GRAPO INTRODUCES THE OCTOPUS X4 AT DRUPA 2004 – ITS NEW WIDE FORMAT DIGITAL INKJET PRINTER INCORPORATING XAAR PRINTHEADS

Czech graphic arts company, Grapo S.R.O, is introducing its first wide-format inkjet printer to the world-wide graphic arts market at drupa 2004. The new Octopus X4 incorporates four Xaar XJ500 printheads and will have its first public demonstration on Xaar's stand in Hall 7.

Managing director, Radim Králík comments on the background behind the development of the new machine: "In addition to Grapo, my manufacturing company, I also run an advertisement production agency - Radim Králík Grapo - in the Czech Republic. Here, we traditionally used wide format inkjet printers to print banners and posters for our clients, however, due to market demands from customers we were constantly looking for a more versatile inkjet machine that would cater for a wider range of substrates.

"Around three years ago, I made a trip to the UK to research how print houses in the UK were utilising substrate-variable inkjet technology. While I was visiting, I contacted Xaar to arrange a meeting. I ended up spending several hours with the Xaar development team in Cambridge discussing inkjet and printhead technology. By the time I left, I had purchased my first Xaar printhead. I went back to the Czech Republic with the idea to develop a wide format printer using Xaar's printheads. The result is the Octopus X4!”

The new Octopus X4 prints rigid and flexible material including PVC, plexiglass, wood, glass, metals, ceramics, papers, textiles and cardboard up to 2050 mm wide, and a maximum thickness of 40mm. Movement of printed media is provided by boundless belt with a pressure roller. Using Piezo drop-on-demand inkjet technology, the printer prints at a maximum resolution of 360 dpi, has a top printing speed of 45m2/h and is suitable for use with UV curable inks.

"Grapo is another example of an innovative company recognising an opportunity to develop inkjet solutions to meet market demand,” says David Frew, group marketing manager, Xaar. "As technology pioneers in the inkjet sector, we are always looking to work with companies who share our vision for inkjet. Grapo S.R.O. has an experienced technical team and a strong vision of where it wants to go in the inkjet market in Europe. We are looking forward to continuing our association with Grapo through drupa and beyond.”


As well as developing all electronics and mechanical parts for material movement and the print head carriage for the new Octopus inkjet printer, Grapo also developed the ink supply system, the temperature control system for the Xaar print heads (essential for heavy duty cycles), the circuit board for high speed data transfer between PC and print heads, ripping software with colour management for CMYK printing, and the UV curing lamp with air cooler.

The company has already sold printers in both the Czech and Slovak Republics and the machine on show at drupa will be going to L.I. Distributiones, S.A., Grapo's recently appointed distributor for Spain and Portugal. Grapo is currently in the process of talking to a number of other distributors which it is confident will open up further opportunities in the European market place.

Following the launch of the Octopus X4, Grapo is now in the process of developing two more printers, again both using Xaar printhead technology. Prototypes of both printers - a roll-to-roll printer with a 3.5 metre wide print capacity and a 1600 x 1200mm flatbed printer - are currently being tested in high-pressured production environments.