Mimaki Australia welcomed a group of LIA members for a showroom tour on Wednesday afternoon, followed by dinner and presentations at Carnarvon Golf Club Guest speakers were Mimaki’s John Bryson and publisher of Wideformat Online, Andy McCourt.
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| McCourt exhorted all litho printers who have not already looked into wide format, to do so now |
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| Superb embellished notebook by Mimaki |
Angus Scott of The Lithographic Institute of Australia’s NSW branch organised the event with the assistance of Visual Connections. The goal was to increase understanding of wide format digital printing to an association predominantly lithographic in nature – many of whom are only familiar with wide format in its use as a proofing device; ripping files for checking before making plates.
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| Mimaki's John Bryson explains wide format's benefits |
Mimaki’s NSW Sales Manager John Bryson explained how, even during Covid, wide format has prospered with many micro-businesses cropping up to produce adhesive floor distancing signage, window stickers and roll-up banners.
Bryson also touched on Mimaki’s recently announced new JFX600-2513 and JFX550-2513 large flatbed UV inkjet printers, successor models to the JFX500-2131 and available in Australia by July. These versatile flatbed UV printers are a perfect step into wide format for all conventional printers, with up to 3 x higher productivity than previous models.
He also explained how the relatively low invesment cost of wide format equipment versus offset, may be slower but can deliver better profits on shorter runs of varied value-added output. As little as six A) posters a week can pay for the equipment leases.
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| Presenters McCourt & Bryson |
In McCourt’s presentation, he traced the development of wide format as we know it today, from its pen-plotter origins, through the Xerox Versatec electrostatic plotter, the iconic Iris Graphics inkjet printer, superwide billboard machines, flatbed UV and the explosion of manufacturers and models after 2000.
He cited Markets&Markets research putting the global equipment, ink and substrate supply market at around $14 billion and world signage and allied wiideformat output at around $55 billion, growing at over 4% CAGR.
Encouraging all offset printer who haven’t already embraced wide format to investigate it, he used the example of a UK litho house who installed its first flatbed UV last month, with the owner declaring “We can print on anything.” It is this flexibility and short time-to-market that are wide format’s great strengths, says McCourt.
Mimaki presented all delegates with a great showbag including an exquisitely produced UV embellished notebook, personalised to the LIA and clearly showing the superb effects possible with UV inkjet printing.
To see all of Andy McCourt's presentation, click the link below:
