Digital revolution to refresh sector

Date:2009-5-13 13:14:00

Fespa Digital is more than just a chance to check out all the latest digital hardware (and software), it's also a great place to find inspiration for new applications and new markets

SHOW INFORMATION

Dates 12-14 May
　　Opening hours 10am-6pm (5pm on the 14)
　　Location Amsterdam Rai, Europaplein, 1078 AZ Amsterdam www.rai.nl
　　Price Entrance is free if pre-registration is completed before 11 May. Entrance 　　at the show is €20
　　How to get there A number of different airlines fly to Amsterdam's Schipol airport and it is also practical to travel to the city from the UK by train (6 hours from London), boat, coach or car
Contact www.fespa.com

The Digital Revolution has been chosen as the theme for this year's Fespa Digital show, which has returned to Amsterdam following a brief sojourn to Geneva in 2008.

In the midst of widespread gloom, with the pain of print's transition to digital technologies and pressure from new media compounded by the global recession, Fespa's theme is a refreshingly positive message.

"Make it happen, alter your approach, stay positive, engage the imagination and keep an open mind," urges Fespa managing director Frazer Chesterman.

It may be a tall order with so much gloom out there. But on the other hand, when finding the money to invest in new kit is tough, attending a trade show for ideas and inspiration to carry you through the dark days isn't such a bad idea.
"What we are experiencing is a redefinition of the landscape inhabited by print service providers," says Chesterman. "Ours is an agile, creative and dynamic business."

Putting the meat on the bones of Chesterman's argument are the results of Fespa's first World Wide Survey, which has just been published, and which will be presented at the show on 14 May in the Digital Revolution Theatre.

More than 340 businesses in 50 countries responded to the survey, which puts the global value of printed graphics at €58bn (£52bn), of which digital output represents 39%. Within two years that figure is expected to hit 50%, showing just how fast digital is being adopted and how important it is to future business plans. That is reflected in the plans of 50% of respondents who intend to invest in new digital print hardware in the next year, with 40% of those investments
in UV-cured technology in a bid to add new or improved functionality. Quality dominates investment decisions at 84% followed by reliability and running costs at 58% and speed at 46%.

Positive thinking

While 40% of respondents said digital screens had a negative impact on their business, 43% said they were planning to participate in this market. That positive spirit was reflected in an overall optimism, suggesting it's not just Fespa's manage-ment but its members that believe in positive thinking.

In addition to the products on the show floor Fespa has packed in additional content to make a trip in mid-May to Amsterdam compelling. There are three days of seminars in the Digital Revolution Theatre running alongside a two-day Digital Textile Conference. Fespa will also use the event to announce the results of the 2009 Digital Print Awards and will hold a series of lunchtime debates on its own stand.

"The revolution demands digital technology, but it is the man behind the machine that will make a difference," says Chesterman. "The smartest, most creative and engaged will win. Successful printers will be able to combat the downturn with innovative equipment, but more importantly they'll give customers creative products that deliver measurable outcomes for their brands within budget."

Highlighting the idea that ‘while what you've got is important, it's what you do with it that really matters' is Epson's approach. With major product launches last year including its first solvent machine, the Stylus Pro GS6000, and the x900 range, the firm doesn't have any launches planned for this year's show. Instead it is focusing on showing a wide range of application that printers can tap into using its machinery and partners' software and consumables. Partners including Blanc Canvas, Caldera, ColorGate, EFI and Ergosoft will be producing signage, wallpaper, lenticular POS and textiles.

Fespa Digital is evolving beyond wide-format to cover a wider range of digital applications and technologies. Xeikon has taken space to showcase textile, packaging, label and wallpaper applications produced on its digital web presses. The firm is showcasing a plastic decoration transfer technique for printing glasses that it claims is the only alternative to in-mould labelling or direct printing, which it has collaborated with UK firm Diamond Photofoil to develop.

Digital textiles are becoming increasingly significant - as is reflected in the Digital Textile Conference - and are becoming more common as substrates for exhibitions, interiors and even outdoor applications that were previously the preserve of paper and plastics. Plus, digital print technology used in graphics production is making inroads into textile applications such as fashion, furniture and interiors.

Konica Minolta will be launching a high-speed inkjet printer for textile printing, the Nassenger VII, capable of producing 210m2 per hour. As well as textile printing Konica Minolta will be showing, along with partner Industrial Inkjet (IIJ), the Colourprint 144, a 144mm-wide printhead unit that is designed to be integrated into production lines or onto existing print kit. IIJ claims that the unit is suitable for web and sheetfed printing. It prints onto 3D objects, running at speeds of 120m per minute for monochrome and 18m per minute for process colour work.

Atlantic Zeiser is launching the Gamma 70, a 70mm-wide four-colour UV-cured inkjet print unit, which runs at up to 24m per minute. Like the Colourprint 144, it can be integrated with existing equipment and the firm believes it will find applications in packaging, labelling, security print, card manufacture and commercial print.

The Gamma 70 is one of several products at the show to use Xaar's latest print head - the 1001. This head, which is designed for single-pass printing rather than the multi-pass approach more common in wide-format technology today, is also used in German firm M Print's  SP2 machine. The CMYK plus white/spot colour machine is designed to print 3D objects up to 250mm thick, runs at 24m per minute and can be configured to print widths from 70-250mm.

The presence of machines based on the 1001 printhead shows that inkjet technology is viable for applications that rely on single-pass printing in the industrial, packaging and label sectors. Secondly the presence of machines for those markets underlines how digital technology is changing the landscape of the industry.

The big three

There's no shortage of innovation in Fespa Digital's  core wide-format printer sector either. At the very top end of the market the big three suppliers Fujifilm Sericol/Inca, HP and EFI Vutek are battling it out with new high-speed UV-cured flatbed machines. While EFI Vutek with the DS8300 and HP Scitex with the FB7500 will be debuting their 500sqm per hour-plus machines, Inca is showing the Onset S20, the baby brother of its category defining Onset, which launched a couple of years ago.

While the high-speed flatbed market may have dominated the headlines as the big guns have rolled out their high-end kit, things haven't been static on the roll-to-roll market. The 5m-wide sector has seen little innovation recently, until a flurry of new UV-cured machines arrived. EFI Vutek has launched a new platform, which includes its first 5m-wide UV machine, and WP Digital (formerly Spuhl) has launched a 5m-wide UV-cured machine the Virtu RR50.

In EFI Vutek's new GS range alongside the 5m wide GS 5000r, there's also a 3.2m hybrid (roll-to-roll and flatbed) machine the GS3200. Both are UV-cured and use a new printhead platform. "The GS series offers POP quality and billboard productivity," says EFI Vutek vice president of marketing Chuck Dourlet.

The firm claims that the new range meets market demand for versatile machines that can produce both high-quality close-viewed work for indoor POS, billboard-sized posters and other outdoor work. The GS5000r offers resolutions of up to 1,000dpi, ‘sellable' output of up to 288sqm per hour and with eight ink channels can be configured with CMYK plus light CMYK, for quality applications, or two sets of CMYK to hit that top speed.

In the case of the GS3200, which Dourlet described as "a category-redefining product", maximum resolution is 1,080dpi and maximum throughput is 112sqm per hour. For Dourlet the killer application is the duratrans market. Although inkjet has made some inroads into these photographic-quality lightboxes, it is still dominated by photographic imaging as the quality demanded is so high.

EFI Vutek is not the only firm to be pushing such an approach, which offers printers lower capital expenditure and running costs by using one versatile machine in place of several more niche machines. Czech firm Grapo's chief executive Radim Kralik says: "Firms are looking for quality, format and flexibility. One day they could be producing mobile phone covers - the next, billboards."

Grapo will be launching the Manta White, a 3x2m UV-flatbed with white ink, at the show and will also be showing its high productivity Shark, a hybrid machine capable of producing up to 200sqm per hour.

Software developments

Workflow has for a long time been touted as the next big thing in wide-format digital, but pre-media automation has lagged behind the commercial print market, with most firms sticking to a more basic approach of colour management and ripping. So EskoArtwork's launch of an automated nesting package SignUp Auto, is a significant move, and a product that is likely to be one of the stars of the show through its ability to increase productivity and minimise waste.

Geert De Proost, EskoArtwork director of the software product group, explains: "The automation in SignUp Auto uses SignUp's intelligent nesting and metadata, such as material and number of copies, to achieve ‘lights-out' production, reducing errors. And, just as important for the bottom line, SignUp Auto tools provide optimized material usage and cost efficiencies."

SignUp Auto is also XML and JDF compatible, which Esko says is crucial as it enables the system to integrate with digital storefronts and web-to-print systems.

In consumables, the march of PVC alternatives continues. One example is German substrate supplier Sihl's new range of tear-resistant polypropylene (PP) materials. The range includes Syntitec PP for aqueous printers and SyntiSol for solvent machines. Sihl has also launched TriSolv Prime Art Paper blueback SA 210 (3683), a weather resistant self-adhesive poster paper for solvent and UV print applications, which it claims has a novel twist.

"It produces bright colours while helping save up to 30% in ink costs thanks to its high colour saturation," says Sam Iliaifar, Sihl Group UK sales manager. "The reduction in quantity of ink used also has a positive effect on drying properties and increases productivity."

Another firm focused on reducing ink use will be Neschen with a range of coatings that are claimed to improve print quality while cutting ink consumption.

In post-press one of the many stars of the show is set to be the X7 Series of digital cutters, which is the result of a partnership between the UK's Planet Digital and Korean manufacturer DYSS. It is claimed that the X7 will provide a viable alternative to EskoArtwork Kongsberg and Zund cutters.

If the World Wide Survey is to be believed then there are enough printers in the market for equipment who won't be disappointed with the innovation on offer on the show floor. And even for those without immediate investment plans, there is more than jusy kit on offer; the chance to pick up ideas is just as important. Vive la revolution!