Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in signage and speak with experts about how new products and options can help their businesses grow.

Drytac products will be present at Mimaki’s booth, where visitors can see Drytac’s ViziPrint Clear, ViziPrint Deco +, Polar Chrome and both Retac Canvas and Retac Linen being run on Mimaki machinery.

Drytac’s Polar Dynamic Sand will be featured on the Vanguard Digital Printing Systems and Durst Group stand. Elsewhere, Fujifilm will be using Drytac’s Viziprint Impress Clear as part of its live product demonstrations on its booth, while Epson America will showcase the qualities of Polar Grip Air.

Attendees can also visit the Mutoh America stand to view live demonstrations of Drytac’s ReTac Smooth throughout the event. ReTac Smooth will also feature on the swissQprint America stand alongside ReTac Textures Woodgrain.

In addition, Drytac partner HP will demonstrate both Viziprint Impress Clear and SpotOn Clear on its printing machinery.

Glen Fitzgerald, director of sales for the Americas at Drytac commented, ‘The ISA Sign Expo is a highly important event on our US calendar. Running our products on machines from several manufacturers will showcase the flexibility and adaptability of Drytac solutions, as well as the overall quality of these products.’

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Andreas Tangemann, operations director for Colourbyte, said, ‘We are extremely strong in the photo gift market, providing a broad range of printing, finishing, colour profiling and media solutions for our customers. We work with many leading brands, including Graphtec GB, Epson, Canon and Vivid, as well as offering a huge range of own brand printable media for framed canvases, photographic prints, posters, wall coverings and much more.

‘The photo gift market has become hugely competitive and cost-sensitive. The sale price of a canvas print has come down dramatically, so our customers are always looking to cut the cost of production in order to gain a competitive edge. Eco-solvent ink is around half the price of water-based pigment ink and is more durable and water resistant, meaning there is no need to varnish, which saves time and money compared to water-based printers. When we saw Mutoh’s new range of eco-solvent printers with their small footprint we realised they would greatly benefit customers wanting to move to eco-solvent but had limited floor space.’

Lawrence Hebron, UK product manager (Mutoh) for Graphtec GB, said, ‘This is an important appointment for us. Colourbyte has been a valued reseller of Graphtec GB for many years, and we are delighted that they are extending their product portfolio with us. The Mutoh printers fulfil Colourbyte’s desire to provide an eco-solvent range of printers that are ideally suited to their customers’ need for quality output, reduced cost per print and a space-saving solution.’

Colourbyte has installed a 54-in Mutoh XpertJet printer at its demonstration facility in Hemel Hempstead and further Mutoh ValueJet 24-in models will be installed early in 2024

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Complementing Mutoh’s  existing XpertJet A3+ and A2+ desktop direct to object printers, the new six-colour (CMYK plus white and clear varnish) UV LED flatbed direct-to-object printer has a moving gantry design and an A1+ table size of 1420 x 700 mm; it can print onto objects up to 150mm thick. Its print table integrates a four-zone vacuum bed, supporting weights up to 50kg/sqm, allowing it to cater for a wide range of requirements, including ‘2.5D’ direct-to-object, industrial, packaging, awards and sign and display printing, including ADA-compliant Braille.

Stephan Heintjens, product marketing and product application manager for Mutoh Europe, commented, ‘Feedback on our new printer from the pre-launch at Fespa has been very positive. We are extremely excited about this printer and are delighted to make it available to the Europe, Middle East and Africa markets. Having this new XpertJet 1462UF printer means that Mutoh now offers a complete direct-to-object range covering small format as well as the new bigger format, which is a perfect match for the popular 70 x 100cm screen printing format. The XpertJet 1462UF has a sturdy and precise chassis for extremely precise ink dot placement and high quality print results.’

Mr Heintjens added, ‘With the XpertJet 1462UF, we have drastically increased the overall productivity to meet the quality and speed requirements of the size. The printer has two print heads on board, mounted in a staggered setup and two brand-new 4in multi-segmented UV LED curing lamps. This setup enables us to produce two layer prints in one pass at double the speed of  printers having only one print head and curing lamp. The print table with integrated four-zone vacuum table has holes to fix jigs, allowing great flexibility in media selection. The printer is powered by our VerteLith genuine RIP software.’

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Mutoh says this strategic decision is driven by its ‘strong commitment’ to accelerating its growth in the EMEA (Europe, middle east and Africa) business area. Mr Ogawa will combine this new role with his existing role as managing director in charge of overseas sales at Mutoh Industries.

While Mitsuo Takatsu as Mutoh Europe’s managing director will continue to oversee Mutoh Europe’s daily operations and the execution of the company strategy, Mr Ogawa will be determining in direct liaison with the board of directors of Mutoh Industries the long term business objectives of Mutoh in the EMEA business area and the overall strategy and direction of the company towards achieving sustainable growth and expanding its footprint.

Currently aged 64 and holding a Master Degree in Economics obtained in 1982 at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, Mr Ogawa joined Mutoh Industries in February 2019.  Before this, he achieved a track record of success and experience in overseas sales at Panasonic,  with periods of totalling over 16 years in the USA and nearly three years in China.

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Wrexham, North Wales-based Graphtec is a reseller of cutting, engraving, marking and print finishing equipment. The new partnership with Mutoh means that Graphtec will now deliver complete wide-format printing and finishing solutions and will provide comprehensive nationwide coverage for Mutoh.

Mitsuo Takatsu, managing director of Mutoh Europe, said, ‘Strong and effective distribution is vital for our continued success in the UK and we are delighted to have agreed this partnership with Graphtec GB. The breadth and quality of our products are at the very top level in this industry, and having a committed and hugely respected distributor like Graphtec GB representing us is fantastic news for the UK market. We are very confident that Graphtec’s extensive experience and unrivalled reputation for delivering high-quality wide-format cutting, finishing and software solutions will seamlessly integrate with our printing technology to make them a very formidable and comprehensive wide-format solutions provider for the UK.’

Phil Kneale, director of Graphtec, commented, ‘We are widely recognised across the UK as a top supplier to the wide-format graphics production and sign-making industry of everything except printers. We have been actively researching the market for the right printer partner and we are very happy to have agreed on this deal with Mutoh Europe. Mutoh is one of the most established and well-known suppliers of wide format printers, with a comprehensive portfolio of cutting-edge, innovative machines and ink technologies’

Graphtec managing director Tom Kneale added, ‘We see this as a real dream partnership for both us and for Mutoh. The sheer quality of the Japan-made Mutoh printers is as good if not better than anything else on the market, and their ground-breaking ink technology is winning awards globally. The partnership completes the jigsaw for us and means that we are up there as one of the UK’s leading providers of complete wide-format print and production solutions for the printing, sign-making and visual communications industry.’

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Mutoh will offer the printer with a new generation of ‘soft’ UV-LED inks compatible with a broad range of substrates and free of ‘any substances of very high concern’, a reference in part to the gBL concern in the UK that was temporarily resolved in May 2022 when the UK Government decided to delay new restrictions coming into force, pending further public consultation. The new printer will be an extension to Mutoh’s existing XPJ-461UF (A3+) and XPJ-661UF (A2+) direct-to-object desktop UV-LED printer models.

Engineered and developed at Mutoh Japan, the XpertJet 1462UF flatbed model has a print bed of 1470 x 740mm. The printer has an integrated multi-zone vacuum bed and is equipped with two piezo drop-on-demand printheads mounted in a staggered setup. The first head will print CMYK, and the second white and varnish, which will enable two-layer printing or braille and ‘2.5D structured’ prints without speed loss. Fast curing is enabled by two new 4in-wide UV LED lamps.

The XpertJet 1462UF printer will be available in EMEA later this year.

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Based on a Roland DG chassis, the machine uses modified Brother piezo-electric printheads from the company’s textile printers, with three drop sizes down to 5pl and print resolutions of up to 1200 x 1200dpi. The two printheads are arranged in a staggered formation to apply optimiser (primer) first, then CMYK. Print speed in eight-pass standard quality mode is just under 15sqm/hr and the WF1 is aimed at applications such as banners, drawings, window graphics, storefront signage, trade show graphics, vehicle wraps and outdoor advertising.

The water-based pigment ink is Greenguard Gold certified, making the print also suitable for indoor applications like wallpaper, floor graphics and posters in restaurants or educational institutions. The CMYK inks are claimed to achieve a wide colour gamut and are supplied in 750ml pouches to reduce plastic waste, with a roller system to squeeze out as much ink as possible. The printer is driven by Roland’s versaWorks software but Brother says it is in discussions with other Rip developers and cutting machine vendors to expand the choices; the company also clarified that the ink type is actually a resin but felt that the term latex was better understood in the target market; Roland DG, Mutoh and Epson also offer resin printers.

The Brother WF1 has a list price of €19,495 and the ink pouches are €130 each. The printer holds six cartridges at once, CMYK plus two optimisers.

Brother also used Fespa 2023 as a platform to announce two new textile direct-to-garment and direct-to-film printers.

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The XPJ-1682SR Pro has two AccuFine HD print heads, each with 3200 nozzles, uses a new weaving algorithm and includes Mutoh’s  VerteLith Rip software to deliver improved print quality and speed. According to Mutoh, the XPJ-1682SRP is ideally suited for high productivity environments, delivering high quality production speeds of up to 35sqm/h.

The printer uses Mutoh’s new MS51 quick dry CMYK ink set. These inks are said to meet the requirements for indoor and outdoor signage applications, but do not require health and safety pictograms and are also GBL-free, allowing their use for print products in office, home and retail environments. They are claimed to offer the same colour gamut, gloss preservation and weather resistance, abrasion and chemical resistance as existing inks, with UV durability up to three years without lamination. No additional printer maintenance is required to use them.

The 1682SR Pro can be equipped with an optional automated nozzle check unit which will automatically detect missing nozzles, attempt recovery via cleaning and, if needed, automatically activate the Nozzle Area Select feature to continue production, without operator intervention.

The XPJ-1682SR Pro is an addition to Mutoh’s existing XPJ-1341SRP and XPJ-1641SRP single head models released in January 2022.

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Available in litre packs and specifically developed for the company’s new AccuFine piezo drop-on-demand print heads, the new MS51 inks do not require health and safety pictograms and are said to be ideally suited for long term outdoor and indoor signage applications.

Mitsuo Takatsu, Mutoh Europe’s managing director, said, ‘The new MS51 ink series are the cherry on the cake for our high quality XpertJet SR Pro series sign and display printer models which we released in January 2022. The inks will initially be available for Mutoh’s XpertJet 1641SR Pro device, with more models following later this year.’

Stephan Heintjens, product marketing and product application manager added, ‘With our MS51 inks, we definitely fulfil the requirements of today’s sign professionals with regards to outdoor and indoor signage applications : wide media compatibility including heat sensitive substrates, superior colour gamut, vibrant prints, unrivalled gloss preservation of prints, 3 years outdoor UV durability, low odour, excellent abrasion and chemical resistance.

‘The MS51 inks are also future-proof.  Taking into account the current CLP regulations, they do not require any danger or hazard pictograms and do not contain gBL (gamma-Butyrolactone1). In addition, our MS51 ink formulation contains a new mix of evaporating liquids which will substantially improve the drying behaviour of the output.’

The company recently announced it has appointed Isle of Anglesey-based Nova Chrome UK as its UK distributor for the XpertJet 1341WR Pro 137cm dye sublimation printer. The printer, developed and manufactured in Japan, is targeted at the dye sublimation market and features one Mutoh AccuFine 1600 nozzle head.

The XPJ-1341WR Pro is compatible with Mutoh’s DS3-series HC dye-sub inks. DS3 inks come in degassed 1kg pouches.

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In alphabetical order:

Canon will show roll-to-roll and high volume flatbed printing, together with workflow automation. The Colorado 1630 and 1650 UV-gel roll printers will be demonstrated, plus the ‘UVgel wallpaper factory‘ which is based on the Colorado 1650 in conjunction with Fotoba roll handling and cutting systems. The Arizona 135GT flatbed will appear on Farben-Frikell’s stand, near the Canon one, while the Arizona 2830 XTF will be on the Canon stand. For slightly smaller applications where colour quality is at a premium, the 1.1m 10-colour Image Prograf GP-4000 will also appear, along with the TZ-30000 series, which is aimed at CAD and GIS applications.

Cutting systems specialist Elitron will introduce several new tools and modules for work on display media. These include a twin 45° blade tool which makes clean 90° V-cuts cuts in honeycomb materials in a single pass, and starting at any point on the sheet. This will be complemented by a new Digital Multi Degree cutting module, which has a motorised 200mm diameter circular blade and a fixed blade option, allowing cuts at any angle up to 90°. A 3kW milling module with a new automatic tool changer increases productivity on harder media and a new automatic feeding system with automatic centring will complete the display. 

eProductivity Software (EPS) will feature its Mid-market Print Suite MIS/ERP and MarketDirect Storefront multi-channel software but will focus specifically on PrintFlow 4D cloud-based scheduling and resource optimisation solution, Auto-Count 4D data collection, iQuote estimating and planning and Metrix job planning and imposition tools.

Epson‘s stand will focus on different applications. For promotional products, two of its desktop dye-sub printers will be shown, including the first A4 model, the SureColor SC-F100, while direct to garment will feature the SureColor SC-F3000 together with a Schulze heat tunnel and heat press as a complete DtG package. High productivity direct to fabric printing will be demonstrated on the Monna Lisa ML-8000, which will be shown printing on cotton. For textile dye sublimation, the SC-F9400H and SC-F10000H will be running yellow and pink fluorescent inks. On the signage side Epson’s water-based resin ink printer, the SureColor SC-R5000L will be printing on wallcoverings, soft signage and fine art. The company’s first flatbed, the SC-V7000, will also get its first public showing. Epson is also partnering with a number of substrates vendors, including Kavalan, whose PVC-free Sunlight Weldable frontlit material will be printed on the stand.

Mutoh has just announced that two product premieres will appear on its stand, celebrating 70 years of the Japanese company’s existence. The 1.6m XpertJet 1682SR Pro is said to be up to 180% faster than the existing 1682SR, but like it can be configured in dual-CMYK or eight-colour modes, including gamut-expanding orange ink in addition to light CMK. A new quick-drying ink set, MS-the 51 Series, is being introduced to complement the printer. The new ink is free of GBL. The second printer introduction is the 127cm XpertJet 1341WR Pro, a dye sublimation machine which complements the wider existing 1642WR Pro. The new printer is also compatible with Mutoh’s DS3-series HC (high colourant) inks which offer reduced consumption and faster drying.

SAi will use the show to launch Flexi 22, a new version of its print-and-cut sign-making software. This introduces the SAi Connect dashboard, a central interface for managing subscriptions, software updates and monitoring production data, all accessible from the main software. Production efficiency is helped by allowing more job modifications to be applied within Flexi Production Manager, eliminating back-tracking and simplifying reprint orders. The software has also gained tools to address DtG and direct to film design and production for T-shirt and textile applications.

Fespa Global Expo 2022 runs from 31 May to 3 June at Messe Berlin. Other exhibitors are previewed here and Digital Printer will present a review of these and other key show announcements in the forthcoming May/June issue; you may register for it here, free of charge if you haven’t already.

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