Fujifilm is staking its claim to be the region’s digital inkjet print technology all-rounder with an offering that includes wide format and commercial production print as well as sheetfed packaging print.
Aiming to take its place as the inkjet king of the commercial printing market in Australia, the company is offering a veritable smorgasbord of inkjet platforms in the local market.
Included in its swag of inkjet engines already locally available – or soon to be commercially released – is the Jet Press 540W web-fed digital press for production print, the Jet Press 720 along with its packaging spin-off, the Jet Press 720F, and the high-end wide format machines, the Inca Onset S40i and the Inca Onset Q40i. With this full commercial inkjet offering, Fujifilm claims to be able to print on anything from the lightest substrate to the heaviest board.
- “Fujifilm is a vote for the future,” – Sturt Eastwood, Fujifilm Australia general manager, graphic systems.
This growing digital inkjet portfolio is all part of the company’s strategy to future-proof its business by helping to secure its customers’ businesses. According to Fujifilm, its research and development into new technologies takes precedence in its global operations, with the company’s financial stability and ongoing re-investment helping to ensure that printers can achieve best-in-class printing over the long- and short-term.
Inkjet line-up
One of the company’s latest models to emerge as a result of its ongoing research and development is the four-colour Jet Press 720F B2-size sheetfed digital inkjet press. Unveiled at drupa last year, this press has been designed specifically for folding carton applications, allowing Fujifilm to tap into the rapidly growing short-run packaging print market.
Scheduled to be commercially available next year, the Jet Press 720F features new high-density, high-precision SAMBA single-pass 1200dpi MEMS printheads and a new high performance water-based ink called VIVIDIA.
Meanwhile, the first local installation of the roll-fed Jet Press 540W, officially released in Australia just before PacPrint13 where it was a major drawcard at the Fujifilm stand, was completed this month.
In the wide format market, the latest Inca Onset Q40i is expected to go into a new as-yet-unnamed business in October this year. This new model, which is designed with a focus on print quality for the commercial printing market, joins its older sibling, the Inca Onset S40i, which is designed for speed in high-volume scenarios.
While the Inca Onset range represents Fujifilm’s top shelf digital wide format offering, the company also has its sights set on the entry-level and mid-range wide format markets with the Acuity Advanced and the Acuity Select flatbed UV wide format machines, while the Uvistar series of high-speed UV roll-to-roll printers targets billboard printing.
For Sturt Eastwood (pictured), Fujifilm Australia’s general manager, graphic systems, the company’s end-to-end inkjet offering gives printers the opportunity to ‘vote for the future’ by working in partnership with Fujifilm and its technology.
“Being successful in today’s printing industry is about keeping at the forefront of technology and providing demonstrable business value to clients," said Eastwood. "This applies to large commercial printing operations as much as it does to smaller, more boutique print shops. To support this diversity of requirements, we offer and support a broad range of solutions, from entry-level wide format output to high-end web fed printing devices.
“We work with our customers to create the right balance between operating cost, production consistency, product diversification and revenue growth. Wise and timely investment in the right equipment is a fundamental component in this balance, and partnering with Fujifilm is a vote for the future,” he said.