UV flatbed printers are moving in on the screen printing industry

Graphic Impact is the leader in high quality digital printing of signs and banners in Tucson. Here is our secret to why we are a leader in the industry.

UV flatbed printers are moving in on the screen printing industry. We found the The Acuity HD 2504 offers you the latest breakthrough in wide format UV digital imaging technology. Specifically designed for print applications requiring fine detail, high resolution images, the Acuity HD 2504 delivers both rigid and flexible point-of-purchase signage that hold up visually, even at the closest of viewings. At the heart of the Acuity HD 2504 is a new imaging technology that enables each print head to produce variable size dots as opposed to traditional fixed-droplets. The printer’s ability to jet droplets as fine as 6 picoleter produces sharp, precise images with smoother transitions and quarter tones: while jetting larger droplets up to 30 picoleter delivers denser, more uniform solid image areas. The result is image quality usually seen at resolutions of 1,200 dpi or higher with crisper, more legible type, even as low as 6pt. Smoother skin tones. Finer line definition. Plus the best solid color coverage of any other printer in its class.

Well it is not going to threaten any screen shop as of now, but in the coming years it will begin to take a chunk out of the lucrative short run market that they use to monopolize. It will still be cheaper to go to screen printing or litho for runs in excess of several hundred pieces, but if you are only running prototype graphics, or need to have a print on demand system with variable data or custom graphics for each site you may want to look into direct to substrate UV flatbed printers.

What is the advantage of going digital?

The advantage of this solution is that you can print directly to just about any substrate in 1 pass. The full color image is applied all at once to the surface, and once it exits the machine it is ready to be cut, and packaged for shipping. Traditionally graphics had to be printed, then laminated. Once the pieces was laminated if it did not already have an adhesive layer on the backside one needed to be applied, and then it could be decaled to a substrate. Each one of these steps makes for 1 more potential problem for failure, or mistake by the finishing dept. Thus the high cost for a traditional method output. Now with UV flatbed you image directly to the board, so if you have a blemish in the board you only lost the cost of the board and the ink. There is no need an over laminate or additional adhesive layer, so your COGS (cost of goods sold) is lower, and your productivity has increased almost 3 fold by cutting down on the additional finishing steps of traditional methods.

When would you use this type of process over screen printed graphics?

5 quick reasons why digital is an advantage:

1-Resolution, digital graphics are far superior in print quality than screen printed pieces
2-Set-up - It is cheaper and faster to set-up a digital printer
3- Color accuracy- print after print you will have the same color, there is no �screen build up� that can contribute to inconsistent color output
4- Quick turnaround- for short runs of 500 or less turnaround is typically only a few days
5- Customization- ability to customize text or copy areas on each print if needed

Here are a few real world scenarios that would cause you to go digital as well:

1- A retailer who is distributing a new product line and wants to test it out in specific market before they bring the entire line on board at all their stores
2- An agency that is testing a new slogan, or concept with their client and needs to test it in a smaller demographic to gather market research
3- If you are reconditioning stores throughout the US but at different times, and you are unsure of how many of the stores will require complete change outs, so you want to hold off on printing everything for every site, in an effort to limit your scrap or wasted prints.
4- You have only 200 sites and you do not have enough time to wait for a screen printer to gang the art together with other jobs
5- you or your client requires high resolution output with accurate color rendering print to print

There are many other reasons why you would choose to go digital, but these are some of the most typical reason people choose to use digital presses over traditional screen printing.

How can you compare pricing? Call Graphic Impact FIRST! 520-795-7446

Well one thing is for certain if you need 200 prints in a short turn around you need to seriously consider digital, the set up on digital output is only a few minutes, and there is no additional costs besides a set-up or RIP fee that is usually negotiable depending on the size of your order.

Digital screen printers or UV flatbed printers are usually located at sites where they are familiar with screen printing, or have screen printing services to offer you. In most cases they will give you advice on which solution is best for you. However if you find yourself bidding on a project and you are getting all different types of bids ask yourself and your vendor what process are they using, and why. Like before mentioned, there are good reasons to use both processes, but if you need short run custom graphics or quick turnarounds or potential reprints on damaged pieces in the future, digital is your ideal solution.