Fujifilm announces the launch of a digital inkjet web press at drupa 2012

FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO: Shigetaka Komori) today announces that it will launch a digital inkjet web press at drupa 2012 as a technology showcase.  Fujifilm’s new digital inkjet web press is unique in that it enables duplex printing within a single tower design, resulting in an extremely compact footprint, while retaining a maximum printing speed of 127 m/min.

The press uses Fujifilm’s new high performance VIVIDIA ink, developed specifically to facilitate superb image quality. The VIVIDIA ink used in Fujifilm’s digital inkjet web press allows high density images to be printed at high speed, with less ink transfer from sheet to sheet, with high quality reproduction possible even on thin paper. A variety of ink types, including both pigment and dye-based inks, have been developed for use with this press which, when combined with the ultra-compact footprint, maximise the application flexibility and versatility of the machine.

There are two great advantages of digital inkjet web presses over conventional web offset printing. With conventional web offset presses, the printing sizes are limited by the size of the plate cylinder. With digital web presses which enable direct data printing, there is much more flexibility in the cut-off size of the paper. Digital web presses can therefore accommodate a wider variety of jobs, while remaining highly efficient for standard jobs which utilise the same paper size. They can also facilitate a reduction in paper waste, often making digital web presses a more sustainable solution.

The second advantage of digital web presses is their ability to print short-run work more efficiently and handle variable data.  Conventional web presses have evolved to be highly efficient for high volume, high-speed printing, but are less effective for short-run work.  By combining short-run and variable data capabilities, digital web presses are opening up new opportunities for a growing number of applications requiring these particular features.

Fujifilm’s digital inkjet web press will be running live at drupa 2012, and will be commercially available in late 2012.