中文Mimaki is set to launch a new hybrid UV inkjet printer designed to expand capabilities for users with limited space. As part of Mimaki’s 330 Series, the new compact UJ330H-160 brings that series’ image quality and productivity into a hybrid configuration that enables seamless switching between roll media and rigid substrates in one platform. The launch addresses a growing market need: print shops that want both roll-to-roll and flatbed capability but cannot accommodate two separate machines in their production area.
The Conveyor Belt Innovation
A newly developed conveyor belt transport system ensures stable feeding of various roll materials without wrinkling or sagging, including more challenging substrates such as thin window films, fabric, and synthetic leather. This is a practical engineering solution to a real production problem. Thin roll materials — particularly window films and fabrics — are notoriously difficult to feed through flatbed-style hybrid printers without distortion, and the conveyor belt approach provides the tension control and surface support that these materials require.
For rigid materials, the integrated vacuum functionality and lock roller units enable reliable handling of large and thick media up to 50.8mm, including aluminium composite panels and foam boards. The ability to handle media up to 50.8mm thick covers the vast majority of rigid signage, display, and packaging prototyping applications, making the UJ330H-160 a genuinely versatile production tool rather than a niche device.
ELS-170 UV Inks: Sustainable Chemistry Without Performance Compromise
The machine uses ELS-170 UV inks that are SVHC- and CMR-free. SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern) and CMR (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, or Toxic to Reproduction) classifications have become critical considerations in ink selection, particularly for European markets where REACH regulations impose increasingly strict limits on hazardous chemical content in products used in professional environments.
Mimaki’s decision to develop inks that are free of both SVHC and CMR-classified substances signals a strategic commitment to sustainable chemistry that goes beyond marketing claims. Print shops operating in regulated markets need inks that can be used without special handling requirements, ventilation upgrades, or hazardous waste disposal procedures. ELS-170 inks meet those requirements while still delivering the adhesion and scratch resistance that professional applications demand.
The inks are said to deliver strong adhesion and excellent scratch resistance on more demanding substrates. Low-temperature UV curing technology further expands substrate compatibility, including heat-sensitive materials that would be damaged by the higher curing temperatures required by conventional UV ink systems. This combination of sustainable chemistry, strong adhesion, and low-temperature curing gives the UJ330H-160 a substrate range that extends well beyond the traditional sign and display market into packaging prototyping, industrial decoration, and specialty applications.
The Hybrid Market Context
The hybrid printer market — machines that can switch between roll and rigid production — has been one of the fastest-growing segments in wide-format inkjet over the past two years. The growth is driven by two factors: the economic pressure on print shops to maximize revenue per square foot of production space, and the increasing diversity of customer demands that require both roll and rigid output from the same service provider.
Mimaki’s approach with the UJ330H-160 is to make hybrid capability accessible to smaller shops that have been excluded from the hybrid market by the size and cost of existing platforms. By bringing the 330 Series’ proven print quality and productivity into a compact, affordable hybrid configuration, Mimaki is targeting a market segment that Roland DG, HP, and Canon are also competing for — the space-constrained shop that needs versatility without compromise.
The conveyor belt feed system and the SVHC-free ink chemistry are the two features that differentiate the UJ330H-160 from competitors in this segment. For shops that regularly handle thin or challenging roll materials, and for shops that operate in markets with strict chemical regulations, these features represent tangible production advantages rather than abstract specifications.
Source: PrintCAN — “Mimaki New UJ330H-160 Hybrid UV Printer”
