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Grapo Manta UV dedicated flatbed printer

Here is Nicholas Hellmuth in his site-visit with the GRAPO Manta.

The Grapro Manta was shown at the Reklama-Polygraf fair, in Prague. I was giving a 3-day UV printer workshop in Athens and out on the Aegean island of Hydra testing a Canon EOS 5D camera those days, so could not be in the Czech Republic. But later it was possible to inspect the Manta extensively.

A Grapo news release for Sept 20, 2005 states that the printer would be at Viscom in Italy, but if it was there, it was well hidden (the show had so many students that it was a challenge to see equipment).

Since the Manta was tough to study at hectic trade shows, the Grapo staff invited FLAAR to visit their factory in the Czech Republic in 2006 and then for another three days during summer 2008. So for

Grapo Manta UV that we saw and photographed in the Bedigital booth at FESPA Digital trade show, May 2006. We will be able to learn much more about this interesting UV-curable flatbed printer when we visit the Grapo factory in the Czech Republic after Photokina trade show. It is important to document that this printer is Made in Europe. It is not made in China. Plus, tech support is also provided by Bedigital if you buy it from Bedigital (in those countries that this company covers).

day after day it was possible to inspect the Grapo Manta and the Grapo Octopus inside-out, since we could study them along the assembly line.

As a result we are substantially updating our reports on these printers for autumn 2008. Unfortunately, so far there has been no opportunity to undertake a site-visit case study since GRAPO does not have distributors in the US, Canada, or really for Latin America either. But as soon as we land in a city in Europe that has a GRAPO Manta flatbed, it is essential to visit and take notes. But so far the reputation for this Manta flatbed is better than some of the other flatbeds; the Mimaki JF-1631, for example, has innumerable minor issues. All the problems of the Mimaki are explained in the FLAAR Reports on this printer.

Other UV-curable Factory Visits

The first company that realized the importance of arranging a factory visit was actually Raster Printers. We spent a week there. As a result our FLAAR Reports on this printer is among our most comprehensive.

Then MacDermid ColorSpan arranged for us to visit their factory in Minneapolis . Everything we learned here made it possible to prepare a through report on the ColorSpan 9840 uv.

We are now waiting for visits to the factories of other UV-curable inkjet printers. The invitation has already arrived to visit the factory of the Sun/Inca FastJet. Earlier this year (2008) a visit to the two Durst factories has resulted in two new reports (see vertical column of free reports).

FLAAR Reports now available on other dedicated flatbed UV-curable printers

More and more manufacturers are producing dedicated roll-to-roll or dedicated flatbed printers. This reminds us that a hybrid machine can't be perfect at both roll-fed and rigid material. There is no hybrid vigor in UV-printer design like there is in evolution, where a hybrid may be better than its progenitors. So far, a dedicated flatbed handles flat, thick, and rigid materials better than any hybrid (a ColorSpan 5240uv; HP Designjet 45500 now).

FLAAR Reports are available from www.wide-format-printers.NET on
•   Gandinnovations Jeti flatbed (two reports: evaluation and site-visit)
•   Inca Spyder 150
•   Inca Spyder 320
•   Inca Columbia
•   Luscher JetPrint (two reports: evaluation and site-visit)
•   Mimaki JF-1631 and JF-1610
•   NUR Tempo, Tempo II and Tempo Q (eval combined with notes from site-visit). This flatbed is now the HP Scitex FB6100.
•  Oce Arizona 250 GT

We do not have an update PDF on the Scitex Vision VEEjet+ (HP Scitex FB6300) since we lack information on this particular printer and thus few of our readers ask about it. The next version of this old ex-Sias Digital printer was supposed to be named the HP Scitex FB6500. But none of the HP Scitex printers that were announced at Barcelona in Sept. 2006 ever appeared (because the X2 MEMS printhead had too many issues).

Now (since October 2007), a curious new competitor has been launched, the Gerber Solara ion dedicated flatbed printer. Recently another flatbed competitor appeared on the market, the TeckStorm from Teckwin.

Free Download

The advantage of the GRAPO Manta is that this is a serious production printer. GRAPO is a printshop (literally, they print banners, billboards, and POP signage). GRAPO designs and manufacturers the Manta to produce its own signage. This is the only flatbed printer in the world that is made by a sign shop. So they make sure that their own printer is functional yet reasonably priced.

No matter what brand of UV flatbed you select, a cutter will be necessary too

To finish your UV print you will eventually need a flatbed cutter. These are available from

• Zund
• Kongsberg
• Gerber M-series
• Mimaki CF-series

The Grapo Manta UV dedicated flatbed printer at FESPA Digital trade show 2006.

Manta flatbed UV printer reviews

The Manta flatbed is outselling the Mimaki JF-1631 flatbed because of more reliable engineering on the Manta. You can obtain the FLAAR Reports on the Mimaki from our separate web site where all of the hundreds of FLAAR Reports can be ordered. When you compare the Mimaki JF-1631 with the GRAPO Manta flatbed UV printer you see an easier cleaning system on the Manta as well. There are also advantages to the printhead used in the Manta and several flukes in the Toshiba Tec head in the Mimaki (again, discussed in the Mimaki JF-1631 report from FLAAR).

The GRAPO Manta flatbed UV printer have a easier cleaning system. FESPA Amsterdam 2009.

First posted April 17, 2006, updated May 29, 2006, October 30, 2006, Oct 9, 2007. Updated May 12, 2008, July 14, 2008 after visiting factory a second time.