Atlantic Tech Services has launched a new range of wide-format solvent inks formulated to improve print quality, reduce annual ink-use costs and sharpen up the performance of printers.
ColourSure: improved jetting properties
According to Atlantic, ColourSure offers improved jetting properties for wide-format inking systems and printheads to extend the life of both the printheads and the printer.
The ink is available in 440ml cartridges, which cost £59, or one-litre bottles (£79) for use with the ColourSure Eco Bulk Inking system aimed at improving productivity and reducing operating costs. The range comprises CMYK, light cyan, light magenta and two whites.
ColourSure is suitable for indoor and outdoor uses and can withstand long periods of outdoor exposure, the company said. The inks are also said to be environmentally friendly without compromising on print quality.
Atlantic said the inks were an alternative to Roland Eco-Sol Max, Mutoh Eco Ultra and Mimaki ES-3 Eco Solvent ink formulations.
“The inks allow users to utilise existing colour profiles to avoid the costs and downtime in creating new profiles,” said director Keith Pratt.
“They are targeted not just at companies in the signmaking industry, but businesses with a digital department and commercial printers with wide-format gear.
“We do service support to Roland, Mutoh and Mimaki printers and supply finishing kit to sign and digital industry such as laminators and trimmers. Customers said they also wanted consumables.
“They are generally telling us they are making 40% savings using this new range rather than other OEM inks. They are the enjoying colour vibrancy and less problems with blocked nozzles.
“The inks flow through print systems easier, so the amount of in-house cleaning has gone down and we are seeing a drop in service calls.”
Atlantic Tech Services has boosted its product range by taking on the entire range of Croatian specialist digital printer manufacturer Azon’s range.
The new Matrix is one of the Azon range now sold by Atlantic
Azon printers that Atlantic will sell cover the textile, direct to garment (DTG), UV flatbed and industrial markets, including the Matrix industrial UV-LED flatbed launched at Fespa last month, which can print onto objects weighing up to 100kg at up to 2,880dpi.
Atlantic managing director Keith Pratt said that he expected the Razor range of small UV flatbeds, which compete with machines such as the Mimaki UJF-3042 and 6042, to prove particularly popular. He acknowledged that compared to equivalent Mimaki, Mutoh and Roland DG machines the Azon name was relatively unknown in the UK, but added that the quality of the machines would break down any barriers. The firm has an extensive UK customer base and knowledge of that market through its service and aftermarket ink businesses.
Azon is currently manufacturing the machines that will be installed at Atlantic’s demo centre in Harlow, Essex, which are expected to be installed by early July.
The firm has also revealed that it will extend its deal with Ricoh to sell the its DTG machines, which were launched at Fespa, in addition to its wide-format latex printers.
“The addition of these new products gives us a range of machines that address unique market spaces,” said Pratt. “I’m very excited.
Atlantic Tech Service are proud to announce that they have been appointed the UK Distributors for the Award Winning, European built AZON printer range which includes the Matrix TEX, the TexPro and Mirage textile printers, the Razor Hale, Matrix and Mason UV printers, and the Matrix DTS, Grande DTS, Boxer and DTS Series 2 printers, together with the high performance specially developed AZON 220ml cartridge or a 500ml Bulk Inking system in CMYK, LC, LM LK, LLK and White inkjet UV, Textile and DTS inks. All models as shown below.
At the recent FESPA 2017 exhibition Azonprinters launched the Azon MATRIX, industrial UV-LED inkjet printing solution with optional S, M and L bed sizes; 700 mm x 1900 mm / 700 mm x 2500 mm / 1200 mm x 3300 mm which are handling heavy materials up to 100 kg for indoor, outdoor and industrial applications. Azon MATRIX extends productivity and creativity by printing directly onto any type of material like PET, ABS, polycarbonate, TPU, wood, stone, glass, canvas, ceramic, aluminium, and leather. Azon MATRIX supports artists, industrial designers, photographers, architects, entrepreneurs and all other in their creative and inventive ideas with innovative technology and years of experience. Instruction panels, evacuation plan panels, bike and hiking route signs, bar & restaurant signs, are just one of numerous application possibilities for indoor of outdoor use. With an outstanding resolution of 2880 dpi, it is highly usable in versatile industries with a request for high-quality volume printing like leather industry, tradeshow graphics, interior decorations, sign industry, furniture industry etc.
Azon MATRIX series features a monoblock structure that allows simple installation and the flexibility for the system to be relocated to a multitude of locations. Precision lead screw feature provides high reliability and repeatability that increase performance and accuracy. The robust Azon MATRIX allows an increase of productivity and delivers high-quality results on virtually any rigid media. Dual security mode for automatic media thickness detection and head protection secure print head from damages before print starts while powerful zoned vacuum system keeps material flat and allows printing on soft and thin materials with remarkable precision. In order to maintain accurate high-quality printing even during long production runs, Azonprinter incorporated six specially designed 500ml bulk ink tanks with monitoring sensors which are built to meet the demands of high volume operations.
Everything from full featured Azon RIP software to new revolutionary Azon TurboJet inks will provide reliable and productive printing and new innovative ideas and business approaches. The versatility of white ink as a base for high-density CMYK layer delivers unusual and creative textures on all materials. Azon Rotax adaptor for cylindrical printing doubles the possibilities of digital printing while enhanced media settings included for added convenience will open doors to endless business opportunities.
Atlantic were selected by the Azonprinter company because of their excellent reputation for professional national service and support and customer care programmes. Atlantic MD Keith Pratt says that “The Azon range competes favourably against competition, with higher resolution capabilities, improved flexibility of use and above all reliability backed by our national support team”. “We identified the potential for this affordable, high quality range of printers in the UK, by adding the Azon range to our existing Ricoh Pro L4100 Series Latex printers, we are now able to offer our customers solutions to print on a much wider range of substrates and objects, such as bottles, pens, golf-balls, all types of textiles, leather, wood, tiles and many more”. “We are particularly excited by the introduction of the MATRIX Series and the capabilities of the Razor Hale which can also create raised ADA Compliant print up to 2mm in depth for Braille script standard”. “Azonprinter have worked closely with the Association for visually impaired people for guidance and parameters for the most effective print solution on the market”
Atlantic will exhibit for the first time its ‘Future of Latex Printing’ concept which includes its range of Ricoh Pro L4100 Series Latex Printers together with the high quality, fast drying Ricoh AR Latex inks, printing on a range of Metamark media products in combination with online Graphtec FC8600 Cutters and the popular Easymount Lamination machines. Atlantic will be giving live demonstrations throughout the exhibition on all of these products.
Atlantic will also be exhibiting its highly successful range of ColourSure Solvent inks and will be for the first time introducing its ColourSure Total inks range of 600ml to 2 Litre Pouch/Bag Solvent bulk inking systems with the new ColourSure 2-Litre multi-functional Bulk systems for all Mimaki solvent printers.
Members of the Atlantic Service & Support team will be on hand to discuss its range of Extended Warranty, Service Contract and Ad-Hoc national support services for all Mimaki, Roland, HP, OCE and Mutoh wide format roll-to-roll and flatbed printers. Atlantic is a specialist in software RIP support and will be demonstrating the latest Ricoh, Colorgate and Shiraz RIP technology and discussing the support services available for these major manufacturers RIP products.
Fleet Vehicle Wrapping, Graphics and Signage specialists Camfree Signs & Graphics have installed two Ricoh Pro L4100 (130 & 160) wide latex printers, together with the fast drying Ricoh AR latex inks, supplied by Ricoh partner Atlantic Tech Services.
Camfree Signs & Graphics LTD specialise in vehicle wrapping and signage, from single vehicles to national vehicle fleets and office branding.
The Southampton based company has over 25 years of experience in the signage industry and due to significant growth during the last five years have recently moved to their larger premises. Ideally located on the river Hamble. Camfree has also seen its boat wrapping division grow from strength to strength offering bespoke solutions, from colour change to sponsored branding.
Managing Director James Freeman said “with our company growing and demand for our services increasing. We chose the Ricoh Pro L4130 & L4160 to speed up our production to provide a speedier service for our ever increasing customer base. The speed of the Ricoh printers over our Mimaki JV33 printers was significant. With the additional benefits that comes with the latex printer and NO Outgassing. This gives us the ability and diversity of being able to make changes to bespoke printed wraps during the instillation process. If the customer decides at the last minute to make a change we can now deliver without any disruption to our customer deadlines.”
“The fast drying Ricoh AR Latex inks has also been a major contributing factor in speeding up our production, as the prints come off the Ricoh’s fully cured, completely dry and ready to use”.
“We went to Atlantic who have serviced and supported our Mimaki JV33 printers previously, because they are the major national supplier of the Ricoh latex printers, this added to their printer knowledge and the quality of their after sales support were key in our decision to buy the Ricoh printers”
The Pro L4100 Series Latex Roll-to-Roll Printers come inclusive with variable dot GEN5 Piezo Printhead technology for high quality output. The Pro L4100 printers are capable of printing CMYK, or as a six-colour colour sets, CMYK – Orange & Green or CMYK – Orange & Green plus 2 x White. The Ricoh AR latex inkset are developed exclusively by Ricoh, which cures at 60˚C, without the need for an additional optimizer as is required in other leading latex brands.
Further details on the Ricoh Pro L4100 Series Latex printers are available from Atlantic on 01279 638 500.
Wide-format printer Vinyl Decals Direct (VDD) has moved to new larger premises and claims to have become the first UK company to install the Ricoh Pro L4130 latex printer using Ricoh’s new fast-drying aqueous resin (AR) latex inks.
Tanner (left) with Atlantic Tech Services area manager Gavin Wells
The Coalville, Leicestershire-based firm took delivery of the 1.37m-wide machine, which was bought from Harlow, Essex-based supplier Atlantic Tech Services, at the end of September.
The five-staff company then moved to its new 250sqm unit, which is around eight times larger than its previous site – also based in Coalville – last week. It invested £200,000 in the new building plus a further £22,000 in the Ricoh kit.
The 1,200dpi L4130 is capable of printing at speeds of up to 33sqm/hr. Ricoh first showed the device running the AR latex inks in March, at Fespa Digital in Amsterdam.
The six-colour-plus-white, roll-to-roll machine is an OEM version of the Mimaki JV400-130LX fitted with the Ricoh variable-drop piezo printhead technology and a latex inkset developed exclusively by Ricoh, which cures at 60˚C.
Vinyl Decals Direct said it chose the L4130 because of the machine’s ability to produce high-quality prints faster than most conventional solvent and latex printers. The business also operates a range of Mimaki printers and cutters and outsources litho printing.
Vinyl Decals Direct managing director Steve Tanner said the device has quickly increased the company’s productivity and opened up a number of new business opportunities.
“The Ricoh is absolutely brilliant. The quality, colour depth and gamut of colour is twice as good as what comes off our Mimaki JV33. It’s printing twice as fast and there’s no curing time with it being aqueous latex.
“We’re predominantly printing wraps on it so far, for vehicles and various other things, but there’s all sorts going through it.”
The company also produces items including vinyl labels, stickers and vehicle graphics for clients operating predominantly in the waste management and health and safety sectors.
Fleet Vehicle Wrapping, Graphics and Signage specialists Camfree Signs & Graphics have installed two Ricoh Pro L4100 (130 & 160) wide latex printers, together with the fast drying Ricoh AR latex inks, supplied by Ricoh partner Atlantic Tech Services.
Camfree Signs & Graphics LTD specialises in vehicle wrapping and signage, from single vehicles to national vehicle fleets and office branding. The Southampton-based company has over 25 years of experience in the signage industry and due to significant growth during the last five years have recently moved to their larger premises. Ideally located on the river Hamble, Camfree has also seen its boat wrapping division grow from strength to strength offering bespoke solutions, from colour change to sponsored branding.
Managing Director James Freeman said: “With our company growing and demand for our services increasing, we chose the Ricoh Pro L4130 and L4160 to speed up our production to provide a speedier service for our ever increasing customer base.
“The fast drying Ricoh AR Latex inks have also been a major contributing factor in speeding up our production, as the prints come off the Ricoh’s fully cured, completely dry and ready to use.
“We went to Atlantic because they are the major national supplier of the Ricoh latex printers. This – added to their printer knowledge and the quality of their after sales support – were key in our decision to buy the Ricoh printers.”
The Pro L4100 Series Latex Roll-to-Roll Printers come inclusive with variable dot GEN5 Piezo Printhead technology for high quality output. The Pro L4100 printers are capable of printing CMYK, or as a six-colour colour sets, CMYK – Orange & Green or CMYK – Orange & Green plus 2 x White. The Ricoh AR latex inkset are developed exclusively by Ricoh, which cures at 60˚C, without the need for an additional optimiser as is required in other leading latex brands.
[Image shows: Stafford Cox, Atlantic Service Director and Camfree Signs & Graphics’ MD James Freeman]
Atlantic Tec Services has launched ColourSure solvent inks which have been formulated to deliver improved print quality, reduce annual ink usage costs and to improve the performance and running costs of your printer.
The inks aim to produce vibrant, sharp and consistent colour prints, provide excellent printer performance, with improved jetting properties to the printers inking system and printheads, combined to extend the life of both the printheads and the printer.
ColourSure Inks are available in CMYK, LC and LM – 440 ml cartridges or in the economy pack one litre Bottles for use with our ColourSure Eco Bulk Inking system for increased productivity and aimed to reduce operating costs. The range’s performance is matched to Roland’s ECO-SOL MAX, Mutoh’s Eco Ultra and Mimaki ES-3 Eco Solvent ink formulations. ColourSure Solvent-based inks allow users to utilise their existing colour profiles to avoid the costs and down time in creating new profiles.
