Azonprinter, or Azon, more typically known for its manufacturing of textile printing machinery, will launch an A3 UV-curable desktop flat-bed at FESPA 2013 in London at the end of this month.

The Azon Q UV A3 is intended for sign and graphics applications on a range of substrates up to 20cm thick, including glass, plastics, aluminium, wood and 'very thin' objects. Presumably intended to challenge the Mimaki UJF-3042 and UJF-6042, the machine offers CMYK plus four white channels, one pair of which can be replaced with gloss or primer.

Azon claims that flat, bent, rough or smooth surfaces can be printed using the system's LED UV curing and the company's own-label inks. Supplied with its own RIP, Azon Jet, the Azon Q UV A3 will print a 20.3 x 25.4cm area at a top speed of one minute and eight seconds, or 27.9 x 35.5cm in one minute and 43 seconds, according to the manufacturer.