Home A to Z index Consulting Services Lectures, Workshops and Seminars Contact Us

RIP Software Color Management X-Y Flatbed cutters Latex vs bio-solvent inks UV-Curing flatbeds Textiles: printers, printable fabrics Eco-Solvent Mild/Lite Solvent Full Solvent Printing Processes: Screen printing Offset printing Applications: Packaging Decor FLAAR Reports: Order Now Download Now FREE Reports

NEOLTjet UV Printer 2050, 2500, and 3200; a UV-curable ink flatbed printer from Italy 

NEOLT is the third Italian manufacturer to offer a UV-curable ink flatbed printer (Durst being the second). The difference is that the NEOLTjet UV Printer 2050 is closer to the price of a Zund and Grapo Octopus. 

You could consider Sias as the first Italian UV printer manufacturer since Sias Digital was selling UV printers in the previous millennium. This is now the Scitex Vision VEEjet+, which became the HP Scitex FB6300 and will be the HP Scitex FB6500 in 2007.

NEOLTjet UV Printer

Competition for the NEOLTjet UV 2050, 2500, and 3200 UV-cured flatbed printers

Since the Zund 215 is well established, it will be a challenge for a new manufacturer such as Neolt to gain market share. 

Unless such a new printer has better color and better quality. If the NEOLTjet UV printer can escape banding defects and produce fire engine red, Coca-Cola red, sunset red (without being too orange); if the NEOLT can produce greens that are not too yellow, and bright yellows that are not too green, then the NEOLTjet UV printer will gradually win our recommendation. But first we need to do site-visit case studies or at least see the printer at their Italian demo center to check it out.  

The first Zund we evaluated two years ago had banding and poor quality color gamut. The Zund printers today are much better, but ColorSpan’s 72 UVX appears to have a better color gamut in the reds. The advantage of all this competition is that technology will improve for everyone. 

NEOLTjet 3200 UV flatbed printing samples at FESPA trade show 2005.

Samples printed by the NEOLTjet 3200 UV flatbed printer.

Compare the NeoltJet with Grapo Octopus X4 and Dilli NeoJet flatbed printers  

FLAAR now has reports on all major UV-curable ink flatbed and roll-to-roll printers, including the NEOLTjet UV 2050, the Grapo Octopus X4, the Zund 215, Gandinnvations Jeti UV, and Dilli NeoJet UV-curable inkjet flatbed printers.  Plus for 2008 there is a new printer, the REDot Monsoon (looks like a resurrected Grapo Octopus).

To learn what these printers are like we visit the actual factories when this is facilitated by the manufacturer. So ColorSpan brought us to their factory to inspect their new ColorSpan 9840uv printer.

Then after attending Photokina trade show in Cologne, GRAPO arranged a visit for us to their factory in the Czech Republic. When we do a factor visit this means we can update and expand our reports on this brand of printer.

But so far, we have not yet had an opportunity to visit the Neolt factory; this invitation has to come from the company. When a factory visit is not yet implemented, we try to learn about the printer at trade shows. So we looked for the Neolt UV printer at the Sign Spain show (Madrid, mid-October 2006) but there was no NeoltJet UV printer there.

Now the newer Neolt printers are out, the Neolt SuperJet M series. This same new Neolt SuperJet M series is also available from Triangle (INX) as the Triangle Milano.

Here, Nicholas Hellmuth inspects the Grapo Octopus X4 recently (left). Also, in the ColorSpan site visit (right).

Many different prices ranges of UV-curable inkjet printers are available

comprehensive series of FLAAR Reports that cover the the new Gerber Solara UV2 printer, the ColorSpan 72 UVX (we have both an evaluation and also a site-visit case study), Flora1800 UV from China, the Raster Printers RP-720 UV and  Daytona clones of the Flora Chinese printer.

We also discuss the Oce UV printers, white UV ink in the Mimaki UV printers, and the Vutek PressVU UV printers on this large format site. 

At the high end we cover the Leggett & Platt Virtu, Durst Rho, Nur Tempo, and Inca-Sericol flatbed UV-curable inkjet printers on our sister site, wide-format-printers.org. But you can obtain longer reports on every brand and model of all UV-curable ink printers from www.wide-format-printers.NET.  

All FLAAR information is now in PDF format. We can pack much more information and many more color photos into a PDF format than is possible on the website. So please check out our over 197 publications on www.wide-format-printers.NET.

The NeoltJet 2500 was exhibited at FESPA Digital 2006 trade show this week in Amsterdam. All the comparable printers in the $100-175,000 price class were also shown here, the DuPont CromaPrint 22UV, the ColorSpan 9840 (shown for the first time worldwide at this trade show), the Grapo Octopus, the Agfa : Anapurna L and XL, Mutoh Cobra s65uv and s100uv printers, and the Eastech Scutum (GO Fuzion UV).

But one of these printers had serious issues. All the mechanics were spending hours at the printer. What if this printer was the one you decided to buy? So we discuss this kind of problem in the FLAAR Reports on the problematic brand. Each FLAAR Report is unique, and is based on knowledge of the pros and cons of each model, along with practical tips, and background information that is not available in any other source.

If you are about to spend over $100,000 on a new printer, it is certainly worth spending less than the cost of a single set of UV ink to learn (before you buy) things about each brand of printer that the manufacturer does not reveal in their brochures, advertising claims, or spec sheets.

For example: the Zund, Grapo Octopus, ColorSpan, Vutek, and Durst all use similar technology to move the material through the printer. But Neolt uses a different manner completely. It is not that one is better and the other is bad, but before you spend tons of money on any UV printer it will help your decision process to understand what is inside the machine (and does it work).

If you wish to see an even more innovative way of moving materials through a UV printer, look at the Zund 250 or the HP Scitex XP2100 and XP2700.

NEOLT booth at VISCOM Italy 2008.

 

 

Most recently updated March 18, 2008.

First posted November 2, 2004; updated November 25, 2005, updated May 16, 2006, October 30, 2006, June 2007.