Electronics For Imaging, Inc. has received two European Digital Press (EDP) Awards from the European graphics arts trade press, a prestigious technical awards programme that recognises innovative advancements in digital print production.
The EFI™ VUTEk® Q5r roll-to-roll UV LED printer beat competition in the large/wide- format printing systems category for printers above 350-centimetres wide. EDP judges honoured EFI Fiery® software integration with finishers as the top solution in the awards programme’s category for software automation tools.
Automation, quality and value with award-winning roll-to-roll technology
The EFI VUTEk Q5r printer is the fastest, most productive roll-to-roll display graphics printer in its class, capable of running at speeds of up to 672 square metres per hour. The 5.2-metre-wide printer delivers a full system solution from file submission to a finished print with options such as in-line quality inspection, in-line slitting and cutting, roll and tape collection, auto-calibration, automated backlit printing, automated blockout printing and much more.
EFI VUTEk Q series printers, which include both the Q5r and a 3.5-metre wide VUTEk Q3r model, are available with up to nine colours including white and clear, and feature EFI UltraDrop™ Technology with native 7-picolitre printheads and multi-drop addressability for high-definition quality. Benefits include smoothness in shadows, gradients, and transitions, as well as precise and sharp 3-point size text with a true resolution of up to 1,200 dots per inch.
VUTEk Q5r printer users around the world have had positive experiences driving productivity and generating new business thanks to the printer’s high degree of automation, its speed, and its premium UV LED inkjet printing quality. One such user, Valencia, Spain-based printing company Mapubli, chose the printer to expand into new applications, reduce delivery times and become even more cost-competitive.
“The printer’s white and multilayer option enables us to complete jobs with greater added value, such as two-sided printing on transparent materials,” according to Mapubli Managing Director José Monteagudo. “Plus, its low production costs have even given us access to types of work that we had not done until now. In addition, being able to print multiple rolls at the same time allows us to save time and increase productivity."
Fast, flawless finishing
EFI Fiery software integration with finishers, the winner in the EDP Awards category for best software automation tool, offers advanced integration with in-line or offline slitter/cutter/creasers. Operators can define cut, crease, and perforation locations on the job content in the Fiery software solution, which then communicates the configuration to finishing equipment, eliminating operator touchpoints and errors from incompatible layouts.
EFI Fiery software integration with finishers is offered in two different EFI Fiery software products: Fiery Impose and Fiery Finishing Designer. With Fiery Impose, operators can save up to 90% in setup time by automating job prep and eliminating manual data entry in environments with offline slitter/cutter/creasers. Users can also get new orders started right away using existing imposition templates with finishing marks for common jobs such as business cards or postcards. Custom imposition layouts are also easy for users to create, with finishing marks added to job content within Fiery Impose.
EFI Fiery Finishing Designer provides a live preview of the job content and allows operators to program the finishing variables with ease and confidence. The software incorporates the inline slitter/cutter/creaser parameters and cutting mode limitations into its interface to ensure compatible trimmer definitions without wasting time and experimenting with media. Operators can use the preview as a soft proof to verify that the job will be correctly finished for increased production efficiency.
The EDP Awards are held every year by the EDP Association, an organisation comprising 21 leading European trade magazines in the printing industry. The Association evaluates the latest products and solutions that are digital or can integrate into a digital workflow and honours the best products in the respective categories with a coveted EDP Award.
“We are delighted to once again receive recognition from the EDP Awards’ esteemed judges for the development of leading-edge print technologies,” said Paul Cripps, regional vice president of sales, EFI. “Not only do these awards reflect on the hard work and focus our Inkjet Display Graphics and Fiery teams have to create best-in-class digital printing products, but they also underscore the powerful capabilities our customers can harness to drive profitable growth for their businesses.”
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