Hardware

Industrial Inkjet Ltd (IIJ), the partner of Konica Minolta IJ Technologies, Inc., is pleased to introduce 2 new modules in their print engine range. MonoPrint modules configured for printing with Varnish and White inks are available now.

Existing printing technologies frequently don't allow the user to implement all their requirements. Many popular digital printing systems cannot support extra colours such as White or Varnish. Inkjet provides the technology and advantage of digital printing in one complete system.  Spot or selective printing can be produced on-demand with the added feature of variable information. The MonoPrint with Varnish or White configuration was designed specifically to support these requirements and these modules can be integrated to existing printing systems.

"Our MonoPrint, Varnish and White modules complement existing analog and digital printing technologies" said John Corrall, Managing Director of Industrial Inkjet Ltd. "We are confident that digital inkjet technology can not only compete with, but also complement, existing printing technologies worldwide. Our modules allow innovative companies to make a full color print and spot technology in one stage".

Industrial Inkjet Ltd (IIJ) offers a reliable and easy to use print engine system incorporating Konica Minolta printheads. The systems are designed to give the user the possibility to integrate to an existing production line or equipment: the system can be easily integrated into an inline system. Single-pass inkjet technology together with the small drop size from Konica Minolta printheads gives high quality and precision print.

The National Portrait Gallery in London last month revealed its new dedicated print on demand kiosk in the Gallery shop with its Epson Stylus Pro 4880 taking centre stage. This large format printer is used to produce high quality prints on satin paper and canvas with a choice of A4, A3 and A2 sizes for the customer to take away.

With 70,000 images available, a visitor uses the touch screen to browse by artist, sitter or collection. Once they have chosen their image, they are asked to make a size selection, which also displays the price, and after confirming the choice, pays at the till. Once payment is taken, the staff member changes the paper tray accordingly and releases the relevant print queue to output the print. The process from payment to production takes only a few minutes, and even if the customer has ordered multiple copies at different sizes, the maximum wait time is 30 minutes.

The Gallery has another printer in its basement warehouse, which usually fulfils website orders, but can be called upon to assist should the demand become excessive. Retail Operations Manager Rebecca Hossain says: “There is a huge surge in demand each summer when we have the BP Portrait Award exhibition. All the entries are available as prints and they are very popular. One of the reasons we chose the Epson printer is its reliability. Even though we produce well over 8,000 prints over the 363 days we are open each year, we never have a problem with it. It is extraordinary that it just keeps on going.” The machine is well looked after, however, with staff checking it and the stock of ink and media each morning.

Some of the portraits on display are extremely well known and the quality of the prints is of paramount importance. “The Stylus Pro range has the best reputation for quality, which was confirmed by our independent research and the fact that we have used Epson printers very happily for five years. And we also have the evidence right here,” explains Hossain. “A lot of pictures here are family portraits and some of those who visit know the paintings very well. If the colour is wrong, they will know. Our visitors literally have great expectations of what they expect from the print service.”  The Stylus Pro 4880 uses Epson’s UltraChrome K3 Vivid Magenta 8/9-colour ink set, which gives an exceptionally wide colour gamut and therefore the quality required by the National Portrait Gallery.

The touch screen in the kiosk is driven by Picture Cabinet, image management software that is supplied by Cabinet UK. When the image is chosen it is sent to a web application at the till for payment and then sent to the print queue using Java. This adds white space around the image, the National Portrait Gallery’s copyright information and the name of the artist and the title of the painting. The printer is driven by a Fuji RIP and the print, if not canvas, is produced on Epson’s satin paper.

“People can come from far and wide to see the portraits. They have an attachment to their visit and enjoy taking a memento, a part of the Gallery, home with them,” says Hossain. “It is very much a growth area which is why the special print on demand kiosks were installed. The fast service, the quality and turnaround is key.”

Benson Signs combines high levels of sign-making knowledge and experience with the very latest technology and equipment, making it one of the country’s most established and respected sign-makers. Established in 1969 and based in Liverpool, Benson Signs prides itself on the reliability, quality and range of its services and with the recent acquisition of a new Seiko ColorPainter H-74S solvent printer the company has enhanced these services still further.

Benson Signs offers a full range of professional sign services from consultation and design right through to installation and servicing. Extensive in-house production facilities include design and graphic studios, wide format digital printing onto roll or rigid substrates, CNC router / laser profiling and channel letter manufacture. The company also provides a broad range of sign solutions including powder coating, wet spraying and metal fabrication.

For more than five years, Benson Signs has been using a Seiko ColorPainter 64S, which it has always valued for its performance and reliability. To cope with greater demand for production speed and quality, the company decided to look for a new solvent printer to fulfil the requirements of several potential projects. Kevin Leary of Benson Signs explains, “Our business is all about customer response. We needed a machine that would allow us to fulfil large volume, high quality digital print orders at very short notice.”

He continues, “We looked at a number of printers and finally decided that the ColorPainter H-74S gave us all the print quality, speed and power we were looking for. Our experience of the ColorPainter 64S gave us a lot of confidence in the new printer, particularly as Colourgen demonstrated the key improvements very well. We took delivery of the printer in July 2010 and, with Colourgen’s help, we were up and running very quickly. It was shortly afterwards that we were commissioned to install a history timeline around three full sides of Goodison Park Stadium, the home of Everton FC.”

The Everton timeline consists of approximately 350 square metres of printed material depicting the clubs illustrious history, mainly archive photographs, programmes, historical documents and facts and were all printed using the Seiko. Black & white images were used throughout the timeline but thanks to the Seiko, operating also with the lighter colours, such as greys, magenta and cyan, the subtleties and tones of the original photographs was faithfully reproduced at the impressive rate of around 30 sq metres per hour.

The images were printed onto a high quality white digital print vinyl at a medium quality setting with profiling matched to the media and the prints were then over-laminated with a compatible clear matt covering. The images were then applied to a continuous run of aluminium composite tray panelling ready for installation on site.

Kevin Leary adds, “We were delighted with the performance of the ColorPainter H-74S during this work. The project had to be completed before the opening home fixture of the season on August 21st, giving us just 12 days to complete the work from printing right through to installation on site. We simply could not have achieved this without the phenomenal speed and print quality of this printer.

Mr Bill Kenwright, the Chairman of Everton FC, commented in an announcement from Everton, “This timeline captures all the key moments which have combined to make Everton Football Club what it is today and it also serves to provide a quite outstanding reminder of the great moments and the great names our supporters have been fortunate enough to enjoy down the decades.”

Melanie Enser, Product Marketing Manager for Colourgen, UK distributor for Seiko ColorPainter printers, comments, “The timeline at Goodison Park is exactly the type of job the ColorPainter H-74S has been designed for. It produces really high quality, durable images at very high speeds.”

The 8-colour ColorPainter H-74S printers offer printing speeds up to 55 sqm/h, which are approximately 1.5 – 2 times faster than competing models in the same price/width class. The printers can also print a blistering 100sqm/h in 4-colour mode. These speeds are achieved by utilising eight super-wide, piezo inkjet heads, while maintaining extremely high image quality and density.

Kevin Leary concludes, “We continue to be impressed with the Seiko. Our Studio Manager believes that due to the machine’s impressive speed and print quality, it allows him to manage the print work more effectively and enables us to better meet customer demand. We have also carried out some important work for other customers, including producing hundreds of metres of wallpaper and canvas wall hangings for one of our major client’s High Street shops. We are delighted with what the Seiko has added to our business and look forward to creating more high profile jobs in the future.”

Mutoh will be a showstopper with daily printing and cutting demonstrations between December 2-4 at the USSC tradeshow in Atlantic City, NJ. Among the printers, Mutoh will be showcasing its Application Station.

The ValueJet 1628TD-64-inch, Mutoh's soft signage printer, will be among the many show-stopping printing demonstrations at USSC. Running on two types of ink simultaneously, The ValueJet1628TD-64-inch runs up to 447 sqft/hr with the new Dual Head Design. Perfect for any print job, the 2628TD-100-inch is also available.

Mutoh will also be presenting the ValueJet 1304-54-inch. The 1304 will run daily printing demonstrations on grommeted media provided by Cambridge Canvas.

The Mutoh Application Station, a hands-on display system that showcases different products that can be created with Mutoh printers, will be at the centre of the printers. Visitors will find that the possibilities are endless with Mutoh printers.

The Fletcher-Terry Company will demonstrate its FSC Substrate Cutter. The cutter includes Laser Sight Line Cutting Guide, adjustable for knife or wheel cutting operation that projects a cut line on the substrate, that eliminating guess work and costly errors.

Other products Mutoh will be showcasing are: The ValueJet 1614-64-inch, "The Wrapper's Choice" printer. The Kona Cutter 55-inch, an easy vinyl handling cutter that ensure the finest cutting quality with excellent tracking. Kona Cutters are also available in 30-inch and 65-inch sizes.

HP today announced that specialist display graphics company, Print24, of Tallinn, Estonia, has purchased an HP Scitex XP2750 Printer to develop its flatbed capabilities and to undertake new market applications.

Designed for high-quality and fast turnaround jobs, the XP2750 printer can deliver image quality up to 635 x 800dpi and production speeds up to 110m2 per hour(1).

Before investing in its new equipment, Print24 investigated the printers available on the market. Print24 opted for the XP2750 because of its high application versatility; its use of UV-curable ink and its ability to alternate between flexible and rigid substrates, including foam and rigid PVC and acrylic sheets, up to 2.5m wide and 6.35cm thick.

Print24 was established in 2008, it specialises in producing high-quality signage for retailers and outdoor graphics companies. The HP Scitex XP2750 Printer is the company's first HP printer.

Velvo Metusalet, sales manager, Print24 said, "We believe that the HP Scitex XP2750, will make our business stand out in the market place as most of our competitors use solvent machines and the advantages of  printing with UV ink have not been fully explored in Estonia.

"Utilising the high media versatility of the XP2750 will ensure our customers benefit from a wider range of cost-effective applications - making us more competitive. We plan to use our XP2750 Printer to produce more interior signage, as well as applications using rigid substrates, such as point-of-sale and point-of-purchase items."

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

PSPs can find local printers offering similar innovative applications by visiting www.hp.com/go/pspnetwork.

(1) Print speeds are for roll-to-roll printing at full width (3.2m/10.5 ft).