Hatteras Advances in Point-of-Purchase Display Market with EFI VUTEk LED Printer

FREMONT, CA—February 5, 2015—EFI announced that Tinton Falls, NJ-based printing company Hatteras has installed a roll-to-roll EFI VUTEk GS5500LXr Pro LED inkjet printer with UltraDrop Technology.

“Superwide-format inkjet has been a strong driver of organic growth for us, as well as a point of entry for new accounts,” explained Bill Duerr, Hatteras’s president. “With the growth opportunities we have, we felt we needed more firepower and the new VUTEk LED printer is taking those efforts to the next level.”

With its fast production speeds, its 5-meter width and its multi-roll production capabilities, the new printer is especially useful in retail point-of-purchase display work, as it gives Hatteras the ability to reduce turnaround time on large, nationwide signage campaigns the company produces for leading retailers and beverage companies. Plus, the VUTEk printer’s “cool cure” LED imaging capabilities—which emit virtually no VOCs and require substantially less heat and energy compared to latex or conventional UV inkjet—help Hatteras meet requests for greener, more sustainable printing.

“Our clients and prospects are all looking for innovation and sustainability at a reasonable price point,” Duerr noted. “This new printer gives us the best cost-effective solution to offer them. And when we show our customers the printer’s high quality with UltraDrop and 1,000 dpi imaging, it really catches their attention.”

UltraDrop Technology—a native 7-picoliter, multi-drop print head array on the new printer Hatteras installed—is EFI’s latest-generation imaging platform. UltraDrop’s four-level grayscale and two ink density levels in each dot position provide high apparent resolution and high-definition quality. Plus, users gain outstanding smoothness in shadows, gradients and transitions; superb text quality even on four-point and knockout text; fewer stray “satellite” droplets; and greater clarity in all print modes.

Greater value than latex: Versatility and value with SuperFlex Ink
Hatteras is using new SuperFlex Ink from EFI and 3M on its new printer. The ink can withstand 150 percent elongation, a unique capability that creates better production options for applications requiring exceptional stretching and durability. At Hatteras, SuperFlex Ink creates an opportunity to replace latex inkjet work with more-economical LED printing. Latex inkjet printers, Duerr explained, can be more expensive to operate because of energy usage and consumables pricing. With SuperFlex Ink, the new VUTEk printer at Hatteras produces the same types of jobs the company printed on latex—such as fleet wraps—at a lower cost.

Hatteras’s new printer also runs a number of textiles, so the company can move into adjacent markets by offering a wide range of economical, fabric-printed soft signage products.

“Our continuous effort to evolve with the demands of the marketplace and expand our service offering has lead us to the purchase of our new EFI VUTEk printer,” Duerr stated. “This printer, with its LED and high-end UltraDrop imaging features, allows us to increase our production capabilities and opens up our capacity significantly. We are thrilled with the purchase and feel it will serve as a foundation for future growth into the retail market while allowing us to provide our clients with a superior product and innovative applications that align with their sustainability initiatives.”

“Hatteras is taking advantage of the latest and greatest advancements available in LED inkjet printing with this new installation,” said Frank Mallozzi, EFI’s senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. “Bill Duerr’s strategic move to reduce costs and open new markets with this purchase reflects the ways EFI stays dedicated to fueling our customers’ success.”

About EFI
EFI is a worldwide provider of products, technology and services leading the transformation of analog to digital imaging. Based in Silicon Valley, with offices around the globe, the company's powerful integrated product portfolio includes digital front-end servers; superwide, wide-format, label and ceramic inkjet presses and inks; production workflow, Web-to-print and business automation software; and office, enterprise and mobile cloud solutions. These products allow users to produce, communicate and share information in an easy and effective way, and enable businesses to increase their profits, productivity and efficiency.

Source: EFI.