Simply Inkjet develops mono inkjet module

Simply Inkjet has developed a new mono imprinting solution, the Sigra 1000M, based around Memjet DuraLink printheads. It is designed mainly for use in the direct mail, packaging, book printing and transactional printing markets.

The Sigra 1000 is based around a Colordyne ChromaPlex AP 40 print engine and is a page wide printing module that can be configured with up to five DuraLink printheads for printing up to one metre wide. It is a complete contained print engine with ink management system, automation to move between print and non-print positions for capping and remote diagnostics. It includes a Xitron controller and uses Memjet’s Duralink ink, which is a pigmented aqueous ink. 

Since the printhead itself is the Memjet Duralink, it can reach a print speed of 74.5mpm at 1600 x 1585 dpi but this can be pushed to 203.6mpm at 1600 x 580 dpi resolution. This is a thermal printhead, meaning that it will have to be regularly replaced though Memjet has made great strides in increasing the life expectancy of these heads. 

Graham McLachlan, sales and marketing director for Simply Inkjet, points out that the Sigra 1000 has a very simple architecture with just four stitch points across the meter wide array. He adds: “This is highly significant in that it removes the need for much of the complex internal control systems needed to manage the print element ultimately reducing cost and making integrations more accessible and affordable.”

However, he says the company will target several different market segments, noting: “The complexity of the integration will of course be driven by the infrastructure that may exist and the final product to be produced. However, we have full design capability and engineering partners in place to provide a range of custom web towers or flatbed transports to facilitate the integration.”

McLachlan expects most of the potential customers to use the company’s Simply Pre Coater, a proven coating solution that allows offset quality results on readily offset available substrates printing at high speed.

He adds: “We have now completed benchmark testing of the latest pre and post coat solutions from Michelman and when we combine these, the speed, quality and cost of the overall solution combined with the acquisition cost you really do have a game-changing opportunity for many market sectors. We have also benchmarked book and packaging substrates.”

As for drying, Simply Inkjet is working with Hereaus and its new Infodry technology, which is optimised to work at medium wave. McLachlan says that the results have shown that this is highly efficient in delivering a significant reduction in energy while drying at the high speed required both for the coatings and the inks.

Simply Inkjet, which is based in Yorkshire, UK, mostly helps customers integrate inkjet solutions to their existing equipment, mainly using Memjet heads and Colordyne print engines. Taylor Buckthorpe, director of sales at Colordyne, says of Simply Inkjet: “The company understands the value inkjet can bring to a business, especially when it is implemented cost-effectively. Simply Inkjet is dynamic in offering flexible and scalable solutions, which allows them to meet individual customer needs.”

Naturally, with such a modular solution, the pricing will vary greatly from one installation to the next. However, pricing for the Sigra 1000 print assembly starts around £300,000. Simply Inkjet’s solutions range from a single head engine all the way to a one metre page wide full colour array, the Sigra 1000C. You can find further details from simplyinkjet.com.