Over the years, Hunkeler’s eponymous Innovationdays event has become an important platform for the continuous feed digital printing industry to coalesce around, attracting all the major press manufacturers as well as a variety of software developers, and providing a highly focused gathering for this part of the digital printing industry.

Almost 100 partners will also present their latest products in all areas of digital printing and processing in Halls 1 and 2 at the Messe Luzern. These partners include all the major manufacturers of printing and finishing systems, software developers and providers of finishing materials and consumables. As in previous years, many of the exhibitors will use the event to offer a European or global premiere of their latest innovations. A selection of these is listed below.

Exhibitor highlights

Mailroom automation for transactional print and direct mail will be the focus of the Bowe Systec stand, with a particular focus on the Fusion Speed inserting system, which will have its first ever live demonstration in Lucerne. The inserter can process up to 30,000 envelopes per hour and will be demonstrated in conjunction with Bowe’s Boxit system for automatic filling of postal trays. The company will also explain how upstream and downstream stages can be streamlined as part of an end-to-end automation concept.

Canon is playing its cards close to its chest but has promised two product news announcements at the event which ‘build on Canon’s expertise in inkjet’. Topics to be discussed also include the company’s strategy and how technology and business innovation can be harnessed together help ‘future-proof’ PSPs’ operations; the focus will be on publishing, promotion and business communications.

Another premiere at Innovationdays will be on HP’s stand, where the recently-launched PageWide Advantage 2200 digital web press will make it first European appearance. During the four days of the event, HP will be printing different applications such as postcards, leaflets, catalogues and books on a variety of substrates on the 150m/min press. In addition, the US company will showcase automation and services solutions.

Hybrid Software Group will feature its technologies for industrial print manufacturing processes which use inkjet and other printing techniques, showcasing all its brands covering the full stack of core technologies needed for inkjet. These include colour management, high-speed Digital Front Ends and Rips, pre-press software for labels and packaging and printhead drive electronics. All the group brands will be represented: ColorLogic; Global Graphics Software; Hybrid Software; iC3D; Meteor Inkjet and Xitron.

Converting and high quality embellishment will be the theme of the Kama stand, which will feature the Servo generation of the ProCut 76 Foil. The machine suits a range of applications from die-cutting, creasing and perforating to embellishment with hot foil, hologram and relief for commercial jobs and folding cartons. It will be shown with the AutoRegister AR3, which uses two cameras to bring each sheet into position at full speed.

Kern will present the new Kern 3200 Flash, a modular multi-format inserting system designed for flexible and complex inserting jobs in the medium- to high-output range. Different configuration options make it suitable for use in transactional and direct mail. A newly-developed inserting module is said to be the only system in this performance class that can be equipped with more than one envelope magazine, allowing the system to process different envelopes job by job, without the operator having to make a physical change. The 3200 Flash can be combined with a choice of modules, including roll and single sheet feeding. It is also possible to integrate up to 16 inserting stations.

Kodak’s Prosper Ultra 520 will get its first European showing

Another European first will be the Prosper Ultra 520 web press from Kodak. To be shown with a Hunkeler unwinder and rewinder, along with the Hunkeler WI8 web inspection system, the press will print live three versions of a ‘magalog’ (blend of magazine and catalogue) with different editorial and marketing content. The application will demonstrate the Ultra 520’s ability to print heavy ink coverage on standard offset paper at 150m/min. Other finished samples from the Ultra 520 and from the Prosper 7000 Turbo press, which runs at up to 410m/min, will also be presented, along with Kodak’s Prinergy On Demand workflow software.

Kyocera will feature its TaskAlfa Pro 15000C sheet-fed inkjet press, with a focus on its sustainability credentials, productivity, output quality and media flexibility. One-to-one demonstrations are being offered. More information may also be available about the graphic-arts focused version that is understood to be in development.

Another world first in Lucerne is the arrival of the Prinova Digital Saddle stitcher from Müller Martini. The highly automated 9000 cycles per hour unit supports both digital and hybrid print production and brings Müller’s Smart Factory concept to magazines, brochures and catalogues. Developments to the Vareo Pro perfect binding line will also be shown, including a mixed mode that allows softcover books and hardcover book blocks to be produced in the same run, complemented by a new de-stacker and sorting for subsequent InfiniTrim cutting. A variety of live jobs, including all-digital and hybrid printed products, will be featured, along with the supporting Connex workflow.

Workflow developer OneVision will explain how its software allows for ‘a complete integration of company processes’ by being configured to suit existing systems. The modular middleware can automate the production process from file input through printing and embellishment and finishing, while connecting to existing print and finishing hardware and software such as MIS or ERP.

Ricoh will be making the first public showing of its Pro VC70000e inkjet press that includes a number of hardware and software features and updates which collectively increase ease of use through automation, while providing greater media and applications flexibility via pre-coating. This will be complemented by the introduction of TotalFlow Producer, which the company describes as a ‘vendor agnostic automated job onboarding solution’. The new workflow software designed to automate job intake and consolidation from multiple sources, to run automatic pre-flighting and to support personalised job upload and status portals for print clients.

Riso will feature its newest additions to the SRA3 Valezus sheet-fed inkjet line, which are targeted at production print job demands that are difficult to handle efficiently on continuous-feed presses. The twin-engined Valezus T2200 is capable of duplex printing at 330ppm. The single-engine Valezus T1200 is aimed at both short and long-run full-colour transactional printing at 165ppm. Both are equipped with feeder/stacker units for a maximum capacity of 8000 sheets on the T2200, and half that on the T2100. Both models support uncoated papers only, from 46 to 210gsm.

The Smart High Definition technology from Scodix will appear in the premiere of the Ultra 6000 embellishment press

Also making a first European appearance will be the Ultra 6000 digital embellishment press from Scodix with SHD (smart high definition) capability. It will be used to demonstrate embellishment of B1 and B2 sheets for a variety of book covers, from paperbacks to high-end jackets and Scodix says it embodies the economics and productivity to replace analogue embellishment technology whilst offering publishers greater flexibility. Examples of the SHD technology will also be shown.

Staff from Solimar Systems will demonstrate how its workflow-enhancing post-composition solutions support production printing on both cut-sheet and continuous feed devices, finishing, mailing, e-delivery and document archiving. The company is partnering with HP to show how direct mailers can save significant sums and with Screen to demonstrate dashboard tracking of incoming work and device-level ink and media consumption reporting via Screen’s Equios workflow.

W+D will use the event to launch its new BB820+, a new flagship inserter which the company says allows for the widest range of direct mail sizes, from C6 envelopes up to B4 flat packages up to 15mm thick, and which can insert at up to 20,000 piece per hour, 25% faster than the model it replaces. The new machine comes with a new rotary feeder for consistent feeding at the higher speeds and an additional servo axis for flexible and size-dependent motion control of collating track, envelope gripper transport andinsert finger.

Short-run book printing using the Sirius dry toner technology will form a major part of the Xeikon exhibit, centred on the roll-fed duplex Xeikon SX30000 press, which is also getting its first public European showing. Three high-end applications will be shown – a coffee-table travel book, a full colour tourist guide and a highly illustrated book on architecture. The SX30000 roll-fed press will be running in line with a Hunkeler Gen8 roll-to-stack solution, producing book blocks which to be bound on an offline Muller Martini Vareo Pro with InfiniTrim.

The post Hunkeler Innovationdays 2023 preview appeared first on Digital Printer.

Making its debut at Igas 2022 in Tokyo in November 2022, the Valezus T2200 is a twin-engined full-colour SRA3 cut-sheet inkjet printer that replaces the previous T2100 released in August 2019. It features a new and enhanced print engine to deliver higher productivity, making it capable of a duplex printing speed of 330ppm.

The T2200 is equipped with two high-capacity feeder/stacker units, each able to hold up to 4000 sheets, for a total of 8000 sheets. The two units can be switched while the printer is active, allowing loading/unloading of paper without stopping printing. The stacker unit is equipped with a jogger mechanism and dedicated cart for smooth transfer to finishing.

The new single-engined Valezus T1200 is aimed at both short and long-run full-colour transactional printing at 165ppm. Equipped with a 4000 sheet feeder and stacker, the T1200 is described as a space-saving production printer that Riso says achieves one of the highest productivity figures in its class. Both models support uncoated papers only, from 46 to 210gsm.

Tatsuo Murakami, managing director at Riso UK, said, ‘While the production print market is changing and evolving all the time, there is a constant need for flexibility, quick turnaround, and, ultimately,  profitability. 

‘Both of these new devices meet those requirements and present companies with unique opportunities to meet volume demands that cannot be handled by other printing technologies.’

Both new presses use a new high-density ink formulation from Riso that is said to further improve the quality of the output, making them even more suited for production print. The oil-based pigment inks are used in five colours, standard CMYK plus a grey. Somewhat unusually, the presses print black at up to 600 x 600dpi but the other colours at 300 x 300 or 300 x 600dpi. The inks do not require the drying heaters needed for water-based alternatives and so consume less energy, as well as not requiring ducting for excess heat removal.

The Valezus range supports PDF and PostScript input as well as AFP/IPDS used in transactional and some direct mail applications; the T1200 is also compatible with an EFI Fiery controller.

Both of the new models will be on show at Hunkeler Innovation Days 2023, to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland from 27 February  27 to 2 March. Digital Printer will be previewing and reporting from this event.

The post Riso revamps Valezus cut-sheet inkjet line appeared first on Digital Printer.

PCC’s Dublin site has 100 staff and produces secure and legally-compliant confidential communications that include bank statements, insurance documents and utility bills, under tight service level agreements (SLAs) for government, local business and global brands. Its existing Riso printers were coming to the end of their working life, so PCC looked at Riso’s current offering and chose two of the twin-engined Valezus T2100 sheet-fed inkjet presses as replacements.

The new presses are producing around 2.5 million images a month – equivalent to 110,000 a day – and because of improved ease of use, one operator can manage both, enhancing production capacity and speeding work into the fulfilment or machine enclosing stages.

Enda Casey, managing director at Paragon Customer Communications Ireland, said, ‘We are under tight service level agreements and a lot of confidentiality is involved. We also deal with a lot of big brands and organisations with a reputation at risk if we don’t deliver.

‘[The] Risos provide quality that is perfectly sufficient for business-type communications, and we get the productivity and the running costs benefits around that too.

‘The small footprint of the device is remarkable, given the speed and productivity. We truly value the fact that the RISOs are reliable, with good uptime. We know they’re reliable and when you have very tight SLAs, this is critical,’ he added.

The Riso AlphaStream Pro DFEs developed for the ComColor GD and Valezus press ranges are able to handle a variety of data formats, including IPDS and AFP as well as PostScript and PDF, which suits the twin data streams at PCC Ireland. The printers also offer a sustainability advantage in that their inks are made from rice bran oil and there is little or no paper wastage in use.

The post PCC doubles up on Riso appeared first on Digital Printer.

While we emerged from lockdown and made our way to as much normality as we could, the industry kept pace, continuing with product introductions and new developments, some still arising from the postponed drupa momentum, and others that would not have made it there anyway. Here’s an overview.

EFI opened the batting for the season with a brace of fast wide-format printers announced at the online version of its Connect event. Topping the chart in raw speed terms was a new single-pass graphics printer capable of 1000 8×4 boards an hour, though it can print sheets of up to 1.6 x 3m. It offers optional orange, violet and white inks and is said to offer the lowest cost per unit of output.

At a ‘mere’ 375 boards an hour, the new Vutek XT hybrid also focuses on lowering total cost of ownership and was said to get similar image quality to eight-colour units out of just four process colours. The Pro 32h hybrid offers up to 230sqm/hr across 3.2m and up to five layers in a single pass, retailing for under US $200,000. On the roll-fed side, EFI introduced the Q3r and Q5r, three- and five-metre UV machines with a choice of inks for vivid display colours or flexibility for vehicle wraps.

Later in the year, EFI also debuted the entry-level Pro 30h hybrid wide-format printer, offering resolutions up to 1200dpi and speeds of up to 230sqm/hr, with options for white and clear inks and the ability to print up to five layers in a single pass.

Duplo offered the 150 Booklet System, combining the existing DSC-10/60 feeder with its DBM-150 Booklet Maker and Trimmer, allowing a wide range of sizes and stock weights to be handled. This was followed in March with the introduction of the DF-1300L, a folder aimed specifically at the long sheet sizes supported by many SRA3 digital presses, able to handle sheets up to 311 x 748mm and up to 230gsm. It offers a variety of folding options, including for six-panel A4 tri-fold leaflets and landscape orientation A4 brochures.

The company also took on distributorship for the Ultra C range of UV, aqueous and soft-touch flood coaters, whichit is promoting as an environmentally-friendly alternative to lamination of digital print, including food packaging.

Riso introduced the ComColor FT range of A3 and A4 sheet-fed inkjet printers, offering 600 x 600dpi on stocks up to 400gsm via optional accessories, with inline finishing including folding, stacking and booklet-making.

Ricoh added a Pro Scanner option for its VC60000 and VC70000 web inkjet presses, allowing on-the-fly image quality and registration assessment and correction; an option for checking each printed page against artwork files was also introduced.

Agfa’s Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS accelerated to 600sqm/hr

Agfa brought out the fastest version yet of its Jeti Tauro hybrid LED UV printer, the H3300 UHS, able to hit 600sqm/ hr across media up to 3.3m wide, 30% faster than the original model and supporting the same automation options. It’s aimed at the high end of the signage and display market but is also suitable for printing on corrugated board, suggesting packaging and PoS applications. The company also opened a new UK showroom in Rugby in March.

This was followed in June with the launch of the Avinci CX3200, a 3.2m dye-sub printer able to print to transfer paper or directly to fabric at up to 270sqm/hr, suiting soft signage applications including banners, wall graphics and flags.

Canon began a busy year with the launch of the 70ppm SRA3 toner ImagePress C170 line, aimed at in-house/ CRD applications, plus a later update to the ImagePress CV10010VP production model, which gained a registration and colour accuracy sensing unit, as well as updating its ImagePrograf printer/plotters. This was followed by the introduction of the ColorStream 8000 web inkjet press, aimed at transpromo, DM and pharma printing, at up to 160m/min.

On the wide-format side, Canon introduced an entry level version of its UV-gel roll printer, the Colorado 1630, which runs at 70% of the speed of existing 1640/1650 models and has remotely unlockable upgrades. The Arizona flatbed line got a mid-summer boost with the addition of the entry-level 135GT, a 1.25 x 2.5m LED curing UV printer, available for around €69,000, that can also be upgraded to support roll-to-roll work.

Xeikon followed up 2020’s debut of the ‘Sirius’ technologybased SX30000 web toner press with a smaller sibling, the 30m/sec SX20000, which offers the equivalent of 1700 B2sph. It handles the same stock weights and widths, prints at the same 1200 x 3600dpi resolution and can be upgraded for both speed and from four colours to five. Target applications for the SX20000 include books and direct mail.

The company also opened a virtual wall décor centre to showcase applications of its presses in this sector, expected also to appeal to architects, interior designers and retailers, and in April, added the CX50, a dedicated wall decoration toner press, as part of its Well Deco Suite. The CX50 is the middle option in productivity terms, between the 3050 Rex entry-level model and the CX500 press, and can be upgraded from 20 to 30m/min.

Riso extended its sheet-fed inkjet range with the ComColor FT models

HP added four 1.6m Latex printers to its eponymous line, the 700/800, each available with white ink, and offering up to 36sqm/hr depending on quality and application. Its print and cut line of stand-alone or linkable cutters was also updated, as was the Stitch 1000 dye-sub printer which gained better colour saturation in direct-to-fabric printing mode. New 1.6m photo printers were added to the HP DesignJet line in the autumn, the ZPro and Z9+ Pro, offering up to nine colour plus gloss. Three 1m-width PageWide machines for poster printing were added at the same time.

Mutoh added two 1.6m printers, the roll-fed ValueJet 1638UR Mk II and the hybrid 1628UH Mk II, able respectively to handle rolls up to 100kg and rigid media up to 15mm thick and weighing 15kg. Both support CMYK plus white and clear or double CMYK for increased productivity of up to 22.7sqm/hr. These were followed up in April with the addition of the XpertJet 1628WR, a dye-sub model based on the same 1.6m chassis, supporting up to eight colours and offering production at up to 48sqm/hr. Mutoh’s autumn season included the XPJ-1642WR, again based on the XpertJet 1.6m platform, but this time a dyesub transfer paper printer with water-based inks said to give improved quality on any sublimation-capable substrate and better productivity, with ‘sellable’ print at up to 61sqm/hr.

Horizon introduced a fully automated eight-buckle folder, the AF-408F, aimed at pharma and other small leaflet production. It accepts sheets up to 900mm in length (via an optional extension) and can space folds at 20mm. This was complemented later in the year by the AFV-566FKT, an automated cross-folder designed to support digital print shops where short runs are common, by offering 20% quicker changeovers than its predecessor.

Wide-format printer manufacturer swissQprint introduced a faster and more automated version of the Karibu roll-fed printer launched in 2019. The 3.4m Karibu S offers up to 330sqm/hr and a double-sided printing capability now is available both for it and original Karibu models via a retrofit. Two new ‘neon’ inks, yellow and pink, which fluoresce under UV light, were launched, and are offered for all the company’s printers.

Mimaki expanded its textile printer range, with the entry level 1.6m TS100-1600 dye-sub running at up to 70sqm/hr being complemented by the industrially-focused 1.8m Tiger 1800B Mk III, which supports a variety of ink types for different fabrics and gains improved reliability and accuracy. Both are driven by the TxLink4 Rip software which has textiles-specific functionality.

These were complemented a month or so later by the introduction of the JFX 550-2513 and 600-2513, high productivity 2.5 x 1.3m flatbeds offering up to 16 printheads and 200sqm/hr, plus a dedicated 1.6m roll-fed leather printer, the SUJV-160, that uses a special inkset developed by Fujifilm and which includes a clear ink. In the autumn, four new models were added to Mimaki’s direct-to-object printer range, most of them in a new smallformat/desktop line.

Mimaki’s entry-level dye-sub printer, the 1.6m TS100-1600

Late spring saw Ricoh reveal some of the specifications of its long-teased B2 digital press, revealed as the Pro Z75, a 4500sph (simplex) aqueous inkjet that is aimed squarely at the commercial sector, with a duty cycle around 1.25 million impressions a month and with greater media flexibility than most inkjets. Beta testing should be well underway by now, but commercial availability isn’t expected until Q2 of 2022.

Ricoh also reached an agreement with Austrian direct-togarment developer Aeoon Technologies to extend its DtG offering into the higher productivity sectors of this market.

Around the same time high performance wide-format printer specialist Durst introduced a dye sublimation version of its P5 roll-fed printer platform the P5 Tex iSub, a 3.3mmodel that can print directly to suitable polyesterbased fabrics within inline heat fixation, or to thermal transfer paper. It runs at up to 383sqm/hr and additional primary colour inks are available.

Fujifilm introduced a faster version of its established JetPress B2 inkjet, the 750 High Speed, which trades resolution for speed to hit 5400sph (simplex); the 2600sph of the existing model is also supported in ‘high quality’ mode. The faster mode also dispenses with the priming stage that is otherwise used, which may limit the choice of papers that can be used at top speed.

Following the ending of its OEM agreement with Canon for flatbeds, Fujifilm introduced its first own-build model, the Acuity Prime, a 2.5 x 1.7m UV printer that supports white and clear ink in addition to CMYK. The Acuity Ultra R2 roll-fed printer was also introduced, an upgrade to the 3.2 and 5m models launched in 2018 with various usability and overall productivity enhancements. 

April saw Epson expand the top end of its textile printing line with the introduction of the SureColor F10070H, an industrial strength 1.9m dye-sub printer claimed by the Japanese company to be cheaper than competitors in this sector.

The end of that month also saw Vivid add a B1 format version of its VeloBlade cutting table, in response to customer requests. Also in the finishing arena, a couple of weeks later, CreaseStream and ProCut introduced FoldStream, a crease-and-fold system able to handle digital print without damage at up to 10,000 items per hour, up to SRA3 size and 400gsm or more and without some of the issues experienced with plate or buckle folding.

In May, Inca Digital and Fujifilm introduced a range of robotic automation options for the former’s OnsetX HS range of high performance flatbed printers, from semi- to fully automatic loading and unloading of boards, allowing overall throughput to be increased.

Canon brought out an entry-level version of the Colorado, the 1630

June saw the arrival of Konica Minolta’s C7100/7090 toner presses that offer 100/90ppm with a variety of automation and quality control feature and completed the revamp that began with the 2019 introduction of the high-end C14000, some of whose features made their way into the new midrange machines, including a new toner – though the August explosion in the company’s Tatsuno factory in Japan has caused ongoing problems with toner supply.

That month also saw the newly independent Kongsberg PCS add the C20, a compact 1.6 x 1.4m cutting table to its C Series, with which it shares features aimed at increased accuracy and consistency.

One of the big stories of the summer was the acquisition by Global Graphics of packaging design and workflow developer Hybrid Software, which doubled the group’s size and turnover; the company subsequently rebranded as Hybrid Software Group and in late October acquired German colour management developer ColorLogic to extend its capability in multi-colour / extended gamut packaging print production.

The autumn saw a further flurry of introductions, with Kodak launching the Ascend, a five-colour toner press aimed at PoP / PoS and small packaging applications, a 120ppm press that can also handle long sheets to 1.2m and stocks up to 762microns thick. A wide range of special fifth colours will be available. The company also announced a web browser-based version of its Prinergy on Demand workflow offering that brings the established workflow within range of smaller print shops. Both the press and the software will be available in 2022.

Morgana held one of the first in-person events of the year with a mid-September open house at its Milton Keynes headquarters, at which Premier and Konica Minolta / MGI participated, showing a complete packaging production line. It also showcased the new Docubind Pro VFX twin-wire binder for lay-flat products.

Another event that went ahead was Fespa, which was used by Roland DG to introduce the VersaStudio BN20A entry-level print-and-cut device, suitable for stickers, labels and heat transfer sheets for garment printing. The company also upgraded and reopened its Danish and UK showrooms.

Screen didn’t introduce any major new products under its own name. However in late November it did announce a partnership, encompassing both the USA and Europe, with envelope converting and inserting specialist Winkler+Dünnebier to sell complete direct mail systems built around the TruepressJet 520 web inkjet press and W+D’s equipment.

The post 2021 – the year that was appeared first on Digital Printer.

The new range comprises the FT4130, an A3 mono machine capable of 140ppm (A4 simplex) , plus the FT5000, a multifunction A4 colour machine with an A3 duplex scanner, running at 100ppm (as above) on papers from 52 to 210gsm (simplex, 104gsm duplex) and including a finishing unit that staples, punches, folds, stacks and makes booklets up to 20 sheets (80 pages). The FT5230 is similarly configured to the FT5000 with scanner and but prints to A3 at 120ppm (A4 simplex; 66ppm A3) and supports an additional 2000-sheet feeder that can be replenished during printing and which increases input capacity to 4000 sheets.

All the FT series print at up to 600 x 600dpi and use new CMYK oil-based inks that Riso says offer a deeper black and expanded colour gamut. Paper weight range is from around 50gsm to 210gsm in simplex, limited to about half that in duplex, but with optional accessories, heavier media (to 400gsm) and envelopes can be handled. The company says the focus of these machines is on reliability and low running costs, with power consumption while printing of 360W or less, requiring no special power provisioning and resulting in minimal heat and noise generation.

Riso UK managing director Tatsuo Murakami said, ‘Riso is dedicated to improving and enhancing its offering, ensuring that inkjet printers continue to evolve and provide a trusted print solution.

‘The new FT series is a step up, building on the technology that our world-leading research and development teams have been creating for decades, and takes inkjet further, meaning that users can get more from their printers.’

The post Riso updates cut-sheet inkjets appeared first on Digital Printer.

The first product in the brand is the Valezus T2100, which will be on display at the Print Show next month. This is a high-speed, cut-sheet printer which Riso has said will increase productivity and improve work efficiency in high-volume printing.

The T2100 has a printing speed of 320ppm, based on full-colour, double-sided printing of A4-sized paper, which it achieves by connecting printer engines to print the front and reverse-sides respectively.

From the spring of 2020 the printer will be equipped with two high-capacity feeder/stacker units, each able to handle 4000 sheets. The two units can be switched while the printer is active, allowing users to load and unload paper without interrupting production. 

Finally, the T2100 incorporates an inkjet system that adopts oil-based inks. This saves energy as there is no need for ink-drying heaters or a heat-fixing process.

The post Riso introduces production print brand appeared first on Digital Printer.

Supplied by Friedheim International, the line incorporates a sheeter, folder and stacker, with Hunkeler off-line roll-to-cut and stack sheet lines running at approximately 150m/min, an MBO T535 buckle folder with A500 stacking delivery and Herzog Heymann transfer stations bringing the potential speed up to 205m/min.

In addition to litho and flexo the line will finish work printed by Integrity Print’s mail division, which operates Xerox Versant (colour) and Nuvera (mono) ranges, as well as digital presses from Canon Océ and Riso.

‘We initially started looking purely for a deep pile sheeter,’ explained managing director Mark Cornford, ‘but Friedheim, after reviewing our requirements, came up with a proposal to build a fully integrated sheeter, folder, stacker line.

‘This allowed us to improve process flow and massively increase capacity, in fact we’ve almost tripled our capacity with the new line.’

On Integrity’s current and future plans Chris Walton, head of Transaction, said, ‘Installation went very well and met all the planned schedules, and the two Friedheim engineers delivered a comprehensive training programme to our staff with a follow up session being planned later in the year. Our customers are extremely supportive and excited with the obvious opportunities and flexibility that a ‘white paper solution’ will bring. We hope to be in a position to make a positive announcement during Q2.’

The post Finishing integrated with Integrity appeared first on Digital Printer.

Switzerland in February ought to be all about mountains and snow. The mountains were there alright, with snow on them, but there was precious little anywhere else as Lucerne basked in an unseasonal heatwave in the last week of the month. This setting for the thirteenth Hunkeler Innovationdays event meant that it was considerably more pleasant to step outside the Messe Luzern than usual, but there was more inside to see than ever, with 100 exhibitors, and more people there to see it too, about 6500 of them, according to the event’s organisers.

Christian Unterberger

Although it’s led by one of the big names in high-speed digital print finishing, Hunkeler Innovationdays (HID) isn’t just about finishing, as all the big names in high speed inkjet presses were there, many of them with their latest machines running throughout the four days, as well as a variety of paper mills and software suppliers.

Equipment from host Hunkeler was everywhere on the show floor, as might be expected, and the company was keen to show the latest developments in its Generation 8 products, which generally go faster and handle wider web widths while increasing automation. On-the-fly switchover at full printer speed between four- and six-page signatures or A4 to A5 format web-to-sheet cutting and folding, was shown on the Flyfolder ‘book of one’ line, with book block stacking, de-collation and offset for use with a Müller Martini perfect binder. The Flyfolder can deliver up to 900 book blocks per hour. Self-covered ‘budget binding’ options with the PF7 plough folder for parts lists or exam papers were demonstrated live, as was the CS8 cutter which can change formats from one- to four-up to in only 15 seconds.

Ricoh’s Erwin Busselot with samples printed on the Pro VC70000

For maximum productivity, the RS8 flying splice unit allows rolls of paper to be changed without having to stop printing even at up to 240m/min. This is mirrored by the TR8 turret rewinder which similarly allows for take-up rolls to be swapped without halting printing. Hunkeler also introduced the DocuTrim, its first offering for sheet-fed finishing, which cuts and perforates at up to 10,000sph; it was demonstrated running inline with a Canon Océ i300. Also featured was the HL8 laser cutter which can produce engraving and security print effects as well as cutting and perforation of stock between 60 and 500gsm, at speeds of up to around 40m/min, or on cut sheets.

Cell block

Partnering with Hunkeler and various other finishing equipment suppliers on several of its live demonstrations was Müller Martini, who showcased different book production configurations including ‘cell production’ with the Infinitrim three-knife trimmer and Vareo perfect binder. The company’s Connex automation workflow system was also presented.

Böwe Systec announced but did not show the Fusion Speed high performance inserter that can fill up to 3000 envelopes an hour. Based on the Fusion Cross system, it goes faster and can handle a range of formats from B6+ to B5 and 6 x 9in. Enclosures up to 15mm thick and 1kg in weight can be handled. The new system will be demonstrated at the company’s open day in Augsburg on May.

Canon announced a ‘heavy paper’ kit for its Océ ProStream 1000 inkjet press, allowing it to handle stock up to 300gsm for direct mail applications. A new nozzle failure compensation capability, brought across from the i300 cut-sheet press, corrects for blocked jets. This allows the press to maintain quality with no loss of print speed and miminises paper wastage. The RIP has been upgraded to 1200 x 1200dpi capability (it was 600 x 600) to match the print engine, bringing improved quality particularly for finely detailed type. This capability is standard on new ProStream 1000 models and available as an upgrade to existing installations. There were around 10 of the latter at the time of the event but this is expected to rise to 35 or more by the end of the year.

Christian Unterberger, chief marketing officer, told Digital Printer that flexibility of application would be key for high speed inkjets, including in litho replacement work. ‘There’s now new killer app for print. It’s the sum of many smaller apps,’ he said, adding that although global print volumes are growing, placements of presses are decreasing, leading to more applications per machine. Canon’s approach to media flexibility is via flood priming of papers, which Mr Unterberger says permits 200 to 300% total coverage, which ‘spot’ primer can’t support.

Another inkjet supplier that’s pushing the litho replacement argument is Ricoh, which gave the first public showing of its Pro VC70000 150m/min inkjet which it says can offer offset quality on ‘most’ paper types, including offset coated stocks. There is the usual inkjet trade-off between resolution and throughput, with the top speed being achieved at 600 x 600dpi, and only half that at top resolution of 1200 x1200 dpi. However, multiple drop sizes from Ricoh’s piezo printheads mean that fine details and smooth gradients can be rendered well even at this setting. Part of the speed is down to new ink, which can also be used in the existing VC60000 press, though that lacks the more sophisticated drying systems of the new machine and so only gains a marginal speed advantage.

Transactional, transpromo and direct mail are applications for Riso’s T1 roll-fed inkjet

Number crunchers

Ricoh also introduced new Cloud-based business intelligence software, Ricoh Supervisor, which pulls together otherwise siloed information from Ricoh and other vendors’ hardware plus software applications including MIS and workflow to give ‘dashboard’ views of overall business performance. This is complemented by Communications Manager, a customer communications management (CCM) tool that integrates with other Ricoh and third-party applications to manage workflow and customer experience.

Production metrics were also catered for by US software developer Spencer Metrics’ Connect, which provides a uniform presentation of data gathered from multiple sources and formats, including finishing equipment and DFEs from the major digital press vendors. It’s available in the UK, rebadged via Xeikon. The continuous-feed toner press manufacturer was also itself at the event, with a display based on the theme ‘the power of dry toner’. It didn’t launch any new products at the event but ran demonstrations producing large format coffee-table book covers and dust jackets on a CX500 five-colour 520mm roll-to-roll press. You can read about Xeikon’s strategy in our Supplier Insight on page 10.

HP is aiming to replace both litho and dry toner alternatives in order to support what the company’s David Murphy calls a new third category, high volume variable print. Mr Murphy told Digital Printer that with its PageWide presses, HP has the largest market share by volume of pages printed, claiming around a quarter of all inkjet pages, but pretty much like the other players who have a larger installed base, it is strongest in books, followed by transactional print and then direct mail. Commercial print remains the great untapped market for all of them, with Mr Murphy estimating that only 1–2% by volume is inkjet printed in this sector, so there is plenty to play for here, even though the market as a whole is declining.

As with every other inkjet vendor, HP is aiming to tackle the substrates limitation to provide the application flexibility that success in commercial print will need. Its approach, like Océ’s, is to prime the papers, for which purpose a new 22-in duplex priming unit, the D2200 was introduced at HID. HP claims that this expands the media possibilities to ‘thousands’ of papers and other materials and the company has launched ColorPro Media, a dedicated website to help users check what’s compatible with the T200, T300 and T400 models. The T240 HD can now handle media up to 250gsm, allowing its use for cards, tickets and marketing collateral, while productivity is increased by the Smart Mode Suite software, which enables 15% faster roll changes without losing any variable data impressions.

Samples of Cast & Cure holographic effects from the Scodix Ultra 202

Small footprints

Xerox featured its Trivor 2400 and Brenva HD inkjet presses, as well as debuting the Rialto 900MP, a roll-to-cut-sheet press with integral paper handling that combines a small footprint with up to 64m/min output to provide what the company refers to as a ‘bridge between cut-sheet and continuous feed inkjet’ offering web widths of up to 250mm. With 600dpi resolution and the narrow web, it’s targeted at transactional, transpromo and direct mail work. The HD inks are the same as in the other Impika-derived presses, allowing print onto inkjet coated/treated papers and uncoated/untreated papers.

Riso was showing its T1 roll-to-roll inkjet ‘concept’ model that first appeared at drupa 2016. The 600dpi 42m/min two-up unit has a small footprint and is aimed at transpromo and direct mail applications and at 565 A4 page equivalents per minute represents a next step up from the company’s cut-sheet inkjet models which run at 320ppm.

Scodix, now distributed in the UK by Hunkeler distributor Friedheim, was demonstrating its new Ultra 202 model launched earlier in the year. Its nine enhancement options include Cast & Cure which, by a process of film imprinting on the clear polymer that the units prints, allows diffraction and holographic effects to be achieved. Depending on the number of different effects treatments to be applied, the unit can run at up to 1250 B2 sheets per hour.

Global Graphics was displaying sample books showing the quality improvement in flat tints and subtle colour graduations that its PrintFlat online calibration service can bring to inkjet printers of all types. PrintFlat can be implemented in any inkjet RIP that has the company’s ScreenPro software installed, which includes models driven by Adobe RIPs as well as Global Graphics ones. It corrects for banding effects caused by printhead inconsistencies; samples seen by Digital Printer were convincing, and the technology has been used by German large format poster producer Ellerhold, which builds its own inkjets.

The post Swiss roll appeared first on Digital Printer.

Despite talk of the days of big print exhibitions being over (reinforced by news of the killing-off of the UK’s Ipex in July), the wish to make big announcements at a drupa still drives the innovations cycle. Most of the drupa 2016 announcements had reached the delivery stage by 2017, so 2018 was mainly going to be the year when suppliers concentrated on deliveries to bring the revenue in.

All the same there were enough significant new kit announcements to fill up Digital Printer’s 2018 news pages. Here is a roundup of what we think were the year’s most significant product announcements.

Inkjet action

While most of the last few drupa events have been dubbed ‘the inkjet drupa’, the products are rolling out steadily now. In February Ricoh announced new pigment inks and tweaked printheads for its 2015 Pro VC60000 high speed rollfed inkjet, intended to handle standard litho papers. In July it announced ProVC70000 with another new inkset and extended driers said to give litho-like quality at the top speed of 150m/min.

Riso revealed the production version of its £120,000 T2 inkjet press, shown as a prototype at drupa 2016. Claimed to be the world’s fastest cut-sheet inkjet press, it hits 320 A4 duplexed sheets per minute. It takes SRA3 sheets too, but A4 transactional print is the target market.

In September Xerox announced a speed bump for its established £465,000 Brenva HD SRA3 press, up from 197 to 275 A4 pages per minute, with 300 A4s achievable on some sheet sizes. Although slower than the Riso T2 it is built for much higher monthly volumes.

The year was rounded off in mid-November with Fujifilm’s announcement of the revised Jet Press 750S B2+ simplex sheet-fed inkjet press. It replaces the 720S from 2014 and is now claimed to be the fastest B2 inkjet press available (in a rather narrow field), thanks to new Samba printheads and improved dryers.

UK developed Affinity Publisher is hoping to challenge Adobe InDesign and Quark Xpress for page layout tool of choice next year

Toner presses

Although inkjet continued to progress, there is still life in toner, with plenty of activity in dry toner digital presses during 2018. Ricoh refreshed its range in several stages. March saw the announcement of the five-colour Pro C7200X for graphic arts applications and the four-colour Pro C7200 for lower cost needs. These replaced the mid-range C7100 from 2015, offering slightly higher performance and a range of tweaks including the ability for the C7200X to print white as an undercoat in the same pass as colour, which now includes fluorescent options.

In May Ricoh introduced Pro C9200, a major update of its range-topping C9100 with more automation and expanded media types and sizes – it can take sheet lengths up to 1030mm (duplex) or 1260mm (simplex) in weights up to 450gsm but doesn’t offer the additional colours of the C7200.

Kodak announced Nexfinity in March as the latest version of its high end NexPress family, claiming litho-competitive running costs. An optional feeder takes sheet lengths up to 1219mm and paper weights up to 530gsm. Also notable is the ability to change the laydown order for colours, so you could place a white undercoat on clear or coloured media, or print more than one special (including clear and metallics); previous NexPress models could only print specials last.

May saw the European launch of the Xerox Iridesse, an all-new high-end press with a lot of automation and new toners. Its standout feature is the ability to print six colours, with specials that include metallic gold and silver before and after the CMYK. White and clear toners are initially available, with the potential to print white under colour with a glossy spot varnish on top.

Xerox hit the news for other reasons throughout 2018 with its proposed on-off ‘merger’ takeover by Fujifilm, which led to a management coup by a couple of activist shareholders. Xerox’s future prospects are uncertain (a “directions” statement is due in February) and a miffed Fujifilm is suing Xerox for US$1 billion while still apparently considering a takeover under different terms.

Wide format

Turning to the wide format inkjet sector, the start of the year saw EFI begin selling its £99,000 Pro 24f flatbed in the UK. At EFI’s Connect event in January it announced two higher end hybrids, the HS125 F4 and HS100 F4 offering higher speeds than their predecessors, plus twin-zone printing/loading. At Fespa in May it announced a pair of 3.2m hybrid UV printers, the h3 and h5, offering 288 or 362sqm/hr respectively. An h3 can be field upgraded to the h5 (see also Product Focus on page 26).

InkTec’s Jetrix KX6U LED continued the company’s move into LED flatbeds with this £67,000, 2.5 x 1.3m model whose 30sqm/hr top speed is a lot faster than similarly priced rivals.

In February Durst announced a whole new hardware and software platform called P5, starting with the P5 250 HS, a 2.5m hybrid sheet-fed printer good for up to 240sqm/hr, resolutions up to 1200dpi and drop sizes down to 5pl. The 200HS, 320 and 200 models follow this. They use modified Fujifilm Dimatix heads and a range of new UV inks. Nearly a year on, Durst still hasn’t released basic specs other than the above for these machines, but it sold the first four printers to Dutch print and fulfilment house Probo in April.

Rumours of a latex ink flatbed printer from HP came true at Fespa in May, with the 2.5m width R2000, followed a few months later by the announcement of the smaller 1.6m R1000. These are the first serious attempts to print onto rigid media with anything other than UV-curable inks since Mutoh tried with a vegetable-based solvent ink about 10 years ago.

Epson replaced its SureColor SC-F2000 direct-togarment (DTG) pigment printer with the faster and generally improved SC-F2100 in January, while Ricoh entered the DTG market with the keenly priced Ri 100 around the same time.

In May Mutoh entered the full-sized UV flatbed market for the first time with the 1.6m ValueJet 1626UH. This is up against Roland, which also in May updated its UV-LED printer range with the VersaUV-S series of flatbed and belt-driven hybrid printers.

In September Mimaki expanded its dye sublimation textile range with the 1.8m TS55-1800, with a claim of high end functionality at entry/mid range pricing. A slightly oxymoronic Mini Jumbo Roll option allows lengthy unattended operations. Over the summer Mimaki’s full-colour 3D printer, the 3DUJ-P, arrived with UK distributor Hybrid Services. Results look great but with a price of about £170,000 it is likely to be a niche product.

HP brought out not one but two flatbed latex printers in 2018. This is the smaller of the two, the 1.6m R1000

Software

Prepress and workflow software progressed steadily with just a few standout releases. Perhaps the most significant developments were paving the way for the next-generation PDF 2.0: Global Graphics added support for PDF 2.0 with its Harlequin RIP-renderer and Adobe did the same with its equivalent APPE 5, which between them underpin most of the world’s prepress workflows. Agfa was the first to announce a commercially available workflow that supports PDF 2.0, with Apogee 11.

No commercial design or prepress programs export PDF 2.0 features yet, but expect that to change in 2019. PDF 2.0 introduces some useful new capabilities, particularly in colour handling, but industry wisdom says its real breakthrough will only come after July 2019 with the publication of the PDF/X-6 standard, which will be based on PDF 2.0.

HP was busy in front-end software, announcing a new Digital Wallpaper system in February, then the Piazza book-of-one software to work with its SiteFlow production software in April, followed in June by its One Package workflow to drive the C500 and PageWide T1190 corrugated presses.

For the past four years UK-based Serif Software has been offering its Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo programs as low-cost but well-specified alternatives to Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop within the dominant and now subscription-only Creative Cloud suite. Affinity programs are only £48.95 each (or £19.95 on iPad) as one-off costs for a perpetual licence. This autumn saw the release of a public Beta of Serif’s Affinity Publisher, a layout program that takes on Adobe’s InDesign and well as other established players such as QuarkXPress and Corel Draw. This is due for full release early in 2019.

Industry 4.0 and the future

Possibly an early marker for a new trend in service support, in June Bobst demonstrated the use of Epson’s Moverio smart glasses as part of its Connected Services Helpline Plus remote support. This is likely to cover its Mouvent inkjets in future. The smart glasses let Bobst’s service office talk to an on-site engineer and see video from the glasses, then display text, diagrams and light pointers projected into the glasses.

What else is on the tech horizon for 2019? Having given up trying to sell its Prosper inkjet operation in 2018, Kodak still intends to roll out development versions of its promising new UltraStream heads to third-party integrators in 2019. Landa is at last coming to a UK site with an S10P B1 perfecting Nanography press at Route One Print. There are no big international shows other than the wide formatcentred Fespa in May, but the Hunkeler Innovation Days due for February often trigger announcements of new roll-fed press configurations if not whole presses. Brexit remains a big unknown. Technology developments tend to be international, but the uncertainty of the UK’s economic prospects after March will surely affect sales prospects for months and years to come. 
 

The post Class of ’18 appeared first on Digital Printer.

Riso UK’s Andrew Perry, the company’s UK technical manager, has expanded his role to cover the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.

Mr Perry, who first joined the business nine months ago after a number of years in technical roles with global companies, will now be technical manager responsible for Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, South Africa, Russia, and Turkey.

He said, ‘Since my introduction to Riso UK, we have been able to make some fantastic operational improvements in the way we deliver our service, such as team and individual KPIs, job descriptions, and internal processes. Now, I have been given the opportunity to expand my role outside of the UK, and will be working with all of our EMEA subsidiaries in an effort to deliver further improvements and to ensure that we are all operating using the same processes.’

Mr Perry’s previous roles have seen him acquire experience in a range of areas, including event management, purchasing, health and safety, sales, quality management, stock control, HR/recruitment, warehousing, logistics, field service management, and project management. 

Tatsuo Murakami, managing director, commented, ‘Andrew’s initial appointment saw him bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the RISO UK team. We have seen how he has improved how we do business in the UK, so it makes sense to utilise his skills across a wider region.’

The post Perry adds EMEA regions to Riso UK technical role appeared first on Digital Printer.