New MAX Bots for the Tauro H3300 have also been recently developed to handle substrate loading and unloading of up to 150 cycles per hour, thereby reducing labour costs and ensuring precision in high-volume printing. In our FESPA interview, Horsten explained: “We now see much more versatile productions, and that's why we have developed the MAX bots to give additional possibilities for stacking and unstacking. It gives that flexibility that customers need with the new Taro XUHS, which therefore almost doubles the size again on speed. “This machine is now doing 1,250sq m/h – it's just mindboggling!” Also released to Europe at FESPA was the Onset Panthera FB3216, which has been dubbed by Agfa as “the only true flatbed high-productivity inkjet printer on the market.” It offers advanced LED curing capability in comparison to previous models, designed for rapid, high-quality prints with strong gloss levels and minimal energy usage. The FB3216 offers a unique, staged curing approach, with two LED units at the front and one at the rear. The additional drying capabilities have been developed to ensure strong adhesion, a wider colour gamut, and improved high-gloss finishes. Existing Onset printers can be upgraded with this functionality, ensuring its benefits are accessible to everyone. LED curing also brings additional gains for energy efficiency. Instantaneous activation and deactivation means LED lamps consume no energy during returning passes, load and unload cycles, or while waiting for the next job. This means it uses up to 60% less power than previous Onset printers during printing, and up to 80% less in standby mode, significantly lowering operational costs and reducing the machine’s carbon footprint. Horsten concluded his interview by saying: “It's our customers that trust us. It's the customers that love what we have been doing. “Of course, we must thank the R&D teams putting these things together, but making sure everything works and keeping our customers happy is the key message we want to focus on – and that’s not as easy as people think. I'm really proud to work for a company like Agfa, where we really want to help the customer grow.” New Tech, VUTEk Not to be outdone, EFI presented a wide array of new press solutions at this year’s FESPA including three of the latest superwide presses in its VUTEk line – namely the M3h hybrid flatbed/roll-fed LED printer, the Q3h XP high-speed hybrid LED printer, and the X3r roll-to-roll LED printer for high-volume production. Speaking before the show, Todd Zimmerman, senior vice president and general manager of EFI Display Graphics, said: “FESPA is where vision meets possibility, and we’re here to help our customers see what’s next. We’re delivering the versatility, image quality, and production-level performance our customers need to stay competitive and profitable.” Aiming to provide printers with a major step up in high-volume production printing, the 3.2m EFI VUTEk M3h hybrid flatbed/ roll-fed LED printer is designed for print providers looking to reduce costs, take on more jobs, and increase turnover. The hybrid printer can handle board, sheet, or rolled media up to 5cm in thickness, giving print businesses the opportunity to explore new materials and applications which differentiate their offerings. With a four-colour ink set plus white, multilayer printing up to five layers in a single pass, and an optional clear ink, the press aims to allow printers to produce higher-value applications, helping them to gain new customers, increase volume from existing ones, and improve profitability. EFI describes the M3h hybrid LED printer by saying: “You’re not just upgrading your capabilities – you’re stepping into a superwide world of opportunities. Higher volumes, lower costs, and faster turnaround times are just the beginning.” The company’s Pro 30f+ flatbed LED printer builds on the legacy of its predecesBasically everything we had three years ago has been revamped – made better, made faster ▼Agfa’s MAX Bots aim to supercharge the automation capabilities of its presses 41 www.signlink.co.uk Issue 261 - October / November 2025 SUPERWIDE-FORMAT KIT | JONATHAN PERT The Agfa Jeti Tauro range was first introduced with the Jeti Tauro H3300 in spring 2018 Factoid
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