The Australian Sign industry has had several key milestones over the last 20 years that have revolutionised the industry, starting with the vinyl cutter and then the high resolution wide format printer that followed some years later.
And by all accounts the next milestone has just arrived in Australia with the launch by Omnitech Graphics of the Mutoh VJ-1608 Flatbed i2 Wave Print Bio Hybrid printer.
Featuring 80% plant derived MuBIO inks, the VJ-1608 is a “green” hybrid printer that can print on a diverse range of substrates, from car wrap vinyl through to 10mm rigid plastic sheets. Mansfield based Star Stuff Graphics was the first Australian company to pounce on the VJ-1608 Flatbed, as according to principle – Stewart Webb, it was exactly what they’d been waiting for.
“Wide-format digital printing is a critical part of our business and we’ve had exposure to several leading brands, including a Roland SC-540 and a Mutoh VJ-1304, over the years which has been an interesting process.
“Having the two machines running side by side was fascinating to watch with some operators being more open to using the new machine than others, but within a short time their feedback was unanimous – the Mutoh is a far more reliable and user friendly machine and produces a better print quality with better colour conversion.
“I’d heard the VJ-1608 Flatbed was coming, but it wasn’t until I physically saw it demonstrated at the Gold Coast Sign Show that I knew it was the ideal machine for our needs. “The things that really appealed to me were its price and its flexibility in being able to print roll to roll or on a wide range of rigid substrates.
“It was really chalk and cheese between the Mutoh Flatbed and its nearest competitor that costs 50% more and I know that often you can’t buy a cheaper machine and expect it to do what a more expensive one does – but in the case of Mutoh’s Flatbed it does!
We do a lot of roll-to-roll printing on self-adhesive vinyl, which is then laminated and mounted to various substrates, and then die cut – which is labour intensive due to multiple handling.
“But with the Mutoh Flatbed we’ve been able to drop our raw material costs by around 50% by being able to print directly onto a wide range of substrates, which has the added benefit of slashing our labour costs due to reducing the number of stages in production.
“So when you combine the savings in raw materials and the savings in labour you’re talking about substantial savings and increased production capabilities without compromising on quality.
“And as a high resolution printer it’s in a class of its own enabling us to print on anything from paper to foam board and PVC to 10mm thick specialist products like acrylic polycarbonates and aluminium composite board, which it does with automatic height adjustment, and the colour it prints is perfect every time no matter what substrate we are printing on - it’s brilliant.
“Looking to the future, it’s use of Mutoh’s exclusive MuBIO inks can only assist our business as the world becomes more and more environmentally focussed and demands greener options – it’s without doubt the best piece of equipment we’ve ever bought”, Stewart said.
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