Kyocera and Screen have released initial details of a new ‘A3’ graphic arts-quality sheet-fed inkjet press that the two companies will show at drupa 2024, to be sold as the TaskAlfa Pro 5500C by Kyocera and as the Screen Truepress Jet S320.
Some technical details have been released between the two companies. Kyocera says the press will print on offset paper for a range of typical high quality commercial products, and that its reliability, durability and low acquisition and running costs are ‘set to exceed the expectations of customers in the printing industry’. Support for offset papers is achieved by use of Screen’s SC/SC+ inks, which the Japanese company uses in its web-fed Truepress Jet 520 line; Screen stressed that this is a joint development project, suggesting that both inks and printheads have been optimised to work together.
The press is said to achieve ‘comparable print quality to offset printing’ with high print durability and ‘smooth and rich ‘colour reproduction and high-definition printing via 1200dpi Kyocera printheads, supported by edge-smoothing technology for fine detail and text outline reproduction. Kyocera also claims a ‘class-leading compact design’, though no dimensions were given; the image supplied by Kyocera does look more like a mid/high-production toner press than some of the existing sheet-fed inkjet alternatives, however. A lowered total cost of ownership is also promised by Kyocera..
According to Screen, the new press will offer similar throughput to Kyocera’s existing TaskAlfa 15000c, at 150 A4ppm simplex, though at full 1200 x 1200dpi resolution as opposed to the 15000c’s 600 x 600dpi. Input paper capacity is stated by Screen to be 6100 sheets standard, expandable to 11,810 and output 5000 sheets standard and maximum 10,000. A Fiery DFE/controller will be included.
Screen is pitching the press as complementary to its CtP systems for offset and Truepress Jet 520HD web-fed inkjets, supporting integration with its Equios workflow and indicated that its version of the press and its applications will be developed differently. The announcement marks Screen’s first venture into sheet-fed inkjet since the its B2 Truepress Jet SX, which was announced at drupa 2008 as a duplexing competitor to Fujifilm’s original JetPress 720S but subsequently dropped around 2016. It is also an expansion of Kyocera’s ambitions as a press vendor in its own right, with the mono version of the TaskAlfa launched earlier in 2023, and a novel textile printer, the Forearth, which also embodies a strong environmental aspect, introduced at ITMA 2023.
