Live at FESPA…the highlights so far!

FESPA Global Print Expo 2026 was only 30 minutes old when Summa CEO Stijn Hendericks and Managing Director Geert Pierloot excitedly unveiled the company’s new F Series Vantage range of flatbed cutting tables. This was quickly followed by Durst’s launch of the P5 350 CORE, opening the floodgates to a plethora of new products, upgrades to existing tech and wide-reaching announcements about software and workflow enhancements. Here’s a brief look at the first few days.

AGFA: The mechanical Buckin’ Bronco was a feature of Day One on AGFA’s FESPA stand, to amplify the European debut of the Jeti Bronco H3300 HS, a hybrid wide format UV LED inkjet press designed for versatility and high productivity. But the rodeo ride was short-lived, closed down by Day Two after at least one visitor to the stand left with an injury as well as a cowboy hat to acknowledge that he had given it a go. Thankfully the incident didn’t dampen interest in Agfa’s ‘Powerful by Nature’ range of wide-format inkjet solutions which includes the fully automated Onset Panthera flatbed press, shown with its autoloader and unload robot alongside the Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS. The Jeti Bronco has been designed to bridge the gap between AGFA’s popular Anapuma Ciervo and Jeti Tauro range, and features a seven-colour plus white ink set and is made to handle a broad range of media. Another show-first for AGFA was the latest release of Asanti workflow (v8), which includes more automation, smarter media handling, extended cutter support, improved colour rendering, and advanced job sorting and layout capabilities.

Canon: Whilst Canon has plenty to show visitors on its FESPA stand, dominating – both physically and metaphorically – is the European event debut of the new Colorado XL-series 3.4m printer, which truly talks to Canon’s theme for the event to ‘Move Your World’. Able to easily interchange between flatbed and rigid media, the press’ versatility is matched by its exceptional productivity, with print speeds of 70m² per hour in quality mode, 106m² per hour in production mode and up to 211m² per hour in express mode. The printer extends the proven advantages of Canon’s UVgel technology to the 3.2m graphics market, making it an ideal solution from signage and décor to point of sale and packaging, delivering application versatility across a comprehensive range of media, including banner, paper, vinyl and films to soft signage, heat-sensitive materials, foam board, fluted polypropylene, acrylic and aluminium composite boards and accommodating substrates up to 52mm thick for rigid applications.

Durst: The super-size 5m Hasler cutter and the robotic arms of Durst’s next generation Kyveris Sandbox protoype were the first things to grab you attention when walking onto Durst’s prime FESPA real estate. But for any Aussie visitors contemplating investing in Your First Durst, the very real potential of the new P5 350 CORE is the company’s real show-stopper. Enigmatic CEO, Christoph Gamper, describes the CORE as ‘the entry point into the Durst ecosystem, opening its product base up to a broader mid-market segment’. The Kyveris intelligence system-ready hybrid machine can print boards up to 3.5m-wide, single rolls up to 3.47m or dual rolls up to 1.625m. It uses 7pl Ricoh Gen5 printheads and offers up to 10 colour channels and can print at peak speeds of up to 325sqm/hr and production speeds up to around 170sqm, making it suitable for various applications, including flexible media and direct inline fixation.

EFI: Amongst FESPA’s many high-rollers, it would be hard to walk past the Electronics For Imaging (EFI) stand which features a broad range of new hybrid, roll-to-roll, and textile inkjet innovations, including the new EFI VUTEk M3h X hybrid LED printer, new EFI VUTEk® FabriVU® 340 i8 eight-colour dye sublimation printer, the EFI VUTEk X5r roll-to-roll LED printer, and the EFI VUTEk Q3h XP seven-colour hybrid printer, each designed to help sign and display producers scale output, diversify applications, and drive more profitable growth. For sign and display producers ready to take on higher-volume production-level printing, the VUTEk M3h X printer delivers high-quality imaging at high speeds and true hybrid versatility for board and roll printing in one system, enabling new applications and revenue streams without added equipment. With robust and automated design features for reliable operation, advanced print capabilities like white ink and multilayer printing up to nine layers, and energy-efficient LED curing, the VUTEk M3h X printer helps print providers reduce costs, increase margins, accelerate turnaround times, and differentiate their offerings. The new EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340 i8 3.4-metre dye sublimation printer with inline fixation also makes its debut at FESPA. This printer is specifically designed to meet the colour-fidelity demands of retail, event, and branded environments with eight-colour printing that reproduces a wider gamut, renders richer tones and smoother gradients, and more accurately matches brand colours.

Epson: No surprise that Epson’s significant FESPA offering includes something for everyone, inviting print service providers, garment decoration and personalization specialists, design studios, and sign makers alike to discover its latest solutions for textile printing and sublimation, DTF (direct-to-film) printing, direct-to-fabric printing, visual communication/signage, and UV printing, as well as tools to increase workflow efficiency and improve colour management. New to the show and to the Epson line-up, is the SureColor V4000 mid-range UV flatbed printer (addition to Epson’s V-Series UV printer lineup), which will also be released in Australia and New Zealand later this year. The SC-V4000 is perfectly designed for businesses operating in limited spaces, offering significant productivity gains while optimising space efficiency. It achieves enhanced image quality with sharp text reproduction, making it an ideal choice for printing high-quality personalised items such as fine art, photography and signage, thereby according to Epson ‘raising the bar in the UV flatbed market’. It has the ability to handle media up to 980x700mm and up to 200mm in thickness, supporting printing on substrates such as acrylic, vinyl, Coreflute, film, canvas and wood. This opens the door to signage production, POP/POS materials, décor panels, premium packaging, cabinetry components, and customised promotional items, giving growing businesses some new paths to broaden their business opportunities.

HEXIS: It would be fair to say that no other brand has brought as much colour to FESPA, with French film manufacturer, HEXIS, launching a range of new colours for its CandyFence 7.5mil carbon fibre paint protection film range. Look a little closer and the company has also added to its popular HEXpressions range for interior décor and is keen to leave visitors with an understanding that it has films and wraps for almost every use, from robust outdoor options that might be used on a windfarm or similar, through to purpose-designed boat bottom protection films, that prevent barnacles from growing and push the timeline for changing out of the film from a one to two year cycle. Innovation is the name of the game for this family-owned quiet achiever and definitely one to visit at FESPA and to watch in the months and years to come.

HP: Staying true to its claim to deliver a Transformation with every Print, the HP FESPA stand offering was never going to disappoint. HP’s continued advancement of its HP Latex Technology goes from strength to strength and while its new, most productive Latex printer, the FS70 W, seems to be attracting plenty of interest, there is a reason that HP chose to ensure that its compact and versatile HP Latex R530 (still arguably presenting as the best fit for small to mid-size Australian PSPs) was quite literally the very first printer visitors to FESPA will see on the way in. But arguably the most interesting HP development is in its new HP DesignJet Z6 and Z9⁺ PostScript Printer Series which HP describes aptly as ‘the next step in the evolution of Large Format Printing’. Designed for small and medium-sized businesses, including photo studios, retailers, copy shops, education facilities, and architecture firms, the HP DesignJet Z9⁺ Plus Edition Printer is ideal for colour-critical applications, including professional photography and high-end graphics. It also features an embedded spectrophotometer for consistent colour calibration and optional HP Gloss Enhancer for improved gloss uniformity and its productivity print modes can increase output by up to 90%. This launch reinforces HP’s broader momentum in Large Format Printing, including continued innovation in the HP PrintOS Production Hub workflow automation.

Mimaki: Similarly, plenty to talk about on the Mimaki stand too with diversity the name of the game here as the company turns its stand into a dynamic showcase of real-life applications, print workflows, and growth opportunities under a ‘Print Different – Powering Possibilities’ theme. Focusing very much on the applications and their outputs, the stand features ‘experience areas’ spanning hybrid UV, sign graphics, textile, personalisation, and high-volume production. Showcased for the first time at an international show, the recently launched UJ330H-160 hybrid UV printer – which has now seen plenty of airtime back in Australia – enabled visitors to see how one technology platform can support both roll-to-roll and rigid applications. Another show highlight is Mimaki’s UJV200 Series, also making its international tradeshow debut at FESPA. Developed to make high-quality UV roll-to-roll printing more accessible, the UJV200 Series supports a wide range of sign and graphics applications, combining Mimaki image quality with the creative possibilities of UV printing, including white and clear ink effects.

Mutoh: For Mutoh, any new product news at FESPA was always going to be over-shadowed – albeit positively – by affirmation of its recent acquisition by Brother. Undoubtedly an event show first for Mutoh is signage above its stand that confirms ‘Mutoh a group company of Brother’. Conversation both on the Mutoh stand itself and diagonally opposite on the Brother stand were all extremely positive about this new opportunity for both brands. Meanwhile there was a FESPA and EMEA debut for Mutoh’s latest roll-to-roll eco-solvent printer, the XpertJet 1681SR Pro, which features an expanded colour gamut, speeds of up to 17sqm/hr, GBL-free inks and an AccuFine HD Pro single-head piezo with 3,200 nozzles. The eight channel printer is supplied locally with Mutoh MS51 eco-solvent inks, including CMYK, light cyan, light magenta, orange and red ‘to offer signmakers a practical route to expanded colour capabilities and smooth gradation, supported by relevant low-VOC credentials for indoor-focused applications’.

Roland DG: Plenty on offer at Roland DG’s FESPA stand, set against the company’s new Make Your Mark maxim, including the TrueVis XP-640, XG-640 and LG-640; VersaObject MO-180 and LO-300-F2; VersaStudio BN2-30 and BD-12; Dimense DA-640; TY-300i; VersaWorks 7; Roland DG Connect; and LSINC. Centre stage for Roland DG’s FESPA foray, is being shared by the new TrueVis VG4 Series – a next generation eco solvent print and cut solution designed to help sign makers and print service providers achieve premium quality results with greater ease and confidence – and the EU2-1000MF: a large format UV flatbed printer developed to streamline rigid media production, enabling efficient, direct to board printing in demanding, high output environments. The stand also includes previews of the RC-300 cylindrical printer, IO-300 flatbed printer, new hard UV ink & AG-640, showing that the company has plenty in the pipeline towards helping customers make their mark.

Summa: the new F Series Vantage flat-bed cutting tables from Belgian manufacturer Summa has been designed to speed up finishing operations, with the new system expected to deliver up to 40% productivity gains. Unveiling the F-1612 (working area of 160x120cm) and 1625 (160x250cm), Summa also announced that three further formats are in the pipeline for the near future (184x320cm, 327x210cm and 327x 320cm). The F series, which includes a new 3.7kW high-frequency router, as well as several tangential cutting modules, is particularly targeting signage and visual display customers looking to expand their applications into more rigid materials.

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