Flexible large format UV printing becomes affordable

The Octopus from CyraChrome is taking the sign and poster market by storm as it lowers the cost of high quality UV printing.


Practical and simple, and designed by signage professionals for the sign industry, the Octopus large format engine takes its name from the versatility of its functions.

“It can adapt itself to any environment, it is extremely flexible and it squirts ink. What more can you ask for?“ said Michael Lard, managing director of CyraChrome (pictured).

“At our premiere in Melbourne we had industry professionals from all parts of the industry at very short notice. They came because the Octopus offers a new possibility for economical UV wide format printing. The more hands-on they were, the more impressed they were with the machine,” he said.

Introduced by Roman Mereck, a Grapo service engineer brought out from the Czech Republic to train the CyraChrome technicians, the Octopus is designed to be a productive workhorse, without any complications. Launched at drupa this year already there are 40 machines installed across Europe and the USA with forward orders for another 100.

“The tide of history is against heavy solvent machines. By 2007 they will be illegal in Europe and the rest of the world will follow. UV pigment ink requires no curing treatment for external signage. It can be printed on the widest range of substrates and its costs are a lot lower,” said Laird.

He makes the point that small signage companies and prepress shops that deal with solvent machines have to invest in expensive venting equipment and hazardous materials storage infrastructure.

The Octopus capitalises on the screen printer’s high regard for the quality and superior endurance of UV inks. Now the same quality is available from the Octopus through Xaar inkjets onto either flexible roll materials or flat rigid surfaces. Because it does not need to ‘eat’ its way into the surface in the same way as solvent ink, UV can cover wide areas for a lot less cost. It can also print onto just about every imaginable surface.

The specially formulated ink from Sun Chemicals is now three years old and the oldest existing examples of it in outdoor use show practically no deterioration in colour.

For Mat Barusel, technical sales representative for CyraChrome, one of the most impressive aspects of the Octopus is the ease it can be brought to production. He recounts the arrival of the machine at the CyraChrome showroom. “Within a couple of hours it was up and running, producing material,” he said.


Priced as the most economical solution in the field, the Octopus cannot be faulted on quality and can address the speed issue by having two or even more units side by side for a similar price. “You can put three of these machines in for the price of one of the large competitors, get more production and have even more reliability,’ said Laird.