Features Printing Wide-format Inkjet
swissQprint unveils Karibu at FESPA 2019

Karibu, swissQprint’s first roll-to-roll printer, made its public debut at FESPA 2019. Available internationally beginning September 2019, the UV inkjet printer delivers a maximum print width of 3.4 metres and features a lightbox next to the printing area for on-the-spot inspection of backlit prints. Four beacon-like status indicators are affixed to the print beam, informing the operator about machine status and printing progress. For users who regularly print in parallel, swissQprint offers a dual roll option capable of handling two rolls each up to 1.6 metres wide, doubling Karibu’s productivity. The roll holders are split into two sections with each half of the shaft driven individually, which swissQprint says will help ensure optimum web tension on both rolls.

The system’s mesh kit comes integrated with the print bed for processing permeable substrates, as well as full bleed printing. There is neither additional set-up work beforehand nor cleaning afterwards, swissQprint explains. A mouse click by the operator sends the Karibu print beam – which is movable in the X direction – from its standard position to the mesh position; printing can then start immediately. Karibu has 136 keys ranged across the print bed width, like a piano. Each one opens or closes a vacuum channel to help eliminate air leakage in the gap between dual rolls. A light tap on the switches using a fingertip is all the user action required to open or close the entire vacuum area width within four seconds, also known as the Tip Switch vacuum.

swissQprint has developed an ink set specifically for the new Karibu printer. The cured ink layer is flexible to help suit “all imaginable roll media,” the company says. The inks are NVC-free and Greenguard Gold certified, making them safe to use in critical places such as hospitals and schools, potentially broadening a print provider’s range of services.