The new 3.2 m-wide Anapurna H3200i LED completes the family of hybrid Anapurnas (2.05m, 2.5m and 3.2m-wide) from Agfa Graphics. At the SGIA Expo, the Anapurna H3200i LED, Anapurna FB2540i LED (flatbed) and Anapurna RTR3200i LED (roll-to-roll) will be on display next to the flatbed Jeti Mira with dockable roll-to-roll and high-end hybrid Jeti Tauro in a ¾ automation set-up. Adding to its line of Anapurna i printers is a recently introduced, state-of-the-art, air-cooled LED UV curing system as an alternative to the current mercury lamp curing technology – enabling printers to print on a broader range of media, save energy, reduce system down-time and reduce operational expenses.
Agfa Graphics’ big news at the 2016 SGIA Expo (Las Vegas, Nevada, September 14-16), however, will be its Anapurna H3200i LED system – a new 3.2 m hybrid solution for printing on both rigid and flexible media. “The Anapurna H3200i LED exactly meets the needs of most of our customers,” said Willy Van Dromme, Manager Marketing of Wide-Format at Agfa Graphics. “This is a belt-driven hybrid machine which handles all types of roll media in sizes up to 3.2 m, both in a single-roll and a dual-roll configuration. It also allows for printing on 4 ft. x 8 ft. (2 m x 3 m) rigids, fed with the long size first. Thanks to the LED UV curing, it supports the widest media mix in the market at all print quality levels.”
The Anapurna H3200i LED offers both high throughput and high print quality. The white ink function is built in. It includes pre, post, spot and even sandwich white. The Anapurna H3200i LED is driven by Asanti 3.0, the workflow dedicated to wide-format printing solutions.
LED UV curing on the Anapurna i-series
The new Anapurna i-series inkjet systems are equipped with powerful, air-cooled 16 Watt/cm² LED UV lamps. The dedicated ink sets from Agfa Graphics match precisely the specific UV frequencies of the curing LEDs. Because of their reduced heat emission, they can print on heat-sensitive substrates such as thin-layer styrene, self-adhesive sheets or stretched ceiling materials made of PVC fabric. LED UV curing technology also offers other operational and environmental benefits.
Unlike mercury lamps, the lifetime of the LED alternative is in line with the economical lifetime of a printer – typically five years. LED lamps can be switched on/off instantaneously without degradation of intensity. As a consequence, both the cost and the downtime for changing lamps are reduced, and there is no issue in disposing of them. In addition, the power output remains consistent over the LEDs’ operating life, which is an important element in maintaining good physical characteristics of the print with regards to adhesion, for example. Finally, LED lamps have no warm-up or cool-down time, so power consumption is drastically lowered during printing and reduced to an absolute minimum when paused, which results in a lower energy bill.
“With the Asanti workflow for wide-format printers, LED UV curing and the broadened assortment with Anapurna H3200i LED, we underscore our commitment to the sign and display market at SGIA,” Van Dromme added, “Our customers will benefit from the operational savings, the broader media range and the environmental advantages that LED UV curing adds to the systems, without compromising either print quality or productivity.”
Agfa Graphics Canada is located in Mississauga, Ontario.
