Normally Montreal’s PAT Technology Systems is in the air filtration game, developing vacuum systems for press equipment. It first jumped into the finishing market with the Rotoworx, and has now followed up with the Varstar, a sheetfed device that applies coating as a greyscale layer using inkjet technology. Levels can be adjusted to put down as much or as little coating as needed. The result is a matte or gloss finish produced in flood, spot or multilayer coatings with a single pass. The device can be used for variable data coating or single-colour variable data printing. The Varstar runs at up to 8,000 sheets per hour at a maximum sheet size of 14.4" x 22.5".
Contact: www.pattechnology.com

The latest iteration of Fujifilm’s Dart platesetter, the 4300S model, boasts an output of 21 plates an hour at 2,400 dpi. It achieves this speed by imaging with a 32-channel laser diode exposure head working on a drum rotating at very high speeds. A more affordable model—the 4300E— is available, which runs at 11 plates an hour, also at 2,400 dpi. It, however, uses a 16-channel exposure head. Intended for small- and mid-size shops, both models can handle plate sizes up to 32 21/32" x 26". The 4300S can also be used in continuous operation with a SAL single- cassette autoloader or a MAL multi-cassette loader.
Contact: www.fujifilmgs.com

Agfa launched its :Anapurna L and XL models in North America earlier this year. At 63" and 98.5" respectively, the roll-to-roll inkjet printers are being offered as high-volume industrial print presses. They use flexible and rigid media, with the XL model offering simultaneous printing on two half-sized media as well. The :Anapurna also boasts user-replaceable UV-curing lamps, white-ink printing, borderless printing capacity and a maximum resolution of 363 x 725 dpi.
Contact: www.bitstream.com/publishing

With a high-speed start up that allows a purported 12,000 sheets per hour out of the gate, Komori has chosen to bill its new Lithrone S29 half-size sheetfed press as having “the fastest makeready available.” Nearly halving the makeready time of Komori’s previous models, it features the Full-APC system, which includes an automated plate changer that can change four plates in two-and-a-half minutes, and a plate clamp that eliminates the need for tail bending.
The S29, heir to the 26/28 series and little brother to the full-size S40, has a remodeled dampening system, a new suction tape feeder and a lower rider roller than its predecessors. The maximum printing speed is 16,000 sheets per hour (compared to the S26/28’s 15,000). A perfecting version of the press is also available, as are add-on coating and drying units.
Contact: www.komori.com

Adding a few new brands to its digital catalogue, Canon recently unveiled the imagePress C7000VP and C1. The C7000VP boasts a 70-page-per-minute run speed on varying weights of letter-sized paper. Its maximum input and output is 10,000 sheets and, like the C1, it has a maximum resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi.
The imagePress C1 is Canon’s latest entry into short-run variable printing and colour-critical design tasks. Able to run 14 colour pages or 60 black-and-white pages per minute, the C1 touts its use of Canon’s new V Toner, which uses oil-free fusing for gloss optimization. Media parameters range from 17lb. bond to 110lb. index papers, and sizes up to 13" x 19".
Contact: www.usa.canon.com