Mimaki's UJF-6042 named 2014’s “Most Pioneering Product” at Trophex

Mimaki's UJF-6042 received 2014’s “Most Pioneering Product” award at the Trophex exhibition in Birmingham. With its smaller sibling - the A3 format UJF-3042HG - winning the 2013 award, the small format Mimaki flatbed range is firmly established in the promotional products and awards sector as the strongest and most innovative choice.

The UJF-6042 adds increased bed size to the smaller 3042 unit â€" with an A2 (610 x 420) format vacuum table and 150mm head height, allowing a myriad of substrates to be printed on to. One such application demonstrated at the show was the production of promotional items, such as pens and iPhone covers, as well as acrylic photo blocks and awards. Forming part of I-Sub Digital’s Digi-Foil system - where traditional foil techniques can be replicated within a digital workflow - the Mimaki delivered spectacular foil effects onto trophies and plaques that clearly impressed visitors to the event.

Mike Lewis from Hybrid Services Ltd - Mimaki's exclusive UK & Ireland distributor - commented, “To receive such an important award for the second year running is a great accolade. The Mimaki UJF range is the world’s most popular UV flatbed printer for good reason â€" it allows print companies to be innovative in their product offering as well as creating strong revenue streams for them; a vital area for customer retention as our economy continues to recover.”

The Mimaki UJF range starts from £16,995 and features white ink, unique digitally printable primer and a clear varnish, alongside vibrant process colours. With the UJF-6042 capable of achieving up to 1800dpi photo quality output, the printers deliver unsurpassed quality and productivity across a broad variety of markets.

Available via Hybrid’s specialist reseller network, full details of the product range can be found at www.hybridservices.co.uk

FESPA calls for entry to 2014 Awards

FESPA is reminding entrants for this year’s FESPA Awards programme to ensure they submit their entries in time for the closing date, 28 February 2014.  Competition details and entries can be submitted via www.fespa.com/awards and the categories include: Instore; Outdoor; Interior; Functional decoration; Garment; Integrated; Sustainable; Special effect; Fine art; and Vehicle decoration.

This is the first year that the FESPA Awards takes the form of an annual competition, open to any service provider, based anywhere in the world.
The final award is the President’s Innovation Award, which will be given to the entry which all judges agree to offer the most outstanding example of innovation across all categories.

Shortlisted entries to the FESPA Awards 2014 will be showcased on the FESPA website at www.fespa.com/awards from 20th March 2014 onwards, from which time the print community will be invited to vote online for the People’s Choice award.

All shortlisted entries will also be exhibited at Messe Munich during the May 2014 FESPA Digital exhibition, and the winners will be recognised at an Awards ceremony as part of the exhibition Gala Night.

A gallery of the winning and highly commended work will then continue on a year-long global tour, to be showcased at FESPA exhibitions in Africa, Mexico, Turkey, Brazil and Asia, attracting an international audience of printers and print buyers, including brand owners, agencies, and creative and interior designers.

FESPA Head of Events, Duncan MacOwan comments, “Already the New Year is well underway and 28 February â€" the closing date for the competition â€" is just around the corner.  That’s why we want to remind our global community to submit their entries, so that we can continue to share and showcase the extraordinary capabilities of print.”

MacOwan emphasises, “We want to encourage as wide a range of entries as possible, from all sectors of the world of wide format print. It’s time for printers to take action. This is an unmissable opportunity to bring their work to the attention of a worldwide audience, earn the respect of industry peers and colleagues, and pave the way to new business growth opportunities.”

 

Mimaki to show high quality fabric printing at InPrint 2014

Mimaki Engineering will focus its efforts on demonstrations of print onto diverse fabrics at the InPrint show. Mimaki's TS500-1800 sublimation printer will be among the systems showcased on booth H16 along with solutions from Mimaki’s UJF Series and the JFX500-2131, highlighting the company’s broad textile printing portfolio. “We're constantly raising the bar in terms of the cost, quality and flexibility metrics for high quality small lot printing of textiles, even when using stretchy fabrics," says Mike Horsten, General Manager Marketing EMEA, Mimaki Europe B.V.

Mimaki's expertise and innovative industrial design concepts provide a solid platform to give Mimaki a key profile at this show. With industrial printing taking giant leaps forward and inkjet technology playing a significant role in this booming market, Mimaki’s innovative product portfolio based upon its UV-curable inkjet technology is bound to excite the visitor with the promise of a range of interesting business opportunities.

Frazer Chesterman, Co-Director, InPrint comments, ”I am delighted to have Mike as one of the InPrint Ambassadors and Mimaki as joining the development of InPrint as we have been able to create an event that better meets the needs of the market. InPrint has already positioned itself rightfully as one of the most important launch events the European print industry has seen in recent years. Almost everyone we meet agrees that industrial print represents a tremendous opportunity for all that work within it.”

Horsten concludes, “Industrial printing is a vital manufacturing process and inkjet technology is increasingly being used in the industrial sector. Mimaki’s innovative printing technologies can be used in the production of many goods across many sectors. The InPrint Exhibition is a forward looking arena where we can communicate with Europe’s decision makers who will be looking out for innovation for industrial print production. The Mimaki machinery is bound to speed up the gradually growing transition to digital printing in the worlds of textiles and apparel. They will enable fashion designers and others in the industry to produce vibrant small lot products on unique materials, which was previously not possible with digital printing. This includes cotton, silk, hemp and rayon - all popular fabrics in the world of fashion design. We are looking forward to InPrint 2014 to demonstrate the quality product that Mimaki machines can produce.”

For more information, please visit Mimaki's exclusive UK & Ireland distributor Hybrid Services' website www.hybridservices.co.uk.

Dalesflex Signs & Graphics makes big cost and time savings courtesy of Mutoh ValueJet ...

North Yorkshire, UK-based Dalesflex Signs & Graphics Ltd was founded eighteen months ago to serve the ever-expanding market for vehicle wraps, alongside traditional wide format print applications.

In order to better serve these markets, the company decided to replace its aging Mutoh Rockhopper printer it had initially acquired with a newer, more efficient model.  Andy Walls, Dalesflex’s company director, explains, “We were pretty confident that we wanted to stay with Mutoh printers, so we started searching the Internet for suppliers of these machines.  We spoke to a number of companies and in mid-2013 settled on making the purchase of a Mutoh ValueJet 1624 through Stanford Marsh Group Graphics.”

Stanford Marsh was established 50 years ago and has been providing informed and impartial advice since its inception, thereby helping customers to make the right decision for immediate and long-term business requirements. The Stanford Marsh Group Graphics (SMGG) division was established in 2010 to focus on the graphics industry and has a dedicated sales force, service engineers and nationwide technical support coverage. 

On the selection of SMGG, Andy Walls explains, “As a new business, we were keen to work with a company that could simplify the whole purchasing and installation process.  The company offered us an end-to-end service from recommending a solution through to sorting out a way of leasing the chosen system â€" thereby helping us to retain more of our cash reserves.”

Targeted at the sign and display market, the Mutoh ValueJet 1624 printer appeals to both start-up and established businesses, and is suited to the production of long-term outdoor applications.  These might include full-colour posters, banners, backlit signage, POS displays, external notices for buildings, production plants and construction sites as well as adhesive signs and stickers.  The ValueJet 1624 is also an excellent choice for durable, photo-realistic prints for indoor usage.

The Mutoh ValueJet 1624 is covered under Mutoh’s standard warranty and â€" on the recommendation of SMGG â€" Dalesflex opted to deploy Mutoh’s Bulk Ink System (BIS).  Andy Walls states, “SMGG were very knowledgeable on what the Mutoh system could offer.  They correctly advised that buying the bulk ink would be significantly more cost-effective than purchasing individual cartridges.  The Mutoh BIS enables us to keep the running costs of the machine down, whilst sticking to OEM inks.”

ONYX’s RIP was installed on the machine and SMGG also provided training for the Dalesflex team on the software.

Dalesflex has already put the machine to good use with a short-turnaround piece of business won shortly before Christmas.  Andy Walls says, “On our previous printer, the project would have taken weeks.  However, with the new Mutoh successfully installed, we managed to print 250 linear metres of media in just three days.  It was unreal â€" the machine just ate the media!  If anything, our only issue following installation relates to the fact that we need to retrain our practices to keep up with the printer.”

On working with SMGG, Andy Walls concludes, “I would highly recommend SMGG.  The company offered us the best deal out of all the parties we contacted and made the purchasing and leasing process as seamless as possible â€" so smooth in fact, that I barely realised another finance company was involved.  The guys there are incredibly helpful and we know we have their support and back-up in the extremely unlikely event that we encounter any technical issues.”

For more information on Stanford Marsh Group Graphics, please visit www.smgg.co.uk

Elmwood 'revolutionises' global packaging proofing with GMG technologies

Global brand design consultancy Elmwood says its recent installation of GMG FlexoProof and GMG ProofControl has revolutionised its digital proofing capabilities. Increasing colour accuracy and proof-to-proof consistency has compelled this fast-growing FMCG, Retail, Food / Beverage and Corporate agency to begin implementing GMG-powered Epson WT7900 proofing systems across its studios worldwide.

Elmwood has established production locations in London, New York, Singapore and Melbourne. Working with blue-chip international brands and clients such as Morrisons, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Anchor and Seven Seas, clearly accurate and consistent colour rendering is crucial to the company’s service.

“Colour is one of the most important elements to a brand’s strength in communication across all its assets,” says Peter Aldous, Creative Services Director at Elmwood. “Identifiable colour integrity in the reproduction of these assets needs to be set at an early stage. By using the powerful GMG tool we can assure the replication and quality our clients deserve.”

“Prior to installing GMG ColorProof, one of our biggest issues was the amount of resource we needed to produce consistent colour,” he continues. “Our previous RIP / colour management solution could not give us the quality that we â€" and our clients â€" expected, so there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing manually tweaking output settings to achieve the required output. What we needed was a system that could give us the quality that we wanted faster, and without as much manual intervention, day in and day out.”

Elmwood invested in GMG FlexoProof and GMG ProofControl to address its colour management and output issues. GMG FlexoProof is a colour proofing and calibration application designed for the specific requirements of the packaging and label printing industry. Featuring halftone digital proofing of flexographic / package print jobs, FlexoProof ensures accurate and consistent proofing output regardless of print device, colour space or substrate. FlexoProof includes the GMG SpotColour Editor for precise and repeatable colour matching of spot colours.

GMG ProofControl is a fast, tangible way to be assured that proofs are being produced to a measurable, predefined standard by incorporating target values from international industry standards such as ISO, PSR Gravure, SWOP and GRACoL.

“The results have been fantastic,” says Peter. “Being able to quickly and easily work to a predefined industry standard such as Fogra and ISO 12647 has increased colour accuracy and given us the confidence to produce identical proofs whether they’re needed the same day, or a year later. Using GMG technology has allowed us to implement a consistent, corporate-wide PDF standard which we can use regardless of the final print process, or print substrate.”

It’s not just Elmwood who are happy with the results. “We’ve been getting very favourable comments from our clients,” says Peter. “One particular client has said that we’ve revolutionised their proofing phase. They’ve told us that the quality of proof that we’re producing for them is far and away the best result to portray design intent, to the point that they want us to work with them to bring their other suppliers up to the same level. We even have two specific examples where designs that would have otherwise been rejected on the basis of the perceived colour quality have been approved as a direct result of being produced using GMG applications.”

Within a very short space of time, Elmwood’s GMG installation has become an intrinsic part of its production processes. “I cannot over-stress how much of a difference implementing GMG has made to the realisation of design intent to our clients,” says Peter. “It’s got to the point now where we cannot imagine how we lived without it.”

The next step for Peter is to roll-out the GMG-based proofing solution across the rest of Elmwood’s locations. “The combination of GMG FlexoProof and ProofControl has allowed us to both increase the quality of our value offering to our clients, while at the same time reduce production time, costs, errors and wastage. Implementing a standardised, corporate-wide proofing initiative across all our studios, and working closer together with both clients and printers to produce the best possible end-result, will help us stay ahead of the game and, hopefully, push forward the boundaries of what’s possible within the industry itself.”

Toby Burnett, MD, GMG UK, comments: “Elmwood’s passion in producing the best possible design and taking that all the way through to print is a perfect example of the new generation of services provider who works very closely with everyone throughout the production chain. Their work in removing output inconsistencies, working to a defined industry standard and pushing their new capabilities to clients helps raise the quality of proofing not only internally, but for the industry as a whole.”

[Image caption: L-R: Peter Aldous, Creative Services Director at Elmwood, and Will Hearn, Technical Sales for GMG Color Ltd]

Ipex 2014: Transforming print into value

In this latest article promoting Ipex, Angelina Stojsavljevic, Group Marketing Manager for Ipex 2014, highlights how businesses are now developing truly valuable print applications that harness the capabilities of print technology...

'The print, media and publishing landscape looks very different today than it did ten or even five years ago. Yet, despite print volumes declining in some segments , in others print continues to grow despite the evolution of so much traditionally printed media into digital forms. The print industry around the world continues to demonstrate how innovation, creative thinking and sometimes even integration will ensure that print has a bright future.

In December 2013, international analyst Smithers Pira forecast an annual growth of 2 per cent for the print industry through until 2018. This growth is expected to be driven by growth in transitional economies, as well as added-value opportunities. The key lies in turning print into something more than just ink on a piece of paper and instead developing applications where the printed ‘product’ itself is truly valuable.

Some of the high-profile examples of this include the evolution of fields such as printed electronics, 3D printing and of course, cross media. Yet it’s not only these areas of technological innovation that are creating valuable print applications; sometimes it can be a creative use of well-established technologies that turns print from something disposable into a must-keep item.

One high-profile example of creativity giving rise to a valuable printed ‘product’ is the bottle labels in Coca-Cola’s 2013 ‘Share a Coke’ campaign. In the campaign, which originated in Australia before expanding to become the company’s largest ever global promotion, the soft drinks giant replaced its label with 250 of the most common first names from around the world  in multiple different languages. This enabled customers to ‘share a coke’ with friends and family and has evolved into multiple campaign activations such as a summer tour in a number of different countries and a Christmas social media campaign. The campaign has achieved enormous success for the brand, which has seen both sales and social media engagement with the brand increase.

For the most part, bottle labels were printed in two stages: first using conventional label printing for between 75 to 90 per cent of the design, and then digital print to enable the printing of variable names. In some activations, a specially developed can-printing technique enabled simultaneous printing of eight or twelve different names.

Gregory Bentley, European packaging innovator, Coca-Cola Services SA, says, “Different activations around the world saw variation being done in different ways. For example, production in Germany is of refillable PET bottles with wash-off paper labels, so we didn’t actually need to use digital printing for the labels that were on shelf because labels could be mixed to gain the variation in names. We enabled true ‘personalisation’ there by making it possible for customers to go online and order a bottle with a particular name on; these orders were fulfilled using digital print.”

“The thing about the campaign is that, from a technical perspective, the labels aren’t actually ‘personalised’ per se,” he continues. “Our role was using digital print as an enabler for variable print and printing a selection of names so that consumers could do the personalisation themselves by finding a name on shelf and giving that bottle to someone or even buying it for themselves.”

Bentley’s comments highlight the importance of creative thinking in developing truly valuable print applications that harness the capabilities of print technology to deliver a ‘product’ that makes the most of print’s benefits. 

Exploiting the unique benefits of print â€" such as the physical and tangible â€" is another way in which print service providers are able to differentiate themselves by using print to do things that are not possible with electronic communications.

The social stationery arena â€" such as wedding invitations, change of address cards and thank you notes â€" provides a range of good examples where print is the value. Wedding invitations, which are designed as much to be keepsakes as they are for their actual function, offer a wealth of creative examples. From digitally printed passport-themed invitations for destination weddings through to bespoke laser-cut stationery suites, many wedding stationery printers’ websites read like a veritable glossary of different print technologies.

Print’s tangible, hold-it-in-your-hands quality is also being used to produce valuable products in the form of brochures for luxury brands, art galleries, auction houses and property developers, and the photo merchandise market is cashing in on print’s physical qualities too.

High margin printed products such as photobooks and personalised greetings cards are growing in popularity among casual and hobbyist photographers. 2013 research conducted in the USA by international industry analyst InfoTrends found that 32 per cent of snapshot photographers, 45 per cent of family memory-keeper photographers, 57 per cent of hobbyist photographers and 71 per cent of advanced hobbyist photographers had ordered some kind of photo merchandise in the preceding year. With more than 20 per cent of European camera owners (including smartphone users) indicating an intention to order a photobook (or photobooks) in the future, photo merchandise is clearly a big growth opportunity internationally.

Moving on from the creative and the tangible, another technique being used increasingly to create valuable printed pieces is the physical integration of print with digital technologies using cross media.

One example of this can be seen in technologies such as Americhipâ„¢ and TV in a Card, which are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in print with applications â€" from the first Video in Print® advertisement in US Entertainment Weekly in 2009 through to greetings cards featuring video in 2011 and the Microsoft Office 365 magazine advertisement that turned an issue of Forbes into a Wi-Fi hotspot in 2013.

Russell Lawley-Gibbs, Inventor and CEO of TV in a Card says, “What our customers find so appealing is the power to combine the most powerful communications medium â€" video â€" with the precision targeting that is possible in printed direct marketing. It means that they can target hard-to-reach customers with specific messages and make sure that their videos are viewed by the people that they want to see them. Additionally, because the combination of video and print has such impact, we’ve found that their messages often ‘go viral’ as recipients share the piece with friends, family, peers and colleagues.”

Cross media technologies such as QR codes are also being used in product packaging and retail displays with increasing frequency. Certainly research published in 2012 by internet behaviour analyst ComScore found that of the 14.2 million smartphone users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK who scanned a QR code in a three-month period, 38 per cent scanned a QR code printed on product packaging. The growing popularity of interactive packaging is largely being driven by growth in online shopping, because as consumers become more accustomed to looking for additional production information, discount vouchers and discounts, they are increasingly looking to packaging for more information.

QR codes aren’t the only technologies being used to bring packaging to life â€" augmented reality (AR) and near field communication (NFC) are growing in prominence in both packaging and in-store displays as marketers seek to create an immersive retail experience.

Creative thinking paired with technological innovation is transforming the print industry. This is why the organisers of Ipex 2014 are focused on providing visitors with opportunities to learn more about how they can use new trends to grow their businesses. From Future Innovations and the Inspiration Avenue, through to the co-located Cross Media Production and World Print Summit, as well as a series of Masterclasses, Ipex will be abuzz with new ideas.

Future Innovations at Ipex will provide print service providers with a unique opportunity to find out in one place what is happening in the industry now and what areas have high growth potential for the next few years. Focused on areas such as 3D printing, printed electronics, digital print on packaging and photo applications, Future Innovations is aimed at providing insight into how applications are created and the solutions used in the production process, as well as providing inspiration.

Meanwhile Inspiration Avenue will showcase and celebrate the power and versatility of print via a large range of impact statements, fascinating facts, growth opportunities and signposting for visitors. Co-located with Ipex, Cross Media Production will enable print providers, publishers, agencies and brand owners with an opportunity to ‘get under the hood’ of building, managing and delivering cross media campaigns.

Taking place from 24th to 29th March 2014 at the ExCeL London, Ipex 2014 and Cross Media Production will boast 130 content sessions and a wealth of opportunities to learn about ways print can create value. More information about the event and registration details are available at http://www.ipex.org and http://www.cmpshow.com.

Print offers solution to skyscraper's solar rays problem

The 37-storey building at 20 Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, hit the headlines this week after it emerged that a car had been badly-damaged by the concentrated beam created as the sun reflects off its curved surface.

Business owners in the area have also reported damage to their properties and even small fires.

Developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf are proposing to erect a scaffolding screen at street level as a quick fix, however printing industry experts have suggested a print-based option would be the ideal long-term solution for the problem.

Nick Kapp, business development manager at Reading-based large-format graphics specialist VGL said: "There's quite an easy solution to this, put a giant graphic on it and change it regularly!"

Kapp added that it would be possible to create a subtle effect: "By using a Contra Vision product people inside would still be able to see out. And it doesn't necessarily have to be an advert, even if you just printed it grey it would work - it could be a printed colour or texture."

Adam Mcmonagle, technical operations and marketing specialist at Macro Art in St Neots suggested the application of a low-reflective vinyl film, or even a mesh. "They could use a mesh screen, perhaps a little bit offset from the building, at that particular point."

Roland Hill, managing director at specialist see-through graphics technology developer Contra Vision, which holds a number of patents for the technique, added: "This could have been avoided by using Contra Vision in the first place. Because Contra Vision is made with ink, the reflection is diffused - it's multi-directional.

"It's going to depend on the specific nature of the problem, and will require careful appraisal of the angles involved to find the right long-term solution," Hill said.

The skyscraper had been nicknamed the ‘Walkie-Talkie' because of its shape, and has now been dubbed the ‘Walkie-Scorchie' instead.

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Roland DG unveils 100sqm/hr+ Soljet Pro4 XF-640 printer

"The XF-640 answers a lot of the market's needs for flexibility quality and speed," said Roland DG UK business manager for sign & graphics Rob Goleniowski.

"There are a lot of firms out there who have had a wide-format solvent printer for a while who are now ready to grow. The XF-640 ticks all the boxes and helps them to address the squeeze on their margins and turnaround times."

In addition to the headline high speed Goleniowski said that the new print head enabled higher quality and higher ink density for application such as backlit and point of sale thanks to the seven different droplet sizes produced by the greyscale heads.

"It can produce the same quality of previous machines using a lower resolution and at much higher speed," he said.

The headline 102sqm/hr speed is in a single-pass 360x360dpi resolution mode, which the firm claims is sellable for banner, billboard and building wrap applications. At the standard 720x720dpi mode throughout is 24sqm/hr, and Goleniowski said most users would use that or the high speed mode, which produces 30sqm/hr at 720x360dpi.

Like its sister machine the Pro4 XR-640, which was launched last September the XF-640 uses a new generation of eco-solvent inks, Eco-Sol Max 2, which the firm claims offers an expanded colour gamut and faster drying.

The XF-640 achieves its high speed by using two sets of mirrored CMYK in its staggered dual head print head. The manufacturer claims that this configuration eliminates banding.

Pricing is £20,999 for the printer, while inks cost £85.99 per 440ml cartridge. Despite the high throughput there is no option for bulk inks, although Goleniowski said that the machine had low ink consumption, with typical jobs working out at less than £2/sqm.

The machine, which the firm has dubbed "the beast" in a pre-launch teaser campaign will be available in May and will be shown at Sign & Digital UK and Fespa 2013.

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Fespa 2013 dubbed 'Your destination for print'

The aviation-themed website features a digital clock on the homepage counting down the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until the event kicks off at London's ExCel Centre.

Fespa managing director Neil Felton said: "Fespa is focused on creating events that help our global community of printers to take their business forward. The image of Fespa as the ‘airline carrier' which transports and guides the visitor emphasises this philosophy.

"We want visitors to experience the London 2013 event as a point of connection where they can continue to a variety of exciting business destinations.

"Fespa's role is to create an inspiring route map; it's for each business to choose where they want to go."

Earlier this year Felton forecasted that the 2013 event, which takes place in London from 25-29 June next year, will be the biggest Fespa yet, with over 300 exhibitors booked.

By February this year, 108% of the floor space sold for Fespa 2012 had already been reserved for Fespa 2013, with exhibitors such as Océ, Canon, HP, Agfa, Fujifilm, Durst, Roland, Sun Chemical and Mimaki confirming their attendance.

Meanwhile Fespa has also announced that it is expanding its global reach with the launch of Fespa Eurasia 2013. The inaugural event, which will be supported by Fespa's event team in the UK, will take place from 3-5 October 2013 at the CNR Expo in Istanbul, Turkey.

Felton said that Turkey and the surrounding economies were strong growth markets for the print industry with steadily increasing interest.

He added: "1,500 visitors from the region attended Fespa 2010 and Turkey listed among the top 12 countries at FESPA Digital 2012 in Barcelona.

"Turkey has a strong presence in the garment decoration market, which is an important facet of all FESPA shows and will form a prominent part of FESPA Eurasia."

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Global Inkjet Systems expands into new offices

Global Inkjet Systems (GIS), a leading developer of software drivers and electronics for industrial inkjet printheads, has announced a major phase in its expansion.  The company has moved to new 5,000 sq.ft. head offices in Cambridge, which will facilitate further growth for the company,  and has opened a new technical support office in Shanghai.

Founded in 2006 by CEO, Nick Geddes, GIS has grown rapidly to over 20 employees and now comprises a strong team of software, firmware and electrical engineers dedicated to developing and delivering innovative products and strong technical support to inkjet OEMs and system builders, who incorporate GIS software and electronics in their inkjet printers.

The extra space in the new head office will allow the company to expand its engineering team and also provide a larger R&D area, equipped with print rigs for every printhead type that the company supports (Dimatix, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh, TTEC and Xaar).

Nick Geddes comments, “With the printhead manufacturers introducing new heads every year now, the lab will make a huge difference to our testing capability and accelerate our development of new head personality boards and our next generation, high speed Print Manager Board.” 

GIS has also increased and diversified its global presence with a new technical support office for the Asia Pacific region, based in Shanghai. The investment marks GIS’s growing customer base in the region and the need for locally based technical support.

[Photo shows GIS' new offices in Cambridge]

Fujifilm introduces greener packaging for UVivid Flexo JD inks

Fujifilm has developed an even more environmentally-friendly packaging product for its UVivid Flexo JD inks.  As part of a company-wide drive to reduce the use of packaging materials, the new, improved pack for UVivid Flexo JD inks offers a significant number of environmental and operational benefits to Fujifilm distributors and customers. These include:

• A reduction in cardboard packaging, resulting in less waste to be disposed of by customers
• Use of a UN-approved metal container which is tightly secured during transport but can easily be opened when needed
• Containers which can be securely re-sealed with a ring clamp. This means that containers can be opened, colour matches prepared and containers tightly re-sealed so that the contents can be poured without spillage
• The UN approved container requires no additional packaging for onward shipping from distribution points to customers
• Empty containers are easy to recycle and can be crushed for efficient storage in transit to recycling points

Jon Harper-Smith, marketing manager, Fujifilm Graphic Systems Europe comments, “Fujifilm is, and always has been, committed to the environment, and by making some changes to the way in which we package our ink products we can reduce the impact we have on our planet. We are delighted that our newly packaged inks are now available and we are confident that this move will be well received by our customers and distributors alike.”

The change to the packaging has been implemented for all 5kg packs of UVivid Flexo JD inks manufactured from the start of February 2012.

For more information, please visit www.fujifilm.com

Ilford BioMedia still available from QPS

Quality Print Services (QPS) has reassured its customers in the wide-format print and display market that it remains a distributor of BioMedia recyclable display films, despite manufacturer Ilford Imaging's decision to stop production at its Swiss factory.

Ilford Imaging Switzerland hit financial difficulties last year and declared its insolvency in December. However, QPS has stock to sell and will continue to supply BioMedia for the foreseeable future â€" at the same price point as non-recyclable materials.

"It's saddening that Ilford Imaging has become another financial casualty in our industry, especially as we believe its eco-friendly substrate BioMedia has such great potential to improve the sustainability of sign and display businesses," says Chris Bailey, Director, QPS.

"Fortunately we invested in a large quantity of stock from the BioMedia range ahead of Ilford's difficulties and so are able to meet immediate demand from our customers, at a price that will help them meet sustainability targets such as ISO 14001 certification without being at a financial disadvantage."

BioMedia, winner of the SGIA Product of the Year award in 2011, is both fully recyclable and biodegradable and can be incinerated for energy production without releasing harmful gases or chemicals.

The range, available from QPS in a selection of thicknesses and/or widths, includes matte-finish BioMedia Display Film and BioMedia Display Film UV, offering an alternative to traditional substrates for pop-ups, banners, indoor and outdoor poster displays and exhibition graphics.

For more information on QPS, please visit www.qualityprintservices.com

Bullseye Print and Awards launches dedicated large format print website

Slough, UK-based Bullseye Print and Awards has launched a new large format print focused website - www.bullseyeprint.co.uk - to showcase its expertise in UV, solvent and sublimation printing.

Bullseye Print and Awards first took the plunge into large format printing some 8 years ago with a Roland solvent print and cut machine in order to meet the demand for event printing from the awards side of the business. Marketing Director Jack Murphy says that they were struggling to find the 'right product, at the right price, from a reliable supplier' for their customers, so they decided to do it themselves.

The company now has two solvent printers (Seiko ColourPainter and Roland VersaCamm), two large format sublimation printers (Mutoh Viper and Mutoh VJ1638W), a small format sublimation printer (Ricoh), a large format UV printer (HP FB700), a Kongsberg CNC cutter and a huge range of finishing equipment for fabrics.

“Our regular customers only know ten percent of the standard products we offer because they only see us as a trophy company or a banner printing company, or a flag printing company etc. This website was made to show everything we can do and also give our customers an idea of bespoke projects we can work on as well,” explains Murphy.  “We want people to go onto the website and learn about how the processes work, how the products go together and what the possibilities are. This really helps with our trade printing customers as it gives them the knowledge which they can pass onto their own customers.”

Summa launches DC5 thermal transfer resin printer/cutter

Summa has launched its DC5 thermal transfer resin printer/cutter which enables customers to to output prints with no need to dry or laminate. 
The new DC5 machine has a variety of performance-enhancing features including more media widths, an Ethernet port and a new user interface.  It is availble in 50cm, 61cm, 75cm, 100cm, 122cm and 137cm widths.

Resin ribbon printing can last outdoor for up to 5 years without lamination.  One single machine will deliver durable full colour and accurate contour cut graphics with the ability to cut completely through the material.  The automatic resin ribbon changer can combine process colours, a wide range of spot colours and mirroring metallic foil printing for high-profit effect graphics that only thermal transfer printing will provide.   Moreover, thermal transfer printing is currently the most environmental friendly method on the market.  There is no chemical waste, no VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) exhaust or noxious solvent fumes that could entail any health risk.

A modern styled user interface was also added to the DC series in order to apply to the highest standards of industrial design and meet operator needs for ergonomics and safety. The touchscreen facilitates quick and easy navigation through the menus and displays a broader range of information on the screen.

The Summa DC5 also has a more compact and affordable alternative, the DC5sx.  Yet, this smaller version remains top-of-the-line in terms of equipment, durability, print quality and production speed.   Tracking and cutting features are also identical to the Summa DC5, assuring the same spot-on accuracy Summa owners have come to expect. 

Summa’s product engineer Mr Randi Kerkaert comments, “With the introduction of the DC5 series to our printing technology portfolio, more than ever our partners will have the opportunity to provide reliable printing solutions to customers, meeting the ever-changing and demanding workplace requirements within the thermal transfer printing market.”

For more information, please visit www.summa.eu

Lufthansa announced as Official Airline Carrier for FESPA Digital 2014

Via its partner Lufthansa, FESPA is offering international visitors and exhibitor personnel travelling to Munich special discounted flights for FESPA Digital 2014, scheduled to take place between 20th and 23rd May 2014.

Lufthansa is the largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger’s carried and fleet size. The airline flies to 18 domestic destinations in Germany and 197 international destinations across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia using a fleet of more than 280 aircraft.

To make the most of Lufthansa’s discounted prices, click here to make a reservation. Lufthansa is also offering FESPA visitors â€" who make a reservation before 31st March 2014 - the opportunity to enter its ‘early bird’ draw to be in with a chance to win an iPad.

For FESPA Digital 2014 visitors and exhibitors looking for accommodation during the event, FESPA’s approved hotel agency Avantel is offering promotional rates on hotel rooms for guests staying in and around Munich. For more information on the selection of hotels available and to take advantage of these reduced rates, please visit www.avantel.de/FESPA2014.

Neil Felton, CEO, FESPA, comments, “We strive to make travelling to our events as easy and cost effective as possible for visitors and exhibitors. Partnering with a leading airline carrier and hotel agency helps us to support our print community by offering them the best possible rates. By booking travel and accommodation early, visitors and exhibitors can take advantage of these offers, and get the most of out of their budget.

Neil adds, “Feedback from visitors to previous FESPA events in Munich has been excellent where travel is concerned. Munich as a destination is extremely accessible from most major European cities by both rail and air. For visitors arriving by air, travelling from the airport to Messe München is stress-free due to Munich’s excellent public transport, taking under an hour from the airport by both train and taxi.”

For more information on FESPA Digital 2014 and to register to attend, please visit www.fespadigital.com

'Sell-out' crowd for this week's EFI Connect conference

EFI says it will have a sellout crowd for this week's EFI Connect 2014 Users Conference, with every one of its attendee slots filled during event pre-registration. The conference, which takes place between 21st and 24th January, will be the largest in Connect's history, with approximately 1,500 pre-registered attendees. The larger number of registrations - one-third more than Connect 2013 - reflects increased customer interest in high-level business and technical training offered at one of the graphic arts industry's most successful user group events.

The event, which takes place at the Wynn Las Vegas, is the industry's best venue for open dialogue and idea exchange. Now in its 15th year, Connect gives EFI customers from around the world a unique educational opportunity to make their businesses more efficient, profitable and competitive.

The conference offers more than 150 educational sessions, including technical expert training for MIS/ERP workflow, web-to-print, eCommerce, digital front end print management and inkjet production printing using EFI's award-winning product portfolio. This year's conference also features a business development track developed and led by senior consultants from industry analyst firm InfoTrends.

"We have worked harder than ever before to make this year's Connect a world-class conference and a must-attend event for print professionals looking to stay ahead in a competitive market," said Frank Mallozzi, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at EFI. "The fact that we have reached maximum capacity for the event indicates that there is significant appetite in the market for a focused, comprehensive, educational event that gives attendees tangible information on improving their businesses."

In addition to the increased attendance, EFI also recorded growth in partner activity, with 100% of Connect's available exhibit space selling out in the weeks leading up to the event.

Participating partners and sponsors for Connect 2014 include 3M, Canon, Esko, honle UV America, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Lintec, MBM, NAPL, People's Capital Leasing, Ricoh, Xerox, xpedx and Zund.

In addition to partner exhibits, EFI Connect's sold-out exhibit floor includes some of EFI's most-advanced technologies, including EFI Wide-Format and VUTEk® printers, EFI Fiery® print workflow products and EFI Productivity Software MIS/ERP, web to print and eCommerce software.

New EFI products on display include the EFI Digital StoreFront® 7, which is making its debut at the conference. The exhibit floor also features a display of EFI SmartLinc software, a newly acquired product line offering comprehensive shipping management with integrated print MIS/ERP connectivity.

For more information about Connect 2014, visit www.efi.com/connect.