Cowan Imaging Installs Canada’s First Agfa :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR Printer

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ—Nov. 29, 2011—Agfa Graphics announced that Cowan Imaging Group of Edmonton, Alberta, has installed Canada’s first Agfa :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR UV printing system. The :Jeti 1224 HDC (High Definition Color) FTR inkjet printer features the widest color gamut and highest productivity in its class, demonstrating high definition, sharp fine text and photographic detail with bright intense colors.

Founded in 1945, Cowan Imaging Group, a family-owned company, has transitioned from a small, two-person shop to a leader in screen printing and digital graphics with over 100 employees. Today, Cowan Imaging Group produces decals, transit shelter advertisements, billboards, fleet signage and more.

“The :Jeti printer is pretty astounding for a new product. We are able to run close to 100% of the work in a standard six-pass mode which delivers as promised. We also run a fair bit in four-pass,” said Ian Stirling, Technical Services Manager at Cowan Imaging Group.

Built on a solid steel platform and designed for three shift operations, Agfa Graphics’ :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR features a unique, linear motor- driven vacuum bed for highly accurate dot placement in both flatbed mode or with the optional flat-to-roll (FTR) feature.The flatbed architecture can print on anything that is flat and up to two inches thick. With its industrial grade construction, this system can support media rolls up to 250 lbs.

“From our experience thus far, the roll functionality is good. We have even run heavy material from a six-inch supply core and taken it up on a three-inch core, a fairly demanding application,” Stirling said. “Long pieces have been no problem at all. Media metering in roll form is good. There is no tendency to band and it has good media tracking. The print quality of the :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR raises the bar far above other systems.”

The :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR is the first :Jeti printer to use the Ricoh Gen 4 variable grayscale print head technology. Agfa has created advanced waveform designs and introduced the :Anuvia HD ink technology to drive the Ricoh heads up to 30 KHz in binary and 13KHz in grayscale. With 4-colors and white as standard, the :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR delivers equivalent speeds in both binary and grayscale modes at resolutions up to 1200 dpi.

Throughput is rated at 1182 sq.ft./hr. in express mode, 582 sq.ft./hr. in production mode and 390 sq.ft./hr. in high quality mode. Agfa Graphics’ :Anuvia HD ink, with drops as small as 8pl, delivers maximum pigment density for saturated colors. The :Jeti 1224 HDC FTR consumes less than 0.7ml of ink per square foot.

“The ink consumption on the system is very low and on full-color work saves the user nearly $5 on every full 4 x 8 foot board,” Stirling added.“ The ink lay down is so smooth that it can be over-laminated with a film laminate, something that simply couldn’t be done with the older printers.”

The :Jeti 1224 HDCFTR is ideally suited for high resolution trade show graphics, POS (Point-of-Sale) displays, real estate signs, backlit signs, lenticular displays, high resolution banners, ceramic tiles, wood and many more flatbed applications.

“Overall, the :Jeti offers the best serviceability yet.Our lead operator on this printer said that if he was going to open a shop with a single printer, the :Jeti HDC would be it,” Stirling said.

About Agfa Graphics
Agfa Graphics offers integrated prepress solutions to the printing industry. These solutions comprise consumables, hardware, software and services for production workflow, project and color management.

Agfa Graphics is a worldwide leader with its computer-to-plate and digital proofing systems for commercial and packaging printing and the newspaper publishing markets.

Agfa Graphics is rapidly developing its position in the new segments of industrial inkjet with comprehensive solutions for various applications such as documents, posters, banners, signage, displays, labels and packaging materials. Its experience in both imaging and emulsion technology has provided the expertise required for developing a complete assortment of high-quality inks.

Source: Agfa.