Olivia Cahoon

Information Packed

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By Olivia Cahoon

Print jobs today are complex with fast turnaround times and smaller volumes. To meet these needs, workflow becomes progressively important. By investing in software like print management information systems (MIS), print service providers (PSPs) advance productivity, track costs, and improve their bottom line. New technologies like mobility and cloud deployment make it easier to collaborate and work remotely.

Above: Tharstern MIS is modular and configurable to a print provider’s specific requirements.

Print MIS Adoption
Digital print environments are increasingly competitive as new technologies and demands emerge. As a result, print MIS becomes more important, offering features that automate daily tasks and manage consumables, graphics, inventory, prepress, post press, and pricing.

Corry Casler, executive sales director, SmartSoft, Inc., says frustration drives the adoption of print MIS. “Clients calling shops to check job status, workers pulled away from revenue-generating tasks to hunt down orders, keying, re-keying, re-re-keying the same job information for a short-run digital print job. You’ve lost money before the job is even printed—and printers are feeling that.”

Digital PSPs seek print MIS solutions to manage the dramatic increase in small jobs. With a multitude of projects that must be completed quickly, PSPs can lose visibility and control of what is occurring in the shop, which can affect customer service and the bottom line. “It used to be that there were ten jobs to complete in the next ten days, now there are ten jobs that need to go out in the next hour,” points out Stephen McWilliam, EVP marketing, Avanti.

“Printers need to have a better understanding of costs and profits and a system to manage them,” says Greg Salzman, president, Aleyant.

Print MIS software integrates with prepress tools and fits into existing digital or hybrid print workflows. It offers visibility, control, and efficiency by maintaining accessible information. PSPs must be efficient and quote competitively but also turn a profit, comments Keith McMurtrie, marketing director, Tharstern.

Technology helps drive the print industry forward. “MIS drives all other technologies—it sits at the heart of a digital workflow, relaying commands, making changes, and receiving feedback for analysis,” explains McMurtrie. As digital print technology advances, PSPs often need an updated infrastructure to handle new processes.

Cloud and Mobility
New technologies like the cloud and mobility affect print MIS software and how it’s accessed. Cloud-based solutions are easily deployed. Mobile capabilities allow PSPs to track jobs and customers anywhere.

Mobility technologies offer access to critical information at any location. According to Salzman, print MIS cloud and mobility features are more reflective of how people work today. “For example, sales staff can use a smartphone while visiting a customer to create a quote on the fly, or production staff can use a tablet to complete shop floor data collection,” he offers.

Casler adds that possibly most surprising to shop owners is how the cloud and mobile technologies affect the sales team. “When a sales representative can grab an Apple iPad, head to a prospect meeting, and show them how to order print online, how their job will be tracked in the shop, how the client can monitor accounts online—it’s a major differentiator from the shop down the street that’s pitching ‘we can print that.’”

With updated technology, end users create orders, calculate shipping and taxes, and user interfaces run on any device. According to Gerald Clement, partner, Computer Productivity Services Inc., a cloud-based system allows users to outsource system management tasks and pay for system costs on an operating basis by the user and the month.

In fact, Peter Dhondt, sales director, Cerm, points out that today’s technology allows for a MIS workflow to get from 15 touch points to one and increase the flow of data request, process, and transfer to CSRs, sales representatives, and customers with approved access and privileges.

“Implementing a cloud-based MIS might seem like a quick and easy solution, but longer term it might not support your integration plans,” cautions McMurtrie. As MIS solutions become customized to meet the diverse requirements of modern PSPs, multi-tenant systems may not lend themselves to customization.

“While costs are dropping, many cloud-based MIS systems are still significantly more expensive on long-term basis than traditional in-house systems,” adds Clement.

Evaluating Print MIS
Determining if it’s time to reevaluate print MIS is a difficult decision. It is important to consider that digital print technology handles more orders and older order processing may hold back production.

“A profitable company needs to handle the doubling of numbers of orders typical in a digital operation,” says Dorothy Runge Asboth, sales manager, Label Traxx.

Casler suggests taking a few hours to really check the numbers and see how much hard labor dollars are spent on each job. “Just because you have an MIS system, it may still have gaps that another MIS has to automate or streamline workflow. And return on investment calculator can be a great tool.”

PSPs should also determine whether or not the solution supports current operating systems. Asboth warns that as computers upgrade, PSPs may find that they cannot run their software on newer operating systems.

Additionally, consider if the MIS supports new markets or equipment. Asboth suggests PSPs ask themselves if they’re achieving their business goals, are profitable, and growing. “Can I easily identify the bottlenecks in my business and where the opportunities are?” she reflects.

Joe Kern, marketing manager, DocketManager, suggests digital environments evaluate MIS solutions every three years. Technology is constantly changing and some solutions may not update their functionality accordingly. “I have talked to many digital shop owners that indicated they were not necessarily happy with their software solution, but it was the best option that fit their environment at the time,” he says.

“We often hear that the MIS system a print provider is using hasn’t been updated in years,” says Casler. “Your MIS software should be continually improving to stay relevant and keep ahead of the competition. Print is always changing, your software should too.”

Another important feature to consider is integration. If the current system doesn’t have an integrated web to print (W2P) storefront or support third-party integrations, Kern believes it’s time to start evaluating new MIS solutions. Built-in W2P solutions yield advantages in two-way communications between the PSP and customer.

“Too often they believe customers would never use it or they do not have a market that supports the investment,” he says. When PSPs have clients demanding an online storefront, they are pressured to research, find, learn, and implement the storefront under a tight deadline. Many MIS solutions have an integrated W2P, which Kern believes should be immediately installed. “There is almost always a client or demographic that is prime for taking advantage of W2P storefronts.”

Before selecting an MIS solution, PSPs should research their options. Check references and referrals and note how often software is generally updated and how long the company has been in business.

Implementing Print MIS
Implementing a new print MIS system is a big undertaking for companies that haven’t implemented one in the past. Experienced businesses may find the process easier, but it’s still a considerable task. “This system will be the epicenter of the business—housing all the information related to orders, customers, and jobs,” says Kristen Licursi, marketing director, Cyrious Software.

She suggests setting a deadline and assigning an employee to own the project. Before starting the process, a clear understanding of the path, including what’s expected of both the print environment and MIS provider is critical.

Successful implementation also involves a project management team and solid implementation guides, says Carol Andersen, chairman, EPMS. It’s important that new clients are properly trained and client expectations are managed. “Vendor salespeople often underestimate the amount of training and the time it will take to get a system live,” shares Andersen.

Managing client expectations is a considerable challenge that MIS vendors should handle carefully before and after the sale. Without an organized plan or specific leadership, MIS implementation takes longer to deploy and won’t be as successful, explains Andersen.

Introducing a new print MIS system takes time. Morrie Brown, president, PrintPoint, Inc., says a PSP may get the basics up and running in a week or month, but full integration into a shop takes focus and perseverance. “Sure, you could create a rectangle with some text and a drop shadow in Adobe Photoshop after a day or two of study, but using it for real work takes weeks to months,” he offers.

Dhondt agrees and believes that an MIS system could take between three and 24 months to set up based on the organization’s size and the complexity of automating the workflow. Successful installation is a team effort with the MIS supplier and PSP working together.

Chasing the wrong system for the print shop also deters PSPs from a successful MIS implementation. Brown says it’s important to ensure that the software chosen includes a money-back guarantee and enough time to decide if the product is right.

MIS projects often start by automating a specific function or department, generally without a long-term plan for automating and integrating the entire system. Not only does this ignore further capabilities that improve efficiency, but it also stunts the PSP’s growth.

To get the most out of their MIS solution, Clement suggests PSPs identify the MIS provider’s plans for long-term support for their specific system.

Because of the capabilities print MIS solutions provide, some features are often lost. Clement says this includes digitization of images such as artwork, purchase orders, order confirmation letters, and work orders. Additionally, outside integrations like EDI, electronic payment, credit card authorization, UPS shipping rates and tracking, and tax exemption certificate management make purchasing and post-printing processes more efficient and accessible for customers.

Once a print MIS is implemented and a PSP is live, many believe the job is done. According to Asboth, the reality is that the business is evolving fast, staff changes, and the MIS is developing.

“Most companies will only use a small part of the capabilities of any MIS and may not be aware of other functions that it can help with,” explains Asboth. She recommends a workflow review at least every year. With a review, PSPs can ensure they are on the same page as their MIS supplier in terms of what they need to accomplish, what the software can do, and what the plans are for the future.

“After purchasing a system, the first goal is to use at least 80 percent of the system features and then come back and keep improving the use of the MIS tools to 100 percent and beyond,” suggests Dhondt. By fully leveraging the solution, PSPs remain up to date and further expand to new business needs.

Using a print MIS system to its fullest potential is as simple as staying in contact with the software provider. Kern suggests subscribing to community forums, newsletters, and webinars to ensure they are up to date with the latest features, updates, and benefits of the provider.

PSPs that don’t fully understand the capabilities of their MIS systems are likely to experience difficulties. “Focusing on the few areas that pertain to their workflow causes myopic vision and closes the provider off to the additional potential of the solution,” says Kern.

“Adoption can be a big challenge,” admits Casler. “You may have great folks on your team that hate change. Prepare them, remind them of the current frustrations and how a bit of pain transitioning will make their job easier in the future,” she advises.

MIS Simplified
Today’s print MIS solutions have adapted to emerging technology with cloud and mobility features. Those considering a new MIS workflow elect team members to manage and lead the integration as well as determine a timeline. Ensure optimization and long-term success by remaining up-to-date with the provider.

Mar2018, DPS Magazine

Monochrome Matters

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By DPS Staff

Color is a growing segment, but for many printed pages B&W remains the technology of choice. In the cutsheet, toner-based production print market, printer manufacturers take note of the continued use of monochrome printing and release faster, better, and cheaper devices to support its loyal user base.

The biggest driver of monochrome is price. While an exact cost comparison is tough to gauge due to the amount of variables, in general it is expected that a B&W page is more cost effective to produce than color.

“When comparing the overall total cost of ownership of two toner-based systems, it’s fair to assume that the monochrome page will be drastically cheaper than the same image printed on a color press—even if that monochrome page was printed on an offset, pre-printed shell,” explains John Santoli, platform and product marketing manager, Xerox Corporation. “The cost of a monochrome page is measured in tenths of a penny—which is very cost effective.”

Jennifer Kolloczek, senior manager, marketing, production solutions division, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc., adds that when “comparing most digital toner-based devices, monochrome can be as low as ten to 20 percent of color printed pages. With a higher adoption of inkjet in the very high-end market, this cost difference is less significant,” she admits.

Above: Ricoh offers a range of B&W multifunction production printers, including the RICOH Pro 8210s/8220s/8220, featuring speeds of up to 135 ppm with a resolution of up to 1200×4800 dpi.

Driving Factors
The continued use of monochrome printers is largely driven by output cost and engine productivity.

“In my opinion a number of factors influence a print service provider’s (PSP’s) decision to print B&W over color,” says John Dembia, manager, product marketing, production print products, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc. “We are in a price-sensitive market, so certainly cost is a factor as B&W printed sheets typically do cost less than color. Other factors include productivity based on the speed of the engine and volume of the printed job. And simply put, not all applications require color.”

Drivers for B&W depend on the specific job requirements and the appropriate use of color. “For example, when you go into a book store, the vast majority of pages are B&W. Applying color for the sake of applying color will not offer the return on investment that color generally provides. For that reason, we see that when there is no benefit of applying color, then there is no need to increase the production cost on a color device,” says Brian Dollard, director of strategic planning and business development, Commercial & Industrial Printing Business Group, Ricoh USA, Inc.

Just behind cost as a benefit of B&W is speed—or productivity. “Many B&W applications have tight timeline requirements—like bills and invoices, so the faster a press can complete each job, the better,” says Santoli.

B&W investment drivers are similar across applications. “That said, it is up to the PSP to decide how they will produce each job and many factors can influence this,” says Kolloczek.

Santoli suggests that while strategies for adopting a digital monochrome press may start differently, at the end of most decision processes, all printers—regardless of the segment they serve—will evaluate the overall quality and performance of any monochrome system on its total cost of ownership.

Key Features Per Application
Key features and requirements of B&W print engines vary from each individual environment or vertical market.

For instance commercial printers require machines that support high monthly print volumes, greater sheet input, and high capacity stacking if using offline finishing. A CRD may require high-speed scanning and will want to reduce overall cost by bringing advanced finishing in house to spare the expense of outsourcing. Education environments might look for ease of use, scanning, and may not require advanced finishing, suggests Dembia.

Kolloczek adds that book production environments typically require duplex printing and tight registration. Transactional and direct mail requires native IPDS/AFP or PCL. “The common denominator for monochrome printing is that it is low margin work, making productivity, uptime, and reliability essential.”

Transaction printers—either in plant or service bureaus—are most interested in accepted data streams. RIP performance, print speeds, and feeding and stacking capacity associated with a press; while publishing printers are most interested in maximum paper size, print quality, registration tolerance, imposition, and inline finishing options, notes Santoli.

Dollard says generally speaking, all industries require more than just the printed piece, which compels the printer to take a closer look at finishing. “The question is, are the volumes there to support an inline solution or an offline solution. We don’t see a dramatic difference in that requirement from one industry to the next, it’s more of an issue of application requirement,” he explains.

On the Market
Select vendors feature toner-based, monochrome cutsheet presses targeting a range of environments.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. offers a range of toner-based monochrome cutsheet production digital presses, including the varioPRINT 140 Series, targeting light- to mid-volume production environments; the imagePRESS 1135+ for mid-volume production; and the Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN SERIES for high-volume production environments.

The Océ varioPRINT 140 Series supports optimal monthly volumes from 80,000 to 800,000 letter-sized impressions per month. It consists of three models that print at speeds of up to 140, 130, and 114 impressions per minute (ipm). The Series incorporates Canon’s DirectPress Technology, which is designed to eliminate quality degradation. The varioPRINT 140 Series supports media from 5.5×7.17 to 12.6×19.2 inches, and weights from 13 lb. bond to 110 lb. cover in all trays. It offers print resolutions of 600×2,400 dpi/200 lpi. The Windows 10-based PRISMAsynch Print Server drives the varioPRINT 140 Series.

The Canon imagePRESS 1135+ targets mid-volume commercial and in-plant production customers and features print speeds of up to 135 ipm. It supports media sizes up to 13×19.2 inches and weights from 14 lb. bond to 110 lb. cover in all trays. It has a maximum input capacity of 14,000 sheets from ten input trays, plus a post-insertion capacity of up to 4,000 sheets. It provides resolution up to 1,200×1,200 dpi with 256-level grayscale.

The Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN is a high-volume production market device built on the Océ VarioPrint 6000 platform and features Gemini Instant Duplex Technology, which prints both sides of the page simultaneously. The Océ VarioPrint 6000 supports optimal monthly volumes of up to ten million letter impressions.

The TITAN Series features three models, the Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN for commercial printers and corporate in plants, the Océ VarioPrint 6000 TP for transactional print environments, and the Océ VarioPrint 6000 MICR TITAN for sensitive financial documents.

The Océ VarioPrint TITAN series offers a maximum running speed of up to 320 letter ipm in perfecting mode. Four speed models are available to meet different production requirements—VarioPrint 6180, 6200, 6270, and 6330. The Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN supports sizes from 8×8 up to 13×19.7 inches when the Paper Input Module Flex-A1 is installed.

Konica Minolta offers the entry-level bizhub PRO 1100, a B&W engine printing at speeds of up to 100 letter pages per minute (ppm). It supports standard media weights from 40 to 300 gsm and up to 350 gsm with the optional MB-507 multi bypass tray. Print resolution is specified at 1,200×1,200 dpi. Target markets include central in-house printing facilities, external print-for-pay services, education, and legal environments.

Dembia says the company’s most recent B&W engines are found in the AccurioPress 6136 series, which consists of three models, 6136, 6136P, and 6120.

The Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6120 prints at rated speeds of up to 120 letter ppm. It supports standard media weights from 40 to 350 gsm. Print resolution is specified at 1,200×1,200 dpi.

The Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6136 prints at a rated speed of up to 136 letter ppm. It supports standard media weights from 40 to 350 gsm. Print resolution is specified at 1,200×1,200 dpi. The Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6136P is a printer-only, high-volume print engine.

New developments include automated real-time density and front-to-back registration control with Konica Minolta’s IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimizer.

Operational efficiency is improved with a user interface similar to Konica Minolta’s color production engines. “This provides a unified experience for the operator in a mixed B&W and color environment,” says Dembia.

Ricoh offers the RICOH Pro 8210s/8220s/8210/8220 B&W multifunction production printers featuring speeds of up to 136 ppm with a resolution up to 1,200×4,800 dpi. The devices support a range of media, including heavy and textured stock, up to 13×19.2 inches.

Recent advancements in B&W production by Ricoh include the Ricoh Peripheral Interface Port. “This technology allows third-party professional production finishing to connect inline, creating a finished printed product with less operator involvement due to a standardized interface,” says Dollard.

Another advancement is oversized media support for printing on media up to 27.5 inches. “This enables a wider variety of applications that go beyond the industry standard B3 such as book jackets, six page tri-fold brochures, and point of purchase displays,” adds Dollard.

The Xerox Nuvera Production System is a networked printing system comprised of multiple modules that are configurable to meet individual customer needs.

The products are sold with speeds from 100 to 314 ipm. They can be acquired with either traditional toner or with Magnetic Ink Character Recognition to print checks. The systems service a variety of print environments, including commercial print establishments, in-plant CRDs, quick printers, service bureaus, and data centers.

All Xerox Nuvera Product Systems can print on coated and uncoated papers—ranging from 52 to 300 gsm, and deliver a 4,800×600 dpi print resolution with an offset-like finish.

Targeting B&W
While monochrome printing is not usually the most highlighted technology in a print provider’s portfolio, or the buzz at industry events, vendors that play in this space continually invest in the technology.

Canon continues to invest in new technologies for the B&W production market. Both the varioPRINT 140 Series and the Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN Series were launched in 2017.

The varioPrint 140 Series and Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN Series feature Canon’s productivity tools for production planning and monitoring. These include PRISMAsync Job Scheduler, PRISMAsync Remote Manager, PRISMAsync Remote Control application for smart devices, and PRISMAlytics Dashboard for historic press performance analysis.

Konica Minolta continues to invest in new technologies in the B&W production market. “Research from various sources within our industry indicates that there is a shift occurring to color pages for many applications. We know that. However, that same research also shows that B&W pages will continue to make up the majority of the volume of overall printed pages for many applications including books, user manuals, transactional printing, direct mail, or reports and forms,” says Dembia.

Ricoh is also making strategic investments in B&W and color support. “While industry reports note print volumes are shrinking, we are seeing opportunities for expanded, value-added relationships with our customers ranging from printing, capturing, document management, finishing, and more. For those reasons, Ricoh continues to develop and support monochrome solutions across both eletrophotographic (EP) and inkjet,” offers Dollard.

Xerox continues to invest in the B&W toner market. “We will continue to demonstrate that commitment for the foreseeable future as additional plans for investments are currently underway,” says Santoli.

Recent Xerox investments into the Nuvera product line include an expansion of supported paper stocks, image quality improvements, advancements to IPDS data stream support, and updates to the self-service maintenance wizard.

Toner Technology
Toners found in cutsheet B&W production presses differ by manufacturer.

Canon offers a range of toner imaging technologies from traditional EP in its imagePRESS 1135+ digital press, to Copy Press Technology in its Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN Series and DirectPress Technology driving its varioPRINT 140 Series.

The imagePRESS 1135+ features auto gradation technology and the developer unit offers a twin sleeve design, which helps provide consistent distribution of toner across the page. It’s designed to avoid mottling and create fuller solids, explains Kolloczek.

The Océ VarioPrint 6000 TITAN features Copy Press and Gemini Instant Duplex Technology. Océ’s Copy Press technology presses a toner image to paper at low fusing temperatures. “The result is highly consistent print quality with an offset look and feel with virtually no waste of toner or ozone emissions. The majority of monochrome applications are duplex and Océ Gemini Instant Duplex Technology leverages the unique characteristics of Copy Press and mirrors one Copy Press engine, allowing it to print on both sides of the paper at the same time to address this demand,” says Kolloczek.

The Canon Océ varioPRINT 140 Series features DirectPress Technology, which takes Copy Press a step further by eliminating variables like electrical charges, static, and light to deliver consistent quality across pages, jobs, systems, and time. “In this process, toner goes only where it’s supposed to, eliminating wasted toner. Low fusing temperature enables a wider range of media,” says Kolloczek.

Konica Minolta’s B&W production print engines use proprietary Simitri HD toner technology. “The toner is polymerized, which helps to reproduce greater detail because it employs smaller, more uniform toner particles that adhere more tightly to the paper, rendering fine lines and sharp edges with superior quality. It also ensures great halftone definition and solid fills,” adds Dembia.

The toner found in the RICOH Pro 8200 series is pulverized to a very fine, uniform dot shape, shares Dollard. This is complemented by Ricoh’s 1,200×4,800 VCSEL laser technology, which enables smooth gradients and a low pile height on the media enabling the devices to use a lower fusing temperature.

The Xerox Nuvera line utilizes Emulsion Aggregation (EA) toner technology, a latex-based dry ink toner designed to produce sharper text and prints that don’t have an embossed feel on the printed page, according to Santoli. “This brings digital printing another step closer to production offset-like quality. EA toner also has double the yield of traditional toners and fuses at a lower temperature than traditional carbon-based toners—opening up the range of supported coated papers,” he says.

Committed to B&W
A variety of printed pages are produced using B&W technologies. Continued advancements enable better productivity, higher quality output, and cost-effective print runs.

Mar2018, DPS Magazine

With the Times

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By Cassandra Balentine

The label segment is rapidly adopting digital print technologies to accommodate increasing requests for smaller runs and versioning. It’s up to each provider to decide when it is time to invest in digital, and to what extent, but inevitably it is where the industry is heading.

Above: Middleton Printing of Grand Rapids, MI, recently printed beer labels for Brewery Vivant Wondersplosion IPA using its Epson SurePress L-6034VW digital label printer.

Digital Journey
Middleton Printing is a print provider based in Grand Rapids, MI. The shop focuses on label applications, offering custom labels, decals, sale stickers, thermal transfer, and cut vinyl.

The company started in 1960 as a general small format commercial printer with sheet-fed presses, incorporating high-speed envelope printing in 1972 and flexographic printing 1976. Today it has ten employees and operates out of a 10,000 square foot space.

Middleton Printing installed an Epson SurePress L-4033AW digital label printer in 2013. Recently, it expanded its digital line up, making a full transition to digital with the purchase of the Epson SurePress L-6034VW.

“As the commercial printing market started to break away from analog printing and transition to digital printing, we took a step back to observe how this trend would affect us and our customers and decided to adopt digital printing technology as quickly as possible,” comments Steve Middleton, president, Middleton Printing. “This allows us to meet the growing needs of our customers to print labels digitally, and adopt the growing trend in automation.”

The company first installed a digital press five years ago, but began researching solutions in 2009. In 2012 it attended Labelexpo and got a firsthand look at the Epson SurePress L-4033AW and decided to make the jump to digital.

“At this point, Epson already had a reputation for amazing quality and color accuracy, which helped with our decision to purchase the press. The quality of the labels printed from the press is excellent, it offers a simple workflow with automation features, and also meets our needs for short-run label printing,” shares Middleton. “We were also impressed with Epson’s commitment to the market and how they use their own technology in the SurePress,” he adds.

Middleton Printing expanded its digital portfolio in 2017 with the installation of the Epson SurePress L-6034VW. “One of the main factors that helped us decide to purchase and install the L-6034VW is its white ink capabilities,” he says.

Digital Capacity
The company offers UV LED cured ink with the Epson SurePress L-6034VW and aqueous inks with the L-4033W.

The L-6034VW features an Epson-developed PrecisionCore linehead, center drum system, and digital varnish. The press integrates all of the functions required for label production, such as a corona treater, white ink, digital varnish, and an additional UV curing unit.

The Epson SurePress L-4033AW features Epson’s MicroPiezo inkjet technology. It offers a six-color—cyan, magenta, yellow, black, orange, and green—industrial-quality, water-based ink set that produces a range of colors for consistent results. The L-4033AW includes a seventh white ink to print a transparent, no-label look, as well as metallic-type labels.

For jobs that require spot PMS colors or textured substrates, the shop elects to use the L-4033AW because of its wide color gamut. On the other hand, the L-6034VW has a more durable ink set, including matte and glossy varnishes.

“Implementing digital print technology has allowed us to be more efficient and expand capabilities. We are able to produce more products with less people and create labels that many flexographic companies cannot,” says Middleton.

Craft Labels
Middleton Printing recently printed a run of 2,000 labels for Brewery Vivant. The shop used the Epson SurePress L-6034VW its varnish capabilities.

The creative was submitted by the customer and measured 8.2x.125 inches. The design was printed on silver metalized BOPP film with the L-6043VW then die cut on a METAS 1-Series semi-rotary die cutter.

“For this job, there was no way to cost-effectively print the labels without digital technology,” comments Middleton.

Constant Evolution
Middleton Printing realized early on the importance of digital technology to its success as a label printer. It continues to watch for technologies to stay ahead of the curve.

Mar2018, DPS Magazine

Dscoop Americas 2018

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By Cassandra Balentine

Under the theme Unleashing Print, Dscoop Americas 2018 takes place in Dallas, TX from March 25 to 28, 2018. Dscoop North America was founded in 2005 as an independent community of graphic technology business owners and technical professionals who use HP Indigo, Latex, Scitex, HP inkjet equipment, and related solutions.

In addition to keynotes, general sessions, educational tracks, and networking opportunities, the event features a 73,000 square foot Solutions Showcase.

Above: Die cut products finished on Rollem devices.

Solutions Showcase
We’ve reached out to Dscoop partners and present highlights from the Solutions Showcase portion of the event.

Avanti will showcase and demonstrate its integration into HP PrintOS SiteFlow, including the real-time sending of jobs into the production workflow in HP’s booth. Additionally, Avanti sponsors the Business Growth zone, looking to help Dscoop attendees earn and spend PrintOS Print Beat Coins.

Domtar displays promotional material on its digital uncoated product lineup including Cougar Digital Color Copy, Cougar Digital, Lynx Digital Super Smooth, Lynx Digital, and Husky Digital brands. The company also offers information on its inkjet offerings—VividJET, ExpressJET, CougarJET, LynxJET, and Domtar ReplyJET.

Duplo USA spotlights embellishment and finishing solutions including the new DDC-810 Raised Spot UV Coater, the DC-746 Integrated Folding System, and the UD-300 Rotary Die Cutter. Also on display is the all-in-one DFL-500 Coat/Foil/Laminator.

GPA features substrates for HP Indigo presses, including Folex Platinum and Gold Pressure Sensitive Synthetics, whose durable surface is ideal for premium product and bottle labels, decals, and point of purchase displays. GPA Metalized Styrene is offered in five colors and finishes. Ultra Digital Color Rigid Vinyl is available in gold and silver.

At the Highcon booth, visitors are encouraged to meet the Highcon team and see a range of samples. Additionally, in two sessions in the Education Area, Highcon customers talk about the applications they are producing with their Highcon machines and how the digital cutting and creasing technology has impacted their business.

Label Traxx launches Siteline for Label Traxx, which is an online self-service solution. Siteline includes complete order history, access to all custom and relevant stock labels for easy re-order, as well as collaboration tools that help drive efficiencies in customer service.

locr exhibits its geomarketing solution. Additionally, along with its customer Varispark, locr hosts presentations highlighting how personalized maps enhance the value of print on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 2:15 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Michelman introduces its newest HP recommended primers and overprint varnishes for HP Indigo press users. Designed in close collaboration with HP for its Pack Ready for labels program, Michelman’s DigiPrime primers and DigiGuard overprint varnishes allow users to achieve higher levels of water, thermal, and chemical resistance, and tap into the burgeoning high-performance label printing market, including segments such as personal care products and household chemicals.

Muller Martini displays its Vareo Perfect Binder. This is accompanied by a number of video presentations showing some of the company’s latest finishing innovations. Those interested in attending the conference to see a demonstration of the Vareo are encouraged to reach out to their Muller Martini Representative.

Nobelus features new and unique laminates as well as finishing techniques. The company invites attendees to see HP Indigo printable Karess Softouch and Gloss Laminates for personalization; sleeking—or variable data foil stamping—demonstrations on two different machines; unique tactile and opaque laminates for on demand packaging and presentation; new foil colors for its sleeking process; the latest technology in a super-low-melt laminate designed for heat-sensitive HP Indigo applications; multi-pass personalization using both metalized sleeking foils and clear/holographic foils; and utilization of its Luxe specialty laminate films in label applications.

PressWise highlights new features and enhancements including its ability to integrate incoming orders from PrinterPresence storefronts from Firespring, Purolator Integration for customers utilizing Purolator as a shipping carrier, and embedded reporting and analytics tools that deliver interactive web reports and multiple exporting options.

Rollem features live demonstrations of the Insignia 6 Die Cutter, the company’s newest line for embellishing printed material with die cutting, kiss cutting, and embossing. Additionally, the production level Jetstream is ideal for finishing business cards and postcards. Attendees are invited to see a demonstration of a B2, 29-inch sheet of postcards or brochures as the Jetstream completes bi-directional trimming, slitting, and scoring in one uninterrupted step.

Sappi features its new Sappi Digital Portfolio of paper, which is designed, engineered, and tested so that all digital products—no matter the budget-—can maximize digital printing’s unique strengths. Whether you’re searching for high-end premium paper designed to produce a brilliant brand experience, a comprehensive paper capable of delivering whatever the job demands, or the highest quality paper for a limited budget, Sappi’s expansive digital paper line up has the flexibility to make your brand one that customers remember.

Scodix demonstrates the Scodix Ultra2 Pro with Foil digital enhancement press throughout the duration of the show. Find them in their booth or come to a presentation on Monday, March 26, 2018 at 11 a.m. focused on Scodix customer success stories.

Explore how to maximize capital investment and operational productivity with the latest version of the SpencerMETRICS CONNECT system—automatic, real time, accurate, multi-vendor machine and shop floor data collection. Analytics include automated job analysis, KPI and OEE trends, operator and press comparisons, and the new production floor display.

Taopix announces the Q1 availability of its new online Photo Prints Ordering module. The new module gives Taopix licensees the ability to offer a variety of photo print products and allows customers to build simple or complex orders quickly and easily. Taopix Photo Prints is designed for ordering on smartphone, tablet, and larger screen devices. The new module introduces a contemporary interface design for Taopix Online.

Tecnau shares news of its latest feeding and finishing offerings for HP PageWide web presses and HP Indigo digital presses.

Tekra features its line of Dura-Go materials, which are print-ready substrates for HP Indigo printers. Featured this year within the Dura-Go line is the company’s Dura-Go polycarbonate films, which offer durability and versatility for high-end, specialty applications.

Complementing HP digital print, Zünd features the high-speed, highly modular and flexible S3 cutting system with robot integration. The Zünd exhibit is designed to help visitors determine the exact cutting and workflow components they need for successful and profitable graphics and packaging production—now and in the future.

HP Innovation
Dscoop is open to all members of the HP Graphic Solutions community, welcoming employees of companies that own HP Indigo, HP PageWide, HP Scitex, and HP high-end Latex printers and presses.

Every year, Dscoop networking events promote collaboration with peers and vendors serving their market. With a focus on education and networking, Dscoop Americas provides a venue for business growth and community building.

Mar2018, DPS Magazine

EFI Connect 2018

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By DPS Staff

EFI held its 19th annual user conference, EFI Connect, in Las Vegas, NV from January 23 to 26, 2018 at the Wynn resort and casino. The event focuses on educating attendees on the advanced and integrated capabilities the company has to offer.

Guests were treated to the latest training and technology details aimed at profiting from the transition of analog to digital.
In addition to keynote presentations, a fireside chat centered around the first two users of EFI’s Nozomi corrugated press, Eric Bacourt, CEO, Hinojosa Packaging Solutions; and Mal McGowan, CEO, McGowans Print.

Above: EFI Connect took place this January in Las Vegas, NV at the Wynn resort and casino.

Industry Redefined
As the print industry is redefined, there are many opportunities to embrace and profit from digital. “The new print is all about putting spectacular images on essentially any material. With digital inkjet technology and automation, the new print brings immense opportunity in the era of the fourth industrial revolution,” stated Guy Gecht, CEO, EFI.

Among these opportunities is streamlined production printing with EFI Fiery technology. Several partners showcased print engines running EFI Fiery digital front ends (DFEs). The new, scalable Fiery FS3000 Pro DFE platform is utilized in several new print engines and handles high-speed sheetfed and ultra-high-speed continuous-feed B2 production.

Innovations in production inkjet were also prominently displayed. Several printers were showcased including the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340 soft signage fabric printer, the VUTEk 3r roll-to-roll LED printer; the EFI VUTEk GS3250LX Pro hybrid LED printer; and the new EFI Pro 24f dedicated flatbed LED printer. Visitors were also invited to experience a virtual reality demonstration of the EFI Nozomi C18000 corrugated packaging press.

Additionally, EFI partner Ricoh Americas Corp. featured EFI inkjet technology with the 65-inch EFI Pro 16h hybrid LED printer at the show.

New Product Debuts
Several new products from EFI premiered at the event, including version 6 of EFI’s Enterprise Commercial, Midmarket Print, Publication, Quick Print, Packaging, and Corrugated Packaging Productivity Suites; EFI Market Direct; Escada software; EFI iQuote; EFI Optitex 3D Design Illustrator; EFI VUTEk HS125 Pro and HS100 Pro Fast-4 printers; and the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340i printer.

Connecting Users
EFI Connect 2018 featured more than 200 sessions covering technical, business management, and marketing targeting commercial print, signage and graphics, packaging, and in-plant production executives traveling from 23 countries.

Mar2018, DPS Magazine