Fespa 2019: Mimaki launches faster flatbed with 2.5D capabilities

The JFX200-2513 EX runs at 35-sqm/hr in the new draft mode when printing in four colours plus white.

Being shown to European audiences for the first time at Fespa this week, the manufacturer’s new JFX200-2513 EX is the successor of the JFX200-2513, which was launched six years ago but will remain on the market.

With three on-demand piezo heads, the JFX200-2513 EX runs at 35-sqm/hr in the new draft mode when printing in four colours plus white, which is 280% faster than the 12.5-sqm/hr top speed of the original JFX200-2513, which has two on-demand piezo heads. The new machine is also 100% faster than its predecessor in all other print modes.

“By adding an extra printhead, we are able to achieve and introduce new print modes at 35-sqm/hr, which quality wise is quite amazing output. You also don’t lose any printing speed when printing white and colour simultaneously,” said Bert Benckhuysen, senior product manager, Mimaki Europe.

The JFX200-2513 EX also uses Mimaki’s 2.5D Texture Maker, which is said to enable users to offer large-format digital print with dimensional texture effects without lengthy file preparation for the first time.

The new layering technology eradicates the previous time-consuming and skilled process of needing to create multiple Photoshop files featuring stacked stepped layers for smooth expression.

Mimaki’s RasterLink6Plus RIP software completes the process in seconds by adding a greyscale image of the original coloured file in the RIP. Benckhuysen said this process was ‘very simple’ and that ‘everyone can do it very easily in just a few steps’.

The JFX200-2513 EX prints on substrates up to 2.5x1.3-m in a wide variety of materials up to 50-mm thick including white board, transparent/ coloured board, wood, cardboard and metal. The machine can achieve resolutions up to 1,200-dpi and prints in various configurations up to six colours (CMYK, Lc and Lm) plus clear and white.

Three ink types are available for use with the device – LH-100 for rigid media, LUS-120, which provides flexibility up to 170%, and LUS-150, which offers 150% flexibility and is more suitable for outdoor applications due to higher light fastness.

Additionally, the system includes Mimaki Core Technologies, Nozzle Check Unit (NCU) and Nozzle Recovery System (NRS), for uninterrupted printing with no loss to quality if print nozzles become clogged or unproductive.