EFI introduced its new new fabric soft signage printer with inline sublimation, the EFI Vutek FabriVU 340i at this month’s Fespa Global Expo in Berlin.
EFI says the aqueous dispersed dye-sublimation printer features a new platen and extraction system that enables inline heat press sublimation directly from the printer.
Ken Hanulec, vice president of marketing at EFI Inkjet, says, “Our new inline innovation for this product line creates direct-to-fabric prints that are immediately ready for finishing or shipping. By combining two major production steps into one continuous process our customers can drive greater throughput and take full advantage of the rapidly growing soft signage and fabric printing market.”
“EFI has just sold our first Vutek 340i printer, and it has taken us to a significant milestone, as it is the 100th Vutek FabriVU aqueous soft-signage printer sold worldwide.”
Irish company CoverUpOperations, the first to purchase the 340i model printer, chose it to grow its soft signage capabilities. Anthony Byrne, director at CoverUp Operations says, “We were looking to increase our soft signage printing capacity with a reliable printer with inline fixation. We flew to EFI Reggiani in Italy to see one of the very first Vutek FabriVU 340i demos, and found the printer to be a significant upgrade in terms of image quality, productivity and reliability compared to our existing fabric printers. The addition of this latest technology from EFI is going to give us a significant competitive advantage in our marketplace.”
EFI says the new printer provides the quality of EFI Vutek FabriVU aqueous dispersed dye-sub printing with sublimation completed in-line at fast production speeds. Customers who occasionally need to print to transfer paper and then sublimate offline can use a special direct-to-paper mode on the 340i model for printing only.
The company believes its customers will gain greater convenience and value with the new offering because of its price and smaller footprint.
