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Gerber Solara ion raises the question of Cationic UV-curing ink vs free radical UV-curing ink

Kudos to Gerber for daring to be first with cationic ink in an entry-level US flatbed printer. After two years, the chemists, the printhead manufacturer, and Gerber's own engineers and scientists have finally make the breakthrough that no one predicted: they have harnessed cationic ink in an affordable UV-curable flatbed printer.

Gerber Solara ion v, same dedicated flatbed but a lower cost

And for January 2009, there is now a new lower price on a new entry-level version, the Gerber Solara ion v. This costs noticeably less than the Gerber Solara ion X.

Gerber Solara ion v is now a new lower price on a new entry-level version this printer was exhibited at FastSigns 2009.

“ Cold” curing is also innovative on the Gerber Solara ion

It is ironic that Gerber, whose sales have been clobbered by ColorSpan for years, is the first out with an innovative cold cure.


Gerber Solara ion X UV-curing flatbed with roll-to-roll printer

It will take a while to figure out who is making the UV curing lamps in the Gerber Solara ion printer. Gerber is not using an LED lamp. The size, shape, and positions of the UV lamps that they are using are listed in the FLAAR Reports, which can be ordered from www.wide-format-printers.NET . Regular mercury arc UV lamps are the temperature of plasma and are not appropriate for cationic ink.

Gerber deserve recognition for their innovative curing method; but the question is whether it is effective, and what downsides it has.


Gerber Solara ion X flatbed printer with GerberCAT cationic UV ink at SGIA 2007.

What will Hewlett-Packard do now?

An innovative, popular, and break-through product by Gerber Scientific Products, far ahead of any comparable product from Roland, Mutoh, or Seiko, sets Gerber ahead for the race to entry-level market. This is a challenge for the two ColorSpan printers: ColorSpan 5440uv series (now the HP Designjet H35100 and HP H45100) and the ColorSpan 9840uv (now the HP Scitex FB910).

Now the Mimaki UJV-160 is being launched, a roll-to-roll hybrid UV printer that challenges what's left of the HP Designjet H35100 and H45500 UV series. Unless there is a new entry-level UV printer from HP, they won't have a fully-functional UV entry-level model at ISA 2009 . So Mimaki is poised to potentially take over the entry-level hybrid market, and Gerber could take over the entry-level flatbed market (assuming both new technologies continue to work by then).

The ion printers worked much better at the SGIA '08 trade show that a year ago at SGIA 2007

At SGIA '08 the Gerber ion printed every day. In fact both Gerber ion printers were printing every day. This is the first FLAAR benchmark that the printer has passed in the year that the printer has been under development. The next benchmark is a study in a printshop of how this printer actually works 7 days a week all month all year at a speed that is at least no slower than the slowest printer out there today (the Oce 250).

It was possible to visit the Gerber factory and demo room in late September 2008. In a lab environment the printer functioned nicely; the output was gorgeous when in 8-pass mode. Colors were attractive too. Up close of course the 42 picoliter drops were a bit rough, but from further way the image was attractive.

The next step was to check and see if the cationic ink functioned outside a laboratory environment. So I went to a printshop in Chicago; in the same building they do screen printing and offset printing. They already have an HP Designjet 5000 and a Roland eco-solvent printer. When the Gerber ion X arrived, they say that it satisfied them as printshop owners and the output was acceptable for their clients (primarily POS for liquor stores, liquor departments in larger stores, and bars). They said that having a flatbed was such a relief: no more mounting by hand. So they can save both time and money by printing directly to rigid material.

The complete evaluation: from all trade shows around the world, from testing the printer in person in the demo room, from inspecting the factory, and from questioning the owners in the printshop in Chicago, is all available in the FLAAR Report on the Gerber ion printer.

You may notice that FLAAR does not reproduce the PR release

Other sites on the Internet merely publish the Gerber PR release, with no comments, observations, or suggestions. This is embarrassing.

Of course miracles do happen. Everyone told Christopher Columbus that if he sailed west his ships would fall off the edge of the world. He discovered America. So it appears, so far, that cationic UV ink chemistry actually functions. Seemingly the Gerber system can control it, since once cationic starts to cure, it tends to cure spontaneously with catastrophic results inside the printheads. There are also severe limitations of the amount of humidity that this ink can survive. Again, this is discussed in the updated FLAAR Report on the Gerber ion.

The reason we hoped Gerber would overcome issues and get their new printer to print reliably is because a successful cationic ink in their ion printer will revolutionize the UV printer market.

In the factory lots of the printer are on the assembly line

At the factory it was permitted to take plenty of photographs, and then again in another building it was allowed to photograph the printers in the demo room. So I can testify that Gerber can get the printers to function fine inside their own facilities.

But there was a cationic ink printer at DRUPA that actually functioned

In another booth, in another hall at DRUPA 2008, there was a completely different brand of UV printer, using the same cationic ink (but a completely different UV curing system). So why did this other printer print all day, and the Gerber not? We show the other printer in the FLAAR Report on DRUPA 2008.

Then at SGIA '08 there was another different printer also using cationic inks. We document this in the upcoming FLAAR Reports on SGIA '08, available shortly.


The Gerber Solara Ion using cationic inks at SGIA 2008, October.

Dedicated flatbeds are the way to go

Our FLAAR Reports have clearly stressed the importance of manufacturers offering dedicated flatbed style UV printers. Indeed the track record of issues with combo-style transport belts is increasingly poor. See the FLAAR Reports on the Grapo Octopus, for example. The TeckStorm is the most recent dedicated flatbed printer that we have evaluated. Thus it is good that Gerber decided to focus on a dedicated flatbed and not a hybrid or combo.

I predict that several more companies will offer dedicated roll-fed and dedicated flatbeds at SGIA '08 and ISA ‘09. Indeed the innovative Spuhl Virtu RS 25 and RS 35 offer a dedicated flatbed aspect inside their combo transport belt system. This is a feature not available on the VUTEk QS2000 or QS3200.

As a good example of dedication to dedicated flatbeds and dedicated roll-to-roll, check out the Gandinnovations flatbeds and roll-fed. Their engineers have long ago realized that the best way to handle large, heavy flat materials is a large, heavy, flatbed printer. And the fastest way to handle kilometer-long roll-fed materials is to have a dedicated roll-to-roll UV printer.

Just be sure to read the FLAAR Reports on UV-printers before you make a down payment on any UV-curable machine.

Most recently updated January 12, 2009 after inspecting the new Gerber Solara ion v machine, printing, every day, handsomely at the first trade show of the new year: FastSigns convention, Orlando.

First posted 5 October 2007. Updated after SGIA, November 2 2007. Updated December 5, after VISCOM Italy. Updated Jan 27, 2008, April 7, 2008. Updated June 3, 2008 after seeing the Gerber ion print “speed” and hearing of the lack of productivity rate. Updated June 9, 2008 after seeing the Gerber ion advertising claim for “speed” and yet noticing it was not printing most days in their booth at DRUPA. Updated July 21, 2008. Updated September 1, 2008, after observing over a three day period at FESPA Mexico trade show in August that the Gerber ion was either not printing at all, or was only printing sporadically, and very slowly, after hearing several reports from people at Long Beach California trade show. Updated again, autumn, 2008 after inspecting the Gerber ion assembly line and testing the printer in the demo room. Updated October 2008 after inspecting the two Gerber Solara ion machines, printing, every day, handsomely at SGIA '08.