Buskro launches modular Argo inkjet platform

Buskro has launched Argo, the first printhead module of a new modular digital print architecture called the Argo-Verse, designed to be configured around each customer's production requirement rather than built around a fixed machine specification.

Argo scales in print width, color configuration and physical orientation, running either standalone or integrated into an existing conveyor or production line. Available in monochrome, spot-color, two-color and full CMYK configurations, the system jets horizontally or vertically at 10 mm from the substrate. Buskro's Compose 360 software sits behind the printhead, and the company said the software layer will ultimately differentiate the platform as much as the hardware.

The modular architecture allows converters to start with a configuration justified by current production volume and expand in width, color or surrounding process capability without discarding the original hardware investment. Entry systems are currently targeted below 50,000 EUR, with a one-meter CMYK bar targeted below 400,000 EUR, subject to configuration scope including transport, drying, ink delivery and installation.

A near-term collaboration with drying specialist adphos integrates a dedicated drying module directly with the Argo Node for water-based ink applications on substrates including wood, paper, corrugated and folding carton. Buskro's variable-data heritage also extends the platform into visual quality inspection and traceability, combining print with RFID and other identification technologies for verification and downstream process control.

'Rather than asking where a given machine can be used, Buskro starts with the production requirement,' the company said. 'From there, the right system is assembled from standardized building blocks with defined mechanical, electrical and software relationships.'