Hardware - Industrial Print

In todays wide format market, where things are seemingly becoming ever more austere and disciplined, it is always nice to see someone breaking the mould and demonstrating that there is still a sense of humour out there in corporate land.

So we were duly delighted when the HP Graphic Arts crew @HPGraphicArts tweeted a picture of someone 'planking' on an Indigo digital press.

Of course in order for that to be relevant to Large Format Review they needed to be planking on a wide format printer. In the absence of any evidence that planking has yet made it into the wide format arena, we cheated and made one, of sorts, ourselves...

Anyone else got some real pictures, of real planking, on a real wide format printer? Send them to newsdesk@largeformatreview.com, and we'll try to make you famous.

Whilst on the subject of Tweeting, why not come and join @LFRnews, and others including @HPGraphicArts, @RolandDGUK, @EFI_Print_Tech and @Colourgen, in the rapidly developing wide format print community on Twitter.

EFI and Heidelberg Canada today announced a new agreement under which Heidelberg will distribute the VUTEk® GS series of superwide format digital printers throughout Canada. Under the agreement, Heidelberg Canada will distribute EFI’s VUTEk GS2000, GS3200 and GS5000r printers, as well as the inks (under the Saphira brand name), parts, consumables, accessories and upgrades related to these printers. Heidelberg will also provide customer and technical support for the VUTEk GS series of printers, including installation and training.

EFI is a world leader in digital imaging and print management solutions for commercial, screen, packaging, in-plant and specialty printers worldwide. Heidelberg is the world's leading solutions provider for the print media industry. The company manufactures sheetfed press systems, as well as prepress and postpress components, software and consumables for all printing applications.

Heidelberg is the most widely recognized brand in the Canadian printing industry, and a market leader providing the industry with the finest and most technologically advanced prepress, printing and bindery/finishing equipment in the world. Heidelberg Canada employs 160 people working across the country. The company maintains extensive customer support staff in parts, service and consumables. They serve the marketplace with more than 25 equipment and consumables sales representatives and three regional sales vice presidents.

Heidelberg has a full-spectrum solution for multi-process color management including Prinect Color Toolbox, a suite of tools for device calibration, ICC profile generation, and proof/print analysis. The company will use these tools to integrate and color-manage VUTEk output for optimal results.

EFI will train and support the Heidelberg Canada team enabling Heidelberg to sell, train and service customers independently.

“Wide and superwide format printing are of considerable interest to the Canadian print market, and Heidelberg has the right workflow, color management, service and consumables expertise needed to integrate these technologies into a print production environment,” said Ken Freek, vice president product management, Heidelberg Canada. “Both EFI and Heidelberg are leaders in their respective markets. Together we can bring a best-in-class portfolio to our customers.”

The VUTEk GS series of high-end printers can be integrated into a complete Prinect workflow and can be color managed by Heidelberg’s Prinect Color Toolbox, which was recently awarded the IDEAlliance G7 System Certification. Customers will benefit from a single workflow that drives a digital device and an offset press, resulting in superior color matching output from both devices.

"Few companies are better respected in the industry than Heidelberg. Adding Heidelberg Canada as a reseller for EFI fits with our mission to offer customers the best combination of products to achieve diversity and profitability,” said Frank Mallozzi, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, EFI. “With Heidelberg, customers benefit from having a single point of contact for all their printing needs.”

"Commercial printers are looking for ways to distinguish themselves and offer their clients more diversified products and services. Now, the Heidelberg network of customers will benefit from having access to EFI’s industry-leading VUTEk superwide format printers,” added Mallozzi.

VUTEk Superwide Inkjet Solutions

VUTEk digital superwide printers range from 2- to 5-meters wide in roll-to-roll and flatbed formats. These versatile printers and inks deliver High-Definition Print (HDP) quality and exceptional production level speeds. They enable greater profitability with localized messaging, direct-to-substrate printing, increased capacity, and reduced labor, waste and make-ready costs. They allow businesses to enter new high-margin markets.

Company also upgrades HP Scitex TJ8500 Printer to TJ8600 specifications

HP today announced that France Affiches, of  Antony (south of Paris), France, has invested in a 5m HP Scitex XP5100 Printer as part of an investment programme that included upgrading its HP Scitex TJ8550 to the HP TJ8600Printer.

Part of the France Affiches group that includes a production facility in Spain (Iberia Print), and a sales office in Portugal (France Affiches Portugal), the company is extending its services to leading corporations, institutions and enterprises with a €6-million programme that includes upgrades to its prepress department as well as the investment in the HP Scitex printers.

Specialising in large format graphics, France Affiches' clients include the best known advertising and marketing agencies with high-end customers looking for superior-quality displays for large format posters, back-lits and other graphics for innovative regional, national and pan-European campaigns.

The company moved into digital wide format printing in 2009 with the installation of an HP Scitex TJ8500 Printer and an HP Scitex XL1500 Printer to supplement its conventional offset capabilities.

"When we decided to upgrade our capabilities, we looked at the different printers on the market," explained Angelina Fontana, CEO, France Affiches. "We had experience of HP, and felt that the HP Scitex XP5100 Printer not only suited our requirements, but that the HP after-sales service is excellent. As part of the same programme, we also upgraded our HP Scitex TJ8550 Printer to the HP Scitex TJ8600."

The HP XP5100 Printer is an eight-colour, roll-to-roll system using piezoelectric technology and UV-curable ink. With a maximum production speed of 1600m2/hr (1600ft2/hr), and a "cruising speed" of 105m2/hr (1,100ft2/hr) and handle materials up to 5m (16.6ft) or three simultaneous rolls of 1.6m (5.2ft).

"Our customers are increasingly asking for a broader range of projects," said Angelina Fontana. "So, the printer's capability of handling a wide range of materials for indoor and outdoor use made it particularly suitable for us."

The HP Scitex XP5100 Printer is designed for 24/7 use, which suits France Affiches' three-shift operation, while the substrates it can image include paper, PE, mesh, vinyl, textile, blueback paper, self-adhesive vinyl, synthetics, DuPont™ Tyvek®(1) , YUPO® and more. This makes the XP5100 printer suitable for simple graphics, back-lits, vehicle graphics, billboards and building wraps.

"The speed of the HP Scitex XP5100 Printer increases our capacity, while its versatility enables us to extend our applications offering to customers seeking a broader service from one supplier," Angelina Fontana concluded.

France Affiches was established in 1984 as an offset printer and continues to offer conventional printing as well as digital. The group employs about 30 people, of which 24 are at the French facility.

More information is available at www.youtube.com/hpgraphicarts or follow HP on www.twitter.com/hpgraphicarts.

Polytype is pleased to announce the successful installation of the swissQprint Impala at Print Leader in Buffalo, NY.

“After spending two days looking at the UV flatbed printers at the ISA 2011 show, it did nothing but bolster our confidence that we had made the very best decision for our business. There was no machine that we looked at that could match the Impala's combination of speed and superior image quality,” shared Eric Leader, Production Manager and Owner at Print Leader.

“Polytype has once again raised the bar. We have been one of their customers for over 8 years, and with their cutting-edge technology, superior print quality, and the finest technicians and support staff, they have consistently provided us with a rock-solid foundation for us to build our business on.”

Print Leader is a unique blend of advanced digital printing technology combined with a high level of expertise in graphic services. They cover the entire span from artwork creation and printing to installation on-site; and specialise in providing grand format printing, photographic prints, and on-demand document printing for discerning markets including casino, banking, airports and tradeshows.

They offer environmentally-friendly UV inks and toners in combination with green or recyclable substrates for most applications. Print Leader has been providing high-quality solutions for over 40 years.

About Polytype America: Polytype (with worldwide headquarters in Fribourg, Switzerland) is renowned in the wide-format digital inkjet space as a distributor and manufacturer of resilient, reliable printing technologies for the production of many different decorative, display and industrial applications. With characteristic Swiss attention to precision engineering inherent to all of its technologies, its range of wide- and super-wide format UV-curable printers is recognised for its ability to produce high-quality graphics on a practically unlimited range of substrates. Polytype America is located in Mahwah, NJ and is also the exclusive distributor for the swissQprint ‘Oryx’ and ‘Impala’ printers.

Specialized Output Printing, Inc. in Waukesha, Wis., hopes to be the best silent partner a printing company ever had. Owner Russ Brock launched the wide-format trade shop in 2011 to produce jobs for other printers that require special equipment or as overflow. The startup firm's Screen Truepress Jet2500UV grand-format inkjet printer is giving clients flawless output, fast turnarounds and remarkable substrate flexibility.

"A huge void exists in terms of commercial printers that may operate wide-format machines but don't really emphasize that part of their business and digital print shops that aren't able to fully develop their capabilities," Brock said. "We plan to be a hot laser instead of a headlight - to be the best at inkjet printing for the trade. Printing companies can send us their overflow work or new work they've been turning away and not have to worry about it being done well and on time."

Brock got his start in the prepress side of printing in the graphic arts dealer network in the 1970s. Over the years, he became fascinated by the possibilities color inkjet printing offered.

"I've visited many different shops and observed the strengths and weaknesses of every combination of wide-format inkjet system," Brock explained. "I always wanted to get directly involved in inkjet printing but was never in the right position to make it happen."

That is, until recently. Brock installed the Truepress Jet2500UV along with board-cutting equipment in a 4,000-square-foot manufacturing space. Specialized Output Printing has the option to double its production space if necessary. Brock selected CGS Publishing Technologies' ORIS Color Tuner//Web professional contract proofing system.

"We will run 'lean and mean' in the early days of the company, though not at the expense of serving our customers," Brock said. "Quality is first and foremost. Every one of our staff of five has years of hands-on inkjet experience. We have high-end graphic talent who can create interesting custom projects. Buying the appropriate technology also allows us to automate tasks and control quality with fewer people."

Brock's familiarity with inkjet technology served him well in deciding which printing system to purchase.

"The Truepress Jet2500UV can do so many things other devices can't do," he said. "It prints on all the vinyl and plastic substrates, ceramic tile, wood and metal up to 2 inches thick. We use CMYK plus white ink. The multiple layer option enables us to print seven image layers, which improves the performance of double-sided window stickers and backlit displays."

Specialized Output Printing is well positioned where image quality is the primary concern.

Wide-format inkjet is no longer just for billboards and signs to be read from several yards away," Brock said. "The Truepress Jet2500UV prints detailed images at up to 1,500 dpi resolution. It handles 4-point type for signage that is intended to be read close up. No machine can print better than this. It's a surgical instrument."

In June, 2011, Duggal Visual Solutions, Inc. fully installed the first Durst Rhotex 320 in the United States. The Durst Rhotex 320 is the first industrial speed dye-sublimation printer offering the highest quality fabric printing available.

The Durst Rhotex 320 is the first 10.5-foot wide (3.2m) printer developed specifically for fabric / “soft signage” printing. This unique printer not only has Durst’s latest print technology, it is also environmentally “friendly”.

“The Rhotex 320 allows us to offer our customers the highest quality dye-sublimation printing possible at impressive speeds, which in turn allows us to be the leader in the growing fabric market,” Duggal CEO Mike Duggal said.  “We are excited about adding this to our growing list of offerings for our clients. And the fact that the Rhotex 320 is environmentally friendly, using VOC-free water based inks, fits well with Duggal’s corporate ‘green philosophy’ and is an added bonus for our customers as well.”

“As digital imaging technologies progress and both printing processes and media improve, the benefits of ‘soft signage’ are becoming more apparent,” said Christopher Howard, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Durst U.S.  “Mike Duggal and the people at Duggal Visual Solutions understand this as well as anyone, and we’re pleased with their latest ‘first’ – the first Rhotex 320 in the United States.”

Durst’s Rhotex 320 – winner of the United Kingdom’s prestigious Angel Award for 2010, which acknowledges product innovation most likely to have a significant impact in the wide-format sector – was designed specifically to address the growing popularity of lighter-weight, easier-to-install, higher margin, reusable and “green” media options in production environments.

This wide-format roll-to-roll platform utilizes environmentally water-based dispersed dye inks, and comes equipped with the Quadro® Array 30D AQ print heads configured to print seven colors (CMYK + Light Cyan, Light Magenta, and Gray) delivering photographic quality at up to 775 s.f./hr.  Fabrics printed with these inks are entirely environmentally friendly, recyclable and disposable.

A combination of all the printer’s capabilities and Duggal’s array of material options from sheer voile and poly silk to back drop canvas and wrinkle-free media Duggal can provide a solution custom tailored to meet your visual needs.

Duggal Visual Solution and Durst Image Technology hope to continue their partnership together to bring more options, higher quality and faster turnaround times to their customers.