allowed us to expand
our product decorating methods much
further than traditional printing
options allow. Being able to print W +
CMYK + Clear all in one pass allows us
to print dark products and materials
that we could not print otherwise. We
can also run smaller orders profi tably
and off er variable data prints.”
“Whether it’s decorating numerous
parts at once utilizing the full printable
area or customizing one toy at a
time with a name or date in a boutique
setting, UV LED printers are more than
capable of meeting many toy decoration
needs,” he continued. “Remember, the
ink cures instantly, so you never have
to worry about smudging. UV LED
printing is also a non-contact process,
so even fragile items are a possibility.”
Not all “toys” are for children. Perrelli
notes that many of its customers use
their UV LED fl atbed to easily put a logo
on die-cast cars or trucks, video game
controllers, puzzles, or even building
blocks. While postcards and calendars
are popular direct mail options, DCS
points to a diff erent route: mailing a
branded puzzle. Th e recipients will be
so intrigued they will take the time to
put the pieces together to reveal the
message you want to get across. At
tradeshows or other industry events,
your customers can off er a free gift ,
such as a video game controller, with
your company logo imprinted on it.
Nearly any toy can be customized
with a UV LED printer. For example, artisJet
is promoting the use of its UV LED
fl atbed line to customize toy bricks—a
perennial favorite with kids of all ages,
which are typically made of wood, plastic,
or cardboard, can be printed with
anything from numbers to animals
to alphabet letters. While traditional
printing methods can’t cost-eff ectively
customize the brick, UV printers are
able to direct print with full color on
wood, EVC, or nearly any material.
UV LED fl atbeds allow anyone—
from promotional departments, to
toy designers, shopkeepers, schools,
and even parents—to cost-eff ectively
manufacture a custom toy brick. Using
UV LED ECO ink, the printed blocks are
also safer—a big concern with younger
children.
Th e artisJet line includes two professional
UV LED printers, artis 3000
U and artis 2100 U. Both printers are
manufactured to meet the demands
of printing direct to any substrate. In
addition to customized and on-demand
toys, the printers are able to create
eye-catching graphics for smartphone
cases, personalized giveaways, trophies,
and PVC printing, among other
applications.
So, when you’re running around this
holiday season in bustling crowds trying
to fi nd that perfect toy for a young
loved one, take the time to investigate
and see if it was produced by elves in a
print shop—you may be surprised.
UV LED
Flatbeds
Ricoh’s VersaUV LEJ-640FT UV
flatbed prints directly on substrates
up to 6-inches thick
and weighing up to 220 pounds. It
allows users to lay a white base or
gloss UV over or undercoating your
prints.
Roland’s customers, such as manufacturers
and retailers, have the
ability to print directly on a door, a
coffee table, bricks, tiles, polycarbonate
cabinets, even toilet seat
covers.
Mimaki’s wide-format UV LED flatbed
printer, the JFX series prints
CMYK, as well as white and clear
inks for special effects. An auto
primer function lets users run primer
only where it’s needed.
Modica USA’s Azon UV series of
UV-LED inkjet printing solutions,
are capable of handling heavy materials
up to 220 pounds for indoor,
outdoor and industrial applications.
The Azon Matrix wide-format
UV-curable inkjet flatbed printer
can print directly onto any type
of material such as PET, ABS, polycarbonate,
TPU, PVC, wood, stone,
glass, canvas, ceramic, aluminium,
and leather.
PrintingNewscom December 2017 Printing News 21
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