中文The new Mimaki UJ330 H-160 was centrestage on the company’s expansive stand at Visual Impact, with the H in its name signaling a hybrid system that prints onto both rigid and roll-to-roll media. For Australian print service providers juggling diverse short-run jobs, the appeal is consolidation: one machine that can move seamlessly between roll and rigid work without the overhead of two dedicated devices.
Designed to switch between roll and rigid, Mimaki says the UJ330 H-160 lets businesses consolidate production across short-run packaging, retail displays, labels, window films and fabric applications. At the show, visitors saw two UJ330 H systems operating side by side, demonstrating capabilities across both roll-to-roll and rigid media. The setup gave a practical look at how the technology supports different production requirements within a single print environment.
A newly developed belt transport system ensures stable media handling for tissue-thin paper stock and fabrics, reducing common issues such as creasing and misfeeding that plague lesser-equipped hybrid machines. At the core of the printer is a high-density, high-definition print engine delivering what Mimaki describes as consistent solids, smooth gradients and premium finish quality at production speeds of up to 14 square meters per hour. Automated adjustment functions further simplify operation, allowing consistent output without highly specialized training.
Jason Hay, national sales manager at Mimaki Australia, framed the launch in practical terms. Rigid production in Australia has traditionally required mounting, outsourcing or dedicated flatbed equipment, he said, and the UJ330 H-160 changes that equation. With its auto-vacuum system and front and rear lock rollers, businesses can confidently run large screen-board panels or thick foam boards in-house, capturing work that previously left the building.
The exhibition lineup reflected Mimaki’s broader developments in UV and DTF technology. The UJV200 Series on show is the company’s new UV roll-to-roll solution, designed to make high-quality UV printing more accessible while supporting a broad range of sign and graphics applications. The UCJV330 roll-to-roll UV print-and-cut flagship model reflected continued development of Mimaki’s UV technologies in response to changing market requirements, while the TxF300 DTF system for apparel decoration highlighted textile and garment capabilities.
Rounding out the display was the popular CJV200 eco-solvent print-and-cut solution, which Mimaki says delivers high-density prints at speed. Alongside the equipment and application demonstrations, attendees on the Mimaki stand also experienced live vehicle-wrap demonstrations, and a few lucky printers received Supercars entry ticket giveaways, underscoring the brand’s effort to make the stand as experiential as it was technical.
For print providers, the hybrid message is increasingly compelling. As brands request smaller batches, more SKUs and faster turnarounds, the bottleneck is rarely the print itself but the media handling and changeover between job types. A single hybrid engine that tolerates thin paper, fabric and thick board reduces capital outlay, floor space and operator training, while keeping more margin in-house.
The UJ330 H-160 also speaks to a wider shift in wide-format: the blurring of lines between sign, display, packaging and industrial print. A shop that once needed separate rigids, roll and specialty machines can now approach a far broader brief from one platform. For Australian PSPs competing against offshore producers, that flexibility is a genuine competitive edge.
The hybrid category has matured quickly. Where early hybrids forced compromise, the UJ330 H-160 is positioned as a genuine two-in-one: a rigid flatbed and a roll-to-roll device sharing one engine, one workflow and one operator skill set. For Australian print service providers, where floor space and capital are both constrained, that consolidation is the headline benefit, removing the need to choose between disciplines or to outsource work that does not fit a single machine.
Mimaki’s broader stand reinforced the strategy. By showing UV roll-to-roll, UV print-and-cut, DTF and eco-solvent side by side, the company signalled that hybrid is not a single product but a philosophy: meet the customer’s whole application mix from one trusted supplier. For PSPs competing against low-cost offshore production, the ability to turn a same-day retail-display, rigid-signage and fabric job on one platform is a defensible local advantage that speed and service, not price, can win.
The hybrid’s commercial logic is strongest for businesses that today split work across several machines. A sign shop that prints banners on roll equipment and then sends rigid boards to an outsourced flatbed loses margin twice: once on the subcontract and again on the turnaround time the customer notices. Bringing both in-house on one platform collapses that gap. Mimaki’s automated adjustment functions are aimed squarely at shops without a dedicated colour or prepress specialist, letting a competent operator achieve consistent results without deep expertise. That lowers the risk of adopting a more capable machine and shortens the path from demo to productive use. In a market where responsiveness increasingly wins contracts, the ability to say yes to rigid, roll and fabric jobs from a single engine is a strategic advantage, not merely a convenience, and it is why hybrid architectures are becoming the default rather than the exception for forward-looking PSPs.
Source: Print21 (https://print21.com.au/vi-mimaki-shows-hybrid-uj330-h-160/)
