News 14 OCTOBER 2014
The commercial printing industry came together last week at Graph Expo in Chicago. Here's a preview of some of the key announcements made at the show, and a heads up on some of the stories we'll be delving into over the next few weeks.
The day before the show, Screen held it's annual open house where it announced a new press lineup, including a reworked TruePress Jet 520 HD sheetfed inkjet press and a new label press. The 520 now comes with new Ricoh heads that deliver a higher resolution of 1,200 dpi, and about 50 other updates like a new paper transport system, a new drying system and an expanded colour gamut. The objective here, according to Screen, is to expand the reach of production inkjet into areas where offset still dominates.
The TruePress Jet 350UV is an inkjet label press that rolls through 164 feet per minute, in CMYK and white. It's available now.
>> continued
News 14 OCTOBER 2014
The Canadian Printing Industries Scholarship Trust Fund (CPISTF) has awarded $52,500 to students for the current school year. $15,000 was awarded to nine new students enrolled in the first year of approved study and $37,500 was given to 30 students who are continuing their education.
The funds board of trustees recently created the Warren Wilkins Prestige Scholarship, valued at 5,000 for students that exhibit a high level of talent. Samantha Tully will be attending Ryerson University in September at the School of Graphic Communications Management and is this year’s Warren Wilkins recipient.
The CPISTF began in 1971 and is funded by firms and individuals in the printing industry. Its aim is to attract a younger generation to the industry by providing financial assistance to those enrolled in a graphics arts management or technical program and must show a commitment to pursue a career in printing.
>> continued
New Products 8 OCTOBER 2014
Heidelberg is unveiling its latest presses, the Linoprint CV and the Linoprint CP for improved flexibility and productivity in the cost-effective production of short, personalized, and hybrid print runs.
The Linoprint CV >> continued
Special Feature 2 OCTOBER 2014
Printers have been exhorted to become marketing services providers for a long time. But so few have done it that MSPs have become a kind of urban myth.
Trico Evolution, seems to be one company that has managed the transition.
Back Row: Left to right: Simone Aubin, Sherry Mullen, Catherine Maciaszek, David Shackleton, Andrew Inderwick. Front Row: Dean McJannet (seated), Steve Hutton, Scott Wakeman >> continued
Special Feature 30 SEPTEMBER 2014
By John Zarwan
UV is one of those bright spots in the printing industry. Having started as a niche technology, it has gained momentum and is growing rapidly. For example, UV is the fastest growing segment of wide-format printing, with which it is most commonly associated, and many of the new B2 inkjet printing presses use UV inks. It’s also important in packaging, is common in screen printing and flexo, particularly in Europe, and its use is growing in offset.
Indeed, UV printing is directly connected with and largely responsible for the growing interest in value added commercial offset printed products. Curtis Carby, product manager for pressroom products at Fujifilm, believes “UV is a technology that is going to sustain the offset world; it is the only way to compete with digital.”
Continue reading
here, in our April 2014 issue.
>> continued
Special Feature 30 SEPTEMBER 2014
By Jef Catapang
The world of industrial print is full of exotic substrates like glass, ceramic and textiles, so much so that “industrial print” is fragmented and hard to clearly define. Yet industrial printing isn’t just raising eyebrows—it’s drawing crowds. Take for example InPrint 2014, the inaugural trade show and conference focused solely on the wonders and wares of industrial print. Held in Hanover on April 8 to 10, the fledgling event drew nearly 7,000 visitors from 60 countries, more than double the expectations of its organizers.
>> continued
Special Feature 29 SEPTEMBER 2014
It’s no secret that commercial printers are increasingly looking to packaging as a possible stable ground, a new arena in which to find their footing following the tumultuous recession years and the so-called death of print. The rationale is simple: while printed media may eventually go the way of the dinosaur (or at least the way of the giant panda), packages are here to stay. Even if consumers can order their Coco Puffs online, those delicious puffed grains still have to be shipped in a box. The Internet, at least not yet, has no way of duplicating the function of folding carton.
Read the rest of this article
here, in our October 2013 issue.
>> continued
Special Feature 29 SEPTEMBER 2014
By Bob Atkinson
In GM's October 2013 issue we took a look at a specialty market that got away, and explored how you can bring it back to your shop. One market segment that’s been impacted less than others by the decade-long decline in business levels is forms printing. Each month, millions of print forms are used in Canada, whether simple one-part forms or multi-section/multi-copy forms.
That said, over the same decade we’ve seen a big move away from paper forms to electronic, designed to be completed and returned online. The shift started in the late ’90s when federal and provincial governments and big businesses (the largest users of forms) began adopting interactive PDFs or web-based forms. Many of the existing forms-printing companies moved to keep up, adding electronic form products and services, but much of the work disappeared into government and enterprise IT or fulfillment departments.
>> continued
Special Feature 29 SEPTEMBER 2014
Since the introduction of high-volume colour digital printing technology 20 years ago, most of the industry's attention has gone to broad commercial print applications, such as direct mail, catalogues, and brochures. Nevertheless, dedicated digital colour label presses have almost as long a history, and their use has accelerated over the past decade. Not only do colour digital label and packaging presses now make up an important segment of the overall digital printer category, digital label presses are widely accepted among both label converters and their customers. Indeed, digital technology is one of the most exciting areas in label printing and converting today.
>> continued