What does it do?
This is a compact single-pass belt-fed printer with food-safe water-based inks. It looks like a compact flatbed printer and has some of the same applications in common, but its speed of up to 40m/minute and positionable printhead carriage set it apart. The starting price of about £35,000 is substantially less than an earlier generation of single-pass printers for corrugated.
There’s a choice of head widths, for positioning anywhere across the wider print area – the idea being that many short-run packaging and paper bag jobs only need print across a small part of their total surfaces.
There’s also a version with UV-cure inks including white as an optional fifth channel.
When was it launched and what’s the target market?
The first showing was at the Print Show at the NEC in September, jointly promoted by SSE Worldwide which also sells it. This was the smallest configuration, with a 600mm-wide belt and a 300mm-wide printhead carriage.
Axzyra is a Cambridge based company set up by Steve Wood, who formerly co-founded and ran Copytrax, which designed and built digital printers for CDs and DVDs. Copytrax closed as the market for physical media declined. Axzyra instead commissions printers built to its own specs in Shenzhen in China.
Wood is reluctant to identify the maker, but says it is well known. “I went to China for the first time to sign off the first UV machine,” he says. “The quality is very good, with a proper chassis, extrusions and all electrics and safety features to EU standards.” A local intermediary checks all printers before they are shipped to the UK.
The AX-Ultra is intended for for short-run packaging or point of sale materials and the like. Wood says these could include “boxes, paper bags, tote bags, folders, canvas frames, anything that’s compatible with the water-based inks. Paper bags are getting popular again as the market turns against plastics”.
Users might be “small digital printshops that want to get into short-run packaging and promotional print”, he says. The printer might complement one of the smaller digital cutters, although he points out that “there are plenty of pre-cut boxes available, or paper bags with folded-in handles ready for printing.” The 80mm head clearance allows for some made-up packs, including pizza boxes, to be printed directly. The UV version is for non- porous media and might be used for plastic folders and covers, small signage, giftware and similar.
How does it work?
The AX-Ultra is based around an overhead beam carriage that positions a single-pass array of inkjet heads at any point over the transport belt. A fun novelty is the backlit nameplate on the head carriage. The printheads are the latest Epson i3200 industrial type. They can print at 600x600dpi or 600x1,200dpi, with four grey levels. The water-based inks model is CMYK only (pigment as standard, though dye is optional), but the UV-cured model has the option for white in addition.
UV-LEDs are used to cure the UV ink; the water-based ink is air dried with no heat or other acceleration. Wood says that it’s anticipated that the water-based inks will be used with fairly porous uncoated paper and board media.
Inks are held in 3.5litre tanks beneath the printer and are refilled from 1litre bottles, supplied via Axzyra.
There’s a choice of head and belt widths. The standard head width is 236mm, but there are 472mm, 708mm and 944mm options.
The belt moves at 40m/min (for 600x600 dpi), or 18 to 25m/min (for 1,200x600dpi). The standard belt is 1.2m wide, but a 2m width is optional. The maximum sheet or item length in all cases is 2.5m. The 80mm head clearance is respectable and there is an automatic height detector.
Guides at the feed end are set to precisely position the target item on the belt, with an optical detector to trigger the start of printing.
The standard machine is hand-fed, though most users are expected to opt for the friction auto-feeder. A catch bin can be placed at the delivery end, though again most users are likely to fit a wheel-up conveyor. These are commonly available in print rooms, but Axzyra can supply one if required.
The control desk is attached by a sturdy arm to the right of the machine, supplying a large monitor and keyboard which controls the RIP. The SAi Flexi software is supplied as standard, with an option for variable data. A smaller touch screen handles printer functions.
What’s the USP?
It’s a very fast single-pass alternative to a compact ‘baby flatbed’ printers with the ability to handle much longer items, plus pricier options for respectable widths. The continuous belt feeding means that production can be continuous, rather than starting and stopping while a bed is loaded or unloaded.
It costs more than the A3/A2 format flatbeds, but less than any full-sized flatbed that can handle 2.5m lengths.
The water-based ink option is unusual in this class of printer, although HP’s pricier and slower Latex based flatbeds are also water-based and can handle plastic as well as paper-based media.
How easy is it to use?
Wood says the set-up is simple. “It’s easy to adjust guides and feeder. You load the graphic into the RIP, do a test print, and off you go.”
Service and support?
This is handled by Axzyra in Cambridge.
What does it cost?
The standard water-based printer starts from £35,000 for a 330mm head model with PC and RIP. The compatible feeder option is £5,500.
How many installations?
At the time of writing, the first installation, of a UV model in Blackpool, was being completed. Both the water-based and UV models are available for order.
SPECIFICATIONS
Process Single-pass inkjet with positionable twin-row head
Inks Water-based pigment or dye (food-safe) or UV-cure
Colours CMYK (water-based) or CMYK plus white (UV-cure)
Printhead widths 236mm, 472mm, 708mm, 944mm
Resolution 600x600pi or 1,200x600dpi
Belt speeds 40m/min (600x600dpi), 18-25m/min (1,200x600pdi)
Feed widths 1.2m or 2m
Print length 2.5m
Max substrate height 80mm
Ink tank capacity 3.5litres per colour
Footprint 2.5x2.3m (330mm head model)
Weight 980kg-2,500kg
Price From £35,000 (plus £5,500 for feeder option)
Contact Axzyra 01954 267999 www.axzyra.com, or SSE Worldwide 01943 605650 www.sseworldwide.co.uk
ALTERNATIVES
We haven’t found another single-pass aqueous inkjet printer in the same price and size range. There are a few other aqueous models, largely intended for short-run corrugated packs, but they cost a lot more.
Xanté Excelagraphix 4800
This single-pass printer uses Memjet VersaPass head arrays and water-based dye inks. There is an auto-feed option as well as a stacker. Xanté offers its own RIP.
Process Single-pass inkjet with aqueous dye inks
Colours CMYK plus black
Resolution 1,600x1,600dpi or 1,600x800dpi
Print speed 9 or 18m per minute
Media thickness 0.1 to 15.9mm
Max media width 1,193mm
Max imaging width 1,066.8mm
Max media length Unlimited
RIP Xanté iQueue Workflow
Price From about £100,000
Contact Xanté www.xante.com
HP Latex R1000/R1000 Plus
This flatbed multipass inkjet costs much more than the AX-Ultra and is much slower, but it is a little wider (1.6m) and generally more versatile. It includes roll feeding for flexible media. Its water-based Latex inks are food safe and include a white option for brown board or transparencies. They will also work with plastic media including PVC and vinyl, plus some textiles.
Process Multi-pass thermal inkjet
Inks HP Latex R aqueous thermopolymer
Colours CMYK, light cyan, light magenta, HP Latex Optimizer, HP Latex Overcoat, white
Curing method Heat
Resolution Up to 1,200x1,200dpi
Throughput 30sqm/hr (CMYK indoor production quality), 27sqm/hr (white spot)
Max sheet size 1,625x1,220mm (up to 1,625x3,050mm with extension tables), 50.8mm thick
Max roll width 1.63m
Price About £159,000
Contact HP 0800 408 4348 www.hp.com
Konica Minolta PKG-675i
This is a rebadge of the MTEX NS Multi+ and uses Memjet VersaPass printheads and aqueous dye inks. It’s hand-fed and intended primarily for short-run corrugated packaging work, with variable data, customisation and personalisation if required.
Process Single-pass inkjet with aqueous dye inks
Colours CMYK plus black
Resolution 1,600x1,600dpi or 1,600x800dpi
Print speed 150mm or 300mm per second
Media thickness 0.1 to 16mm
Max media width 1,193mm
Max imaging width 1,066mm
Max media length Unlimited
RIP Ergosoft
Price £100,000
Contact Konica Minolta Europe 07793 758571 www.konicaminolta.eu
