Finishing - Digital

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending some time at Strategic Content Imaging in Secaucus, NJ. I was there for other business, but I had a chance to see one of their 30"-wide continuous inkjet presses running along at about 800-feet-per-minute. This got me thinking.

Following the launch of the Sprint line of digital finishing equipment, Vits International has been accepted into the HP SmartStream Solution Partner Program for the high-speed digital web market.

Frits Knepper has been tapped as the new HP USA solutions manager for C.P. Bourg, which serves as the North and South American headquarters for the C.P. Bourg Group. He now reports to Richard Trapilo, executive vice president and general manager of C.P. Bourg.

I had the pleasure of attending a rather festive "open house" event last week at a major offset printer. This firm had implemented a digital print and finishing platform in a big way. Re-fitting a space within their plant, they outfitted the new digital "module" with an HP continuous inkjet press, HP Indigo presses, and several high-speed cut-sheet toner printers.

Most of us in the finishing world are familiar with machine-level automation, which has made enormous progress since the early 1990's. Craftsman-level machine adjustments and makereadies have been largely automated and can now take only a few minutes. But finishing material workflow has been a more difficult challenge.

A number of exciting announcements—including more than 35 new products launching or on display—from Dscoop partners are anticipated at the Dscoop9 conference, taking place March 6-8 in Orlando, Fl.

Walker 360 of Montgomery, AL, Vedda Printing+ of Cleveland, and McCarty Printing of Erie, PA, share their success stories using the Stahlfolders of Heidelberg’s TH/KH generation.

When it comes to the finishing end of digital print, there is still a lack of "connectivity." The offset world saw the introduction of JDF (Job Definition Format) more than 15 years ago. Enter digital print. Each vendors' print engine ran on a different software workflow. There was no JDF equivalent of a universal digital print-to-finish "language."

We've been through many challenging years for print, and as finishing is an integral part, it's fair to ask where we're going, and where new opportunities may lie. So let's break out the old crystal ball and gaze...

Digital print advances will create many new finishing opportunities. The finishing expert of the near future will truly have to "think outside the box" to be able to create products in new and innovative ways.