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EFI Previews Next-Generation Reggiani BOLT Textile Printer

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On November 15th, Electronics for Imaging (EFI) previewed its next-generation, single-pass EFI Reggiani BOLT textile digital printer during an open house event at the EFI Reggiani facility in Bergamo, Italy.

According to EFI, this new advanced, ultra-high-speed digital single-pass printer has the potential to revolutionize the textile printing market, providing users with “more up-time and reliability, outstanding performance, superior printing uniformity and accuracy, long print-head life, and minimal maintenance needs.”

“The innovative development of our new single-pass printer comes from Reggiani’s speed of innovation in digital textile printing, its 70 years of history, and our proprietary knowledge of high-volume analog rotary printing,” said EFI Reggiani Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni. “Our EFI colleagues’ proven, worldwide expertise in single-pass technology and, most importantly, EFI Reggiani’s serious commitment to listening to and addressing our textile customers’ needs, have allowed us to achieve incredible results with our newest print technology. The EFI Reggiani BOLT re-writes the rules of digital textile single-pass printing, delivering superior throughput and quality with a highly competitive return on investment for customers. We are excited to bring this technology to our customers and see their businesses succeed and grow.”

New Print-Head technology and High-Performance Ink Delivery

The BOLT is said to provide an innovative, low-maintenance, fast-startup recirculation print head that delivers better, more-uniform printing with superior up-time. Thanks to its cutting-edge print-head concept and high-performance ink delivery system, the BOLT has throughput speeds of up to 295 feet per minute (more than 86,100 square feet per hour) at a 600 x 600 dpi resolution. It features high-end grayscale imaging in drop sizes from 5 to 30 picoliters, and also provides 600 x 4,800 maximum-dpi resolution printing, allowing customers to address the full range of design needs. EFI says the  print head was  developed in partnership with a leading print-head manufacturer, and will be available exclusively for EFI Reggiani.

The EFI Reggiani BOLT is designed for use in digital textile imaging in apparel, décor, and other markets. Paired with an EFI Fiery digital front end (DFE) print server offering unique, high-speed processing capabilities on demand, EFI says the BOLT printer is a robust, industrial platform designed for 24/7 operation and continuous productivity that drives high-volume throughput while reducing the cost per meter.

New features and enhancements  include:

Enhanced maintenance features – The printer’s contact-less wiping system prolongs print-head life and quality. Plus, the printer comes with an assisted alignment system for its test calibration scan unit, and features extractable printing beams for easier maintenance.

Extended color gamut and superior image quality – With EFI’s expertise in color management and flexible color configurations, customers can  reproduce a wider variety of work, including designs featuring plain colors, geometric patterns, fine lines, deep blacks, and smooth gradients.

Proprietary IP combining digital and rotary technologies – One or more analog printing stations, which may be easily connected as an optional feature, can be integrated into the digital printer for special effects.

The Reggiani BOLT is a Fiery Driven printer, featuring an EFI Fiery DFE with RIP and color-management technologies running on Fiery XB bladed hardware for maximum performance. According to EFI, Fiery technologies for the printer give textile printing businesses the ability to successfully produce highly challenging jobs with the finest detail, demanding colors, smooth gradients, and more. EFI color scientists developed special algorithms and custom screening for this Fiery system to deliver vivid print results, including high saturation without losing detail, and superior color even when using the fastest print mode.

Fiery technologies for the new Reggiani BOLT printer also will include a one-year subscription to EFI Fiery DesignPro, a textile and fashion design suite that runs inside designers’ Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Fiery DesignPro reduces the time needed to create color books, repeats, and colorways, and is said to enable operators to prepare files for production in  minutes instead of hours.

The BOLT printer is the newest in a series of EFI Reggiani innovations. In the last 15 months, EFI says it’s developed a totally renewed range of digital scanning printers with cutting-edge technologies, launching a new model every quarter to offer customers solutions to whatever their requirements may be for easily scalable textile printing. The list of EFI Reggiani advancements includes two recent launches – the COLORS digital printer, which provides unparalleled performance with up to 12-color printing, and the TERRA pigment ink with binder solution featuring in-line polymerization, a process that speeds up customers’ printing with one of the industry’s greenest production technologies.

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