Current IFS managing director Eric Keane has shared the following obituary:

We are very sad to learn of the passing of Tony Hards, former Chairman and Managing Director of Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS) and Graphic Arts Equipment (GAE). Tony passed away aged 84 after a short illness.

Tony’s long association with IFS dates from 1965 when he joined our forerunner company Graphic Arts Equipment (GAE) as an Area Sales Representative. Tony oversaw the successful growth of GAE / IFS to become one of the leading suppliers in the UK printing industry. Obituary

Tony possessed a dogged, never-give-up approach to business and this, along with his intellect, quit wit, enquiring mind, sense of urgency and ability to see an opportunity, enabled him to quickly become established in GAE in the 1960s as the best salesperson in the company. These traits served him well in his journey over the decades with our business, all of which brought much corporate and personal success his way and when he moved into senior management in the mid-1980s the company went from strength to strength, which eventually led to Tony acquiring the ownership of the company, in partnership with long-term business partner Bryan Godwyn.

Tony was very much a ‘disrupter’ in the printing machinery market and simply loved the challenge of bringing into the market many new product ranges, new innovations and working to establish a foothold for those brands, often against the fiercest competition from established brands. The most successful of these introductions being Horizon. Tony secured the agency for Horizon Print Finishing products in 1981 and established their products as UK market leaders.

I first met Tony in 1980 when I joined GAE as a young salesman. Tony was great mentor, he taught me so much about the business, all of which served me well over the decades in several successful business ventures. Tony was great at spotting talent and so many current and former colleagues enjoyed their time in successful careers working under Tony’s direction.

During his career with IFS/GAE Tony built up a massive network of relationships with suppliers, manufacturers and customers and became one of the best known ‘characters’ in the commercial print sector and machinery supply side, in particular. Tony was an active leading light in Picon and had a long association with the BPIF. Tony was an acclaimed golfer, a former non-league footballer and a passionate follower of Tottenham Hotspur.

Tony’s life-long contribution to the printing industry was recognised in 2012 when he was awarded the title of Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspapermakers.

Tony will be missed very much by his family, friends, associates, former colleagues and everyone that knew him.

R I P  Tony Hards

Mr Hards was also well-known to many current and former directors and staff at Whitmar Publications.

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The 60-plus year-old business specialises in high quality litho, personalised digital print and mailing. It runs two five-colour Heidelberg presses, and two Ricoh Pro C9210 digital colour presses.

Production manager Tony Clark explained, ‘We reviewed how much we were spending on perfect binding and believed, with the right machinery, we could keep a large percentage of it in house, drastically reducing the turnaround times and save on transportation costs. There was also the potential to win more business as we would be more competitive and quicker.

‘We already had a Horizon SPF-200L bookletmaker which has proven to be a great investment, speeding up production and completing a larger variety of finished book sizes. It is well built and reliable. We tested the BQ-270 at the IFS showroom and then visited the Horizon factory in Germany. I was able to network and meet other printers who had experience of using the BQ-270 and the feedback was largely positive. We also researched what else was on the market. We believed for our budget and requirements the BQ-270 was the best system available.’

Mr Clark said that he and his colleagues have been ‘extremely impressed’ with how easy the machine is to operate and the quality of product it can produce, and also praised the relationship with IFS.

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IFS managing director Eric Keane

In 2024 there will be a continuation of the pressures felt during 2023 – high interest rates, high inflation, labour and skill shortages, and some disrupted supply chains. There will likely be an accelerated trend in mergers and acquisitions for ambitious print companies to make either strategic acquisitions of their competitors, or in order to secure diversity in their product offering, do this through acquisition of other companies.

The sector will continue with consolidation and this will drive more investment in more technology and automation. The latter, in particular, was an accelerating trend in 2023. Most leading print companies have been looking to increase investment in more automated print finishing systems. This in turn has enabled IFS, in collaboration with our partners Horizon and Tecnau, to be at the forefront in supplying innovative, automated print finishing systems, that meet this demand to reduce operator touch points, improve output speeds and utilise less labour.

With the world around us so uncertain, trade fairs like drupa really do bring the business communities together. Business people do mix, and with that entrepreneurship and enterprise flourishes.

Phil McMullin, head of sales for Commercial & Industrial, Epson UK

Continuous improvements with sustainability considerations at their core will remain a significant focus for print production environments and suppliers in the short-to-medium term. Epson strives to build technologies that last and support responsible and efficient production. As we develop our own printheads, print hardware, and print software, we’re able to deliver a very customer-focused portfolio that responds to increased demand for product longevity and reduced energy and waste. We can also help operations explore the most effective options as well as offer support, advice, and guidance when it is needed. 

Ease of use is crucial for both operational efficiency and the ability to move into new markets. Simple and fast setup via user-friendly touchscreen ensures operator confidence and quick throughput to maintain agile and responsive production. These are key persuaders for businesses considering their next steps towards successful growth, and  empower operations to expand their offerings. This is important to help them capitalise on the growth opportunities of markets such as personalisation, where production needs to be right the first time, and every time.

Martyn Train, managing director, Duplo UK

With a steady 2023 under our belt we turn our sights to 2024 and the future of print, which appears to be thriving with resilience and innovation. Despite digital communication’s prevalence, our industry is undergoing a renaissance, embracing cutting-edge technologies to enhance its relevance to add value to the consumer, especially in sectors such as education, greetings cards and the recovery of in-plants.

This resurgence is fuelled by a growing appreciation for tangible, tactile experiences as well as the enduring appeal of high-quality printed products. As we have always said, print in its various forms continues to play a pivotal role in communication and the purchasing experience, offering a unique and timeless way to engage audiences.

At Duplo we are really excited about drupa and some of the new products we’ve been itching to show the industry. This includes upgrades to our range, brand new products that will take Duplo into new areas, as well as some innovations that will show how we are preparing for the future of our industry.

Yale Goldis, director strategy, commercial products and solutions at HP PageWide Industrial

As traditional print volumes decline, digital print will continue to grow. Commercial printers adopting the latest high volume production printing capabilities find better economics for themselves and their clients. They will also redefine their offerings and reimagine applications that bridge digital online and physical media.

Publishers are moving towards sustainable, targeted production. Shorter, frequent runs in the market are replacing large, centrally produced orders to mitigate supply chain risks and reduce book miles. Publishers are also adopting ‘gap’ printing, using POD production from the onset of a book’s life cycle, to meet unpredicted demand. 

Direct mail will continue its renaissance in 2024 as marketers rediscover the performance and value of print in the overall marketing mix. While postal and paper costs pressure overall mail volume, digitally printed, personalised, impactful and relevant mail will see healthy growth. 

Business models such as web-to-print meet growing consumer demands for convenient online ordering, customisation and improved customer experience. Closer integration with large data warehouses and powerful marketing engines enable true multi-channel campaigns executed across online and print media.

Will Mansfield, director, solutions marketing, Kodak

In 2023, the pursuit of production efficiencies was paramount. Advances such as higher quality faster inkjet presses, smarter workflow platforms and more automated CtP systems have significantly streamlined production. These innovations have reduced labour requirements and also improved the accuracy and consistency of printing, thus reducing waste. The economic landscape was again characterised by uncertainties and inflationary pressures. To adapt to these challenges for our plate customers, Kodak continued to invest in regional manufacturing as well as technology innovations.

Kodak is anticipating drupa 2024 as a unique opportunity to connect with printers from around the globe and debut new solutions. The show provides a valuable platform for Kodak to engage with customers and prospects and gain deeper insights into their evolving needs. We are excited to showcase our latest innovations in high-speed inkjet, workflow and offset solutions, demonstrating our commitment to advancing the industry. We are committed to being a strategic partner to our customers, helping them navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Duncan Smith, country director, production, Canon UK & Ireland

As customers are expecting faster turnaround times and higher quality products than ever before, we at Canon have seen an increasing demand for cutting-edge inkjet technology in 2023.

Alongside quality and productivity, businesses are starting to realise that inkjet also delivers many economic and environmental benefits. With reliable equipment that harnesses automation, businesses can save on total cost of ownership with reduced power consumption and streamlined workflows. Additionally, inkjet enables print solution providers to broaden their media capabilities and branch out to a variety of markets, such as retail, manufacturing and interior décor.

We’re excited to return to drupa next year alongside some of the key players in the industry. We see this as a huge opportunity to not only showcase new technology, but also celebrate our achievements over the last few years. We expect to see a lot of conversation around the advancement of inkjet technology when it comes to production and wide-format print and are excited to share our developments in this space.

Andy Kent, general manager, Fujifilm UK

Sustainable and energy-efficient machinery and practices were key factors in 2023 when printers were looking at suppliers for equipment or consumables. The market has also seen many mergers and acquisitions as companies join forces to reduce fixed costs.

Energy costs remain a problem but other costs are stabilising, or even going down in some cases. With interest rates moving upwards, we initially saw some reluctance to invest in new equipment in 2023. I think this was because people felt it might be a temporary situation, but are now accepting that the higher rates appear to be here to stay for some time.

Analogue processes are increasingly transforming to digital, particularly in the packaging space where the market is still growing. I expect this to be one of the main trends and biggest opportunities in 2024.

I see AI as another trend with complimentary technology for making quick decisions in time-limited situations. I expect drupa to be well-attended because we will see new sustainable products and services that will inspire print businesses looking for an extra edge.

Charlotte Tueckmantel, GM Enterprise Print & eCommerce, eProductivity Software

2023 in many ways was the reset of the new normal. Coming out of Covid we saw a huge resurgence in our customers’ businesses, and record numbers in many areas. While 2023 took a slight step back it was still well above the Covid years, despite increasing costs across the board. This included the rising cost of people/talent; difficulty attracting new talent is a challenge that the industry has seen for a few years now and we will continue to see in 2024.

The rising costs of people, materials and energy will continue to drive higher levels of automation, supported by the emergence of actionable insights and AI starting to appear in the industry.

For 2024, we see a trend towards more remote or hybrid work in the front office driven by the need for greater flexibility and the challenges to hire skilled people. This shift, enabled by technology and coupled with the arrival or more automation, actionable insight, API integrations and AI will continue to change the landscape.

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Director Mark Sharman explained, ‘We had been producing all our work on a Tensor T-400BE newspaper printing press, but decided to offer much shorter print runs, and invested in our first Xeikon 9800 with a Tecnau newspaper finishing line. The recently-added second 9800 press prints to flat sheets, which will be finished on the Horizon folder. This adds to our overall digital capacity and enables us to produce a wider variety of newspaper products. The folder was chosen because it offered the best finishing flexibility for output from the Xeikon.’

Horizon was considered because of the exiting connection with IFS through Tecnau web equipment. Mr Sharman said, ‘Because our experience was of a complete inline solution we wanted something that could manage the applications we were producing today and hoping to produce in the future. It also needed to be quick to set up and easy to use. Our team needed to be confident in running it.

‘We liked the fact the system had an integrated cross-folder so that it was fully automated. The touch screen also helps with the ease of set up. It is ideal for the work we are doing now, and it will enable us to expand our applications as well.’

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What’s now called embellishment or special effects used to be a group of purely post-press operations. These included lamination, spot or flood varnishing and foiling (hot or cold). Other eye-catching things have always had to be done in or on the press – if you wanted metallic colours you had to use a special ink or print on a metallised substrate; the same applied for fluorescent or other special colours.

Digital print has blurred those boundaries, bringing a number of ways of achieving the same or ‘close enough’ effects, combined with the flexibility and minimal set-up requirements characteristic of digital print. These also split into in-press effects and subsequently-applied effects.

Before looking at these in detail, it’s also worth noting that a sustainability argument is emerging for digital embellishment as an alternative to more conventional processes. This comes from Scodix, which makes stand-alone ‘embellishment presses’ (distributed in the UK by Friedheim) that can apply a wide range of decorative effects to printed sheets, with full digital flexibility in each.

Scodix carried out a lifecycle assessment of its digital foiling options which found that compared to conventional hot stamp foiling, its version reduces CO2e (CO2 equivalent) by 85%, fossil fuel usage by nearly 85%, and water consumption by 80% per B1 sheet. The study, carried out by EcamRicert, and Mérieux NutriSciences Companies, compared the enhancement of a single B1 sheet through to 100,000 B1 sheets using Scodix foil (175g) versus traditional foiling methods.

That’s only one of the options that Scodix offers and there’s no indication given that any of the other supported techniques offer comparable advantages. However, like any other form of digital printing, it seems likely that overall wastage of materials and energy is likely to be lower simply through the ability to only print or finish the number required.

The main argument in favour of these types of effects though is that they add impact to printed products and therefore margin to your work. Some you can only do if you bought the right press, though they could also be a factor in choosing a new one. There’s an increasing number of toner presses that offer additional colours which may include clear ‘varnish’, white, fluorescent and metallic colours, though usually only one or sometimes two at a time.

Plus-one – or more

Machines that offer a fifth colour include Xerox’s iGen line and Ricoh’s Pro C7200, also sold by Heidelberg as the Versafire EV (and about to be replaced by the Pro C7500, though we’ve not seen any specification for this yet). Kodak’s Nexpress and Nexfinity models could do this too, with options over where in the laydown sequence the fifth colour went, though both are now discontinued. Moving up to six colours brings in the popular Xerox Iridesse, and the more recent Fujifilm Revoria, while most HP Indigos can handle up to seven colours, though of course click charges go up in proportion with all extra colour presses. Xerox also offers a conversion kit for two-pass printing on its entry-level PrimeLink C9065/C9070, which potentially allows the use of up to eight colours, albeit with a complete change of toner cartridges between passes.

The exact choice of extra colours varies by manufacturer, but in addition to white – for use on coloured or transparent substrates – and clear – used to create flood or spot varnish effects – fluorescent or ‘neon’ colours are offered, particularly pink and sometimes yellow. These can replace or be mixed with their standard CMYK equivalents to expand the colour gamut for more eye-catching effects. A few offer metallic toners too, which again can be printed solid or mixed to provide novel colours and finishes.

After the event

Post-press options are more about foiling, spot varnish and various creative lamination processes, often in combination. A good entry-level choice here is foil-over-toner, a two-pass method that uses ‘real’ foil in a laminator like Vivid’s Matrix models or those from Caslon, Foliant (sold via IFS), Komfi (from Friedheim) or Autobond. Similar options also come from GMP and Intec, now part of the Plockmatic group.

An entry-level option for foil-over-toner is Vivid’s Matrix, seen here at a trade show

In these, the initial colour print is first laminated with a clear film, then printed again with the foil pattern in black toner on top of the film, before a second pass through the laminator transfers the foil to the partially melted black toner. It’s a more labour-intensive process but it works with a very wide range of foil types and doesn’t require special consumables.

Then there are the fully ‘digital’ embellishment devices that offer spot UV and/or foiling in a single operation. This category includes devices like Duplo’s B2 DuSense 8000, which is offered in various configurations providing spot UV, digital foiling or both, including a pre-treatment option for expanding the types of print that can be handled. It’s also possible to build up textured ‘3D’ effects with multiple passes, which the smaller B3 DuSense 810 also supports. An alternative is the B3+ Konica Minolta AccurioShine 3600, which uses technology from MGI, in which Konica Minolta holds a significant stake. It too can produce ‘dimensional’ effects.

At the top end of the digital embellishment market are the ranges from Konica Minolta/MGI and Scodix. These are dedicated industrial production devices that offer UV varnish and foiling, with Scodix offering a particularly wide range of foils and finished effects, while MGI’s line goes up to B1 sheet size in the form of the print-and-embellish AlphaJet that was formally launched in October 2022. Kurz is another player at the industrial end of the scale, having bought Steinemann, whose inkjet varnish and foiling systems it was already marketing as Digital Metal. These include the sheet-fed B2 DM-Smartliner for 2D flat varnishing and foiling and the DM-Maxliner for raised and textured effects.

Whether you’re just ready to dip a toe into digital embellishment and cautious with the investment, or know that you’ve got a ready market for it but need to be sure it’s good enough and fast enough to meet your customers’ needs, there should be something to suit and help your work shine.

Preparing files for embellishment

All digital embellishment processes require ‘artwork’ to control where the effects are applied. Usually this means creating additional layers in the originating applications and/or print PDFs, though some vendors offer DFE-based tools to create embellishment guides or colour substitutions from standard PDFs on-the-fly.

Andrew Bailes-Collins of Ultimate Technographics, which makes imposition, nesting and ganging software, has written a handy guide to preparing generic PDFs that should process correctly through most embellishment vendors’ DFEs and thus avoid some of the common pitfalls that require manual reworking in the prepress studio.

Called PDF Creation for Digital Embellishment, it covers the use of spot colours, layers, knock-out and overprint and choice of correct versions of PDF for hand-off. It’s available free from Ultimate Technographics’ website.

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The installation is part of a £2.4m ‘future-proofing’ investment that also included a new Heidelberg XL-75 ten-colour press installed in March 2023. Browns Print also runs a Heidelberg XL106 and Versafire and Linoprint digital presses.

Managing director Danny Baldwin explained, ‘We had an older StitchLiner model and we had been running that for a few years. We were running our Muller Martini stitching line at full capacity constantly and the StitchLiner was taking more and more work. We needed more capacity. We talked to the IFS team and they suggested that the StitchLiner Mark III with two-up kit would be faster and more flexible. We didn’t look at any other options on the market because we know and trust Horizon systems. They are very reliable.

‘We also liked the fact it could produce landscape work. For those jobs, especially short-run work, it was time consuming to finish them in-house. We were also sending some of that work out or we would price ourselves out of the job. Now we can say yes to everything knowing that that it can be completed quickly and cost effectively in house.’

Cost justification for the stitcher was straightforward, according to Mr Baldwin: ‘With an increase in output of circa 25%, the machine will pay for itself in no time. It is quick to set up and easy to run. Originally, we only had one operator trained on it so our bindery manager was also trained and he picked it up very quickly.’

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The Bristol print finishing specialist chose the new machine to broaden its service offering for its current customer base and to develop new business opportunities.

Owner Andy Bird explained, ‘We saw a gap in the market [we] were not servicing at the time. We thought the Petratto’s capabilities would complement what we could already do. We were producing some high-capacity pockets and we wanted to better meet demand for this. We also wanted to add crash locking and the Petratto Metro enabled us to do that.’

The Petratto Metro Folder Gluer is designed to support end-customers who want to receive physical mail as well as digital communications. It manages a wide range of applications from presentation folders and envelopes to multimedia packaging, straight line boxes, cartons, and table tents. The system’s open and modular structure enables greater flexibility while its digital management system provides a responsive interface. Jobs and sheet movement are controlled from the console. 

Mr Bird added, ‘It is a fantastic piece of kit. We did look at other systems, but the Petratto gave us more flexibility. It is quick and easy to operate.’

Regarding return on investment he said, ‘It has increased our productivity three-fold. We have already halved the time we expect it to pay for itself to two and half years and it has the potential to be even faster than that.’

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Sitma was founded in 1965 and offers direct mail and transpromo packaging systems, post-press collating, inserting, addressing and wrapping systems, film packaging systems and e-logistics for book and e-commerce markets as well as parcel sorting solutions. The move allows Tecnau to strengthen its position with the addition of a well-established brand and product portfolio and to boost its diversification in the e-logistics segment, begun recently with the opening of the newTecnau Automation & Packaging division.

With head offices in Spilamberto in northern Italy near Modena, Sitma has sales and service branches in France, Japan and the United States, which now add to the established Tecnau direct presence in the United States, Germany, Belgium, Singapore and Sweden. Tecnau is distributed and supported in the UK via Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS).

‘We are very excited to welcome all Sitma employees, customers and partners to the bigger Tecnau family,’ said Stefano De Marco, chief executive officer at Tecnau. ‘Sitma has a long history in the graphics business with a very consolidated and high-performance product mix. Over the last few years Sitma was able to diversify and apply its technical expertise to the fast-growing e-commerce business, developing sustainable, pack-to-size technological solutions as well as energy saving and low-running-cost parcel sortation systems.

‘Tecnau endorses this strategy and will provide all the necessary support to retain and expand further the wide customer base in traditional segments and to broaden the portfolio and customer base in new growing areas.’

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The company supplies local and national organisations including the NHS. Established in 1982, it runs Heidelberg MO litho presses and Konica Minolta Bizhub digital presses. 

Managing director Jim Monks explained the investment decision thus: ‘We had a Horizon bookletmaker that we had been running for around 20 years. It had always worked well and was very reliable. It was time to replace it and so we talked to IFS about finding the right system to suit our needs. Because we knew how good Horizon booklet-makers are the SPF-200L booklet-maker was the natural choice.

‘When considering the options we decided twin collating towers would be the best choice because of the number of repeat jobs we have and the fact that they would be made faster by the extra collating capability. We also liked the programmability via the touchscreen set up. We can store our regular jobs which saves us time on make-readies. This makes us more productive and has expanded our capacity.’

The booklet-maker’s impact is already being felt, according to Mr Monks. “It produces jobs quicker which means we can take on more work. As a result, we can look for new opportunities knowing that we have the capacity,’ he confirms.

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The Suffolk-based general commercial printer began building up its card business, including game, quiz, trump, and Tarot cards around 2015. Today, it sells through two B2C websites, Printfromyoursofa.co.uk and Playingcardspersonalised.co.uk.

During the pandemic demand increased dramatically and helped Spingold double its turnover from £600,000 to £1.2 million today. The company took on three people who had lost their jobs at other printers. In 2021 it invested in a Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000 which runs alongside two Xerox Versant 180s. The new  investment was supported by a £25,000 grant from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Through Innovation Fund delivered via Suffolk County Council.

Spingold Managing director Ed Oakes explained, ‘We had our eye on a rotary die cutter for a long time. We have two Duplo systems but wanted something the next level up with a dual cylinder. We first saw a Horizon system at a Dscoop event in 2018 but that one was only a single cylinder. Then the dual cylinder was launched and we saw that in Germany. We already knew Horizon systems were incredibly well built. It was a fantastic piece of kit.’

‘We wanted a dual cylinder because the ability to crease inline will save us an enormous amount of time. It will improve our quality and speed of output as well as enable us to increase our capacity by as much as 40% which will give us some breathing space and room to grow. It will help cement us as a front runner in the market.

‘It has come in at the right time so we can be ready for our busiest period in the summer when we produce work for those who sell on Amazon at Christmas. If our growth carries on the way it has, or even at half the pace, it should pay for itself in two years.’

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