Sun Chemical launches SolarJet

Sun Chemical has unveiled SolarJet, its latest generation UV inkjet printer designed specifically to benefit the growing short-run, narrow-web labels market, for the first time at Labelexpo Europe.

Built in partnership with Imaging Technology International (iTi) of Colorado, USA, SolarJet offers an solution for printers and converters that allows printers to produce shorter print runs quickly, cost effectively and without sacrificing quality, says the company. This is increasingly relevant to the pharmaceutical, health and beauty, industrial, electronics and FMCG markets, where printed products are updated frequently, and therefore, run lengths need to be shorter to reduce wastage.

Stefan Slembrouck, business manager Digital Print Solutions, Sun Chemical Digital, said: ‘We have designed SolarJet to fill a specific gap in the narrow-web labels market. SolarJet offers printers an economically viable solution for print runs of 10,000 labels or fewer, freeing up their flexo presses for the higher-volume jobs.  It also has the added benefit of being able to print variable data, such as text and barcodes, which is particularly beneficial in Europe, where products may need to be printed in various languages.

‘By investing in a digital solution such as SolarJet, printers that have traditionally run a high-volume flexo operation can increase their turnover by offering short-run, quick turnaround jobs that were previously beyond their capabilities. It is a complementary technology that exploits the strengths of digital printing, while bridging the gap in conventional printing processes.’

SolarJet’s inks dispersion system is equipped with the latest generation Xaar 760 printheads in CMYK, which achieve an apparent print quality of 900 x 900 dpi. Sun Chemical has also developed SolarDot pigmented UV inks, which have been designed specifically to optimize performance and deliver reliable, high-quality print on a range of substrates.

The press can print at a speed of up to 25 meters (80 linear feet) per minute and is designed to fit seamlessly into conventional workflows. It offers print widths from 53mm to 160 mm (2.1 to 6.3 inches) to meet the application requirements of converters, and utilize their existing inventory of dies and converting equipment.