Neolt S.p.A. UV printers, SuperJet M-Series 2050, 2500, and 3200

In their Notizie (News) section, the most recent news is their SuperJet UV, presented at Visual Communication Italia 2006. The Neolt SuperJet UV has 16 heads and comes in three widths/models 2050, 2500, and 3200 (81, 99, and 126 inches).

But these have never been sold in the US, despite the fact that the first Neolt UV printer was indeed introduced at a US trade show several years ago (SGIA, autumn 2004). I did not notice this printer at ISA 2007 but the Neolt booth was so buried off on the edge that I never saw it in three days inspection of all the other dozens of UV printer I did find. I am assuming Neolt showed only their cutters.

Here is Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth analyzing the Neolt SuperJet 3200 UV printer Viscom Duesseldorf trade show, 2005.

Sample printer by the Neolt SuperJet 3200.

Evaluation, Reviews, Price & Cost comparisons

The first question will be, what is new on the printer other than adding more printheads? Is it now a combo printer? Or is it still the old hybrid design?

The Neolt SuperJet M 2050, 2500, and 3200 are hybrid designs. So is the Triangle Milano, made in the same factory but sold by Triangle (INX).

Neolt SuperJet UV 2050 at FESPA Digital 2006.

The Neolt SuperJet UV 3200 was exhibited at FESPA trade show 2005.

There is nothing wrong with either, but hybrid style tends to be for entry-level (ColorSpan 5440uvseries, as an example). Most UV printers that cost $80,000 or over use a combo system. Even the newest Dilli and IP&I machines use combo attributes (“combo” means it has a transport belt; “hybrid” means it has a flat platen and the material is moved by the action of pinch rollers against grit rollers, as in traditional solvent-based inkjet printers).

The Grapo Octopus is a combo design, as but one example out of dozens that could be listed. www.wide-format-printers.net, in the link to UV at the right, in the drop-down menu, it lists all combo style and all hybrid style UV printers, so you can more fully understand this.

But as an example of that the exception proves the rule, the new Keundo SupraQ 3300-UV has a hybrid platen with pinch rollers over grit rollers. This is expected at this size.

Neolt SuperJet 2500 at Fespa 2007

The second question will be how do these Neolt SuperJet M-Series UV 2050, 2500, and 3200 compare, feature-by-feature to new competitors worldwide

Grapo is a competitor throughout Europe. FLAAR has been the guest at Grapo headquarters, factory and main demo room in the Czech Republic for several days. So we know the Grapo Octopus and Grapo Manta inside out. We have two FLAAR Reports on these printers.

A more active competitor would be the MacDermid ColorSpan models: the ColorSpan 9840uv offers a combo transport belt (similar to quarter-million-dollar systems, but the 9840 costs only about $150,000.

For entry level there are now four new ColorSpan 5440uv series machines. FLAAR has been guest at the MacDermid factory to inspect first the 9840uv and then again several months later to inspect the 5440uv series. Very impressive hardware and software, especially if ease-of-use is paramount.

At FESPA 2007 several additional new printers will be released. We are under NDA so can’t name the brands or model designations until FESPA opens. But the point is that competition is fierce, especially if you add the three Korean brands: Dilli, IP&I, and Keundo (yes, Keundo has had a UV printer under development for several years now; just that they have intelligently not shown an alpha-stage or beta-stage product to the public yet).

Samples printed by the Neolt SuperJet M-Series printers

The previous Neolt UV printers were the NEOLTJET UV 1800, 2500, and 3200

Neolt SuperJet 2500

Then they dropped the NEOLTJET 1800 and replaced it with the NEOLTJET UV 2050 (the models 2500 and 3200 continue). I have inspected them at FESPA 2005, Viscom Italy 2005, FESPA 2006 and several other European trade shows.

At FESPA ’07 Berlin we inspected the new Neolt SuperJet M-Series UV 2050, 2500, and 3200 but to really be able to write an evaluation-review, it will be necessary to be at the factory and demo center of Neolt headquarters.

We have already been to the factory of MacDermid ColorSpan, GRAPO, Gandinnovations, Inca, NUR Macroprinters, Vutek, Zund, which is why the reports on these printers are readily available.