Four new presses were presented on the manufacturer’s stand, the UV-based Rho P10 250 HS Plus and Rho 512R Plus printers and the water-based Rho WT 250 and Rhotex 325. At FESPA 2017, which took place from 8-12 May at the Hamburg Messe, industrial inkjet specialist Durst unveiled a raft of new and upgraded machines.
The upgraded Rho 512R Plus and Rho P10 250 HS Plus printers were presented under the slogan of ‘Investment Security and Reliability’. These two machines supersede the original Rho 512R and Rho P10 250 HS printers. The Rho 512R Plus enhances the company’s 5m-wide printer with a new Fine Art printing mode at 1,200dpi. Additionally, in Production mode the machine can now reach speeds of up to 400sqm/hr, up from the 360sqm/hr top speed that could be achieved on the original Rho 512R.
“The quality improvement with Fine Art mode is significant,” said Durst Group executive vice-president of global sales Barbara Schulz. “We introduced this mode on the flatbed side last year – while we felt it would appeal to smaller digital specialist segment customers doing very high-quality work, it’s actually been more in demand than that so we wanted to roll it out on the roll-to-roll side as well.”
The Rho 512R Plus also offers a new V-cut system while new, additional colours are said to enable finer colour transitions. The Rho P10 250 HS Plus offers 40% greater productivity than its predecessor. It also includes an ink-saver function, which saves up to 15% of ink, as well as an advanced application for roll-to-roll double-sided printing.
Field upgrades are available for existing 512R and Rho P10 250 HS users wishing to add the new features of the Plus models to their machines. The company was also showing its new software offering, Durst Analytics. This preventive service option is said to guarantee user uptime by monitoring important machine parameters and taking proactive service measures.
On the water-based side, Durst was presenting two machines under the slogan of ‘Innovation and Sustainability’. An updated version of the manufacturer’s Rho WT 250 flatbed printer is now capable of printing on plastics such as polypropylene for the first time. The machine can also be used to print on paper media and corrugated boards.
Additionally, the Rhotex 325 3.2m-wide eco-friendly printer, which replaces the Rhotex 322 in Durst’s portfolio, received its European show debut at FESPA 2017. This machine features the dual properties of direct-to-textile and printing on transfer paper. We knew it would be a good model for the market and for our customer base but we have increased our budget for it because it’s already been a success to an extent that we had not foreseen,” said Schulz.
