UNDER THE HOOD / SWISSQPRINT NYALA 5 January 2025 saw the introduction of the ‘fifth-generation’ models in swissQprint’s flatbed UV printer range, with the Nyala and Impala machines gaining the ‘5’ suffix. While the simple increment from four to five might imply the normal refinement and progression to be expected in any mature product line, there are some significant changes here, based on the design introduced with the range-topping Kudu that was launched at FESPA Global Print Expo 2022. A key attribute of the Kudu was the capability support of up to 30 print heads in three rows. This increased the mass of the printhead carriage assembly and necessitated the design of a stronger and more rigid beam to support it, plus a redesigned printer base for greater stability. The structure was complemented by the adoption of linear drive motors which replaced the belt drive system used in previous swissQprint flatbeds. These enable faster acceleration and deceleration of the printhead carriage and so there’s an overall increase in speed, without sacrificing accuracy of dot placement and therefore image quality. The new motors are also said to be less noisy in operation and have better wear characteristics than the belt drives they replace. The other thing the Kudu brought was an increase to ten colour channels instead of the nine that were previously standard. This allows more flexibility in selection of ink sets, which in addition to regular CMYK, light cyan, magenta, and key plus white and clear varnish for effects, also includes an orange for gamut expansion, and two ‘neons’ – pink and yellow. All the inks are GreenGuard Gold certified and thus suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications. There are also some primer formulations for applications such as glass printing. This allows a wide range of production options to be supported without having to change the machine ink supply. Nyala Not New? While the Kudu was essentially a brandnew model, the Nyala was introduced a full decade earlier, in 2012, and has achieved significant market presence in its sector of high-end flatbeds, hitting 1000 installations worldwide in 2023, and holding a European segment leadership position since 2015, according to swissQprint. The new version moves the Nyala to the same mechanical configuration as the Kudu, with the linear drive speed bringing a 23% speed increase, pushing the Nyala to 253sqm/hr in single-pass mode at 450 x 1200dpi, which UK managing director Erskine Stewart says is of saleable quality and has been demonstrated to prospective buyers at the company’s open house events. The main difference now between the Nyala and the Kudu is that the latter can carry up to three rows of printheads while the former is limited to two. Both offer beds of 3240 x 2030mm on which media up to 50mm thick and weighing up to 30kg per square metre can be handled. Both offer a 3.2m roll-fed option and dual 1.5m roll capability, to a weight of 180kg for a single roll and 50kg each for dual, plus an oversize board option that supports items up to 4m in length, mostly useful in architectural The start of 2025 saw the launch of swissQprint’s fifth generation of flatbed printers. Michael Walker looks at the latest features of the top-selling Nyala model Diving Into swissQprint’s Latest Nyala Model Michael Walker is a trade journalist, technical writer, and editor with over 37 years’ experience in the print, prepress, photography, and digital imaging sectors, with a particular interest in the digital transformation of processes. In addition to editing Desktop Publishing Today and Digital Printer magazines, he is co-author with Neil Barstow of Getting Colour Right (Ilex Press, 2004) and Practical Colour Management for Photographers and Digital Image Makers (2009, self-published e-book) and winner of a Communicators in Business Gold Award. 30 email: editor@signlink.co.uk Issue 259 - June / July 2025
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