EFI has used its Connect 2020 user conference to introduce a new pair of roll-to-roll wide-format printers and to announce a raft of updates and tweaks to its Productivity Suites and related MIS and workflow software.

The Vutek D3r and D5r are 3.5 and 5.2m width roll printers with LED UV curing, based on the r3+ and r5+ models and sharing many of their capabilities but offering CMYK plus white and clear inks, which enable a range of added-value creative effects and spot UV-type finishes to be achieved as part of the printing operation, without requiring additional processes.

Productivity is up to 270sqm/hr for the D3r and just under 245sqm/hr for the D5r. Both printers use Ricoh Gen 5 printheads with 7pl drop size, offer true 1200dpi resolution and support an optional ultra-high resolution mode that EFI says offers near-photographic quality. Other options include the ability to have both white and clear ink together, inline cutter and slitter, automated backlit and block-out printing and media spreaders and motorised winders.

‘The ‘D’ in the name for these new printers is for ‘Design,’ and they are absolutely designed to offer the right mix of features, productivity and cost to create new opportunities for signage and graphics professionals,’ said Ken Hanulec, EFI’s vice president of worldwide marketing. ‘We listened very closely to our customers for feedback to create a mid-volume solution that will be the technology of choice for print providers seeking to profitably grow their businesses with high-end applications.’

EFI also used the Las Vegas event to announce a number of additional features across its Productivity Suite range of MIS and ERP software offerings. The Mid-market Print Suite gains faster estimating and improved inventory management of partly-used roll media, while the Enterprise Commercial Print Suite adds real-time mobile device-based estimating via the company’s iQuote software, plus spreadsheet import for RFQ (request for quote) documents to speed estimating. 

The Publication Print Suite now has an API for automated job creation and links to Process Shipper workflows for dispatch operations, while the MarketDirect line continues to expand with engagement-based campaign targeting tools and a new MarketDirect PackCentral version for packaging e-commerce and campaign management. The Packaging Suite now supports workflows for short-run label printing.

A report from EFI Connect will be published in the February 2020 issue of Digital Printer.