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IP&I iCube 260: an upgraded version of the IP&I Cube 260 IP&I, wide-format inkjet printer manufacturer based in Korea, is developing the iCube 260, a considerably improved version of their 2.6 m printer.
This company manufactures only UV printers but focusing on combo printers (with moving transport belt). The iCube 260 is a combo printer that handles both rigid and roll-fed media up to 2.6 meters wide. You have the option to have a 4Cx2 ink configuration (CMYK, two ink channels each) or 6Cx2 (CMYK, lc, lm + 2W). Either ink setting uses 8 Konica Minolta 512 printheads, which have proven to offer good quality in a dozen other UV printers such as Grapo, Dilli, Agfa, GCC, Sun Neo, and others. We could take the first notes on this model at FESPA '09 in Amsterdam, although our first notes on the original Cube 260 are from ISA '06. In other words, we have been following the track of the original model since it was first shown in the US. After visiting the factory in 2007 we issued a full report on this early model and the full report on the IP&I iCube 260 will be available soon based in our second visit in late 2009.
The main modification is the technology for the movement of the printhead carriage: the servo motor in the early model has been replaced with a linear motor, which uses magnetic fields. With this technology the print speed increases by 15% and the movement is much more stable, making it more accurate and less noisy. A linear motor is capable of fast increases in the acceleration of the printhead carriage. The disadvantage of using such motor is that the price will tend to increase: most entry-level and mid-range printers use servo motors whereas high-end printers will most likely use linear motors.
Printers from Durst, WP Digital, and Gandinnovations all use a magnetic linear motor; IP&I is one of the first to feature this sophisticated engineering for a mid-range printer. Another set of modifications has to do with the transport belt. The Cube 260 came with the rubber transport belt. The iCube uses the mesh-type belt. One of the advantages of this new conveyor belt is that the vacuum works in most of the surface, whereas in the rubber belt it worked only through the drilled holes. According to an expert in charge of another brand of UV printers, this type of transport belt is very inexpensive compared to the rubber belt. Also, if it is dirty, you can easily flip it over. The engineers at IP&I have acquired a lot of experience in the mechanism that moves the transport belt. The drive roller continues to be the front roller which is moved by a servo motor. In the Cube 260, the transport belt was elongated in the top, and compressed at the back, because of the placement of the rollers, which have now been designed in a mirrored shape to avoid this situation in the new iCube 260. The IP&I iCube can be monitored and diagnosed by the tech-support staff via internet by using TeamViewer, which is an application that lets you access any computer remotely. Another upgrade being evaluated for the future is the option of using Polaris printheads which is a new, less expensive printhead from Spectra, which is a respected brand in the industry that most high-quality printers over $200,000 use. But IP&I engineers are aware that, because these Spectra Polaris printheads come with only 128 nozzles, the printer would need 2 or 3 heads per color to match the 512 nozzles per head of the KonicaMinolta head model.
First issued December 8, 2009. |
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