Packaging Workflows

Large-Format, Ink Jet Printing Makes Anything a “Package” With Total Coverage in Color

by Sharon P. Derbyshire

When it comes to oversized graphics, just how big is big? With large-format ink jet printers such as the INFINITI line from Aeromatrix, “large-format” means being able to print long and wide enough to wrap buildings, vehicles, or—theoretically at least—any other object that there’s enough substrate and ink to cover. So, if a “package” is defined as a container with a wrapper, nearly anything can be a package with the help of large-format ink jet equipment.

What’s more, “packaging” on this grand scale can be done profitably. Ask Boris Zedan, Sales Manager for Digital Impressions, which purchased the INFINITI FY 6250SL ink jet printer four months ago as an alternative to outsourcing the printing of signage and other large-format graphics. He says, “Production has increased 30 percent and margins have improved on banners, frontage wrap, and decorative murals, all manufactured on our new INFINITI printer.”

Large-format signage with vivid colors is especially popular in the Latino community of Miami, Fla., where Aeromatrix and Digital Impressions are located. The signage is being used to wrap everything from vehicles to storefronts. The usual billboard effect has been redefined with the eye-catching graphics and photographic-quality images created on the FY 6250SL, according to Zedan.

720 dpi to please the eye

“Resolution at 720 dpi is very precise with the Vutek print heads, although two passes are usually required to achieve the desired intensity for reds and black,” he says. The FY 6250SL is designed to reproduce images 36" and greater, although photographic quality is difficult to achieve for images under 12".

Speed of the printer varies from 128 sq. ft. to 280 sq. ft. per hour depending on the output resolution desired. Zedan says that Digital Impressions mostly runs the FY 6250SL at the low end of the range to achieve the high resolution (720 dpi) photographic-quality images that its signage is known for. The maximum print width is 96".

Vinyl is the substrate most commonly used by Digital Impressions to produce large-format signage. However, says Zedan, the FY 6250SL also can handle other substrates, such as polyester cloth, for non-display applications like tablecloths. He adds that the unit’s Triangle solvent based inks, also supplied through Aeromatrix, are affordable and make the operation very economical.
Aeromatrix, a 22-year-old, privately held Chinese company, expanded into the Americas by establishing an office in Miami in 1995. Aeromatrix ventured into the signage business in 2000 and one year later partnered with the Fei Yeung Group, a major manufacturer of wide format digital INFINITI printers in China.

The company says that it has been distributing INFINITI printers to South America for more than three years with sales of over $3 million annually. Since January, Aeromatrix has sold INFINITI printers in the U.S. in 61", 72", 98", and 126" widths.

Sharon P. Derbyshire is the founder of Contract Market Research (www.contractmktres.com), a consulting firm focused on servicing the packaging and specialty chemical industries. Contact her at (919) 931-1358 or at spderbyshire@nc.rr.com.