swissQprint receives patent for Tip Switch Vacuum

swissQprint has announced its unique Tip Switch Vacuum system received a patent in August 2023 after being released in 2019. The Tip Switch Vacuum is an energy and time-saving system that operators use for fingertip control over a large format printer’s finely segmented print bed vacuum.

The system provides fast, selective vacuum adjustment for securing media to the print bed. It comes as standard on all swissQprint flatbed and roll-to-roll printers.

A swissQprint large format printer has its print bed divided into as many as 256 vacuum segments, depending on the model. Light fingertip pressure on a toggle switch (Tip Switch) turns the respective segment on or off, thus shutting off the vacuum in the gaps between boards on a flatbed or parallel lane of material in roll-to-roll printing, making setting up print jobs speedy and convenient, with tedious masking work reduced.

As a design principle, swissQprint systems use an underpressure-controlled vacuum for reduced noise emissions and energy requirements. The vacuum system contributes to swissQprint large format printers’ high energy efficiency, as evidenced by their ISO standard 20690:2018 certification.