Flexible, New Ink Formulation from EFI Creates Soft Signage Success for Orbus Exhibit & Display Group

FREMONT, CA—October 23, 2014—EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, announced that Orbus Exhibit & Display Group has developed faster, high-quality fabric-printing capabilities for the growing "soft signage" market using a newly purchased EFI VUTEk GS3250LXr Pro LED printer running SuperFlex Ink from EFI and 3M.

The productivity and capabilities the Woodridge, IL-based company gains with its 3.2m, roll-to-roll VUTEk GS3250LXr Pro LED printer and SuperFlex inks provide a distinct advantage. Orbus, which already uses traditional UV and dye-sub inkjet printers, is a leading provider of tradeshow products and graphics. But, UV inkjet inks are not flexible enough for fabric-printed soft signage designed to be folded and stored for re-use, and the company's dye-sub printers present throughput capacity challenges. The new VUTEk printer and ink have helped Orbus meet increased demand for high-quality, reusable, backlit fabric applications.

Opening new avenues in the soft signage market
"Soft signage is an important part of Orbus's offering in the tradeshow industry, and with the new VUTEk printer and inks, we are able to replace an older, dye-sub printer with a faster, high-quality system," said Jamie Herand, vice president of graphic operations for the Orbus Exhibit & Display Group. "SuperFlex Ink opens new avenues for us in soft signage. It gives us more vibrant color and it doesn't crack the way traditional UV inks do."

Frank Mallozzi, EFI's senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, added: "The R&D investment EFI has made, working with 3M, to develop a superior, highly flexible ink, brings our industry-leading LED inkjet technology into new applications that make our customers more profitable and more productive. Orbus, one of the country's leading providers of exhibit display graphics, is moving the industry forward with this application of new, superwide-format inkjet print technology."

Available for EFI's 3.2m VUTEk GS3250LXr Pro LED and 5m VUTEk GS5500LXr Pro LED roll-to-roll inkjet printers, SuperFlex Ink provides an extended color gamut and can withstand greater than 150 percent elongation. The ink is ideal for fabric-printed soft signage, vehicle wraps, outdoor graphics and other applications requiring exceptional flexibility and durability. EFI "cool cure" LED technology on Orbus's new printer cures ink at a lower temperature than other curing or drying methods, giving Orbus the ability to print on fabrics, films and other flexible media that cannot withstand high heat.

With close to 400 of its "cool cure" printers installed worldwide, EFI is the industry leader in industrial inkjet LED, a greener, energy-efficient technology that can reduce users' environmental footprint while reducing costs. Energy assessments carried out by industry association Fogra have shown that EFI's VUTEk superwide-format printers with LED curing can reduce energy consumption by up to 82 percent when compared with devices that use conventional mercury arc lamps.

EFI is presenting its EFI VUTEk GS-series LED printers and SuperFlex Ink this week at the 2014 SGIA Expo in Las Vegas. A video demo of SuperFlex Ink's unique characteristics is available online at: http://youtu.be/rSsg03ednDM.

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.