Autobond to Launch Two New Inkjet Spot UV Machines at drupa
DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND—April 2, 2012—At drupa 2012, the innovative spot UV technology developed by U.K.-based manufacturer Autobond will make its European exhibition debut. Visitors to the Autobond stand (Hall 11, Stand A23) will be able to see the popular LED inkjet spot UV technology, which enables lamination and spot UV varnishing is one pass inline.
The first of the inkjet spot UV machines on the stand will be the Mini 36 SD TPM-36 SUV, a 36 x 74 cm* thermal perfector laminator with PSA magnet lamination and in-line inkjet spot UV machine.
In addition to the Mini 36 TPM-36 SUV, Autobond will debut a new off-line spot UV machine at drupa - the 52 SUV-SDF, a B2 portrait inkjet spot UV machine with Heidelberg-Stahl suction drum feeder.
Announced at Ipex in 2010 but not exhibited due to Gilmore’s attention to detail, Autobond’s inkjet spot UV technology was properly launched in May 2011. Gilmore explains, “We had aimed to launch this machine at Ipex, but it just wasn’t ready and I don’t like the idea of taking ‘concepts’ to big exhibitions. I have waited 56 years to launch a spot UV machine so another 12 months didn’t seem a lot to me.”
The machine incorporates Autobond’s inkjet LED spot UV technology, enabling long and short runs to be laminated with a matt film and then spot varnished—all in one single pass inline. It offers the potential to apply striking gloss effects to short runs of business cards, book covers, brochures, and more.
The 36 SUV was designed run in-line with Autobond’s laminators. After being fed through the laminator, the sheets are separated. They then deliver into a side-lay for registration before being passed through under the inkjet heads, where sheets are held completely flat by a vacuum belt as a detector registers their position. The side-by-side print-heads apply between 1 and 7 drops per dot of varnish (depending on the order) with stunning registration accuracy so high that all seven drops could be printed exactly on to a full stop.