Events

The sold out event recorded a 10 per cent increase on last year’s attendance.

Guy Gecht, chief executive at EFI, celebrating his 20th anniversary at EFI, delivered a lively and humour filled keynote presentation to open the event.

He said, “I want to talk about the forces changing our industry. To do that, I am going to relate Star Wars, one of the biggest movies of all time, to what we are seeing in the industry.

“You know, it is really difficult to predict the future, or as Yoda says: ‘Impossible to see, the future is.’ But we can look at the forces in place now.”

Gecht gives six guidelines for becoming a Jedi in the business of printing. Number one: you can bet on changes in market forces to accelerate. As examples, he mentions driverless cars and the speed of technology change.

 

He says, “The online world makes collaboration easier. It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million people; television, 13 years; the internet only four years; and Facebook only two years. More text messages are sent each day than there are people on earth. The lesson here is: don’t be the last to buy an analogue press.”

His second guideline: when facing a stronger force, use the Jedi (or Judo) strategy. He says, “Use your opponent’s strength. The online force is stronger than the print force. Use judo principles: be nimble and adaptive; have a balanced product portfolio; use your competitor’s strength to overcome challenges. Don’t fight the online force: use it. An example of how this is done is how hardware catalogues were close to closing down but they used online technology to grow their business. Now they are stronger than ever. Web to print is another example.

His third guideline: take the short runs road to long profit. He says, “We see this in fashion for example, short run brings profit. With online and digital you can take advantage of short runs. We are in the people business. Personalisation and customisation are all the rage and for this, digital printing is an enabling force.”

Guideline number four: look beyond paper. He says, “You want to appeal to a bigger market so let’s expand the definition of print. Printing used to be all about documents but that has changed. So if you want to address the issues today, go beyond paper and consider the imaging of things. This is really exciting. We can influence many industries.

“Inkjet is an enabling force. It is the only technology that doesn’t touch the media. Creative customers are leading the imaging of things revolution. Customers print on anything like carpets and create new business. They come up with great applications and they can share ideas with print buyers looking for innovative applications. This helps generate new leads.”

Number five: Don’t touch what you can automate. He says, “The online world has given us the capability to move away from making mistakes manually. Manual non-automated work belongs to the dark side. Non-automated work is a trap, a profit trap. We humans make mistakes and we cost more. Well integrated products are preferred over ‘islands.’”

His last guideline: not placing a bet is giving in to the dark side. He says, “Learn to move with the window of opportunity; standing still is not an option.”

He also unveiled the Imaging of Things exchange, an online customer applications gallery designed to help EFI customers and print buyers grow their network and business relationships.

The online exchange, free for EFI customers, provides a venue for them to post images and videos of their work in a forum targeted to print buyers looking for innovative application ideas. Gecht says, “The Imaging of Things exchange addresses the network effect online communities have in accelerating adoption of new technologies and applications. As a result, EFI customers can better promote their EFI print applications and generate new business leads.

Story telling provides a recipe for success 

RESORT industry and Las Vegas business legend Steve Wynn shared some of the secrets of his enormously successful career in resort and hotel development and management.

Speaking more like a favourite uncle sharing advice over a coffee, Wynn provides a business lesson built on his success. He stresses that, despite the luxury of his resorts, success really depends on creating a culture where employees gain a sense of pride and enhanced self-esteem through their work.

He says, “We built this pretty building and we shouted out to everybody, ‘Come here. You will have a better experience.’ The EFI printers around this room are not the cheapest you can buy. Our rooms are more expensive than our neighbours because we say they are better just like the EFI machines; they are better.

“We are all hustling our stuff and we are charging more. God knows there are a lot of rooms in Las Vegas and all the blackjack tables are the same. When we say they are better and we promise the experience will be better, is it true? Or is it BS? Is it true? Or is it developer speak? Is it true? Because underneath every major business franchise is this: Is the price justified? Well I’m sticking my chin out. There are 1500 people in this room who can say that. You get to decide; not me.

“In this building we have learned a lesson. The crystal chandeliers are fine, the marble is great but that is stuff and the stuff is only 10 per cent of the franchise. Really, it is only people that make people happy.

AT the conference, EFI announced an expansion of its Productivity Suite strategy. Gaby Matsliach, senior vice presidente, says, “We introduced the EFI Productivity Suites, a comprehensive, best-of-portfolio workflow platform at Connect 2015. This strategy improves users’ productivity, efficiency and profitability through Suite Certified workflows for specific segments.”

EFI has doubled its productivity suite offerings with three new certified suites for the quick printing, publication print and corrugated packaging segments. Matsliach says, “This goes beyond a product portfolio offering. It is an attempt to change the way we operate and the way we partner with you. We are trying to do a better job in partnering.

“Whether it is marketing, acquisition, management, pre-production, production, or post production, this strategy will give you more efficiency. You can eliminate touchpoints and optimise the eco-system you have developed over the years. Whether you are trying to grow the business or trying to diversify your product portfolio, there is a need to eliminate errors.”

He agrees with Guy Gecht that print businesses need to make decisions. He says, “Making no decision is the worst strategy. Our obligation is for us to find ways for you to evolve gradually, to get you where you want to go. How to enable a better ability to operate is high on our agenda.”

He sees consultancy services as something that is needed. He says, “In the software world, we see more cloud capability hosted, scalable solutions and reduced infrastructure needs.

“Packaging is a growing market. Within packaging, digital becomes an important factor. Our responsibility is to provide better support for these packaging opportunities.

“With the productivity suite strategy, the promise behind it is to provide an end to end offering that you can get out of the box so you don’t have to put all the pieces together. On top of that, we complement the product offering with consulting services. One year in, I can see workflows in action, real products. How we can transform the space looking at it from an end to end perspective.”

He sees this as a major shift in the way EFI looks at how it serves its clients. He says, “It is the end to end workflow that drives our improvement. We ask what is really needed. So it is no longer a bunch of products. It’s really building the end to end capability.

“We have made massive investment in living up to what is needed. We want to be a partner, to sit down with you and look at your needs and how to work out a road map do for you. You may choose to work with with someone else but at least you will have some idea of what you can do.”

Stamps took out the Pride In Print Supreme Award after the major prize had, on the awards night, gone to Auckland’s Logick Print.

After he became aware that only items entirely printed in New Zealand can enter the awards, Logick director Dave Gick asked Pride In Print management to disqualify his entry. Logick’s Babich Wines 100-year wine presentation piece had some elements in it printed overseas.

As a result, the awards committee bestowed the supreme award on Southern Colour Print for its New Zealand Post stamps work which won the Industry Development Category.

Sue Archibald, awards manager, says, “The final decision on the Supreme Award Winner had come down to the wire at judging between the two jobs and the Logick entry was considered to just have the advantage.

“With Logick now advising that part of this work was produced by an overseas supplier it is clear the judges’ final decision would have been influenced if this information was known at the time and therefore Southern Colour Print’s entry would have won the day.”

Archibald and Awards chair Scott Porter praised Dave Gick for his integrity. In a statement, they said: “The principles of Pride In Print champion honesty and transparency. Those principles are shared by the people in our industry.

“It is a reflection of those principles that Dave chose to voluntarily bring this to the attention of the Awards Committee. It is commendable Dave has taken the steps to withdraw from such a huge prize as supreme winner. The awards committee is in complete agreement in taking decisive action, and the supreme prize will now go to Southern Colour Print.”

Print it black

following its decision to make Southern Colour Print the supreme award winner, the Pride In Print Awards Committee organised a special presentation in Southern Colour Print’s home town of Dunedin.

Dunedin mayor Dave Cull presented the supreme award to Sean McMahon, managing director of Southern Colour Print, at the ceremony held in the Octagon. The presentation took place in front of an audience that included Pride In Print patrons and sponsors; Otago printing industry luminaries and stalwarts; representatives from New Zealand Post; and staff and management from Southern Colour Print.

Mayor Cull congratulated Southern Colour Print for showing how an Otago company can successfully compete on the international business stage. He said, “Dunedin is renowned for leading the way in business creativity, innovation and excellence.

“Southern Colour Print’s achievement in winning this coveted award exemplifies these qualities and reinforces Dunedin’s reputation as one of the world’s great small cities – an internationally competitive and growing knowledge centre.”

Southern Colour Print has a rich tradition of awards success and innovation and remains a staunch supporter of Pride In Print. Sean McMahon says, “This is our first supreme award and we are obviously quite happy. We have previously won two category awards and about 61 gold medals.”

He took a team of 20 staff to the event. He adds, “We are quite chuffed that so many patrons and sponsors made the effort to be there.”

On awards night, Mick Cullen, production manager at Southern Colour Print, represented the company to accept the Industry Development Category Award. McMahon, still upbeat about the initial result, says, “I wasn’t at the awards. I had tickets to the Highlanders match against the Crusaders in Dunedin, which the Highlanders won.

“Mick told me on the Friday night and said, ‘You are not going to believe what happened; we made it to the finals.’ He was standing up on the stage thinking, ‘Geez, I hope we don’t win,’ because he didn’t want to give a speech.”

The stamps that took out this year’s supreme award feature mini cut-outs of the actual World Cup-winning jerseys. They use the actual material of the jerseys worn by the All Blacks.

The end result according to Pride In Print judges: “A stunning stamp, yet perfectly useable for postage. “

Using rugby jersey fabric for a stamp marks an industry first and the feat has won international recognition from postal authorities, stamp enthusiasts, and Adidas.

McMahon describes the work as a true team effort. He says, “Looking back on it, because there were so many technical challenges for it to all come together in the end, it really involved everyone. Solutions to the numerous technical challenges came from all areas of the company.”

Category winners

Presence in the marketplace gave Cuisine Magazine’s June/July 2015 edition the Publications Category prize. PMP Christchurch produced the 174-page glossy. Its feature on chock a block tarts, crumbles, puddings, and cakes includes a cover image of a chocolate and cream pudding to excite reader’s taste buds.

Wellington-based Service Printers won the Business Print Category for what judges described as, “The faultless beauty and precision of an annual report.”

End customer REANNZ connects students and researchers with each other and the rest of the world via a high-capacity, high-speed network. Judges said, “The brochure captured its brand and featured diagonally-cut pages, giving a distinctive look and immediately attracting the eye of the reader.”

Stimulating youngsters to write formed the basis of a playing card game that brought the Packaging Category prize to Wellington’s Printlink.

Four packs of 65 cards contain topics, themes and ideas to interest youngsters. The Ministry of Education came up with the idea of a playing card set with a target audience of children aged between five and eight who need that extra push to get them to read and write.

Children select cards with ideas on them, and when they pair those up with other cards they end up having to come up with a story idea linking the various themes. Judge Dave Wilson says, “The Game of Awesome is really awesome. Every component fits together perfectly in the packs and the box they are kept in. It matches the customer’s needs perfectly.”

The Magnum Americana Freezer Label took the Labels Category award for Impressions International Limited of Penrose. Looking as delicious as the finished product; the judges said, “So much so it looks as good as the ice cream itself.”

The label had to convey the appeal of a chocolate peanut crunch crust on a delicious ice cream, and judges said it achieved that with mouth-watering perfection, giving it a fantastic lustre that made the buyer almost think it real.

When the QAMR Scottish Squadron arose again as a New Zealand regiment, it needed a flag to proudly show its new status to the world. The squadron chose Flagmakers, and the perfection of the entry carried enough weight to carry off the Display Print prize for the Hutt Valley company.

The fighting unit had seen service in Gallipoli, Crete, and North America. The New Zealand Defence Force asked Flagmakers to produce a twin-sided flag in the yellow and black colours of Wellington, with the regiment’s crest, crown and motto taking centre stage. They achieved the result printing on two sheets of material that they had to manually line up back-to-back for precise registration.

For more than a century, Dunstall’s Funeral Services has had the privilege of helping families in the Hawkes Bay community during their time of loss. When it came to the delicate task of creating a marketing campaign to guide a person on how to choose the format of their own funeral, Dunstall’s chose Brebner Print to commission a beautifully-crafted set of printed materials to help people face the practicalities in a sensitive and caring way.

The design of a tray, insert, sleeve and booklets, complemented with Brebner’s printing prowess succeeded in winning the Promotional Print Category. Judges said that the Dunstall’s brochures show sensitivity in taking people through an emotional and personal journey, and the printing and design combined to ease that journey.

Process Winners

 

Offset – Design Bind for the Year in Porsche

Gravure- Gravure Packaging for Healtheries Real Food Bar, Ginger & Lemon

Flexo – Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific for So Crispy Classic Chicken

Digital – Kinetic Digital for Powershop Customer Experience Manual

Screen – Southen Print for Feltex Green 100 per cent Triexta Yarn

Inkjet        – APC Innovate for Puraty Potent Organic Teas Shipper

Letterpress – Willy Coenradi for Little Wing

All segments of the market are facing similar challenges. Shorter run lengths, faster time to market, more versioned and variable content – while each segment has slightly different challenges, they are all facing this trifecta, and as a result, are moving to an increasingly digital workflow. While significant focus has been placed on the benefits of digital printing, the analogue technologies – offset and flexo, most notably – are also moving to workflows that benefit from faster make-ready times, less waste and fewer touch points in the manufacturing process.

Finishing processes – both set-up and operation – are often still highly time-consuming, labour-intensive, leading to high dependency on skilled operators and prone to errors and waste of costly work in process. The challenge for printers and packaging converters is to implement post-press operations that circumvent these barriers to production efficiency.

Already, prepress and print have benefited from technologies that speed work through the production process, but for many companies, post-press processes are still a bottleneck, perhaps the last hold-out in the analogue-to-digital transformation. Yoshihiro Oe, general manager export, Europe and Africa Business Alliance at Horizon commented, “Many customers are still primarily focusing on investment in the prepress and press areas and less on finishing; this is a challenge we face.”

However, that is rapidly changing and we will see many advances at drupa 2016 toward making post-press processes as efficient as the rest of the production workflow as well as a stronger interest in these developments on the part of end users.

Darryl Danielli, chief editor of UK-based PrintWeek says, “Historically post-press was always seen as the industry’s Cinderella technology, taken for granted, undervalued and overlooked. But as run lengths fall and turnaround times come under more pressure, advances in post-press automation and integration are becoming increasingly important as printers realise that the latest finishing technologies can not only ease production bottlenecks, but actually generate new opportunities. I’ve no doubt doubt that the headlines at drupa 2016 will be dominated by digital technologies, but the switched-on printers will all make a beeline for the post-press halls, because they know that is where they will see new ways of unlocking digital’s potential.”

Begin with the end in mind

How a job will be finished must be taken into consideration from the beginning of the design and production process. Impositions that are most efficient for the printed sheet may not be the same impositions that are efficient in post-press, as each piece of finishing equipment requires its own imposition; and these two efficiencies must be well balanced for a smooth workflow with minimal waste. And automation is key. For many companies there is already significant automation in the prepress-to-print process, but less so in the bindery. Manual machine set-up can be time consuming and error prone, often requiring highly skilled workers and production of overs to allow for anticipated waste. To the extent machine setup can be automated based on job ticketing information, bar codes, marks and the like, errors are less likely to occur, the number of overs required can often be significantly reduced, and less skilled workers can be utilised in the post-press area.

Jerry Sturnick, Xerox finishing business manager says,“You do not want to be a commodity printer these days, even in short run, and value-added post-press solutions are a good way to move out of the commodity zone,”.

Xerox has played a leadership role in finishing automation since the launch of its ground-breaking DocuTech Production Press in 1990 and the development of its Digital Finishing Architecture (DFA) that now includes dual mode configurations, which allows the same finishing solution to support both inline and offline workflows.

Xerox has assembled a diverse portfolio of finishing partners over the last 30 years. Sturnick says, “We are seeing that about one-third of digital page volume is finished inline with the other two-thirds offline,” he adds. “That’s why we introduced a dual mode feeder at drupa 2012 that uses the same DFA interface to direct sheets to inline or offline finishing with no change in software required.” Xerox is extending its finishing partnerships and automation initiatives beyond its traditional sheet-fed environment into production inkjet and packaging.

Another great example of workflow automation at work post-press is Georgia based Benson Integrated Marketing Solutions which processes 200+ jobs per day. Peter Xierten, director of Systems and Information Technology, says, “Saving three to five minutes per job on cutting set-up adds up to two or three hours per day saved in cutting time. We now have one operator working one shift (since implementing a finishing automation solution), whereas before we needed two cutters working all day, two shifts and overtime.”

Modularity increases flexibility

It is also important to note that many finishing vendors, especially in the transactional, direct mail and commercial print spaces, including MBO, Muller Martini and Horizon, offer modular finishing solutions that can be configured on the fly as production needs change. This approach results in more flexibility and better utilisation of and ROI for post-press investments.

MBO is a great example of modularity at work. The company offers a wide variety of separate but compatible modules that are mobile and interchangeable, creating a mix-and-match finishing department. The company also describes a Parking Lot Concept, with an unwinder and sheeter at its core.

The company says, “With this core in place, a printer needs only to purchase the modules necessary for a given job. It is also an ideal model for printers who expect growth since adding modules to the Parking Lot is more cost effective than purchasing entirely new solutions. With numerous modules on hand, a printer needs only to roll modules into place to create one-step finishing production systems.”

Masters of mail

Direct mail is not going away anytime soon. And while transactional mail has been on the decline in many regions for some time, that is not going away anytime soon, either.

Despite all the hype surrounding digital marketing – and the investments brands are making in digital media – even among younger consumers 92 per cent say they prefer direct mail for making purchasing decisions, with 67 per cent of consumers overall expressing this preference. And, according to a Pitney Bowes survey, 76 per cent of small businesses say their ideal marketing strategy encompasses a combination of both print
and digital communication.

In the direct mail segment, automation is key, both from a cost perspective and to prevent errors. In addition to automated inserter setup, look for inspection and real-time reporting systems such as those from Ironsides Technology, Videk and others, to play a growing role.

Both transaction and direct mail have already seen significant automation but there is room for more. A good role model is UK-based Capita Document & Information Services, which has implemented a fully automated, as-near-lights-out-as-you-can-get mail operation. Capita chose to work with Ironsides Technology to implement automated production tracking with an umbrella solution that integrates the end-to-end workflow across the production platform as well as enabling quality control and real-time reporting. This unifying solution enabled Capita to meet its goal of complete traceability from composition through final preparation for entry into the mail stream. And operators rarely touch mail packets, even when reprints are required. Operations managers know exactly where each and every page is in the production process at a given point in time, enabling much more effective management of the overall production process.

High value finishing

Regardless of the print technology being used, there are a growing number of digital finishing solutions that add value to the final printed product along with reduced time to market, reduced waste and cost-effective finishing of short to medium runs. And their value is being recognised by buyers and industry associations alike. High value finishing is one way to decommoditise print, mitigating price-based buying decisions.

Israel-based Highcon was just named a recipient of the prestigious Printing Industries of America 2015 InterTech Award for Technology Innovation for its digital cutting, creasing and laser die cutting machine for converting paper, labels, folding carton and microflute, which was introduced at drupa 2012.
Boutwell Owens was the first North American packaging converter to implement the Highcon solution. In addition to enabling cost effective production of small runs and speeding time to market, these types of digital solutions open new doors for brand owners, designers, printers and converters alike.

Ward McLaughlin, CEO Boutwell Owens says, “When you have a structural designer that has been told for so many years that you can’t do certain things, today it is all feasible and the handcuffs are off. The world is open; we are no longer restricted by tooling and cost. People can do things they never before imagined.”

Other suppliers that offer digitally-enabled high value finishing solutions include the Scodix family of digital enhancement presses that offer post-print addition of variable density embossing and gloss and now digital foiling; and MGI with coating and foiling options. Others, like Kama, Therm-o-Type, Hunkeler and Standard Finishing, offer die cutting and perforating solutions optimised for short runs. Kama also offers hot foil, embossing and in-register holograms for even more added value.

Digital press manufacturers such as Canon, EFI, HP Indigo, Kodak, Ricoh, Xeikon and Xerox are partnering with these post-press suppliers to offer in-line and near-line laser die cutting, coating and other advanced post-press capabilities designed for short-run and one-off efficiencies as well as medium run length production quantities. In addition, digital presses from these companies also offer clear toners that act as a coating agent as well as adding pop to images.

All of these capabilities contribute to the overall value of print, adding to the look and feel of printed pieces with gloss, satin or matte finishes, digital embossing, innovative cutting, foiling and other value of print, adding to the look and feel of printed pieces with gloss, satin or matte finishes, digital embossing, innovative cutting, foiling and other special effects. Where print itself can often be a commodity, adding these types of specialty finishing increases the value of print, does a better job of catching the attention of recipients, and can help marketers get their messages out in a way that is difficult to do with digital communications.

Packaging perfection

Packaging converters are also benefiting from digital workflows. The digital die cutting and finishing techniques discussed above, combined with digital printing, are making it easier for converters to offer not only small lot finished packages but also faster, more cost effective mock-ups and samples often produced using the same substrates and printing processes that will used for the final product.

There are also a growing number of cutting tables from vendors such as Esko, Mimaki and Zund that are designed to quickly deliver shorter runs of finished goods for use as final product or for samples/mock-ups in the packaging, commercial print and sign/display graphics markets. These companies also offer sophisticated software, such as Esko’s i-Cut Suite, as well as tool sets that speed setup and make these devices easier and more efficient to use.

Jef Stoffels, director Corporate Marketing at Esko says, “As the continued high growth for these solutions seems to prove, the ability to produce one-offs or short run finishing fast and precise has become a standard need in the graphic arts industry for a wide range of applications.”

Some packaging solutions providers such as Bobst are turning their attention to increased efficiency and reduced make-ready times for labels, flexible materials, folding carton and corrugated applications as well as the ability to integrate with other systems converters have in place.

Bobst’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in Nuova Gidue, a company that began introducing digitally-enabled solutions for the labels and packaging market in 2000, sends a signal about its future intent. Expect to see this trend continue and accelerate. Look to see these companies move upstream as well.

For example, the 2014 Bobst annual report contains this statement that provides additional insight into future strategies: “On the Digital Packaging Solutions side, in 2015 we will be installing pre series machines for digital printing at corrugated board sites.”

And look for press manufacturers to move further downstream in the production process. Heidelberg, for example, engineered an outsourcing deal with Chinese manufacturer Masterwork Machinery in 2014, resulting in a new die cutter and additions to its folder-gluer line the same year.

Books on the Horizon

Book printing is an area where digital has made a significant impact, with respect to both printing and finishing. Many book printers have implemented production inkjet printing technology that is replacing offset volumes, especially as the quality of these systems improves and the range of functional substrates increases. Digital lines for book binding have also made huge strides.

Avaiable in New Zealand from Currie Group, Horizon has a stacking solution for B2 digital presses which converts digitally printed B2 sheets into any required sheet size down to A6, collating them in page order to form book blocks, resulting in print to book block with minimal touch points.

MBO also offers a fully variable book block production solution capable of variable format, page count, signatures and more. And Horizon, Kolbus and others offer automated digital-conventional-hybrid book finishing lines that can be configured to meet each plant’s specific manufacturing needs, efficiently producing both perfect bound and case bound books.

Hunkeler has a smart book solution for short run book production. It starts with cold glue pre-gluing of the book block to prevent slippage as the block proceeds through the rest of the binding process. Book sizes are dynamically adjusted, so that each book that comes off the line can be a different size and thickness. Glued book blocks are then handed off to an inline perfect binder, which can be sourced from a variety of different manufacturers. This is one example of the advanced binding solutions now available to printers. Israeli book printing company Cordoba added the Hunkeler modular book block solution to its Kodak production inkjet press earlier this year in a nearline configuration in order to address decreasing run lengths as a result of changes in the law in Israel that prevent heavy discounting that was a standard practice in the country. The installation was timely, as the company has seen a 60% to 70% reduction in volume for black and white book printing, making it inefficient for some titles to be produced using offset printing.

And, of course, especially for perfect-bound books, lamination is important to product printed covers. Providers of laminating solutions such as Neschen and Sihl are working hard to optimise those for an ever-growing variety of digital toner and ink types to ensure high quality adhesion.

Wrapping it up

If post-press is a bottleneck in your organisation, or if you are considering the purchase of new presses, begin with the end in mind.

Be sure to engage post-press vendors throughout the evaluation process to take advantage of their expertise and to make sure that your ultimate configuration is the best possible match to your requirements. Most of these suppliers offer pre-sale consulting services that can help ensure that you make the right decisions in this important area.

Keep in mind that in post-press, it is especially important to ensure flexibility in your configuration – the ability to add and subtract modules, reconfigure on the fly and more – especially as new customer requirements emerge or new technologies come to market that can improve post-press productivity. And at drupa 2016, take the Cinderella story to heart by spending quality time looking at all of the advances in post-press that can make your operation more efficient and effective.

 

Cary Sherburne is senior editor at WhatTheyThink.com.

Humanless print production

The first and most intriguing revelation was the prospect of automation being taken to its ultimate degree, with the elimination of people from the print production process. Heidelberg told us it was aiming to have its presses as self-managing print manufacturing units.What it means by this is no printers involved. It already has the means to load and unload paper automatically and presumably it is looking at some sort of cassette system for the plates, or is maybe thinking of the time when plates become redundant. It did launch its first inkjet press, the Primefire 106 of which more later, and an inking system like the big webs have.

But as well as no print staff, it is also working to having the press organise its own servicing; tell a service centre what needs doing and when; organise its own production schedule according upcoming jobs in the digital job file, based on delivery schedule, paper stocks and the like; and organise its own consumables – paper and inks – again based on what jobs are coming up.

Then Fuijfilm told us it has developed a lights out book production manufacturing plant, based on its Jetpress 540W digital web press allied with digitally controlled finishing equipment, all in a factory controlled by a non-linear automated robotic system from a US developer Epac.

Fujifilm says it means that the entire printing process, when using its Jetpress digital print systems, can run with no humans involved, the software and the robots taking care of the production. Initially it will be developed for short run book printing, although it is not a big step to move to producing the multiple different product types typically produced in a print plant. According to the company, an entire new book, printed and bound, and with variable data if required, will be produced every six seconds in the automated plant. Fujifilm says the lights out factory will deliver unparalleled efficiencies, and will produce unmatched quality of print, with zero waste.

Fujifilm did not go into details on the finishing but at drupa we saw new systems. For instance, the Muller Martini Infinitrim which can produce books of infinitely variable trimmed sizes automatically with barcodes on the book block telling the Infinitrim which size to trim to.

So is it saynora to humans? Well it is now on the horizon. How far out that horizon is, and whether we will ever reach it is a big question.

Prepress Collaboration

Prepress played a huge role at this year’s drupa as suppliers to the industry and their customers continued their drive toward increased automation and efficiency. From faster, more accurate and sustainable platemaking to digital front ends (DFE) and colour management enhancements, no-one should have left the show without a number of new ideas about how to streamline operations in the workflow that leads up to the pressroom.

The trend of note here – and in fact, across almost all disciplines – was the increase in collaboration among vendors, even those who are or have been competitors.

It signifies a recognition that single-vendor operations are a thing of the past, and no one vendor can provide everything that is needed in a modern printing operation. To the extent they collaborate with each other, the more they each will have a satisfied customer base. EFI and Esko, Landa and Kodak Prinergy, Konica Minollta with Tharstern MIS and Vpress W2P, all examples.

Then there was the development of app stores, hosted by a developer, and open to third parties, which the developers hope will enable users to optimise their solutions and open up new opportunities.

So HP launched PrintOS which it describes as a business operating  system. With PrintOS, HP envisions an integrated, multi-vendor environment through a cloud-based operating system that changes the way operations manage print production. At drupa, HP announced that more than 500 presses at over 300 customer sites are now connected to PrintOS. The vision is to continue to add HP and third-party apps to the PrintOS app store, making implementation modular and convenient.

And Enfocus Switch which is an important solution for workflow integration, often overlooked and under appreciated, has a significant base of Switch configurators and pre-designed workflows available, but Enfocus is taking that to the next level with its own Appstore, where users can access applications that have been developed for the Switch community. Enfocus reports dozens of interested app creators and more apps introduced daily.

Cloud computing

The cloud was everywhere, (with real rain for the first week). Increasingly, printers are becoming more comfortable with a cloud-based business model, and suppliers to the industry are rallying with a plethora of cloud-based offerings. Cloud-based solutions were dominant in the drupa Innovation Parc (dip) where many smaller companies have the opportunity to affordably show their wares and take part in this important show.

Cloud is a huge win for printers, particularly the SMEs. It means they need minimal IT infrastructure, they do not need an IT specialist, they never need to buy upgrades, and there are never any compatibility issues, as everyone is always working for the same version. And it is also easier on the pocket as it is a monthly fee rather than an upfront cost. It is also bi-directional by passing your own company, so for instance on a press it will automatically communicate with the developer.

Inkjet

Inkjet printing systems were front and centre of drupa, both webfed and sheetfed. The benefits of inkjet are those associated with digital, of no makeready and variable data, but with high speed, and sheet sizes that are difficult with cutsheet toner systems.

Actually the term inkjet is a bit of a misnomer, as it is now being used in a generic sense to include virtually all types of non-toner digital printing. This includes the liquid toner used by HP on its Indigo presses – housed on the biggest stand on the show, dwarfing all others at 6200sqm – including all its new presses.

The HP stand was packed from start to finish as HP showed a raft of innovation for a multitude of applications, ranging from commercial print, packaging, to home décor. HP is investing humungous amounts of cash into commercial printing solutions under its Indigo brand, which is great news for printers, not only in the solutions it is developing but also as a vote of confidence in the future of print.

Liquid toner is also the technology that Xeikon is using on its new Trillium inkjet web-fed press range, and by Ryobi MHI (RMGT) on its B2 digital sheetfed press DP7, that it claims will run three times faster than anyone else’s at 8000sph, and on any stock.

Slated for release some time next year the B2 sized DP7 has Miyakoshi print heads, and that speed takes it into offset territory, whereas most of the B2 inkjet presses are running around the 3000sph marker.

Even the toner king Xerox is now into inkjet printing, with a B3 cutsheet printer the Brenva and a webfed printer the Trivor. Both come from the technology that Xerox got when it acquired the French Impika inkjet company. Xerox says B2 sheetfed is next on the horizon.

Toner rival Canon is also in B3 cutsheet with its i300 printer, and showed a four-colour B2 inkjet printer the Voyager, which it says prints photo quality, it is a re-engineering of its Dream Labo photor printer.

Ricoh already has inkjet with its high volume webfed printers, and at drupa launched its VC60000 which it says will print for the commercial market. Konica Minolta has launched its B2 sheetfed inkjet AccuriJet KM-1, which is branded by Komori as the Impremia 29. Konica Minolta also showed a B1 digital folding carton press, a huge piece of kit, which it hopes to have available in the next couple of years.

Landa was a focal point at the show. Four years ago, he introduced digital inkjet nano technology which promised offset quality at offset speeds on offset stocks but with the digital benefits of no makeready and no plates. So what did we see this time four years later. There has been progress; the presses were printing and sheets were available. However, the prints are not yet commercial quality. They had no lines, edges or text, and tended to be impressionist style images with little definition, and mainly oranges, greens and browns. But Landa did have proofs produced in his lab which were at a commercial level. Can he bridge the gap? We will have to wait and see. The first presses are slated to go into beta testing in 12-18 months’ time.

Landa was doing demonstrations of the presses, in a range that has been slimmed down to four, a B1 sheetfed for folding carton, a B1 duplex (prints both sides) sheetfed for commercial printing, a webfed for publication printing and a webfed for flexo printing.

Komori which is selling the Landa S10 as the Komori Impremia S40 has halved the top speed to 6,500 in a bid to ensure quality.

So will he do it? That is the big question that went unanswered at drupa. Landa was nothing but confident though, and racked up some major orders, although they can more properly be called options to buy should the press become available, including four in Australasia – Blue Star, trade printer Hero Print, online printer Vistaprint, and an un-named flexo printer, who will join CMYKhub which ordered one last time around.

What does the rise of inkjet mean for offset presses

There were no new offset presses launched at drupa, and no A3 presses on show at all.

The A3 press market has been destroyed by digital presses from the likes of Fuji Xerox, Canon, Konica and Ricoh, and it is easy to see why, when instead of buying a four colour offset press, platemaking equipment and finishing kit in an investment of well over $1m and then manning it with expensive staff, a printer could spend little over $100,000 and have a digital printer with no makeready and online finishing that can be operated by one unskilled person.

The big question: will this happen to the B2 and B1 commercial markets? The answer has to be no, well not for the moment at least. Partly because the B2 inkjet presses are not a tenth the price of offset presses, and partly because the quality and consistency of offset print is a high benchmark. However in the years to come, that will change. In fact, the B2 Indigo presses from HP are widely acknowledged to have reached that level. I have already mentioned the B2 Ryobi, and the Landa presses if he gets it right may have a huge impact.

While they had no new presses, the offset manufacturers are making tremendous strides in productivity, with a host of inline features and ultra-quick makeready, the Heidelberg XL for instance was printing three jobs in just eight minutes.

Hybrid presses

Leading on from this is the rise of hybrid presses, which saw almost all the major offset press manufacturers partner up with inkjet developers to launch presses, and particularly in folding carton inkjet printing. Apparently there is a $400bn short run folding carton market out there, and this drupa saw a rush of vendors pile into this market. It also has to be said its a market where the quality standards are perhaps not so exacting as commercial print, if you think about the difference between a box on a supermarket shelf compared with Vogue magazine.

These hybrid presses included Heidelberg with its Primefire 106, co-developed with Fujifilm, which is the first B1 inkjet press available, the B1 Landa S10 co-developed with Komori, the Screen BHS inkjet corrugators, the KBA Xerox VariJet 106, Komori with the Impremia S40 co-developed with Landa, Ryobi with its DP7 co-developed with Miyakoshi. Screen has teamed up with BHS, the world’s biggest corrugated machinery manufacturer, and together they are developing a digital corrugated press. These partnerships make sense, the machinery guys have the paper feed, transport and delivery systems down to a tee, while the inkjet guys know how to put a billion drops of ink onto paper. Folding carton printing was not restricted to hybrid presses though, EFI launched a massive Nozomi at 100 foot long pumping out 75 metres a minute B1 sheetfed carton, Konica Minolta showed a similar sized press B1 sheetfed for folding carton, meanwhile Bobst said it was in front of everyone with two B1 inkjet sheetfed folding carton presses already in beta testing in Germany and Switzerland. Durst was a surprise entrant into digital folding carton with its B1 digital press the Rho 130 SPC with a print speed of up to 9350sqm per hour.

Digital Finishing

Finally finishing, for so long the Cinderella of the production process, but no more thanks to innovation and digitalisation. The Muller Martini Infinitrim can produce an infinite variety of book sizes with no slowdown in production for makeready, and the company’s CEO told us that makeready on finishing systems that was taking an hour 20 years ago and five minutes four years ago is now taking half a second. Companies such as Scodix and MGI are pioneering new enhancement and embellishing techniques that allow short runs, and others such as Highcon and Xeikon are developing new die cutting solutions. These names are new, bit older established developers are launching innovations too, there was a new die cutting system from Polar, which uses a laser to cut the board, then a robot to stack them.

Touching the future?

So drupa 2016, automated printing, cloud computing, inkjet printing, offset developments, was it the most important ever, we can’t say, but we can certainly say it gave a clear indication of the future of print.