Infotech Lead Europe: OKI Europe has introduced its digital LED A4 and A3 white toner printers.
The company recently showcased these new products at OKI Europe’s Smart Business Conference in Barcelona.
OKI Europe is looking at a number of vertical market opportunities, from T-shirt transfers and film printing to innovative in-store point-of-sale applications.
OKI claims that it is the first company to introduce a toner-based solution to the white printer sector and will significantly expand what has so far been a highly specialist, complex, costly and low-volume market.
“In the past, products have been based on inkjet, dye sublimation or transfer film-ready technologies. These have niche applications in areas such as garment decoration or printing proofs for packaging applications which are typically expensive both to purchase and maintain and the production time is lengthy,” said OKI Europe product marketing manager, Paul Ingram.
“The new OKI white toner-based products by contrast are versatile, easy to use and, as there is no drying time required, enable much faster and more cost-effective printing. At the same time, the robust solid print output is just as good as foil blocking, making it a credible in-house solution for a wide range of white print applications,” Ingram added.
The C711WT A4 printer offers 4-colour (CMY and white) printing, at 8ppm in transparency mode and 34ppm using plain paper. The C920WT A4/A3 printer is designed for higher volume applications, at 10ppm and 31ppm respectively (A4), with higher capacity toner cartridges.
The new white toner printers will initially be aimed at a number of key markets in addition to existing graphic arts applications. These include transfer media printing, for example for T-shirts, as well as ceramic decoration, back light signage by transparency film and film printing for packaging. The new products will also offer creative point-of-sale signage opportunities for glass or window displays in retail outlets and car windows, for example.
The new white toner products offer a number of major advantages over other white printing devices, making them affordable for the first time to large and small businesses or organizations looking to expand their in-house print capability.
The C711WT and C920WT offer faster printing and are much easier to use, as users can load and print many sheets. Printed output offers consistent high quality and robust performance, as it is scratch-resistant compared to inkjet-based competitors.
“OKI has built much of its success on technology innovation. With our new white toner products we have once again created a major opportunity for end-customers to improve their competitiveness, by making the most of their ability to print a broader range of high-quality materials in-house,” said Terry Laidlaw, managing director, OKI Europe.
