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Inkcups Helix One

A dedicated DTO option for parallel and tapered cylinders, says Simon Eccles

Cones are rotated at an angle so that the
straight edge is always at a constant dis-
tance from the printhead. Inkcups says
that most competitors are belt-driven,
but the Helix One has a precision linear
servo/rail system with a linear encoder
controlling the carriage motion and syn-
chronising the inkjet head firing clock.

The LV series ink is UV-cured, with a seg-
mented curing lamp that “minimises the
carriage travel for a given image size,”
says Grauf. It’s suited to substrates
including powder coats, stainless steel
and rigid plastics. Some materials work
best with a primer that is available if you
order an extra printhead.
What does it do? ideal solution for businesses exploring Helix One is supplied with Onyx RIP soft-
Helix One is a direct-to-object full colour new markets, with a lower investment ware controlled from a separate PC. It
inkjet printer for parallel and tapered cyl- than other direct-to-object solutions, accepts standard PDF or EPS files.
inders that is compact enough to fit on a minimal footprint, and full colour, pro- Artwork can be set up in Adobe
desktop or be used in a shop kiosk. The Specifications ductive, and quality print operations.” Illustrator or Photoshop. For conical sec-
case is styled with bright colours and tions you’d need to measure the object
curves to look more like an office appli- Process UV inkjet How does it work? and set up the appropriate 2D shape for
direct-to-object
ance than an industrial machine. It is Housed in an attractively styled casing, the wraparound.
made by the US-based Inkcups, which Resolution the lift-up front door includes a As standard the Helix One is intended to
also makes pad printers and laser plate 600x1,200dpi UV-filtered smoked glass window to fit on a desktop or similar surface, but
engravers for direct-to-object work. Its show job progress. There’s a touchscreen there’s an optional standalone base with
Helix range of direct-to-cylinder printers Colours CMYK plus control panel and buttons on the front storage cabinet for ink and supplies.
was first introduced in 2016; the name white plus varnish panel below the door. Inside the system There’s also an optional ink mist extrac-
refers to the spiral line of print as the (plus optional uses an inkjet printhead on a travelling tion system, which sounds like a good
inkjet head advances along the rotating primer) carriage that moves from side to side idea around an office or shop.
cylinder. across the width of the print area. The
Part length How fast is it?
51-305mm colours are CMYK plus white and clear,
When was it announced and what with an optional primer as a seventh Throughput depends on the size of the
are the target markets? Part diameter channel. Inkcups says its printheads use items being printed, but Inkcups reckons
The compact Helix One was launched in 45-120mm MEMS technology that’s new to its Helix that on average it can print one vessel per
April 2023 and shown at Fespa Global range. “Early users have been amazed by minute.
Print Expo. It’s said to be particularly Max image length the output quality and consistency of this
suited to drinks applications: bottles, 220mm head,” claims Grauf. Underneath the How easy is it to implement and
cans and flasks. “The compact size and Max taper angle 7° head carriage is an automatic program- use?
price point make it well-suited to print mable tooling fixture and height adjusta- “As an entry-level solution, the Helix One is
shops aiming to target new markets with ble rotation mechanism. This holds and user-friendly and intuitive,” says Grauf.
an entry-level yet efficient and high print supports the target parts (Inkcups also “Training and support from Inkcups are
quality solution,” says Bobby Grauf, man- calls them ‘vessels’) and automatically provided to operators to maximise the
aging director of Inkcups Europe. “There tilts and rotates to optimise print quality machine’s productivity and fully benefit
was a clear desire for a more modular and speed. The parts must be fully cylin- from the range of additional features.”
machine that could run independently as drical (ie not oblongs) and straight-sided,
an entry-level printer, so the ability to either as parallel-sided cylinders or coni- What does it cost?
scale up is very attractive to users. It is an cal sections (maximum taper is 7º). The complete system is about £60,000.

“As an entry-level solution, the Helix One is user-friendly and intuitive.”

30 PrintWeek MENA March 2024 www.printweekmena.com