Double Helix® Cylindrical Inkjet Printer

The Double Helix® cylindrical inkjet printer is the latest addition to the successful Helix® Digital Cylinder Printer line. This new UV cylindrical printer features two print fixtures for double the production volume. With this increase in speed, this machine is best geared toward industries where production runs are medium to high including the drinkware market, barware market, spirit market, craft brew market (including cans and bottles), candle market and many more. This cylindrical inkjet printer is capable of printing two of the same parts, simultaneously.

As with its standard counterpart, the Double Helix® was designed to print full-color (CYMKWW+V) images on straight-walled and tapered cylinders. Achieve design techniques such as mirror print, tip-to-tip printing, spot varnish and more at extremely high-quality color reproduction. The Double Helix® utilizes patented Helix® technology in combination with the best print head technology to deliver 7-picoliter of ink droplets precisely along the surface of the vessel while it is spinning at a high rate. Print two parts up to 12 in (305 mm) in length and artwork up to 8.6 in (220 mm) in length.

Part or tooling changeover is just as simple as the flagship Helix® but is doubled. Still the fastest in the industry, part changeover with the Double Helix® takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish. The automatic height adjust makes it easier than ever to ensure your part is at the right angle to print flawless graphics. Inkcups offers a custom tooling service for all customers to perfectly fit the Double Helix® to get you up and running quickly. We take dimensions of your products, develop the concept, prove it out, create the tooling and test it. Our custom tooling team is well-versed in many substrates and in combination with their Helix® knowledge, are able to create the best fixture per part.

The Double Helix® cylindrical inkjet printer accepts all UV inks by Inkcups. Add transparent pin curing (TPC) in combination with our patented MagiCoat® Pre-Treatment Solution and DL UV inkjet ink for glass to get the best adhesion to glassware, barware, spirit bottles, beer bottles and more. This full-solution ensures printhead longevity as well as a sanitary process from start to finish.

Serviceability on the Double Helix® is easier than ever. Recent upgrades to the interior of this cylindrical inkjet printer make it more efficient to service. The Double Helix® now features a wider frame with an illuminated interior making it easier to access frequently adjusted parts of the machine.

See our full line-up of cylindrical inkjet printers or visit the Support Hub to learn more about this UV printing method.

BENEFITS OF THE DOUBLE HELIX®

COLORBOOST

The Double Helix is now equipped with ColorBoost. ColorBoost improves the quality/pass count trade-off enabling printing of 12 pass quality at 6 pass speeds. This technology dedicates a head per color and allocates 2 channels per head rather than 1 channel per head.

PRINT-ON-DEMAND WORKFLOW

The Double Helix® can easily integrate into any print-on-demand workflow. Utilizing our patented ArtPrep automatic art preparation software, customers can submit their unique artwork online, have it prepped in ArtPrep and sent to the Double Helix® for printing. . The Double Helix’s unique ability to print 2 different artworks on 2 vessels at the same time, make it that much more beneficial for this industry. Learn more about our print on demand drinkware solutions.

Learn more about our automatic art preparation software: ArtPrep

Learn More about ArtPrep

Automation-Ready

The Double Helix® is now available automation-ready for the utmost efficient print cycle. Utilize the universal robot to both load and unload to the following configurations: a single Double Helix®, or two Double Helix® machines. Three benefits of integrated automation include: more consistent production times, 24/7 production capabilities, and the elimination of down time. The Automation System utilizes a handling system of either vacuum or dual gripper system. Automation can be added to both new and existing Double Helix® machines.

See the Double Helix® with Automation in Action

PROGRAMMABLE TILT

Easily adjust a fixture’s angle for tapers by saving each product’s specifications in the system software. Simply set the angle and assign a number to the product type. The Double Helix’s® part fixture will auto-adjust once that number is selected for a quick and easy part changeover.

TV Curing Helix Digital Cylinder Printer

TRANSPARENT PIN CURING (TPC)

Transparent pin curing or TPC enables clear products such as plastic bottles and glassware to be printed without filling the vessel with a UV-blocking substance. This field upgradeable, patent pending technology reduces the wear and tear of print heads, improves production processes and ensures your product remains uncontaminated on the inside. Inkcups is using a unique, proprietary curing lamp to ensure uniform pinning radiation over a range of radii, taper angles, and curvatures in the vessel.

OUT OF ROUND CHECK AND PRODUCTION LOG

For print consistency, Double Helix® users can benefit from the out of round check feature and the production log feature. The out of round check feature acts as a crash protection and doubles as a tool to wean out inconsistent products before printing. The result is less head crash, less machine interruption and more printing up-time. The production log feature helps provide real-time data to supervisors. This data contains print speed, ink consumption, operator efficiencies, and more. Custom dashboards can be created and meaningful data can be managed through Microsoft Excel.

Learn more about Print Consistency

INTEGRATED PRE-TREATMENT

Add in-line pre-treatment to the Double Helix®. From a variety of jettable primers to corona to plasma, this cylindrical inkjet printer can reduce the number of machines used in the printing process down to one. Choose from specialized jettable primers or speak to our application experts to understand your substrate and adhesion needs.

Print Innovation

Mirror Print

The mirror print feature on the Double Helix® digital cylinder printer leverages our specialized helical software to lay down an image using colored ink, then a layer of white ink over it, and another color image layer over that. The resulting effect is a mirror image of the interior and exterior artwork. Depending on the design, an image printed on the inside layer can be different from what’s printed on the outside.

More information about mirror print can be found here: UV Cylindrical Inkjet Printer Design Features: Mirror Print

Lustre Effect

Lustre Effect, a one-of-a-kind print technology, prints a range of 280 metallic shades effortlessly onto aluminum, metal, and stainless-steel drinkware. Compatible with all digital cylinder printers in the Helix® line, the Double Helix® offers an additional boost to the already efficient software technology eliminates time-consuming manual steps and trial and error, resulting in the perfect metallic print every time.

Print stunning metallic artwork on metal drinkware vessels like aluminum cans, stainless steel tumblers or stemless wine glasses, aluminum pint glasses and more.

Full Coverage

Print the full length of a straight or tapered drinkware cylinder (up to 8.6″) in a single print cycle with Helix® Top-to-Bottom print technology. At the same time, print full-wrap images up to 360° around cylinders.

Tone-on-Tone & Contour Print

The Double Helix® digital cylinder printer’s tone-on-tone feature gives drinkware a truly elegant look by applying gloss effects using high-quality varnish formulations without color. Contour print layers the ink to give drinkware a highly appealing textured 3D feel. The end result is a one-of-a-kind, almost irresistible print effect.

Photorealistic Rotary Printing

With the addition of 2 new colors: light cyan and light magenta, the Double Helix® can now achieve true skin tones, smoother gradients, and higher resolution than ever before!

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES

Head Recovery System

The Head Recovery System is capable of cleaning both Gen 4 and Gen 5 printheads. Head recovery can be performed to restore printheads that may be clogged and generally increase the longevity of the printhead. By using EBD cleaner in combination with this unit, printheads can be cleaned for further printing.

Cleans Gen 4 and 5 printheads
Utilizes EBD Cleaner
Available in 120VAC or 220VAC

Applications

Cans

The Double Helix® is the perfect solution for production volumes that are medium to high. Producing beautifully printed graphics at double the speed, this cylindrical inkjet printer is perfect for the craft brew market where seasonal brews or personalized products for corporate events, concerts and more are needed.

Learn more about beverage can printing with digital technology.

Stainless Tumblers

Drinkware continues to be a hot market for gifts, promotional items and more. The Double Helix® is perfectly suited to take over higher volume screen printing jobs that are looking for multi-colored graphics and seamless artwork.

Wine Tumblers

Print two of the same products simultaneously with the same artwork. The Double Helix® cylindrical inkjet printer is able to consistently print wine tumblers utilizing design techniques such as tone on tone or spot varnish.

Candle Holders

The candle market is huge and is expecting to grow. Holiday-themed candle holders or other gifts are well-suited for this cylindrical inkjet printer that is able to print around 6 ppm depending on artwork size.

Resources

Digital Cylinder Printers by Inkcups	Overview brochure	us
Double Helix®	Brochure	us
Double Helix®	Video demonstration	en

Specifications

Product Type

Cylinder or Taper (360 degree print)

Speed (based on bed size)

6 ppm (depending on image size)

Part Diameter

51 mm - 114 mm (2 - 4.5 in)

Part Length

76 mm - 305 mm (2 - 12 in)

Lamp Style

8W LED

Ink Type

UV LED

Ink Configuration

CMYKWW (Varnish optional)

Print Modes

4 pass • 6 pass • 8 pass • 12 pass • 16 pass • 24 pass

Bulk Ink System

3 Liter

Dimensions (lxwxh)

2.31 x 0.64 x 1.68 m (91 x 25 x 66 in)

Voltage

220/208 VAC, Single Phase, 4 Amp

Maximum Resolution

1200dpi

Bed Type

Rotary

Weight

1,230 lbs. (558 kg)

Find a printer that fits your needs

Find a printer that fits your needs