Click here for photos from the event.
The highlight of the tour of Epson’s North Ryde facility was the new SurePress L-4033A inkjet label press.
Epson’s commercial print business development manager, Trevor Crowley, described the six-colour machine as “the first step for Epson into the commercial label market”.
He said the machine’s $400,000 price tag meant it filled the space between entry-level devices that cost $20,000 to $50,000 and million-dollar presses at the high end.
The SurePress prints on most off-the-shelf substrates and requires no chemicals or plates.
Business unit manager Craig Heckenberg told ProPrint: “We are close to announcing our first installations for the region.”
The tour also included the first Australian demonstration of the SureColor SC-S30600, a four-colour eco-solvent printer that debuted at Fespa Digital and will be released in April.
Sign and display national business development manager Terry Crawford said the $18,000 machine was designed for posters, signs, banners and screen printing.
Applications specialist Derek Mobbs also showed visitors the Stylus Pro 7900 CTP, a $7,700 machine that bridges the gap between proofing and platesetting.
The 7900 CTP is targeted at small to medium-sized printers and designed for POS, colour proofs and short-run posters. Using inkjet ink, it ‘imposes’ specially designed plates that can handle up to 20,000 impressions.
Heckenberg told ProPrint: “To date, we already have a couple of installations up and running.”
The 28 February tour was organised by the Lithographic Institute of Australia (LIA) in conjunction with the Label and Tag Manufacturers Association of Australia, Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association of Australia, Junior Printing Executives’ Association and Printing Industries Association of Australia.
LIA NSW president David Wells said he was delighted all 55 spots on the tour had been filled, especially as previous industry events had sometimes produced “embarrassing” turnouts.
“It shows that associations coming together, it’s now viable for a supplier to entertain and show the industry their products,” he said, adding there were plans to hold similar events in the future.
Wells described the SurePress and its “quantum leap in technology” as the evening’s highlight.
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