News

Mimaki’s distributor for the UK and Ireland, Hybrid Services has today announced the addition of two new high performance textile printers to its market-leading product portfolio – the Mimaki TS100-1600 and the Mimaki Tiger-1800B MkIII Printer.

Mimaki has announced that the European Digital Press Association (EDP) has presented the ‘Best Roll-to-Roll printer up to 170cm’ award to Mimaki for its UJV100-160 LED-UV inkjet printer.

The following information contains all you need to know regarding preparing your Mimaki for an extended break, our opening hours and the charity we’re supporting this Christmas. 

Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, Hybrid Services, has today announced the launch of the new compact, full-colour Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 UV Inkjet 3D Printer. Previously the first to bring over 10 million colours to the 3D printing market with its larger-scale industrial counterpart, the 3DUJ-553, Mimaki now combines the same impressive colour range and renowned build quality in a compact, affordable solution. With this latest offering, Mimaki aims to extend the reach and accessibility of its cutting-edge 3D printing technologies to an entirely new segment of customers.
 
The innovative 3D printing solution represents a huge step forward for detailing and post-processing, with the unique combination of its full-colour capabilities and water-soluble support materials enabling super-fine details to be printed in vibrant colour, and then beautifully preserved without the substantial breakage risks usually associated with manual cleaning, painting and finishing. With additional features such as Mimaki’s trademark clear resin, which can be utilised alone or mixed with colours to achieve varying levels of transparency, the new 3DUJ-2207 3D printer presents a robust, advanced 3D printing solution with an affordable price tag – all within a machine sufficiently compact to fit in an office elevator.
 
Hybrid’s Managing Director, Brett Newman comments, “The new Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 delivers a powerful solution for the 3D print industry, setting a fresh benchmark for price and performance with its incredible feature set.”
 
“Encompassing significant functionality already proven on the larger Mimaki 3DUJ-553, we anticipate strong uptake from companies seeking to leverage full colour 3D production,” he continues.
 
“Here at Mimaki, we do not stop at developing disruptive technologies – we make it our business to look even further beyond this, continually striving to find ways in which we can then accelerate the adoption of these technologies and drive the wider industry forward,” comments Danna Drion, Senior Marketing Manager at Mimaki Europe. “Our new 3DUJ-2207 3D Printer is a prime example of this. We had already raised the bar in 3D printing by delivering the world’s first 3D printer with over 10 million colours – but now, with the introduction of our new 3DUJ-2207 3D Printer, we are bringing these 10 million colours to a host of new customers, which in turn means new applications and an even quicker uptake of 3D printing technologies as a whole.”
 
Set to be commercially available worldwide from January 2021, the 3DUJ-2207 has been designed with functionality at its core, with the compact design and a 203 x 203 x 76mm build space just two of many key features which demonstrate its unique versatility and make it ideally suited for office environments. The 3D printer’s quiet performance and optional deodoriser minimise some of the primary disruptions usually associated with 3D printing technologies, ensuring maximum workability in busy workspaces.
 
Utilising UV-curing inkjet technology, the expansive high-definition colour expression made possible with the Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 3D Printer is around twice that of powder bed manufacturing methods. This provides new possibilities for prototyping and enables the accurate reproduction of subtle colour differences which are critical for many industrial design applications such as medical and architectural modelling. Additional applications include small-scale models for design offices and educational settings, as well as collectible figures.
 
Drion concludes, “By combining our technological expertise with a wealth of industry experience and market insight, we have been able to create an innovative, inspired solution that merges functionality, affordability and design in a way that really will be game-changing for a lot of creators. This launch will deliver a world of new possibilities to designers and product developers, for many of whom the idea of high-definition full-colour 3D printing might previously have been out of reach, and that is something we are extremely proud of.”
 
The Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 3D Printer will be exhibited online at Formnext Connect and as part of Mimaki’s latest virtual event, the Mimaki 3D Experience, from 10th November to 16th December. Follow Hybrid’s social media channels for more information.

Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, Hybrid Services, has announced the release of the new ‘100 Series’; two entry level roll-to-roll inkjet printers – the UJV100-160 (UV model) and the JV100-160 (solvent model). The new models combine high quality printing with high productivity, all at minimal cost to the user. The UJV100-160 is set to be commercially available in December 2020, while the JV100-160 is expected to follow in January 2021.

Mimaki Europe has today announced the latest in a series of initiatives designed to support, inspire and engage with its customers through the continued uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic: a back-to-back duo of creative virtual events in the 3D printing space, set to run throughout November and into December.

Mimaki Europe will create a virtual showcase of its latest textile solutions at this year’s Innovate Textile & Apparel Trade Show (15-30 October 2020). Mirroring the traditional trade show experience, virtual show attendees will be able to tour Mimaki’s booth, see the technology in action and speak to the team about the latest market trends and the solutions that are helping customers meet current demands. The company’s flagship dye-sublimation printer, TS55-1800, and the new hybrid printer, TX300P-1800 MkII, will take centre stage on Mimaki’s interactive virtual booth, where visitors will benefit from several exclusive show promotions and a chance to win an entry-level sublimation printer.

UK and Ireland Mimaki distributor, Hybrid Services has announced the appointment of Brett Newman as its managing director. Having held the role of chief operations manager at the company since 2017, Newman’s promotion sees him take overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the business along with increased involvement in the company’s strategic direction.

Mimaki Europe, a leading manufacturer of inkjet printers and cutting systems, has announced the appointment of Takahiro Hiraki as Managing Director.
 
Hiraki joined Mimaki Engineering in 1997 as a sales representative for the Mimaki CF-series. Over the next 20 years, he remained with Mimaki, developing his expertise in the technology and advancing his sales career in various senior positions. As Hiraki’s career progressed, he became responsible for larger teams and Mimaki’s success in new and emerging markets as the company expanded its solutions.
 
In 2019, Hiraki joined the board of directors and was assigned management responsibility for Mimaki Europe. The appointment to Managing Director of the region this year reflects his commitment to the organisation and enthusiasm for this diverse, innovative, and successful part of the Mimaki business.
 
Hiraki is pleased to accept this latest challenge and exciting opportunity, and stated, “From very humble beginnings in a prefab building and one of only 180 employees selling cutting plotters and CAD plotters, my Mimaki journey has been one of industry innovations, technology break-throughs and significant growth. My goal as MD for Mimaki Europe is to further develop relationships with our partners and customers to meet the evolving local needs of these businesses and take Mimaki Europe into its next phase of success.”
 
Mimaki Europe also welcomes Ryosuke Nakayama as Executive Assistant to Hiraki. Nakayama joined Mimaki Engineering in 2012 and during his 8 years at the company, has excelled in marketing, sales, and product management roles worldwide. Nakayama’s extensive experience, expertise and diverse skillset will be substantial assets to the Mimaki Europe management team.
 
Hiraki succeeds Yuji Ikeda who commented, “In Hiraki and Nakayama, Mimaki Europe is adding two accomplished and highly qualified team members. I am confident that Hiraki will lead this newly bolstered team to achieve great things in the months ahead, despite the unprecedented and challenging situation we have all faced this year. I wish him and Mimaki Europe every success.”

Leading wide format inkjet printer manufacturer, Mimaki Europe, and portable fume extraction technology specialists, BOFA International have announced the market release of the BOFA Air Purifier Unit. Launched in March 2020, the product was developed for one of Mimaki’s most cost-effective yet high-performance printers, the 3.2m-wide SWJ-320EA solvent printer, and extracts VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) emitted during production to ensure a cleaner and more pleasant working environment.
 
BOFA’s R&D team utilised elements from two of its tried and tested PrintPRO Universal extractors to develop the new BOFA Air Purifier Unit. Drawing upon this expertise, BOFA created the new 4-metre-long unit that attaches directly onto the Mimaki SWJ-320EA printer, with a 5mm continuous gap from the media. It effectively extracts the fumes across its length, proceeds to filter them, and then releases the clean air back into the production environment.
 
Extensive testing has been carried out and confirmed that the level of VOCs released from the printer dropped from highs of 250ppm to as low as 1.8ppm. The BOFA Air Purifier Unit also reduces any unpleasant odour to an absolute minimum and features user replaceable HEPA/gas filters.
 
The SWJ-320EA, launched in 2019, combines productivity and print quality with low operational costs and initial outlay, offering a cost-effective solution for super-wide and large format printing. With the printer and its optional BOFA Air Purifier Unit now commercially available through Mimaki’s exclusive UK and Ireland distributor, Hybrid Services’ reseller partner network, this competitive system can form part of a cleaner print facility for the production of a wide variety of large format indoor and outdoor applications, including POS materials, vehicle wrapping, banners and billboards, displays, transport and floor graphics.
 
Bert Benckhuysen, Senior Product Manager from Mimaki Europe commented, “BOFA are market leaders in portable fume extraction technology and their expertise proved invaluable when developing a solution that supports our latest solvent printer. As a result of this successful collaboration, the ‘business benefits’ of investing in the SWJ-320EA with a BOFA Air Purifier Unit span all areas of the user’s organisation – from the production line and production floor to product quality and profitability – giving our customers a significant competitive edge.”
 
Sign and display printers interested in installing a Mimaki SWJ-320EA can order a print sample kit from the Mimaki Europe website or by contacting Hybrid Services directly in order to evaluate the print quality achievable with this system first-hand. Those looking for more detailed information are invited to join Mimaki Europe and BOFA online on the 24th September for a deep dive into this solution and the business opportunities it enables by registering here.