New EFI Cretaprint hybrid printer

The newly developed proprietary printhead e·Q5 is able to operate with both traditional and water-based inks.

The new EFI Cretaprint hybrid printers are specially designed to resolve the problems that until now have affected digital tile decoration technology using water-based inks, with printhead failure a particularly serious issue.

The new machines are equipped with the innovative e·Q5 printhead with improved architecture specially designed by EFI for its hybrid printers, which allows ceramic tile producers to choose whether to use traditional eco-solvent inks or switch to water-based inks.

A simple cleaning protocol and a quick software update are all that is required to move to water-based inks at any time, explains Jose Luis Ramón Moreno, vice president and general manager of EFI Industrial Printing. This means users can invest in a technology that is proven and competitive and will be able to move with the market as it shifts to more sustainable tile decoration processes, he added.

Complementing hybrid printers, EFI Cretaprint Shield consists of auxiliary bars for digital glazing and other applications putting tile producers on a path to the future in full digital ceramic decoration.

EFI Cretaprint’s digital glazing concept involves applying the precise amount of glaze in a controlled way. This brings clear benefits. In the case of large slab production, only digital glazing guarantees the homogeneous glazing necessary for this kind of material. Moreover, for standard sizes digital glazing has proved its ability to reduce the consumption of materials, both because it applies the minimum necessary quantity and because it reduces “non-quality” costs such as the defects that often appear after lapping or polishing.