ANN ARBOR, MI & BRUSSELS, Belgium—Xitron, a leading independent developer of RIP and workflow products for commercial, digital and high-speed inkjet printing, has opened Labelexpo Europe 2019 by announcing support for the HP FI-1000 “Bar in a Box” printhead. Exhibiting in stand 9A55, the new DFE user interface is on display for prospective press manufacturers to examine and “touch.”
“This project represents a great leap forward in DFE design,” said Eric Nelsen, Xitron’s vice president of software development. “Not only have we incorporated our proven spot color matching and high-speed throughput capacity in this DFE, we’ve also added a PCA hardware interface card, engine controls, engine maintenance control and paper path controls. This means that OEMs using the HP FI-1000 in their high-speed digital presses can count on a single engineering source for the software necessary to get their presses to market quickly.”
Because the system is highly modularized, press manufacturers can choose to source all components, or only those necessary to marry up to their current systems. If they have their own workflow, for example, they can use the Xitron API to interface with the engine, maintenance, or paper path controls.
“We’re very excited to have Xitron as a workflow and RIP development partner for the SPS FI-1000 11.7-in. full color printbar. We have a high degree of confidence in their capabilities and look forward to them delivering a fully featured product,” said Gary Forszt, HP SPS strategic account manager.
Xitron was an early developer of inkjet DFEs, having designed solutions for several OEMs over the past seven years. The new platform engineered for the FI-1000 features touch screen control with a simple, intuitive GUI that provides an enhanced and productive user experience while handling back end operations at the same time.
“We’re in the final testing phase with two OEMs who plan on releasing their new presses in Q4 of this year,” continued Nelsen. “Having brought the product this far, Labelexpo is an exceptional venue to introduce it to the rest of the market.”