FESPA Digital marked the Mimaki's 'most successful show ever'

"FESPA Digital 2016 was probably our best edition ever! Our 350m2 booth attracted many visitors, who were eager to learn more about our new machines and to discover how Mimaki Europe can support them in both existing and emerging possibilities."

At the show, Mimaki launched a 3.2m-wide LED-UV inkjet printer, which it said cost around half as much as comparable machines. The 110m²/hr UJV55-320 features a unique backlit preview lighting system and is available in four or six colours.

“With that configuration you can have backlit and frontlit graphics and signs. You don’t have a difference between when the light is on and when the light is off. We significantly tested it when it came in on Sunday. For us it had the wow factor.”

Mimaki believes it has a unique feature on the UJV55-320, which has been two years in development: a built-in LED light strip, allowing printers to check backlit print on the fly, saving money on waste.

“We knew we had something special on our hands and we knew it would take off here. It has a very competitive price point and strong market demand, but we didn’t expect this level of success within days of launching,” said Horsten.

Mimaki has also developed a new ink, the LUS-120 UV, which, Horsten said, has the same quality of its LUS-150 UV ink but is 170% more stretchable. “This is great for use on banners as it doesn’t crack,” he said.

“We’re quite excited that we have been able to get this ink with this stretchability. It has all the options that everybody screams for at a price point everyone will like,” said Horsten.

Also launched at FESPA Digital was 3.2m-wide sublimation transfer paper inkjet printer which uses new SB310 inks, which Horsten said meant the machine required less cleaning.

The TS500P-3200 features 12 printheads in a staggered formation and can run at up to 180m²/hr using a four-colour inkset. It also features four independent controllable post heaters in response to customer demand.

“The feedback is exactly what you see on our stand,” Horsten added. Resellers from Spain, UK, Italy, Portugal, Germany and France, amongst others, have all ordered machines according to Horsten.

Stuart Cole, national sales manager for industrial products, Hybrid Services. Mimaki’s UK and Ireland distributor said: “We are seeing unprecedented levels of interest in the Mimaki UJV55-320 from UK customers, and we anticipate it having a similar level of impact in the grand format roll-to-roll UV market as the JFX200 had on the flatbed market.”

The firm also sold its first 180m²/hr TS500P-3200 sublimation transfer printer to a French reseller within 15 minutes of the show’s doors opening on Tuesday.

“I think that this is the best ever FESPA Digital for Mimaki, we’re collecting a lot of leads and selling a lot of machines and that’s what these shows are all about,” stated Horsten.

"Thanks to the organisation who continuously identifies future growth areas and opportunities in the industry, FESPA always manages to gather people from all around the world, who are passionate about wide format digital printing and are keen to discover the latest innovations." 

FESPA TV visited the Mimaki booth at FESPA Digital 2016 to meet Mike Horsten and learn more about the new product launches debuted at the show, the fabric and textile focus, its relationship with FESPA and what sets Mimaki apart from the competition.