Digital Printing-Production Inkjet - Hybrid

3D printing may be in your future, but it won’t work like you might think. So says Microsoft researcher Tom Blank, who isn’t quite convinced that consumers are going to run out and buy their own 3D printers. The problem is that 3D printers...don’t pass the “wife acceptance test,” Blank’s term for a technology’s approachability.

Blank compares the coming world of 3D printing to the way the average person today handles the printing of photographs: Rather than keep a photo printer in their homes, most people ship their printing jobs to the local FedEx Store or Staples.

Characterizing drupa 2012 as another inkjet show is too limiting to capture the broader digital printing focus of the developments announced. Nanographic Printing, liquid-toner presses and hybrid offset-inkjet configurations where every bit as prominent, and the B2 format dominated the product introductions.

Kodak and Graphic Innovators are partnering to provide newspaper and packaging customers with new opportunities to offer hybrid inkjet printing. A new agreement establishes Graphic Innovators as the first reseller of Kodak Prosper S-series imprinting systems in the Americas region.

EFI’s digital experience and award-winning imaging technology in combination with Cretaprint’s leading ceramic tile printing solutions will provide the industry with expanded offerings, superior workflow software and a worldwide support network that will expand Cretaprint’s reach worldwide.

3D printing company Shapeways is opening up its own production facility with a new $5.1 follow on of funding from Index Ventures and Union Square Ventures. Currently, Shapeways is creating around 30,000 objects and month, using a number of different materials, including ceramic or stainless steel for household goods, and sterling silver for higher end creations. In order to keep up with demand, the company expects to double its employee roster by mid-2012, as well as open a New York production facility to keep costs down for shipping.

The company already has a production facility in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

One of the key drivers for the printing industry is going to be digital technology. Digital printing offers personalization, cost savings, improved output options and the ability to migrate traditional offset volume to a value added digital services business model.

This webinar explores emerging market opportunities driven by digital color printing (both toner based and inkjet) combined with the availability of an expanded array of substrates. You will hear from your peers in the industry about how they are tapping into direct mail market expansion, books on demand, photo merchandise and digital packaging by combining the right digital press with the right paper. 

Key areas that will be explored include:
1. Perspectives on the market growth areas for digital applications
2. Case histories from service providers that are building new business models around on demand publishing, packaging direct marketing and photo merchandise and critical requirements for success
3. Recommendations for participating in the market transition

To view this free webinar, click here!

ROCHESTER, NY—The first Kodak Prosper S10 imprinting system has been sold to Instant Data Forms of Hong Kong, one of China's leading providers of general business forms and direct mail printing services. A monochrome continuous ink-jet printhead using Kodak Stream ink-jet technology, the Prosper S10 imprinting system will be installed at Instant Data Forms' Aidifu Stationery in Shenzen, enabling the company to deliver higher quality printed materials with greater efficiency, as well as added value for its clients.