DPS Staff
From May 31 to June 10, 2016, the print industry was inundated with new product announcements, launches, and debuts during drupa 2016. Held at Düsseldorf Fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany, the event focused on several themes including print, packaging production, multichannel, “green” printing, 3D printing, and functional printing.
According to event host, Messe Düsseldorf, approximately 260,000 visitors from 188 countries travelled to the show.
Printing Equipment
The latest in digital printing equipment—particularly inkjet—took center stage.
Canon introduced the new continuous feed inkjet press, the Océ ColorStream 6000 Chroma. The solution features the company’s new Chromera ink set with a wider gamut and higher optical densities than previous formulations.
FUJIFILM Corporation announced a partnership with EPAC Technologies to create an automated system to fulfill the demands of the printing industry. With the partnership, Fujifilm unveils its 5D Printing Strategy.
HP unveiled the HP PageWide C500 Press, a flexible post-print corrugated solution designed to integrate into a standard production environment. The company also showcased its first step towards digital combination printing.
Kodak announced details of its new KODAK NEXPRESS ZX Digital Production Color Presses, NEXPRESS Opaque White Dry Ink, and the Max Platform.
Konica Minolta displayed its latest in printing, applications, and know how. Attendees witnessed the company’s KM-1 B2+UV Inkjet Printer first hand.
Landa announced strategic agreements with Quad/Graphics as well as Cimpress and hosted live print demonstrations of the Landa S10, Landa S10P, and Landa W10 Nanographic Printing Presses as well as Landa Nano-Metallography.
Pitney Bowes announced an upgrade to its AcceleJet printing and finishing system, which according to the company, results in 33 percent faster print speeds—up to 328 feet per minute.
Ricoh announced a new MH5220 Industrial printhead designed for industrial printing applications including labels, packaging, and wide format graphics.
Xerox highlighted the new cutsheet Xerox Brenva HD Production Inkjet press along with the continuous feed Xerox Trivor 2400 Inkjet Press. The company also announced a partnership with KBA to develop a 40-inch B1 digital sheetfed press for the folding carton market—the KBA VariJET 106 Powered by Xerox.
Finishing
Automated finishing eliminates bottlenecks at the end of the line for high-volume production environments. Several product announcements tout efficient production throughout the finishing stage.
The MBO Group introduced several post press lines, including the new LeMans and Monza Signature Production Systems and the K8-RS Digi-Folder.
MGI Digital Technology released addition to its JETvarnish 3D digital enhancement product portfolio. The JETvarnish 3DW and iFOIL W system is an integrated, roll-to-roll print embellishment solution suited to the label and tag marketplace.
Highcon announced a new portfolio of products, including the Highcon Euclid III, Highcon Beam, and Highcon Pulse.
Kluge demonstrated advancements in folding and gluing, laser cutting, foil stamping, and UV coating.
Muller Martini focused its attention to Finishing 4.0 and demonstrated how signatures from both digital and offset could be processed with a smart workflow solution.
Standard Finishing showcased new solutions from both Standard Hunkeler and Standard Horizon. New products include Hunkeler’s proprietary Dyna-cut technology, featured as part of a book-on-demand solution for variable format inline book production. Horizon debuted the BQ-480 Perfect Binder, which features quick set-up and changeover for variable book production.
Zünd introduced its new D3 cutter, which is the company’s latest flagship cutter. The device features a dual-beam cutting system with twin beams operating independently and simultaneously in one efficient production workflow.
Workflow
It is not just equipment that makes an impact. Behind the scenes, software and workflow tools drive improvements in speed, efficiency, and productivity.
EFI released Fiery Navigator, a cloud-based product that gives print service providers insight into their production data to optimize resource allocation, ensure compliance with operating procedures, and make smart equipment decisions. Fiery Navigator is the first offering based on EFI’s new cloud platform.
Additionally, EFI announced an agreement with Esko that brings a combined workflow solution to market that enables companies to produce packaging with a single seamless and integrated workflow by connecting EFI Fiery digital front ends with Esko workflows and EFI enterprise resource planning and MIS solutions. The goal is to provide a unified production ecosystem for packaging companies.
Kodak introduced several key alliances, including a collaboration with Landa Digital Printing to provide an automated digital workflow to drive the Nanographic Printing press for mainstream commercial applications. The company also announced a partnership with Komori, in which it will deliver interoperability between the Komori KP-Connect Printing Task Control Software and KODAK PRINERGY Workflow.
The Next Four Years
We look forward to these products and partnerships maturing over the next four years. drupa 2020 is sure to showcase an evolved industry. Inkjet and packaging continue to be hot trends, as we look towards functional and 3D print on the horizon. dps
Jul2016, DPS Magazine
