Inkjet & Digital Printing
Launch of ineo+ 6000/7000 (Moving forward in low- to mid-range production printing )
Friday 12. November 2010 - Industry insiders see growth potential in the low- to mid-range production printing segment. As the range of formats increases and higher volumes are possible, digital systems will become a more at-tractive alternative to offset printing or a sensible addition to an offset printers portfolio.
Digital systems already account for nearly 10% of production printing, and their market share will con-tinue to rise. In recent years, DEVELOP has successfully entered the digital production printing market. With the launch of the 60/71 ppm system ineo+ 6000/7000, DEVELOP wants write a new chapter in this success story and also meet the growing demand for low- to mid-range digital sys-tems. Many of the systems key features have been designed to facilitate production printing of top-quality documents at digital printshops, corporate printrooms and offset printers.
Patrick Klaus, DEVELOP senior product manager responsible for the ineo+ 6000/7000, speaks passion-ately about the new systems: “It is no exaggeration to claim that the outstanding quality and consistency of the images and text printed on these machines usher in a new era in high-end colour production printing. The boost they bring to productivity and their modular design make them very versatile and ideally suited to the demanding requirements of production printing or similar high-volume environments.”
Top-quality colour output
The professionalism of a production-printing office is judged, first and foremost, by the output quality. Here, the ineo+ 6000/7000 has a great deal to offer. A real resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 x 8-bit dpi, gives the ineo+ 6000/7000 a clear edge over similar competitors. For the first time the resolution of the ineo+ 6000/7000 is fully supported by the controller while competitor systems may promise a resolution of 1,200 dpi or higher but in most cases, the controller can only deliver 600 dpi. The advantage for prin-trooms, printshops and offset printers is clear: whatever kind of job they have to print, the ineo+ 6000/7000 will deliver a previously unmatched, offset-like print quality in combination with any of the three controllers available.
The ineo+ 6000/7000 maintains this top-quality output from the first to the last printout, however many thousands there may be. One of the innovative new features, Image Density Control, monitors colour con-sistency and, if required, automatically adjusts halftone density to ensure stable image quality. This means there is no need for any manual recalibration by external means and naturally saves a lot of time in print-ing high-volume jobs. Several other functions also contribute to this consistently high print quality. They include Colour Density Control, a gradation correction function that automatically adapts to the varying properties of different media to save operators the time-consuming job of producing test patterns. And an exclusive Colour Retention and the Stability technology make any adjustments required to maintain opti-mal print quality.
Extremely high productivity
In time-critical production printing environments high productivity is vital. Here, too, the ineo+ 6000/7000 cuts a fine figure. The systems high-speed capability – up to 3,600/4,260 A4 pages per hour (ineo+ 6000/7000) – is maintained even for heavyweight paper, where competing machines slow down significantly. Since the automatic duplex unit can handle media of up to 300g/m2, 50g more than what most machines in this segment can manage, the ineo+ 6000/7000 will boost productivity and also open up new business opportunities.
Great reliability
Since no production printing shop can afford unnecessary delays, the ineo+ 6000/7000 comes with several features specifically designed to avoid downtime. A multi detection sensor ensures that only one sheet of paper is fed into the machine at a time, even when printing at high speed and new air-blow paper separa-tion mechanism after fusing, gives the machines greater compatibility with a wide variety of media to avoid time wasting jams. The problem of paper curling has been effectively solved by means of an op-tional hybrid humidifying decurler that neutralises static electricity and reduces excessive heat for more stable output alignment by spraying ultra-fine droplets of water onto the paper.
Choice of controllers
The ineo+ 6000/7000 can be equipped with one of four controllers so every kind of production printing office can choose the right controller to suit its needs. The external controller from EFI (IC-306) brings the benefits of intuitive operability, high-performance software for workflow supervision and control, an ultra-professional colour management system and fast processing of variable data printing (VDP) – to name but a few. The alternative external controller from Creo (IC-307) offers, among other things, seamless integration into offset workflows via JDF, simple connectivity with third-party solutions such as Kodak Brisque or Prinergy, intuitive fine-tuning in sheet assembly, and innovative graphics functions such as trapping or font smoothing. Futher more EFI offers an additional controller – the embedded IC-413. This controller is comprehensively equipped to sail through the challenges of modern business appli-cation. It applies competence to not only colour processing and productivity, but also provides an exten-sive range of (optional) security features. Last but not least, DEVELOPs own embedded controller (IC-601) is ideal for any business moving into production printing since it delivers high quality and perform-ance, extremely good colour management and seamless integration with numerous DEVELOP applica-tions at an affordable price. The IC-601 controller will be available in spring 2011.
The ineo+ 6000/7000 certainly has the potential to follow in the footsteps of its successful predecessors and has to be seen as an attractive proposition for any production printing environment – from established offices to absolute newcomers.