OUTPUT

Mimaki is having a Rocky moment again. Yes, the company has sponsored a tiger at Barcelona Zoo as part of its CSR; that's merely a stripy cover for the fight it's taking to HP – and the rest of the wide-format print market, by extension.

I say 'again'; we shouldn't be surprised that Mimaki has sat back and observed while HP spent three years living the innovator's curse with latex and taking 100 percent of the criticism, deserved or nay. It did exactly the same thing when Roland launched metallic effect inks in late 2009; it waited, engineered, and launched its own option, adding the ability to retrofit. In this case, it's addressing criticism about latex's curing temperature (by reducing it to between 40 and 60 degrees, compared with HP's which is nearer 100) and added the ability to print with white ink – all carrots with which to lure eco-solvent users.

FESPA Digital, now only a week away, will be the first public viewing of a new Mimaki line-up that represents something of a sea-change, with a second wave of the same expected at drupa. The next generation of the popular JV range from the company is the JV-400, featuring the LX latex ink-set in 1.3 and 1.6m configurations. It is a total technology overhaul, marks a move away from Epson print-heads and claims to top its HP rivals' top print speed, with 'sellable quality' at 18 sq m/hour.

By bringing down the curing temperature, Mimaki latex adopters will be able to run a broader range of media, and perhaps existing substrates; it certainly should have no intention or desire to develop its own. Paired with the promise of a broader colour gamut, these developments could lure solvent printer owners over to this durable aqueous formulation.

A proof-of-concept UV-curable machine based on the same architecture will also début in Barcelona next week, but this is the tip of Mimaki's iceberg for 2012. Its 'baby flat-bed', aimed at short-run niche jobs, receives a new version which can produce onto substrates up to 15cm thick; the UJF-3042-HG also adds extra heads, and therefore speed. This plugs the gap between signage and promotional products areas and presents smaller houses with some much-need application diversity.

The TS-500-1800 dye-sublimation printer becomes its 'flagship product', says Mike Horsten, Mimaki Europe's marketing manager; with a draft speed of 150sq m/hr and the ability to handle media rolls up to 60kg, the 1.8m machine degasses ink before it arrives in the print-head, reducing the possibility of head-strikes and increasing dot placement accuracy. Also in the textile field, the TS-34-1800Alpha represents a dye-sublimation replacement for the JV4. Another 1.8m machine, it claims speeds of up to 80sq m/hr, and could be a popular option for visitors perusing FESPA Digital next week.

Dedicated textile software RIP TXLink will also be launched, promising greater functionality for those in the soft sign and garment sectors. Assumedly it will incorporate some of the functionality changes included within the latest version of RasterLink 6.0, Mimaki's proprietary RIP, which has advanced colour replacement for coherence with Pantone pallettes and a more intuitive user interface.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the largest launches made in the wide-format sector in recent years – probably since HP rolled out its latex ink formulation for the first time in 2009. I don't actually think that Mimaki will see huge uptake immediately, but it doesn't really matter. It already has excellent share in its 'bread and butter' eco-solvent market, and is providing a logical upgrade path for users in this area whenever they wish to do so in this product generation. And investment in wide-format isn't just coming from this sector; production printers, copy shops and promotional goods producers are all eyeing it greedily.

Back to Rocky:

"It's Thanksgiving," says Adrian.

"Yeah, to you it's Thanksgiving," Rocky grumbles back. "To me, it's Thursday."

The economy may remain grim but Mimaki's tiger eye has always stayed on its business plan, avoiding unnecessary glitz in favour of providing a clear upgrade path for new and old users at multiple points of entry and across a variety of application purposes. Stay tuned to Output for the first glimpse at these machines, all available from Hybrid Services in the UK, in our coverage next week.