Fuji Acuity aka Oce Arizona 250GT

[electricfly]

We are getting the new Fuji Acuity printer this week and could use any tips for printing with UV Curable ink. Substrates to start of will be styrene, coroplast and 18pt board.

Thank you

Craig

[GraphiXtreme]

Curious, what is the cost on that? We're considering a flatbed and I saw that recently, though I have no idea if it's even in our price range.

If you have already committed to getting this printer, how is it that you don't know about how to use it?

[electricfly]

I'm working at a commercial offset shop that is going digital. I've worked with largeformat before but not with any flatbed UV printers. Not sure of the cost, I know Fuji is trying to put them in commercial printers that they already supply plates and imagesetters to.

The printer was installed today by one tech and everything seamed to go smooth. The tech for the rip install will be in Tuesday for the Onyx install and training.

We've been farming out work that we can now do with this new printer.

Just trying to learn what I can to make everyones job easier.

Thank you

Craig

[rfulford]

I can't speak for this particular printer but I have years of experience with the Vutek flatbed UV and the Durst Rho.

Static is going to be one of your biggest issues, particularly with styrene. Static build up may cause the ink to become attracted to non-printing areas. If this is a problem with your printer, you can try using some ati-static tinsel on the feed end. Also, when you are purchasing styrene, look for corona treated styrene. It will have a rougher surface. In my case, this printed a lot better than plain styrene.

Another concern with UV printers is to be very wary of head strikes. Particularly with thin styrenes. This may not be a problem depending on the heat output of your lamps but too much heat will cause the substrate to warp. Styrene and coroplast will cause a lot more damage to a print head than paper or 18pt board. If you get a head strike, stop the machine and clean it immediately. It only takes a moments exposure to start the curing process in the uv ink. UV light starts a reaction in the ink that changes it to a polymer. Now imagine this on your printheads and you get the picture.

Finally, UV printers open up a whole world of possibilities. You can now print on just about anything within the thickness limitations of your machine. Find a good plastics dealer if you do not have one already and ask about different materials and find out what others are using. Plexiglass, dibond and MDO board are some products that you can usually charge a premium for. Unfortunately, if you want to print on these materials, you will want to purchase a CNC router such as an I-cut, Multicam, or AXYZ.

Good luck.

[M.A.C.]

Although this thread isn't useful to me personally i still appreciate the quality of your posts rfulford.

[rfulford]

Thanks so much M.A.C.

[electricfly]

Update.

We have had the Acuity for just over a month now and I'm liking it.
I have had the usual problems with the coroplast that others have posted.
The printer is not the fastest out there but given the lead time to do jobs we did 670 15x23 pop signs on .020 styrene the second week and a run of 100 5x7 2 sided, 50 22x28 2 sided on .020 styrene and 50 24x36 2 sided on 3/16 foamcore the third week.

I'm going to be testing some other substrates such as adhesive back vinyl and 13oz banner along with some canvas and art papers.

I've been able to get a eye-one ordered but that is on backorder so color right now is subjective from canned profiles that I tweaked in Onyx.

More to come...

Thank you Craig