Parallax Digital Installs EFI VUTEk 5r+ Roll-to-Roll Printer

Superwide-format graphics and service provider Parallax Digital is bringing its customers greater capacity and versatility with the company’s first solution from Electronics For Imaging Inc., an EFI™ VUTEk® 5r+ roll-to-roll printer. The Kennesaw, Ga.-based business made its purchase decision based on the UV-LED curing inkjet device’s ability to deliver superior prints and high productivity.
 
Speaking about his new 16.5-foot wide installation, Parallax Founder David Clevenger stated, “I am impressed with the quality. I have been involved with UV ink for 20 years in digital printing and there has been a big evolution in the technology that you can see with the UV-LED imaging on the VUTEk 5r+.” The EFI product, he also noted, eliminates the adhesion, color gamut and outgassing issues that were a factor in previous UV inkjet print devices Parallax has had over the years.
 
Top-tier technology to meet discerning print requirements
 
The printer is the first EFI device at Parallax, a company that has a busy production floor with dye sublimation, UV and latex devices from several different manufacturers. The new addition reflects the emphasis Clevenger and his son, Parallax VP Lee Clevenger, place on selecting and offering advanced production technologies that reflect the company’s emphasis on unbeatable print quality.
 
Founded 25 years ago as a creative service bureau, design company and high-end advertising photo studio, “We are a creative business first, and we love having cutting-edge technologies and capabilities that allow us to achieve the high standards we set for ourselves,” David Clevenger said.
 
The printer is available with several optional features. Clevenger praised the integrated slitting and cutting option purchased on his new printer for the value it provides compared with using a separate, dedicated cutting system. “Cutting and slitting would take a longer time using offline equipment for many of the large pieces we print on this device,” he explained. “The cutting option on the VUTEk 5r+ gives us a similar level of precision and faster throughput for less money.”
 
Parallax is also one of the first EFI customers to incorporate a complete set of 3 motorized winders and unwinders on its printer. The winder options not only give Parallax the ability to print with larger and heavier rolls, they also ensure highly accurate media feeding and more precise media collection.
 
Parallax uses its newest roll-to-roll device for a wide range of applications, including producing outdoor graphics and printing on several different specialized materials. Parallax’s diverse client base — which includes architectural and construction companies, Fortune 500® corporations and local universities — is benefiting from the VUTEk printer’s ability to efficiently produce larger, high-quality graphics.
 
Designed to offer the lowest total cost of ownership and the highest image quality at the highest rated throughput speeds in its class, the roll-to-roll UV-LED inkjet printer delivers fast production speeds up to 5,160 square feet per hour. The printer’s 7-picoliter UltraDrop™ Technology provides superb transitions, vignettes, skin tones and shadows. The printer also has new white ink printing modes for faster speeds compared with the original EFI VUTEk 5r model. In addition, the VUTEk 5r+ provides higher ink densities, a larger color gamut and overall better print quality — enhancements that come from a re-engineered printhead control algorithm.