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Jetrix 3015FQ and first reviews of Jetrix 2515, Jetrix 2513FRQ flatbed UV printer from InkTec ink, Korea

The Inktec Jetrix 3015FQ was launched at FESPA Digital Europe in 2009. I inspected the 3015FQ a second time at VISCOM Dueseldorf '09.

JETRIX 3015FQ printer was exhibited at VISCOM Duesseldorf trade show 2009.

The nice new American-sized Jetrix 2515 printer from InkTec was launched at SGIA '08 in Atlanta. At SGIA 2009 the newer model appeared, the Jetrix 2513FRQ. The two models are because rigid signage boards in the US are one standard size and rigid boards for signage in Europe are a different size and proportion.

In terms of industrial design, the Jetrix 2515 was the most attractive new UV printer of any at SGIA ‘08. Actually it is “prettier” than any European UV printer at VISCOM Germany '08 in Frankfurt a few weeks after SGIA.

The InkTec Jetrix catalog was by far the best designed and most handsome catalog of any at SGIA '08. They had the same sophistication at SGIA '09. Nothing like this printer concept or sophisticated of the launch campaign (the graphic design) has come from Japan or Europe.

Jetrix 2515 flatbed UV printer of  InkTec ink at SGIA 2008.

At SGIA '08 and again at SGIA '09 I did visit the Jetrix booth to inspect the printer. But it has not been possible to inspect this printer in its factory since during the months leading up to SGIA they were very busy. With over 45 brands of UV printers there is no way to handle every brand at full coverage. I have to make decisions where to devote my resources, and I prefer to concentrate on the printers with distributor networks and proven technology. A new printer with no distributor network will not be sought after by printshop owners for the first several months, whereas the EFI Rastek T660 and Oce Arizona 350 GT are both already on their way to commercial success even though last year both were as new as the Jetrix. But I have been to the Rastek factory in Alabama and several times to the Raster Printers headquarters in California and have access to adequate information on all Raster Printers products. I have been to the Oce factory and demo room near the Vancouver airport as well.

Dual Capability: flatbed plus roll-to-roll

Clearly the successful new trend is dual capability: flatbed plus roll-to-roll on the same chassis. The Oce Arizona 250 GT is the first successful dual capability printer: I prefer to avoid the word hybrid and combo: combo has a moving transport belt; hybrid has no dedicated flatbed and needs roll-up tables to handle flat thick rigid material. The Arizona 250, Arizona 350 GT and XT, Gerber Solara ion and now the Jetrix 2515 FRQ offer much more than any combo or hybrid: you get two complete printers all together in once chassis.

White ink is crucial too

Even though most printshop operators say they rarely use white ink, most printshop owners and managers appropriately prefer a printer that at least offers the option of white ink (varnish is not as popular though the Roland LEC-300 will change the perception of varnish being close to unusable on most UV printers up to now).

The two most common wishes for people who were considering the Oce Arizona 250 was less slowness and adding white ink. As a result the Oce Arizona 350 GT was born, though at a price point of almost $200,000. So if the Jetrix 2515 can offer a printer faster than the Arizona 250, with quality as good (or better), plus white ink, then the InkTec Jetrix has potential for healthy sales (but only once a distribution network is in place). And distributors also want to read an evaluation about both the printer, and the company behind it (another reason why visiting the corporate headquarters and factory is a key part of a FLAAR Report).

Questions about MEMS printheads?

The Jetrix 2515 exhibited at SGIA achieved its superior quality with Spectra M Class printheads. But now the printheads of the Jetrix are being switched from Spectra M Class (MEMS technology) to Spectra Q Class heads. Same with the MEMS heads of the Rastek T1000 printer; they have also dropped the MEMS kind of head (but will switch to a different brand of head; not the Spectra Q Class). The MEMS heads offer spectacular print quality, especially for small fonts. But all MEMS heads have two issues: just look at what happened with the X2 MEMS heads of HP: their manufacturing yield is so low it's hard to get enough anyway. And those that are usable after manufacturing reportedly fail within four months. More confusing of all, there is no specific reason for them failing; if there was, this feature could be redesigned; but they fail nonetheless.

Every new printer that HP announced at their Barcelona September 2006 extravaganza needed the Scitex X2 MEMS printhead to function as advertised. 100% of these printers failed to be produced: the XL2200 was shown at SGIA 2007 but that was only to pretend to have a printer better than the NUR Expedio Revolution; the XL2200 was not an actual printer because the printheads tended to fail before four months.

Seemingly these issues are not unique to the X2, but occur in MEMS printheads per se. Indeed I first heard about this issue in July 2008. People in the industry, those who know printheads, were aware of this issue even back in 2007. So the issues with MEMS heads are not something that I learned at SGIA '08.

So, getting back to the InkTec Jetrix, they have intelligently decided to switch away from MEMS heads to a more sturdy Q Class Spectra head. In 2009 the printer has now been relaunched. At this point, when it is possible to undertake testing in a demo room and inspection of the manufacturing quality, a FLAAR Report will be initiated.

90% of the Korean brands of UV-cured flatbed printers are sturdy, well designed by capable engineers, and tend to be as good as (and sometimes better than) printers made in Japan, the US, or Europe (the best brands of UV-curing printers I know so far are Dilli, IP&I, and InkTec Jetrix). There is only one other brand Korean UV printer that is of cheaper kind of design (ScreenJet, not relation to Dainippon; it looked like it was made in China). So to make sure that the Jetrix is one of the well-made printers, this fact can only be documented by seeing the factory.

Honorable mention for having the UV lamp area enclosed

Too many flatbed UV printers have exposed UV lamps; even those made in Switzerland. The carriage on the Jetrix 3015FQ and Jetrix 2515, in comparison, do not expose the UV lamp light quite as much. A totally enclosed gantry is even better, but at least not having the UV lamps in your face is a good start. Hence the Jetrix looks significantly better for eye safety than the Oce Arizona and Fujifilm Acuity.

The Jetrix 2515 is dual capability: flatbed plus roll-to-roll on the same chassis.

Summary

The model displayed at SGIA 2008 was the JETRIX 2515. The model displayed at SGIA 2009 was the JETRIX 2513FRQ. The catalog handed out at SGIA 2009 listed it as the 2513RQ.

The model in Europe is appropriately for European size, the JETRIX 3015FQ.

Here is the JETRIX 3015FQ printer printing samples at VICOM Duesseldorf 2009. This printer showcased at the Esc. booth in this trade show.

Until I can visit the factory it is not possible to comment on the company other than that I know them from several years at trade shows. But it is crucial to see what kind of company stands behind a printer. This visit is being considered for late November 2009. Another necessary part of the evaluation is to visit a printshop that has this printer installed. We call this a site-visit case study.

One reason a site-visit case study is essential is to document the functionality of the varnish, glass primer, metal primer, and white ink channels. To my knowledge, this is the first printer in the world that offers the ability to jet primers. All other speciality applications require spraying by hand, or brushing on the primer (which means you can't get the identical load on all segments because you can't control your hand movement or the spray or how much primer is on the brush at the end of your brush stroke).

One final comment is how utterly impressive this printer is considering that it is their second generation (MEMS printhead was he first generation). Surely this will give both inspiration to others, and pause to others as well, since JETRIX now sets a new international standard.

Once you have a dedicated flatbed printer you will wish to learn about how to cut, trim, and rout your images. So FLAAR has been working on evaluations of digital XY cutter-routers. Available next week: show two Kongsberg mini-titles: XP and glossary.

And once you have your flatbed UV-curable inkjet printer, you will wish to experiment with all the exciting rigid materials. So FLAAR has started a long range program to evaluate:

• All honeycomb cardboard (paper) materials with white printing surfaces (we have found nine brands so far).
• All aluminum-faced rigid materials (over a dozen brands so far; much more than just Dibond).
• All metallic, metallicized, and also reflective materials (mirrors and non-mirrots both). Many exciting brands here.
• Plus every kind of foam-board, more than just Foam-cor; more than Gatorboard.

 

Here is the Jetrix booth at SGIA trade show 2008.

 

 

Most recently updated October 12, 2009, after SGIA Expo.

First posted Oct 14, 2008. Updated November 8, 2008, May 4, 2009.