SCREEN Truepress Jet520HD digital inkjet press featured in print quality comparison test of inkjet v. offset in a commercial application

June 4, 2019

SCREEN America’s flagship inkjet press, the Truepress Jet520HD, was compared side-by-side with a commercial offset press in an independent test conducted by Image Test Labs (ITL), to determine if inkjet can match offset printing results.

ITL, a division of Technology Watch, LLC, devised the comparative evaluation study in early 2018 in the course of and in parallel to its consulting work with an east coast commercial printing company that was investigating various inkjet technologies and platforms. The test project was conceived when ITL reviewed samples submitted from a selection of web inkjet OEM providers. ITL noted that samples from the Truepress Jet520HD were the only web inkjet samples that were printed to standard coated stock, without priming agents or post-print coatings, and presented adhesion and appearance attributes more characteristic of offset printing than inkjet.

The test results will be published in the upcoming Spring 2019 issue of the Technology Watch newsletter. As specified by ITL, the test required the inkjet press: to print directly on “off-the-shelf” coated offset roll stock (with no pre-treatment), to have output characteristics that match offset quality over typical offset run lengths and have high-quality digital front end electronics (DFE) capability.

ITL contacted SCREEN Americas, requesting press time on the SCREEN Truepress 520HD plus materials for further evaluation and an independent test. A specially designed test image developed by an independent third party offset printer was provided for the press to replicate. The Truepress Jet 520 HD printed the test image over typical offset run lengths using its Truepress SC inks that are designed for printing on untreated, conventional offset stocks.

The Truepress Jet520HD high definition inkjet web press featuring its proprietary, wide-gamut Truepress SC Ink, was developed to enable inkjetting directly to standard offset coated papers while preserving the natural paper texture for results that rival offset quality. SCREEN currently has more than 100 of the 520HD presses installed throughout the globe including many currently in operation in the U.S.

SCREEN is proud to have had its technology included in ITL’s test study. Printers interested in obtaining a complimentary copy of the comprehensive test report are asked to contact Mark Schlimme, Vice President Marketing at SCREEN Americas: mark.schlimme@screenamericas.com.