EFI Displays Innovative Growth Drivers for Print at Graph Expo 16

ORLANDO, Fla. — September 26, 2016 — Electronics For Imaging has come to Graph Expo 2016 with a broad range of innovations that fuel customer success, including numerous products earning coveted 2016 Must See ’Ems Awards. New technology introductions at the Sept. 25-28 trade show include the EFI Quick Print Suite, an MIS and eCommerce cloud platform; the EFI Corrugated Packaging Suite featuring an advanced core Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for board production management; the cloud-based EFI Optitex Collaborate App for designers, pattern makers and print teams; the versatile new EFI Fiery NX print server; the award-winning EFI Fiery Color Profiler Suite color management platform for higher-quality output to Idealliance G7 specifications; and the newest-version Fiery Navigator digital print business intelligence tool.

“Last year at Graph Expo, the industry was patiently awaiting the innovations to come from drupa,” notes EFI’s CEO, Guy Gecht. “Now, printing companies have seen how the landscape is changing. Online alternatives are placing increased pressure on some areas of print; but at the same time, new opportunities are emerging for digital, on-demand, personalized manufacturing — and imaging — of ‘things.’”

The products on display in the EFI booth 1349 address critical needs for many different types of print operations, from corporate in-plants, quick print shops and commercial printing companies to signage and display graphics companies and packaging converters. Working with EFI, these print operations can innovate using faster, more-efficient, digital print workflows; gain better decision-making capabilities leveraging best-in-class MIS and ERP data technologies; and create profitable new inkjet applications that capture new market opportunities.

Versatile EFI technology to create new revenue for printing companies
Longtime EFI Fiery digital front end (DFE) and workflow software user Dan Foster, president of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based digital printing company DataPrint Initiatives, moved into wide-format inkjet graphics in 2015 by installing an EFI H1625 LED printer — a top-selling, hybrid roll/flatbed product. The 65˝-wide printer, which is a past Must See ’Ems Award winner, generates a significant volume of new business at DataPrint. According to Foster, the 10-employee company went from having no wide-format revenue to generating 25% of its business on the versatile EFI device within a year of its installation.

“The gamble we took investing in the EFI H1625 has paid off for us big time,” he said. “Wide format will be responsible for a growing share of our revenues as we move into the future. There are so many unique applications you can produce, and the sky is really the limit.”

Graph Expo attendees can see two H1625 LED printers on the show floor, one in the EFI exhibit, and a second one presented by EFI partner Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. in booth 1801.

Production workflow advancements that fuel printing company success
EFI’s Graph Expo exhibit features numerous 2016 Must See ’Ems Award-winning technologies — the most of any exhibitor at the show for the sixth year in a row. Those winning products, and EFI’s extensive workflow technology portfolio on display include:

• The EFI Corrugated Packaging Suite — a Must See ’Ems Award-winning offering that is the first end-to-end digital corrugated software product covering the complete business and production workflow needs of sheet feeders, sheet plants and full converting box plants.
• The Must See ’Ems Best of Category Award-winning EFI and Esko integrated workflow for digital packaging production.
• Value-added integrated workflow component technologies, including the Must See ’Ems Award-winning EFI Digital Marketing Automation Platform and EFI’s new eCommerce for Soft Signage software featuring the EFI Digital StoreFront eCommerce solution.
• The EFI Optitex Collaborate App, a new 2016 Must See ’Ems Award-winning, cloud-based textile design technology that enables instant sharing among pattern makers, designers and print teams for faster and more accurate apparel prototyping.
• The EFI Quick Print Suite, a cloud-based MIS platform for in-plant and quick print operations with EFI PrintSmith Vision software as its core MIS technology.
• Three additional, market-specific certified end-to-end workflow suites — the EFI Enterprise Commercial Print Suite for larger commercial print operations; the EFI Midmarket Print Suite; and the EFI Packaging Suite for label, flexible packaging and folding carton production.
• The complete range of EFI Fiery DFE and digital print production software, including the new Fiery NX server and NX Station for fast RIPing and streamlined cut-sheet production automation; Fiery DFE products for wide-format inkjet proofing and production; and Fiery Workflow Suite offerings that boost productivity with best-in-class tools for document imposition, assembly, late-stage editing, visual make-ready and more.
• The Must See ’Ems Award-winning EFI Fiery Color Profiler Suite – the first color management tool set for cut-sheet digital print systems that provides Idealliance G7 calibration, verification of G7 Grayscale compliance, and output profiling integrated with a DFE.
• The newest version of EFI Fiery Navigator, a solution that simplifies the process of analyzing daily digital print operations and long-term trends, delivering actionable business intelligence in a customizable, visual dashboard that is now available in 16 languages.

Future-focused inkjet innovations
In addition to its extensive range of production workflow technologies, EFI is highlighting three newly developed inkjet technologies that also received Must See ’Ems honors this year. EFI Armor Erase UV is a durable, UV-curable coating that provides an easy-to-clean anti-graffiti surface for inkjet-printed outdoor display graphics and dry-erase board applications. Show attendees can see samples from and a video of the Must See ’Ems Best of Category Award-winning EFI Nozomi C18000 single-pass, LED inkjet corrugated board press. Visitors also can see samples of another Must See ’Ems Best of Category Award-winner, EFI AquaEndure, a new, LED-curable aqueous ink designed to bring key environmental and cost benefits to high-volume superwide-format production inkjet applications.

EFI also is a participant in “The House That Print Built” in booth 2566 — a new, multi-vendor showcase that highlights digital print’s growing versatility and features EFI inkjet-printed home décor, apparel, ceramic tile and label applications.

About EFI
EFI is a global technology company, based in Silicon Valley, and is leading the worldwide transformation from analog to digital imaging. EFI is passionate about fueling customer success with products that increase competitiveness and boost productivity. To do that, EFI develops breakthrough technologies for the manufacturing of signage, packaging, textiles, ceramic tiles, and personalized documents, with a wide range of printers, inks, and digital front ends, and a comprehensive business and production workflow suite that transforms and streamlines the entire production process.

Source: EFI.