Aelen & van Leeuwen, a wide format digital and screen print company based in Hillegom, The Netherlands, has installed a Screen Truepress Jet W1632UV wide format printer. It is the fourth ground-breaking large format UV inkjet printer Aelen & van Leeuwen has introduced and the first in The Netherlands.

With its 12 picolitre micro droplet print heads and speed of 94 sqm/hr, the Screen Truepress Jet W1632UV is a welcome addition to the company's production facilities, which also includes a large, high-quality, four-colour Svecia screen print press and an Inca Onset S20 digital large format printer. Combined with flexible inks the higher resolution of the Truepress enables Aelen & van Leeuwen to produce products that are intended to be viewed closely,  such as table displays, menu cards and lampshades. The Truepress is also particularly useful for smaller, high-quality runs and an ideal back-up option when other machines are too busy or being maintained.

Aelen & van Leeuwen choose a digital printer that complements its high-volume Inca Onset S20 printer. “The Screen Truepress Jet W1632UV, however, has 12 picolitre nozzles, which produces an even finer print,” says Nico Aelen. “On billboards, posters and large displays this is not usually visible because of the greater distance, but on smaller, more compact products such as counter displays, which require perfect quality images, and menu cards with smaller, sharp letter groups it comes into its own.”

He continues, “The use of flexible inks makes it easy to bend and stick mock-ups and displays onto curved surfaces, because the ink doesn’t crack or split. Another advantage associated with the ink is that it bonds particularly well with materials such as acrylic, glass, ABS, polystyrene and polypropylene, which means that we can use a more extensive range of materials to print on and consequently are able to offer our customers more options. We have opted decisively for top quality, in line with the rest of our machinery, and the level of quality our customers expect from us.”

The Truepress Jet W1632UV is a large format flatbed printer, which features 12 picolitre micro droplet print heads at a speed of 94 sqm/hr. It can print at 1200dpi to produce photo quality products. The use of flexible inks produces excellent results when materials are bent and/or punched, and increases the range of POP and POS applications. Six colours (CMYKlclm) and the special, flexible ink produce an excellent bond with materials that used to be difficult to print such as polypropylene, glass, etc. It will also tackle unique applications such as lenticular printing.