Inkcups Now has used one of its newest machines, the Mimaki UJF-3042, to print on all sorts of objects and promotional items. Recently the Mimaki printer was used to print on a sliding puzzle game. A sliding puzzle game typically has a grid of 9 squares in which one is missing. The user must slide one piece at a time to the correct position to reveal an image.

A sliding puzzle game is great for the promotional products industry. Giving away a free puzzle will attract attention because it is something different, something unique. Puzzles are better than pens or business cards because they require the user to apply thought and strategy consciously opposed to other promotional products that require no thought at all. For example: think of someone completing a puzzle only to realize that they have been staring directly at your company logo for over 20 minutes. Now that’s exposure!

There are almost endless images and ideas that can be printed directly onto these sliding puzzle games. The Mimaki UJF-3042 is able to apply an undercoat of white ink to make the other colors really stand out. At the same time, another layer of ink is printed on top of the white, with Mimaki’s staggered print-head. At an outstanding resolution, there are few printers on the market that can match the Mimaki UJF-3042′s quality of print.

The Mimaki UJF-3042 features:
• Resolution of 600dpi X 720dpi, 1,200dpi X 1,400dpi
• Staggered print arrangement for simultaneous white and color printing
• UV LED curable ink 6 colors (C, M, Y, K), White and Clear
• Automatic platform height adjust with laser height detection
• Accepts items up to 1.95″ (50mm) thick
• A print area of 11.81″ x 16.53″

Printer used in this project:
Type: Inkjet Printer
Brand: Mimaki
Model: UJF-3042
Standard applications: promotional items, pens, stress balls, other metal and plastic parts…
More info: Mimaki UJF-3042 Inkjet Printer page

Technorati tags: inkjet printing, promotional products, puzzles

Here is another example of PromoJET inkjet printing on plastic: Gregg printed the white sides of these plastic Rubik’s Cubes. He started with wiping the surfaces with a primer, and the adhesion is superb! So is the quality of images – click on the picture to see it closer.

The PromoJET does not have white ink so to keep colors true-to-life you should print on white or very light-colored surfaces. However, a black logo will also work on darker colors. In fact, with these Rubik’s Cubes, a black logo would look good on any side.

The cubes were printed using the standard resolution – 1440 x 1440 dpi (pixels per inch). If your graphic file is of even higher quality, you will be able to print with the resolution of 2880 x 2880 dpi. Read more