Nicholas Hellmuth inspects factory where Grapo Octopus X4 is manufactured.

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GRAPO Octopus X4, a UV-curable flatbed printer at moderate price.

At DRUPA 2004 in the Xaar booth we have spoken with the printer manufacturer's representative. The floor model at DRUPA was sold already to a company in Spain. While I was in the booth I could not help but see eager buyers from the US, especially sign shops that needed more than one UV-flatbed. But the Grapo Octopus X4 BIG does not yet have a distributor or tech support in the US . Besides, there is competition at this price range from the Dilli, IP&P Cube, and especially from the popular entry-level ColorSpan 72UVR and UVX and now the ColorSpan 9840uv and 5440uv-series. For 2008, the competition of HP ColorSpan will be even more intense.

Now that we have visited the factory in the Czech Republic we can certify the quality of their production, we are updating our FLAAR Reports on the Grapo Octopus flatbed printer. Frankly what we saw of the mechanical parts of this printer, it looked more reliable than more expensive printers from mainland China. For example, the Czech-made Grapo Octopus X4 uses German engineering technology. But if this can’t overcome banding defects, whether it is German is not much help. Again, if you did not have the FLAAR Reports you might not know the pros and cons of this printer.

GRAPO has, so far, not exhibited at SGIA, ISA, or any comparable trade show in the US . I did not see them at Photokina 2004 in Germany either. So I was curious to see if GRAPO exhibited their Octopus UV-cured ink flatbed printer at FESPA in Munich , May 31- June 4, 2005.

Actually GRAPO was displayed in two booths at FESPA. The most helpful of these was the Bedigital booth, where the GRAPO was shown as the bedigital domino. But GRAPO also sells direct. We provide lots more information in our updated FLAAR Reports on the GRAPO Octopus. Our most recent updates to the FLAAR Reports on the GRAPO Octopus come from a trade show in Portugal in March 2006 (Dr Hellmuth was an invited lecturer at this show, on the subject of UV-curable inkjet printers). At IPEX the prototype GRAPO Manta was shown (but again, still nothing from GRAPA at US trade shows).

So before you make your final decision, be sure to get your hands on all the FLAAR Reports on UV-cured ink flatbed printers. Where else can you obtain handy reports by an inquisitive professor who has personally seen virtually every UV-cured ink flatbed printer in the world. If you see what we have learned (see lower on this web page), you can understand why the FLAAR Reports are essential BEFORE deciding which UV printer to consider.

With a few clicks of your mouse, you can obtain results of years of Prof Hellmuth’s penetrating scrutiny of UV-cured ink printers, the differences between Xaar and Spectra printheads, and why Mimaki and ColorSpan each use totally different heads (ToshibaTec and Ricoh-Hitachi).

Ahhh, all the things that a simple spec sheet does not reveal to you. All this meat is in the FLAAR Reports on UV wide format printers.

FLAAR Reports cover all UV printers in this entry-level and mid-range price: NEOLTjet, Dilli-D.G.I., ColorSpan 72UVX, Gerber (Spandex) Solara UV2, and Zund 215.

We also cover the mid-range: $100,000 to $175,000: Dilli Neo, Agfa M: Anapurna X and XL, Eastech, Fuzion, IP&I Cube, etc.


Whereas most UV-curable inks can't produce true reds, the GRAPO Octopus seems to handle them quite well.

Here you can see that this machine is not jerry-rigged in China. It is designed and assembled in Europe, with the quality you expect from a European company.		Below is a selection of diverse materials that this printer can handle. Their list is as diverse as the Zund and Vutek

Issues with the GRAPO transport belt, typical of all brands of UV-combo style printers

A hybrid style printer has a flat (non-moving) platen and pinch rollers working on top of grit or drive rollers. A combo style printer has a transport belt (conveyor belt) instead of grit or drive rollers (the drive roller is under the belt and is what makes it move). A combo style printer tends to have a vacuum-assisted system to hold the material down onto the belt. Rudimentary belts have a fan-based vacuum; more sophisticated printers have an air pump system (Durst, ColorSpan 9840uv, VUTEk, etc.).

But most UV printer transport belts have issues: they are okay for moving some materials, but not adequate for moving other materials. Ask anyone who has a VUTEk, DuPont or other printer with a combo transport belt. They will almost all complain of issues: either the belt gets out of shape and has to be replaced, or some heavy materials skew noticeably, or they otherwise are clearly not perfect in all situations. The owner of one DuPont Cromaprint 22 had to replace his belt four times (DuPont did this at no charge, and then DuPont replaced either the material or the manufacturer and has resolved the worst aspects of this weakest feature of a combo style printer). But please note, this issue is not limited to DuPont, and at least they have reacted energetically. After all, if a printer is down, it can't use ink. So manufacturers (especially chemical companies) have plenty of incentive to make their printers function better

This issue has been present all along, but no trade magazine and no other industry entity has mentioned the deficiencies of combo-style transport belts. So FLAAR is unique in doing research and trying to assist all sides of the issue to improve the situation: assisting manufacturers to design and build more reliable transport belts, and alerting end-users that they need to be more realistic in understanding the blunt facts of UV printer design. Now you know why Gandinnovations refuses to even offer a combo system: Gandy offers only a dedicated flatbed and a dedicated roll-to-roll. By DRUPA '08 you will see that other major manufacturers, who today offer only combo systems, but 2008 they will also be offering dedicated flatbeds and dedicated roll-to-roll printers.

FLAAR now offers documentation on these issues in our new report on the Zund UVjet 250-Combi, on an update on the GRAPO Octopus. Anyone, either end-user or manufacturer, who wants to learn what are the better transport belts, should read the FLAAR Reports of the IP&I Cube260 and the separate FLAAR Report on the Cube 1606 (based on three days at the factory including site-visits of two printshops that had IP&I UV combo transport belt printers).

Our updated report on the GRAPO Octupus includes painful details of an end-user in Australia who had unresolved issues with the transport belt on his GRAPO Octopus. This has occasioned a buyer's advisory. This does not mean it is a bad printer, but does mean the buyer needs to be advised about the limitations. Actually this printer was originally made primarily for handling roll-fed material for banners, billboards, and general signage.

During 2008, if it is possible to visit the GRAPO factory again, and if we can obtain documentation that all the issues have been resolved, we will update and revise our evaluations. Such a visit would also make it possible to comment on the improved printheads now being used. Between the time the original GRAPO first came out, and today, most UV printer manufacturers have dropped the old style heads and have switched to newer and better heads.

Most recently updated Jan 17, 2008.

First posted May 18, 2004, Previously updated June 29, 2004; updated July 6, 2004, updated May 12, 2005, updated June 23, 2005, November 28, 2005. Updated April 6, 2006, April 17, 2006, Oct 30, 2006, July 18, 2007, Nov. 25, 2007.