Agfa :Anapurna XLS reviews to start at DRUPA 2008
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The Agfa :Anapurna XLS has been announced. As soon as it is possible to see this printer in a demo room or at its factory, we will initiate a basic review and price comparisons.
The predecessor, the Anapurna 100, was my favorite printer at FESPA 2005 in Munich. But at that early date there was too much that was too new and different, so it required re-doing significant portions of the hardware and software. This involved switching the production from the Mutoh Europe factory to a non-Mutoh factory (hopefully also in Europe). But with so many improvements, yet with the past history of uncertainty, I need to inspect it away from the hectic of a busy trade show.
In the meantime, the competition in this price range is crowded. Durst has introduced several new UV printers: Rho 700, Rho 800, etc. I had the opportunity to spend an entire week at the two Durst factories, in Lienz and Brixen. So it was possible to issue comprehensive reports on these printers. Indeed I will be at the Durst factories again this week (September 2008).
The Dainippon Screen Truepress jet2500UV is also now available. It too has many innovative features (but quite different than those of the Agfa :Anapurna XLS). I anticipate being able to inspect the Screen 2500UV in Kyoto later this year. I used to live near Kyoto in Osaka, so am familiar with Japanese capability for engineering.
Also at the high-end, the Spuhl Virtu RS and the L&P Virtu HD8 are both impressive technologies. These two precision machines are literally state-of-the-art. It was possible to spend an entire day testing the Spuhl printer in Switzerland and two of us from FLAAR tested the Virtu HD8 recently at it's factory in Florida. We were there with two different printshop owners who were interested in obtaining this printer. Both are readers of the FLAAR Reports.
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Agfa :Anapurna XLS printer at DRUPA 2008. |
Although it has been possible to inspect dozens of UV-curable printers in their factories, for the Agfa :Anapurna XLS, the main thing I have learned is from a printshop owner that inspected the Agfa :Anapurna XLS in detail. He wrote to tell me that he was very disappointed, and I was very surprised at how poorly the printer performed for him. As a result this printshop owner dropped the Anapurna XLS from his list of potential candidates to purchase.
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Another new offering in the price range of the Agfa printer is the GCC StellarJet K100UV. I have seen the predecessor during one week inspecting GCC in Taiwan. Plus I did a site-visit case study of the GCC StellarJet 250UV (printing ceramic tiles, the best I have seen anywhere).
The IP&I Cube 260 is another printer comparable to the Agfa :Anapurna XLS. I have inspected two printshops that are successfully using the Cube 260. I have also inspected the IP&I factory over a several day period.
For the US market, a competitor later this year will be the Flora 25UV, since it now has a US distributor. I spent two days at the world headquarters of this distributor in the US the week after DRUPA. FLAAR will have a report on the US version of the Flora 25UV as soon as the US version is ready (later in 2008).
VUTEk has sold over 300 units of its QS2000 and QS3200 combo-style UV printers. It was possible to visit VUTEk three times during 2007, so we have abundant information from being able to test this VUTEk printer in person. The 300 units does not count sales in 2008 (which have decreased due to all the new competition, plus the QS is now almost two years old and FLAAR is not issuing updates on old printers because newer inks and newer technologies are of more interest to us).
Because so many printshops ask for assistance, a trade show is only a first step. The Agfa :Anapurna XLS looked good at DRUPA, but the real test is to do our own print samples in their demo room, visit the factory, and learn more about its features in peace and quiet far from the crowded aisles of DRUPA.
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| Agfa :Anapurna XLS was exhibited at VISCOM Italy 2008. |
Updated September 19, 2008.
First posted March 31, 2008. Updated June 16, 2008, August 12, 2008.
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We are adding new pages and new features every month so it is not always realistic to update old pages from past years. All the old equipment is still available on eBay, so we keep even our old pages. If you wish only the more up to date product reviews, these are in PDFs (not in the web pages, but in PDFs which are linked in the columns at the right of every page). Please realize that we tend to update a page (or a PDF) primarily when it is clear that our readers ask about this brand or model frequently. With over 45 brands of UV printers and over 200 models in the past ten years, it is not realistic to update pages on obsolete brands or unpopular models. If you prefer to speak with Nicholas Hellmuth in person about a printer, you can bring him to your company anywhere in the world as consultant. By later in 2011 each of our web sites will be in 36 different languages with instant translation (and better than old fashioned web page translators of several years ago). So far all the languages are available on www.FLAAR.org and www.3d-scanners-3d-software-reviews.org. Next will be our fine art photography, giclee, decor web site. |
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