Cactus purchases first high volume flatbed printer

Leading wide format printer Cactus Imaging has purchased their first flatbed printer, the Durst P5 350HS D4 hybrid roll-to-roll/flatbed printer, signing off on the deal at Print United in Las Vegas this week.

The P5 350HS D4 hybrid roll-to-roll/flatbed printer is for shops that need to efficiently produce both rolls and boards up to 3.5m wide. The D4 uses two sets of CMYK inks to produce over 7,600 sqft/hr in two-pass mode. To reduce changeover time from roll to rigid materials, the roller tables that hold printed rigid substrates don’t require roll media to be unloaded first. When the roll tables aren’t in use, they can be folded down to save space. 

“The things that are most important for us, are speed, capacity and quality. We looked at a number of suppliers over the past 12 months, visiting FESPA and visiting the Durst factory twice, where we saw it’s predecessor. We are also looking for versatility. This is the only flatbed printer that is 3.5m wide with the rest being 3.2m wide, which didn’t suit our requirements’, said Keith Ferrell GM Operations Cactus Imaging.

“This is a fairly exciting challenge for us as we’ve always been a roll-to-roll business. The flatbed will open up many more opportunities for us, especially in the events space” said Glenn Moffatt, Production Manager, Cactus Imaging.

This installation will be the first of it’s kind in Australia, and potentially the second in the world. The timing of the installation is still to be confirmed, but it will most likely will be in the first half of next year.

“We never stop looking at machines; its about find the right machine for the right market, and this machine is going to be versatile for what currently do and enable us to expand into new business opportunities. It will also enable us to continue to be able to print on environmentally friendly substrates, which is very important to us as a business”, observed Nigel Spicer, General Manager Cactus Imaging.