Brisbane’s Civic Media has become the first firm in Australia and second in the world to install a commercial Inca Onset Q40i flatbed UV press from Fujifilm.
(L to R): Steven Howland, business development manager with Fujifilm, Adam Middleton,
managing director of Civic Media and Michael Mostyn, Queensland account manager with Fujifilm. Photo by Black Bee Studios
Civic specialises in construction site branding, printing and finishing shadecloth, mesh, banners, wraps, billboards and hoardings. Fujifilm says the Inca Onset’s UV cured inkset means signs and graphics can withstand two years of outdoor exposure – unlaminated – with fade and water resistance. Adam Middleton, managing director of Civic Media, says, “The image quality from the Onset Q40i is sensational for such a high productivity machine. It has sensors and automation throughout that reduce downtime and make life much easier for the operators, including set up files for repeat jobs. “This is our fourth machine from Fujifilm so we know that the after-sales service and support will be top-notch. The Onset Q40i will move Civic to a whole new level of sign and display services for our customers.” Civic is already using a Fujifilm Acuity Advance HS flatbed UV, last year it also installed a five-metre Uvistar UV roll-to-roll machine, an Acuity LED 1600 and an HP Designjet L26500. Middleton says the installations have been necessary to stay on top of quality and keep potential work from disappearing overseas. Civic intends to keep the Acuity Advance rolling as a backup machine for the time being. He tells Australian Printer, “The market does have its ups and downs but we have a good customer base. For us to provide what our customers want we have had to get the new equipment in to keep up with the quality and the speeds that they expect. “We have done some studies of overseas markets lately and found that because there is a labour rise in China, a lot of the jobs that used to go overseas now we can actually compete with in certain areas.” The new Inca Onset takes Civic’s printable bed size up to 3,140mm by 1,600mm with a resolution of 1,200dpi thanks to the machine’s nine picolitre ink droplet size from new generation Dimatix QS10 printheads.
(L to R): Civic Media’s Larry Reno, Adam Middleton, Tutoko Pou, Toby Brown and Jamie Dickson. Photo by Black Bee Studios
Fujifilm says throughput varies according to the number of head passes and can reach 305sqm per hour when the autoloader is deployed. Steven Howland, digital business development manager of graphic systems with Fujifilm, says, “The relationship we have built up with Adam and his team in Brisbane via the Acuity Advance HS and Uvistar installations is one we value highly. To be entrusted again with a major investment decision is a great honour for us and, in particular, that this is the first Inca Onset Q40i for Australia and only the second site in the world. “Our portfolio of wide format graphic equipment continues to grow, with a consistent focus on quality and productivity. We began as a photographic company, so image quality is everything to us. I congratulate Civic Media on its choice and look forward with anticipation to seeing more and more offset-quality work passing through the Onset Q40i.”
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