Latest News about Large Format Printing
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Company: CREACT, Spain; editor in chief: Susanne Aschoff
Wednesday, 30. June 2004
In this edition of the LFP-Newsletter.com
you read something, next to some highlights of the drupa, about the interesting
innovations and news from the field Large Format Printing. In addition we would
like to make you attentive onto the results of the first LFP reader questioning
in excerpts.
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Both LFP-Newsletter achieve highly professional target audiences. So 12,4 % of the English-speaking LFP-Newsletter readers are service provider (de = 32,5 %), 38,7 % are traders, distributors or system integrators (de = 29,4 %) and manufacturer 29,7 % (de = 22,6 %). 5,5 % belongs to the industry/company customers (de = 3,6 %), 4,8 % to the trade press (de = 0,8 %) and 6,2 % have other professional interest (de = 8,3 %). The LFP-Newsletter.com is now in the fourth year of it’s consisting. It has 5.806 E-Mail subscribers, and the Website was visiting for 3.324 times (31.05.04). So the LFP-Newsletter.com has 9.130 core readers. The LFP-Newsletter.de is on the market since four years. It accessed 7.490 E-Mail subscribers, had 2.627 individual website visitors so that it comes on in total 10.117 core readers (31.05.04). In addition the LFP-Newsletter are passed on 5,7 times on an average (de = 3,8). |
More
Information: www.LFP-Newsletter.com and E-Mail:
editor@lfp-newsletter.com
Enjoy yourself by reading this newsletter
Yours faithfully
1) Seiko’s ColorPainter 64S
Seiko I Infotech, Inc. has presented the ColorPainter 64S at drupa. The ColorPainter 64S accomplishes the amazing speed of 16 sqm/h at 720 dpi (with 4 passes). It uses six new super-wide piezo printheads featuring 512 nozzles per head/color for 3,072 nozzles. The ColorPainter 64S can print on media up to 64” wide (162 cm) and includes an automated, optical take up system. It supports the use of common sign industry uncoated media such as adhesive vinyl, films, banner stocks, papers, fabrics, etc. The ColorPainter 64S utilizes a special new type of ink featuring an expanded gamut and less solvents, yet produces an unbelievable color gamut with true outdoor durability. Seiko has designed and matched the new ink set especially to the new industrial piezo print heads to provide durability and reliability in a high-speed printing environment. These inks offer a wider range of colors and superior adhesion/durability for outdoor applications. The six colors (CMYK, lc and lm) ensure superb color accuracy and high density especially in red and black color areas. These inks and the ColorPainter 64S printer they have developed for signmakers and screen printers for rugged outdoor applications.
More
information: www.seiko-i.com
2) BeDigital at Viscom Paris
At Viscom in Paris, 15th to 17th September 2004, BeDigital (Hall 7/3, booth C83/D84) will be launching the new laminator BeDigital Oscar, designed for high quality adhesive coating, panel mounting, laminating and encapsulating of images. It has four rolls completely independent, which allow working the hot or the cold part according to their needs. They are also presenting a new printer: The BeDigital Terminator is a drop-on-demand piezo Electric solvent Inkjet printer. It is equipped with the latest 360 nozzle piezo heads and is supported by the Dynamic Variable Dot Imaging Technology. And finally, at this event, will also be the presentation of the new BeDigital Supper Cutter 320. The machine can handle a wide range of heavy duty materials such as board including Kapa Block or Gator Foam panels and other hard surfaced foam sheets, the cutter is also suitable for materials with a high density such as polystyrene, foamed PVC or even acrylic and glass.
More information:
www.bedigital.info
3) Scitex with great success at drupa
The company got off to a flying start: Scitex Vision sold two TURBOjet wide format inkjet printers on the first day. As the show progressed, Scitex’ sales amounted to tens of millions of US dollars, covering the entire range of products, and winning customers worldwide. Buyers of the TURBOjet and CORjet printers cited a number of reasons for moving into large format digital inkjet production. Interest in the printers came from around the world as reflected in the TURBOjet sales, including France, Portugal, Ukraine, and Brazil. CORjets were sold to customers in the UK, the USA, and Korea. In addition to this both printers, shown at drupa, Scitex recorded sales of 10s of systems from its best selling Scitex Vision XLjet+, Scitex Vision Grandjet and VEEjet lines. They showed them during the show at customer sites and at the company’s European demonstration center.
More
information: www.scitexvision.com
4) Gandinnovations: Jeti seen at drupa
Gandinnovations highlighted the Jeti® 3150 UV FlatBed at drupa. The new printer – manufactured by Gandinnovations, Mississauga/Canada – features versatile printing production speeds of fast four and six color, six colors with white and a 12-color combination. The printing bed accommodates both rigid and flexible media at the maximum size of 3.048 meters (120 inches) by 1.52 meters (60 inches). Each Jeti 3150 UV FlatBed comes with the choice of this software: Onyx Poster Shop, Wasatch SoftRIP, ColorGATE, ErgoSoft and Caldera. In addition to the Jeti 3150 UV FlatBed, Gandinnovations manufactures the Jeti 3300 (3 meters) and 5000 (5 meters) grand format printers.
More
information: www.gandinnovations.com
5) VUTEk had a fantastic drupa
The huge interest in VUTEk’s new PressVu UV 200/600 SC, launched at drupa 2004, was also an amazing international market response. With an unprecedented number of orders taken over the 14-day period, the company is exited about the reception given to its low cost, two-in-one, rigid and flexible printer. The UV-curing PressVu UV 200/600 digital inkjet printer delivers stunning four- and six-color, 600 dpi, photographic color reproduction and crisp text reproduction. Available in four- and six-color models, it can print in widths up to 80 inches (2 meters) at 350 square feet/h (33 sqm/h). Another point of the main attractions of the PressVu UV 200/600 is its ability to print on both roll-to-roll and rigid substrates. Rigid materials can measure up to 1.75 inches (4.45 centimeters) thick, and comes with a standard set of rigid tables – further tables can be added for handling longer board sizes. In addition to this success, the organizer of the fair selected VUTEk to print some of the large format promotional drupa signage, and to participate in the drupa Highlight Tours.
More
information: www.vutek.com
6) The Butler – Crest’s new Loader
Crest Engineering released a new Heavy Duty Roll Loader named Butler. This new Roll Loader aimed at medium and large sized high volume sign and printing establishments in the large format presentation graphics market. Butler is the answer to the increasing demand for more efficient, safe and ergonomic handling of heavy large format rolls substrates. You need only one person for handling large rolls safely and easily. The loader can take materials from the store, transport, and load machines with it. To avoid physical forces there is an easy working hand winch with an automatic brake mechanism. The Butler is able to handle a wide range of rolls with a maximum roll weight of 500 kilo, and a maximum roll diameter of 450 mm.
More
information: www.crest.nl
7) Fuji Hunt offers New Software
New from Fuji
Hunt Digital Solutions (FHDS) is a suite of special operating software. It
ensures that all models in the range of large format EPSON Stylus PRO inkjet
printers which the company
distributes are capable of
the highest quality output. Fuji Hunt has now developed the ideal software
program to ensure those printers operate to their maximum quality and
productivity. Called ImageHunter, this new enhanced print system software
program from FHDS was developed using the input from many end users. It is a
highly active program, which brings a new vibrancy and depth to the output of
any Stylus PRO inkjet printer. The ImageHunter Photo Edition handles TIFF and
JPEG file formats and offers support for ICC color profiles as well as standard
options for color calibration, gamma correction, brightness, contrast, and
saturation. The Plus Edition adds a full PostScript 3 compatible processor,
able to handle PostScript, EPS, and PDF file formats. ImageHunter Photo Edition
Plus is available as an off the shelf product for EPSON Stylus PRO 4000, 7600,
9600, and 10600. It is also part of the Fuji Hunt GreenBox starter kit. ImageHunter can be configured as either a
stand-alone workstation or a large client/server installation, and can be
upgraded to match the needs of a growing business. The less experienced user
will appreciate the ImageHunter's easy-to-use facilities which with real-time
preview, help him to resize, rotate, and nest images, and make best use of the
paper.
More information: www.fujihunt.com/imagehunter
8) Wasatch: New half toning technology
Wasatch Computer Technology succeeded a major breakthrough in producing great color with the release of new half toning technology called Precision Stochastic Screens. Wasatch expects this innovation to give users unprecedented results and to keep SoftRIP on top for some time to come. When used with the associated calibration procedure, this half tone option dramatically improves both print quality and RIP speed. Precision Stochastic Screens eliminates the possibility of “stair stepping” or “rain bowing” in the printing of subtle gradations. It also improves the reproduction of all grays. This improvement is achieved with a simultaneous increase in speed. Precision Stochastic Screens will replace Digital Mezzotint as the half tone method of choice for new imaging configurations in Wasatch SoftRIP. It is a major advance over previous methods and further extends Wasatch’s competitive edge in both speed and image quality. This new technology will be included in all Wasatch Soft RIP products since 7th June engineering release.
More information: www.wasatchinc.com
9) Onyx PosterShop® 6.0-HP Edition
Due to its success, Onyx Graphics
is happy to announce the extension of the Onyx PosterShop ® 6.0 – HP Edition
Promotion until end of September 2004
in the European Region. This easy, scalable and flexible workflow solution gets
you great color, increases productivity and reduces ink consumption and media
spoilage. With the purchase of Onyx PosterShop® 6.0 HP-Edition you can add one
of the following Workflow-Modules free of charge: Contour Cutting, In-House
Pre-Print Proofing, Textile Step & Repeater Front-end, One additional RIP
or three additional active printers. Enhance the unique features of your HP
printer by the remarkable RIP and color management tools provided by Onyx
Graphics. For more details contact a local Onyx reseller or http://www.onyxgfx.com/files/onyx+hp_brochure_low_res.pdf.
More information: www.onyxgfx.com
10) SCP released DaylightRIP 3.8
Germany-based SCP Software Company has released the latest version of the versatile file-to-print software for large format plotters – the DaylightRIP 3.8. It has a number of exciting new features and enhancements, the most important of which are for example: New fast and easy way of composing and nesting print sets, automated paper-save nesting in the RIP server, new viewer/editor with 1:1 spy window, text insertion, eraser and other functionalities, enhanced printer emulation with TruCAD, on-screen printer gamut limitation warning, new drivers for the Graphtec JW-1000, and JW-1100 printers, making a total of near 100 available native printer drivers. Positioned for the technical, GIS, graphic arts, and reprographics market segments DaylightRIP 3.8 comes in several stand-alone and network packages, offering solutions for all budgets and requirements.
More information: www.scp.de
11) MegaInk unveils new Roland Ink
The Prague based MegaInk, a
market leader in solvent ink development, has unveiled new ink for the Roland
SOLJET EX series wide format printer. The new MegaInk inks for this Roland
series deliver rich color, high density, fast drying and perfect adhesion to
the media, and wide color gamut. The company developed the inks especially for
the SOLJET EX series to achieve maximum outdoor durability and ensure 100
percent compatibility with SOLJET EX line of printers, the managing director
said. These MegaInk inks offer i.e. true solvent inks, higher color density for
lower ink and energy consumption, enhanced color gamut, the ability to print
deep reds and other difficult colors at lower resolutions and faster printing
speeds, and durable up to 3-years outdoors.
More information: www.megaink.biz
12) Color+ - Sericol’s new ink-range
Sericol, well known as a leading manufacturer of high quality special ink systems, recently launched Color+. It is a solvent-based piezo drop on demand ink for the broad range of wide and super wide format digital printers on the market. Color+ is specially formulated for use in roll-fed digital presses. Its innovative production techniques mean that the pigment in Color+ stay in solution longer, eliminating the need to shake or adjust viscosity before use. The Color+ range of inks has a range suitable for most of the products of roll-fed digital printers in the market including those from Océ, Mutoh, VUTEk, Scitex, NUR, and Idanit and it is already performing to the highest standards in more than 100 prints.
More information: www.sericol.com
13) eXtra Large Ink with new ink system
Continues Ink Supply System is the
name of a new, revolutionary ink system for professional HP™ 5X00 printers. The
system has been developed by eXtra Large Ink in Nijverdal. The system is based
upon the use of refill cartridges, avoiding the need for discarding expensive
synthetics and precious metals again and again. The environment is not the only
winner of this new system; it also saves the professional user a huge amount of
cash. Extensive tests have shown exactly the same colours as when regular cartridges
were being used, the company said. And even after no less than 15 litres of ink
was passed through the printer head, the prints showed no noticeable loss of
quality.
More information: www.xl-ink.com
14) Staedtler’s permanent chip
It is a chip for ENCAD, and it reduces printing costs. Following the communicators for HP 5X00/105X, Staedtler Ink Jet has now launched a permanent chip for ENCAD printers, which will lead to improved operational reliability as well as significant cost reductions. The “permanent chip” enables the usage of unchipped printheads, making the printheads clearly cheaper. Besides that, printheads are usable significantly longer when printing with dyestuff inks. Staedtler Ink Jet “permanent chips” are available for ENCAD Novajet printer series 500/600/700 and 800.
More information: www.staedtler-inkjet.com
15) Martin-Substrates for printers at drupa
The suitability of substrates manufactured by growing European force Brett Martin for digital technology has been reinforced at drupa. A lot of the digital printer manufacturers at the show have chosen Brett Martin substrates on which to demonstrate the capability of their machines, such as Foamalux foam PVC sheet, both standard and Ultra gloss finish, and Marlon FSX Longlife solid polycarbonate sheet. Foamalux provides the ideal surface finish for the application of digital graphics, in sheet sizes that maximize efficient production. Brett Martin has extended the portfolio to include standard sizes up to 13 mm thick and 2050 mm wide. The Brett Martin range also includes Foamalux Ultra, a sheet range that provides a true gloss finish. A range of strong, vibrant colors, which run through the depth of the sheet, is available on selected sheet thickness. Marlon FSX Longlife is a glass clear material with high impact resistance and a smooth surface. It can be back illuminated and printed using direct to rigid substrate digital technology.
More information: www.brettmartin.com
16) Encad presents new KODAK media
Encad optimized the indoor
and outdoor media range. The company introduced two new media: KODAK
Water-Resistant Removable Vinyl and KODAK Water-Resistant Scrim Banner extends
its portfolio of KODAK wide-format inkjet media. Both are usable for a wide
variety of indoor/outdoor applications including retail signage, POP displays
and exhibit graphics. The Removable Vinyl is a calendared vinyl with a pressure
sensitive, removable, repositionable adhesive, designed for both indoor and
outdoor displays. The Water-Resistant Removable Vinyl does not damage the
surface while removing or leaving residue for up to 6 months. The Scrim Banner
is available to users of both thermal and piezo inkjet-printing systems. It is
a truly universal product solution for banner applications. This
Water-Resistant Scrim Banner is made of a tear-resistant polyester fabric
embedded between two layers of calendared white vinyl. The polyester scrim
center creates a “blockout layer” providing 100 percent opacity. This new media
boasts brilliant colors, a bright white base for high contrast images with impact,
exceptional water and tear-resistance and can be sewn, grommeted and draped.
More information: www.encad.com
17) InteliCoat offers GFPHOTO
InteliCoat Technologies has announced a new Magic product for solvent inkjet printers. GFPHOTO is a quick-drying 6-mil glossy photobase paper formulated to work with the latest generation of solvent inkjet printers, manufactured by Océ (Raster) Arizona, Mimaki, Mutoh and DGI. GFPHOTO is one of the first solvent inkjet glossy photobase products available on the market today and is a cost-effective solution for printing short-term, high resolution, glossy graphics and posters on a solvent-based system. Along with its quick-drying property, GFPHOTO’s specialized coating offers a high degree of whiteness and color gamut, and an extremely smooth surface for high photographic resolution.
More information: www.intelicoat.com
18) Starflex launched STRIP MESH
Starflex Europe S.A. has introduced the new product STRIP MESH: It has a special back liner with non-woven fabric. Its backing totally forbids ink leakage during the printing job. There is no need to worry about the damage on the other media or cleaning process for the printer. It is simply tearing off its back liner after printing finishes the job with clean and nice printing result. STRIP MESH is available in various widths: 137 cm, 160 cm, and 220 cm. It weighs 330 g/sqm. Since 1985, the company supplies customers in Asia, the US, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific with purpose-designed products backed by comprehensive after-sales services, technical support, transport, and logistics capability.
More information: www.star-flex.com
19) TEPEDE introduced new Backlit film
TEPEDE introduced a new Backlit film which is suitable for water based inks (dye and pigment) as well as for oil based and solvent inks. The new high end media is waterfast and can be used with any available printer in the market. Rolls are available in 36" and 60" width. Very important is the extreme good price/performance relation.
More information:
www.tepede.com
20) Neo Inkjet anounces Waterproof Artist Canvas
Neo Inkjet anounces that Waterproof Artist Canvas will launched in the end of June. The company says this media accepts both dye and uv inks on the market and it is waterproof even with dye based ink as well as pigmented ink. In addition it is compatible with piezo and thermal printers. This is especially workable on Epson uv inks. It is designed for fine art, art reproduction, photographs, displays and others. It gives a good color gamut and is white matte finished. The product is available at 36", 42", 50", 54" and 60".
More information:
www.neoinkjet.com
21) 3P's XXL collection
3P InkJet Textiles Corp. publishes a swatch
book only for super-wide format digital inkjet printing. The compact, handy
book summarizes all textiles printable with solvent and UV-curable inks. The
fabrics are available in width from 42" to 122 inches. 3P decided to
create a booklet especially for this market segment to give the costumer a
better overview. The swatch book with the entire range of 3P textiles can be
ordered free of charge at the following mail-address: info@3p-inktextiles.com.
In the swatch book "InkJet Fabrics for Eco-Solvent, Solvent-ink and
UV-curable ink" you find all Solvent- and TruColor textiles. Feel and
experience the quality, structure and surface. The data sheets contain all
technically relevant information about the nature of the material, the flame
retardant standard codes, weight and thickness and much more. All fabrics are
optimized for solvent and flatbed printing and satisfy the demands of
brilliant, vivid and accurate color images. Winning the DIMA Digital Printer
Shoot-Out 2004 as well as the positive feedback of several digital printer
manufacturer honors the high quality of 3P products.
More
information: 3p-Inktextiles.com
22) Preview: Visual Communication Italy
Europe’s biggest exhibition for everyone involved in the visual communication industry is getting ready again for another successful event in Milan from 4th to 6th November 2004. The organizers can announce the launch of POP Display, a sideshow dedicated to one of the fastest growing advertising media’s P.O.P. (Point of Purchase). This dedicated area in hall 1 will be the venue where more than 50 display producers will present new marketing ideas to advertising agencies, marketing managers of major companies and media companies, the decision makers of the market. The addition of the POP industry to the already present industries such as Large Format Digital printing, Signs and Sign making, Screen printing and engraving creates a 360° overlook of all communication media “the global event” for everyone involved in the industry. Visual Communication’s seminars this year will provide the professional with a truly technical guideline throughout the various industries. The constant increase of new products presented during Visual Communication, the further increased number of exhibitors – 381 suppliers to the various industries of the market have already booked 82 percent of the total exhibition space of 26,000 sqm – and the unparalleled extensive educational program prepared for 2004 confirms yet again Visual Communication as a leading event for the industry.
More information: www.visualcommunication.it
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