The EFI™ VUTEk® Q3r roll-to-roll LED printer was developed to bring you the highest image quality at the highest rated speeds in the industrial roll-to-roll printer market. We designed the EFI VUTEk Q3r to go beyond printing to provide a complete print-to-finished graphic workflow – from RIP to finished product—on the same platform. Think of it as your secret weapon that encompasses automatic in-line quality inspection, inline slitting and cutting, Roll & Tape, and more
With EFI’s industry-leading white ink and multi-layer printing, you can produce premium-margin backlit applications that will boost your bottom line.
2. Window graphics
Use window film with an adhesive backing to create full-color graphics applied to the inside or outside of windows.
3. Floor graphics
Create vinyl floor graphics with photographic images or for retail environments to help promote brands, products, and sales promotions, or to provide directional instructions.
4. Indoor hanging banners
Produce stunning double-sided blockout banners to promote brands, store locations, sales, and more.
5. Tradeshow and exhibition graphics
Create backlit graphics, hanging banners, and booth backdrops on sturdy media that allows the graphics to pop, such as vinyl material, polypropylene, or soft banner material.
6. Wallcoverings
Produce custom wallcoverings with exciting textures, eye-popping colors, and cool motifs, with white, clear, and multi-layer printing on a wide range of UV printable wallcovering materials. EFI LED Inks are UL GREENGUARD Gold-certified, meeting the lowest total VOC emission levels for use in sensitive indoor environments, such as schools and hospitals, and EFI roll-to-roll LED printers have earned Type II certification for wallcoverings, an indicator for quality, safety, fire retardancy, and durability of wallcoverings.
7. Truck side curtains
With EFI superwide roll-to-roll LED printers, truck side curtains are printed, coated, cut to size all inline and ready for other post processes thanks to EFI’s unique PRINT – COAT – CUT workflow that saves time, money, and labor.
Highlights
Productive roll-to-roll printing
Quick and easy media loading that handles a wide variety of flexible substrates. Roll-to-roll, free-fall, and multi-roll (2 rolls of 63 in).
Inline finishing
EFI’s unique roll-to-roll workflow automates the complete printing and finishing process on the fly and in a single system.
White and clear together
White and clear ink printing together for increased design and application possibilities.
InSpec
Automatic inline print quality monitoring that can identify various print imperfections and alert the operator.
Ink performance that’s as impressive as it is flexible
EFI – 3M™ SuperFlex Ink not only offers an extended color gamut, but also delivers super flexibility for fleet and vehicle graphics, outdoor applications, and more. With its super elongation characteristics and the ability to withstand heat installation without cracking, SuperFlex ink qualifies for a seven-year 3M™ MCS™ Warranty for vehicle graphics.
High-quality imaging
Piezo drop-on-demand inkjet technology with 7pL UltraDrop™ Technology for up to 1200 dpi true resolution.
Low TCO
Lower total cost of ownership (TCO) with low power consumption, low ink consumption, minimal media waste, and optional Power Tools that save money, labor, and floor space.
EFI UltraClear Coat
EFI UltraClear Coat can be used for decorative applications as well as for a final protective coating. It prints inline, simultaneously with the image, saving time versus using a separate offline coating system, and in gloss or matte finishes.
Automatic calibration
Automatic calibration for periodic system alignment of quality parameters back to reference point
Fiery IQ
Use the Fiery IQ™ suite of cloud applications to connect your people, processes, and print devices to make better data-driven decisions that improve your ROI, minimize cost, maximize profit, and boost your revenue.
Industry-leading LED technology
Extend your range of supported substrates, increase uptime, reduce operating costs, and move towards more sustainable production with low VOCs, lower energy consumption, and less waste and consumables.
White ink and multilayer printing
Superb white ink printing performance in single- and multi-layer print modes.
Continuous print
Automatic inline print quality monitoring that can identify various print imperfections and alert the operator
Ink for a super range of applications
EFI – 3M™ SuperRange UV LED Ink offers a hard surface cure, a wide color gamut, excellent adhesion properties, and the industry-leading 3M™ MCS™ Warranty when printing with cobranded EFI and 3M UV LED inks on 3M flexible media.
Power Tools to boost your capabilities and profits
Y-slitter
X-cutter
InSpec
ID backprint
Roll & Tape
White printing
Seven-color printing
UltraClear Coat
Automatic blockout printing
Automatic backlit
Three-meter super duty winder
Motorized winder
Media edge guard
Media spreaders
Wrinkle analyzer
Mobile operator station
Media saving wizard
Quality maintenance kit
Fiery IQ
Y-slitter
Y-slitter – for the vertical trimming of margins or slitting media into multiple jobs, minimizing media waste and increasing the printing area.
Simultaneous printing and media cutting on the Y-axis
Modifiable configurations include:
Single-bladed for trimming margins
Double-bladed for slitting of single media into two jobs (blades are fixed 0.3 in/8 mm apart)
Simple and easy installation with no tools required
Easy manual adjustment of the slitter position along the printer table
Retractable blades for maximum safety
And waste collectors to roll up trimmed remnants, increasing overall productivity and eliminating the mess
InSpec – vision system installed on the print carriage that performs automatic inline print quality monitoring for single and multi-roll printing. Includes a camera and light source as well as dedicated electronics and software. Designed to identify print imperfections in real-time during the print process, fix them when possible, and alert the user.
ID backprint
ID backprint – a device that prints file information on the back of the media, facilitating the identification of finished jobs for packing, shipping, and installation.
Printed data includes:
File ID
Printing date and time
Print mode
Copy number and more
Eliminates the need for manual labeling
Helps prevent shipping errors
Saves time during installation of the printed job Watch Video
Roll & Tape
Roll & Tape – an automated device that takes printed cut sheets directly from the printer, rolls them into scrolls, and tapes the edge with labels that have job information printed on them.
Synchronized with the inline finishing workflow
Delivers labeled rolls immediately following printing
Includes a removable container that collects multiple marked jobs ready for delivery to the customer Watch Video
White printing
White printing
Enables printing on colored and transparent media
Opens up a myriad of creative possibilities
Instant uptime of white printheads, thanks to the advanced circulation system in the ink tanks and along the entire ink system
Multiple white print modes for various challenging applications:
White only
White as background
White on top of color
White for backlit applications (C-W-C)
Five-layer printing (C-W-B-W-C) for blockout printing on clear
Various additional three- and five-layer print modes Watch Video
Seven-color printing
Seven-color printing
Enabled by adding three light colors: light cyan, light magenta, and light black
Based on the existing printhead configuration, without adding more heads
Benefits
Expanded color gamut
Smooth gradient transitions
Vivid and crisp colors
Fine details
Smooth skin tones
UltraClear Coat
UltraClear Coat
Printed inline, simultaneously with the image
Printed on top of the color layer
Enhances the output, adding extra pop to the colors and offering beautiful creative possibilities
Full flood or selective
Glossy or matte finish with the same ink
Provides three years of outdoor protection against:
Abrasion and scratching
Chemicals such as detergents, gasoline, and IPA
Weather damage
Air pollution
UV fading/yellowing
Saves time versus separate offline coating systems Watch Video
Automatic blockout printing
Automatic blockout printing – an automatic system that enables printing on both sides of opaque blockout media, resulting in excellent registration between sides.
Accuracy of ≤ 5 mm over 10 linear meters
Includes an optical sensor system, dedicated electronics, and software
Simple, easy, and fully automatic system
Eliminates the need for guesswork and manual manipulation
Reduces required operator skill level
Two available workflows, to be defined before printing:
Head-to-head printing for short jobs where media is rolled back, flipped over, and reinstalled with side B up
Head-to-tail printing for longer jobs where printed media is collected on a front core, flipped over, and reinstalled with side B up
Wrinkle analyzer – helps avoid printhead strikes caused by media wrinkles, saving time and money by preventing ruined jobs and enabling the use of lower-cost media.
Media height detector identifies a media wrinkle before it reaches the printhead
The front-end software prompts the user to raise the carriage just enough to avoid a head strike that may ruin the job and, then, to resume printing
Quality maintenance kit – enables printer operators to self-diagnose and fix print quality issues, including:
Uncalibrated printer
Missing or deficient nozzles
Self-ownership and fast onsite reaction
Minimizes service visits and increases uptime
Extends printhead lifespan up to 30% on average
The optional system includes software and a dedicated scanner
Fiery IQ
Use the Fiery IQ suite of cloud applications to connect your people, processes, and print devices to make better data-driven decisions that improve your ROI, minimize cost, maximize profit, and boost your revenue.
Resources
EFI VUTEk Q3r and Q5r superwide roll-to-roll printers overview