Business

Océ will be inspiring visitors at Sign & Digital UK to see the bigger picture and explore the opportunities that it offers in the wide format market.  The Océ - E10 in Hall 3 - will showcase the latest developments in the Océ Arizona series, the world’s best-selling UV flatbed printers for the display graphics market. Systems on display will include the Océ Arizona 460 and 480 GT UV flatbed models, the Océ CS9360 – printing at up to 29 m² an hour – and the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF8400, a 12-colour pigment 44-inch inkjet large format printer.

In addition, another star attraction will be the Océ ColorWave 650 poster printer incorporating Océ CrystalPoint technology that uses toner pearls. Also being demonstrated will be the ONYX Thrive workflow software, a scalable print production solution based on Adobe PDF Print Engine technology.

Canon and Océ will also use the event to demonstrate the latest labour-saving innovations, designed to reduce waste and increase productivity. Océ Imaging Supplies will also have a significant presence on the stand. There will also be online access to the companies’ popular media guides, which provides detailed advice and guidance that helps printing professionals select the best media for their printers and applications.

Dominic Fahy, Business Group Director, Display Graphics and Imaging Supplies, Océ UK, said, “Our stand will be a focal point of the show experience for our customers and prospects, as well as other visitors. Sign & Digital UK is an important platform for us to demonstrate our bigger picture offering to this important market sector. With the support of Canon, we continue to deliver exceptional performance to our customers and the industry in general. As a one-stop business partner, with a comprehensive product and solutions portfolio, our ongoing success as we continue to grow market share serves as recognition of the benefits of Océ’s acquisition by Canon.”

On Saturday 9th March, three members of the printMAX team donned their cycling shorts for Comic Relief.  Marketing manager, Vicky Jarman, and consumables consultants Caitriona Wood and Katie Fell cycled a total of 141 miles for charity. Between the three of them they cycled the total distance from their offices in Selborne, Hampshire, to Birmingham’s NEC, the location of the annual Sign and Digital UK.

The Sign and Digital UK exhibition is an annual highlight for Roland’s most successful authorised dealer and printMAX was keen to incorporate it into their fundraising efforts.  Starting at 9am at a local gym, Energique, and on 3 exercise bikes, the team took four hours to complete the ride.

Vicky Jarman comments, “It’s definitely the furthest any of us have cycled in one go, I think our previous track record was a maximum of 10k so this was a huge challenge for all of us. We’re proud of the achievement and really grateful for the kind donations we’ve received to make this all worthwhile. Comic Relief is a fantastic cause, knowing the money goes a long way to help improve lives all over the world, we’re proud to have been able to give just a little towards this.”

In total the printMAX team raised £700 before gift aid, all of which going towards the 25th year of fundraising for Comic Relief.  Donations are still being welcomed at https://my.rednoseday.com/sponsor/printMAX

In recognition of the growing role that 3D print technology plays within the design and manufacturing process, InPrint 2014 has announced that it will have a dedicated 3D Print Forum - a conference stream for 3D Print and Additive Manufacturing - within the show.

3D Printing utilises the same inkjet technology that has driven innovation in wide format printing and rapid prototyping is already being successfully deployed within many different manufacturing design departments around the world.  It assists the speed and production of innovation from design to production and, as such, is a compelling tool providing competitive advantage. Experts believe that the manufacturing process of the future will incorporate 3D printing within the production line, as opposed to it being deployed solely as a sophisticated prototyping solution.

As Professor Neil Hopkinson at University of Sheffield explains, “Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing is receiving a lot of interest with particular media attention on the lower cost systems that are appearing everywhere. However in the longer term I expect the higher cost, industrial systems, capable of displacing many of today’s industrial processes, will have the most profound impact on industry and society”.

The conference programme will feature speakers, experts, case studies of technology and innovation within the 3D printing sphere focusing upon 3D Print's integration into design and manufacturing.

"This exciting technology is grabbing the attention of the world, and with the recent launch of 4D Printing at the TED Conference in California in February, it makes sense for us to profile this rapidly growing area of technology and its awesome potential within the manufacturing sector to enrich the InPrint Show," concludes Marcus Timson, Co-Director, InPrint.

Canon Europe has announced that - after careful consideration - it is withdrawing from IPEX 2014.

Patrick Chapuis, Head of Production Printing Group, Canon Europe, comments, “This has not been an easy decision to make as we have previously had two successful shows at Ipex.  However, just as we have encouraged our customers to ‘see the bigger picture’, we have had to look at our own bigger picture.  This has involved a continuous  assessment of the ways in which we communicate with our customers."

“We remain fully committed to our customers and to the printing industry as a whole, so with Canon and Océ solutions now addressing all segments of the market, we need to adopt the strategy that will most benefit our customers and indeed their customers.  Therefore, while we will continue to consider future European industry events and their fit with our business and marketing plans, we will also continue to invest in our extensive network of showroom facilities and in a series of customer focused events across the region.”

In response to the announcement made by Canon Europe, Peter Hall, managing director of Informa Exhibitions, comments, “Ipex has been an integral part of the international printing industry for over 100 years, and therefore we do not wish to compromise the brand’s credibility. We will collaborate with all stakeholders to determine the role Ipex has to play to provide today’s printer and their customers with the ideas, insights and solutions to effectively promote the power of print media and its integration in the marketing mix. Further to these consultations, we will issue a statement about the future direction of Ipex shortly."

“The Informa Group remains committed to delivering world class events with the support of key industry stakeholders and we will announce our plans in due course,” he adds.

Esko will highlight its carefully crafted solutions dedicated to the sign and display market on stand H12 at this year's Sign and Digital 2013 show.

“Wasted time and materials reduce productivity and eat into profitability. In large instances it's easy to see the impact on an operation. However, it is the small but frequent minutes of waiting and centimetres of material waste that can quickly add up,” states Paul Bates, Esko’s Regional Business Manager UK & Eire. “We'll show sign and display operations how simple software enhancements can be easily integrated into any operation to assure integrity and consistency,  job after job. In addition, our solutions dramatically improve throughput while minimizing errors. As a result, operations will be introduced to business-wide improvements including greater efficiency in production. This in turn can translate to customer service improvements and long-term relationships, and even open up new sales avenues.”

Leading solutions presented by Esko include Suite 12 which focuses on adding value by introducing new productivity and efficiency benefits. This is achieved through close integration of all flagship tools and engines. Another key tool is WebCenter that delivers end-to-end manufacturing process management, creating a competitive advantage by specifying requirements, managing assets and overseeing the entire design and production process.
Also on display is Esko's highly popular Kongsberg i-XP 24 cutting table, the best-selling Kongsberg system among sign and display companies that is designed to operate 24/7. Equipped with the i-cut Vision Pro control system, the Kongsberg table provides automation, high productivity and outstanding precision. Finishing efficiency is enhanced with i-cut Automate - the latest addition to Esko's i-cut Suite of pre-production software that automates the entire production process. “Work can be grouped to maximize substrate use while highly effective automation eliminates mistakes and the need for reprints. The result is enhanced productivity, reduced operator intervention and valuable time, money and material savings,” concludes Bates.

For more information, please visit www.esko.com

GMG has announced it will be demonstrating the GMG OpenColor packaging proofing solution for the first time in the UK at Northprint & Pack 2013.  The event takes place in Harrogate between 14th and 16th May and the company will be located on booth B108.

GMG OpenColor is a revolutionary spot colour tool for the packaging market that greatly extends colour control and repeatability. It is the industry’s first application to offer precise and predictable spot colour simulation by analysing ink behaviour in relation to the substrate’s colorimetric properties. The result is a profiling and calibration application that delivers accurate spot colour overprint simulation as well as the interplay between spot colours and process inks.

Visitors to the show are also invited to the GMG seminar to find out for themselves, ‘How will GMG OpenColor impact the Packaging Industry?’ During the seminar (3.15pm, Thursday 16th May,  Packaging Theatre) Gareth Heward, Graphics & Production Director, V&W Graphics, will explain how the software has had a significant impact on his company‘s prepress workflow for colour critical corrugated, preprint and flexible packaging applications.

Toby Burnett, managing director of GMG UK, says, "OpenColor is designed specifically to produce extremely accurate digital proofs for printers using spot colours without the overhead of extensive press fingerprinting. This groundbreaking application is well placed to serve the packaging industry and we see Northprint & Pack as an excellent platform for GMG to showcase the latest addition to our product portfolio. We are looking forward to demonstrating the application and the technology behind it."

GMG will also showcase the latest versions of its proofing and colour management software GMG ColorProof and GMG ColorServer, and its all-in-one production solution for wide-format printing, GMG ProductionSuite, highlighting the considerable quality, efficiency and cost benefits that they bring to production environments.