Alexa Cart explores the wide choice of fool-level small uv direct to substrate printers, with kinds of printhead, quality and varied prices.
Some direct printer used kinds of printheads most popular is epson Micro Piezo printhead, Konica printhead and Richo printhead, Micro Piezo is the brand name of the proprietary piezoelectric inkjet print head technology developed by Japanese imaging company Epson. In the past Epson printheads were used by Roland, Mimaki, Brotherjet and Epson itself.
Epson heads are used by thousands of printshops around the world but are considered entry-level compared to industrial level of the other Japanese brands. Although claimed to be “permanent” in fact Epson heads wear out, especially because many of these heads have to be constantly purged (which uses a lot of their expensive ink as well). But the print quality is quite good (during the moments there is no banding from clogged Epson nozzles!). The dx5 printhead
has 8 channel color, one machine only used on printhead so it has low cost for machine production. The printhead is cost 800usd/pcs.
Konica Minolta printheads
The Konica Minolta team from Japan are recognized worldwide and provide knowledge and expertise. In the last six years the market share of Konica Minolta has risen, especially in mid-level printers. But the print quality is not good for small flatbed printing. and on machine need to used five printheads. The printhead is cost 1100usd/pcs.
Ricoh printheads
The use of Ricoh heads is quietly but surely taking more market share. Whereas Xaar, Konica Minolta and Spectra teams are readily visible (often with their own booth), there is almost never any Ricoh printhead booth. The print quality is quite good, but on machine need to used five printheads. The printhead is cost 3400usd/pcs.
Becaue print head cost, Prices vary hugely at this level, from $6000 to $50,000, as does productivity. That said, few of these machines are really fast enough to compete on price against the flatbeds so the ability to handle a wide range of different substrates is important.
Alexa Cart, marketing manager for Brotherjet, advises: “If you want to make money you have to go for quality rather than speed. If you have good quality then you can charge a higher margin and that makes a viable business”
What’s available?
Mimaki has launched a very compact flatbed, UJF-3042 Desktop Size UV LED Flatbed Printer, which is used Richo GEN5 Printhead, It can produce up to 10sqm/hr, Resolution ranges from 360 to 1440dpi. It uses LED curing, and there’s a choice between a hard and a more flexible ink set, with both offering CMYK plus white and clear inks. 220 ml cartridge / 600 ml ink pack, The ink from japan, ink cost around 300usd echo litre. The machine cost around 40000$.
VersaUV LEF-12 is Roland’s first flatbed UV-LED printer capable of printing on the surfaces of two- and three-dimensional objects up to 100mm thick. LEF-12 prints on objects up to 12” x 11” x 3.94” in size. Resolution ranges from 360 to 1440dpi, Equipped with long-life LED UV-curing lamps, the LEF-12 requires no warm-up time, making it efficient to use and cool to the touch. Because the integrated UV-LED lamps instantly cure ink during printing, it can print directly onto materials such as PET, ABS, PVC, polycarbonate, PS and other plastics, as well as leather, papers and card stocks. 6 colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, White and Clear), 220 ml cartridge, The ink from japan, ink cost around 400usd echo litre. The machine cost around 35000$.
Brotherjet BR-U1800 a3 desktop uv led flatbed printer have break through in technology in terms of sizes, cost and durability, more and more ordinaries can own it to bloom their business. BrotherJet launched the smallest A3 desktop UV LED printer with the advanced DTS-U2 pigment uv led curing inks which is refillable with CISS ink systems in lowest production cost. Utilizing the BrotherJet RIP and optional ArtisRIP, you can print the dark world by opaque white ink and vibrant, full color images. Omnipotent UV led ink offers unlimited printing possibilities of varietal materials covering from:Metal, wood, plastic, acrylic, ABS, bamboo, aluminum, ceramic tiles, glass and to more and more. Equipped with EPSON printer head DX5 ,the BR UV direct printing system realize the real photo printing quality with 2880*1440DPI. 
It has the highest resolution and most exquisite performance. Nothing less than Mimaki-UJF-3042 or Roland LEF-12. 220ml ciss, The ink from Korean, ink cost around 80usd echo litre. The machine only cost around 6000$
