IGS is hoping that its single-pass inkjet printer can establish a new niche for the business. The Cobalt SP800 is the result of a specification for a machine to print packaging in a single pass with a delivery price of less than £50,000.
“There is nothing in the market at this price point,” says managing director Peter Flynn. “Single-pass inkjet for short run packaging is where the opportunity is. It’s at a price point where people can have a crack.”
He approached a contact in China that he had known from Highwater days which led to sub contracting the manufacturing to Antel, which manufactures label presses. “We asked for someone to build a single pass printer, provided the other specifications. And we will get the first in the first week of January.”
Those specifications include use of HP water based inks and printheads which retail at £50/litre compared to other machines in the market with ink at £120/litre. ‘It means a paper bag will cost just 1p to print,” says Flynn. “And there is 200mm clearance so it will print pizza boxes, fast food clam shell boxes with food safe water based inks.”
There will be options on speed and resolution, from 32m/min at 1200x300dpi; 16m/min at 1200x600dpi and 8m/m at 1200x1200dpi. This is at a print width of 800mm. The Cobalt SP800 comes with a Rip, though the plan is to be able to offer a Xitron HQ Rip in future.
The company might also offer the press in a cardboard boxes package with a JWei Titanium digital cutter.
There is already interest in the machine says Flynn. It will enable companies supplying brown box packaging to add branding for short runs, say 1,000 boxes for a special occasion for example. As well as boxes, it will print bags and napkins and will suit point of sale as well as packaging sectors.
IGS will put the machine through its paces in its premises before an open house at the end of next month.