Testing the Versant 80 Before Purchase – Registration Issues

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  • CBravo
    Technician
    • May 2024
    • 15

    #1

    Testing the Versant 80 Before Purchase – Registration Issues



    Testing the Versant 80 Before Purchase – Registration Issues

    In an effort to thoroughly test the used Versant 80 before making a purchase decision, I arranged with the vendor to print an initial batch I needed for cosmetic box packaging production.

    I printed 500 sheets of GC-1 290 gsm board. At first glance, the prints looked fine — the image was slightly skewed, but I assumed that could be calibrated.

    However, once I measured using a ruler, I noticed that the print position varied by up to 6mm (+-3mm) on the X-axis and over 3.5mm (+-~2mm) on the Y-axis.

    I scanned around 40 prints precisely using a high-quality Heidelberg A3 scanner, imported the images into Photoshop, and conducted a detailed analysis. I also scanned the ruler alongside each sheet so the deviation on both axes could be seen.

    As part of the artwork, there is a square element that I cropped out from each scanned sheet — this made the misregistration issue very clear and easy to demonstrate.

    Equipment used:
    • Printer: Versant 80 with Advanced High Capacity Feeder (AHCF), with around 2.6 million impressions, production package.
    • Paper: GC-1 290 gsm, 330 x 488mm, very precisely cut.
    • RIP: EX80 external RIP
    • Tray: Printing was mostly done from Tray 5 (Bypass Tray), as the vendor advised that due to the thickness of the board, Trays 6 and 7 would jam, which they did. The vendor attempted to print from Trays 6 and 7, but after several jams, we switched back to Tray 5.

    The printed sheets were intended to go through hot foil stamping and die cutting. However, because the printed artwork varies by as much as ±3mm on the X-axis (a total of up to 6mm deviation side-to-side) and about 3.5mm on the Y-axis, the entire batch of 500 prints, 330 x 488mm, was unusable for its intended purpose.

    As a result, I ended up wasting over 500 sheets of expensive board stock.

    The Customer Expectation & Installation Guide states that front-to-back registration is ±1.0mm, but nowhere does it mention the accuracy of image-to-sheet registration (i.e., image position tolerance relative to the sheet edges).

    My question is:
    Is the Versant 80 even suitable for applications that require precise registration, such as hot foil stamping and die cutting?

    Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you all.
    Attached Files
  • CynthiaTaylor
    Junior Member
    • Jun 2025
    • 2

    #2
    Thanks for sharing😘
    Edit by Geometry Dash Lite 5 minutes ago

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