Anthony Locicero, Associate editor10.02.20
With COVID-19 postponing FESPA 2020 until next year and canceling Printing United, Agfa held a virtual event to highlight the solutions – including the Oberon RTR3300 and Jeti Tauro H3300 – that the Belgian ink manufacturer would have demonstrated at these shows.
"In our business," said Tom Vermeulen, head of business unit inkjet Sign & Display, "physical contact with customers is of utmost importance.
"In case we are not able to [attend an event] we have no other choice than [to have] online communication."
Hence the Oct. 2 webcast, which featured a panel of Agfa experts – Vermeulen; Reinhilde Alaert, product manager Sign & Display; and Tom Cloots, director industrial inkjet – moderated by Koen Steert, head of sales, Sign & Display, Europe.
Steert noted that this event is a "sneak preview" of Agfa's Studio 5D10, a three-day virtual event (Oct. 6-8) targeted at companies offering wide-format printing services or considering doing so.
Like many other businesses, Agfa was affected by the pandemic.
"In the months of February and March...we had a sudden reduction in print activity with our customers," Vermeulen said. "Now we can say that most of the customers came back – or almost came back – to the normal print activities."
He said the investment climate – especially regarding high-end solutions – was low until September when orders went up.
However, "Our innovation did not stop during COVID," Vermeulen emphasized.
That includes new inks, which Steert said the company is "constantly developing."
Alaert discussed Agfa's latest launch: The Jeti Tauro H3300 S LED – (the "S" is for standard) – a hybrid six-color printer, with optional white and primer that can print up to 302 m² per hour.
According to Alaert, it was designed for customers that wanted to join the Tauro segment "because of all the advantages that the product brings in terms of ink consumption, in terms of robustness, in terms of automation, and they wanted a more entry[-level] model.
"This JETI Tauro is upgradeable whenever your business requires higher productivity," she said. "Where growth is the first keyword, creativity in the second keyword in UV printing. Inkjet prints will enable your customers to stand out and attract new business. UV wide format printing technology enables printers to be creative with several media types: Ink clears, varnish, glossy and lens effects."
The Oberon RTR3300 is the latest addition to Agfa’s large-format printer portfolio.
Like the Jeti and Anapurna series of presses, the Oberon offers "outstanding image quality" and "low maintenance," Alaert said.
This 3.3 m high-end roll-to-roll system comes in a four-color plus white as well as a six-color version. It features a water-cooled table and UV LED lamps.
"It smoothly handles any kind of heat-sensitive roll material including lost cost media," Alaert said, adding that it makes mesh printing easier.
Agfa plans to be at drupa 2021 and any other shows it can, per Vermeulen.
“We would like to be there for sure," he said. "Of course it must make sense for us. It must make sense for our customers. It should be safe for everybody."