Managing director Andy Spreag said: “Visitors will be able to see print and finishing in the same place. On the first day people will be able to bring their own files and put an Agfa Anapurna through is paces.
“This will be the first time people in the UK will see the Mimaki JFX-500 industrial UV flatbed printer partnered with Zund cutting and finishing technology. It will also be a first for the Mimaki SUV printer and to see Agfa kit teamed up with Zund machines.”
He added: “A unique element is the showcase of i-Sub Digital’s exclusive range of Digi-Foil products. Digi-Foil allows users of the Mimaki UJF range of UV printers to produce foiled effects identical to traditional hot and cold foiling processes, but as one-offs.”
Spreag said the addition of foiled effects to mock-ups and proofs printed with the Mimaki UJF range would “increase the commercial opportunity” for printers.
“Previously, being unable to apply traditional foils to mock-ups, proofs and short-run production jobs without incurring the cost and time penalties of having dies made and time on the presses has been a frustration across all print sectors. Not any more,” he added.
Open days on 9-10 October at Agfa’s Leeds headquarters will centre around live demos of the Anapurna M2050 flatbed UV printer featuring six colours and white ink. The day will include automated finishing of print produced on the Anapurna on the Zund cutting system.
A second set of open days, in Crewe, Cheshire on 16-17 October, will involve six “demo hubs”: a Mimaki JFX-500 industrial UV flatbed printing partnered with Zund cutting and finishing; Mimaki textile printing; New Mimaki SUV and latex printers; Mimaki solvent printers; Mimaki desktop UV decor printers; and Mimaki cutting solutions.
The final open days, at Zund in St Albans, Herts, on dates to be confirmed in November, will flag up the latest Zund cutting and finishing systems.
“You might have printers with the capacity to produce many hundreds of metres of print every hour, but without the ability to finish the print ready for delivery, whatever print capacity you have at your disposal is never going to be fully utilised,” said Spreag.
Hampshire Flag Company recently installed a Zund G3 XL3200, said managing director Graham Wilkinson: “We have calculated that we would need to employ three more members of staff to cut textiles to replace the Zund machine when it is operating at maximum output.”
Spreag said: “The open days have been designed to provide a clear insight into the opportunities for growth in the emerging markets that are being serviced by the latest developments in wide-format digital print equipment.”
Contact I-Sub on 01536 415511