Fujifilm’s Inca Onset – combining quality with speed

‘We’re proud to be one of the very few production houses in the country offering this total campaignability,’ asserts MD Louis Burger, who heads up this dynamic team of professionals.

Apart from USS Graphics, the group’s extensive complex in Epping (Western Cape) houses two subsidiaries, Frantic Digital and Omega Art, while the Johannesburg arm of the business is called Frantic Visual Communication. With strict attention to detail, USS Graphics and its subsidiaries have attained a sterling reputation for quality and consistency, as evidenced by the impressive list of customers among the country’s leading brand owners and retailers.

According to Louis Burger, USS Graphics continually drives its campaignability concept to new levels of excellence with ongoing investment in leading-edge technology, the latest example being the recent commissioning of Fujifilm’s Inca Onset R40i.

Shown to Cape Town’s printing community at an open day, this wide-format UV inkjet system, manufactured by UK-based Inca Digital Printers and distributed by Fujifilm South Africa, is the first of its kind in Africa.

Among factors that led to the choice of this printer were its outstanding productivity, excellent printing quality, and comparatively low running costs.

Combining quality with speed to meet the requirements of operations such as USS Graphics, producing a mix of graphics for both long- and short-distance viewing, the Inca Onset R40i delivers a 14 picolitre drop size and a genuine 400m2/hr or 80 full-bed sheets per hour, with automation.

Using Fujifilm Dimatix printheads, the R40i delivers a smaller drop size than earlier S40i or S50i Onset models. It has the same intelligent design features of existing Onsets, including a 15-zone vacuum table, a UV sensor system and mechanical substrate height detectors, which maintain productivity, print quality and reliability.

The Onset R40i is compatible with Inca’s flexible automation systems which provide a choice between manual operation or three-quarters or full automation.

Rounding out the demonstration of the hardware, John Panton of Digital Distributors highlighted the latest software developments, addressing guests on the benefits of the Connect ALL software in operation at USS Graphics. ‘This offers the ability to create, preflight and correct PDF files to specific minimum requirements,’ he told visitors.

About Inca Digital and Fujifilm

Inca Digital Printers is a leading designer and manufacturer of inkjet printers for the print industry. To date, this work has focused on equipment for the POS sector, but the technology is also suitable for other industrial applications and is an important growth area.

In 2001, Inca Digital was the first company to design and manufacture a moving table flatbed printer for the printing industry with the Eagle 44. Since then, the company has proved itself as an innovator and leader in the field of inkjet, producing a further 11 models.

In 2007, the launch of the Inca Onset created a paradigm shift in digital print quality delivering a digital press that could really take screen printing volume and become a real workhorse.

Since the launch of the Onset, Inca has expanded its range with the Onset S20i, Onset S40i, Onset Q40i, Onset S50i and Onset R40i. With this ongoing product development Inca continuously seeks new solutions to the challenges their customers encounter.

Inca’s sales channel for flatbed printers is through Fujifilm organisations worldwide.

Formerly Sericol, bought by Fujifilm in 2004, the company’s strength in the screen printing industry has made it a natural route to market for Inca flatbed products, and Fujifilm’s Uvijet UV cure inks are optimised for Inca printer applications.

The partnership is essential to create the balance between ink and machine, required for all good inkjet integrations. The two companies work closely together on flatbed printer and UV ink developments to achieve the highest quality results.