The range comes in four options: ESSENTIAL, FOIL, PRO, and ULTIMATE
Embellishment Made Easy
We are always looking for the advantages of making print look better and from time to time there is even the need to make it feel better too. Whilst the tactile nature of products is not always a box that needs to be ticked, when it does, it needs to be right.
However, the use of UV spot varnish, foiling, and other types of embellishment can come at a cost which is why normally we see them only when the client can pay for the extra work required to produce tactile products.
As with almost all areas of the graphic industry, in-roads are being made to bring down the cost of being able to add value to the printed product. For sheet embellishments, Duplo has a range of machines that can add value to any sheet up to B2 in size.
The print element of the models can place the spot UV varnish with the use of Duplo’s Image Register Mark (IRM) system
The DuSense DDC-8000 range of machines brings spot UV, sheet treatment, and foiling to both offset lithographic and digital printed sheets. What is as impressive as the product itself is the fact the features can be added when your requirements change.
Four in One
Duplo clearly sees that it is important to ensure customers that their equipment is future-proofed and to this extent, you can add to a base machine three times resulting in the full scope of features despite starting out with a basic machine.
The first of the four configurations is the base unit called the ESSENTIAL which has feed and print capacity. The first step up is the additional foiling unit which upgrades the base machine to what is known as FOIL. The next step is to treat the sheet and this version is called PRO. The final step is to combine all processes in the ULTIMATE mode which combines feeding, treating, printing, and foiling.
Regardless of the version of the machine you opt to install, at the heart of the machine is a 600 x 600dpi printhead that can produce outstanding spot UV embellishment on a sheet.
The print element of the models can place the spot UV varnish with the use of Duplo’s Image Register Mark (IRM) system that is used throughout the range of machines they produce. IRM can hold a sheet to within 0.2mm meaning the placement of the embellishment can be completed into the tightest of placement.
At the heart of the machine is a 600 x 600dpi printhead that can produce outstanding spot UV embellishment on a sheet
One issue that can occur when you want to add spot UV is that when using more traditional methods, you are required to produce a forme or stereo of the image you need. If you want to change it, you need to re-make the aforesaid consumables.
With the DDC-8000 UV you can easily place and adjust the position and even thickness of the UV spot required through the use of a very user-friendly GUI. The profile of what you want to overcoat is prepared via a PDF and pulled down to the GUI. Move the sliders to the required position and the machine will lay down what is required for the spot and thickness meaning even one-off production can be given a lifelike feel.
This is all that is required and the machine will then decide the amount and position of the UV overcoat that is needed. The register marks on the side of the sheet will allow the printer to understand exactly what is needed and where, and lay down the UV coating where needed.
Being a digital machine, each sheet can have a different amount of coating laid down and you can make each sheet passing through the press unique should you wish. The Barcode Reader is used for variable data – a given for digital machines – and ensures that if required each sheet can be bespoke.
Although this is unlikely, so, for a larger number of sheets needing the same profile, the range of machines come with a 200mm feeder pile height which means a large number of sheets can be prepared even on the maximum weight of sheet at 600gsm.
Adding to the flexibility these printers can cope with are items like the Automatic Thickness Device (ATD) which ensures regardless of the sheet thickness, the heads are perfectly positioned so the UV spot varnish is correct for each thickness selected.
Foiling And Sheet Treatment
Should you select the FOIL or ULTIMATE option, the DDC-8000 B2 DuSense comes with a cold foiling unit. One of the major benefits of the cold foiling option is this will remove the need for laminating a finished product. The foiling unit will give you the spot UV and foil all in one pass.
If you select the PRO or ULTIMATE machine then you will be selecting the use of a Surface Treatment Unit (STU). The STU adds an electrical discharge to the sheet which reduces the surface tension of the substrate and allows a 10-micron capacity to be applied to the sheet, again reducing the need for post-production lamination.
The Surface Treatment Unit adds an electrical discharge to the sheet which reduces the surface tension of the substrate and allows a 10-micron capacity to be applied to the sheet”
Regardless of the variant you decide to select, you have two advantages that can only help strengthen your options for clients. These units can future-proof your business and as it changes you can add further units.
But most importantly with the benefit of variable data, you can have top-quality variable UV spot varnish for one or 100-plus sheets applied purely by the use of a PDF file. The intuitive GUI means any changes can be made with the movement of a slider on the touchscreen.
Previously, highly embellished products were the domain of blue-chip companies with bottomless budgets for printed materials, the Duplo DDC-8000 B2 DuSense series of machines makes this embellishment achievable for anyone requiring it.
Statistics
- Max sheet size: 585 x 1,068mm
- Resolution: 600 x 600dpi
- Max sheet weight: 600gsm
- Feeder capacity: 200mm
Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu
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