Mutoh poised for US launch of ValueJet 2638

Mutoh America said this week that it will showcase its new ValueJet 2638 104" press at next month's SGIA Expo in Las Vegas before making it available to North American customers from November.

The 2638 will be fairly aggressively priced at $49,995, including heavy-duty feed and take-up system, PhotoPrint SAi RIP software and media roll cradle.

In an interview with PrintWeek, Mutoh America marketing manager David Conrad said: "It’s the first time we’re launching it here. From a production standpoint, it's a 104" versus what you generally see in the US, which is 64".

"It's also under $50,000 and can produce at a little over 1,100 square foot an hour, which brings a whole new dimension to outdoor graphics, signage, displays, trade show graphic and even vehicle graphics."

Conrad noted Mutoh American has been doing fairly well with its ValueJet 1638 model and adding the new 2638 is already generating some calls.

"We’re not getting interest from mom and pop printers, but the larger shops - who don’t want to throw two or three presses on their floor when they can put this one 104" that does the work of two or three - have been showing interest."

The ValueJet 2638 has dual staggered printheads and is seven-color capable (CMYK Lc, Lm, Lk) or (CMYK x 2) and can print at speeds up to 1,168sq ft/hr.

An optional bulk ink adapter system can accommodate 1,000ml ink bags for even greater savings on ink costs and the press also has Smart Technology features such as Intelligent Interweave print technique for band free printing, ValueJet Status Monitor mobile app for remote printer monitoring and optional on printer spectrophotometer.

Conrad added Mutoh America is offering flexible financing available through Mutoh Financial Services.