Delphax Technologies to Showcase Memjet-Powered elan 500 Inkjet Printer at drupa

MINNEAPOLIS—April 4, 20—Delphax Technologies, a global provider of high-speed digital printing equipment, announced it will introduce its new elan digital color print system at drupa 2012. The system, which combines major advances in inkjet and paper-handling technologies, will be showcased in Hall 8b, stand C10 with demonstrations of the elan 500 powered by Memjet.

“With elan, we are introducing a product line that has the potential not only to penetrate important segments of the market but to reshape them,” said Dieter Schilling, president and chief executive officer of Delphax. “We believe that elan’s combination of price, sheet-fed configuration and performance will make versatile high-quality color printing affordable—and profitable—for a much wider range of commercial printers than is the case today.”

Powered by Memjet technologies, elan 500 is a robust production class sheet-fed print system offering full color and 1,600-dpi print quality at speeds of up to 500 impressions per minute.

Delphax engineers have integrated multiple Memjet printheads with a unique Delphax-designed paper path utilizing the company’s patented SST transport technology to create an unprecedented combination of speed, versatility, affordability and high quality for color sheetfed and on-demand inkjet production.

“The system’s capabilities have been shaped by our market research, including extensive customer input, on the production and competitive pressures faced by commercial printers today,” Schilling said. “The result is innovation that not only sets a new speed benchmark for inkjet technology in a sheet-fed configuration, but will also allow Delphax to market these systems at substantially lower prices than the competition.”

The elan digital front end (DFE) uses the Adobe PDF document format for both publishing and variable workflow, driven by Delphax’s unique scalable RIP architecture. It allows simple and cost-effective integration into any workflow solution without binding the customer to proprietary systems or requiring separate software solutions for each application type. An intuitive touchscreen interface simplifies the operator experience, keeping input options clear and uncomplicated. Comprehensive reporting systems provide detailed metrics and permit real-time analysis of system performance.

Maximum sheet size is 18x25.2˝; minimum sheet size is 8x8˝. The system prints on a wide range of substrates, from 60 to 350 gsm. Patent-pending in-line primer capability is an option for enhancing substrate compatibility. The system also offers up to two spot colors. Industry certified Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is offered for security and direct mail printing and other personalized applications.

elan is Delphax’s response to a growing customer demand for more efficient, versatile and affordable color printing equipment, and it promises to be ideal for commercial print-on-demand challenges in direct mail, transpromotional, billing, statements and book or manual publishing. Its variable data and MICR capability are also expected to make elan attractive to Delphax’s established security printing market.

Customer beta testing is scheduled to begin later this year.

A pioneer in digital print production, Delphax has captured the largest worldwide market share in check-printing applications, developing a highly regarded global customer-service and support organization in the process.

“We are positioning elan to have a much broader market appeal than we could ask from our existing monochrome products,” Schilling said. “It represents an entirely new category of digital print technology and offers a combination of price and performance that is unmatched today and long awaited by the market.”

About Delphax
Delphax Technologies is a global leader in the design, manufacture and delivery of advanced digital print production systems. For more than 30 years, Delphax has pioneered high-speed digital imaging innovations that improve throughput and enhance efficiencies for publishers, direct marketers and other commercial print customers where cost and quality are important. The Delphax portfolio includes specialized full color inkjet or monochrome inkjet and toner technologies that are ideal for a wide range of applications over a broad spectrum of substrates from ultra lightweight paper to heavy stock in both roll-fed and cut-sheet print environments. Delphax is headquartered in Minneapolis, with subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom and France.

Source: Delphax.