Agfa has introduced a new wide format printer, the Oberon RTR3300. As the name implies, this is a 3.3m wide roll to roll machine.
It uses UV inks with LED curing. Interestingly, while the LED lamps are air-cooled, Agfa has opted to use water cooling on the table to keep the media at room temperature.
It’s fitted with six Kyocera printheads, one each per colour channel. It’s available in two versions, with a choice of CMYK plus white or CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta. Agfa says that the Oberon 1470 inks carry the highest Greenguard Gold certification so that prints can be used in sensitive indoor environments like schools or healthcare facilities.
In production mode it’s capable of producing 85 sqm/hr, which rises to 149 sqm/hr in Express mode though the Standard mode is just 48 sqm/hr and the speed drops to 25 sqm/hr in its High Quality mode.
The media loading allows a single operator to load the media. There’s an option to run two rolls, each up to 1.6m wide, side by side, and a further option with pinch rollers at the front and back of the transport rollers to let the media run freefall after printing. There is also an option to print to mesh with or without liner on media up to 320cm.
It also features a light box next to the printing area that allows for on-the-spot quality inspection of backlit prints. There’s a double light curtain that sends the print shuttle back to its home base if an operator accidentally moves into the safety zone. This preserves the print job so that it can be restarted from where it stopped.
The Oberon RTR3300 is available now though users should note that it requires a three phase power supply. Naturally it comes with Agfa’s Asanti RIP.
Tom Vermeulen, head of Sign & Display for Agfa, commented: “When developing the Oberon, we once again focused on merging extreme productivity with extreme quality, in addition to delivering the lowest ink consumption levels and reduced overall operational costs. It is in a position to give print service providers a competitive edge.”
The Oberon RTR3300 was shown at last week’s C!Print show in Lyon, France and will naturally be seen again at next month’s Fespa show in Madrid.
I’m not sure what Agfa was trying to convey with the name Oberon, which anyone familiar with the plays of William Shakespeare will recognize as the name of the King of the Fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream…
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