New Uvistar roll to roll printer from Fujifilm

Keith Harley, European marketing director at Fujifilm Sericol, says: “The billboard industry is on the cusp of a major makeover, and traditionally-pasted billboards will be replaced in the coming few years with state of the art frame holders in which a poster printed on woven polyethylene (PE) can be clipped or stretched. Several systems are already on the market, and the demand from media sites is set to grow exponentially.”

Looking for the right technology to answer printers’ needs for single skin posters to fit the new format, the Uvistar series has been developed from a relationship that was initiated by Fujifilm with inkjet printer manufacturer Matan at FESPA Digital in 2009.

Customers will be able to print huge outdoor banners on PE media which is already starting to overtake PVC. PE material has the benefit of being much more environmentally friendly than PVC as well as weighing much less, which brings attractive cost saving benefits to end users. In addition, it eliminates the pasting process necessary with traditional billboards, and therefore has a positive impact on health and safety. As solvent inks do not adhere to PE materials, printers will need to adopt a UV offering to stay ahead in the marketplace.

The five metre, 32 head version of the Uvistar printer is available for customer demonstrations at Fujifilm Sericol’s facility in Broadstairs, UK.