Mimaki JV150 & CJV150 focus on high end core technology
Mimaki is another manufacturer with a long and impressive pedigree in the large format market that offers entry level products that incorporate all the very best of their technology. Brett Newman is the Chief Operations Manager for Hybrid Services, the Exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Mimaki and he says, “Research and development is something Mimaki invests a huge amount in and entry-level wide format is an area that benefits from the cascade of technology Mimaki manufactures. Mimaki has built in a raft of Core Technologies that focus on helping customers to deliver premium image quality with the minimum of fuss. Years of experience developing cutting edge print solutions has enabled the technology to trickle down so that even its ‘entry level’ products benefit from features such as Mimaki Advanced Pass System (MAPS) and Waveform Control Technology (WCT) that help deliver these spectacular results.”
MAPS and WCT are just two of the Core Technologies that, together with the likes of Variable Dot Printing, determine how ink is placed on the substrate and maximise the control over dot placement, shape and size to create smooth, vibrant and high-density print. Mimaki’s use of high precision piezo-electric print heads assures users of consistent and reliable output and the addition of the Core Technologies exploits it to its maximum. With a seamless workflow from design creation, through RIP, printing and cutting, the Core Technologies work away in the background to assist the user in producing the highest quality output.
Brett Newman adds, “With all printers offering a range of operator-led settings for print quality, output speed and imaging, Mimaki’s Core Technologies provide the opportunity for print operators to assess a job and choose specific options to suit its precise requirements. Mimaki’s unique appreciation of print companies’ day-to-day requirements has resulted in innovative and practical inbuilt technology that make the difference.”
The Mimaki JV150 Series
The JV150 Series printer from Mimaki provides high performance, creativity and versatility with vibrant ink types, including new Orange and Light Black, in a cost effective package that is ideal for sign-makers making a first step into large format digital printing.
The use of orange ink enables a much wider colour gamut, giving punchy and vivid colours for posters and PoS materials, especially in the food retail market where rich, warm red and orange tones are often used. Orange ink also ensures faithful colour representation and, when used as a process colour, can match 94.8% of the PANTONE colour chart with approximate colours, making it ideal for creating impact with corporate branding, along with improved spot colour reproduction.
Light black, light cyan and light magenta inherently produce smoother gradients and are great for pastel colours, but orange is all about delivering vibrant colours to make your work stand out.
More recently, Mimaki has announced that the JV150 now also offers a silver ink option in order to add further value to your printed output. Although a fairly niche area, the demand for metallic decals and vehicle graphics is very much there and the eye catching effects of shiny silver display graphics is growing in popularity.
Silver ink is all about adding a bit of dazzle and bling to your offering.
Customers often perceive a metallic finish to be a premium product and providing decals or bespoke packaging that use a spot silver can really help you differentiate your product and add to your profit margins as you go. You could potentially charge up to 30% more for metallic applications, which is worth considering.
Mimaki CJV150 Series
The integrated print and cut solution that is the CJV150 range adds a further range of applications that adds value to your first investment in wide format printing. For a relatively affordable premium, and particularly if space is at a premium, you can enjoy all the benefits of the JV150 with a built in cutting solution that opens up a world of possibility.
The most likely applications will be in stickers, decals and labels, which offer a huge potential for your business when it comes to shaped, printed, self-adhesive vinyl.
Stickers are a huge market, be it personalised ones or licensed designs, funky wallart or transfers for bikes, skateboards and schoolbags. The market for attaching small decorative or informational decoration to other objects is vast – just take a look around you. There’s safety signage, legislative labels and designer decals everywhere and with a wide format printer/cutter, you can be supplying it. There are plenty of potential customers out there who have a real need for maybe just 50 or 100 decals for a particular project.
Maybe you have got the capability to litho print labels already, but are you turning away good business because you can’t take orders for shorter run lengths? You can personalise one label as easily as you can 10, 100 or even 1,000 so there’s nothing stopping you responding to the short to medium orders of custom print jobs and making good money too. The range of printable, adhesive materials is ever expanding and stickers can now be repositionable, reusable or designed to last for years – the choice is yours. Mimaki’s unique die cut capability means you can offer your customer a pack of stickers with a shaped backing that’s of huge value – and so much easier and more professional than trying to hand cut or guillotine them.
Stickers and labels are great revenue creators, they’re simple to produce and offer an excellent opportunity to talk to a very wide audience with what’s fundamentally the same product. Your printer/cutter is the ideal tool for the job, there are lots of great substrates to choose from and the software makes it a relatively automated process.
Mimaki UCJV 150
One other product from Mimaki is definitely worth a look at if you are thinking of taking the plunge. The new Mimaki UCJV Series is a new and innovative range of LED UV printer/cutters with unique creative features, low running costs, the ability to print to a wide range of materials and a highly efficient workflow. While this printer represents a larger investment, the potential returns make it well worth greater consideration.