How to Choose a Corrugated Box Digital Printer: Width, Throughput and Ink Type

Three variables settle most decisions: width, volume and downstream handling

Whether to move corrugated printing in-house on digital equipment usually reduces to three questions: how wide can it print, how much comes off the line per hour, and whether the print survives transport and warehousing. Answer those and the shortlist largely defines itself. Everything below draws on published specifications for the nine models listed on this site; no external estimates are used.

1. Print width: 900mm and 2500mm are the two natural breakpoints

• RS1800-HPA3 prints up to 900mm wide with no limit in the feed direction, using a leading-edge feeder with a zoned vacuum platform, handling stock from 3mm to 40mm thick.
• The RS2500 series handles sheets up to 2500mm x 1350mm under automatic feeding; with manual feeding the width stays 2500mm while length becomes unlimited.
• The RS1900-E16 print/laminate/cut combination machine runs 1.9m wide and unlimited in length, but its specified stock is grey-back board, white card, coated paper and art paper. It is a carton-board machine and is not interchangeable with a corrugated board printer.

How that maps onto decisions: standard e-commerce and small-appliance boxes usually fall inside 900mm, which the RS1800-HPA3 covers. Large appliance or furniture cartons needing a single-piece layout require the RS2500 series. And if the output is folding cartons rather than corrugated boxes, the RS1900-E16 class of carton-board equipment is the relevant starting point.

2. Throughput: Single Pass and scanning architectures suit different rhythms

In a Single Pass machine the board passes once under a fixed array of heads and the image is complete. A scanning machine moves a carriage carrying the heads back and forth. That structural difference is what actually determines which order patterns each one suits.

Single Pass models (RS2500-E72G / E36S / E32S):

• RS2500-E72G: 1200mm width in high-speed mode, 150 m/min, 72 heads, above 600*300 dpi, 3-40mm stock.
• RS2500-E36S: 1200mm width in high-speed mode, 106 m/min, 36 heads, above 600*300 dpi.
• RS2500-E32S: 530mm width in high-speed mode, 200 m/min, 32 heads, above 1200*150 dpi.

Wide-format scanning models (RS2500-E20UV / R16UV / E16 / E8):

• RS2500-E20UV: 90 sq m/min, 20 heads, above 360*600 dpi, dedicated UV ink.
• RS2500-R16UV: 400 sq m/h, 16 heads, above 360*600 dpi, dedicated UV ink.
• RS2500-E16: 600 sq m/h, 16 heads, above 360*1200 dpi, dye and pigment water-based inks.
• RS2500-E8: 600 sq m/h, 8 heads, above 360*600 dpi, 2500mm width with unlimited length.

The throughput figures above are nameplate values that exclude feeding time. Real output also loses time to loading, stacking and job changeover. The practical test is therefore not which number is larger but what the mix looks like: the more hours a single board specification runs continuously, the more a Single Pass machine pays off. Where three or four layouts have to change within the hour, changeover downtime erodes that advantage and a scanning machine, or the RS1800-HPA3 built around fast job switching, will usually fit better.

3. Ink: where the water-based and UV trade-off actually sits

• Dedicated water-based ink: RS1800-HPA3 (four colours: blue, red, yellow, black).
• Dye and pigment water-based inks: RS2500-E72G / E36S / E32S / E16 / E8. The RS1900-E16 adds light cyan, light magenta, light black and light light black for eight colours.
• Dedicated UV ink: RS2500-E20UV and RS2500-R16UV, both with LED curing.

The film-forming difference between the two drives suitability:

• Water-based ink contains no VOC organic solvents, so the work area carries noticeably less solvent odour, which suits food, personal care and baby-product packaging where odour sensitivity matters.
• Water-based ink is less resistant than UV ink to water and abrasion on board surfaces. If cartons face long sea freight, high-humidity cold storage or repeated handling friction, a UV model, or laminating after printing, is the safer route.
• UV ink cures instantly under LED, so sheets can move on to die-cutting and box stitching sooner, compressing the wait between processes.

4. Two parameters that get overlooked

• Stock thickness: the corrugated models above are specified for 3-40mm, covering single wall through common BC double wall. Unusually thick or irregular board should be sampled before committing.
• Footprint and weight: the RS1800-HPA3 is roughly 2950*2000*1860mm at 2500kg; the RS2500 series is around 5000*3000*1840mm at approximately 5000kg. Floor load rating, three-phase power, a stable air supply and the loading route all need confirming with plant engineering before signing.

Summary

The sequence is: use the largest flat carton dimension to fix width first, since it acts as a pass/fail filter; then let the batch structure decide Single Pass versus scanning; then settle water-based versus UV ink according to whether moisture and abrasion resistance are required and whether odour is a concern. Specifications narrow the field, but whether a given model suits a particular order mix is best settled by running actual board samples and judging on print result and feed stability.