Olivia Cahoon

The Sweet Scent of Digital

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By Melissa Donovan

Integrating digital print into an organization’s supply chain, whether internally or through a print provider, changes the way it operates. The technology impacts marketing channels, opening doors for the introduction of new products.

While analog technologies like flexography are still advantageous for longer print runs, brands with multiple SKUs of products might look to digital to focus on smaller, more variable print runs. If this works well, the adoption of digital creates a trickle effect, creating the opportunity for shorter runs—as small as one—featuring personalization and customization.

An Original Transformed
In business since 1969, Yankee Candle Company, Inc. operates its corporate headquarters in South Deerfield, MA. Part of Newell Brands, it employs thousands of people worldwide. It offers scented candles, home fragrances, auto fragrances, and home décor through a wholesale customer network of close to 35,000 store locations, with more than 500 company owned and operated retail stores.

Candles are offered in a variety of jar sizes and fragrance options. In an average month Yankee Candle produces over 600,000 candles, each of which requires a polyurethane label. The company evaluated its label production in 1998 and decided to adopt digital.

According to Dana Springfield, GM of consumer direct, Yankee Candle, the ability to print on demand and avoid plate charges contributed to the attraction of digital print. The technology was finally at a point where it could offer high-quality output at an efficient pace. By 2006, digital was a significant print method for the company’s candle labels.

Direct to Consumer
In 2008, one service Yankee Candle offered was personalized votive candles for weddings, birthdays, and other events in addition to its products sold in the store. The graphics were static—meaning customers could pick from a few select images and add text. In response to multiple requests, the company began allowing customers to add photographs to these labels.

Yankee Candle researched digital printers that could match the quality of the labels found on its stock candles, unfortunately at that time, the cost was still too high to commit to a machine of that caliber. Farming out the work wasn’t a favorable alternative, either. “We didn’t want to outsource these requests, as the customers ordering them wanted them quickly,” explains Springfield.

Despite the concern, the company decided to go the route of outsourcing. It found a printer in Tulsa, OK willing to work with them through a once-per-week batch program. Due to the nature of the turnaround, the candle manufacturer only took orders for these requests over the phone and didn’t heavily promote the service. Yankee Candle was up front that the orders would have a two week turnaround and although the customers loved the quality, they became frustrated with how long it took to receive the final product.

Six years later, in 2014, the consumer direct group revisited possible digital printers for consumer direct orders. This time it found Primera Technology, Inc., specifically the manufacturer’s CX1200 Digital Color Label Press and FX1200 Digital Finishing System. The output mimicked the production environment of the traditional candles at a reasonable cost.

The CX1200 features 1,200×1,200 dpi print resolution at print speeds of 16.25 feet per minute. According to Primera, a user can print up to 1,250 feet at a time, which equals a 12-inch diameter roll. Labels up to 8.5 inches wide are possible. The FX1200 is the ideal complement to the CX1200. The offline finisher offers laminating, die cutting, slitting, and rewinding of finished rolls.

Purchased in early 2015, the Primera CX1200 and FX1200 presented the team with a few challenges to overcome. These included working with temperatures to get the ink adhesion on the label material just right. By Summer 2015 the product was ready to offer to customers and the company launched its online ordering platform in September 2015. Six Primera systems support the consumer direct part of the business today.

The online design and ordering tool is user friendly. Customers select one of the fragrances available—some are available year round, whereas others are seasonal.

Personalized candles are available in price breaks dependent on quantity—one to five, six to 11, 12 to 23, and over 24. Springfield has witnessed orders come in as large as 5,000 for companies looking to gift a customized candle with their logo at a retreat or event. Sometimes orders in that volume range may get switched over to one of the digital presses at Yankee Candle’s primary print supplier—Dow Industries, located in Wilmington, MA. Here the labels are printed on an HP Indigo digital press from HP, Inc.

To the Stores
When business exploded online in 2015, Yankee Candle began discussing ways to introduce on demand, small run, personalized printing into its retail store locations. This idea waited on the backburner for two years until a point where the costs came down to a level where the company felt it was appropriate to consider an investment in its in-store digital printing capabilities.

“The quality in those printers was there, but we needed to print on a poly-substrate, label-like material and still achieve a toner adherence similar to the labels on the candles purchased in store—all cost effectively,” admits Springfield.

That breakthrough came in 2017, when it found OKI Data Americas’ C532dn color printer. The device offers the flexibility to print on heavier and larger stocks with a scalable paper capacity up to 1,410 sheets. For Yankee Candle’s retail locations, blank labels—material with a white base and already coated—are mailed to the store in 4×6-inch sheets and pre-die cut to the correct label size. A store employee places the label material in the printer tray and presses print when a personalized order is requested at the retail location.

In-store label personalization capabilities launched in April 2017. At press time 90 percent of the Yankee Candle retail stores offer the service. Response has been favorable. “We are very pleased with both the sales and positive response from our customers. They are thrilled to be able to walk in with a gift idea and within minutes have a personal and unique gift,” shares Springfield.

Fragrant Success
Yankee Candle is successful in its implementation of digitally printed labels across its brand, starting at the top with its traditional candle offerings and allowing the benefits of digital to influence its consumer direct side online. From there, the company was able to introduce personalized labels in store, the same day, and continues to look for new ways to use digital in its product offerings. “We are exploring other products where digital printing technology can apply and are excited about the opportunities to provide unique offerings to our customers,” concludes Springfield.

July2017, DPS Magazine

Presenting at Print 17

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By DPS Staff

Every four years the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) presents the Print 17 exhibition and conference from September 10 to 14, 2017 at McCormick Place South in Chicago, IL.

Print 17 offers a show of inkjet, digital, offset, flexographic, gravure, and hybrid printing technologies, products, and services serving the printing and imaging industry.

Exhibitor Previews
A variety of vendors showcase the latest technologies targeting print professionals. Here we present a sample of what to expect on the show floor.

Alyeant, booth 542, offers attendees a chance to learn more about its web to print solution, Pressero; online designer, eDocBuilder; MIS/ERP, PrintJobManager; and automated prepress workflow, tFLOW.

Aurigma, booth 251, demonstrates its flagship Customer’s Canvas technology. Today’s printing companies face many unique challenges, like finding an effective solution that enables customers to create personalized designs online. Customer’s Canvas online web to print editor allows printers to create multiple ordering workflows for a variety of products. It also provides the end user with a user-friendly experience.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., booth 1213, showcases advancements that push the boundaries of the graphic arts through its solutions portfolio. The company highlights some of its newest developments to its lineup, including the Océ Colorado 1640, Canon’s new 64-inch wide format device. Other products and solutions displayed include the latest imagePRESS, imagePROGRAF, PRISMA, varioPRINT iSeries, and Arizona devices. For the first time in North America, samples from the latest ProStream device are exhibited.

Crawford Technologies, booth 454, showcases its portfolio of configurable and scalable solutions for automated workflows that support the migration to new inkjet presses as well as streamline and monitor production processes to gain efficiencies and reduce costs. The company highlights its new PRO Preference Manager, a flexible solution that makes it easy to transform documents into new formats and seamlessly deliver them according to customer preferences via multiple parallel delivery channels.

Diversified Nano Solutions Corp, booth 854, introduces INKcrypt Ink, designed to eliminate counterfeiting and fraud worldwide; Qtouch authentication readers for quick distinction between originals and unauthorized copies; UV Spector ProX invisible UV fluorescent ink-signature analyzer; and X-Series pigment powders and dispersions for custom development and production of ink, paint, paste, dispersion, gel, cream, and powder.

Duplo USA, booth 1225, spotlights its new DDC-810 Digital Spot UV Coater. Utilizing inkjet technology together with an ultra violet lamp for instant curing, the DDC-810 applies a gloss varnish to defined areas of the substrate and gives images an eye-catching layer of texture and depth. Equipped with Duplo’s air suction feed system, the DDC-810 handles paper sizes up to 14×29 inches and processes up to 21 ledger size pages per minute (ppm) and 36 letter-sized ppm. Its CCD camera automatically corrects for shrinkage, stretch, and skew while the unique registration marks ensure the accurate alignment of the spot UV layer onto the printed document. Ideal for production output, the DDC-810 Digital Spot UV Coater offers print providers a design-driven and highly viable solution.

EMT International, booth 3819, showcases a full roll-to-sheet finishing line. The EMT International finishing line highlights two new technologies offered within its finishing portfolio. EMT International features live demonstrations of its new Chameleon RFX Dual Head Chip-Cutting and Stacking finishing line configuration. Also displayed is EMT’s StatRx, which helps mitigate the impact of static in the sheeting and inserting processes.

Gluefast, booth 3657, demonstrates its entry-level case making system to produce hardcovers at rates of 40-plus books per hour. The company also shows its gluing equipment for mounting large prints, edge gluing pocket folders, and acrylic coatings.

Glunz & Jensen, booth 431, showcases the iCtP PlateWriter 3600 Pro Ctp solution. The iCtP PlateWriter 3600 Pro is an affordable computer to plate system that produces press-ready aluminum plates for small to mid-size commercial print and newspaper applications.

GP2 Technologies, booth 3636, offers live demonstrations of its latest innovations including the Cover-1 casemaking system and the CT-1 Cover Trimmer. Together, this equipment provides maximum automation, quality, and profitability in runs down to just one book but with the speed to quickly produce runs in the hundreds.

GPA, Specialty Substrate Solutions, booth 3840, gives attendees the first look at new additions to its digital and wide format offerings, including Ultra Digital Wood Veneer Boards and Pressure Sensitive Boards for HP Indigo and offset presses, premium synthetics for dry toner presses, and Bantex and GPA Banner Media for wide format presses.

Graphic Technology, Inc. (GTI), booth 545, features the GTI Graphiclite product portfolio, which includes desktop viewers, floor stand models, large format viewing solutions, and soft proofing systems.

ImPress Systems, booth 4510, features its range of digital foil printing solutions. These versatile, on demand printers are used to print foil on stationery products, book covers, photo, and specialty items, as well as writing instruments and a variety of other items. The company highlights its newest printer, Foil Direct, which is available in both manual and automated feeding models.

KBA North America, booth 213, focuses on the latest press innovations for its core commercial and packaging markets. The group’s portfolio includes sheetfed offset presses in all format classes from 29 to 81 inches, post press die-cutters, inkjet presses and systems, flexographic presses, commercial and newspaper web presses, corrugated presses, and special presses. Information on its alliances with HP and Xerox are highlighted.

Komori, booth 2607, highlights its vision of the future by showcasing its Impremia IS29 inkjet sheetfed UV printing system. Komori’s theme underscores the company’s continued commitment to offer print providers solutions that expand their potential and improve margins with the ability to produce diverse print communications. Following that path, Komori shares technology and solutions that include offset presses, digital printing systems, and post-press equipment along with software products for the integrated control of these systems, as well as K-Supply products that support quality and productivity.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA Inc., booth 2031, showcases its latest product solutions and services for commercial print, labels, packaging, and wide format print applications. A few hardware highlights include the AccurioPress C6100 and MGI digital finishing solutions. The Accurio Press C6100 is Konica Minolta’s latest flagship model for 100 page per minute, toner-based digital color printing, featuring the new IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimizer. MGI digital finishing solutions open the doors to digital embossing and hot foil stamping with the JETvarnish 3D and iFOIL solutions.

KTI, booth 3445, highlights its automatic splicers and turret rewinders. KTI produces cutting-edge equipment with a solid steel frame and precise engineering in an operator-friendly design resulting in highly dependable, durable equipment for the print industry as well as tag and label, film, paperboard, and envelopes. Most recently, KTI offers Monomatic equipment. Monomatic is a manufacturer of non-stop unwinders and rewinders based in France. Monomatic machines offer roll diameters from 600 to 1,500 millimeters (mm), web widths of 410 to 2500 mm, and speeds of up to 1,000 meters per minute.

Magnum Magnetics, booth 448, showcases its range of direct printable magnetic media for multiple printer types including roll-fed inkjet, laser/toner, and latex presses. Magnum also showcases its line of aqueous and UV coatings from its sister company, Magnum Inks & Coatings.

Martin Yale, booth 3834, introduces the Count KF-250 Stand-Alone Knife Folder. Heavier-weight digital media coming off creasers and slitter/cutter/creasers can’t be folded inline and are not possible to fold on most buckle folders. The new Count KF-250 from Martin Yale is a stand-alone knife folder designed to quickly and easily fold heavier-weight digitally produced media—up to 350 gsm. The KF-250 is ideal for environments with an existing creasing machine or a multi-directional slitter/cutter/creaser. It features a bottom vacuum feed with register guide, and a user-friendly touchscreen control with speeds up to 4,300 sheets per hour. Also on display is the Count NumberJet.

Masterpiece Graphix, booth 3143, showcases its wood veneer, which is back by popular demand. It is available in 19×13-inch sheets with a 14 pt birch or cherry wood veneer finish and a white backer. Applications for wood veneer include bar and restaurant menus, direct mail promotions, postcards and bookmarks, licensed and sports-themed graphics, indoor signage, invitations, packaging, business cards, shelf talkers, table tents and coasters, tickets and event/VIP passes, and hang tags.

Neopost USA’s Digital Print Group, booth 2007, brings its suite of digital color printers. Visitors have the opportunity to see and test the new production-ready MACH 6 full-color thick-media printer as well as the Neopost-brand AS-450 and AS-650 high-speed, monochrome inkjet address printers. Visitors will want to take a moment to inspect the MACH 5DX full-color inkjet duplex print system and HD-CX series digital printers to compare Neopost’s toner-based print solutions with its cost-effective inkjet technologies.

PressWise by SmartSoft, booth 538, shows off the latest enhancements to its print MIS and workflow automation platform. These include a new Purchase Order functionality, to allow ordering of non-inventory items and services, with the ability to tie these to specific orders. A new Delivery Signature Capture feature lets delivery drivers view a map of delivery locations and capture the signature of the person receiving the shipment. Proof of delivery can then be mailed to the customer along with the invoice email. Full service mailings are now also accomplished through PressWise with the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes and connection to the PostalOne! portal. In addition, numerous shipping enhancements are included. Users now define any number of shipping carriers, along with their associated shipping methods.

Pro-Bind, booth 3760, highlights its tabletop thermal binding equipment for hardcover and softcover book binding and photobooks, document packaging products for all formats of binding, and custom sealed vinyl products. Manufacturing capabilities include offset and digital printing, foil stamping, silk screening, embossing and de-dossing, die cutting, and fulfillment of custom products.

ProImage America, booth 344, develops browser-based digital and production automated workflows, ink optimization, color toning and correction software, tablet and mobile digital solutions, and press registration solutions for commercial and newspaper printers. The company showcases NewsWay, a browser-based fully automated workflow, output management, and production tracking solution. Additionally, its OnColor ECO Ink optimization reduces ink consumption while maintaining the highest possible print quality. Finally, the company showcases Eversify, an innovative cloud-based solution for the creation of digital publications for tablets and other mobile devices.

Propago, booth 315, unveils the next generation in web to print (W2P) technology. Propago enables print producers to offer their clients intelligent W2P storefronts that handle any type of marketing products, more advanced business rules configurations, and an intuitive user experience that works for anyone on any device. While on the front end Propago ensures clients’ brand, budget, and inventory are always protected, on the backend Propago Warehouse Management System helps producers run a lean and intelligent operation.

Quantum Roll Sheeters, booth 3444, highlights its roll sheeters, which range in size from 40 to 81 inches. Though its name is new to the industry, its technology and designs have been around for more than a decade. Quantum machines are backed by a highly innovative design staff in mechanical and controls engineering. Its parent company, Quantum Design Inc., has been in the control systems design, engineering, and panel building industries for over 30 years.

Relyco, booth 3055, invites attendees to take a trip to Relyco City to explore its range of products in use. Relyco features the company’s entire product line, including REVLAR waterproof paper, TriDura durable paper, DigiPOP packaging solutions, REIMAGE carbonless paper, ULTRASEAL pressure seal forms, ID cards, Integrated Label Forms, and custom solutions.

RISO, Inc., booth 3213, showcases both current and conceptual products at this year’s show. Come see the 150 page per minute SF series duplicator, the slim FW series business inkjet, and the GD series professional inkjet printer, which incorporates a fifth color of ink to enrich the look of images and enhance overall color quality. A high productivity conceptual inkjet printer is also shown.

Rochester Software Associates (RSA), booth 231, showcases its streamlined production workflow. See live demonstrations of the latest releases of WebCRD in-plant web to print software, QDirect output manager, and ReadyPrint universal prepress suite. Experience a technology demonstration of Amazon’s Echo voice recognition integrated with RSA’s QDirect for flash briefings about job workload and printer status and give verbal commands to control job flow.

Rollem International, booth 845, features its die-cut Insignia Series. See two Insignia models—the 20×20-inch IS6 and 30×24-inch IS7 on display. Both feature live die-cutting demonstrations. Additionally, attendees see three versatile Jetstream applications; including inline UV coating; XY slitting of postcard sheets, cutting and collating of poker decks, tickets, or tags; plus the CP Bourg BSF Sheet feeder inline with Jetstream finishing 36-up business card sheets at 200,000 cards per hour. Rollem also offers a direct mail finishing system, all models of digital finishers from 24 to B2 30 inches, plus perforating and scoring devices up to 42 inches.

Spiel Associates, booth 220, showcases its Digibinder line of perfect binders, including The Sterling Digibinder and Digibinder Plus. Both can bind books from as thin as two sheets up to two inches thick at speeds up to 300 books per hour.

Spiral, booth 3808, demonstrates its James Burn machines. The DocuPunch MINI can punch up to 11,000 sheets per hour (sph). The DocuPunch PLUS punches quantities of up to 77,000 sph. Punch and die changeovers take only seconds, saving users time and labor. The EX610 High Speed Automatic Punch’s outputs reach up to 125,000 sph and punches virtually any type of stock and material.

TEC Mailing Solutions, booth 1950, has its #CloudMailingGuys on hand with a certified USPS cloud solution for address hygiene and sortation, MailPreparer.com; along with postal workflow solutions and a hosted API. Stop by to see how cloud solutions provide the freedom to work anywhere.

Ultimate TechnoGraphics, booth 540, offers results-driven software solutions for imposition and finishing automation. Ultimate Bindery automates digital finishing equipment to efficiently produce short-run books or booklets. Users are able to manage an entire finishing workflow and connect it to a prepress workflow for maximum return on investment. New device support includes Horizon CRF-362 and Smart Binding Solution.

VITS International, Inc., booth 3602, runs a two-web Sprint Book Line, which is intelligently registering two preprinted, inkjet webs to produce a multi-page commercial flyer. The line consists of two unwinds, two infeeds, two ribbon decks, inline former folder, and the Sprint Variable Repeat Rotary Cutter. Samples are on hand and produced live at the show. The company also showcases the latest addition to its product line, the VITS DS splicer.

Xerox, booth 1302, showcases next-generation digital printing technologies including inkjet and xerographic presses, revenue-generating applications, and workflow and personalization solutions. An array of production print devices are on display, including the Xerox Brenva HD Production Inkjet Press, the Xerox Rialto 900 Inkjet Press, the Xerox Trivor 2400 Inkjet Press with High Fusion Ink, the Xerox iGen 5 Press, and the Xerox Versant 3100 Press. XMPie, a Xerox Company, highlights solutions that deliver highly effective, personalized cross-media communications and web to print portals.

Zünd, booth 4404, exhibits the fully configured G3 M-2500, a highly versatile, multi-functional cutting/routing/finishing system with a cutting area of 52×98 inches. Also displayed is the latest version of Zünd Design Center, an Adobe Illustrator plug-in for creating packaging and three-dimensional displays.

See You On the Floor
Stop by booth 4616 at Print 17 to say hello to our editors and check out the latest issues.

July2017, DPS Magazine

One Stop for Branding Needs

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By Cassandra Balentine

Print providers are looking to transition from a commodity service provider to a marketing partner. An effective and productive print environment seeks software solutions that streamline workflow and offer value-added components for customers like easier brand management and online ordering.

Established in 2006, ZenPrint has grown organically as well as through acquisitions. Its personalized, print on demand products include photo merchandise, business cards, direct mail, banners, booklets, flyers, and labels. In addition, the company offers web to print (W2P) solutions, including storefronts, a W2P plug in, and W2P API.

The company now employs a staff of 40—which ramps up to 60 during peak season—out of one 30,000 square foot facility in Provo, UT.

Branding Business
Starting out, ZenPrint founders J.D. Gardner and Nate Jenson realized the complications of marketing for franchises and decided to solve the problem. The two worked with a Mexican restaurant chain that required a range of collateral for each location. However, each franchisee contracted these items separately and the franchisor’s overall branding frequently got lost.

The shop decided to create a W2P system that could enable brand templates that anchored certain elements of a marketing piece and customized others. The platform was successful and expanded to other customers. Today, the W2P storefront, ZenFront, provides clients with a one-stop shop that combines printing, inventory management, ecommerce, and fulfillment while allowing users to protect and enhance their brand.

Move to Print
After creating its successful W2P product, the next challenge for ZenPrint was finding a reliable print partner to create the range of applications the platform supports. Without much luck finding print partners to comply with their requests they decided to get into the print business themselves.

In 2008, the company acquired a Salt Lake City, UT printer, converting the operation to digital with Xerox iGen presses. It selected the EFI Fiery digital front end to drive them. This enabled the company to control multiple printers from a single interface and take advantage of built-in applications for imposition, color management, and job editing.

As the company’s needs continued to expand, the pair acquired a printing company in 2011. This purchase brought a larger facility and the two operations were combined. Today the company operates with two Xerox iGen 150 presses, a Ricoh Pro C9110, and two Ricoh Pro C7100 presses—all managed with one EFI interface, Fiery Command WorkStation. The Fiery works especially well for the multi-vendor environment.

Fast Paced Success
With its branding platform and digital operations, the on demand digital print provider grew quickly. According to Justin Biggs, president/COO, ZenPrint, the shop manufactures more than 100 print on demand products in house, including photobooks, banners, canvas and metal prints, as well as traditional business products in various quantities.

Because of the application versatility, the shop understands that it can’t dedicate a press operator to manually open files, check for assets, and queue jobs for press, so it invested in automation, again looking to EFI, selecting its Fiery JobFlow product.

Orders come in through the ZenPrint W2P job manager and are automatically grouped into batches that are released to JobFlow with a click of a button. Upon the release, a .CSV file is submitted to a JobFlow workflow, where files are pulled down, preflighted, combined, imposed, and sent to press. With this workflow, the operator doesn’t have to do any imposition.

“We used to spend two to three hours each morning queuing up batches. Now, with Fiery JobFlow, jobs are already queued when we arrive in the morning and we don’t have to worry about whether there will be issues,” says Biggs.

JobFlow is also used to manage some of the company’s wide format work, adding registration marks and cut guides when needed. “We use JobFlow to add those extra marks then drop the PDFs onto the computer connected to the printer for printing,” adds Biggs.

“One thing I that have learned in the last decade is that technology changes—and changes quickly,” comments Biggs. “We wanted a solution that would allow us to adopt new technology and take advantage of improvements regardless of whether it was from one company or multiple companies. We needed a solution that would set us apart and that was agnostic to the printing press,” continues Biggs, adding that the EFI JobFlow solution fit the bill.

Behind the Scenes
Marketing is largely about setting oneself apart from the competition. Part of the road to success often means making investments in the right technology.

With a software platform at its core, ZenPrint understands the need for customization, automation, and control. By focusing on this automation with sophisticated workflows, it found success and differentiates itself from other print and marketing service providers.

July2017, DPS Magazine

Let’s Get Technical

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By Olivia Cahoon

Technical professionals, including architects and designers, rely on wide format products specifically configured with their needs in mind. These devices, also known as technical printers, feature wide format output and scanning, color, and advanced workflow options that support easy collaboration—all in one device.

Technical professionals look for mobile solutions and distributed print environments as business needs evolve. As the cost of color declines, it is a coveted option for reducing costly errors with more distinguished prints.

Technical Advancements
In addition to quality and low-cost output, scanning functions are increasingly important to technical environments, including architects, engineers, and construction (AEC), geographic information systems (GIS), and computer-aided drawing (CAD) industries. Digitization enables collaboration, remote access, and electronic backup and storage.

When architects and engineers markup blueprints or drawings, having them digitally available is a time saver. Prior to scanning capabilities, Matt Kochanowski, product manager, professional imaging, Epson America, points out that drafts and markups were created on documents rolled into shipping tubes. “Users now instantly scan and share documents with wide format scanners,” he says.

John Fulena, VP, commercial and industrial printing group, Ricoh USA, says scanning capabilities have drastically improved in recent years. He comments that only recently have scanning capabilities reached the size, quality, and price requirements firms need to capture specialized documents reliably, accurately, efficiently, and affordably. “In fact, in some cases these advanced scanning capabilities are included in wide format multifunctional products (MFPs) to make document sharing, storing, and printing simpler than ever,” shares Fulena.

These devices also simplify workflow by reducing the need for dedicated wide format printers at various locations. Kochanowski explains that anyone with access to an internal network can send files from commonly used applications like Adobe Acrobat and AutoCAD.

In addition to advanced scanning capabilities, the look and feel of technical printers is a noteworthy characteristic. Technical printers are designed to provide a smooth integration for technical applications in office environments, mimicking user interaction for printing, copying, scanning, and maintenance of office MFPs.

“If the device is going to sit amongst the employees, rather than in a CRD, it must be quiet, have low energy, and wiring requirements, and not give off excess heat or other emissions,” comments Bob Honn, senior director marketing support, Canon Solutions America.

Special Functions
As previously noted, technical printer manufacturers primarily target professionals in select industries such as AEC, CAD, and GIS. Each market seeks specific functions for a more efficient production.

Color Output
Demand for color output with the productivity commonly associated with B&W systems has increased. In the past, compromises existed in mechanical print speed, processing speed, dry time, and media handling compared to monochrome large format systems were a reality.

“Research finds that color in large format technical documents is primarily used for presentation-quality sales and marketing applications, namely to ease interpretation and comprehension for faster decision making,” says Honn.

To convey detailed designs, architects use color for presentation while engineers rely on it to clarify complex drawings to avoid mistakes during production. In the GIS market, Honn says more maps are now produced in color to facilitate interpretation.

Color is also used in electronic drawings for chips and circuit boards to create fine lines and small elements. Color aids in material retention as color-coded drawings in the educational and training sector. “The use of color is important in industrial designs to make products appear more realistic and assist with product evaluation,” says Honn.

Advanced color devices allow a printer’s use to be extended beyond simple technical drawings to a wider range of graphics applications. This is due to high print quality and the ability to use a variety of media types. “It becomes easy to load multiple roles of media, and of different sizes, simultaneously for departments in the organization for a variety of projects,” says Honn.

Workflow
Demand for electronic formatted documents that enable easy accessibility and storage is found across a range of industries. Digitization is important for easy sharing and in the event that stored documents are destroyed without backups.

“In CAD, for instance, you’re seeing an industry wide move—albeit a somewhat slow one—toward a PDF workflow, so making sure all relevant documents are in an electronic format is important,” points out Fulena.

In the AEC space, companies store years of hard copy drawings that require specialized bulk storage. Fulena believes AEC digitization is a huge positive because the industry relies on communication and collaboration among disparate workers. “With high-resolution digitized plans, the electrician or plumber in the field doesn’t have to lug around huge paper plans—they just have to pull out their smartphones and consult the plans there.”

The cloud also plays a role. Over the past few years, cloud computing affected engineered printing and scanning systems across industries. According to Honn, it’s important that this function be platform agnostic and not tied exclusively to any single vendor for interchangeable usage.

Each of these characteristics is underlined by the demand for ease of use. “Having an easy-to-use interface and simple maintenance makes the printing experience much less complex,” comments Kochanowski.

Fulena agrees and sees a big push for ease of use in every industry. “Just because their prints have extremely specific requirements doesn’t mean people are willing to—nor should they have to—struggle at the device,” he adds.

On the Market
Many vendors support solutions for technical professionals.

Canon Solutions America
Canon Solution America’s technical printing solutions include the Océ ColorWave 500, Océ PlotWave 345/365, and 450/550 systems. Released in 2010, these devices print, copy, and scan wide format technical documents.

The Océ devices are intended for AEC, CAD, GIS, and manufacturing markets. Honn says the Océ PlotWave and ColorWave systems are designed for office environments and can plug into a standard electrical outlet with no additional lines to pull. “They are completely quiet and draw no more energy than a light bulb when in standby mode,” says Honn.

Océ ColorWave 500 units serve multiple users by printing engineering documents, renderings, sales presentations, organizational and marketing posters, and banners with the same system. Featuring a resolution of 600 dpi, the Océ ColorWave 500 has a maximum roll width of 42 inches. It reaches up to printing speeds of 225 D size prints per hour and handles flexible media like bond, film, waterfast Tyvek, polypropylene, and recycled paper.

The Océ PlotWave and ColorWave product family integrates into any WebDAV compliant cloud, public or private, for users to access documents as needed.

Epson
The Epson SureColor T-Series is available in single- and dual-roll models. Released in July 2014, the series features Epson PrecisionCore TFP printheads and Epson UltraChrome XD pigment ink. UltraChrome XD inks are designed for durability against extreme water, smudge, fade, and ozone resistance.

Kochanowski says the SureColor T-Series provides technical, corporate, and marketing professionals with a combination of precision, performance, and brilliance. Its targeted markets include architectural, engineering, education, and corporate graphics professionals.

The SureColor T7270D features a maximum width of 44 inches in dual roll at $6,995. It is capable of precise technical drawings, graphics posters, and retail signage at speeds up to 780 square feet per hour. It copies color D-size in less than 40 seconds and color scan speeds up to 12 inches per second.
“The SureColor T-Series printers deliver line accuracy with resolutions up to 2,880×1,440 dpi at fast speeds—producing a presentation quality D-size plot in as little as 25 seconds,” explains Kochanowski.

The SureColor T-Series 36- and 44-inch printers offer an optional multifunctional module for PC-free full-color copy and scan capabilities up to 36 inches wide.

KIP
The KIP 940 is a color and B&W high-production print system for all types of wide format printing tasks from maps to photo enlargements.
The KIP 940 features print-in-one-pass and a production speed for wide format printing for monochrome and color prints between 325 and 390 meters per hour. It handles approved standard and special media for indoor and outdoor usage.

The device supports three online roll decks and a manual bypass sheet-fed tray. Its LED system has 600×2,400 dpi resolution output. A CMYK dry toner system produces UV- and water-resistant output.

All the device’s system functions are performed through a 12-inch display with multi-touch color controls. The auto stacker configuration stacks up to 500 sheets with paper sizes up to 914 millimeter width.

HP
HP’s DesignJet T2530 Multifunction Printer series uses six original HP inks including gray and photo black for detailed color. Its integrated print, scan, copy, and built-in output stacking tray is designed for workgroups and professional-quality CAD and GIS applications.

The DesignJet T2530 has a maximum width of 36 inches and prints D/A1 prints in 21 seconds. It’s designed for productivity with an integrated 50-page output stacking tray to deliver flat, collated printers.

The HP DesignJet T2530 produces resolution up to 2,400 dpi and suggests Adobe PostScript for architectural prints. The device features the HP AiO Printer Remote and allows mobile device or USB drive printing with HP Mobile Printing.

Ricoh
Ricoh offers the RICOH MP CW2201SP, an all-in-one, full-color B&W multifunctional printer with color, copy, print, and scan capabilities. The device features a clamshell configuration for easy front access to paper rolls and ink cartridges. It is intended for production speeds up to 5,000 square feet per month.

The CW2201SP handles roll paper up to 36 inches wide and takes less than 40 seconds to warm up. Its dual printheads and pigment-based ink technology is intended for full-color results with less smudge.

To improve the user experience, the CW2201SP features a Smart Operation Panel with a streamlined user interface. “It lets users have specific job settings, so when users frequently print documents that have the same kinds of complexities it becomes a matter of a few simple taps instead of carefully calibrating each time,” says Fulena.

The control panel includes an optional NFC card reader with access to up to 3,000 files stored on the Document Server. The display tilts freely from zero to 55 degrees.

The CW2201SP targets CAD and AEC markets and is priced at $15,919 MSRP. It was released in August 2016.

Rigoli
Powered by Memjet technology, Rigoli offers the Vortex 4200 wide format printer. The device targets several print applications, including CAD, AEC, GIS, and point of sale graphics with a combination of speed and quality.

The Vortex 4200 features five printheads for single-pass, wide format printing. It offers an effective print speed of 500 BI sheets per hour and a print resolution of 1,600 dpi.

Print Remains
Printed output still plays a major role in the technical marketplace. Fulena believes annotation and collaboration on technical documents is often simpler and more intuitive on paper. “You can see users printing out plans, making plastic molds, and then holding the mold up to the paper plans to make sure the sizes match up,” he adds. For these applications, reliable high quality to scale print is crucial.

With in-house printing capabilities, professionals print instantly without leaving the building for wide format prints. “Information is consistently changing and having to run out to a copy shop to get prints done is too cumbersome for any business,” says Kochanowski.

Technical printing benefits from wide format printers with scanning capabilities, color output, and the latest workflow for a complete digital device. AEC, CAD, and GIS markets seek these devices for accurate designs, efficiency, necessary width, and ease of use.

July2017, DPS Magazine

Prime Media

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By Olivia Cahoon

Media manufacturers partner with press manufacturers to combat media compatibility challenges in the development of production inkjet printers. On-press advancements also lessen compatibility issues and broaden the application appeal. For example, earlier this year, Canon announced its ColorGrip technology, an inline paper conditioning step that allows print service providers (PSPs) to print on a wider variety of cost-effective papers, including standard uncoated and offset coated media.

This article discusses on-press enhancements available to cutsheet and continuous production inkjet solutions on the market.

Broadening Compatibility
While most water-based inkjet inks work on uncoated offset papers, better results are achieved by using paper designed specifically for inkjet. To achieve desired results, production inkjet manufacturers work to improve media compatibility challenges.

According to Michael Poulin, director of marketing, production print solutions, Canon Solutions America, equipment manufacturers have taken an integrated approach to overcoming media challenges in production inkjet devices by working closely with paper manufacturers to co-develop and test various types of media designed to print specifically on production inkjet devices. “This approach has led to a rapid increase in inkjet-certified papers across the market, which means more options for PSPs and their customers,” he says.

“Just like there are papers for offset, a number of paper mills have an extensive offering of inkjet-optimized papers,” comments Gianluigi Rankin, director of product marketing, Memjet.

Rankin believes media compatibility challenges appear while printing on coated offset papers or films. He explains that the only choice until now has been to use inkjet-coated substrates that have a considerable cost compared to flexographic or offset equivalent media. “This has driven the need to develop primers that allow printing on standard substrates with a much lower premium.”

Priming technology helps to increase media compatibility while driving print costs down.

Mark Schlimme, director of marketing, Screen America, agrees and says uncoated stocks are no longer a significant challenge for production inkjet or aqueous inks. However, coated stocks still remain a technical challenge. To enhance the adhesion of inkjet ink to coated paper, he suggests jetting a primer agent inline with on-press inkjet printheads.

“The entire paper surface can be primed or just the areas where the image will print,” says Schlimme. However, it is important to note that the process adds cost, time, and energy, and may impact production speed or quality due to additional drying.

PSPs may also use inkjet-treated papers directly from paper mills. “These papers run well but may not be as attractive as their untreated inkjet cousins,” explains Schlimme. Untreated coated stocks for offset printing are generally manufactured with brighteners and additives to enhance the paper’s appearance. This can lead to problems with ink adhesion.

Schlimme believes inkjet-treated paper improves performance but carries a significant pricing premium from paper mills. Choice and availability may also not be as broad as common grade coated paper.

Grant Miller, COO, Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies, says inkjet manufacturers have begun using high-resolution inkjet printheads and ink to put more drops of ink per inch on paper, creating a similar visual effect to existing resolutions while using less ink.

Inkjet print engine manufacturers may offer pre-treatment capabilities that help lower quality papers achiever higher quality images on less expensive paper. Treatment options include bonding agents that help ink sit better or pre-treatment via technologies like flood coaters, which treat the entire paper before printing. “Both of these allow a higher quality image and better resolution,” adds Miller.

Manufacturers also focus on drying capabilities to enable a broader array of papers. “For example, drying the paper at a lower level for a longer period of time or putting enormous energy in the paper quickly to set the ink immediately addresses some of the changes manufacturers face for quality, cost, and timing,” he adds.

Media Products
Before choosing a media product, PSPs should consider the application. For inkjet, media products include untreated, treated, pigmented, and coated papers. Inline priming and coating technologies are offered for cutsheet and continuous inkjet devices.

For untreated paper, Miller recommends using a bonding agent to enhance print quality. Printers may also use a flood coater for the entire page to improve the overall appearance. “We can also optimize output on untreated paper using color profiles, which is a cost-effective way to improve the quality on untreated paper.”

Bonding agents and flood coaters are offered for continuous-feed devices. Bonding agents use a printhead to spray the paper while flood coaters cover the entire page in a coating or bonding agent to improve quality and ink adherence.

Treated papers have a different texture so there is limited need to use bonding agents or flood coating to establish color. Color management tools maximize the quality of the printed output while profiles may be reused in the future on the same treated paper.

Color management is also key with pigmented paper as well as bonding agent considerations. “Because pigmented paper has different color profiles than white paper, all printing technologies need to adjust for the background and ensure the right visual appearance on the pigmented paper,” explains Miller.

Like untreated, treated, and pigmented paper, coated paper requires color management and correction. Due to variation in the texture of the page, coated paper involves adjustments in the amount of ink used during printing. “Typically, inkjets spray smaller sized droplets on coated paper and use significantly less ink during the printing process,” continues Miller.

“Many of the technologies we use in production printing have been around for 20 or more years, but they are continuously enhanced over the years to simplify the process and be as cost effective as possible,” adds Miller.

He believes cutsheet paper is more difficult to handle than continuous rolls, therefore there are more limitations. Primers and coatings are generally sprayed on individual sheets or distributed by nozzles across the cutsheet instead of rollers or flooding.

Dustin Graupman, senior VP sales and marketing, Super Web Digital, says paper mills are making big investments to enable media on all platforms. He believes that customers are more interested in buying optimized paper than making it inline in an already complex print and finishing process. “To our knowledge, most priming technologies are OEM vendor provided,” he offers.

Opportunities for Enhancement
Following continued progress towards better media options for inkjet, there is always room for improvement. Providers of inks, primers, media, and printing equipment work together for continued advancements in media compatibility.

Schlimme believes a significant improvement will be from inks that perform equally well on treated and untreated commodity-grade coated stocks with the addition of jetted or coated primers. “Press manufacturers experiment with inkjet additives that are marketed to grip the paper surface, but these additives can come with their own set of restrictions, added costs, and impacts on performance.”

To avoid a new set of challenges, Screen Americas finds the best solution for the customer is to not add equipment costs or production time and limitations. “The best solution is providing the ink and inkjet press that are tuned to print to any stock whether treated, untreated, coated, or uncoated,” recommends Schlimme.

Rankin believes increasing inkjet volumes will drive media manufacturers to manufacture inkjet-optimized substrates more economically and compel more inkjet printed pages and new applications. Primers will be affected as chemical companies create more fluids and offer coatings.

Graupman says the biggest improvement to come is paper mills converting dedicated lines to produce inkjet-optimized media. “The setup costs for mills are often what drives the price premiums versus standard papers. Even the equipment manufacturers promoting coated offset paper capability will often admit that the print is superior on optimized treated paper,” he adds.

The industry must drive more inkjet volume to help mills justify the investment in dedicated paper lines.

Media Considerations
Paper is a large expense for any job. By adding costs like primers, coatings, mill treatments, drying time, or additional equipment to paper, end margins may quickly decrease in a competitive market.

Schlimme says coated papers treated for inkjet carry 25 to 30 percent premiums. If paper costs are solved, improvements in image quality and production speeds will challenge conventional offset sheet presses.

He adds that Screen Americas recently benchmarked seven existing jobs for one customer and compared costs of inkjet-coated papers to printing on untreated commodity coated stocks. “For 700,000 pieces and almost 370,000 feet of paper accounting for over 40 hours of press time, the paper and ink savings alone were close to $20,000 when compared to running on treated inkjet coated stocks.”

Rankin believes the best results are achieved on papers and other substrates designed specifically for inkjet inks. “Uncoated papers used today along with analog presses will likely work, but print providers should ask their press supplier to print on their most popular papers before purchasing a press. The coated papers will likely not work unless a primer is used to treat the paper,” he says.

Every paper has unique characteristics including coating, clay content, and moisture. Miller says these characteristics impact how ink sits on the page during printing and ink color profiles. “Even paper produced in the same mill, on the same day can vary in quality, clay content, or moisture content.”

Print providers pre-qualify and run tests to address paper quality variations and to check and correct for key paper characteristics like color gamut, whiteness, and brightness.

Canon Solutions America’s Media & Solutions Lab tests combinations of inks and substrates on its production inkjet devices. “We use this lab to rigorously test and qualify papers from over 80 mills in the U.S., utilizing a team of color, media, and inkjet scientists. Through this process, we’ve qualified hundreds of papers for both the Océ ColorStream Series of continuous feed inkjet presses and the Océ VarioPrint i-Series sheetfed inkjet presses,” says Poulin. “We also work with mills to help them develop new inkjet papers and optimize those they currently offer.”

Another consideration is availability. Graupman encourages customers to look at available paper with their mills and merchants early in the process. “Customers often learn that there are one or two truckload minimums for inkjet-optimized papers, which is prohibitive for many customers to buy.”

Latest Advancements
Press manufacturers and media providers are working to reduce challenges and improve inkjet compatibility.

Canon’s ColorGrip technology is currently available on the Océ VarioPrint i-Series sheet-fed inkjet press. Poulin says it is essentially a conditioning fluid added to the print process to enhance image quality on commodity-grade, untreated stocks. It pretreats stock with spot application using a fifth channel in the Océ VarioPrint iSeries. “The new iQuarius inks for this press, along with ColorGrip technology, make this press more suitable for graphic arts and commercial printers who previously may not have considered production inkjet to be a viable alternative to offset and toner-based hardware,” he adds.

ColorGrip represents an evolution in sheetfed inkjet technology to improve the quality and media range, enabling customers to expand their application options and grow their business. It was first developed to extend the range of offset substrates for use in inkjet applications printed on the Océ VarioPrint i-Series. “It keeps the pigments of the ink at surface level and helps the color bond to the paper so PSPs get good adhesion and color reproduction. ColorGrip essentially allows printers to use offset stocks or speciality stocks as inkjet stocks, thereby giving our customers more flexibility with their media and application options. Additionally, ColorGrip reduces front to back bleed through on thin papers as it keeps the ink pigments on top of the paper,” says Poulin.

Memjet currently has several OEMs developing priming solutions for different market segments and regions. “We support them by testing printing on some of the primed media and providing feedback,” says Rankin.

Memjet also has a program that tests media compatibility. Rankin says the list of compatible media is made available to OEM partners who manufacture the final printer solutions for different markets.

Pitney Bowes works directly with paper mills to develop optimum paper for inkjet processes. The manufacturer also tests printers, develops color profiles, and provides paper mill partners with feedback to tune and improve paper quality.

Screen Americas works directly with paper mills and customers to certify and profile standard coated and uncoated stocks. The company provides paper profiles to customers upon request.

Coatings & Primers
Production inkjet is flexible enough to be tailored to clients’ needs, but optimized inkjet paper may not be practical for all PSPs until inkjet volumes increase. Primers and coatings can help improve media appearance, quality, texture, and ink lay down.

July2017, DPS Magazine