Epson has developed a further two new PrecisionCore printheads, which have been engineered with specific features to allow printers to deliver a high print quality at high speed.

The four-color T3200-U3 and two-colour T1600-U3 UV printheads both feature design elements that Epson has claimed will, ‘provide an optimal digital printing environment especially for printing signage and product packages.’

For example, T3200 and T1600 are the first printheads in the Epson PrecisionCore series to have a built-in heater. The heater makes it possible to eject UV inks of various viscosities, expanding the range of applications, especially for signage and product packaging.

T3200 then enables simultaneous, high-quality, four-color CMYK printing at high speed from a single printhead. Epson noted that ordinarily, a pair of two-colour printheads must be combined to print in four-colours, whilst T3200 can eject the four CMYK colours from a single printhead. Whereas Epson’s current four-color printhead, the I3200, has an effective print width of 33.8mm, the T3200 and T1600 have an effective print width nearly double that, at 67.2mm. Furthermore, the T3200 and T1600 have a different type of piezoelectric actuator than the I3200 to enable the ejection of larger ink droplets at higher frequencies. This facilitates faster printing without compromising the high image quality and easy installation for which the I3200 is known, according to the company.

A further benefit for inkjet machine builders comes in the fact that the four-colour T3200 and the two-colour T1600 can be flexibly arranged, to enable customers to develop many different types of printers with different numbers of colours and speeds. As an example, T3200 can be equipped with CMYK ink and the T1600 with special inks such as white and varnish.

A precision-processed positioning mechanism means customers will not have to engineer a mechanism to determine the spacing between printheads or make adjustments during installation.

T3200 and T1600 expand Epson’s PrecisionCore printhead offerings to a six series line-up, and provide a diverse range of digital printing environments. They follow the recent introduction of the D3000A1R, S3200-A3 and I3200(8)-A1HD PrecisionCore printheads. T3200 and T1600 will be available some time during the second half of Epson’s 2021-22 financial year, which ends in March 2022.

In announcing T3200 and T1600, Epson stated, ‘The two new products will accelerate the digitalisation of signage printing and provide customers with an environment in which high-quality, high-speed printing can be more easily implemented in printers. Epson will continue to develop original technology to contribute to the expansion of its customers’ businesses and further accelerate inkjet innovation.’

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