Hardware - Wide Format Print

HP today announced that McGowans Print Ltd has purchased Ireland's first HP Scitex FB7500 Printer to fulfil high demand for point-of-sale (POS) and point-of purchase (POP) items.

McGowans, based in Dublin, are one of Ireland's largest digital printing businesses and the purchase of the FB7500 adds to an existing wide-format line-up at the company's 60,000 square foot facility.

The company has been an HP customer for over 10 years and currently operates an HP Scitex TJ8300 Printer as well as two HP Latex Ink printers: the HP Scitex LX800 and HP Deignjet L65500 Printer, which it uses to produce a wide variety of large format applications including billboards, posters, event signage and building wraps. For general commercial print, such as business cards, flyers, booklets, leaflets and brochures, McGowans uses a range of HP Indigo digital printing technologies, including two HP Indigo press 5500s.

Serving print management and retail customers, the company decided to add to its arsenal of equipment after experiencing a significant increase in demand for POS and POP applications.

Highly productive with a three quarters automatic loading system and print speeds of up to 500m2 per hour - the equivalent of 95 full beds per hour (1) - the FB7500 is designed for fast paced production environments and for producing medium and long runs of POP applications within limited deadlines.

"Driven by the current economic situation, retailers are offering more promotions and are demanding quicker routes to market. Consequently, the POP market is our fastest growing area of production," said Mal McGowan, managing director, McGowans Print Ltd. "We decided to purchase an HP Scitex FB7500 as we believe that its three quarters automated loading system will increase our throughput, enabling us to achieve a quicker return on our investment and offer our customers fast turnaround POP and POS applications."

McGowans' HP Scitex FB7500 Printer includes 312 unique HP Scitex X2 piezoelectric printheads with 39,936 nozzles to deliver a 20kHz firing frequency for high image quality at high speeds. The FB7500 uses durable HP UV-curable inks for vibrant signage, ideal for eye-catching branded applications such as POP and POS work, exhibition graphics and backlit displays.

"As a business, our aim is to encourage people to migrate all screen runs to digital production, which meant that we needed to invest in equipment capable of producing high-quality applications," said McGowan. "In a market where money is currently tight, the FB7500 will allow us to offer our customers cost-effective solutions without compromising on print quality. We believe that this winning combination will help us to retain our existing customers and also develop new business."

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

(1) Productivity print speeds are based on printing in Production 95 mode on 165x310cm (65 x 122in) sheets. This is measured from the time the first copy is initially loaded to when the last copy of the print run is unloaded.
 

Leicester-based Data Image Group is one of the first printers in the UK to invest in an Inca Onset S40 from Fujifilm. Data Image Group, which has long been a champion of digital print - it installed its first digital printer over eighteen years ago - signed on the dotted line for the wide-format UV inkjet printer at FESPA Digital 2011. The Inca S40 will join a Fujifilm Acuity Advance HS HD3545 at the cutting-edge printers later this month.

"We chose to partner with Fujifilm and invest in the Onset because it is a well-built printer that produces exceptionally high-quality print," explains Alan Farfort, director at Data Image Group. "We saw fantastic quality print samples from the Onset 40 and once we conducted tests we realised the potential it had to move our business forward. It can produce up to 470 square metres of print per hour and the configuration of the print heads means the speed and quality of output is phenomenal. We had researched the market for 18 months to find a machine like this and tests show it takes just two and a half hours to print what it takes two of our other machines 40 hours to do. This is a major increase in productivity for us, and it is proving very exciting to be one of the first printers in the UK to purchase an Onset S40"

The Inca Onset S40 has been engineered to provide outstanding levels of performance, ‘best-in-class' quality and flexibility at low cost per print. It meets the high-volume, fast-turnaround production needs of specialist display print companies, using up to 168 new-generation, user-replaceable, printheads (28 per colour) on a full width print bar delivering a 27 picolitre drop size. This, combined with Inca's precision ink drop placement, produces superb 600dpi print quality with the option of four or six colours using Fujifilm's UVijet OB ink.

The Onset S40 will join the full specification Acuity Advance HS HD3545 with white option that Data Image Group bought from Fujifilm in April. "We chose the Acuity because it prints excellently, to ISO standards, and the white option has enabled us to take on a lot of new work. With the Acuity and Onset combined we can handle both long and short runs and produce great quality print for our customers.

"We chose Fujifilm because they were there with us every step of the way on this exciting purchase, and we are thrilled to have partnered with them."

HP today announced that BPGraphics is successfully transitioning more of its analog screen-printing work to efficient, high-quality UV digital printing with the installation of an HP Scitex FB7500 Printer.

The Phoenix-based company – a large-volume customer that owns 11 HP Scitex printers – also is working to streamline colour management across its digital production platforms as a beta user of the new version of ColorServer Suite from GMG GmbH & Co. that is customised for use with HP Scitex printers.

Less labour, more productivity

The new printer and colour management software offer a number of benefits that can substantially improve productivity at BPGraphics. With its 65x126-inch media capacity and print speeds that reach 5,380 sq.ft./hr., the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer quickly and affordably produces longer-run jobs – work that the company previously completed using an analog screen printer.

"The HP Scitex FB7500 Printer's biggest advantage for us is its ability to do short runs as well as long runs, using one operator instead of two – all on a device that offers excellent quality on the same substrates we use on our screen printer," said Curt Carpenter, president, BPGraphics.

The HP Scitex FB7500 Printer also gives the company distinct advantages in proofing for longer-run signage and point-of-purchase jobs that once ran on its analog technology.

"Giving customers exactly what they want"

"We can do one-off proofs on the printer using the actual substrate for the final job, make any changes that customers request, and then print the entire job," said Carpenter. "Proofing on the actual production device gives us confidence that we are giving customers exactly what they want when we are printing a job."

BPGraphics has recently transitioned longer-run jobs that were once considered analog-only to digital printing, such as a recent job for 500 point-of-purchase standees that were efficiently produced, with more accurate proofing, on the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer.

The printer also helps BP Graphics better serve a growing number of customers who, instead of purchasing 500 copies of a specific design, are likely to prefer a versioned run – 100 copies of five different designs, for example – as a way to customise and improve their marketing efforts. Customised and versioned work can prove impractical for a screen printing device because of the numerous screen change, set-up and makeready costs they incur. Digital devices like BPGraphics' fleet of HP Scitex equipment, however, can profitably accommodate those versioning requests.

The HP Scitex FB7500 Printer, with its extensive rigid media capabilities, complements a pair of HP Scitex TJ8300 Printers that extend BPGraphics' high-volume, high-end offering to flexible media graphics applications.

Streamlined profiling and calibration across a fleet of printers

The GMG ColorServer Suite installed at BP Graphics gives the company a new level of colour management consistency across its digital large-format printers. GMG, a member of the HP Graphics Solutions Partner program, designed the latest version of its ColorServer product with tools to simplify colour conversions between colour spaces. Users have the option of working with pre-loaded HP Scitex model settings on the server. Plus, the server includes GMG SmartProfiler software, which can further reduce the amount of time needed for printer profiling and calibration.

At BPGraphics, the server provides a competitive advantage on larger campaigns – work where identical graphics are produced on different printers using different substrates – including the full range of stadium graphics the company prints for one of its long-time customers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim professional baseball team.

The GMG ColorServer system not only provides greater consistency on campaigns, it provides even bigger productivity benefits with jobs BPGraphics produces on its four HP Scitex XP5300 Printers. In the past, according to Carpenter, BPGraphics minimised the risk of colour inconsistencies by proofing and printing on the exact same device.

"With the GMG ColorServer Suite," said Carpenter, "once we have an approved proof, the job can print on any one of the four HP Scitex XP printers. The extra level of consistency across printers translates into a huge improvement in our workflow for those devices because it eliminates the idle printer time or production delays that come with reserving a specific printer for a specific job."

In addition to the HP Scitex FB7500, XP5300 and TJ8300 Printers, BPGraphics also owns a pair each of the HP Scitex XL1500 Printer and the HP Scitex LX600 Printer with HP Latex Inks.

HP and BPGraphics, an investment in progressive, profitable printing

The long-term investments BPGraphics has had with HP is the result of a strong, growing relationship. Company executives, for example, traveled to HP's Scitex division headquarters in Israel to share their thoughts for the features and capabilities needed when HP was working to create the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer. BPGraphics also participates on the large-format committee in the Digital Solutions Cooperative HP users' group.

"BPGraphics has an admirable formula for staying on the leading edge of innovation and growing profits: provide high quality and high productivity for a full range of graphics needs, and then accelerate the business with new technologies that allow for even better service," said Jan Riecher, vice president and general manager, Graphics Solutions Business – Americas, HP. "We are proud to have a strong and extensive relationship with BPGraphics, a valued customer that will continue to do great things with the capabilities the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer offers."

More information about HP Scitex printers is available at www.hp.com/go/gsb, or the HP Graphic Arts Twitter feed, www.twitter.com/hpgraphicarts.

A year ago the SPS Group in Ferndown, Dorset, invested a large-format, flatbed Inca Onset S20 inkjet printer from Fujifilm as an important part of its strategy to double turnover to £20m by 2014. MD James Martin and operations director Karen Beadle-Rich had a very clear vision about the effect and benefits the Onset S20 would have on its business and world-class retail clients. Today, they have absolutely no doubt that the decision was the right one, as the company is on track to achieve this ambitious target.

Originally a mainly screen printing operation, SPS has invested in an XXL MAN Roland litho press, the Onset S20 digital flatbed printer with automation and the latest Esko Kongsburg cutter over the past four years. This complementary multi technology line-up has brought huge flexibility, added impressive additional capacity, and expanded the range of POS products the company can produce. “The aim was to maximise quality on a wide range of materials, cut turnaround times and improve short-run production efficiency – which we have on all counts,” says Karen.

“Since the XXL press and the Onset S20 came on stream, our capacity and productivity have gone through the roof,” adds James. “As you would expect, the retail industry is very demanding. Their ideal production partner is one that can handle all their creative POS requirements under one roof, with the best quality and to tight deadlines. That’s where SPS is today and we are generating new business and driving growth as a direct result of these strategic investments.”

Before Fujifilm installed the Onset S20 at SPS, only 10% of jobs were printed on a flatbed digital printer, with 40% screen printed and 50% printed offset. Today, 40% are printed on the Onset S20 and 10% screen printed.

To ensure production is ultra efficient, SPS has streamlined several manufacturing processes, such as the print and manufacture of 3D display units. By adding a Kongsburg automated cutter alongside the Onset S20, 3D products can be built only a matter of minutes after printing. Plus, to ensure colour is consistent across screen, digital and litho, GMG ColorServer and GMG SmartProfiler software centralises colour management and profiles jobs to suit each specific press or printer.

Karen explains: “Most projects involve elements printed on a combination of digital, offset and screen so it’s important that the colours are comparable however they are printed.”

The Inca Onset S20 prints edge to edge on substrates up to 3.14 m x 1.6 m at production speeds of up to 310 sq m/hr (62 beds/hr). It also features a selectable gloss control to produce finishes from matt, through satin to gloss, depending on the application, to bring massive versatility in the printing of POS material.

As versioning and personalisation grow in popularity throughout the retail sector, batch run lengths are becoming smaller and digital printers are perfectly positioned to handle these. “Digital print technology has matured greatly and the Onset S20 combines everything we need to produce high volumes of small run jobs at the best quality and with minimal waste,” says Karen.

Because of the Onset S20’s ability to print onto virtually any flat standard or pre-cut material up to 50mm thickness, SPS has been able to push its design and production boundaries. James concludes: “The POS industry is always on the look-out for eye-catching materials to stand out from the crowd and our customers have quickly taken the opportunity to try new designs.”

HP today announced that Ever-Art'-Design, of Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium, has installed an HP Scitex FB500 Printer to supplement existing sign printing capabilities and to offer innovative printing services on a wide variety of rigid materials.

The installation of the HP Scitex FB500 Printer marks another landmark in the development of Ever-Art'-Design from its beginnings as a Mac-based prepress house in the late 1980s to a modern print service provider (PSP) providing comprehensive services that include prepress and proofing, sign and display printing, commercial printing, print management with web-to-print facilities, and in-house finishing.

“We now have fourteen people working here,” said Willy Everaerts, founder and general manager, Ever-Art'-Design. “We’re a very flexible workforce, which suits the breadth of our production capabilities. At the moment, we’re testing a wide variety of substrates on the FB500 printer. We are particularly interested in its ability to print white(1), and that fits in with our ability to print white with our HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press and other sign printing equipment.”

Ever-Art'-Design recently held an open house on the theme, “White is a Colour” which demonstrated how white ink can be used to produce new effects and heighten the impact of commercial and sign and display products.

Ever-Art'-Design’s web-to-print facilities, automated workflow and digital printing capabilities has enabled it to achieve production levels of more than 15,000 jobs during a two month period on more than one occasion. Jobs included printing and finishing photobooks, greetings cards, calendars and notebooks for customers throughout Europe.

“We moved into sign and display printing to be able to offer existing customers more services,” Everaerts explained. “Of course, this also gave us the additional tools to attract new customers.”

“We chose the HP Scitex FB500 Printer not only because of its print quality and versatility, but because of the great experience we’ve had with HP,” said Everaerts. “With technologies that are leading the way, we think we have a great future with HP.”

The HP Scitex FB500 Printer is a versatile device designed for the production of indoor and outdoor graphics on virtually any rigid substrate up to 48 x 64in (122 x 160cm) and 2.5in (64mm) thick. Using low maintenance piezoelectric printheads, the FB500 printer offers a level of versatility that can help businesses grow. The six colour printer has a number of options including white ink, roll-to-roll, and space-saving folding tables for handling larger substrates.

The Ever-Art'-Design team has tested its HP Scitex FB500 Printer printing canvas and board, cork, floor materials, and less conventional substrates including lavatory seat lids.

“My son runs a computer shop and he has sent his customers here to have us print images on their laptops. The industry has gone wider than paper and conventional substrates, and we’re preparing for the future,” Everaerts concluded.

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

(1) Use of white ink requires a separate purchase of the HP Scitex FB500 White Ink Upgrade Kit.
 

Continuing to drive wide-format production techniques to the desktop, Roland DG (UK) has announced the new VersaUV LEF-12 which incorporates UV-curable production and LED curing technology in a cost-effective compact solution. Designed to handle two- and three-dimensional applications up to a maximum size of 334 x 310mm, this innovative new unit can be used to create and generate decorative, promotional and specialist jobs for a broad range of commercial and industrial requirements.

Based on the company’s award-winning VersaUV technology integral to its wide-format LEC and LEJ machines, the LEF-12 has been designed for the quick and easy production of applications such as name tags, labels, logos, photographs, industrial marking and promotional items. With none of the chemicals required for pad printing, and instantly dry and durable output, the machine is also ideal for short runs of small batch items which formerly could only be produced using a screen process.

Roland’s VersaUV LEF-12 features its Eco-UV flexible UV-curable inks with their CMYK capabilities enhanced by the additions of white and clear varnish. These enable the machine to be used for applications where a tough, durable and high quality finish is required. Special effects include matt and gloss options to highlight specific areas or for flood coating, and it is easy to reproduce unusual textures such as faux leather, crocodile skin and tactile output, including Braille.

The advanced inks and long-life, low energy LED curing technologies in the Roland VersaUV LEF-12 result in the highest quality print and attractive, specialist finishes. Instant curing means that drying is immediate and permanent, with no lamp warm-up time necessary. A wide variety of substrates can be handled including plastics and their derivatives, polyester based media, wood, leather and aluminium composites as well as conventional display materials, papers and films.

Ideal for retail, office and creative environments, as well as for commercial print houses, the Roland VersaUV LEF-12 has a flat table area of 335 x 310mm and a height of 100mm so that users can output direct to a broad range of both conventional and unusual substrates.

Roland’s white ink circulation system is designed to ensure that the pigment never settles nor clogs the print-heads, ensuring perfect results every time. The CMYK and white inks are formulated for bright, crisp text and graphics and makes the machine ideal for use with transparent and coloured materials.

The Roland VersaUV LEF-12 also incorporates built-in safety features so that the system can be used within any environment. A safety hood shields the operator from light generated during the UV curing process, and an integrated screen prevents dust from falling onto the material surface during the printing process.

Supplied complete with Roland’s VersaWorks RIP, the VersaUV LEF-12 benefits from 72 ready-to-use finishes in the included Roland Texture Library; users can also create their own special effects quickly and easily by adopting easy-to-use plug-ins available for both Adobe CS Illustrator and CorelDraw. Precision spot colour matching is incorporated in the Roland Color System to enable the creation of printed reference tools, swatch tools and colour charts.

“This new addition to the growing Roland portfolio of innovative products is another example of how the company’s solutions are extending into new and niche market areas where businesses need low-cost, high quality options which incorporate our ink-jet technologies,” states Adam Wyles, Business Manager – Promo, Screen and Textile of Roland DG (UK). “We are increasingly acknowledging the demand for easy-to-use desktop units that incorporate the benefits of our wide-format digital expertise. Our VersaUV LEF-12 is just one example of how we’re bringing practical production options of all sizes to every sector of the printing industry.”