Anapurna Ciervo H3200: Deploying Agility as Standard

Agfa is showing the latest in its long line of printers in the Anapurna range at The Print Show and the name of the new machine has been carefully chosen. Like all good model names, it strives to capture all of the attributes of the device in a single word.

Agfa christened the new 3.2m-wide hybrid printer ‘Ciervo’ which is Spanish for ‘Deer’ for very good reasons. The Anapurna Ciervo has great agility and can nimbly switch from rigid to flexible substrates and from multi to single images across a wide range of formats needed for signage and other display products. It quietly goes about printing a range of different products on a wide scope of materials.

Rigid or flexible substrates can be seamlessly fed into the printer ensuring production almost without pauses

The machine is clearly not small, with a maximum printable width of 3.2 metres, but working around and with it is simple and easy due to the clean and well thought out design you would expect from Agfa.

The Anapurna range is close to approaching 20 years in age, which is testament to the quality products we have come to expect from the inkjet specialist.

The heart of the machine has to be the shuttle beam of rigid welded construction as it needs to span the 3.2-metre substrate width with minimum sag or distortion.

Any changes in height across the width of the material will bring about changes in colour. These may be small in nature but the overall effect will be seen in colour changes when viewed from a distance.
To ensure all colours are accurately deposited along the large span, the printhead moves along recirculating ball linear bearings.

All this impressive equipment is enclosed within a sleek enclosure with plenty of access windows if you should need to check the condition of the substrate or printhead.

Providing the Colour

The inkjet heads are provided by Konica Minolta and use UV-cured inks which can be deposited onto the substrate up to a resolution of 720 x 1400dpi. Speeds again show agility and nimbleness reflecting back on the deer reference. In Express mode, the production values are up to 130 m2/min and in High Quality mode up to an output value of 18 m2/min.

The inks themselves are of a patented design which Agfa refers to as ‘Thin Ink Layer’ technology. This means the inks are highly pigmented which allows them to be laid down thinly without using excessive amounts of fluid. The final part of the wide gamut of colour available on the Anapurna Ciervo is the algorithms used in the Asanti workflow software. Agfa claims the combination of Thin Ink Layer and software mean the Anapurna Ciervo has the lowest ink consumption of most printers on the market.

The inks themselves carry the GREENGUARD GOLD standard making them some of the safest inks on the market, making little to no impact on operators and end-users alike but still giving a wide range of colours and dark solid tones. The inks are supplied via a smart ink management system and can be supplied in CMYK, light magenta, and cyan, along with white.

The Anapurna Ciervo monitors the use of the inks in the smart ink management system as and when refills or top ups are needed; this means access to each colour is simple and easy to accomplish. As for the white ink, due to the nature of the pigmentation, the supply system is kept totally separate from the other inks.

The white is ‘managed’ within this system, not just held ready to be deployed. Thanks to the system’s stirring functionality the white ink is kept in motion meaning the white inks are in their most optimum condition through the printer’s integral agitating mechanisms.

Feeding the Beast

When it comes to the feeding of the substrates, again, Agfa is on top of this aspect of the machine and the agility characteristics are apparent once more. You can run a wide range of both flexible and rigid board that will make the production of indoor and outdoor signage a simple task.

As for flexible materials, the limiting factor on length is the weight and diameter of the roll which can be up to 100kg in weight, on a 75mm reel bar. A media roll diameter of 300mm is standard as a maximum size (a 500mm roll is also possible) but the weight distribution needs to be managed.

Coupled with this is the ability to use dual rolls if the production suits this type of set up. The maximum width of the dual roll function is 1.52 metres however should you need to change between modes, the process is simplicity itself.

Should the job call for rigid production, the agility is apparent yet again. Switching from reel-fed production to sheet-fed is as simple as clipping in place a series of media tables which can be adjusted to suit different sizes.

Embedded into the GUI is the registration system which ensures each sheet is placed in the same place each time. Media registration and printhead adjustment are accomplished via the user-friendly control panel. Securing the sheet is completed by the Anapurna Ciervo with intelligently controlled vacuum zones which change and adapt to whatever size sheet is being used.

One of the downsides of sheet feed production is the need to place each sheet on the table to allow the printhead to pass over and print the image required. So that the machine can maximise the production volumes needed for a busy print shop, the Anapurna Ciervo has an automated feeder system.

Each sheet or set of sheets are secured on the feeder table when required, they are then advanced under a feeder bar up to the register system ahead of the machine. As the sheets are taken into the printer, the second set of sheets can be prepared so they are seamlessly fed once the first are printed. A repeat of the process takes care of the outgoing sheet, which due to the UV curing system is dry and mark free.

It's clear from the details of this latest release that Agfa will feel confident the Anapurna Ciervo can continue the long and proud traditions of other printers in this range.

Statistics

Production speeds Express Mode: Up to 130 m²/h (1,399 ft²/h)
Production Mode: Up to 66 m²/h (710 ft²/h)
Standard Mode: Up to 35 m²/h (377 ft²/h)
High Quality Mode: Up to 18 m²/h (194 ft²/h)
Inks C,M,Y,K,lc,Lm,W
Resolution 720 x 1400dpi
Substrates Flexible: up to 3,200mm wide min 0.2mm thick
Rigid: 3,200mm x 1440mm or 3,200mm with
table ext. 1 to 42mm thick

Brian Sims, principal consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu