HIGH THROW HAS CHANGED CYLINDRICAL PRINTING

Derek LaChance (DL): “High-throw helical printing is something customers have been asking about since we first introduced High-Throw technology for flatbed direct-to-object (DTO) printing in 2025. We support many customers with services such as application testing and developing custom tooling. We are therefore keenly aware of how much larger the mix of shapes and products they need to handle is than a few years ago. Inkcups has always been at the forefront of DTO printing innovation. Because of this, we set about developing a way to achieve striking visuals on vessels with several different diameters and slants that traditional cylindrical inkjet printers couldn’t accommodate. The result is the award-winning Helix High Throw.”

DL: “With handled drinkware high on most must-have promo product lists, many customers want to offer true 360° printing on these products. Most handled tumblers feature handles that can be removed, leaving short welded posts. High-throw increases throw distance which makes it possible to print cleanly over these without sacrificing quality. Following this, the handle can simply be reattached.

“Something else we often hear is how customers want more flexibility from their technology. Whether that’s a question of being able to handle a wide range of diameters or simply to go beyond typical applications. Bringing high-throw technology to cylindrical DTO gives users the flexibility they need.”

“Inkcups has always been at the forefront of DTO printing innovation”

Sarah Hall (SH): “Bringing the team’s vision of a high-throw DTO cylindrical printer to life entailed considering hardware, software, inks and even colour profiles. We were able to leverage the experience of bringing a flatbed machine with a high-throw capability to the market. However, ultimately moving to a cylinder printer presented some unique challenges.

“Physically, the Helix high-throw is the largest in the Helix family. It stands at 255cm (100.4in) in length, with a width of 120cm (47.25ins) and height of 184cm (72.5in). Optimum print quality requires minimising print gaps as much as possible. Because of this, irregular cylindrical shapes require more space to manipulate how they are held during the printing process. The machine’s increased capability for diameter and angle are reflected in its size.

“The larger size also allows space for the innovations necessary to successfully print on an irregularly shaped, cylindrical surface. For example, we needed to add a new profile sensor to gather geometric data on each unique shape. This also entailed updating both the software and the board firmware. Vacuum capability was also added to the part holding in order to maintain stability of irregular shapes as they rotate. Finally, a segmented UV lamp was introduced to maintain speed on geometrically complex shapes.

“Higher throw distances require a heavier ink drop to be ejected from the printhead in order to avoid image distortion or blurred edges. With this in mind, we developed the Hi-R UV digital ink to support the Helix High Throw’s high-performance capabilities while maintaining reliable adhesion and durability across both the standard print gap (2mm) and larger, high-throw gaps (up to 15mm). The light cyan (Lc) and light magenta (Lm) inks of the Hi-R series can also be leveraged to maintain visually appealing gradient transitions. In addition, they can deliver photo-realistic images even with the machine’s higher throw distances.”

SH: “The software uses stored profile data to continuously adjust how ink is deposited onto the surface. The data defines the changing diameters along the part. As the print distance varies, maintaining consistent image quality requires precise control of both the size and placement of each ink droplet. To achieve this, a specialised waveform is used to produce stable droplets capable of traveling longer distances, while maintaining high placement accuracy. The machine’s software combines this optimised waveform with the scanned profile data to dynamically adjust droplet firing throughout the print. In this way, accurate ink placement and consistent image quality across the entire length of the part is ensured.”

“Bringing high-throw technology to cylindrical DTO gives users flexibility”

SH: “Printing irregularly shaped parts requires slightly slower speeds to maintain quality with accurate dot placement. Generally, more ink is not used to achieve high-throw printing, because the larger drop sizes are compensated for with the specialised colour profiles.” 

DL: “Getting a different item set up to print would take around an additional 10–15 minutes. This is due to the new unique shape-scanning camera and minor colour registration adjustments that may be needed during vessel setup. However, once a vessel or part’s profile is recognised by the software, it simply becomes a question of loading the parts and selecting the right profile.”

“The Hi-R UV digital ink supports the Helix High Throw’s high-performance capabilities”

DL: “The goal of bringing high-throw technology to the Helix range was to enable our customers to expand their printing capabilities. It has become possible to print onto the sorts of shapes that they previously couldn’t decorate using DTO-printing technology. As a result, any substrate or material that can be decorated using a machine from the Helix family is suitable for the Helix high-throw. This could be plastic, metal, ceramic or glass. Of course, selecting the appropriate pretreatment is still vital. But, as with our other cylindrical DTO printing machines, the method you choose depends on the adhesion, durability and abrasion resistance you want to achieve.”