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 Karibu S (for speed) is a 3.4m LED UV-curing roll-fed printer based on the original Karibu introduced at Fespa 2019. The new model is significantly faster at up to 330sqm/hr, which key account manager Adriano Gut said produces ‘sellable quality’. For volume production, the printer can handle 200kg rolls of material and supports a very wide range of substrates from paper and banner to film, self-adhesive vinyl and mesh/textiles.

There are 18 printheads in the Karibu S, of which 16 are dedicated to CMYK and the remaining two may be configured with white ink to allow printing on coloured or clear materials for double-sided graphics. A built-in lightbox allows for checking of backlit graphic material while it’s still on the printer. Mesh or fabric printing is carried out by moving the printhead carriage into a ‘mesh’ position that activates absorbent paper ink collectors behind the substrate, said to leave the machine clean after this type of printing; this mode also enables full-bleed print on any substrate. The LED UV-cured ink is sufficiently flexible for textile use, as Mr Gut demonstrated by scrunching up and then unfolding a small textile sample.

Automated double-sided printing is now an option for both standard and Karibu S models, and is available as a retro-fit for existing Karibu installations. This involves printing QR codes next to images on the first side to be printed, which are read by a camera built into the printer when the roll is reversed, and in conjunction with the Lory control software, used to provide accurate positioning of the reverse side, simplifying production of items such as block-out banners, ceiling hangers, posters and window graphics.

In what may be a first for the wide-format sector, all swissQprint printers, flatbed and roll-fed, now have the option of using two new neon inks – yellow and pink. As well as mixing with the other CMYK inks to produce vivid colours not otherwise achievable, notably a ‘neon’ orange, these have the property of fluorescing under UV (‘black’) light, which opens up interesting applications in club, party and trade fair/themed event settings, in addition to normal light applications in signage, PoS, posters and wristbands. All swissQprint machines have nine colour channels, so it is possible to configure both neons in addition to CMYK and white or clear inks for a wide variety of creative effects on flexible or rigid media.

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The design and production of the November cover of Digital Printer magazine is a unique example of how HP Indigo technology is enabling print service providers to do more than just sell ink on paper. 

Creativity is at the heart of the print industry, however the relationship between creatives and printers has often been a distant one. With some creatives producing concepts that in the past had not been feasible for a printer to produce efficiently, printers were having to curb the enthusiasm of creatives, resulting in a less than perfect product.

Recent innovations in digital print have changed the landscape and have now created a playing field, allowing creatives to be even more creative with their work. HP Indigo has led the way in both colour and digital design tools innovation.

Last year, fluorescent pink was introduced to the HP Indigo ElectroInk range. The ink was a huge success and feedback has led to a further three fluorescent inks being introduced. We are delighted to now have Yellow, Green and Orange in the portfolio. As with the Pink ink, due to their fluorescent nature, under UV light, they glow in the dark. Why not try it out with your copy of Digital Printer?

HP Indigo fluorescent ink glows under UV light

HP Indigo ElectroInk boasts the widest colour gamut in digital production. It is the only Pantone-licensed six and seven colour on-press solution in digital printing, allowing users to produce highly accurate Pantone emulations on-press. Off-press colour mixing also allows users to extend their spot-colour offerings and deliver accurate brand colour matching. HP Indigo users can cover up to 97% of the Pantone range with the HP IndiChrome off-press solution. Of course, we are working on the other 3%.

Digitally Printed Art

The design and production of this special HP Indigo edition cover of Digital Printer is a unique example of how HP Indigo technology is enabling print service providers to do more than just sell ink on paper. The cover, produced by FE Burman, was the creation of their unique selling style of opening a dialogue with the creative, rather than simply taking the order.

David Shillinglaw is a British artist whose folk-inspired work depicts human faces and the thoughts that rush around in our brains; it can be found in his murals and his various books such as The Dance of 1000 Faces. Earlier this year, David collaborated with Silas Amos and FE Burman on a creation that would enable David’s art to be produced and sold not as a ‘limited edition’, but rather as an ‘unlimited edition’, with David’s faces taking centre stage, splitting the work into a triptych and rearranging the position of the visual elements. By creating just a small number of each element, FE Burman utilised HP’s SmartStream Designer software to create countless unique 1/1 prints of David’s work. 

For more information about David’s work visit his website, davidshillinglaw.co.uk where you can purchase unique A2 HP Indigo prints.

Making art pop!

For the November 2017 edition of Digital Printer, the idea was put to David to push the boundaries further with the introduction of the new HP Indigo fluorescent inks. Using the original elements and simply replacing the colours with the new Yellow, Orange and Green fluorescent inks, the work came to life!

The November 2017 cover of Digital Printer magazine

Paul Regan, Director at FE Burman commented: ‘We have seen many examples of HP Mosaic and variable data printing in the world of labels and packaging in recent years, but it is one area that many commercial printers seem to shy away from. At FE Burman, we love to engage with our customers and get involved in each project with them in order to understand their objective. It is our responsibility to educate and inspire them as to what digital print really can do. The addition of the new fluorescent inks was the icing on the cake with this project and we are delighted with the end result.’ 

For this edition of Digital Printer, FE Burman produced over 8000 unique 1/1 David Shillinglaw prints, meaning every cover has its own unique face. We hope you like yours! Why not share it on social media, using #myHPface?

The Canvas

All art needs a canvas and digitally printed art is no different. In order to show the cover in its best light, we collaborated with Antalis to use Conqueror CX22 i-Tone Diamond White 320gsm. Conqueror is recognised as the superior choice for business and creative communications, making it the perfect canvas for David’s art. 

Emma Oliver, Creative Papers Product Marketing Manager at Antalis commented: ‘Now with a selection of digital papers specially optimised for printing on HP Indigo presses, our products benefit from the i-Tone treatment which has been developed to produce outstanding print quality and image rendering with immediate ink drying. We are delighted to have collaborated with HP Indigo and FE Burman on this fantastic project.’ 

Why not share your unique David Shillinglaw HP Indigo print using #myHPface. 

Visit www.hp.com/uk/indigo for more information or call Andy Pike, UK&I Marketing Manager for HP Indigo on 07721236518.

This article is an advertorial; the featured company created the wording and paid for its placement. It has been checked by Whitmar Publications to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.

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The TS30-1300 dye-sublimation printer from Mimaki is now available in the UK and with a fluorescent ink option.

Launched at FESPA earlier this year, the 1.3m dye sublimation printer retails at £7495 and is available for demonstrations at the Cheshire showroom of Mimaki’s UK and Ireland distributor Hybrid Services.

The TS30-1300 now has the option of fluorescent inks and the demo unit has been commissioned with neon pink and yellow to demonstrate their eye-catching effects.

‘The extraordinary shades achievable using these inks makes them ideal for the production of dancewear and event branding and we’re keen to show this off to potential purchasers,’ explained Brett Platt, Hybrid’s textile product manager.

‘The TS30 will also open doors to fashion designers and studios,’ continued Mr Platt. ‘For sampling purposes, it’s no longer good enough to present a design idea on paper and the TS30 makes it cost effective to show compelling samples or even made-up garments on a range of different polyester fabrics.’

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Technology to enable a bright future for print.

Innovation and creativity drive the printing industry as surely as profitability and printing presses do. These traits are in our genes at HP and we are committed to developing ways that enable print service providers to inspire and execute the best ideas that their customers can conceive, to demonstrate the continuing power of digital print.

It is HP’s goal to deliver technology that enables a bright future for print. This is an ethos that we believe in and care deeply about, and the front cover of this issue of Digital Printer shows just how bright that future can be – fluorescent pink bright!

Fluorescent Pink is the latest introduction to the HP Indigo ElectroInk range. With it, HP Indigo users can upgrade the look and feel of greeting cards, promotional collateral, posters, books and magazines covers. Due to its fluorescent characteristics, the ink glows under UV light. You may want to try it with your copy of Digital Printer!

HP Indigo ElectroInk enables the quality and versatility that printers need to satisfy the most demanding brands, combining superior colour capabilities with the widest colour gamut in digital production. It is the only Pantone-licensed six- and seven-colour on-press solution in digital printing, allowing users to produce highly accurate Pantone emulations on-press. Off-press colour mixing also means that users can extend their spot colour offerings and deliver accurate brand colour matching. HP Indigo users can cover up to 97% of the Pantone range with the HP IndiChrome off-press solution.

Working with HP Indigo ElectroInk also makes possible a wide range of special effects, delivered on press and on demand. Multiple layers of HP Indigo ElectroInk can be used to create textured and reverse textured effects, including an embossed look for high-value invitations, business cards, book covers, and more. Printing variable layers of HP Indigo ElectroInk Transparent gives rise to raised print effects.

Production of this special HP Indigo ElectroInk Fluorescent Pink cover took place at Screaming Colour in London, using its HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press. “We are really excited to be involved in printing the cover of digital printer magazine in conjunction with HP. The fluorescent inks are just one of the innovations on the HP Indigo that make it stand out from the competition,” said Mark Evans, managing director at Screaming Colour.

Working Smart

As part of our commitment to innovation, HP introduced a new range of digital printing solutions across our portfolio earlier this year, including key new technologies aimed at the needs of the labels and packaging sectors. As well as unveiling the new HP PageWide C500 Press, we were able to share how a host of customers worldwide are already benefiting from the new HP Indigo 12000, 8000, 7900 and 5900 Digital Presses.

The challenge to deliver technology that enables a bright future for print is not just confined to the realms of printing presses and innovative new inks, however. HP’s SmartStream Designer software is a highly-valued tool for HP Indigo users, a plug-in for Adobe InDesign and Illustrator that makes it possible to create sophisticated, custom jobs through a simple and affordable variable data tool that is optimised for HP Indigo presses.

There are more than 2000 HP Indigo customers using HP SmartStream Designer and realising its many benefits, which include creating one-of-a-kind products, personalised and individualised collateral in large quantities, high-end brand protection with security solutions such as micro-text and micro QR, integration with third party solutions, and the ability to impose a complete project of different page sizes into a single InDesign document.

In recent times, the functionality of HP SmartStream Designer has taken a leap forward with the introduction of HP SmartStream Mosaic. This is a dynamic personalisation application that, through the use of scaling, transposition and rotation, automatically generates potentially millions of unique graphics from a fixed number of base patterns, which can be embedded into a variable data job. It is available free with HP SmartStream Designer.

Nothing brings such capability to life better than real-life examples of high profile brands that have already used HP SmartStream Mosaic to bring remarkable levels of individualisation to some mass market campaigns.

In 2014, Diet Coke led the way, producing two million bottles for its Extraordinary Campaign, each with a unique design that was generated through the use of HP SmartStream Mosaic software with no human intervention, starting with just a handful of base patterns. The bottle sleeves were printed using HP Indigo technology. It meant that every consumer that bought one of the bottles had in their hands a true one-of-a-kind product. The campaign was extended to give Diet Coke fans the opportunity to create and collect items such as bags, t-shirts, mobile phone covers and cups that matched their unique bottle. It was an incredible example of how digital printing technology can integrate into a very tight supply chain.

Bud Light’s 2015 Mad Decent Block Party music festival promotion was the first custom packaging campaign for the US market

The following year, Bud Light was another high profile brand to harness HP Indigo printing and SmartStream Mosaic software, when it produced 200,000 unique cans for the 2015 Mad Decent Block Party music festival events in the US. This was the first ever custom-packaging campaign for the US market, and gave recipients the kind of unique, customised experience that today’s consumer is looking for, according to Valerie Toothman, VP of Innovation at Budweiser parent company Anheuser-Busch, proving that custom graphics can be impactful.

And only this year, the magazine Wallpaper* embarked upon a ground-breaking campaign to mark its 20th anniversary, using HP SmartStream Mosaic in the creation of unique commemorative posters, printed on FE Burman’s HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press in London. Twelve designs from the esteemed studio Spin were used as base patterns for the automated processing of 220,000 custom graphics and two unique posters were sent with each copy of the publication.

220,000 unique posters were produced using SmartStream Mosaic by FE Burman for the 20th anniversary of design magazine Wallpaper*

Sarah Douglas, Creative Director at Wallpaper*, commented: “It’s a designer’s dream to be able to create this many original artworks and to push digital printing as far as we have with HP Mosaic. Working on this project has inspired us to totally re-think our attitude and approach to print technology and the printing process.”  

What all of these examples have in common is that high profile brands have been able to apply previously unthinkable marketing approaches to create truly inspiring campaigns, enabled by the innovation and expertise of HP and its customers – the print service providers that are taking this technology and spirit of adventure into the market. It is making brands see print and its capabilities in a new light, opening their eyes to fresh possibilities. The software, the printing presses, and the inks – these are just the starting point. 

Visit www.hp.com/uk/indigo for more information. 

This article is an advertorial; the featured company created the wording and paid for its placement. It has been thoroughly checked by Whitmar Publications to ensure that the information is accurate and meets our standards.

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New ink enables digital production of on-trend sportswear.

‘Demand for fluorescent inks has been increasing in fashion and sportswear,’ said Mark Elvidge, business development manager, Roland DG UK. ‘Fluorescent colours are hugely fashionable, with more sports teams utilising them in 2016 to provide eye catching sportswear. With a huge year of sport coming up, many suppliers and designers will be wanting to capitalise on this with their offerings.’

The Texart fluor inks, available in yellow (Fy) and pink (Fp), can produce vivid output which standard process colours alone are not able to achieve. To maximise the colour gamut, a CMYKOrVi (orange & violet) +FyFp 8-colour ink configuration has been produced for use with the XT-640 and RT-640. 

To simplify the inks’ use, Roland DG has created the Fluor Color Library, compatible with both CorelDraw and Adobe Illustrator. They are also supported by Roland ErgoSoft Edition, the RIP software included with the Texart range. The new ink is available in 1L pouches.

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These new additions to the company’s Digistar range are designed for attention-grabbing graphics on sportswear and other textile printing applications.

Soon to be available worldwide, these attractive fluorescent colours take digital textile printing further into the mainstream by enabling businesses to offer new benefits to customers. As well as providing a wider choice to its established popular products, users can respond to specific customer demands and add value with individual and limited edition applications as well as higher quality production runs. 

In common with the company’s existing ranges, the new inks offer excellent drying properties, high chromatic performance and a wide colour gamut, however, the Green option is only available with Digistar HD-One ink. These innovative features, along with all other formulations, are available through the company’s worldwide network of distributors and via direct sales.

The ink portfolio is matched to specific print heads for optimum performance and the highest quality results. Digistar PES HD-One inks are designed and formulated for the first generations of Epson piezo-print heads. Digistar Hi-Pro inks, tailored for the latest DX7 generation heads, can be used with earlier versions and are designed for printing onto light and/or low coated papers. Digistar K-One transfer sublimation inks are formulated for use with the high capacity Kyocera print heads.

‘Bright colours on textiles have never been more important and, by providing popular fluorescent colours for digital printers, we’re enabling vibrant sportswear to be readily available virtually on-demand, for time-sensitive events as well as normal use,’ said Alessandra Borghi, sales director. ‘It’s not just sportswear; digital textile printing is becoming an increasingly important factor in fashion and interior décor where colour, performance and immediate availability are also crucial.’

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