OUTPUT

Sometimes a really good idea can almost go a step beyond what people need, and perhaps Agfa decided this was the case with its innovative and unusual :M-Press, now in its latest guise as the Tiger. Additionally not everyone was yearning for its screen-printing element but liked its digital capabilities.

Removing the manual element from digital production is fine when repeat prints are being output, or any variations are purely driven by software capabilities. However, using double-sided applications as a typical example, the enthusiasm and dexterity of a machine operator often beats the robotic options of automatic load and stack capabilities, and becomes a desirable asset to a busy production house.

Thus, when Agfa announced its :M-Press Leopard the first thing I noticed was the fact that it has been designed to allow greater user interaction and, thus, incorporates the need for fast changeover. There is a definite feeling of an operator and machine relationship with this system, with greater involvement than merely pushing a start button.

The system's design is such that, for recto/verso prints, precision lay-on pins make it easy for the operator to position the media in exactly the right place before applying the vacuum to hold the material down. These pins are placed identically to the left and the right of the bed to allow alignment to the corner of the media, and this true 'mirrored' effect makes front to back registration simple to carry out to the most exacting level.

The Agfa :M-Press Leopard is a solid, industrial platform that is suitable for flexible and rigid materials up to 5.08cm thick, with precision registration down to A3. There are 55 vacuum zones incorporated into the print table with powerful flattening capabilities so that even thin media can be handled, and time and irritation are both saved by not having to mask off non-print areas on the bed. With heavier substrates, Agfa's taken the logical approach in that it is easier to push rigid sheets into place to line them up accurately, and has included lay-on pins at the rear of the table.

This four-colour printer incorporates Agfa's established UPH 2 greyscale print-head technology to produce optimised droplet volume and control. The results are smooth highlights and mid-tones, accurate and crisp text, plus strong solid colours. The machine has a bed size of 1.6 x 2.6m and a selection of throughput speeds depending on the type of application being produced, with its fine art mode enabling 47 sheets per hour, or 194sq m/hr, to be throughput at a resolution of 1,260 x 720dpi. At the other end of the scale, the Leopard's express mode works at a rate of 483sq m/hr or 116 sheets per hour, with options of photographic and high-quality modes being other variants which sit between these two.

The Agfa :M-Press Leopard uses the company's Anuvia UV-curable inks which the company says provide good stability and adhesion on all materials, complemented by fast curing and tough, abrasion resistant outdoor durability. The machine is supplied with Agfa's Apogee workflow solution plus Vibe, which brings powerful VDP options into play and, again, encourages versatile production.

Like its :M-Press Tiger counterpart, the Leopard is a sizeable piece of machinery, and isn't cheap at around €900,000 (£809,000). Nonetheless its ability to handle quick-change jobs and double-sided printing makes it a powerful addition to any user wanting versatility along with quality results.

The operator-to-machine relationship plays an important role in the speed of the Leopard but this doesn't mean there's a complicated learning curve. Having had a brief introduction to its modus operandi, I was able to load and print double-sided jobs quickly and easily. The beauty of this machine is that there is no compromise whether one or a hundred sheets are being printed, and its double-sided capabilities puts it into a league of its own.

Target audience
High-end producers of general wide-format digital print.

Relevant applications
Point-of-sale, retail advertising and double-sided applications on flexible and rigid materials.

Price
Around €900,000 (£809,000).

Pros and cons
Great for recto/verso jobs and very short runs but probably not at its best producing repetitive applications where automation is an essential part of throughput.

Verdict
This machine will suit users who want to output high-quality single- and double-sided variable jobs and are more concerned about flexibility than high-volume applications. This machine needs an operator permanently at its side which might not suit everyone.

Ease of use: 5/5
Speed: 3/5
Quality: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Value for money: 4/5