29.02.2008
 Man Roland develops UV initiative
 Man Roland joined the printing industry initiative for standardisation of UV and hybrid applications. The initiative predicts that manufacturers will be driving developments in thisn on presses. Man Roland will offer its UV know-how to the initiative to support further developments in standardisation and optimisation of equipment and materials. The company will try “to achieve standardisation in UV and hybrid applications at a high level of quality” as its Man Roland’s Value Added Printing philosophy shows, announces Man Roland.
28.02.2008
XChange releases Xfile 2
 XChange is releasing Xfile 2 plug-in for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Corel PhotoPaint and more. The new version offers Seam Carving and Image Resizing capabilities. Imaging applications today work with linear resizing, so everything within the image changes size proportionally. Xfile 2 does that too with super advanced algorithms and now features a seam carving tool that allows the image to be resized while changing its aspect ratio and keeping important features untouched. It removes or adds areas to an image that would be least noticed. To give users more controls on elements of the image they absolutely want to maintain and the parts they do not really care about, Xfile¹s Seam Carving features provide an interface to define image areas. Xfile 2 offers a dual set of Protect/Erase masks. Users simply brush on the image to protect an area, or brush to tell Xfile that this area can be carved out during the resizing. Xfile 2 also provides users a preview of the effect an operation will have on an image before they finalise their changes.
27.02.2008
Neolt at FESPA
 Neolt will show its new products at FESPA Digital 2008 trade show, in Geneva, from 1 to 3 April. This specialist for large-format UV and solvent printers, laminators, trimmers and folding machines will present the Super Jet-M 3200, the XY Matic Trim 165, a full automatic device for horizontal and vertical cutting, the Neolam 1650E, for cold laminating, and the NeoJet-K 1808 and 3308, the solvent printers with eight Konica-Minolta print heads each for highest productivity. The Italian Neolt will also show the professional roll-to-roll laminating solution Neolam 1650H, for rigid print media Electro Plexi Trim and the rotary trimmer Electro Power Trim Plus.
26.02.2008
EFI and 3M team up
 EFI announced the commercial release of its new 3M Piezo Inkjet Ink Series 2800 UV for use with EFI’s VUTEk QS2000 and QS3200 superwide printers and a wide range of opaque, clear and translucent 3M media. Acting as a system, 3M Piezo Inkjet Inks and 3M media ensure vibrant, long-lasting four- or six-colour graphics when used with VUTEk QS2000 or QS3200 printers. The inks are specifically designed for use with 2- and 4-mil 3M Controltac™ Graphic Films, and 3M Scotchlite™ Reflective Graphic Films, as well as with a wide range of rigid materials. These UV-cured inks are durable, weather resistant and have better colour retention. Their flexibility makes them suitable for use on curved, corrugated or flat surfaces, with or without rivets, when producing fleet and vehicle graphics, indoor and outdoor signs, banners and flexible sign faces. They have a wide colour gamut and adhesion to 3M media.
25.02.2008
GBC expands range of Arctic Cold lamination films
 GBC Commercial Laminating Solutions Group has expanded the range of Arctic Pressure Sensitive cold lamination films. As the latest offering in GBC's Arctic range for indoor/outdoor applications, these films are processed at a temperature between 40-50°C, and are a solution for heat-sensitive inkjet output.
The biggest advantages of using cold lamination are the low maintenance required and ease of use. As cold laminators do not use heat, no electricity is required to operate the machine, resulting in no warm-up time and faster movement of the material through the laminator. There is no need to adjust the roller tension or thermostat as cold lamination machines use pressure sensitive adhesives to bind the lamination film.
21.02.2008
New Screen showroom at Kumiyama
 Screen created the Media Square Kyoto, a digital printing showroom. This exhibition space will display products related to the printing industry, as inkjet printers, at Screen's printing and prepress R&D center. Screen wants to promote the development of inkjet printers for Print on Demand (POD) applications and will have a broad range of functions in its Media Square Kyoto. It will be a base from which Screen can offer integrated solutions, including inspection, post-press processing and incidental services, such as database management. At the Media Square Kyoto, customers and vendors can also provide near-immediate feedback to the product development divisions.
20.02.2008
MAN Roland at drupa
 MAN Roland’s drupa top news concentrate on enhanced production and energy efficiency. Also on the top of the manufacturer’s agenda are offers to increase the value of printed products. MAN Roland’s CEO Gerd Finkbeiner arouses curiosity: “We are going to strengthen our position as the world’s number one in web offset and number two in sheetfed with a segment oriented selection of exhibits. We will stress our comprehensive system and service competence and our widely practiced customer orientation. Our performance itself will embody impressively the new spirit that pushes forward and inspires our company since having gained independence.”
The sheetfed highlight is the ROLAND 900, XXL in perfecting mode (formats 7B, 7B plus and 8). For printing companies willing to develop new market opportunities this new perfector opens excellent perspectives. The simultaneous perfecting lets them profit from reduced job times and simplified production processes.
Falling costs per copy and a fast job management considerably increase production efficiency. This goes for the whole Plus Format family featuring 0B plus, 3B plus, and 7B plus. The ProcessPilot as standardization tool efficiently helps keep achieved production standards and is suitable for the support of the ISO 12647 norm, with additional System Brunner evaluations.
The InlineColor Pilot was developed for color measurement inside the press and reduces waste as well as makeready time. Measuring and controlling are possible without having to draw sheets. A unique selling proposition is okBalance. The grey balance control achieves a more stable quality over the whole run. An additional process diagnosis reduces waste.
19.02.2008
Océ prepares for drupa
 Océ anticipates is getting ready for drupa 2008, in Düsseldorf, from 29 May to 11 June. The company is already showcasing a display of solutions for digital book production, personalization, promotional color printing, and technical document printing. According to Océ, its ColorStream 10000 and VarioStream 8000 families are now complemented by the capabilities of Océ Prisma workflow software. Océ Prisma production server offers full support for color applications in any environment, can be used for transpromotional and Graphic Arts workflows, including processing of full-color jobs, and supports special features, such as Océ CustomTone color toners for the new Océ VarioStream 8000 series.
18.02.2008
Eyes set on Malaysia
 Atlantic Zeiser is expanding its sales and service activities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. To support this expansion, a new Regional Sales Manager strengthens the existing service team to further improve customer support. Oliver Mehler, CEO of Atlantic Zeiser, comments: “We are very excited about expanding our activities in Asia as this is an important growth area for our business. This new set-up will enable Atlantic Zeiser to provide the best and most efficient sales and service support to our customers in ASEAN and other Asia-Pacific countries. It is important we keep in close contact with our customer base and the market to further optimize our solutions.”
15.02.2008
Sun Chemical gears up for Drupa
 Sun Chemical has unveiled the first details of its plans for Drupa at the PrintCity Media Event in Tegernsee, Germany, which will involve innovations covering Publication, Packaging, Commercial and Industrial sectors. Quality, service and innovation – as well as environmental issues – will be top of the agenda for Sun Chemical’s offering. Sun Chemical’s inks will be used on many of the presses that will be running at the exhibition - and there will be numerous surprises for visitors to Sun Chemical's 600sq m stand, located in Hall 6 Stand B75. “Working for you” is the new strap line. Felipe Mellado, Sun Chemical’s Corporate Vice-President, Marketing, said: “Drupa will be the perfect showcase to demonstrate our latest innovations as part of the strategic direction driven by Rudi Lenz, our new Chief Executive Officer and President. These will range from the latest low-migration products in packaging; new technologies for newspapers; new environmentally-friendly Sheetfed inks in the Commercial market; and new products for very large format graphic printers. We will also be unveiling the latest developments in colour management, such as SmartColour.”
14.02.2008
PaperSpecs' and the wonders of Letterpress Printing
 PaperSpecs will have a webinar, sponsored by Neenah Paper, to re-introduce letterpress printing to a new generation of commercial and corporate designers, as well as print buyers. Due to its unique look and feel, Letterpress Printing is making resurgence in demand. The one-hour webinar, titled “Impressed with Letterpress,” will explain and demonstrate how this methodical process can offer clients a renascence image. The webinar will begin on Tuesday, February 26th at 2:00 EST/11:00 PST. To attend the free webinar, prospective attendees can register at www.paperspecs.com/webinar/letterpress.htm.
13.02.2008
Global brands go mobile
 Adobe announced that major content providers, including MTV Networks, the Nasdaq Stock Market, eBay, Reuters, Dolce & Gabbana and others are using the company’s Flash Player compatible mobile products and solutions to extend their brands to the handheld market. Leading companies are adopting Adobe Flash Home, a new mobile application for rich, dynamic home screens, and Adobe Flash Cast 2 technology, the next generation offline portal solution, to deliver high-impact user experiences and provide instant access to data services. The new Adobe Flash Home application combines customizable data-enabled wallpapers and home screens with live data services to provide users with more personalized mobile experiences.
12.02.2008
First digital textile conference in Geneva
 FESPA’s first-ever Digital Textile Conference will take place in Geneva, from the 31st March to the 1st April 2008. Entitled Digital Printing for Commercial Success, the conference will focus on both commercial and technical topics, examining market opportunities in the sector. Visitors will have the opportunity to hear a number of digital textile printing authorities, including Gerrit Koele, Mike Willis, Patti Williams and Stewart Partridge, examine a variety of issues, providing valuable insight into the sector. FESPA managing director Frazer Chesterman comments: “FESPA has recently witnessed tremendous interest in wide-format digital printing technology for textile applications among members. So, we feel it’s the right time to support our members in this market with a dedicated conference. We’re pleased to offer renowned experts from each of the key textile industry areas who can share their knowledge and expertise with delegates who may be looking at investing in digital textile printing.”
11.02.2008
Canon back to the Championships
 Canon is back as the official imaging supplier to the UCI Track Cycling World Championship, in Manchester 26-30th March. Its regional Business Centre based in the North West is supplying a range of high-end mono and colour printing equipment to the event. Canon also announces that all race results of the high-speed, high-drama races are captured, distributed and viewed by race organisers and the general public. “Canon globally supports high profile sports events and cycling fits perfectly with our global philosophy of ‘Kyosei’ – living and working together for the common good and we look forward to being back at the World Championships”, says Andy Vickers, managing director, Canon UK and Ireland. In the past 30 years, Canon has participated in many sport sponsorships and has already supported four UCI Track Cycling World Cups in the UK.
08.02.2008
EskoArtwork introduces ArtiosCAD 7.3
 EskoArtwork is introducing ArtiosCAD 7.3. The latest version of the structural design software for packaging provides easier design features, more realistic views of packaging against backgrounds and extensive support for new operating systems and applications, says EskoArtwork. Complete 3D integration allows for quick prototyping of designs and presentations, eliminating communication errors and reducing design review cycles. For example, with a simplified process, PDF files of reports can contain a ‘3D’ window in which to place an interactive 3D model. “We have added significant features to ArtiosCAD 7.3,” explains Richard Deroo, Product Manager Structural Design, “They focus on four general areas: tools to make it even easier to work and navigate within ArtiosCAD; a focus on maintaining open access to Esko ArtiosCAD on a number of operating systems and within environments such as laptop and dual-monitor use; tools that make it even easier to place 3D images onto a background in perspective; and a new module to design ejection rubber profiles.”
07.02.2008
Atlantic Zeiser introduces Chipline
 Atlantic Zeiser presented Chipline, its modular solution for flexible high-speed smart card personalization. The Chipline system is prepared to accurately and cost-effectively produce smart tickets in high volumes. The company also launches Persoline full color personalization platform for premium cards. The Persoline platform supports high productivity solution based on inkjet for broad range of CR80 card personalization needs. This technology can operate in many different ways to suit a diversity of markets and applications.
06.02.2008
UV printing opens up new business options
 At the Stuttgart Print Forum, the member companies of a UV study group gave a joint presentation for the first time on the new business opportunities afforded by UV print production. The BGDP, Germany’s industrial safety council for the printing and paper processing industry, provided a comprehensive review of the safety issues relating to print chemistry and technology, Fogra discussed process standardisation in UV offset while KBA, HDM and MAN focused on the potential for optimisation, process stability and standardisation in UV offset. The second part of the event examined application-specific productivity gains with optimised UV radiation technology (IST Metz), inline finishing trends in sheetfed offset (KBA), new opportunities afforded by waterless UV offset (Druck und Beratung Braun/EWPA), and waterless UV offset in B3 (21in) format (Herrmann Druck+Media, Sonnenbühl).
04.02.2008
Sun Chemical and Nantong join forces
 Sun Chemical and its parent company Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (DIC) signed an agreement with Nantong DIC Metallic Pigments Co. in order to advertise their products. This joint venture allows Sun Chemical and DIC to market the Nantong Shanjing products for coating, plastic and graphic arts industries worldwide under the new SunMetallics brand. “Our objective is to be able to offer our customers the widest range of effect materials and deliver them at the highest level of reliability in our industry”, said Brian Leen, General Manager and Corporate Vice President, Performance Pigments Group, Sun Chemical.
Nantong Shanjing is a Chinese manufacturer specialized in the production and sales of aluminium pigments and pastes. At its manufacturing plant, based in Nantong of Jiangsu Province, it produces aluminium pigments and pastes for a variety of industrial and commercial products in the automotive, industrial and cosmetic industries, for instance.
01.02.2008
Agfa to close down an equipment factory
 Agfa Graphics plans to stop the development and production of computer-to-plate equipment in Wilmington, USA. After having considered all options, Agfa Graphics has now informed its employees that it intends to phase out the Wilmington's factory workload. A redundancy plan has been developed for the approximately 150 employees involved, mainly in R&D, production and related departments. Other Agfa Graphics operations in the US such as service, IT, sales and marketing will continue to operate from the Wilmington site. "This decision is part of our strategy to substantially improve our operational efficiency and competitive position in the highly competitive market of prepress equipment" says Stefaan Vanhooren, President of Agfa Graphics.
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