SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S I

SOLVENT2018

H I G H L I G H T S

a t A P P P E X P O 2 0 1 8

PRINTERS

J u a n C a r l o s H e r n á n d e z

J u l y

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S II

CONTENTS

AIIFAR 2CRYSTALJET 3EAGLECOLOR 4FLORA 5FORTUNE 6GLITTER 7GONGZHENG GROUP 8HUMAN DIGITAL 9LETOP 10MIMAKI 11MUTOH 12PHAETON/GALAXY 13REFRETONIC 14SAITU 15SKY-COLOR 16SMART 17SPECIAL WUTE 18WIT-COLOR 19XENONS 20ZHONGYE 21

* A l l i t e m s o n t h i s l i s t a r e h o t l i n k s

APPPEXPO 2018

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 1

INTRODUCTION

Over the years and from our experience we have observed how a lot of companies, ever since APPPEXPO has existed, have been created, grown, merged and even disappeared. We have seen how the market evolves and adjusts to the different times. And with this experience we can say that APPPEXPO is one of the largest and most prestigious trade shows in the world, where we can find a variety of technologies to create high quality graphic material.

The market for printers that use solvent and eco-solvent inks has maintained over time, but UV technology has caused a shift in the market and it has affect directly in solvent printers.

However, UV technology is still not available to everyone. Therefore, the market where UV is not accessible supports the solvent and eco-solvent industry.

The following report highlights some of the most relevant solvent and eco-solvent printing companies in the market, according to our opinion.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 2

AIIFAR

AIIFAR

BRAND AIIFARPrinter Model BLF-1602S

Print Width 1.6m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX11

AIIFAR’s products are very popular in Asia and Africa; the main products that AIIFAR exhibited during this year show were textile and solvent printers. Also their booth was one of the largest ones this year.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 3

CRYSTALJET

CRYSTALJET

BRAND CRYSTALJETPrinter Model CJ9000Print Width 5m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model SEIKO 508GS

This year, CRYSTALJET contributed with several printers. They exhibited four wide-format solvent printers at the show, half of them were printing with solvent ink and the other half with eco-solvent. Lately they have been focusing on UV and sublimation technology but they don’t leave a side the solvent field, they are always trying to innovate.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 4

EAGLECOLOR

EAGLECOLOR

BRAND EAGLECOLORPrinter Model A5-320Print Width 3.2m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model SEIKO 508GS

It is a relatively new company that over the years has increased its production and sales worldwide. This year, one of its leading products is the solvent model A5-320; which uses the SEIKO 508GS printhead for the production of printed material.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 5

FLORA

FLORA

BRAND FLORAPrinter Model XTRA-320KPrint Width 3.2m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model Konica Minolta 512i

This year, the booth of Flora was across of one of the main entrances of Hall 2, this way FLORA made sure that all the people who came could see them. One of the printers that attracted the most attention when one entered the hall was the XTRA-320K. This printer can print up to 3.2m wide over a vast amount of materials.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 6

FORTUNE

FORTUNE

BRAND FORTUNEPrinter Model YF-2000DPrint Width 1.8m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX5, DX7, 5113

Dongguan Yifang Digital Techonology Co. Ltd. is one of the Chinese companies exporting equipment to Europe, America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Despite having many products in their booth, one that caught our attention was eco-solvent printers YF-2000D. This printer aside from using printheads from EPSON, DX model, also has a self-lift cleaning station and a wide anti-static pinch roller.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 7

GLITTER

GLITTER

BRAND GLITTERPrinter Model GKM512iPrint Width 3.2m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model Konica Minolta 512i

Since the year 2000 GLITTER began exporting to many parts of the world, located in Beijing, China, this company today makes UV, eco-solvent, sublimation printers, even produces router engraving machines, and because of that they have won different awards.

This year one of the few printers that they brought to the show was the GKM512i, named after the printhead it uses.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 8

GONGZHENG

GONGZHENGGROUP

BRAND GONGZHENGPrinter Model GZF 5004USPrint Width 5m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent & Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model FUJIFILM Starfire 1024

Gongzheng produces some of the most renowned printers in the Chinese industry. One of the largest printers in the show was the GZF 5004US in the Gongzheng booth; it prints up to 5-meters wide using solvent ink. This printer can be used for several printable materials and uses four Fujifilm StarFire 1024 printheads.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 9

HUMAN DIGITAL

HUMANDIGITAL

BRAND HUMAN DIGITALPrinter Model Qi-JETPrint Width 3.2m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model Konica Minolta 512i

Human Digital has expanded to several fields of the printing industry including UV, solvent and eco-solvent among others. One of the printers exhibited this year was the Qi-Jet solvent printer, which uses four KONICA 512i printheads. Because having so much printheads in a printer can be time consuming when it comes to cleaning, they use an “auto anti-clogged flash head maintenance system” that helps the printhead have a longer lifespan.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 10

LETOP

LETOP

BRAND LETOPPrinter Model LT-3202APrint Width 1.9m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON XP600

In this year’s show they had a lot of eco-solvent and solvent printers. Also, the other focus that they had was selling spare parts for different printers.

The printer that caught our eyes was the LT-3202A. It has a good quality dry system, also the fact that they use EPSON printheads allows you to buy them almost anywhere.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 11

MIMAKI

MIMAKI

BRAND MIMAKIPrinter Model JV300-160Print Width 1.6m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX7

One of the largest companies in Japan with quality technology is Mimaki. They cover basically all the areas of large and narrow format printing, including 3D printing. One of its proposals for the eco-solvent market is the JV300-160 printer. This has already been in the market for quite some time, maintaining its quality and still an option worth considering for printing various materials.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 12

MUTOH

MUTOH

BRAND MUTOHPrinter Model ValueJet 1624XPrint Width 1.6m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX7

Another favorite of the market, derived from Japanese technology, developed by Mutoh is the ValueJet 1624X eco-solvent printer model. With a single EPSON DX7 head you can print up to 29m2 / h at 360x720dpi. Created for indoor or outdoor signage printing, this is a good printer option.

In the booth we could also see the ValueJet print-and-cut which can speed up your workflow for any type of project.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 13

PHAETON / GALAXY

PHAETON/GALAXY

BRAND PHAETONPrinter Model UD-3218ANPrint Width 3.2m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX5

Universal Phaeton Digital Equipment Ltd. was founded in 2005, this company has generated different printers over the years. Their main focus right now is UV, water based, solvent and eco-solvent. During this APPPexpo they showed more solvent printers than in past years. They have so many options, but the one that caught our attention was the UD-3218AN. One of the salesmen said it was very popular due to its printing width.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 14

REFRETONIC

REFRETONIC

BRAND REFRETONICPrinter Model RT180 PlusPrint Width 1.8m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX5

This year compared to APPPEXPO 2017, Refretonic had their own booth, which was really big and was located next to Oric and Crystaljet in Hall 2. Refretonic exhibited several solvent printer models, we focused on the RT180 Plus eco-solvent printer with four printheads and 1440 nozzles, 88m2/h printing can be achieved.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 15

SAITU

SAITU

BRAND SAITUPrinter Model JC3204Print Width 3.2m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model SEIKO 510

This year SAITU made a good appearance at APPPEXPO 2018, they were located in Hall 2 and exhibited many solvent printers. The JC3204 solvent printer with SEIKO 510 printheads can print up to 3.2-meters wide, with high resolution can print up to 52 meters per hour.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 16

SKY-COLOR

SKY-COLOR

BRAND SKY-COLORPrinter Model SC-3200Print Width 3.2m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX5

Sky-Color in the past years has used dances and performances to catch the attention of the people passing by the hall and this year it was no exception. They certainly had one of the biggest and architecturally better built booths.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 17

SMART

SMART

BRAND SMARTPrinter Model STAR 3306Print Width 3.3m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model FUJIFILM Starfire SG1024

During 2017, SMART printers upgraded their technology using Starfire printheads for solvent printers, EPSON for eco-solvent and Ricoh for UV printers and thanks to that SMART printers have improved considerably. One of their featured models is the STAR 3306.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 18

SPECIAL WUTE

SPECIALWUTE

BRAND SPECIAL WUTEPrinter Model WT-J1808Print Width 1.8m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX6

This manufacturer of printing technology offers a lot of options for the different types of customers and market niches. One of their top sellers is the WT-J1808 eco-solvent printer. Printing up to 1.8-meters wide is perfect to print diverse material for each and every type of needs.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 19

WIT-COLOR

WIT-COLOR

BRAND WIT-COLORPrinter Model UltraStar 3304Print Width 3.2m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model FUJIFILM DimatixStarFire SG1024

Established in Shanghai, WIT-COLOR is one of the biggest brands in the industry, also they had one of the biggest booth in the whole show. This company besides their good technology think about their customers’ needs, offering them several options in sizes, functionality and printability.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 20

XENONS

XENONS

BRAND XENONSPrinter Model X1-6405Print Width 1.6m

Ink Type Eco-Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX5, DX7

Back in 2010, Wuhan Yili Electronics Co.,Ltd created XENONS, and now in 2018, eight years later, they continue having market presence and innovative image and technology for the solvent industry.

This year in Shanghai they showed us an impressive amount of printers, for example the X1-6405.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 21

ZHONGYE

ZHONGYE

BRAND ZHONGYEPrinter Model E1800Print Width 1.8m

Ink Type Solvent

Print heads Brand and Model EPSON DX5, DX7

Liaoning Zhongye Technology and Industries has been in APPPEXPO for several years and this year it was no exception. They specialize in making eco-solvent and solvent, waterbased, UV and textile printers. Most of their printers use EPSON printheads, also Seiko and XAAR. This year they brought a 1.8-meter printer that used EPSON DX5 heads.

SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 22

This report has been licensed to Shanghai Modern International Exhibition Co. to distribute on their website, since they are the organizers of APPPEXPO (Advertising, Print, Pack & Paper Expo), Shanghai.

You can also obtain FLAAR Reports straight from our websites:

www.FLAAR-Reports.org | www.large-format-printers.org | www.wide-format-printers.net

©Copyright 2018

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SOLVENT PRINTERSH I G H L I G H T S 24

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