Finding the FLATBED
TECHNOLOGYthat
Works for Your Business
Are fl atbed technologies shaping tomorrow’s market? For shops that are looking to invest in
fl atbed trends, size and long-term return opportunities are worth careful consideration.
By Toni McQuilken
There are two big trends associated with a maturing market,” said Ken Hanulec,
Vice President of Marketing at EFI. “People are trying to drive costs out of their
business and run leaner, smoother, more productive, hyper effi cient operations.
But they are also looking to capture more wallet share and new revenue
streams for their business.”
Roland DGA Stone Blocks Flowers VersaUV LEJ 640FT
“We see the ability to do more with
existing equipment as a trend in fl atbed
printing, driven by a variety of ink
colors and ink types,” noted Josh Hope,
Senior Manager of Mimaki USA. “At
Mimaki, all our fl atbed printers use UV
ink and a UV-LED curing technology.
New advances in UV curable technologies
have increased their demand
recently, and new applications where
UV has become more popular are
driving interest. UV printing continues
to be an expanding market in all levels
of industrial printing as well as sign and
graphics.” Th is growth
is expected to continue
as more and more end
users are discovering
that new applications
and personalization
options can be
extended into their
home, offi ce or retail
environments.
“Look for scalability
on machines to help
make it easy to get into
fl atbed printing and to
grow with the business
as production requirements
increase,” said
David Conrad, Director of Sales and
Marketing at Mutoh America, Inc. Th e
ability to add more print heads for more
production capacity will keep the entry
price down, allowing shops to invest in
their production capacity as their revenue
stream grows with the business.
“Th e past few years have seen an increase
in the variety of applications and
range of new specialty rigid substrates
that can simulate brushed aluminum,
chalkboard, canvas, and more,” noted
Randy Paar, Manager of Display Graphics
at Canon Solutions America.
Increased print capability, in terms of
thickness of objects able to be printed
on and production speeds improving
with newer machine introductions,
will allow this technology to reach
new markets for expanded application
opportunities in the next year.
“As we move into 2018, some of the
biggest trends we’re seeing related to
wide-format fl atbed printers are changes
in size and height, speed enhancements,
and new developments in ink,”
said Jay Roberts, Product Manager of
UV Printers at Roland DGA.
“Use of these inkjets are expanding
into new industries, and each of these
trends will play equal and important
roles in the development of new and
improved wide-format fl atbeds. Printer
manufacturers, including Roland, will
be seeking to fi ll their existing market
niches, and potentially carve out new
niches as well.
Whether the changes being made
involve redesigning an inkjet’s printbed
area to ‘fi t’ a new application, or
developing an ink set that enhances
printing capabilities, the resulting
advancements will help end users maximize
success within their respective
target markets.” “Wide-format adoption,
both fl atbed and hybrid, will grow as
the fi nancial and ease-of-use barriers
continue to lower,” noted Dan Johansen,
Marketing Manager of Wide Format
Solutions and Commercial & Industrial
Printing at Ricoh.
“With brands and end users demanding
great quality and faster turnaround,
22 Wide-Format & Signage April 2018 PrintingNewscom
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/PrintingNews.com