Agfa Graphics have opened a new 250sqm demo centre at their premises in Spartan, Johannesburg. Here customers have the opportunity to see live demonstrations of the capabilities of Agfa machines, especially the latest in LED technology.
Launched in January this year, the centre currently houses equipment such as the Anapurna RTR3200i LED, which was introduced worldwide at drupa last year and is now available in South Africa. Equipped with UV LED lamps, the press enables users to print on a wide media mix and save energy, cost and time. The machine also features the latest generation of fast-firing KM 1024i print heads, multi-layer printing and dual roll printing to increase productivity.
Air-cooled UV LED lights provide an energy saving of approximately 67% compared to UV mercury vapour lamps. This results in a number of unique advantages. Thanks to the minimal heat output, a printer using UV LED-curing can print on a wider media mix, and in particular more heat-sensitive substrates without warping or wrinkling. Less heat generation also means a very stable bi-directional calibration. LED lamps lead to faster operations and therefore higher productivity, as they can be switched on/off instantaneously, without degradation of intensity. There is no lamp warm-up time and no shutter open/close delay.
LEDs last 10,000 hours versus 1,000 hours for mercury lamps, with a consistent output over their operating life. There is no downtime for changing lamps, nor are there consumable lamp costs.
Furthermore, as UV LED lamps contain no mercury, the need for disposal and the related costs are eliminated. LEDs also do not produce ozone gas that needs to be extracted by ventilation.
The RTR3200i LED prints top-quality indoor and outdoor banners and billboards in a six or a four colour plus white configuration, at speeds up to 127sqm an hour.
‘Although there has been no official launch day, the centre is open to the public at any time, by appointment,’ said Agfa Graphics regional sales manager David Fenn.
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