IPEX 2006 — EYEING THE LATEST PRODUCTS
BY THIS time, the shipping crates are certainly well on their way to Birmingham (UK), if not already on the grounds of the National Exhibition Centre, laden with the latest and greatest that exhibitors at IPEX 2006 have to offer. Earlier this year, nearly a dozen companies gave the industry media a preview of their show plans at an event organized by the British public relations firm AD Communications.
The primary intent was to give those already committed to attending the international exposition a head start in developing a must-see list. But, it’s not too late for others to book a last-minute trip if the following details spark interest. (For information on attending IPEX 2006, visit www.ipex.org.)
Xerox is putting together a “customers stand” for IPEX that will highlight how shops are integrating digital printing capabilities and developing successful applications. Real-world applications, including several of its PIXI award winners, will be featured in each of four market segments—books, personalized for profit, print-on-demand and unified digital and offset workflows.
One of the headliners will be Greetz, an online consumer service for creating and mailing personalized greeting cards. Venspro, a Dutch company, has teamed up with Hallmark Cards on the content and marketing side and is lining up fulfillment partners to handle production on a regional basis, including a New York City facility. It is also looking to work with post offices to have cards automatically mailed for next-day delivery.
As for the technology component of its stand, Xerox will be displaying more than 70 pieces of equipment across the four market segments. Print engines will range from wide-format devices to Nuvera black-and-white productions systems and color solutions up to the flagship iGen3 digital production press. The company reports having installed more than 800 of those systems worldwide, with average volumes approaching 500,000 pages per month.
In Birmingham, EFI will have one stand that includes the Vutek product line for the first time since it acquired the maker of superwide digital ink-jet printers. The show also will mark several European firsts for the company, including the introductions of Fiery System 7, EIS (Executive Information System) command center for its MIS solutions and the Digital StoreFront Web-to-print solution.
Fiery System 7 is said to represent a new approach to digital front ends that combines a RIP with workflow tools to create a system that is simpler to use and fast. According to EFI, digital workflows now must be able to perform more tasks on the fly, with the capability to efficiently handle variable data, color management, imposition and mixed media files.
Killer Apps Identified
Both the Vutek PressVu UV 200/600 and 320/400 UV curing, flatbed ink-jet platforms will be on display in EFI’s stand. According to Scott Schinlever, vice president of marketing, demand for shorter runs and versioning are key drivers of interest in superwide digital printers. He sees point-of-purchase as a killer application for Vutek’s engines and says Europe is leading the way in terms of the prevalence and creation of advertising signage applications.
All of the current pieces of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group (GCG) were in place by PRINT 05, but IPEX 2006 still is somewhat of a coming-out party for the now more unified restructured organization.
The show will mark the global launch of the Kodak Magnus 800 platesetter, which is being positioned as the “top of the line” in its eight-page thermal product family. A range of systems, all featuring SQUAREspot imaging technology, are being offered with productivity ratings from 15 to 40 plates per hour. Three-point registration to ensure imaging accuracy is standard, and the configuration offered initially will be a fully automatic model.
Kodak Enterprise Management Solution (EMS) software will make its European debut after having been launched at PRINT 05. Beta testing of this ERP solution at five sites in North America reportedly is progressing and the product remains on track for release this summer.
Not making the trip from Chicago to Birmingham is the hybrid offset/digital web press, Muller Martini Concepta, GCG displayed in partnership with Muller Martini. It’s only being offering in the United States for now. The NexPress 2500 digital printing system will get its first European showing, alongside the Kodak Versamark 5000e continuous ink-jet press with the CS600 controller.
Screen Media Technology—Screen (USA) here—is planning to use IPEX as a platform for a number of European product launches. CTP devices, a digital press and workflow solutions will be among the introductions.
The Screen Plate-Rite 6600 is a B2+ format thermal platesetter being offered in entry-level (18 plates/hour) and high-speed (30 plates/hour) versions. Two thermal VLF machines featuring GLV (Grating Light Valve) imaging technology also will be introduced—the PlateRite Ultima 24000 (24 page) and Ultima 36000 (36 page). In addition, the company is entering the newspaper market with the Plate-Rite News 2000, a thermal device that handles a 38.6x26.8˝ maximum plate size.
Having been shown as a technology demonstration at PRINT 05, the Truepress Jet520 color ink-jet printer is now characterized as a product launch for IPEX and projected to be available in the autumn. The 20˝-wide, continuous-feed machine is based on drop-on-demand Piezo ink-jet heads from Epson that use water-based pigmented inks and is rated for 420 ppm in color. Its price is expected to be in the $1.5+ million range.
In the workflow arena, Screen is realigning the software modules—both existing products and new introductions—of its JDF-enabled Trueflownet environment into suites (Rite, Trueflow and Color) that share a common user interface.
Traditionally, the back end of the printing process has been stereotyped as lagging on the technology front. Duplo Corp. is defying that notion by stressing integration—via JDF and UP3i—in the live demonstrations on its stand.
One demonstration will feature JDF data being used by the Symbio front-end software application to set up a Duplo DC-645 production color finisher to slit, cut and crease personalized greeting cards in real-time. Duplo is teaming up with a different online greeting card company, Moonpig, to enable attendees to design cards on-site or in advance at www.duplo.moonpig.com.
It also is teaming up with Océ to demonstrate the UP3i-compatible Duplo DBM-500 bookletmaking system running in-line with an Océ VP 5000 digital printer on the latter’s stand. Other Duplo partners include HP Indigo, Xerox and Kodak in the area of finishing solutions for digital printing.
Product launches planned for the show include the new DuBinder perfect binder, a single-clamp system with full automation, and the DF-1000 suction folder, designed to be an affordable solution for digital printers.
Baldwin Technology’s plans for the show will reflect its take on the market. According to Karl Puehringer, president and COO, the company sees some growth potential in what is largely a flat market for printing. Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia will lead the way in terms of economic growth, and increasing literacy will help print sales, specifically, he believes.
Accessorizing a Press
Several industry trends are resulting in greater demand for press accessories, Puehringer says. Increasing use of customization/versioning requires more press cleaning with shorter runs. Similarly, the wider range of consumables used means more web cleaning is required.
At IPEX, Baldwin will be introducing its new Flex and CleanLiner technology for automatic blanket cleaning on web presses at high speeds. It enables a printer to operate in either dry cloth or solvent modes, with enhanced cloth and fluid management features.
The progress Artwork Systems has made in integrating Enfocus Software will be evident at IPEX, but for its part the parent company is looking to remain an independent provider of workflow solutions, according to Guido Van der Schueren, chairman. While the headquarters of the two operations have now been consolidated into one new facility, the Artwork Systems and Enfocus brands will continue to co-exist in the marketplace, he adds.
Enfocus’ Certified PDF technology, along with PDF 1.6 and JDF, is an underpinning of Artwork’s Odystar 2.5 workflow system upgrade slated for release at the show. With an eye toward commercial printing and publishing applications, product enhancements include new versioning technology, comprehensive color management, automated imposition and integration with MIS via JDF.
Separately, Enfocus plans to launch its PitStop Automate automated workflow platform and PitStop Professional 7 upgrade at the show. Moving beyond preflighting to PDF editing was stressed in the latter, along with improving its productivity and usability through automation.
Another brand that will continue to live on post-acquisition is Creo, in the form of the Creo Print On-Demand Solutions (PODS) group, an independent unit of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. It remains a supplier of digital printing workflow solutions chiefly through OEM relationships, including partnerships with Xerox, HP, Kodak, IKON and Konica Minolta.
According to Ronen Cohen, general manager, the company is looking to those partners to define the scope of its digital front-end solutions, but he doesn’t see the technology evolving into a “super server” that integrates Web-to-print capabilities, for example.
At IPEX, Creo PODS is teaming up with HP to launch the “HP Indigo Production Stream Server Powered by Creo” targeted for unified workflows. The server initially will drive the HP Indigo press 5000 and 3050 models. It supports up to seven-color printing with IndiChrome technology, and the Multi-Press Workflow package enables a single server to drive two presses.
Canon Europe is a separate operating company, but its plans for the show give an indication of what’s on tap for the U.S. market. By the time the show floor opens, the first two models built on the new imagePRESS digital color platform are expected to have formal names, rather than still being referred to as “X” and “Y” as they were last fall in New York City at Canon Expo 2005. These 13x19.2˝ production printing systems incorporate a new toner and imaging system to reportedly achieve the look and consistency of offset printing at a lower capital cost than other digital systems.
Also on display will be a new series of black-and-white printers designed for light- to medium-production volumes. The iR7086 (86 ppm), iR7095 (95 ppm) and iR7105 (105 ppm) can be configured with an in-line perfect binder or range of other finishing options. They will be positioned as a complement to the imageRUNNER 110 (110 ppm) production system.
In the large-format ink-jet printing arena, the imagePROGRAF 5000 will have its first showing at a major trade show, as well. It is a 12-color pigmented ink system in a 17˝ width.
As the company’s stand will reflect, Domino Printing Sciences is expanding the focus of its ink-jet personalization capabilities to content beyond numbering, as well as into process color imaging. It sees hybrid printing as a growth opportunity, with ink-jet heads used for partial personalization of pages otherwise produced conventionally.
Domino will be showing a prototype of its first process-color head, which is based on the K-Series UV curable, drop-on-demand technology. In this case, the unit will be operating on a rewinder.
The company says there is a requirement for color within its existing customer base, but it also expects to see new applications enabled by the addition of process color capabilities. Due to the use of UV inks, the personalized portions of the page look different from offset because the ink remains on the surface of the substrate.
Domino’s other major product introduction will be the Bitjet+ solvent-based, binary printer. This new print head design features a ceramic charge electrode and temperature control system, which is said to improve print quality and reliability.
Following the industry trend, customer success stories are being emphasized by Delphax Technologies in its plans for the international show. Real-time digital book printing will take center stage, with its CR 2000 continuous-feed, monochrome print engine providing the horsepower.
This latest addition to the company’s family of printers based on electron beam imaging (EBI) technology was introduced at DRUPA 2004. It has a 600-dpi resolution and maximum output speed of nearly 2,000 ppm (8.5x11˝).
Delphax says it has embraced EBI technology because of the productivity, reliability and versatility it brings to digital printing at a lower cost. When asked about color printing, company representatives remarked that “we believe EBI technology can support it” and “it is an objective and being researched, but not in production.”
Obviously, this is just a small sampling of the products that will be on display at IPEX 2006 during its run from April 4-11 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK. At last count, the show organizers reported more than 1,200 exhibitors had signed up.
