Within the world of solvent printers, the leading trend is to see roll-to-roll structures, especially because most solvent inks are not formulated to print on rigid substrates.

For the last 15 years, we at FLAAR Reports we have had the opportunity to visit trade shows around the world. So we know first hand how these printers have evolved.

And although most of the solvent printers will tend to have a roll-to-roll structure, you do find at least two types of printer structure:

• Roll to Roll printers
• Flatbed printers

In the market there are a few flatbed printers specifically for solvent.

Some companies use their UV printers (main ink) and give the customer the option of using solvent inks.

Some examples of these printers are:

Model: KUF-1600 Hybrid

KUF-1600 Hybrid. (Photography: Made-in-china.com)

Model: FCOLOR CG-A4

CG-A4 eco solvent printer. (Photography: Alibaba.com)

Classification of solvent printers by size

Roll to Roll solvent printers can be divided by size, I mean, solvent printers can be classified by their maximum print width.

During the first experiences evaluating eco-solvent, textile or UV printers it can be confusing to differentiate a printer by the size.

So it is important to be careful and check the maximum print width.

Most solvent printers have something in common: the model name is based on the size (the max print width) of the printer.

Some common sizes for Roll to Roll printers are:

1.6 meter Roll to Roll

FORNI eco solvent printer at APPPEXPO 2017.

1.8 meter Roll to Roll

GETHRAY eco solvent printer at APPPEXPO 2017.

Some of the advantages of these sizes is the convenience to carry, regularly is used for small companies.

3.2 meter Roll to Roll

GONGZHENG eco solvent printer at APPPEXPO 2017.

This year I had the opportunity to talk with 2 or 3 sales managers that took 5M printers, these are uncommon in trade shows as they told us that it was complicated to transport from one country to another and many times if you didn’t have a buyer the costs could be very high.

5 Roll to Roll Meter

Blue Print solvent printer at APPPEXPO 2017.

Since there is no industry standard, we at FLAAR Reports have set on the task of classifying wide-format printers by their main features, such as

• Ink type,
• Printer structure
• Print width
• Printhead model
• Etc.

Our mission is to provide insights and knowledge to both the wide-format printer manufacturer and the sign shop owner, who needs to make a smart investment by understanding the myriad of options in the market.