Overview
Inkjet: The power to transform commercial print
Digital printing in the commercial print market has come a long way in the last twenty years, with toner based technologies having had the most success in delivering high quality, on demand print. Despite this success, however, the majority of commercial print is still produced using traditional offset presses.
Over the last six to seven years, inkjet deposition technology has evolved to such an extent that single pass printheads able to deposit ink at the speeds and quality levels required by the discerning consumers of commercial print have now become a commercial reality. It is these printheads, combined with sophisticated control systems, ink and paper handling technologies, that are now set to ignite a revolution in the way that commercial print is produced.
Jet Press development
Fujifilm has been at the forefront of these technology developments since 2004, with the company launching its first B2 inkjet digital press, the Jet Press 720, as a ‘technology announcement’ at Drupa 2008. This press became commercially available in 2011, with the last three years seeing installations all over the world. Now Fujifilm is launching its second generation press, the Jet Press 720S, with many improvements over the earlier model. The technology at the heart of these presses is SAMBA™, which is without doubt the industry’s most advanced single pass printhead technology. The development path of SAMBA™ has mirrored that of the press itself, with many improvements being introduced over the last eight years, the latest being the ability to replace individual SAMBA™ modules within a print bar.
Download Jet Press 720s brochure
Components
A second generation press engineered to produce high quality print all day, every day
The Jet Press 720S has been built to produce high quality print all day, every day. The benefits of an offset paper handling system are obvious, and take advantage of technology that has evolved over many years to be ultra-reliable. But there are also many improvements in the Jet Press 720S detailed on this page that improve quality even further, improve variable data handling, speed up job downloads, reduce the necessity for system downtime and minimise breaks in production due to press maintenance.
Ultra-high capacity data servers
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New high capacity data servers enable the press to download all the data needed to print a B2 sheet on the fly, making variable data and versioned print jobs possible on a single sided press.
1. Paper feed
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Traditional sheet-fed paper feed mechanism ensures high registration accuracy and reliable operation.
2. Variable data scanning
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To handle double sided variable data applications, a barcode is printed in the non-image area of every sheet. When the sheet is backed up, the barcode is read and the press downloads the right data for that sheet in the 1.3 seconds before printing.
3. Paper priming
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The primer unit applies an ultra-thin film Rapid Coagulation Primer onto the paper via an anilox roller mechanism. The reaction of the primer and the water-based ink produces incredibly sharp dots and vibrant images on standard B2 coated paper.
4. SAMBA™ inkjet heads
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The paper is fed onto the imaging cylinder where it is held by grippers and a vacuum, and four SAMBA™ print bars deposit the CMYK inks in a single pass. In the Jet Press 720S, the vacuum system has been further improved to enhance print consistency.
5. Sheet scanning
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Every sheet is scanned by the In-Line Sensor (ILS) with the system making any necessary alterations in real time. In the Jet Press 720S, this system is mounted just after printing to ensure any adjustments are applied to the next printed sheet.
6. Infra-red paper drying
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The Jet Press 720S features a new ink drying system, comprising infra-red lamps and Hot Air Knife (HAK) arranged across the B2 sheet width.
7. Paper cooling
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Before the sheets leave the press, they pass under another bank of fans designed to optimise the sheet temperature and ink drying performance.
8. Sheet stacking
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The final printed sheet emerges in the delivery area in the same way as a traditional offset press.