Business - Events

Canon Europe is demonstrating how photographers can increase the profitability of their work and add an additional revenue stream to their business with high-quality, impactful wide format print on its stand at photokina 2014 (16-21 September).

As well as showcasing award-winning products from its imagePROGRAF range of wide format printers, Canon is launching a publication entitled ‘The Photographer’s Path to Profit’ – specifically highlighting how bringing print in-house can provide professional photographers with increased control over output quality, add value to their service offering, reduce outsourcing costs and enhance profit margins.

Canon is also sharing success stories on-stand, depicting the possibilities open to photographers with printed products from photobooks and canvases through to fine art and interior decoration, in addition to running live print demonstrations using a range of workflows to validate the ease of use and diversity of the machines.

“We are in a unique position in the market with a complete range of products spanning image capture through to digital output and the value in this proposition is unprecedented,” said Yuichi Miyano, Director, Wide Format Printing Group, Canon Europe. “Consistent reproduction quality, colour consistency and harmonious workflows are just some of the advantages, and at photokina we are demonstrating the opportunities that exist for photographers to capitalise on these and enhance the commercialisation of their work.

“Whether visitors are attending the show simply to find out about new products, or specifically looking to broaden their customer offering and grow their businesses, I would encourage them to come and see what we have to offer,” added Miyano.

During the six-day event Canon is showcasing the 12-colour imagePROGRAF iPF6450 (24”) and imagePROGRAF iPF8400 (44”) printers – built specifically for proofing, photo and fine art reproduction.

Over the past 18 months Canon has updated both its eight and 12-colour imagePROGRAF range, adding several noteworthy features such as an optional spectrophotometer, which subsequently led the range to be hailed ‘Wide Format Graphic Arts Printer Line of the Year’ in the 2014 Buyer’s Laboratory LLC (BLI) awards*.

As well as featuring success stories of how leading photographers from the worlds of fashion, journalism and sports have benefitted from bringing wide format print in-house, The Photographer’s Path to Profit also includes a guide to some of the most widely used print applications in the professional photography space.

Visitors can obtain a download of the publication from Canon by registering on-stand at the show.

Interior of Grand Hotel Villa Torretta, Milan

FESPA has announced further speakers for its Digital Textile Conference (2nd October 2014, Grand Hotel Villa Torretta, Milan), to encourage printers interested in digital textile printing to explore new trends and techniques, as well as market growth areas for new business opportunities.

The conference programme will focus on four areas of discussion; an overview of digital textile printing, interior and soft signage, apparel printing and fashion, as well as an in-depth exploration of the technologies and techniques used to deliver these applications.

Providing an overview of digital textile printing, Ron Gilboa of US-based research company Infotrends, will discuss insights into the growth and creative development of the digital textile market, based on data collected from leading market players in digital textile inks and equipment. Ron will also examine the market drivers in digital textile printing, and where he believes the market is heading in the next five years.

Hailing from the USA, Scott Donovan, Managing Director at BleuPrint Creative brings thirty years of experience in digital textile printing to the conference. Scott will examine how fabric printing can help grow a business by looking at market analysis and exploring mass-production, to individually customised products, as well as the possibilities these can provide end users.

Professor Dr Marc Van Parys, Head of Research Laboratory TO2C, will highlight new developments in digital textile printing including recent innovations for new UV inks and lacquers tailor made for different textile applications. Egidio Fasana, Production Manager, Mascioni will be discussing a centre of excellence for digital textile printing, multi-pass vs single

Looking at interior decoration and soft signage, Italian Colour Correction Guru, Marco Olivotto, will discuss colour correction for digital textile printing, including traditional correction techniques, gamut problems and how printers can get the most from digitally printed designs and patterns.

Swedish based Andreas Skantze, President of Big Image Systems, will examine his most challenging and creative case studies over his 25 years’ experience in the industry to demonstrate the potential of fabric printing.

Talking digital printing in fashion, Mark Abramson, CEO of ThinFolio, a Kickstarter funded project, will discuss the success and challenges he has faced, from the consumer, to creating print ready files and managing the production and shipment of large volume, uniquely digitally printed products.

This session will also include speeches from previously announced speakers Melanie Bowles, Senior Lecturer in Textile Design at the Chelsea College of Art and Michael Schmidt, celebrity fashion designer who incorporates 3D printing in his designs.

Duncan MacOwan, Head of Events & New Media, FESPA, adds: “The speaker lineup for the Digital Textile Conference just gets better and better. World leading experts on digital textile printing are able to combine their knowledge to provide digital textile printers with the right tools to enhance their services and increase value and quality for their customers. Milan is the epicentre of the textile industry and visitors to our exhibitions have mentioned time and again how digital textile printing has huge growth potential, with 81% of printers to our most recent World Wide Survey saying they are handling more textile work.

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with some of the leading suppliers to the digital textile printing community in delivering this year’s conference, such as MS Print Solutions, Durst, Kiian Digital, Kaspar Papir, Everlight Chemical and Hollanders, as well as our local Italian association Siotec. All have contributed greatly to aligning the direction of the Digital Textile Conference to the needs of printers looking to expand their businesses in this market area.”

Digital Textile Conference tickets are available now for €150 for members, increasing to €180 for non-members.

For more information on FESPA’s Digital Textile Conference and to register to attend, please visit www.fespa.com/digital-textile-conference.

There are many components in a typical wide format digital print workflow that demand different skill sets from the printer in order to successfully offer wide format printing solutions to their customers. Correct job creation, RIP setup and workflow, printer utilisation, colour management and media selection based on application are just some of the areas that need to be fully understood to ensure the investment made in the printing system is fully realised. In order to helps its customers address such issues, PaperlinX is opening Digital Academies in Manchester, Glasgow and London where customers can come and learn about all aspects of digital printing.

Endorsed by Mimaki-distributor Hybrid Services, Onyx and Neschen AG, the courses are being supported by the UK’s leading manufacturers and hosted by PaperlinX's team of industry experts. In October 2014, the Academies will be hosting ‘Printer Expert’ courses on Mimaki and HP Latex (300 series) alongside Onyx Intermediate and Advanced courses covering PosterShop, Production House and Thrive. The courses are offered free of charge to existing PaperlinX customers and are also open to anyone buying wide format media, ink and printers from PaperlinX throughout September.

Interested parties can register for a course by emailing Digital.academies.uk@paperlinx.com. Free places are limited to two people per customer.

Grafityp UK Ltd, in conjunction with textile film manufacturers Siser, will be holding Textile Workshop Seminars on the 22nd and 23rd October 2014. The seminars give attendees the chance to see all of the Grafiflex garment transfer materials, including printable films, in one place with the manufacturers on hand to give full information on how they work and what results can be expected. Attendees will get the chance to try out the films for themselves, discuss any specific application problems and learn time-saving application techniques.

The range of CAD Cut and Printable films available is vast, enabling transfers to be produced for application on to many varied materials including nylon, leather and more, as well as lots of special effect films.

There will also be demonstrations using the Roland VersaCAMM print & cut machines which are a perfect choice for anyone to produce bespoke printed and contour cut garment transfers for heat application. Heat transfer presses and vinyl cutting equipment such as the GCC RX, Jaguar, Puma and Expert plotters which are suitable for cutting our range of CAD cut films will also be on show.

The Textile Workshop seminars are being held at Grafityp's premises in Tamworth, Staffordshire and lunch and secure parking are provided. For more information, please email sales@grafityp.co.uk

The latest Mimaki printing technology – including the recently launched Mimaki JV300 range of solvent printers and print and cut systems – will be on display at i-Sub Digital's forthcoming Open Days.

Taking place at the Crewe headquarters of exclusive Mimaki UK and Ireland distributor Hybrid Services, the Open Days on October 8th and 9th 2014 will feature a host of printing equipment from desktop to superwide format.

Guests will be able to get hands-on with the new Mimaki JV300 solvent printers and the Mimaki JV33 Series.

In addition, i-Sub Digital's exclusive Digi-Foil digital foiling system will be showcased with the Mimaki UJF desktop printer, providing an opportunity for packaging and print businesses to see how stunning foiling effects can be achieved with minimal wastage in just minutes.   Paired with the Kebab system for 360° direct printing onto cylindrical items such as candles, bottles and pens, the UJF offers a variety of options for expanding a business.

Experts from i-Sub Digital and Mimaki will also be giving demonstrations of the Mimaki JFX500 and Mimaki JFX200 UV flatbed printers, the UV Mimaki UJV500 roll-to-roll machine, the Mimaki JV400LX roll-fed printer with ecologically friendlier latex inks and the Mimaki JV400SUV for glossy, brilliantly defined prints.

"Our October Open Days are a rare opportunity to see our huge range of Mimaki printing equipment away from the noise and crowds of a trade show," says Andy Spreag, director of i-Sub Digital.   "From UV to solvent to latex, with a host of applications available, our Open Day guests will find plenty to meet their current demands and to set their imaginations going."

Refreshments and expert advice will be available throughout the event. Places are limited, so please email info@i-subdigital.comor call i-Sub Digital on +44 (0)1536 415511 for more information.

Cambridge: 9th September 2014 – Visitors to Labelexpo Americas (9-11th September 2014, Rosemont, Illinois) will see the impressive performance capabilities of the next-generation Xaar 1002 GS6 printhead chosen by the industry’s leading digital label press manufacturers.

The Xaar 1002 GS6 printhead is popular with top inkjet label press manufacturers because it combines superb quality with unrivalled industrial reliability and low cost of ownership. Featuring1000 Optimised Geometry nozzles the printhead delivers precise drop placement to produce exceptional high resolution images and text. A key feature of the Xaar 1002 GS6 is its ability to print heavily-pigmented high opacity white inks and high viscosity varnishes extremely reliably in one pass using a single printbar, enabled by Xaar’s patented ink recirculation technology, TF Technology™.

During the show Durst, EFI, FFEI, INX and SPG will all demonstrate their latest Xaar 1002-enabled digital UV presses printing a variety of label types. These range from stand-alone, entry-level presses to fully-integrated systems with in-line printing and finishing:

• Durst (Booth 5901) shows the new high-definition print mode Tau 330 high speed UV inkjet label press.  With a very high print resolution of 720 x 1260 dpi it achieves very good, pin sharp reproduction of text, finest graphic detail as well as clear gradients and soft skin tones. This modular, seven-colour press features in-line digital laser finishing and low-migration UV inks for food, healthcare and pharmaceutical applications.

• EFI (Booth 6423) shows the latest four-colour EFI Jetrion 4950LX LED single-pass press printing high-quality labels at 720 x 720 dpi with vibrant images and fine text at print speeds of up to 157 ft/min.  This efficient, modular press can be configured to suit specific needs and combines excellent quality with lowest cost per label.

• FFEI (Booth 5621) demonstrates a complete hybrid Graphium UV inkjet press with pre- and post- digital flexo stations, a cold foiling station and die cutter at the show. In addition to the ability to print a high opacity, high adhesion under white, a range of new features are unveiled,  including over-white printing and the capability to now support substrates of 40-600 µm allowing the thinnest liners to heavy duty vinyl to be used.

• INX (Booth 6411) shows the new five-colour Komori NW210 UV digital narrow web press with LED curing and inline laser cutter. Powered by the JetINX™ printhead drive and ink recirculation system, the NW210 incorporates 15 Xaar 1002 printheads to ensure high-quality, high-speed label printing at up to 80 ft/min on any label stock up to 210 mm wide.

• SPGPrints (Booth 530) shows the modular DSI® UV inkjet label printer which can be configured as a stand-alone digital printer or a complete solution with in-line converting and in widths from 135 mm-530 mm. The versatile DSI features four printbars with Xaar 1002 printheads  as standard, and an additional six printbars can be added to enable options such as digital white, digital primer and an extended colour gamut by adding orange and violet.

“The choice of digital presses has never been greater and Labelexpo is a superb showcase for the latest technologies,” says Mark Ritchie. “But choosing the right digital press can be a daunting prospect so we have produced two White Papers to explain and clarify two important aspects of inkjet label printing – quality and white ink performance.

“Because quality is not simply a matter of selecting the highest dots/inch or lines/inch in 'Print quality - the whole picture' www.xaar.com/en/MediaDocuments/Print-quality-white-paper.pdf we show you how to take into account multiple interacting elements. Plus, a high performance, opaque white capability is a key measure of UV inkjet label presses today. But it can be difficult to evaluate, so in ‘UV white inkjet inks for single-pass label applications’ www.xaar.com/en/MediaDocuments/UV-inks-white-paper.pdf we explore the challenges of jetting highly pigmented white inks to achieve high-quality opaque results and provide advice on what you need to consider.”

In addition, Xaar is delighted to be sponsoring The Inkjet Trail during the show where visitors can compare the same food, personal care and industrial labels printed on identical substrates but printed on different digital label presses. On the trail EFI and Durst are demonstrating the superb label printing capabilities of their Xaar 1002-enabled machines. Go to www.labelexpo-americas.com/inkjet-trail for details and daily demonstration times.