Landa Digital Printing has gone back to the drawing board on its Nanography digital presses, which are now set to ship a year later than forecast.
The first beta models will now be rolled out in the last quarter of 2014 – and the most noticeable change will be to the giant touchscreen control panel that featured on the models shown at Drupa.
The three-metre wide panel has been ditched in favour of a wraparound ‘cockpit’ at the delivery end of the press that is more akin to a conventional litho press control console. The cockpit features several smaller touchscreens and retains the ability for the operator to monitor the press from a remote, hand-held tablet.
Landa Digital Printing (LDP) founder and chairman Benny Landa said the company had visited more than 120 customers in 10 countries after Drupa and the huge touchscreen had been given the thumbs-down.
"We goofed," said Landa. "They said it’s a fantastic thing, but it’s in the wrong place. The operator will be running back and forth and that’s not practical."
The addition of the cockpit means the original compact design has considerably increased in size.
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The B1-format S10FC simplex press for folding cartons, which will be the first model to ship, has also had a conventional coating unit added to its configuration, again due to customer feedback.
Those changes have increased the length of the S10FC from 8.65 metres to 17 metres.
Other changes include improvements to the formulation of the special NanoInk used and a revamp of the press range’s internal design. LDP has changed the position of the printheads so operators can carry out maintenance without crouching.
LDP's ink ejectors now feature 1,200dpi printheads, which are understood to be from Kyocera, although the company would not confirm this. The latest print samples show a level of quality that has vastly improved since Drupa.
The samples included small Kanji text and fine linework, as well as flat tints, onto a range of substrates including high-gloss coated paper.
LDP also has new samples showing conventional AM screening at 175lpi, as well as the stochastic screening that is typical of inkjet output.
Landa and his team have spent the past few weeks briefing customers about the shipping delay and the latest changes.
[Related: Qld printer cancels $2m Landa order]
"No-one has cancelled due to the delay," said Landa. "We have 430 letters of intent. Some people cancelled after Drupa but fewer cancelled than new orders we received."
Landa said that it is now "80% to 85%" of the way to offset quality. He said he would not ship the presses until that benchmark had been achieved.
"Everyone wants a machine that is reliable and fully tested," he added. "There isn’t a mistake I haven’t made in my career, and one I’m never going to make again will be to ship a product before it’s ready."
LDP said that 40% of the presses on order are packaging models. LDP said it still planned to roll out the original range of seven presses, comprising four sheetfed and three web models, but would do so in order of customer demand.
The B1 perfecting model, the S10, will follow the S10FC and is set to ship to beta customers in the first half of 2015. Landa said models from licensees such as Komori, Heidelberg and Manroland Sheetfed would follow.
Landa also said the fundraising process that started last year, which is aiming to raise about US$200 million ($212 million), would be finalised "by the end of this year".
[Feature: Inside the Landa miracle]
This article originally appeared at printweek.com
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