by DPS Magazine Staff
Although we are still pushing through a global pandemic, this year has been more productive with mitigation, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19 worldwide. Additionally, in-person trade events make their way back to the mainstream, albeit with setbacks with new variants and localized surges.
Even without the status quo, businesses attempted to run as close to as normal as possible, with supply chain issues, labor shortages, and longer turnaround times the new standard across the board.
Because of this, digital printing equipment, which is easier to train operators on and enables profitable, short-run work, is in demand. Tools that incorporate automation and foster remote capabilities are also top-of-mind.
Our annual Reader’s Choice Awards highlight the companies and products you were most interested in throughout the year.
While it’s been challenging to say the least, we’ve seen success stories as many print providers took the time to become more lean, mean, and efficient.
The top category within the Top 30 is printing equipment. This category makes up 50 percent of the winners. The remaining 50 percent is broken up by workflow, finishing, and substrates, at 20, 20, and ten percent respectively.
Aleyant
Aleyant’s automated print software solutions create a solid foundation for growing your print business by automating daily print processes such as ordering, pricing, file correction, production, and customer service. Our automation print software reduces manual touches, errors, and production time for your print shop. With it, you can connect online design to business-to-consumer and business-to-business online print stores. Connect your print store to estimating, production management, and to customer service and prepress automation.
Aurigma
Aurigma, Inc. is a vendor of image composition, design personalization, and prepress automation software for print service providers and marketing companies. Our software development team specialized in the image processing area and web to print (W2P) related tasks for more than 15 years, gaining a lot of software development experience in these fields.
Avanti, a Ricoh Company
At Avanti, our goal is to help you deliver more jobs, in less time, with the confidence in knowing that every aspect of your shop is integrated into one powerful print management information system platform. Connect islands of automation, eliminate breakpoints in your workflow, and get the information you want—when you want it, and where you want it—easily, with Avanti Slingshot. From order entry through to production and billing, Avanti Slingshot enables you to work more efficiently.
BlueCrest
BlueCrest, formerly the Document Messaging Technologies division of Pitney Bowes, is now a new, independent company with a long tradition of global leadership in enterprise print, mail, and customer communications solutions. We’re breaking out to become more nimble and responsive, to bring you not only the expertise and services you know us for, but also new capabilities and customized solutions fueled by collaboration, a commitment to security, and a passion for efficiency.
Canon Solutions America
Canon Solutions America, Inc., a Canon U.S.A. Company, provides industry-leading enterprise, production print, and large format solutions supported by exceptional professional and technical services. Canon Solutions America helps companies improve efficiency and control costs through high volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and document management solutions.
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is committed to helping our customers grow by providing an integrated array of automated, productive, user-friendly, and profitable solutions. With one of the broadest portfolios in the industry we develop hardware, such as digital presses and wide format printers, workflow software, and professional services to assist a commercial printer in growing their business and profits. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility.
Duplo USA
Established in 1979, Duplo USA Corporation is the leading provider of innovative print finishing solutions for the graphic arts. Duplo continuously strives to bring the latest in finishing automation to market and introduced the first all-in-one slitter/cutter/creaser, air suction collating and bookletmaking system, and tabletop folder as well as the compact and sensory-driven raised spot UV coater.
EFI
Headquartered in CA’s Silicon Valley, with offices worldwide, EFI is a leader in digital print. Offering value-added combinations of hardware, software, and consumables, the company is driving the print industry’s transformation from analog to digital color.
Epson
Epson America, Inc. offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, photographic, business, and graphic arts markets.
FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division
The Graphic Systems Division of FUJIFILM North America Corporation is a global solutions provider in multiple segments for the printing industry including commercial—analog and digital—wide format, labels and packaging, and industrial. Fujifilm is the industry leader on color knowledge leveraging its 80-plus years experience in imaging. Fujifilm has a proven commitment to investments in research and development (R&D), infrastructure, and skilled segment experts supplying print service providers the best consultative solutions to increasingly challenging business scenarios.
GPA
GPA expands brand potential, providing substrates to help our partners and clients innovate and shape the printing industry. Collaborations with strategic partners, creatives, and printers help facilitate ideas through our substrates. Our global Fedrigoni network team manufactures and distributes an unparalleled range of products in support of digital, offset, and flexographic press technologies.
Graphic Whizard Inc.
Starting with the manufacturing of Number/Perf/Score machines, Graphic Whizard now supplies a range of Bindery/Print Finishing equipment able to fulfill any production requirement and budget. In 2019, Graphic Whizard USA Inc was established in Webster, NY to expand our market coverage. Current products include slit/cut/crease machines, creasers, laminators, digital die cutters, crease/folders, UV coaters, perfect binders, number/perf/score machines, folders, and feeders.
Heidelberg
Heidelberg has been a reliable and highly innovative partner to the global printing industry for more than 160 years. We are helping to define the future trends in our industry with state-of-the-art technologies and innovative business ideas for commercial, label, and packaging customers. With the largest service coverage in the industry, we offer technical, financial, and performance services to ensure our customers are getting the most from their equipment.
HP Inc.
HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Through our portfolio of printers, PCs, mobile devices, solutions, and services, we engineer experiences that amaze.
Kodak
Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging. We provide hardware, software, consumables, and services to customers in graphic arts, commercial print, publishing, packaging, electronic displays, entertainment and commercial films, and consumer products. With our world-class R&D capabilities, innovative solutions portfolio, and highly trusted brand, Kodak helps customers sustainably grow their own businesses and enjoy their lives.
Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in industrial and commercial printing and packaging solutions. With a comprehensive portfolio of production print offerings, it delivers the latest innovations in printing, applications, and expertise. Its All Covered IT Services division offers a range of IT strategy, support, and network security solutions across all verticals.
Mactac Graphic Products
Mactac is at the forefront of product development for narrow format sheets, labels, digital printing, mounting, laminating, screen printing, and cut vinyl needs. Rely on us for industry leading quality and unmatched service, and trust that we have the next up-and-coming innovation to transform your business. We are a vertically integrated organization comprised of five business units—each specially designed to meet the unique needs of our customers.
Magnum Magnetics
A U.S. manufacturer of flexible magnetic sheeting, strip, and custom profiles, we offer printable magnetic sheeting for multiple printing presses including offset, flexographic, inkjet, and digital. We will take the time to understand your application before recommending a magnetic solution.
Muller Martini
Muller Martini is the world’s largest producer of print finishing solutions for commercial and book printers, trade binderies, and newspapers as well as short-run and digital book manufacturers.
PressWise by Smartsoft
Designed by a visionary printer burdened by the traditional manual workflow process that still plagues many printers today, PressWise is an end-to-end, software as a service-based MIS and print workflow automation solution that comes complete with robust features such as unlimited web storefronts, estimating, quoting, order processing, workflow management, complete shipping integration, fulfillment, and the ability to integrate with most other third-party storefronts.
Ricoh Americas Corporation
Ricoh USA Graphic Communications is committed to helping you grow your business, improve customer engagement, and increase operational efficiencies. Ricoh boasts an expansive portfolio of services, hardware, and software that includes sheet-fed systems, expert professional services, software, and finishing. As part of a global leader, Ricoh creates competitive advantage and solves problems for 1.4 million-plus businesses—large and small.
RISO Inc.
RISO, Inc., headquartered in Woburn, MA, is a wholly owned subsidiary of RISO Kagaku Corporation, Japan’s leading manufacturer and distributor of high-speed inkjet printers and digital duplicators. Its line of digital duplicators includes one- and two-color systems that reliably produce millions of copies at speeds of up to 320 sheets per minute, are environmentally friendly, and are easy and inexpensive to use.
Rochester Software Associates
Rochester Software Associates (RSA) is the only company in the industry to provide transform, output management, prepress, and W2P software solutions to support digital production print workflows. For over 30 years, our customers have used RSA solutions to turn printing into productivity, automating print workflows. Products include WebCRD, the leading W2P software for in-plants, QDirect for output management, and transform and ReadyPrint for prepress.
Screen Americas
Screen Americas, a Screen Graphic and Precision Solutions group company, provides a range of solutions to meet graphics communications needs, with a strong focus on production-class inkjet printing technology. For more than 50 years, Screen Americas has created satisfied customers in the commercial, label, and flexible packaging markets by delivering the latest innovations to help printers grow their businesses.
Signs365
Signs365 is a grand format, trade-only wholesale printer. We offer a variety of full-color, high-quality printed products all produced in 24 hours. $10 Overnight Anywhere shipping is available on all products.
Standard Finishing Systems
Standard distributes a broad line of feeding and finishing products including Horizon perfect binders, collators, folders, saddlestitchers, die cutters, slitters/creasers, and bookletmakers; and Hunkeler unwinders, rewinders, cutters/stackers, dynamic perforators, and inspection systems for continuous-feed printers. Standard has applied its knowledge of the conventional offset print finishing industry to engineer effective solutions for the expanding digital and inkjet print markets.
Therm-O-Type
Therm-O-Type digital finishing products include the new Glue-Tech Sheet-to-Sheet gluer; the NSF Elite, Excel, and Ultra die cutting/foil stamping/embossing presses; RDC-Flex rotary die cutter; Zip cutter/slitter/creaser/finisher models; RAS-mc right angle slitters; and traditional business card slitters. Therm-O-Type also produces foil fusers and handfed thermography equipment. Therm-O-Type has been supporting the printing industry with equipment, supplies, and technical expertise since 1977.
Valloy Incorporation
A Korean venture, VALLOY is a global digital printing solution company. BIZPRESS13R is a Xerox engine based roll label press and DUOBLADE WX is a fully automatic blade-driven roll-to-roll digital label finisher. DUOBLADE WX II features eight cutting heads to catch up with the speed of laser cutters, showing clean cutting edges without dust nor scratches. DUOBLADE FX is an intelligent sheet-fed sticker cutter, which produces various kiss and full cut outputs in unmanned environment.
Xeikon
A division of the Flint Group, Xeikon is an innovator in digital printing technology. The company designs, develops, and delivers web-fed digital color presses for labels and packaging applications, commercial, and graphic arts printing. These presses utilize LED-array-based dry toner electrophotography, open workflow software, and application-specific toners. Xeikon Dry Toner is FDA-compliant for food labels and packaging applications.
Xerox Corporation
Xerox is a technology leader that innovates the way the world communicates, connects, and works. We understand what’s at the heart of sharing information—and all of the forms it can take. We embrace the integration of paper and digital, the increasing requirement for mobility, and the need for seamless integration between work and personal worlds. Every day, our innovative print technologies and intelligent work solutions help people communicate and work better.
Honorable Mentions
In addition to the Top 30, the below companies came in so close that we wanted to showcase them as well.
Colordyne
Colordyne Technologies is a leading manufacturer of efficient, high-resolution digital print solutions. Colordyne has been committed to providing label and tag color on-demand inkjet printers for a wide range of applications and industries at breakthrough speeds and cost effectiveness. Colordyne’s range of digital color platforms demonstrate its specialization in scalability of the industry’s most versatile products.
MBO America
MBO America, now a proud member of the Komori Group, offers a broad array of cutting edge, high-performance finishing solutions for sheet-fed, roll-fed, and hybrid print operations. We have a broad array of solutions for direct mail, book, saddle-stitch, die cutting, pharmaceutical, packaging, and digital finishing. With strong roots in automated processes and modular systems, MBO America creates customized solutions to take your business into the future.
MGI
MGI’s digital printing and finishing solutions apply to a wide range of industries, including commercial printers, plastic card manufacturers, government agencies, packaging and label converters, in-plants, publishers, and photo printers.
Rollem International
Add value to print with die cutting, slitting, scoring, and perfing for high-quality finishing. Eliminate excess labor, guillotine cutters, and touch points. A Rollem will score digital stocks with no cracking and deliver full-bleed slitting and perfing, simultaneously or individually. We offer free consultations on print finishing solutions for all size printers.
Zund America, Inc.
Zünd digital cutting systems are ideal for graphics, packaging, and other industrial applications. With a complete palette of cutting, routing, and even laser tool options for processing rigid and/or flexible substrates, the G3/S3 and dual-beam D3 are adaptable to any production environment. Recently added OCC Over Cutter Camera registration, capable of registering all visible marks in mere seconds in one shot, boosts Zünd finishing productivity even more.
Editor’s Note
The vendors in the Reader’s Choice Top 30 Awards are true partners invested in the power of print. Congratulations and good luck next year! dps
Mar2022, DPS Magazine
