Features Printing Wide-format Inkjet
EFI Launches VUTEk 3r and 5r Printers

Electronics For Imaging is launching into the commercial market two new high-volume, roll-to-roll UV LED inkjet printers in the VUTEk 5r and VUTEk 3r. The company first introduced the systems back in January 2017 and has already installed 3r and 5r printers with customers in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Sandy Alexander of Clifton, New Jersey, became the first company in North America to install the VUTEk 5r back in February 2017.
 
The 3-metre-wide VUTEk 3r reaches speeds up to 3,715 square feet per hour and the 5-metre 5r reaches speeds up to 4,896 square feet per hour. In addition to LED curing, the new printers feature resolutions up to 1,200 dpi and EFI UItraDrop technology leveraging seven-picoliter print heads with multi-drop addressability. This system uses a colour distribution algorithm aimed at providing economic advantages with ink usage, explains EFI, whereby one litre of ink can cover up to 1,600 square feet, on average, across all print modes.

Available options for the printing systems include inline roll-to-sheet cutting, slitters and a sheet collector kit aimed at improving throughput by reducing the need to handle printed jobs on separate finishing tables. The VUTEk 3r and 5r also offer optional features like automated double-sided backlit and block-out printing; a mobile app for remote printer monitoring; multi-layer white ink imaging; and additional light colours for extended-gamut imaging.