Digital Printing-Wide Format - Roll to Roll

PROBABLY THE fastest area of growth in the entire printing spectrum is the sector for wide-format ink-jet production. A decade ago, this type of digital process was still in its infancy but, since that time, it has passed through many formats to become an accepted technology and not, simply, a novelty whose ultimate value was questionable. Today’s machines cover all budgets and a vast range of end applications and ink technologies. Wide-format production has become a relevant part of any printing exhibition that looks at current and future trends across all disciplines. With Drupa 2008 representing a major worldwide platform for new developments,

RESTON, VA - Wide format printers, sign and banner shops and display companies attending this year’s GRAPH EXPO will be treated to the latest production wide format technology, substrates and applications, along with an information-packed educational program specifically designed to help them become more productive and profitable. GRAPH EXPO, to be held September 9-12 at McCormick Place Chicago, will showcase the largest and broadest demonstration of graphic communications technology in the Western Hemisphere, with live demonstrations of offset, digital, flexo and wide format technologies. Among the 460,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit space and 640 exhibits on the show floor, some 147,500 net sq.

RIDGEFIELD Park, NJ — August 30, 2007 — Agfa Graphics announced today that the company, a worldwide leader in prepress solutions for the printing, publishing and newspaper industries, will bring a broad spectrum of new and updated products and solutions to its exhibit (booth #3839) at GRAPH EXPO, which is being held September 9-12 at McCormick Place South in Chicago. Some of Agfa’s products and technologies to be shown at GRAPH EXPO include: :Anapurna M – Agfa’s entry-level wide-format industrial ink-jet printer which will be running live at the booth; :ApogeeX 4.0 (worldwide debut) – The newest release of this popular workflow features advances such

FOSTER CITY, CA—February 8, 2007—EFI (Nasdaq: EFII), the world leader in color digital print servers, superwide format printers and inks, and print management solutions for commercial and enterprise printing, and Enhance A Colour, a leading manufacturer of unique digital images and displays, today announced the ability to cost-effectively produce durable, long-lasting, customized ten-foot-wide carpets in short runs, on demand, using the VUTEk® FabriVu® superwide printer from EFI. “Enhance A Colour is a terrific example of creativity in work. They have harnessed the power of the VUTEk FabriVu from EFI to create a revolutionary new product with almost unlimited market potential,” said EFI’s VUTEk product marketing

IT MAY be telling that, with a few exceptions, the presses in operation around the show floor of Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006 were of the digital variety. Offset units were conspicuous in their absence. Digital presses largely have become part of the commercial printing mainstream, rather than being a specialty product segment or market niche. The exhibition’s Wide Format Pavilion showed ongoing interest in that segment, but adding a wide, large, superwide or grand format digital system still is seen as a way to diversify rather than being standard equipment. Hewlett-Packard shared results from an InfoTrends study that surveyed a sampling

SUFFERING SEEMS to be one of the leading prerequisites to becoming a successful artist. In many ways, the same could be said for business success. Miguel Paredes should know, as he is both an artist and a businessman. And his company, PK Graphics, has blossomed into a $20 million performer in just eight years with an annual growth rate of 25 percent. But now that the suffering has receded on the business end, Paredes has encountered a new problem—getting sufficient rest. “My goal is to sleep,” Paredes, president and CEO, quips. That’s no surprise, given his exhaustive undertakings. Paredes is a media empire

“It’s not rocket science.” That same reply was given by two players in the market when asked about the challenges facing a printer looking to diversify into digital wide-format printing services. Adding this service seems like a natural extension of the printing industry’s digital evolution. Large-format ink-jet print engines have all but become the norm for some level of proofing, ranging from digital bluelines up to contract color. Putting aside the finishing requirements, digital color printing presents much the same proposition whether the output be an 8.5x11˝ sheet or large banner. Why, then, have so relatively few commercial printers gotten into the business? “Less

It's not often an industry gets a close look at an $18 billion market worldwide that fits perfectly into its capabilities and skills, but is slipping by, largely uncultivated. This fall's Graph Expo & Converting Expo will give the printing, publishing and converting business just such an opportunity—a comprehensive overview of the untapped large-format digital ink-jet printing market. The show takes place October 6-9 at McCormick Place South in Chicago. It's the foremost U.S. exhibition in 2002, with an expected attendance of more than 40,000 buyers and about 500 exhibitors slated to occupy nearly 365,000 net square feet of booth space. Large-format ink-jet

No longer a small niche consideration, large-format printing is elevating POP and outdoor graphics display markets to new heights, allowing commercial printers to break through new profit ceilings. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The bigger, the better. Wider is better. Big is beautiful. If for nothing else, wide-format printing is an attention grabber. And why not? How can any other form of print convey sheer opulence, tender sensitivity, true magnitude and obvious grandeur with the same, well, monumental proportions as do the wide-format wonders driving new trends in outdoor display graphics, point-of-purchase designs and an array of larger-than-life banners, posters and signage? Why should the

Greg and Scott share the same last name (Scinta). They share the same birthday (they're twin brothers). They share the same business (Smash Graphix in Louisville, KY). And they share the same opinion about wide-format printing (it's great). "It certainly makes our life easier," says President Greg. "Money-wise," Vice President Scott chimes in. The Scinta brothers aren't alone in their thinking. When it comes to wide-format printing, many shops are discovering that the market is wide open. When most people think of wide format, they think of signs. Granted, signage is a common, and profitable, application—but it's hardly the only one. With a little