29 Mar 2024

Landa's Nanography a 'huge hit' at drupa

Landa has taken the wraps off one of the industry’s best-kept secrets at drupa with the launch of its radical new printing method based on tiny particles.  Landa's Nanography technology - marketed as 'digital printing for mainstream customers' - is proving to be a real draw for visitors to the event.

Landa has not just brought a new way of printing to drupa; the company has also brought six brand new presses along too.  Not all of the presses on display are running live at drupa, but two of them are: the B2 S7 (up to 12,000sph) model and the B1-format S10 (up to 13,000sph).  These models can be seen printing five times a day at the event after Landa’s theatre presentation.

The basis of the new printing method is Landa’s NanoInk made using nano pigment particles that are just a few tens of nanometres in size. The company’s chairman and founder Benny Landa explains that, at this size, the pigments develop special properties, producing a very pure colour, so less pigment is needed.

This aqueous ink is shipped as a concentrate in 15kg containers and then diluted to the correct working concentration inside the press using tap water, with the press system handling any necessary water treatment. “We are not shipping water all around the globe,” says Landa.

As the ink concentrate is used, the containers are constantly weighed so that the press operator knows how much is left of any given colour. Containers collapse down when empty and can be disposed of along with everyday plastic beverage bottles. All the presses print in eight colours - either CMYK plus four special colours, or two sets of CMYK for faster printing or higher resolution.

Specially designed ink ejectors form a complete print image by ejecting drops of NanoInk onto a heated blanket belt. This is dried on the belt, forming an ultra-thin polymeric film. This film, which could be likened to a decal, meets the substrate at a series of rollers and is transferred to it via pressure. Just before the image is transferred, an infra-red booster lamp kicks in, providing the necessary temperature for the transfer to work properly.

“It takes very little energy. The ink film has to be a certain temperature to transfer; we just bump it up to that before transfer,” Landa explains.
The sheets coming off the press feel barely warm, because it’s not the substrate that is heated but the blanket. They can immediately be used in finishing processes, claims Landa, due to NanoInk’s high level of scratch and abrasion resistance.

Landa press operators at drupa have been seen demonstrating this by rubbing a coin across freshly printed sheets. One of the major selling points of Nanography is its ability to print on standard printing papers, whether coated or uncoated, and on non-absorbent synthetics such as plastic films. The presses will even print on notoriously tricky polyethylene. The extreme thinness of the NanoInk layer means it conforms to the gloss levels of the stock.

For more information, please visit http://www.landanano.com

Service Graphics appointed by Tour of Britain as branding partner

Service Graphics has been appointed as the Tour of Britain branding partner for the next three years with a contract worth £200,000.  Service Graphics will provide a range of printed solutions for The Halfords Tour Series taking place in 11 UK towns and cities during May and June and the main Tour of Britain event in September. Service Graphics was awarded the contract following a competitive pitch, on the basis of its competitive pricing, 24 hour service offering, reputation and locality.

The Tour of Britain takes place from Sunday 9 to Sunday 16 September 2012 and is the UK’s biggest professional cycle race. The race is free to spectate, attracting over a million people to the roadside each year and takes riders on a scenic tour through England, Scotland and Wales. The Halfords Tour Series features action packed circuit races in town and city centres, whilst The Tour Rides encourage over 10,000 amateur cyclists to participate on a series of rides based on the Tour of Britain stage routes, providing a taster of the main event.

For The Halfords Tour Series, Service Graphics will produce a quantity of 60, 3m x 1m Correx Ad boards printed using the company’s state of the art Inca Onset S20 direct to substrate printer, housed at its Chessington super site. In addition, 22 PVC banners will be produced for each city hosting the event along with flags printed via dye sublimation method. The Tour of Britain event will involve approximately 100 PVC printed banners and in excess of 100 Corex Ad boards, Foamex graphics and vinyl decal stickers.

The production challenge includes time sensitive deadlines. With an outdoor event such as The Tour of Britain, graphics are often required to be replaced urgently following losses through damage or theft. To overcome these issues, Service Graphics has appointed a dedicated team to coordinate orders and be on hand when emergency replacements are required.

Peter Hodges, PR & Marketing Manager for Tour of Britain says, “We are very pleased to be working with Service Graphics going forward across all of our events. As high-profile major events it is important that each stage of The Tour and each round of the Series looks first-class, especially in this very important sporting year for Great Britain. Service Graphics are providing us with a highly competitive price and excellent quality products, giving us the peace of mind that the events will continue to be praised by competitors and spectators for their look and feel. ”

“We are delighted to announce our three year partnership with Tour of Britain and the Tour Series said Scott King, Sales Director of Service Graphics. We are thrilled that our graphics will play a key branding role at a nationwide event.”

For further information on Service Graphics, please visit www.servicegraphics.co.uk

For additional information on The Tour of Britain and Halfords Tour Series, please visit www.tourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourseries.co.uk

Women in print: Signs Express' Anne Hitch

Signs Express was established in 1989 with a network of over 75 franchisees.  Anne Hitch is Managing Director of Signs Express in Peterborough, and also owns an additional territory area operating the Kings Lynn area.  As the only sole woman at the helm of a Signs Express franchise she is one of the inspiring personalities behind the brand.

As well as being an award-winning franchisee, Anne is a mother of two, an active member of her local business network and proactively supports charities and community causes.  

“I started off my working life in office support roles but my longer term ambition was always to become by own boss”, explains Anne.  “Having a partner with professional interests abroad led to our living in the Middle East for 10 years, while our boys were young.  Whilst away, I studied a part time correspondence business management degree and am very proud to have graduated with first class honors.  We returned to England for the children’s schooling. Although I was initially looking into managerial jobs, my partner and I went on to buy a Signs Express franchise.  As circumstances changed I began running the business by myself and have been doing that for three years now.

Anne observes that things have changed since she became sole manager. “I have an extremely supportive and highly skilled team.  The hallmarks of my management style are diplomacy, empathy and flexibility.  It’s a softer management style compared to some men I know but I think this helps to get the best out of people.  I plan ahead so that production is consistent, avoiding peaks and troughs where possible.  Everyone in the team has their specialism but is also trained to cover other roles.  For example our sales person has had risk assessment training, so this is something factored in to initial contact with clients, rather than further down the line.

“Credit control and good financial management are my strengths.  Yes, it’s good to know the technical side of things, but good business management is most important when running a management franchise, knowing your overheads and so on.  The business degree gave me so much knowledge. You’re never too old to learn."

How does Anne balance work and motherhood? “Being a full time working mother, there are times when I’ve got to be in too many places at once.  You have to ask flexibility of your kids sometimes.  Being self employed, if I have to take someone to the hospital for example, I can do it. Things might not always happen when I’d like them to, but they do get done."

On women in business, Anne says, “Women have so much to offer.  Being organised is critical to business success and this is where I think women excel.  Many working women also run a household, do the shopping, cooking, cleaning and so on.  Most of us intuitively juggle and multi task and that’s often played down.  I think that women have to be confident in their ability. Sometimes this can come across as a bit hard but you have to be brave and have a go. I’ve had it all said to me in the past; “how are you going to do that”?  If you believe negative comments you will lack confidence and won’t achieve.”

“I feel a bit of a pioneer, being the only lady operating as a sole franchisee within the Signs Express network.  Hopefully I will inspire other women to seek out similar business opportunities.”

Komori Corporation to manufacture & market Landa Nanographic printing presses

Komori Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, and Landa Corporation of Rehovot, Israel, officially signed the global strategic partnership agreement whereby Landa will license Komori Corporation to manufacture and market digital printing presses for commercial and other printing markets using the Landa Nanographic Printing™ process.

Yoshiharu Komori, Komori President, Chairman and CEO, says, “I feel that the conclusion of this agreement is great for our company. Although Komori has been proposing OffsetOnDemand, we have now added DigitalOnDemand as well, so our theme for this drupa is KOMORI OnDemand. As you know, Komori is a press manufacturer, renowned for very high quality and the highest productivity levels, and this philosophy also applies to our digital printing systems. I believe the technology of Landa can help us to achieve the highest level because we are both engineering companies having a cordial relationship to develop new technology. We are looking forward to a long-term friendly relationship."

Benny Landa, Landa Founder, Chairman and CEO, says, “I am delighted that we have sealed this global strategic partnership between our two companies at drupa. At all levels, the relationship is based on strong mutual trust and I have no doubt that Komori and Landa will be working successfully together for a long time. The introduction of the co-branded Komori-Landa next generation digital presses for the commercial and packaging markets will significantly accelerate the worldwide adoption of Landa Nanographic Printing.”

Based on the strategic partnership, Landa will provide Komori with Nanographic Printing technology and Landa NanoInk™, which are at the heart of the Nanographic Printing process. Landa Nanography™ is a new digital printing category employing water-based inks. It combines the versatility of digital with the qualities and speed of offset printing - at unmatched cost-per-page.

The agreement was signed on the Landa stand in Hall 9 where the extremely high level of interest and excitement in Landa Nanography is packing the stand with visitors, fully booking its theatre shows and generating a constant flow of customers signing letters of intent to purchase Landa Nanographic Printing presses.

LFR Image Library launched!

The creators of Large Format Review (LFR) have announced the introduction of a new image library resource – LFR Image Library – for the sign & display marketplace.  So confident are we of the quality of the new online resource, we are now offering every potential customer a free 7 day trial.

LFR Image Library is the ultimate creative resource for sign and print professionals. The subscription-based service allows users to download from over 1 million sign industry-specific photos, vinyl-ready graphics, illustrations, vehicle templates and wraps for a scalable, one-off annual fee.

The online resource holds a near-limitless choice of photography and illustrations released for commercial use and includes a massive collection of vector illustrations.  LFR Image Library also has over 5000 up-to-the-minute vehicle outlines which are accurate and true to scale and are ideal for layouts and customer presentations.

On the introduction of the LFR Image Library, LFR’s marketing director, Marc Burnett, comments, “Finally there is a graphics resource library for the signage and wide format printing industry that delivers everything a user needs.   With fast and accurate searches and sophisticated filtering of results, this service is an essential tool.”

He adds, “LFR Image Library is simple to use and constantly updated with new images and vehicle templates.  With LFR Image Library, there is no longer the need to restrict the number of comps or images, no need to repeatedly buy credits off websites and no extra charge for large files.  It delivers everything a sign or print shop needs in terms of graphics - and at a great price point.  With the 7 day free trial, there really is no reason why you shouldn’t give it a go.”

Pricing and Availability

Available with immediate effect, an annual subscription to LFR Image Library costs from £149 p/a for the vehicle outline package through to £295 p/a for full access to the entire Image Library.

For more information, please download the LFR Image Library brochure or visit http://www.lfrimagelibrary.com

 

Xaar partners with Digiprint Supplies for industrial inkjet printheads

Xaar has partnered with Digiprint Supplies to provide sales and support for Xaar industrial inkjet printheads. The partnership gives wide format printer users easy access to Xaar 126, 128, 500, 760, Proton and Electron printheads in regions where there is no direct machine manufacturer support.

Users of Xaar-enabled printers depend on a ready supply of printheads to ensure optimum production performance. By working with Digiprint Supplies and other selected suppliers, Xaar ensures that users around the world can source supplies with ease.

For those who need additional support, Digiprint Supplies’ qualified team, backed up by Xaar engineers, can provide technical advice and service.