The Headline News for the second week of August...
News for the period 10 - 14 August 2009
I will start this week's news by commenting on the late lead article from last Friday, because I just couldn't bear missing the actual date when the news came in from Messe Duesseldorf! It was of course the 1,000 days countdown to Drupa 2012 - as well you all probably knew anyway, since just about everyone keeps track of Drupa and their next planned visit to the Altstadt if nothing else! There's a couple of innovative new additions to the way Drupa is presenting itself this next time around, with widgets and gadgets and a service for mobile phones and smartphones - you'll find the article at the foot of the news column in case you missed it and want to see what it's all about.
As the Irving Berlin song and movie by the same name goes - There's no business like show business - and this week is no exception as we officially welcome Ipex 2010 with its new button links on the Home Page of the Website which will take you to either the Ipex 2010 Website for free registration - and much, much more - or just below this: to our own dedicated Ipex 2010 Newsroom; also in addition to those, Ipex 2010 has also become an official sponsor for our weekly e-News and you can find the url link a little lower down in this update. You will also find a new banner from FESPA for next year's FESPA 2010 show in Munich (see also Laurel Brunner's latest article which went online this week). Staying with shows, you will find more announcements for Labelexpo, Fachpack in Nuernberg and Print 09 - all of which take place or commence next month. There's even an announcement for Luxe Pack in Monaco in October from EskoArtwork.
More installations successes on Monday, including yet another regional first for Kodak's NexPress with Dimensional Printing - for the third week in succession; also for Heidelberg Postpress, Baldwin in the Gulf and for Sinapse in China. Tuesday saw more successes for Kodak Versamark, Koenig & Bauer in both medium- and large-format, HP Indigo, and Polar taking up a post at the University of East Anglia, proving yet again that even the smallest of the Hofheim, German company's offspring do possess an extremely high IQ. On Thursday, HP Scitex, Vjoon and Presstek also announced recent sales successes in the UK and Germany, while on Friday, Manroland made the headlines with an eight-colour Roland 700 HiPrint long perfector; Muller Martini with its latest Sigmaline success; and HP in The Netherlands with another HP Indigo 3500 digital press, but I do so wish they would stop quoting 'offset quality' - it's not - it's Indigo quality - because you only get offset quality from an offset press as far as I am concerned - and always will!
The really important articles on Tuesday came from Heidelberg regarding its new financing and credit line approval, as well as the figures for its first financial quarter, reflecting orders down by a massive 52 per cent compared to a year ago. Also from Presstek regarding its latest victory against Israeli company, VIM Technologies, in its battle for patent protection which has now been upheld by the International Trade Commission in the United States (and earlier also in Germany).
More news from the PrintCity Alliance as it announces its latest PRINTplusX workshop, this time in London next month, in association with PrintWeek. David Stamp, PrintCity's director of marketing and communications commented, 'Our PRINTplusX initiative – The Secrets of Value Added Printing – started at Drupa last year and blossomed into a series of workshops in Germany later in 2008, involving brand owners, designers and publishers, as well as printers. Each group views the benefits and impact of different "value added" printing and packaging in slightly varied ways and our ongoing project seeks to analyse this and assess which "techniques" have more impact and value.' He continued, 'For September 2009 we have partnered with PrintWeek in the UK to create the first UK Workshop on 9 September in Central London. This is a natural "next step" for our Alliance members following the innovative and highly successful joint project with the PPA in England for the FIPP Congress Programme in May this year. For 2010 we expect to continue this PRINTplusX project work.' Anyone can register for this free of charge PrintCity Alliance London Workshop by visiting the online registration page which has a link in the article below.
This week saw more new developments from Kodak, Digital Information, Enfocus, Ferag, Harlequin and Bobst, while Goss International recorded another first - this time in fire suppression - at Mortons of Horncastle in the UK with the first Water Mist Fire Suppression System incorporated into the Mortons' three web press folders on its two web offset presses. Since press related fires have made the headlines on at least two occasions in South Africa this year, it is worthwhile studying this latest development which is widely used on cruise liners and other vessels with a growing number of land-based applications, including computer rooms and hotels, developed by Finnish company Marioff. It could perhaps see much wider applications in the printing and paper industries and is certainly worth taking a look at on the Marioff Website.
I always like to try to round off the week on a positive note, and this week is no exception with DirectSmile having bucked the trend in the first half of 2009 with double-digit growth in its first two quarters. Another note of surprise came from BBC News and Euronews yesterday afternoon, as they announced that France and Germany have both exited the recession. Both the French and German economies grew by 0.3 per cent between April and June, bringing to an end year-long recessions in Europe's largest economies. Nice one! We shall obviously learn more in the coming days. And the tail-ender - PrintCity is off to Kiev, Ukraine next month with another of its popular seminars. They really do like to get around don't they?
That's it until next week, my best regards,
Mike Hilton
Friday 14 August
DirectSmile shows strong growth in first half 2009 Personalisation specialist bucks the trend, reports double-digit growth and boosts its management team…
Despite the continued downturn in the economy, personalisation software specialist DirectSmile GmbH has reported double-digit growth of sales in the first two quarters of 2009.
As Axel Marciniak, managing director of DirectSmile pointed out, ‘Sound growth figures come as no surprise because DirectSmile offers its customers exactly the right tools to exploit new profitable fields of business so desperately needed in these tough times. When I speak with customers they tell me that now is the best moment to invest in innovative technology to beat the recession and be in the lead once the markets take pace again. I am expecting even better results in the second half of 2009!’
Confirming this growth, DirectSmile has additionally opened new sales offices during 2009 in Sydney, Australia, for the Asia Pacific Region and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the growing Latin American market strengthening its presence in these key territories.
Completing its management team at the Berlin-based company headquarters, DirectSmile has also appointed three new members to oversee key areas of the business.
‘In times when many others are cutting jobs, I am especially pleased that we could further strengthen our already well-positioned team with three experienced professionals at management level,’ confirmed Marciniak.
Franziska Müller takes over the newly created position of marketing director. With a background in engineering, Franziska holds a degree in marketing communications and has over 10 years experience in the printing industry. Before joining DirectSmile, she worked as a product manager at Konica Minolta Business Solutions.
Commenting on her new role Müller said, ‘I am excited to be joining the market-leaders in image personalisation at a time when the company has launched a new innovative product for cross-media marketing which is setting new milestones in direct marketing. I look forward to the challenge of reaching out to new target groups such as marketing executives and agencies to make the new tools as popular as our image personalisation tools already are.’
Bernhardt Wolff joins DirectSmile as sales director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland having previously led the sales team for direct marketing services at German business information service Creditreform.
‘DirectSmile is already well-established in the German-speaking world,’ said Wolff. ‘For me, it is especially important to strengthen our already close customer relations to make our customers even more successful. From a sales perspective it is a pleasure to have such innovative products such as the new DirectSmile Cross Media solutions at hand.’
The final new member of the team is Claudia Dehne who holds degrees in both law and economics from universities Potsdam and Osnabrueck and who takes over the position of manager Legal and Human Resources.
For further information on DirectSmile and its range of personalisation and Cross Media products, please visit: www.directsmile.de.
You can also find out more about DirectSmile’s personalisation software by clicking on the DirectSmile banner or sponsor logo button on our Home Page and taking an online interactive tour!
Share the Experience and Master the Challenge! The PrintCity Alliance invites you to ‘Share the Experience…’ at a full day printing and packaging seminar in Kiev, Ukraine…
The PrintCity Alliance has announced a full day printing & packaging seminar with the headline ‘Share The Experience & Master The Challenge’, in Kiev, Ukraine on 23 September 2009. This event will be of interest to all Ukrainian sheetfed and web printers and packaging specialists.
A series of speakers from PrintCity Alliance members' Manroland, Sappi, Sun Chemical, Trelleborg and UPM will discuss new business possibilities coming from the latest value added printing and packaging applications, techniques and materials. A concluding round table panel discussion will allow attendees to discuss specific questions with the experts, and benefit from all the experience of Alliance members.
Date and Times: Wednesday September 23 from 09.00 - 17.15 Registration from 09.00; start 09.30
Venue: President Hotel, Hospitalna st 12, Kiev, 01023, Ukraine
How to Attend: Contact Tetiana Nikolenko, UPM-Kymmene, Ukraine Telephone: +38 044 4960911 Fax: +38 044 4960910 Email: tetiana.nikolenko@upm-kymmene.com
Interested visitors can also contact the local office of any of the other PrintCity members participating, to indicate their interest in attending this valuable knowledge sharing day.
The event itself will be followed by a networking buffet dinner at the hotel, where discussions can continue and specific advice can be sought.
A detailed agenda and speaker programme for the event will be available during August, on request from participating PrintCity members.
The PrintCity Alliance is well known for its high value seminar and workshop events held in many countries now. At such events, Alliance members share their industry knowledge, discuss topical subjects and offer innovative solutions for both technical questions and business opportunities.
More information on PrintCity Alliance projects, events and seminars can be found at: www.printcity.de.
New specialist feature articles online this week The latest articles from Digital Dots’ Laurel Brunner and Paul Lindström are now online in our Technology Guides + Features section…
Added this week are the latest from Digital Dots’ Laurel Brunner and Paul Lindström.
You can click on the headlines below to take you directly to the articles, both of which also have illustrated PDFs which you can also download. The Adobe links are at the foot of each article page.
Seeing is believing EFI recently announced that its proofing system Colorproof XF has now reached its fourth generation, and come a long way since it was acquired from Best Color in 2002. By Paul Lindström
The superwide perspective At the beginning of May we went to FESPA in Amsterdam and underwent a curious and very stimulating experience: an annual trade show that was absolutely alive with excitement. By Laurel Brunner
Exell Technologies at PrintExpo in South Africa To showcase automation possibilities and first ever PitStop Pro and Server 09 training during PrintExpo 2009…
Pretoria-based Exell Technologies will host two firsts for South Africa during PrintExpo October 2009, one being ‘Automation Pavilion’ and the other Enfocus PitStop Professional and Server training.
PrintExpo is ranked as the sub-continent’s largest and essential forum for the printing, publishing and electronic media related industries, and bridges the gap between conventional and state-of-the-art digital technology in the printing and associated industries.
The print industry is transforming at an unprecedented pace. In the past, industry changes were focused on equipment technology and productivity enhancements. Today, it is more important than ever to streamline production and automate where possible, reducing turnaround time and cutting cost without neglecting quality. Other issues that many owners and CEO's face involve: which customers to do business with, how they target their customers, their differentiation strategy, and their ability to communicate and execute the strategy throughout their organisation.
PrintExpo will be staged from 20 to 23 October 2009 at Nasrec, Johannesburg, South Africa.
At the ‘Automate Pavilion’ visitors will experience a true automated digital workflow, using various vendor solutions, demonstrating a real life workflow concept from design, preflighting, auto correction possibilities through to output. It will also include a world class web2print solution with full digital asset management capabilities. Visitors will also be able to experience working JDF connections and a world class MIS in action. Visit the ‘Automation Pavilion’ at PrintExpo in Hall 7 stands 7G18 to 7G22.
Enfocus PitStop Professional and Server training will be hosted on 22 October at the same location as PrintExpo in one of the conference rooms.
October 20 and 21 will bring two half-day workshops in which Exell Technologies together with various industry role players will discuss ‘The why’s and how’s’ and ‘The practical of how and what’s available’.
Any business owner who understand the time for change and improvement is now, should not miss any of the activities Exell Technologies will be hosting during PrintExpo 2009. Book your conference seat, Enfocus training or dedicated demonstration today to avoid the crowds.
Product highlights:
Enfocus 09 line: PitStop Professional 09, PitStop Server 09 and Switch 08 The updated Enfocus 09 line includes compatibility with Adobe Acrobat 9 along with advanced multilingual capabilities. For PitStop Professional 09 users, Acrobat 9 compatibility and the language versions are being made available as no-charge upgrades. The latest versions of PitStop Professional, PitStop Server, Instant PDF and the Switch product family, as well as fully-functional trial versions of all Enfocus products, are available for download from the Enfocus Website at: www.enfocus.com.
DMP FLO Suite DMP, short for Digital Media Partners, is a software development company mainly specialised in graphics automation. In addition to providing a number of standard solutions, DMP is also specialised in tailor made solutions, always with the emphasis on process optimisation.
The DMP FLO Suite can be used to provide Web-to-print, digital asset management, database publishing and many other marketing or production related solutions to your customers. Using Adobe InDesign Server, an online version of the normal Adobe InDesign software, you can empower these applications with unprecedented flexibility. Hosting Web-to-print software has never been easier.
Hiflex MIS & Web2Print - Business Automation Systems Hiflex is a global software solutions provider, specializing in the print and media industries. Hiflex products include Hiflex MIS, Hiflex Print Support and its open Web2Print System called Hiflex Webshop. Hiflex is a leader in the field of JDF networking and integration.
Within our printing industry automation has the decisive share in productivity increase. Both JDF and Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) are the important key words that stand for the integration of different applications and systems that are involved in print production. Total MIS solution from customer, estimation, order entry, scheduling, stock through to invoicing.
Elpical Imaging solutions Elpical Software develops and markets software solutions for digital imaging applications. Our technology enables, for instance, publishers to automatically enhance image assets. This enhancement is based on a thorough image analysis. Furthermore, we offer solutions to automate image workflows in companies. Our image asset management solutions ensure that organizing the onerous daily flow of images is a relatively easy task.
Quite Products Quite Imposing is a family of plug-ins for Adobe’s Acrobat 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. They do Imposing. This is all about combining pages onto larger sheets to make books, booklets, or special arrangements and layouts. The family comprises Quite Imposing and its sister product, Quite Imposing Plus, so creating booklets or arranging complex imposition layouts has never been easier and all without leaving Adobe Acrobat.
Océ joins Verdigris initiative as a 'Founder' supporter Océ has joined as a 'Founder' supporter of Verdigris, the not-for-profit print environmental research initiative…
Verdigris, the not-for-profit print environmental research initiative, is pleased to announce that Océ has joined as a 'Founder' supporter. The company joins Agfa, Canon Europe, Digital Dots, Drupa, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Unity Publishing, Ricoh and Screen in their support for the global project.
Verdigris' goal is to learn more about the carbon footprint of print and electronic media, from the point of file creation via production to final distribution, use and disposal. Verdigris supporters and panel of expert industry writers and consultants produce regular analysis articles for publication in trade industry publications in 33 countries and available on the Website verdigrisproject.com or in our special Verdigris section on Graphic Repro On-line. Article topics include explanations of environmental concerns, and examples of how companies can improve their environmental credentials and attain ISO 14001.
‘Our aim is to become the print information hub for printers and print buyers seeking best practices for logistics, facilities, workflow, distribution, energy consumption, and recycling,’ explained Laurel Brunner, the driving force behind Verdigris. ‘The support from suppliers has been fantastic and endorses the importance they place on environmental issues. Like our other sponsors, Océ is very active in adopting and promoting best practice procedures and we welcome their contribution.’
Crit Driessen, Océ Production Printing's vice-president marketing and strategy (pictured), said, ‘Despite the turbulent times for all economies worldwide, the relevance of sustainability activities for us remains unchanged and the Verdigris research is an initiative we are proud to support. Our innovative print and document management products and services for professional environments are backed by our global environmental initiatives. These range from launching Océ CrystalPoint revolutionary non-emission technology, partnering the UN Environmental Programme, with Océ a Climate Partner, through to forming a digital Print de-inking alliance. In the UK, the Carbon Positive Plus+ Programme has led to other campaigns, such as 'Green Services', with support from companies such as Pfizer.’
New: Directory Of 14001 Certified Printers Verdigris' latest project is an online directory of international printing companies who have achieved ISO 14001 certification. The regularly updated list is available on the Verdigris website at verdigrisproject.com/iso14001 and is a great starting point for print buyers who are looking for printers with good environmental credentials.
A great deal of commitment is required to achieve ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems (EMS). ISO 14001 was published in 2004 and explains what is required of an EMS to enable an organisation to develop and implement an environmental policy. ISO 14001 includes legal and other requirements, and describes how to apply them to the business. The standard does not state specific environmental performance criteria, but focuses instead on establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an environmental management system.
Printers with ISO 14001 who wish to be included in the free directory should send their details to Laurel Brunner (lb@digitaldots.org)
Success for Muller Martini with Kodak at Clays Clays opts for digital book production with the SigmaLine with integrated inkjet Kodak Versamark VL6000 printing system…
Clays of Bungay in the United Kingdom is investing in a Muller Martini SigmaLine with an integrated inkjet printing system Versamark VL6000 from Kodak. The company will expand its digital book production capabilities and capitalise on revenue opportunities in short run book printing.
Established more than 200 years ago, Clays is the UK's leading book printer, producing more than 170 million books per year. The company, part of Europe's St Ives plc, enjoys international recognition and is the first-choice supplier for many leading publishing houses, including Penguin, Virago, and Bloomsbury.
Positive message to customers ‘We're entering a new phase in our business,’ explained Kate McFarlan, managing director of Clays Ltd. ‘The market for short run books is growing rapidly, driven in part by increasing online book purchases. Our investment sends a positive message to our customers. Whether the order is for 20 or 20,000 books, we'll soon be able to satisfy any request. Integrating the Kodak Versamark VL6000 printing system and the Muller Martini SigmaLine means we will have a “best-in-class” fully automated and integrated digital production solution.’
Scheduled for installation at Clays in September 2009, the Versamark VL6000 printing system prints up to 150 m/min at 600 x 600dpi and is integrated into the Muller Martini SigmaLine book production system. The SigmaLine combines prepress with digital printing and finishing in a unique total system.
SigmaLine: Intelligent networking for all subprocesses This fully automated production line will provide Clays with a complete solution from a PDF file to the finished book in a single operation. The Muller Martini Connex workflow system and the continuous line control means the company can produce classroom-size runs or several thousand copies in a short timeframe. The intelligent networking of all of the sub-processes on the SigmaLine will include digital printing, signature folding, gathering, perfect binding and three-knife trimming.
Clays initially plans to produce runs of up to 500 copies on the SigmaLine with the VL6000, depending on the page count, and expects an average output of 500 books an hour.
SigmaLine with Stream: Technology for the Future ‘We plan to continue expanding our digital production line so we are very interested in Stream, Kodak's new, revolutionary inkjet digital printing technology in conjunction with Muller Martini's SigmaLine platform,’ said McFarlan. ‘This integrated digital print solution will allow us to go much further than any other digital printing technology. With these kinds of benefits and the scope to grow our business even further, SigmaLine with Stream is exactly the kind of innovative technology that we could migrate to in the future.’
Dragan Volic, vice president marketing and sales, on-demand solutions, Muller Martini, is also convinced: ‘Our long-term relationship with Clays and our position as their preferred supplier for finishing equipment gives us an exact understanding of the challenges of Clays' market environment and their needs. By introducing the SigmaLine technology, Clays establishes a basis with scalable technology for their current digital book production initiative and a migration path for the future, no matter what performance level or finishing style is required.’
Pictured above: Clays is investing in a Muller Martini SigmaLine to expand its digital book production capabilities and capitalize on revenue opportunities in short run book printing.
The Kodak version of this article appeared on 6 August 2009 and contains a complete schematic of the Kodak and Muller Martini integrated system.
For additional information, please visit: www.mullermartini.com. In Southern Africa, Muller Martini is represented by Thunderbolt Solutions at: www.thunderbolt.co.za for more details.
ESED in The Netherlands adds HP Indigo 3500 Erste Soester Electrische Drukkerij in Soest, installs HP Indigo press 3500 to offer ‘offset-quality’ digital printing…
ESED (Erste Soester Electrische Drukkerij) of Soest, The Netherlands, has installed an HP Indigo press 3500 to provide offset-quality digital products, including commercial and packaging proofs, short-run commercial print and books, for its customers.
Established in 1912 and now employing 25 people, ESED combines traditional service and print-quality values with an up-to-date attitude towards technical innovation. In addition to offering conventional offset, toner-based digital and, now, HP Indigo digital offset printing, the company also offers full in-house finishing.
According to Christiaan Alkema, director, ESED, in the last twenty years, the company moved swiftly from letterpress to offset lithography, and added a toner-based digital capability five years ago. The recent addition of the HP Indigo press 3500 has added to ESED's capabilities and is enabling it to expand its product and service portfolio.
‘Today's young designers only work in full colour, so the requirement for one-, two- and three-colour printing is declining,’ said Alkema. ‘At the same time, marketing and distribution styles are changing, so there is an increased demand for shorter runs and faster turn-around times.
‘Quality is a given and no longer separates us from the competition. Deliver quality or lose your customers,’ Alkema added. ‘One of the reasons we invested in the HP Indigo press 3500 was because the quality of the saleable sheets we produced on our digital toner printers was not up to the standard of offset printed products.’
ESED uses its HP Indigo press for proofing and prototyping as well as for short-run commercial work. The company actually specialises in packaging and label printing and being able to produce proofs on the HP Indigo press with accurate colours and on the final substrates is a big advantage, both for itself and for its customers.
‘During our search for offset quality digital printing, we came in contact with a printer using an HP Indigo press who gave us the opportunity to test-run some jobs on its presses,’ said Alkema. ‘Customer reactions were immediately enthusiastic and we knew that our only way forward would be with an HP Indigo press for its "offset quality" print.’
Looking to the future, Alkema sees a great potential for personalised print in the Dutch market. ESED already prints some personalised materials for seminars, conferences and exhibitions. ‘We used to print conventionally and then imprint personal information digitally,’ said Alkema, ‘but the HP Indigo press enables us to offer high-quality full personalisation. Now we are ready to follow the trend for highly personalised printed products.’
Manroland HiPrint long perfector to Bahrain Awal Press in The Kingdom of Bahrain, invests in an eight-colour Roland 700 HiPrint with perfecting and AirGlide delivery…
In 2008 Awal Press, Bahrain, moved to new premises. Key capital investments followed to equip the new plant. A Manroland Roland 700 HiPrint five-colour with coater was among the machines the company purchased. Following that the need for a long perfector drove Awal Press to now buy an eight-colour Roland 700 HiPrint with perfecting.
Awal Press has been catering for Bahrain’s printing industry for the past 50 years. Today, Awal Press is considered among its peers to be one of the leaders in printing technology. One of the major reasons behind Awal’s decision to go for a Roland 700 HiPrint long perfector is the increasing demand for ever shorter-run print jobs, ever shorter delivery dates and ever higher printing quality. With long perfectors print products can be delivered just in time. Long perfectors often offer more flexibility to meet shorter delivery times and provide a broader portfolio of print products.
The Roland 700 HiPrint offers perfect ink distribution through an optimal number of rollers that ensures an even balance between storage capacity and fast reaction. The modern principle of double-diameter impression cylinders and transferters ensures gentle sheet travel. Then there is the AirGlide delivery that produces perfectly even stacks thanks to a particularly flat sheet ascent and a long sheet stabilisation path. All this adds up to no streaking or ghosting, pin-sharp halftones, precise and constant tone value reproduction, excellent register and rich solids.
Kodak Prinergy PDF File Editor for Adobe Illustrator Kodak makes PDF editing easier with powerful new software plug-in for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for all Prinergy solutions…
Commercial and packaging printers looking for a robust PDF file editing solution will find Kodak Prinergy PDF File Editor software for Adobe Illustrator to be a valuable addition to their operations. The new software solution allows users to leverage the power of Illustrator and Photoshop to affordably and conveniently edit PDF files and streamline the production workflow.
Prinergy PDF File Editor software enables late-stage modification of production jobs, maintaining a complete history of the changes, preserving all file metadata, and exporting the elements back to Kodak Prinergy system after the editing process.
‘Prinergy PDF File Editor software works great, preserving Dotshop screening settings, existing traps and over-print changes,’ said David Schrader, colour management specialist, Coating Excellence International. ‘It saved me time that I previously would have had to spend re-building the files from the beginning.’
Minimal training is required to use the software, making it possible for customers to maximise both their investment and skills in existing desktop software.
‘This software brings a new level of efficiency to commercial and package printers,’ added Steve Miller, product manager, Packaging and Newspaper Workflow, Kodak. ‘It's important for our customers to be able to do more by utilising the tools they already have. This new and complementary solution addresses a common production need by leveraging the best graphic editing applications on the market.’
Prinergy PDF File Editor software is automatically installed as a licensed option within Kodak Prinergy Connect, Kodak Prinergy Powerpack and Kodak Prinergy Digital Workflow 5.0.3.1 and 5.1.1.0. Customers receive unlimited copies of the Illustrator software plug-in per server license.
For more information, visit: www.graphics.kodak.com, or just click on the Kodak button link to the left of this page, or the Kodak banner or sponsor logo on our Home Page. In Southern Africa, Kodak solutions are available from Antalis South Africa’s Graphics division.
Kodak at InfoTrends TransPromo Summit Kodak TransPromo specialist Pat McGrew, to share insights and strategy at TransPromo Summit in Boston, 13 August…
Kodak's TransPromo specialist, Pat McGrew, will speak at the third annual TransPromo Summit, hosted by InfoTrends at the Hyatt Regency in Boston. Her presentation, ‘What Does a TransPromo Strategy Look Like?’ will share insights on developing a powerful TransPromo strategy to build stronger customer relationships and grow your business. McGrew's presentation is from 2:00pm - 2:45pm on Thursday, 13 August, following her participation on the keynote panel from 12:45pm – 2:00pm
‘An effective TransPromo strategy is all about creating higher value, more effective customer communications to strengthen customer relationships and drive higher response rates,’ said Pat McGrew, data-driven communication segment evangelist, Kodak. ‘Kodak helps its customers do this by offering technology that aligns transactional documents and promotional offers, and increases customer loyalty with one-to-one engagement.’
As a worldwide sponsor of the event, Kodak recognises the ability of TransPromo to bring added value to transactional documents. Its broad portfolio of solutions, including Kodak Versamark printing systems and the new Kodak Prosper S10 imprinting system, handles a variety of complex variable data print applications including direct mail and transactional documents. By using these solutions to create targeted customer communications, companies are able to increase return on marketing investment.
‘Kodak offers a complete solution to implement individualised, full-colour statement printing into your business,’ said Barb Pellow, group leader, InfoTrends. ‘Its complete continuum of digital printing solutions-from toner-based Kodak NexPress presses to continuous and drop-on-demand inkjet Kodak Versamark system technologies provides customers with the choice to match the solution to their needs.’
Follow McGrew's live tweets from the event at @PatMcGrew on Twitter, or twitter.com/patmcgrew. McGrew will also blog about the event and her insights on TransPromo at Kodak's Grow Your Biz blog, growyourbiz.kodak.com.
PrintXchange expands its Web2Print bureau service Liverpool-based PrintXchange has announced the latest addition to its growing list of European Web2Print bureau clients…
Liverpool-based PrintXchange has announced the latest addition to its growing list of European web2print bureau clients. Exacta Print Ltd in Glasgow thought of an innovative use of the PrintXchange' Web to print solution, one which would significantly help its business move forward during these recessionary times; after detailed discussions and support from PrintXchange, its ideas became a reality.
Exacta's approach was to develop a Website that would give it access to dealing with the general public allowing new customers to create print-ready personalised artwork online and then place the order for print.
PrintXchange claims to be the first UK company to offer a fully featured bureau service to print companies who want Web to print sophistication but do not feel that they have either the staff to support it nor do they want the cost of employing someone to manage their online service / support / marketing solution for them. PrintXchange will set up the complete service, one which will literally run itself, with content being added and updated by the client as and when required; in response to both market changes and new product introductions.
There are other companies selling Web to print solutions but generally these vendors do not offer an on-going support service to professionally manage the site and to help to create dynamic Web templates. PrintXchange is also unique amongst web to print vendors by offering the ability to create and manage innovative and creative cross media marketing campaigns that include, e-mail, pURLs, and personalised images, all services which open up new business and marketing opportunities for printers.
'PrintXchange provides the tools that will help tie our client's customers into longer term, profitable relationships and partnerships with them by enabling our clients to offer their customers far more than just print; they can now offer marketing solutions based upon their own print experience and expertise,’ commented Alan Smith, managing director of PrintXchange.
Bobst announces new Visioncut flatbed die-cutter New developments in the die-cutting of corrugated board with the Visioncut flatbed die-cutter from Bobst…
The latest Bobst Autoplaten arrival is a flatbed die-cutter designed to deliver quality die-cutting for corrugated board, nano and microflute, double wall, and litho-laminate.
A number of features contribute to making the Bobst Visioncut the best flat-bed die-cutter in its category, Bobst claims, not least of which are its highly competitive price and its 4,800 sheets per hour production speed. In terms of job changeovers, the Visioncut has carefully thought out ergonomics that ensure a particularly productive workflow, and which makes it possible to change jobs in less than 10 minutes. Especially robust construction ensures maximum uptime and the cherry on the cake is its precise cut-to-print register, which can be further enhanced when equipped with the Power Register system. The design of Bobst corrugated die-cutters has been extensively rethought and this new line benefits from developments made when The Next Generation machines were introduced in 2008.
The Visioncut has been conceived to adapt to the most varied needs of its users. Whether it is a question of the materials to be handled, or the budget for the machine, one of its three versions will fit the brief. In its base configuration, Visioncut converts regular corrugated, F-flute, and double-wall. Beyond this, a version equipped with the new Smart Register, which brings dynamic register technology to users at an attractive price, reads the sheet edge or print marks, and delivers longitudinal correction with the use of a camera reading the underside of the sheet. The third version, and the most technologically advanced, offers all the dynamic location possibilities on offer from Bobst's Power Register system. In addition to the advantages already mentioned, this version delivers the correction of transverse register and skewing, achieved using a top reading camera.
The materials that can be converted range from microflute to double-wall corrugated (0,75mm to 9mm), along with litho-laminates, and can be up to a maximum sheet format of 1600 x 1100mm. As well as being capable of delivering bundles of up to 200mm in height, an alternative solution sees pile delivery, of up to 1200mm in height, inside the machine delivery station. This solution is ideal for users who want to form a pile directly inside the delivery station and so save on floor space.
The Visioncut platen press represents the best of Swiss Technology, a label to which Bobst has been faithful for decades with its professionalism, its continuous research and development, and its determination to produce machines that are precise, reliable, and of incomparable durability. Seen over the long term, Bobst products are an unbeatable investment.
Gardners new HP Scitex high-volume UV printer Cardiff-based Gardners gets more than expected from XP2300 3m R2R printer - More competitive quotes that win more work…
Large-format digital printer Gardners speeds through jobs with new HP Scitex 3m R2R high-volume UV printer.
Objective • Cut costs per copy in order to compete profitably on high-volume, commoditised jobs. • Meet ever-shorter deadlines on high-volume jobs. • Expand production capabilities in line with company-set goals for increasingly environmentally responsible operations. • Approach • Acquire HP Scitex XP2300 printer primarily for billboard printing and also use it for other applications. Successful evaluation led to: • Purchase of two new HP Scitex XP2300 printers for immediate capacity expansion. • Planned capacity increase of at least five additional HP Scitex XP2300 printers to further speed turnaround, lower costs and improve quality. • Broad portfolio of HP printers provides strong foundation for near fully digital offering: HP Scitex FB7500 printer, 2 x HP Scitex TJ8300 printer, 2 x HP Scitex 5100 printers, HP Designjet 9000s printer, HP Designjet Z6100 printer. • Invest in UV printing using environmentally responsible media (including woven polyethylene, semi rigid polypropylene, FSC-certified paper and media with recycled content), and work to phase out use of PVC, as a point of principle and ongoing strategy. • Business Benefits • Up to 30 per cent saving in ink consumption enables lower-cost quotes on volume jobs, helping improve competitiveness. • Printing speed and ink cost reductions have significantly raised the digital-screen crossover point, enabling Gardners to win more work from new and existing customers. • Combination of glossy finish, strong and vibrant colours, fast turnaround and excellent media versatility enable Gardners to satisfy a broad range of customer demands.
Billboard mode on new HP printer cuts time by 50 per cent At Gardners, located in Cardiff, UK, being on the cutting edge of printing technology has become almost routine. Recently, Gardners became one of the first companies worldwide to install an HP Scitex XP2300 printer, a 3.2 m-wide (10.5-ft) UV roll-to-roll printer designed for high-speed production environments. The new printer is dedicated to outdoor signage and it offers several major advantages, including an unmatched combination of high speed and low ink consumption, particularly in billboard mode printing.
Among the first major jobs that Gardners printed on the new machine was a huge order for a special safety mesh wrap. The company received an urgent order to print 18 rolls of material to be used to clad scaffolding on a development in Bristol, UK. The material was supplied by the customer with each roll being 45 metres long with a printable area of 43 x 2 metres. Timely delivery was critical and Gardners only had 20 hours to produce and deliver the job. The HP Scitex XP2300 printer produced it in less than eleven hours, using Billboard print mode.
‘In the past, the same job would have taken around 23 hours to print,’ said Kristel Moncarey, digital manager, Gardners. ‘Our customer actually preferred the extra smooth print quality of the HP Scitex XP2300 printer, in particular the strength and brilliance of the colours. More and more customers are choosing the glossy look on this printer for their work.’
Richard Gardner, chairman, added, ‘The customer was extremely happy with the fast turnaround and the higher gloss quality finish. The safety mesh is a very complicated material to run on. But the HP Scitex XP2300 printed it extremely quickly and it looked absolutely fantastic.’
Expanding capacity without increasing machine count In the few months that the HP Scitex XP2300 printer has been onsite at Gardners, it has proven itself as an excellent solution not just for billboards, but also for other types of applications that require high-quality printing.
‘I knew this machine was built for billboards but I didn't realise how good the print quality would be,’ said Gardner. ‘You wouldn't expect to have very fine resolution and quality, especially on things where you are reversing lettering out. But you actually get quite high quality, so in practice, we are able to use it for other types of applications in a smaller format, such as banners and some fine interior signage, in addition to billboards.’
Gardner adds: ‘The machine is built for speed. In essence it's more than double the speed of a common UV roll to roll printer, so having one of these new machines is the equivalent of having two of the others.’
The low ink consumption of the new printer is another major benefit to Gardners, saving up to approximately 30 per cent. ‘The situation is that the cost saving is very significant.’
Following the successful evaluation of its first HP Scitex XP2300 printer, Gardners is planning to invest in at least five more machines.
Keeping pace with the market Founded in 1976 primarily as a screen printer, Gardners is now one of the world's largest digital printing companies, serving many different industries and applications. It has a large and diverse portfolio of products and processes with numerous patents and copyrights, covering the building industry, outdoor advertising media, backlit printing, dye sublimation onto fabrics, metal and aluminium and specialised adhesive technology for use in the financial sector.
The company's growth has been shaped by a keen sense of market trends, such as the fast-growing demand for printing solutions that reduce environmental impact, in terms of the printing systems themselves and the media they print on. It has been fuelled by its near-total adoption of digital printing technologies and its willingness to work with printing equipment vendors to test and refine new technologies and systems. With HP's growing array of solutions for the large-format printing market, Gardners is increasingly adopting HP technologies as a key part of its production floor.
‘A lot of what we do is late sold,’ said Gardner. ‘All the ads around the country change every two weeks, so theoretically you have two weeks to print the product. But, quite often a campaign will be instigated in reaction to a competitor, and the customer wants to react very quickly, within two or three days. So digital is perfect for that. And the HP Scitex XP2300 printer is even more perfect because it allows you to put a lot of material through in 24 hours.’
In general, Gardner sees three key trends shaping the printing market: speed, cost and environmental responsibility. ‘We need faster machines and lower cost inks,’ said Gardner. ‘The only way to expand the market is to take more work from analogue.’
‘At the same time, going green is absolutely critical. We have been looking for environmental solutions for the past five or six years. We believed in it and now all the really big customers are demanding it. The world has changed. Now the majority of work we do is on environmentally responsible materials, like woven polyethylene. In fact, we are trying to phase out PVC.’
As Gardners continues to grow, Richard Gardner expects that HP will remain an important partner. ‘As a company we are heavily involved in R&D with materials, inks and processes. And historically, we have run a lot of beta sites with various companies. We do work very closely with HP and they listen to what we want.’
Pictured above: A special safety mesh wrap produced by Gardners in 20 hours, to cover scaffolding at a building site in Bristol.
Gosport Borough Council adds Presstek 34DI Presstek 34DI cuts costs and boosts efficiency for Gosport Borough Council with DI press and online envelope feeder…
Gosport Borough Council has installed a Presstek 34DI digital offset press with online envelope feeder from Presstek. Since the installation, the UK printing department is running a far more versatile, quicker and cost-effective printing operation, and it has trimmed its costs by bringing in-house the short and medium-run jobs that it was previously outsourcing.
New trends require a new solution Graeme Jesty, Reprographics team leader, Gosport Borough Council, explained why the time was right to invest in the highly automated Presstek DI press, which is the most profitable solution for printing full-colour in quantities of 500 to 20,000, ‘Six years ago, when we installed a four-colour portrait litho press with a computer-to-plate system, our run lengths were far longer. We were printing 25,000 copies of a document, which could sit on a shelf until they went out of date. But those days are long gone. Today, for example, departments are constantly updating their printed material, which means far more frequent reprints of runs of 2,000 copies. We found that the makeready and set-up times were out of proportion to the number of copies we were printing, and it was difficult to meet our deadlines. The alternative was to print these jobs on our Xerox digital printer, but it wasn't cost effective for jobs of more than 100 copies.’
However, it wasn't just run lengths that were problematic, ‘Our creativity was being stifled because the conventional litho press would not hold the consistency when we printed solid colours or graduated tints,’ added Jesty. ‘For example we couldn't print The Council's corporate covers, which have a solid blue branding, and brochures with a simple graduated tint proved a challenge for us. However, by adding the Presstek 34DI press with an online envelope feeder and conveyor stacker, we could overprint the licence details, the logo and strapline in-house - previously all overprinting had to be outsourced.’
Making an informed investment decision The Council looked at other equipment on the market before choosing the Presstek 34DI press. ‘We explored many options but found that only Presstek could provide us with the complete package we needed - the digital offset press, the software, the envelope feeder and the conveyor stacker,’ said Jesty. ‘Plus we liked the built-in colour calibration, which makes light work of the jobs that were previously impossible to print on a conventional litho press. The registration is very accurate with almost no paper wastage. The new installation means we can now run a wide variety of stock - including silk coated and recycled - and we're up to colour within 30 sheets, whereas previously we encountered problems.’
Easy to operate Despite its advanced technology and features, the Council has found the new Presstek 34DI press very easy to use. ‘The old process was very mechanical and laborious. Unlike the new system, which is really fast and has saved us a lot of time - we RIP the job and the plates are imaged on press in a matter of minutes. In the past, if we had a problem with alterations on a plate it was a major headache to remake it - but all we have to do now is press a button and the 34DI takes care of everything.’
Impressive results The Council is in no doubt that the Presstek 34DI press was a sound commercial investment, ‘The results speak for themselves - the system regularly saves us time and money,’ said Jesty. ‘For example, it used to take us five days to produce 12,000 copies of a 28-page A5 brochure - the new DI press can do the whole job from start to finish in just one and a half days.’ Prior to the installation The Council was outsourcing one-sixth of its production capacity. ‘The cost savings we've gained by bringing all our printing jobs in-house is significant.’ The Presstek 34DI press is very versatile and enables The Council to print a wide range of jobs. As well as short-to-medium run four-colour work, it is also possible to print spot colour, allowing runs of 40,000 single impressions from the same plate (even though the plate is rated by the manufacturer for 20,000 impressions). ‘We've been very impressed with the quality of the 34DI, particularly when we print solid colours and graduated tints - and our customers have complimented us on the improved quality,’ concluded Graeme Jesty.
Attracting new business The Council is confident that it will quickly see a return on its investment, particularly as it anticipates winning a lot of new work from other councils and local schools. As part of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight procurement group, it is already talking to a number of other councils about taking on some of their short-run, four-colour printing.
‘Such a proposal would have been impossible in the past, as we struggled to keep up with our own production,’ said Jesty. ‘But with the Presstek 34DI additional revenue opportunities are a real possibility. We expect the system to pay for itself within a couple of years. The installation has meant that we've been able to replace our large colour copier with a small one for very short runs, with more and more work going across to the Presstek 34DI press.
‘The system is ideal for printers who want a quick, clean and simple solution for high-quality, short-to-medium run printing with minimal operator intervention. Plus the 34DI is a chemistry-free, waterless press, which is important for a council like Gosport, which is always keen to promote its environmentally friendly credentials.’
For more information visit: www.presstek.com, or just click on the Presstek banner or sponsor logo on our Home Page.
Vjoon K4 at ‘der Freitag’ German weekly German weekly ‘der Freitag’ uses Vjoon K4 crossmedia publishing platform to manage user-generated content…
Half a year after the launch of the integrated media brand of der Freitag, a weekly German newspaper and its new Web edition, deputy editor-in-chief Jörn Kabisch shares the editorial team’s experiences with Vjoon’s crossmedia publishing platform.
‘K4 quickly became the first choice for a nascent editorial team that works for online and print editions,’ stated Kabisch. ‘Both situations frequently call for highly flexible software, as well as mobile access possibilities. The workflow adapts quickly, and the system may be accessed not only from a desk, both of which make the publishing effort so much easier.’
German luminary and publisher Jakob Augstein relaunched the newspaper in February of 2009, taking an innovative approach for both the print and Web editions. The publishing concept exemplifies how the various media channels interlock. A community with hierarchic structure comprising users, bloggers and publicists directly influences content published in print and posted online. Augstein aims to maintain a dialogue with his readers, and he sees the paper as part of a communicative process that is seeing the classic newspaper transition to a participatory medium.
der Freitag is produced using the publishing system Vjoon K4. Code Couture installed K4, provided training and support, and integrated the Web content management system along with K4. The integration enables the editorial team of der Freitag to manage content delivered by partner publication The Guardian within K4. For the implementation and extension of the content management system and the creation of its Website, der Freitag hired interface service provider Freshmilk GmbH.
Mortons first with Water Mist Fire Suppression Mortons of Horncastle installs first HI-FOG Water Mist Fire Suppression System from Goss International in partnership with Marioff…
• System selected for effective fire suppression and minimum water discharge • Installation minimises risk of fire damage and could reduce insurance premiums • Pure water system safe for people and environment
UK printer and publisher Mortons of Horncastle has installed a new HI-FOG Water Mist Fire Suppression System supplied by Goss International and developed and manufactured by Marioff, a Finland-based UTC Fire & Security company. The system was chosen to protect three folders used for contract printing work at the Mortons facility in Lincolnshire.
The new HI-FOG system was applied to a Goss press and another existing web press, with the installation taking just three days.
According to Mortons’ production manager Dean Wilkinson, one of the key features of the HI-FOG system is the small volume of water required. He explained, ‘Sometimes the damage caused by water or foam in putting a fire out can be worse than the destruction caused by the fire itself. We selected HI-FOG so that, if we are unlucky enough to have to use it, the high-pressure water mist system would not only suppress the fire quickly and effectively, but cause minimal additional damage in the process.’
The HI-FOG system uses high pressure to produce a fine and pure water mist with an average drop size of 50 – 120 µm, combining the extinguishing characteristics of water with the penetrative qualities of gases. As a result, fires are suppressed effectively and water discharge is minimal, with no danger to people or the environment.
‘In the worst case scenario of a fire, damage to equipment is very limited and the time and cost spent on clean-up is negligible,’ said Wilkinson.
Other key benefits of the system cited by Mortons are its compact nature and the low ongoing maintenance requirements. ‘Aside from checking the nitrogen gas bottle every so often, there’s practically no maintenance required,’ Wilkinson added.
Richard Grzelczyk, Goss International product and technical sales manager, added, ‘There are a number of reasons why we have chosen to partner with Marioff on this system. As well as its overall effectiveness, safety and low water volume, it can also be installed with much less disruption to production. The pipe sizes of the HI-FOG system are small, making installation quick and easy compared to conventional low-pressure water spray or sprinkler systems, particularly in retrofits. It’s also very modular – once the principal system is fitted, further sections can be added easily, enabling gradual expansion of the system if required, a crucial requirement among customers today.’
Andy Kingswood, engineering manager at Mortons, commented, ‘When the installation team came they were very understanding of our needs, flexible in their approach and worked closely with our team. The result was that they were able to plan their installation activities around our production slots minimising the effect on our production.’
HI-FOG technology is developed and provided by Marioff Corporation, part of the Fire & Security business unit of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), for the protection of, amongst other things, cruise liners. It is now protecting a growing range of land-based applications, buildings and other high-value commercial establishments and machinery. Goss International is sole supplier of HI-FOG technology for web offset presses and equipment in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Heidelberg’s game-changing press technology at Print 09 Speedmaster XL 75 with simultaneous plate changing and inline colour control; Anicolor zoneless inking; and QM 46 small-format…
Heidelberg’s legendary expertise in sheetfed offset technology will be much in evidence at Print 09. From the company’s Peak Performance XL series of presses, the Speedmaster XL 75 with InPress colour control, Autoplate XL simultaneous plate changing, Intellistart operating platform, and the eco friendly peripheral package, to the revolutionary Speedmaster SM 52 with Anicolor zoneless inking system, to the ever-reliable Printmaster QM 46, attendees are invited to kick the tires on a variety of state-of-the-art sheetfed offset presses developed to unite the changing needs of print shops of every size with the evolving demands of the marketplace.
Speedmaster XL 75 The Speedmaster XL 75 represents a wholly new platform in the 29-inch range. Highly automated from feeder to delivery, the next-generation XL 75 is designed for extensive presetting, and boasts running speeds to 18,000sph with the addition of a Peak Performance Package, or 15,000sph in perfecting mode. The press can be customised with a variety of finishing options including UV coating, inline cold foiling and Duo or flexo units before the offset units. At Print 09, the Speedmaster XL 75 will be shown in a 10-colour perfecting configuration equipped with 2008 InterTech Award-winning InPress inline colour and register measuring system, Autoplate XL simultaneous plate changing and aqueous coater. The press will be demonstrated in tandem with the 2009 InterTech Award-winning Prinect Press Center with Intellistart process-oriented navigation system and High-Definition LCD Wallscreen.
Available on all Heidelberg Speedmaster presses in any format size, the high-performance Prinect Press Center combines state-of-the-art technology, smart automation and comprehensive data management to ensure efficient production and provide the long-term investment security print companies need. The highly innovative Prinect Press Center enables all tasks – from job preparation and press setup to print sheet measurement and evaluation – to be accomplished faster, more accurately, and with greater reliability than ever before. Ergonomics have been meticulously planned to the last detail and are reflected in the platform design.
All of the system’s job and presetting data for the press can be entered through a user-friendly 19-inch colour touchscreen. Features include:
• Intellistart software, a process-oriented navigation system, which significantly boosts Speedmaster productivity and provides a competitive advantage. While the current job is running, Intellistart records the operating parameters and compares them to the requirements for the next job. Any necessary changes required are recommended to the operator, who can direct the system to apply the changes automatically, or confirm the changeover sequences using the wizard-guided user interface. The new operating platform makes it easy for operators to keep track of the entire printing process, including the activation / deactivation of printing, dampening, inking, and coating units. It is also possible to preset the printing speed, record OK sheets and waste, control sheet travel and regulate dryer settings as well as the volumes of blast and air suction.
• A high-definition LCD Wallscreen, which gives users a complete overview of all press processes, including colour measurement results, a transparent cross-section of the Speedmaster with a dynamic simulation of all of its functions, and a display of the print sheet with ink zones in their actual width. It also functions as a print approval tool.
The Prinect Press Center (pictured) is also a streamlined interface to the JDF-integrated Prinect workflow, as well as a variety of widely available print Management Information Systems. Operators can retrieve complete job and production data, adopt presetting data, and initiate printing processes at any time. Production reports are always up-to-date, as the Prinect Press Center provides the MIS and Prinect Pressroom Manager with continuous production data.
Speedmaster 52 Anicolor The Speedmaster SM 52’s revolutionary zoneless Anicolor inking unit is the small business printer’s answer to shrinking print runs. Dramatically shorter setups mean users can print more high-quality jobs each day at lower cost and 100 per cent offset quality thanks to consistent inking.
The savings are significant: • Up to 40 per cent shorter makeready times thanks to fast job changes. • Up to 25 per cent greater press capacity for more jobs each year. • Up to 90 per cent less waste for much lower costs.
Not only does Heidelberg Anicolor technology offer the advantages of offset for the shortest of print runs, it also stands up favorably to short-run, nonvariable, digital printing solutions. The Speedmaster 52 Anicolor press prints up to 15,000 sheets per hour in A3 (11 x 17-inch) format or 30,000 sheets per hour in A4 (8.5 x 11-inch) format, offering cost-effective, high-quality with total colour stability over both short and long runs.
Printmaster QM 46 A small-format (18.11 x 13.39-inch) press with a surprisingly high level of automation for a machine of its size, the Printmaster QM 46 is a mainstay of shops that depend on quick turnarounds of one- and two-colour commercial jobs from business cards to four-colour two-up posters. A mainstay of small shops from one end of the country to the other, the Printmaster QM 46 is ideally suited for the challenges associated with small-format offset printing today: shorter runs, price pressures, and increasing customer demand for small-format items with special colours. The Printmaster QM 46 will help printers fulfil these expectations profitably. (More information is available online at Printers Advantage: www.printersadvantage.com.) The model on display at Print 09 will feature longitudinal perforation inline.
Unique Ferag and Goss finishing options live in Chicago Ferag MultiLog bundler and STR-100 conveyor technology will operate live on the Goss International stand at Print 09…
Ferag and Goss International will demonstrate STR-100 conveying technology together with a MultiLog bundler live at the Print '09 show, introducing an innovative option for adding productivity, flexibility and efficiency to offset and gravure finishing workflows.
Demonstrations are scheduled for 11:00 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm at the Goss International stand. Additional demonstrations can also be requested throughout the show from 11 - 16 September.
The live operation of the STR-100 and MultiLog technologies will present one example of how Ferag components can open the door to new finishing workflows that are more productive and more efficient, according to Joe Colletti, president and CEO of Ferag Americas. Goss International represents Ferag products in North America.
‘We look forward to the show primarily as an opportunity to discuss new ideas with printers and publishers,’ explained Colletti. ‘With such a wide range of Ferag and Goss options, we are in a unique position to work with them in customizing systems that can take cost, labour and time out of the process.’
The latest-generation Ferag MultiLog bundler processes an expansive range of signature formats, page counts and stock weights at up to 100,000 copies per hour. Technology allowing a ‘loose’ log structure in the bundling process enhances log quality and prevents signature damage, even with thin signatures and products that are open on three sides. MultiLog bundlers can be configured with manual, semi-automatic, or fully automated robotic palletizing systems.
The STR-100 conveyor carries a shingled stream of signatures from a pick-up station to the delivery station for various storage or finishing components, such as the MultiLog bundler, at up to 100,000 copies per hour. The overhead conveyor frees floor space and accommodates a wide range of building layouts and finishing equipment configurations. ‘The STR-100 technology can give printers the flexibility to convey shingled streams directly from the press folder delivery to finishing or storage systems located virtually anywhere in their facility, without manual intervention,’ Colletti explained.
Goss International and Ferag offer a full range of integrated finishing solutions for commercial, newspaper and combined printing applications, including saddle stitching, adhesive binding, trimming, inserting, conveying, storage, workflow and auxiliary components.
Pictured above: Ferag and Goss International will present innovative print finishing options at Print '09, including live demonstrations of the MultiLog bundler (shown in photo) operating with versatile STR-100 conveying technology.
Digital Information new developments at Print 09 Show debuts for InkZone Move Press with new drivers for spectrophotometric scanners from Techkon and X-Rite…
At Print 09 Digital Information will be presenting the new version of the InkZone Move Press software solution, which now has integrated support for multiple scanning spectrophotometers including SpectroDrive from Techkon (pictured) and Intellitrax from X-Rite.
Swiss software developer and system integrator Digital Information has seen worldwide success with its cost-effective solutions for automated colour measurement and control of a wide range of offset presses. The well-known InkZone product line connects to numerious prepress workflows as well as sheetfed and web-offset presses from established manufacturers.
On its stand at Print 09, 11 to 16 September, McCormick Place North in Chicago, the workflow specialists will place emphasis on their InkZone Move Press product. Live presentations will be made of the newly-developed drivers for two spectrophotometric scanners – SpectroDrive from Techkon and Intellitrax from X-Rite. Visitors can review the wide range of new and legacy presses supported and see firsthand how the measuring results are displayed using a common graphic format on the monitor.
Both versions of InkZone Move Press will be on display: InkZone Move Press Densi and InkZone Move Press Spectro. Users interested in interpreting simple density and dot gain values to gain control of process colour printing can evaluate how InkZone Move Press Densi can meet their pressroom control needs. Visitors interested instead in the capabilities of the Spectro version, can see the additional capability of displaying CIELAB and corresponding Delta-E values, as specified in many printing industry standards.
InkZone Move Press will also be shown controlling the cost-effective and accurate DigiDensi colour scanning systems from Digital Information, in addition to the SpectroDrive from Techkon and the Intellitrax from X-Rite. As an option, users can evaluate the low-cost EyeOne from X-Rite, which has the added advantage of automated measurements via an optional motorized DC Track.
The whole suite of the InkZone solutions connect to any prepress workflow and to virtually any offset printing press and now fully supports the leading colour measuring systems. Global printers of all sizes are invited to see how these unique, cost-saving solutions can add a consistent interface to their existing workflows, instrumentation and press equipment.
Note that until 30 September, the InkZone Game is available for Web-surfers who have time on their hands to play at: www.digiinfo.com and win a week-long winter vacation in beautiful Switzerland!
Pakready announces appointment for global expansion Derek Sizer is appointed managing director of Pakready packaging prototyping systems to drive business forward globally…
Pakready, a leading developer of prototyping systems for packaging, has appointed Derek Sizer as its new managing director. The move reflects the company’s intent to expand current operations by increasing market penetration in Europe and the rest of the world.
With almost 20 years in the printing and packaging industry, most recently as head of ECRM Imaging Systems’ dealer network in Europe and Asia, Derek has considerable experience in both product and channel marketing.
‘Technology is important, but it tends to dominate the thinking of many suppliers,’ said Sizer. ‘It is more important to understand customers’ key objectives and build solutions considering local needs. We already have an excellent product but now we need to concentrate on building strong and long-term relationships with dealers and end users enabling them to add value to the production of packaged goods.’
Cheshire, UK-based Pakready is specialised in the development, supply and support of total solutions for the rapid prototyping of printed packaging and has many installations in blue-chip companies in the food and cosmetics sectors. Its solutions are capable of handling a range of substrates to produce 3-D packaging prototypes with simulated high quality print in position. Products from small pharmaceutical boxes to large POS and POP displays can be produced in as little as six minutes.
‘Time-to-market is king in the packaging industry,’ concluded Sizer. ‘Pakready gives brand managers and packaging developers an accelerated route to market and a low-cost option to test market products with the design that gives them “on-the-shelf” attraction. This is a really exciting role – it is great to be at the helm of a company that can make such a big contribution to the value chain.’
Enfocus Switch adds support for Adobe InDesign Server Enfocus Switch maintenance update introduces stronger support for high-volume Adobe InDesign workflows…
Switch 08, update 7 includes a configurator fully supporting Adobe InDesign Server. Through this update Enfocus FullSwitch and PowerSwitch unlock the full performance and reliability benefits of the Adobe InDesign Server solution.
‘From the beginning we have supported automation of the Adobe Creative Suite Applications, like InDesign and Photoshop in Enfocus Switch,’ commented David van Driessche, director of Enfocus marketing. ‘Increasingly our customers are engaged in high-volume, InDesign-based workflows for one-to-one marketing or Web-To-Print and support for the Adobe InDesign Server solution is an incredible advantage for them’.
Speed up your workflow with Switch and InDesign Server Adobe InDesign CS4 Server is a robust and scalable engine that offers the ability to automate the design, layout, and typographical capabilities of Adobe InDesign CS4. ‘A complete range of innovative solutions has been built around the Adobe InDesign CS4 engine,’ said Chris Kitchener, senior product manager for Adobe InDesign Server. ‘The combination of Adobe InDesign CS4 server and Enfocus Switch allows for powerful automation of those solutions, saving our customers hours of time and dramatically increasing their productivity.’
Enfocus Switch allows configuring and automating Adobe InDesign Server into a larger workflow through simple drag-and-drop. Switch features such as organising file reception through FTP, watched folders and email, sorting of files and automatic email notifications to customers enable complex workflows to be built around the Adobe InDesign Server engine.
By combining the InDesign Server and Switch you can now easily: • Manage documents, newsletters and marketing materials from creation until final delivery through design templates. • Setup self-service and automated ad creation portals • Extend the versatility and power of Web-To-Print engines
Availability The Switch configurator to integrate InDesign Server from Adobe is available in update 7 from Switch 08. It is available as a free download from: www.enfocus.com for registered Switch 08 users. If you are not a Switch 08 user, a fully-functional time-limited evaluation version is available at no charge from the Enfocus website as well.
New Harlequin RIP v.8.1 upgrade released Trapping significantly faster, complex transparency performance enhanced and spot colours fine-tuned in latest PLUS Server RIP…
Substantial enhancements to trapping and transparency performance as well as spot colour processing have been introduced in the latest upgrade to the Harlequin RIP - the Harlequin PLUS Server RIP (v.8.1) - to bring increased productivity and efficiency to pre-press departments, digital print and workflow operations.
Improvements to TrapPro, the Harlequin in-RIP trapping engine, increase trapping performance up to eight times due to more efficient use of memory. The performance of complex live transparent jobs is also improved. Transparency, and the use of complex transparencies in particular, are featuring increasingly in graphic design work. While Harlequin RIP users have never needed to flatten transparent artwork because all Harlequin RIPs since Version 6.0 have automatically recognised when PDF files contain live transparency and generated the correct result, this new enhancement represents an important advance in terms of productivity gains.
Spot colour conversion in Harlequin ColorPro has also been fine-tuned to give increased accuracy. Harlequin ColorPro provides colour process control to give accurate, consistent and predictable colour reproduction and supports RGB, CMYK, N-colour and Grey ICC 4.0 profiles.
The Harlequin RIP already sets the standard for performance in the commercial printing industry. Last years' release of Version 8.0 at Drupa introduced multi-threaded rendering taking full advantage of Duo and Quad core technologies as well as a special feature to speed up the processing of variable data in PDF files even if they were not created using specific variable data tools.
Upgrades can be purchased through Global Graphics' OEMs including Agfa Graphics, ECRM, Xitron, RTI, Polkadots, Screen, Fusion Systems, Compose and Presstek.
Heidelberg’s figures for First Quarter 2009/2010 Incoming orders for first quarter stabilise at previous quarters' low level - 52 per cent down on previous year's figure…
• Incoming orders for first quarter stabilise at previous quarters' low level and total EUR 550 million - 52 per cent down on previous year's figure boosted by Drupa • Sales 22 per cent down on previous year at EUR 514 million • Operating result falls to EUR -63 million • Free cash flow improves to EUR -29 million
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has published its results for the first quarter of financial year 2009/2010 (1 April to 30 June, 2009). The persisting unfavourable macro-economic climate and customers' continued reluctance to invest have collectively had a significant impact on business during the reporting period.
In the period under review, incoming orders were up on the previous quarter's figure of EUR 474 million at EUR 550 million and thus appear to be stabilising at a low level. They were 52 per cent down on the figure for the same quarter the previous year, which was boosted by the Drupa trade show (previous year: EUR 1.151 billion).
As a result of the global slump in demand in the industry, the Heidelberg Group's order backlog as at 30 June, 2009 was 53 per cent below the previous year's value of EUR 1.298 billion at EUR 616 million.
‘Incoming orders stabilised slightly in the first quarter compared with recent months, providing an initial indication that the downturn is levelling out. However, we still need to wait and see how things develop,’ stated Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.
In the first three months of the financial year, the Heidelberg Group generated sales amounting to EUR 514 million. This figure is 22 per cent lower than the EUR 657 million achieved in the first quarter of the previous year.
The operating result excluding special items was EUR -63 million in the period under review (previous year: EUR -35 million). The net result in the first quarter was EUR -69 million (previous year: EUR -39 million).
Heidelberg achieved considerable success in limiting the outflow of funds from free cash flow compared to the same quarter the previous year through active control of working capital and savings on investments. As a result, the free cash flow improved to EUR -29 million (previous year: EUR -211 million), largely due to a further cutback in inventory levels.
‘Our package of cost-cutting measures is proceeding according to plan,’ said company CFO Dirk Kaliebe. ‘In the first three months of the financial year, we achieved a further reduction in personnel costs compared to the previous year, cut inventory levels, lowered research and development expenditure, and cut back significantly on investments. These savings contribute to compensating the impact falling sales are having on the result,’ he added.
Around half of the 5,000 job cuts announced by Heidelberg have already been achieved or firmly agreed through socially acceptable measures. To make further short-term savings on personnel costs, the company is continuing to make use of short-time work throughout Germany.
In the first quarter alone, just under 600 employees left the Group (including approximately 60 temporary agency staff). As of 30 June, 2009, Heidelberg had a workforce of 18,353 worldwide (previous quarter: 18,926).
Results in the Press and Postpress divisions As a result of the unfavourable economic situation, incoming orders for the first quarter in the Press Division (offset printing) remained at the low level of the previous quarters at EUR 493 million. This is 52 per cent down on the figure of EUR 1.030 billion for the same quarter the previous year, which did, however, include the high level of incoming orders from the Drupa trade show. Due to weak demand and the low order backlog at the beginning of the quarter under review, the previous year's sales figure was not matched either. At EUR 460 million, sales were 19 per cent lower than the same quarter the previous year (previous year: EUR 568 million). The operating result was EUR -53 million (previous year: EUR -29 million).
The Postpress Division (finishing) also suffered from the unfavourable underlying conditions in the quarter under review and only achieved incoming orders totalling EUR 52 million. This was 54 per cent down on the figure of EUR 114 million for the same quarter the previous year. At a level of EUR 49 million, sales were 40 per cent down on the previous year's figure of EUR 82 million - double the rate of decline experienced in the Press Division. The operating result excluding special items was EUR -13 million (previous year: EUR -11 million).
All regions except North America recorded higher incoming orders in the first quarter than in the previous quarter. In some parts of the EMEA, North America, and Latin America regions, incoming orders were more than 60 per cent below the previous year's values due to the global financial and economic crisis. The Asia / Pacific region recorded the smallest decline in incoming orders compared to the previous year. Thanks to the China Print trade show and the resultant healthy incoming orders on the Chinese market, order levels were only 24 per cent down on the previous year at EUR 185 million. Sales were slightly up on the previous year's figure at EUR 150 million, with a significant increase recorded primarily in China.
Due to the persisting difficult underlying conditions, Heidelberg is still predicting that sales for financial year 2009 / 2010 as a whole will be below the very low level of financial year 2008 / 2009. Although the cost-cutting measures already initiated will help the company lower the break-even level as quickly as possible, the sharp rise in refinancing costs, which also include the cost of the guarantees in the Economic Stimulus Package II, will weigh heavily on the financial result. Consequently, Heidelberg is expecting a negative result for financial year 2009 / 2010.
Heidelberg concludes negotiations on new financing concept On 7 August, 2009, Heidelberg successfully concluded negotiations on loan agreements with its banks, thereby securing its medium-term financing structure. The components of the financing package include state guarantees and an indemnity from the KfW. The deeds of guarantee will be issued and sent out before the end of August. This provides the company with a credit line totaling EUR 1.4 billion for the period up to the middle of 2012.
The complete report for the first quarter of financial year 2009/2010 is available online at: www.heidelberg.com, or just click on the Heidelberg button to the left of this page.
Publication of the half-yearly results for financial year 2009/2010 is scheduled for 10 November, 2009.
New financing and credit line approved for Heidelberg Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG Concludes negotiations on new financing concept to secure the group’s liquidity to mid-2012…
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has concluded negotiations on its new financing concept, thereby securing the Group's liquidity for the next few years. This provides the company with a credit line totaling EUR 1.4 billion for the period up to the middle of 2012. In June, Heidelberg received loan pledges in principle from the banks and guarantee pledges from the Federal and State Governments. Now that the agreements have been signed, the documentation is complete. The deeds of guarantee will be issued and sent out before the end of August.
‘Despite the difficult conditions on the financial markets, Heidelberg has succeeded in renegotiating its existing financing structure. The new financing framework will enable the company to bridge the period until the difficulties in securing loans within the financial system ease,’ stated Heidelberg CFO Dirk Kaliebe.
The financing package consists of three main components - a EUR 300 million loan from the Special Programme of the KfW (Reconstruction Loan Corporation) for large companies (with a 50 per cent indemnity from the KfW to the banks), a EUR 550 million loan supported by 90 per cent guarantee pledges from the Federal Government and the States of Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg, and a syndicated credit line from a consortium of banks, also for EUR 550 million.
Despite the current financial crisis, Heidelberg has been able to maintain its market position. The company's objective is to further increase the proportion of total sales accounted for by services, consumables, and packaging printing - areas of business that are relatively unaffected by economic cycles. Heidelberg customers around the globe are showing an interest in the company's new large format packaging solutions, and the first large format press has already been installed in China. At the same time, Heidelberg spares no effort to implement the package of cost-cutting measures it initiated in 2008. This will lay the foundation for the company to once again enjoy successful growth once the economy picks up again.
Additional details on Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG can be found at www.heidelberg.com, or just click on the Heidelberg button link to the left of this page – or its banners or sponsor logo on our Home Page.
New PrintCity Alliance PRINTplusX London Workshop The PrintCity Alliance announces a full day PRINTplusX Workshop in London on 9 September, in partnership with PrintWeek…
Focused on Value Added Printing (VAP), this event will be of interest to brand owners, designers and publishers, plus to all UK sheetfed and web printers. Under the headline PRINTplusX - The Secrets of Value Added Printing, the workshop will show how Value Added Printing increases the competitiveness of a brand, eg at point-of-sale.
Brand owners can differentiate their products, gain improved consumer recognition and hence increased sales, by using value added printing techniques as part of their integrated print and electronic media marketing campaigns. Designers can offer creative new ideas with additional capabilities utilising value added print media. Publishers can achieve strong brand recognition and differentiation when launching new magazines or refreshing existing ones, in their highly competitive markets.
Wayne Manning, publishing director, Haymarket Print & Packaging Group confirmed, ‘Brand owners, designers and publishers need to know what the benefits of value added printing techniques are and what they can achieve in terms of future business growth. This is a “must see” event for them, as well as for everyone else in this industry. PrintWeek and the PrintCity Alliance are proud to jointly support this London event.’
Established brand owners, creatives and other industry specialists will discuss their experiences with VAP, while PrintCity Alliance members' Manroland, Merck, Sappi, UPM, Weilburger Graphics and Kurz show the latest value added printing & packaging techniques, materials and possibilities. In addition, workshop attendees are invited to learn in interactive break-out sessions more about the possibilities of Value Added Printing.
The PRINTplusX project was launched together with the f:mp. and includes additional contributions from Hammesfahr, Marbach, Reproflex and HdM.
Jo Francis, associate editor, Print Group, Haymarket Business Media will moderate a series of thought provoking presentations, discussions and interactive hands-on workshops on these subject areas:
• Motivation, impact and market opportunity for Value Added Printing techniques • How will creative ideas be stimulated by Value Added Printing possibilities • Benefits of different Value Added Printing methods & materials • How can we evaluate these creative techniques • Business growth possibilities and the role of Value Added Printing
Venue, Date and Times: Wednesday 9 September from 10.00 - 16.30 Location: Radisson Edwardian Kenilworth Hotel Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LB
A detailed agenda and speaker programme for the September London PRINTplusX event will be available during August.
Rainer Kuhn, PrintCity managing director commented, ‘Value Added Printing becomes even more important during difficult market conditions. Competition from electronic media increases, at the same time that brand marketing budgets are under pressure.
‘PrintCity Alliance members promote the value of print and we have been communicating the opportunities available through Value Added Printing for over 5 years. We believe that such techniques can help brand owners and printers differentiate, gain attention and grow business, so that they emerge from the current economic conditions even stronger.’
What is PRINTplusX? PrintCity has been a leader in Value Added Printing since 2003 and has defined it as a product that is:
• Visibly (also other senses!) Different to standard printing
• Recognised by consumers, advertisers and brand owners
• Capable of attracting Higher Revenues and/or adds to Differentiation
There is no one-size-fits-all solution; rather, there is a large menu of options from which to define the right solution for a specific product and target market. Compared to standard printing this creates an almost endless variety of effects to maximise attention. Research shows that consumers almost immediately notice the presence of an additional quality attribute - this may be consciously or unconsciously.
A successful combination of special effects will generate emotions that are positively projected onto the product itself. If the printed product is perceived as being classy, sophisticated and interesting, this value is also positively projected on to the product or brand. A direct impact on sales can be hard to measure, but it is nevertheless possible to quantify image enhancement and increased attention.
For this reason, the framework of the PRINTplusX project is to analyse and document Value Added Printing options and their worth as a marketing instrument.
This includes the preparation and evaluation of extensive market research and discussions with brand owners, agencies, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers. The objective is to achieve greater transparency, overview opportunities and impact, and to create guidelines for successful use. The goal is to give brand owners and their agencies facts and figures to help them evaluate their current situation and potential alternative marketing strategies.
The project is powered by an enthusiasm for print in the media value chain. Its participants include leading specialists, research and educational institutions, associations and media partners, customers and brand owners to provide different points of view and experience to ensure the widest range of competencies.
Several PRINTplusX virtual products have been developed to show the optical, haptic and emotional differences between conventional and value added print products, to help spark new ideas. These will assist academic research to provide scientific evidence on how Value Added Printing works.
More information on the innovative PRINTplusX project can be seen at this special new Website: www.printplusx.com.
Additional information on the PrintCity Alliance can be found at: www.printcity.de.
Judge finds VIM in clear violation of Presstek patents Presstek announces International Trade Commission victory in Patent Infringement Case against VIM Technologies…
• Judge rules VIM printing plates infringe valid Presstek patents • Judge recommends that VIM U.S. imports be blocked at the U.S. border by Customs • Judge finds that the accused VIM distributors are subject to infringement ruling
Presstek, Inc has announced that it has prevailed in a critical ruling by an Administrative Law Judge of the International Trade Commission (‘ITC’) in the Company's patent infringement case against Israeli-based VIM Technologies, Ltd. In an opinion made public on 5 August, 2009, Judge E James Gildea ruled that Presstek's patents for its printing plate technology are valid and enforceable and that VIM has been infringing Presstek's legally protected rights by importing and selling VIM's illegally infringing plates in the United States. The Company said that it expects the ITC to confirm the judge's ruling within the next few months by banning the importation of VIM's illegal printing plates into the United States.
The Company said that the ruling found VIM in clear violation of the Presstek patents, and also found that VIM continued to manufacture and sell its infringing products despite knowing, as early as 2004, that the products might infringe Presstek's patent rights. Judge Gildea also found VIM's manufacturing partner, Hanita Coatings RCA, Ltd, liable for illegally inducing the infringement of Presstek's patents and determined that the other respondents to the ITC proceeding, including Spicer's Paper, Inc., Guaranteed Service and Supplies, Inc., Recognition Systems, Inc. and AteCe Canada should be banned from importing and selling the infringing VIM products in the United States.
The ruling by the ITC Administrative Law Judge represents the second courtroom victory by Presstek in its patent infringement battle with VIM. In April 2009, the Regional Court in Dusseldorf, Germany found Presstek's European patents to be infringed by VIM's illegal plates. The Court ordered VIM, the German distributor Reinsch Handel and the owner of the distributor, Andreas Reinsch, to cease all sales of infringing VIM printing plates. The German court ruled that VIM is liable to Presstek for damages, including damages relating to all VIM plate sales in Germany dating back to 2003. VIM has appealed this decision, but Presstek is confident it will prevail on appeal.
In commenting on the ITC ruling, James R Van Horn, Presstek's General Counsel, said, ‘This ruling in the International Trade Commission represents a total victory for Presstek in its ongoing battle against VIM Technologies and its illegal pirating of our protected technology. We have obtained favourable rulings from two respected tribunals on two continents declaring that VIM's products illegally infringe Presstek's valid and enforceable patents. This decision by the ITC should serve as fair warning to all distributors of VIM's infringing products. Presstek considers the sale of VIM printing plates by any party to be an illegal, intentional and wilful violation of our patent rights and we will take all appropriate action to protect these rights and recover damages resulting from this illegal infringement.’
Sinapse Print Simulators at Print09 Chicago The supplier of training simulators for flexo, gravure and offset presses, announces a range of new technology features…
Sinapse Print Simulators, the world's leading supplier of training simulators for flexo, gravure and offset presses, announces a range of new technology features for its market leading skills focused simulator products at Print 09, Chicago, 11 - 16 September, 2009.
Major new Sinapse Print Simulators technology 'firsts' for Print09 will include:
• NEW : SHOTS ‘WorldSkills’ version : released as v 4.7 (world skills competition challenges included in this release version) • NEW: Functions for ink key presets • NEW: Incorporation of a new speech function. As an option the simulator can show one language on screen and speak another, to teach trainees the foreign language equivalents • NEW: Japanese and Arabic language versions launched • NEW: Goss M600 Omnicon interface • NEW: ASA (Automatic Session Analysis) which lets trainers automatically analyse trainee results and compare them - point for point - with recommended solutions
Sinapse Print Simulators enquiries can be made at the Printing Industries of America stand at McCormick Place.
The full range of Sinapse Print Simulators products and capabilities for the American market can be seen and discussed there or by contacting James A Workman of Printing Industries of America at: jworkman@printing.org or telephone 412-259-1710.
For more information on Sinapse Print Simulators and Sinapse at Print 09 visit: www.sinapseprint.com.
Kodak Versamark at Boom Tisk boosts TransPromo Versatile Versamark VL2000 digital print solution delivers top quality output at higher speeds in Kolín, Czech Republic…
Recent technological advances in digital printing have created a raft of new print applications, helping printers offer more services to their customers and expand their business. One such application is TransPromo printing, where transactional print meets pro-active marketing. By digitally printing promotional messages on invoices and other transactional documents, companies can communicate personalised marketing messages to their target audience.
TransPromo printing is all about volume, low printing cost per page and fast output, which inkjet printing technologies enable. Kodak's answer to these market requirements is the Kodak Versamark V-Series printing system, which is ideal for TransPromo printing.
Boom Tisk, a printing company located in Kolín, Czech Republic, invested in a Kodak Versamark printing system at the end 2008. In the past, the company focused solely on offset printing, but it soon turned to the burgeoning digital printing and direct mail markets to boost revenue. Its digital installation includes a Kodak Versamark VL2000 printing system with separate perforators and a dedicated inserter.
High-quality output At the heart of Boom Tisk's state-of-the-art production set-up are two Kodak Versamark VL2000 printing systems. The systems allow for duplex printing on both sides of the paper roll simultaneously, ensuring maximum production speed. The systems can print to a maximum paper width of 520mm and a maximum print width of 474mm.
The high speed of the Versamark VL2000 makes it perfectly suited for TransPromo applications. It can process 76m of paper per minute, or up to 1,026 A4 pages per minute - the total daily output of the system is more than one million A4 pages. Printing options include blank and pre-printed paper from 60gsm to 160gsm on both coated and uncoated substrates, offering maximum versatility. Plus the Versamark VL2000 is compatible with both pigment and dye water-based inks.
Boom Tisk has two VL2000 Engines linked together, providing duplex printing at full speed. ‘Most of our work is direct mail related, so it was an easy decision to invest in inkjet printing technology,’ said Robert Domnosil (pictured), co-owner of Boom Tisk. ‘The VL2000 fulfils all our requirements in terms of print quality, speed and cost.’
Key focus on efficiency and accuracy The whole printing system at Boom Tisk is controlled by a Kodak Versamark CS410 system. All printing queues, settings and process parameters are clearly presented in the controller's interface, which manages the entire production process, from prepress to finishing. This ensures accuracy and quality throughout the operation.
And because Boom Tisk's entire production set-up is Kodak controlled, its customers benefit from more efficient order processing, resulting in cheaper prices and faster delivery times.
Although TransPromo is one of the more obvious applications, the Kodak Versamark system can also be used to produce classic transactional prints that can replace traditional offset-printed forms.
New business opportunities and applications The Kodak Versamark VL2000 printing system has proved a great success at Boom Tisk. ‘The system has enabled us to significantly reduce our printing costs - and it's particularly impressive when you compare it to the other common methods of data personalisation. You typically see forms printed using an offset printing system before a digital device prints the variable data on top in black-and-white. With the VL2000, the printing process is much faster and cheaper.’
The ability to print TransPromo collateral has allowed Boom Tisk to offer a number of new applications to its clients, helping the company develop new revenue opportunities. And with significant growth predicted in the local and international TransPromo print markets, Boom Tisk is anticipating further expansion.
For more information about Kodak's solutions for graphic communications, visit: www.graphics.kodak.com.
In Southern Africa, Kodak and Kodak Versamark solutions are distributed by Antalis South Africa’s Graphics division.
Two Rapidas add to ‘La stampa per passione’ in Naples New medium and large-format Rapidas: A six-colour Rapida 106 and a four-colour Rapida 142 with coater for Cangiano Grafica…
‘La stampa per passione’ is the slogan of the print company Cangiano Grafica, which was founded in Naples over 60 years ago. And a passion for print is today still evident in every facet of the family business run by Francesco, Giuseppe, Silvio and Ugo Cangiano.
With the two new medium and large-format Rapida presses which were installed in January and February 2009, Cangiano Grafica is now set to further strengthen its reputation as one of the leading commercial printers in the region. A six-colour Rapida 106 and a four-colour Rapida 142 with inline coater have doubled the company's production capacities and can be expected to deliver a considerable boost to earnings.
The further enhanced quality of the latest-generation Rapidas, in combination with faster makeready and turnaround times, establishes the necessary prerequisites for the planned future growth, despite the current crises affecting the branch in general.
At home in the centre of Naples since 1947, initially under the name Tipografia Cangiano, the company has modernised not only its print centre, but also the facilities for pre-press and finishing. The new year was celebrated with a move to new 4,500 sq/m premises on the Via Palazziello in Volla, securing additional space for future expansions.
Packaging added to the core business fields The move also brought decisive improvements in terms of transportation and accessibility, and the 40 employees at Cangiano Grafica are now able to offer their customers both faster response and a wider range of services. Alongside business forms, brochures, catalogues and calendars, with which Cangiano Grafica has already earned a good name for itself among industry and retail clients, publishers and advertising agencies, the product portfolio has now been extended to include packaging printing.
The co-operation with KBA began at drupa 2000, at which time Cangiano Grafica was still working on continuous presses and two- and four-colour sheetfed offset models from other manufacturers. After comprehensive print tests, the first five-colour Rapida 105 with inline coater and hybrid technology options went into production in 2002.
Decision for the future Said founder and managing director Giuseppe Cangiano, ‘This investment has meant a quantum leap forward in our technical capabilities, and the countless finishing possibilities enable us to offer a completely new quality of product. The medium and large-format Rapidas from KBA enjoy an excellent reputation for their high speed and automation, not only in the North, but also here in Central and Southern Italy. Like many other print companies, we, too, have decided in favour of technical advance with our switch to KBA. And the competent advice and professional service provided by KBA Italia made this decision all the easier.’
Added commercial director Silvio Cangiano, ‘The market is changing continuously and this demands carefully planned investments to be able to defend and expand the position we have achieved. Despite the financial burdens of our double investment and the move to new premises, it was the right decision to take the offensive. The benefits will come and we already hope to be able to switch from two to three-shift operation in the foreseeable future. With their production speeds of 18,000 and 15,000sph, the new KBA presses are tailored for fast makeready and the typical structure of our inline production. Average run lengths vary between 3,000 and 10,000 copies, and so frequent job changeovers are the order of the day.’
’You think – we print’ The high degree of production flexibility fits in perfectly with the Cangiano Grafica principle ‘You think – we print’, and encourages the specific creativity of the customers. Even the most unexpected customer wishes can be realised without worry, whether on the Rapida 106 for medium formats or now even in large format on the Rapida 142. Silvio Cangiano: ‘The market is demanding more colours and more special effects, and we are well equipped to satisfy such demands with our coating and finishing capabilities. That applies especially to the high-quality packaging sector. We are ready to meet the challenges.’
Pictured above: Dario Braschi, KBA Italia; Francesco Cangiano and Silvio Cangiano; Antonio Golisciani, KBA Italia sales for Campania; Giuseppe Cangiano; and Salvatore Guarracino, Naples sales representative with the makeready world champion KBA Rapida 106.
In the lower picture: The KBA Rapida 142 is Cangiano Grafica's first investment in a large-format press.
Walsh Colour Print installs HP Indigo press 5500 New trade printing service to provide cost effective, high-quality short run digital printing for customers in Ireland…
HP today announced the installation of an HP Indigo press 5500 at trade printer Walsh Colour Print, in County Kerry, Ireland.
Installed in May 2009, the six-colour HP Indigo press 5500 has closed the loop in the service offering of one of Ireland's leading print houses. Enabling Walsh Colour Print to provide cost effective, high-quality short run printing for a wide variety of applications, the new digital capability offers an effective response to the needs of local Irish businesses.
Tony Walsh, managing director, Walsh Colour Print, said, ‘With run lengths going down and marketing budgets becoming tighter and tighter, we recognised that the time was right for us to invest in a digital press to help our customers stay competitive. Using our HP Indigo press 5500, we can now provide superior value to printers and end users.’
Walsh Colour Print's markets are split between Irish printers and design agencies, offering everything from full colour business cards to books and brochures, but the lion's share of its work comes from other Irish printers, who outsource jobs that they are unable to support.
‘In the two months since installation, we have been very impressed by the high print quality of items using the HP Indigo press 5500. We have put a wide variety of jobs through it, but are experiencing particular demand for colour books, including manuals and local authority documents of roughly 200 pages,’ said Walsh.
‘Traditionally, companies would have us produce book runs of about 1000, but end users are now looking to print-on-demand so that they can reduce costs and buy more responsibly. In addition, by using multiple digital runs, they can regularly make changes and update these documents, increasing the lifespan of the item.’
The new HP Indigo digital press complements a comprehensive technology and service capability at Walsh Colour Print, including one web offset press, five sheet-fed presses and a full suite of finishing equipment. The choice of the HP Indigo press 5500 was due to a number of factors. Walsh cited HP's presence and support of the Irish market as being very important, as well as HP's after sales service. The company was also impressed with the products' high print quality, reliability and potential re-sale value.
‘Our next step is to grow the digital business and broaden awareness for the capability of the process,’ said Walsh. ‘Using the HP Indigo press 5500's ability to process personalisation and variable data, marketers and businesses in Ireland now have the technology to better target customers and further drive sales - it's very exciting.’
Walsh Colour Print was established in 1993, and today employs 90 people at its Castleisland premises. As a privately held company, the business is owned by Tony Walsh and his wife Patricia who is also the company's production director.
Polar 66 takes on an educational role in University A Polar 66 has been installed at Print Services at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, in the United Kingdom…
A Polar 66 has been installed at Print Services at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. This replaces a larger 21 year old model but is more suited to the inplant’s current needs, primarily digital and standard SRA3 and SRA4 formats.
There is no litho equipment although the printing operation does also offer design, typesetting and print buying services in addition to outputting teaching and promotional material and other printed products required by an educational establishment.
‘We had a look at a number of models but we wanted to stick to Heidelberg and Polar if we could,’ said print manager Michael Bennett. ‘We like the name, reputation and build of the Polar guillotine, and the guillotine going out had been very reliable.’
The Polar 66 will operated 9am to 5pm daily. It is more programmable than its predecessor and the staff are finding it easy to adapt to. There are seven staff within Print Services at the University of East Anglia.
HP to show innovative solutions at FachPack 2009 HP Indigo, HP Scitex and HP Speciality Printing Systems to present innovative solutions for packaging in Nürnberg…
HP has announced that it will be showing innovative packaging solutions from HP Scitex, HP Speciality Printing Systems (HP SPS) and from its partners at FachPack 2009, at the Nürnberg Messe, Germany, 29 September – 1 October.
Also available on the stand will be information about HP Indigo digital presses for labels, flexible packaging, shrink sleeve and folding carton applications. The new HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press has an enhanced thick substrate capability and can handle materials from 12 – 450 microns, making folding carton production on final substrates, for short-runs or trialling, cost-effective.
End-to-end rigid substrate production Featured in operation on the stand will be the HP Scitex FB6700 Printer with inline laminator. This six-colour printer uses standard format artwork files to print a range of rigid applications including POP/POS displays, samples, short-run packaging and exhibition graphics. Using water-based inks, the HP Scitex FB6700 Printer produces up to 29 1.6 x 3.2m (5.2 x 10.5 feet) sheets per hour. Inline lamination takes advantage of the printer’s full automation capabilities. A Kongsberg XP 24 digital cutting table, from EskoArtwork will also be on the stand to demonstrate the versatility and productivity of a fully digital production line.
Teams from two HP Scitex FB6700 Printer owners, Pankarte PLV, of Strasbourg, France, and STI Group (STI - Gustav Stabernack GmbH), of Hessen, Germany, will print six real jobs from customers in a ‘Tower of Production’ demonstration on the stand. This will provide a powerful illustration of the quality and production capabilities of the printer.
Thermal inkjet solutions for packaging HP SPS OEM partners will be on the HP stand at FachPack demonstrating solutions for 2-D barcode printing using HP thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology.
Weber Marking Systems and Mark-O-Print (both part of the Bluhm Weber Group) will be printing on non-porous substrates using UV-curable ink from Triton Ltd.
Wolke Inks & Printers GmbH will be demonstrating its solution for printing on primary packaging using HP Universal Black ink.
HS Automatic ApS will be showing its solution for printing on secondary corrugated packaging.
Further HP presence at FachPack HP equipment may be seen and practical information gained from a number of HP customers who are exhibiting at FachPack. Among them are: Aleithe Haftetiketten, Allflex Folienveredelung, Bizerba, Herma, Rako Etiketten, Repro 68 Lithographie, Rolf Ritter, Schreiner Group, and Talis Haftetiketten.
Bytes boosts BBBEE rating to Level 3 Bytes Document Solutions, authorised Xerox distributor to 24 African countries, has been rated as a Level 3 Contributor…
Bytes Document Solutions, the authorised Xerox distributor to 24 African countries, has been rated as a Level 3 Contributor and Value-Adding Supplier by Empowerdex, an accredited verification agency. The rating comes on the back of progress made in many of the areas identified in the DTI's Codes of Good Practice.
A Level 3 plus Value Added Supplier status allows customers to claim R137,5, for every hundred rand spent with the company towards the own BBBEE preferential procurement score.
"We have worked hard for several years to achieve this rating," says Yolisa Tashe, socio economic development manager, at Bytes Document Solutions. "It underscores our commitment to supporting the Altron Group's Vision 2012."
During the past year, Bytes Document Solutions registered a number of improvements on its previous rating: • It greatly improved its training and skills development score, with 29 learnerships for previously disadvantaged workers. It now scores 11,5 out of a potential 15 points. • Bytes Document Solutions scored a maximum five for corporate CSI. ‘We donated heavily to the University of Johannesburg and Unisa, built five houses with Habitat for Humanity in Orange Farm, and have made available a number of study grants to our employees' children,’ said Tashe • It scored a maximum 15 for enterprise development: ‘We continue to support 13 BEE companies which we established, some as far back as 1999 and are ecstatic about their own growth,’ noted Tashe. • It scored 17,8 per cent out of a potential 20 for preferential procurement. ‘We are working hard to find small black and black women-owned businesses for discretionary spend items.’
Bytes Document Solutions has the full backing of Xerox in its broad-based black economic empowerment efforts: in June, Ursula Burns became the first black woman to head up a major listed corporation in the US. In addition, Xerox has been named as one of the most diverse corporations in the world, and one of the best for women to work.
About Bytes Document Solutions Bytes Document Solutions, previously known as Xerox South Africa, is a R1, 8-billion-a-year company made up of three business components:
The sole authorised Xerox distributor to 24 sub-Saharan countries; The largest South African paper merchant through NOR Paper; and Africa’s leading digital printing and mailing bureau through LaserCom
Bytes Document Solutions is recognised as a Level Three Contributor as defined by the South African Department of Trade & Industry’s Codes of Good Practice. In addition, Bytes Document Solutions has been recognised as a Value Adding Supplier, with its customers being able to claim 137,5 per cent of their spend towards their preferential procurement measurement for their own BBEEE status.
Bytes Documents Solutions is a division of Bytes Technology Group South Africa, owned by Altron, with Kagiso Trust Investments as its empowerment partner.
K2 Flexo press debut for Labelexpo Europe K2 Flexo to launch new 330mm wide press with intuitive diagnostic technology at Labelexpo in September…
Press manufacturer, K2 Flexo will launch a new 330mm (13-inch) flexographic printing press on stand 7N58. The K2 330 complements the company's existing range of label presses and will be shown with intuitive diagnostic technology.
Commenting on the development, managing director, Russell Oddy said, ‘The K2 330 fills a gap in our range of presses where the requirement is for large quantities of labels in certain markets. For example milk, beverage, food and pharmaceutical labels between 80 and 105mm wide can only be printed a maximum of two-up on a 250mm web press, allowing for waste matrix. On a 330mm web press, the same labels can be produced three-up. This immediately increases production capacity by as much as 50 per cent, but the extra cost for this wider web press is very small indeed.’
The K2 330 can be supplied with up to 12 printing units for UV or water-based inks and is equipped with PLC controls, touch screen, automatic web tension, equal height print and die station for safer operation, ceramic anilox rolls and fast action print and die stations. Options include rotary cold foil stamping, UV laminating, sheeting, fan folding and video web inspection.
‘The K2 range of machines offer great investment potential in the face of the current economic downturn,’ added Oddy. ‘We have recently won orders in Switzerland, France, Poland and the UK, in the face of strong competition. Any one of these customers could have purchased a higher end press. They chose to buy a K2 press because of the lower capital equipment cost and maximum return on investment. It is clear to us that ultimate top running speed is no longer the all-important factor when buying a new press. What is important is the ability to produce top quality labels at the right price on time, both efficiently and with as little waste as possible. This is our strong point.’
A privately owned company based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom, K2 Flexo has over 25 years experience in manufacturing flexographic printing presses for the label industry. Its versatile engineering skills and extensive development capabilities are supported by a substantial investment in the very latest CNC machinery and computer aided design systems. With installations around the world, the company serves an international customer base from its UK operation and a network of distributors in every continent.
EskoArtwork: Dedicated packaging design at Luxe Pack EskoArtwork to present integrated packaging design solutions at Luxe Pack 2009 to be held in Monaco in October…
EskoArtwork has announced its participation to Luxe Pack 2009, the luxury Goods Packaging exhibition taking place from 21 - 23 October, in Monaco. At the show, EskoArtwork will demonstrate a range of dedicated integrated packaging design tools that enable brand owners and creative packaging professionals to streamline their entire packaging supply chain. At the exhibition, EskoArtwork will also present prestigious and innovative cases from branding and packaging design companies.
Product highlights to be demonstrated at Luxe Pack 2009 are: Visualizer: this software creates and shares realistic digital mock-ups and soft proofs of complex packaging and label design with special print effects such as embossing, hotfoil, metallic inks and different substrates. Esko Visualizer shows how packages will look when handled and moved in a variety of lighting environments and backgrounds. Structural design information can be taken directly from ArtiosCAD or Studio Toolkit for Flexibles.
Studio & Studio toolkits: Studio is a plug-in for Adobe Illustrator that enables interactive 3D packaging design. Studio offers a 3D viewing environment where designers can see their artwork applied instantly on packaging. And, by creating a 3D PDF file from Studio, they can share their ideas with clients for review and approval. Studio reduces the need for time-consuming mock-ups and allows the designer to track errors faster, taking away the guesswork from 2D flats.
Apart from the Studio plug-in, EskoArtwork will also present Studio Toolkits which help designers to prepare packaging shapes themselves. Studio Toolkit for Flexibles is a stand-alone application to design flexible packaging shapes very fast. Studio Toolkit for Boxes is an Adobe Illustrator plug-in that generates a rectangular box, based on dimensions, or folds any keyline drawing into a 3D structure.
Dynamic Content for Adobe Illustrator: The EskoArtwork Dynamic Content plug-in establishes dynamic links between brand owners and their suppliers. XML is used to connect to the brand owners content management system. Dynamic Content gives designers full control over formatting and positioning of objects and enables the brand owner to edit and maintain text from outside Illustrator CS.
For more information, visit: www.esko.com/cpc. In Southern Africa, EskoArtwork solutions are supplied by Kemtek Imaging Systems.
Quentin Press adds Heidelberg Stitchmaster Quentin Press in Burgess Hill, UK, brings saddle-stitching in house with a Stitchmaster ST 100 from Heidelberg…
Quentin Press in Burgess Hill, UK, is bringing saddle-stitching in house with a debut Stitchmaster ST 100 machine from Heidelberg.
Works director Greg Priest explained, ‘In terms of prioritising jobs, maintaining quality control and keeping added value production in house it made sense for us to invest in our own saddle-stitching.
‘We looked at machines from Horizon, Muller Martini and Heidelberg but the Stitchmaster was the right match for our requirements. We were also hugely impressed by the number of engineers, availability of spare parts and overall speed of response that Heidelberg can provide.’
Quentin Press uses non-Heidelberg presses so it was not inevitable that it would buy its finishing equipment from Heidelberg.
Commercial colour work including prospectuses, brochures and other promotional material is handled by the company for councils, colleges and commercial buyers in London, Brighton and a swathe of southern England.
The range of stocks it handles is broad and it liked the transport system on the ST 100 which enables work to travel mark-free through to the stitching heads. A stacker on the end automates delivery and can stack and turn to whatever pile height is required, eliminating the need for manual offloading of shingle-delivered booklets.
Quentin Press already has Polar cutting technology and now with cut-fold-stitch in house it offers a comprehensive production portfolio. Perfect binding, laminating and other specialist work will continue to be outsourced, however.
The ST 100 has now been delivered to the company and is running on flexible day shifts. Quentin Press is part of the Gemini Group.
Sinapse Sheetfed Press Training Simulators for China Sinapse simulators (SHOTS) become the recommended training tool by Chinese printing technical organisation PTAC…
Global recognition of the importance of press simulators in skills training is reflected in the choice of Sinapse simulators as the recommended training tool by Chinese printing technical organisation PTAC.
A landmark agreement was made on 11 May during China Print when the Chinese Printing Technical Association of China (PTAC), officially announced that Sinapse Sheetfed Press Training Simulators (SHOTS) would become their recommended printing skills training tool.
PTAC selected this technology to:
1. Promote and accelerate the understanding and use of the PTAC Chinese offset print standards throughout the industry
2. Provide the Chinese printing industry with an advanced print simulation training tool so that these standards can be rapidly taught, understood and put into practice
3. Enable a more advanced, objective and economic means of evaluating print operators in the annual Chinese industry skills contest
The agreement furthers co-operation between Sinapse and the Chinese printing industry, PTAC and Chinese Print Studies Educational Centers (represented by three major print universities) plus Sinapse distributor China Yin King, who will be the national coordinator for much of the work done by the universities in this project.
Sinapse will provide the PTAC and the three universities with a SHOTS license for the period in which the universities will develop a curriculum and set of evaluations for SHOTS based on the PTAC print standards. Support includes full training and certification to accomplish these goals and to implement a first set of operator evaluations later this year. All parties to the protocol fully recognize and respect that SHOTS simulator software copyright has been recorded and protected in China.
‘Press training has historically been a tough task, but the Sinapse system is truly excellent,’ said Shen Zhong Kang, a senior consultant to the PTAC. He added, ‘The value of the advanced training approach was widely recognised at the first high-level training class held in March by the PTAC. This is undoubtedly good news for the Chinese printing industry as it goes through a process of strategic transformation.
Shen Zhong Kang concluded, ‘The PTAC standard curriculum for the simulator will be supplied on demand and without charge to any Chinese printer or educational institution.’
Sinapse managing director, Peter Herman, added, ‘The rapidly growing Chinese printing market faces a significant shortage of skilled press operators. Typically it takes three to five years to train a skilled operator using real presses. However, a worker can become proficient in press problem solving by completing an 18-month training programme with our simulation software. This is a major advantage for companies whose workers have never had formal print training and is also ideal for printing colleges in China and the 10,000 to 20,000 print students for whom it is not possible to provide hundreds of real presses to practice on.’
Sinapse Print Simulators, the world's leading supplier of training simulators for flexo, gravure and offset presses, is proud to be selected for this important skills training role in the Chinese market.
Ortindo adds NexPress with Kodak Dimensional Printing Ortindo Image Centre in Jogyakarta first in Southeast Asia to bring Kodak's high-impact Dimensional Printing to customers…
Marketers throughout Southeast Asia now have a new way to make their digitally printed communications stand out and get attention: Dimensional Printing from Kodak. Ortindo Image Centre in Jogyakarta, Indonesia, is the first commercial printer in the region to offer this unique capability with the installation of a new Kodak NexPress S2500 digital production colour press. Kodak Dimensional Printing was recently awarded a 2009 InterTech Technology Award, the highest honour for innovation in the graphic communications industry.
‘We originally decided to add a digital press primarily because we were seeing more jobs with shorter run lengths and faster turnaround times,’ said Johanes Rudyanto, owner and managing director, Ortindo Image Centre. ‘Once we learned about dimensional printing and glossing capabilities from Kodak, we realised that the NexPress press would open up many other opportunities for us to offer new services and grow our business.’
Ortindo produces a variety of print materials, from books to magazines to brochures. Its clients include companies in the hospitality industry as well as publishing houses, among them, Hyatt Hotel and Kanisius, the largest publisher in Central Java, Indonesia.
Available as part of the Kodak NexPress Fifth Imaging Unit solutions, Dimensional Printing gives specified text and images a raised or 3D effect. The result is a printed piece with a dimensional feel that mimics the surface of the items in the image. Dimensional Printing can also place standout borders and other eye-catching features to printed materials.
Kodak NexPress Intelligent Dimensional Coating solution and Kodak NexPress Dimensional Clear Dry Ink combine to create the Dimensional Printing effects. Dimensional Printing is well suited for a variety of markets, including the commercial printing and photo products markets.
To extend the type of applications it can produce and enhance the image quality of jobs run on its NexPress S2500 press, Ortindo also added the Kodak NexPress Glossing Unit.
‘We see immediate opportunities in photobooks and other image-rich products,’ said Rudyanto. ‘The combination of Dimensional Printing and high-end glossing with the NexPress press means that we can offer our customers high-value services previously unavailable in Southeast Asia.’
Print industry expert Frank Romano said recently of Kodak Dimensional Printing, ‘Because very few printers have applied this technology, those that enter the market will have an advantage. It adds a new capability to what they're doing. It gives them a new revenue stream. It gives them a new opportunity for new business. And that's what it's all about. In this economy, we need to find new business and value-added printing, and Kodak Dimensional Printing does that.’
For more information, visit: www.graphics.kodak.com, or just click on the Kodak button to the left of this page, or the Kodak banner or sponsor ogo on our Home Page. In Southern Africa Kodak is represented by Antalis South Africa’s Graphics division.
Baldwin chosen for Manroland Cromoman presses Baldwin ProTech blanket washers selected for Gulf Printing and Publishing semi-commercial web project in Middle East…
Baldwin Technology Company has announced that it has received an order for approximately $1.3 million from Gulf Printing and Publishing Company (GPPC), which has ordered Baldwin ProTech automatic blanket washers for its existing Manroland Cromoman semi-commercial presses. The order was secured in co-operation with the German printing press manufacturer. Completion of the installation and commissioning of Baldwin’s cleaning equipment is scheduled for March 2010.
Baldwin President and CEO Karl Puehringer said, ‘This order provides an example of Baldwin's successful focus on expanding our global reach into emerging print markets. Increasingly, publishers and printers like GPPC are using their presses for newspaper as well as semi-commercial print production. By retrofitting their presses with Baldwin blanket washer technology, they are able to increase capacity and efficiency by reducing job downtime and reducing paper waste while maintaining a superior level of print quality.’
Gulf Printing and Publishing was founded in 1978. It is the publisher of an Arabic newspaper, Arrayah, as well as of the daily English newspaper Gulf Times. The newspaper dominates the English language market in Qatar, with about an 80 per cent market share.
Countdown for Drupa 2012: 1,000-day campaign starts now Drupa Widget online / Drupa goes mobile / optimum offer for smart phones and mobile devices: Setting international standards…
1,000 days to go until Drupa 2012 – on Friday 7 August 2009, the countdown started for the print and media industries' leading global trade fair. A positive networked, cross-media campaign will set international standards and put the Drupa community in the mood for the industry's summit meeting.
‘Especially in these difficult economic times we're certain that it is more important than ever before to show our colours. Within the scope of companies' marketing activities, participation in trade fairs continues to play an important, one could even say a vital, role,’ is how Werner M Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, underlines the relevance of Drupa. ‘The leading international trade fairs for the different sectors are especially successful in penetrating the various markets and this is why they rank very highly in the marketing mix of the exhibiting industry.’
At the start of the campaign potential Drupa exhibitors will receive the ‘1,000-day brochure’ – a lavishly produced print product highlighting the strengths of Drupa through its content, design and feel. For example, the front and back covers are coated with matt cellophane and all pages are partially treated with UV varnish. The combination of fold-out sections and shortened individual pages inside the brochure was a real challenge for the finishing process and underlines the high quality demands on this print product ‘made by Drupa’. Exhibitors discover the bridge between the different media on the special microsite ‘100 days’ by following the link (www.drupa.de/countdown) on the last page. There, the facts and figures are presented emotionally in the form of short films.
Drupa 2012 is preparing for the start of the event with several new online features: for instance the print media trade fair offers all Windows users a help program as a widget or gadget (www.drupa.de/2585) providing an overview of all the relevant Drupa dates. This feature can either be installed on your desktop or be integrated into the computer's taskbar. Another new feature is the mobile Drupa information system, which is especially optimised for mobile phones and smartphones. Visitors and exhibitors alike will find all the relevant basic information they need here.
I will start this week's news by commenting on the late lead article from last Friday, because I just couldn't bear missing the actual date when the news came in from Messe Duesseldorf! It was of course the 1,000 days countdown to Drupa 2012 - as well you all probably knew anyway, since just about everyone keeps track of Drupa and their next planned visit to the Altstadt if nothing else! There's a couple of innovative new additions to the way Drupa is presenting itself this next time around, with widgets and gadgets and a service for mobile phones and smartphones - you'll find the article at the foot of the news column in case you missed it and want to see what it's all about.