Business

Spandex has reported it welcomed hundreds of customers through its doors during the company's recent two-day Open House event.  The Open House event, held in the UK headquarters in Bristol on November 7th and 8th 2012, highlighted the latest trends and innovations for the printing and signmaking industries.

With 540 visitors, 22 stands, 3 vehicle wrapping booths and 18 pieces of print and production equipment on demonstration, this year’s Open House has proved to be the most successful Spandex event yet.  Leon Watson, general manager at Spandex UK, comments, “We had the largest number of product launches than any previous event.  Feedback from customers and suppliers has been extremely positive.”

Mike Bees from Dec Tek in Pontypridd had to change his visiting plans.  He comments, “Our team had originally planned to attend the event for around two hours. However, we were so captivated by the demonstration of equipment and the myriad of information on hand that we stayed all day, and our Technical Manager even attended on the second day!”

Sophie Millard from Millard Signs adds, "We come to the Open House every year to source new products and ideas and this year was just as successful. It was good to spend time talking to the Spandex staff about various products that you wouldn't normally find time to do."

Leon Watson concludes, “The Open House was so rich in terms of learning opportunities, hands-on displays and new ideas. It’s fantastic to know that our visitors really appreciated the time they spent with us.  I’d like to thank all of our customers and suppliers for making this year’s Spandex Open House so successful. The record breaking attendance is a clear indication of the value that the event offers its visitors. It was also great to see that many customers felt they needed to attend both days - a clear indication that we have so much to offer their business, in what is now such a competitive environment.”

Hollywood Monster produced the backdrop for Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian's ‘Kardashian Kollection’ launch for Dorothy Perkins at Westfield White City.  The company's stage dressings provided the background for the reality star sisters when they launched their new clothing range at the popular London shopping centre. The highly anticipated arrival and meet and greet was watched by thousands of Kardashian fans.

As one of the UK’s leading signs and graphics providers for the retail sector, Hollywood Monster has also recently supplied stage graphics for pop princess Taylor Swift she switched on the Christmas lights at Westfield White City.

Simon McKenzie, director at Hollywood Monster, comments, “We are delighted to have worked alongside Westfield on multiple major events with international stars, and at the moment you don’t get much bigger in the celebrity world than the Kardashians.  This was the latest in a series of recent high-profile projects, including the creation and installation of Europe’s largest ever banners at Westfield Stratford City and dozens of banners and graphics for the London 2012 games.”

Mutoh has won two SGIA ‘Product of the Year’ 2012 Awards which showcase the best new technologies and consumables from the specialty imaging community.  Mutoh's ValueJet 1638 received the 'Poster Size – Solvent/Latex Printer less than 96 inch wide' award and Mutoh’s first 2.6 m wide ValueJet Eco Ultra printer - the Mutoh ValueJet 2638 - received an award in the category 'Grand Format Roll-to-roll – Solvent & Latex Inks'

Arthur Vanhoutte, President of Mutoh’s European Operations, comments, “We are very pleased that the ValueJet 1638 and 2638 printers have been awarded.  These awards are a recognition of Mutoh’s expertise as an innovative developer and manufacturer of wide-format printers.”

“With the introduction of the latest ValueJet printer models, we can really show how our wide-format printers have developed in the last years.  Mutoh ValueJet printers are high-end products with technology proven to be faster, more reliable, more cost effective and more efficient.  Both awarded printers are manufactured in Japan.  In Europe, the new ValueJet 1638 is already available, and the 2638 printer will become available from January 2013 onwards.” concludes Vanhoutte.

About the ValueJet 1638

The new ValueJet 1638 (64”/165 cm) model, offering sellable production quality speeds up to 36 m²/h at 720 x 720 dpi, is targeted at the sign and display market.  The printer utilises Mutoh Eco Ultra CMYK inks.  The new dual head printer incorporates Mutoh’s award-winning Intelligent Interweaving print technology which guarantees predictable and repeatable output quality.

The VJ-1638 printer also features a high level of operator comfort and print production efficiency, thanks to a newly designed keyboard, an automatic sheet off system and a tiltable ink cassette holder which saves space and enables loading of different ink volumes

About the ValueJet 2638

Mutoh’s new 2.6m ValueJet 2638 model will address the needs of PSPs and commercial printers looking for a high volume printing solution whilst requiring media compatibility with media rolls up to a width of 2.6 m.

The 4-colour high speed printer features a staggered dual head setup with latest generation 1440 nozzle 8 channel piezo print heads, offering improved productivity.  Using Mutoh Eco Ultra CMYK inks, the VJ-2638 will print directly onto a wide range of uncoated and coated substrates.

Suitable for indoor & outdoor graphics, this new 104” wide printer will deliver both high quality and high speed.  Top quality graphics at production speeds of up to 40 m²/h at 720 x 720 dpi can be obtained.

[Image shows Mutoh's ValueJet 1638 wide format printer]

EFI has acquired Technique, a provider of MIS/ERP software products for the printing and packaging industries. While financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, it is not expected to be material to EFI's 2012 results.

"We are excited to have Technique join the EFI family and our expanding portfolio of business automation technologies," said Marc Olin, general manager of EFI's Productivity Software business unit. "Many customers have benefited from the key technology advantages of the Technique solution, and we intend to continue to develop and support the product for many years into the future. We will also provide Technique customers an integrated workflow with our industry leading Fiery® digital front ends and Inkjet portfolio including VUTEk®, Jetrion® and wide format devices."

"Technique is thrilled about the opportunity to join EFI, which is becoming the clear leader and even larger provider in productivity software for printing companies worldwide," said Technique's CEO, Paul Cooper. "The world of print is changing quickly and being part of the EFI family gives our customers instant access to wider solutions from their portfolio, together with the opportunity for more local support."

EFI provides a comprehensive set of MIS/ERP solutions and will look to integrate portions of Technique's leading capabilities with EFI's Monarch™, Pace™ and Radius Solutions, allowing customers to achieve superior performance and profitability.

"EFI remains committed to the business and to the long-term global market opportunity with this investment," said Sean Whelan, EFI's director Productivity Software European operations. "Through our existing global operations, we are able to strengthen and expand the support network for the Technique customers now and for many years into the future."

Technique consists of privately held Technique Business Systems Limited, a UK company located in Leeds, and Technique, Inc., a Delaware corporation. More information about the company, its products and clients can be found at: www.technique-mis.com

The Technique management team and employees will join EFI as part of the Productivity Software Business Unit, ensuring the continuity of products and services delivery for Technique customers, and bringing significant domain expertise to EFI.  EFI will also be highlighting Technique and its full portfolio at its annual user conference, EFI Connect, which takes place 15-18 January 2013 at Wynn Las Vegas. More information about Connect can be found at information is at www.efi.com/connect.

"Connect offers our entire customer base an opportunity to meet the extended EFI team, join the user community and explore possibilities with EFI," added Olin. "There is a hands-on solution centre, a variety of class room sessions and some great general sessions. We'll also discuss the long-term plans regarding EFI Technique suite. "

Faversham House Group, the company behind the Sign & Digital UK show, has announced the launch of a new website for visitors and exhibitors - www.signanddigitaluk.com - which fully encompasses social media and features all the latest show news for Sign & Digital UK 2013, alongside highlights from the 2012 event.

The new website fully embraces the move towards social media and Faversham House is encouraging all signmakers and print service providers to follow the event on Twitter (@signanddigitaluk) and LinkedIn (Sign & Digital).  For Twitter feeds, interested parties should follow #SDUK.

Alan Caddick, Marketing Manager for Sign & Digital UK, comments, “Last year some exhibitors really took social media by the horns, posting show news to Twitter and running special “Twitter Only” offers.  Following what’s happening at Sign & Digital UK on Twitter is definitely the best way of ensuring you get the most up-to-date information about what’s happening, as it’s happening.”

Taking place between 30th April and 2nd May 2013 at Birmingham NEC, Sign & Digital UK has grown to encompass traditional signmaking, digital signage, printwear, wide-format digital printing, visual display techniques and finishing and is the only annual show of its kind in the UK.

Fujifilm's next generation hybrid workflow system, Fujifilm Workflow XMF, has been awarded Japan’s popular and highly rated ‘Good Design Award’ 2012.

XMF was originally released to worldwide markets in 2007, and reflecting feedback from users has continuously been expanded and upgraded so that it is now one of the most comprehensive print production systems on the market, with over 3,500 installations worldwide. The workflow solution now consists of “XMF Workflow” (for managing print production) and “XMF Remote” (the web-based system for remote job submission and approval), with the system being configurable to meet a wide range of requirements.

All XMF solutions are intuitive and easy-to-understand thanks to the simple and functional Graphical User Interface (GUI). This design has been based on research and feedback from many printing companies, with the result that the system is easy to use for even inexperienced operators, which contributes to a shorter training period and operational standardisation at user sites.

XMF also helps maximise operational efficiencies through its ability to customise functions to match users’ preferences, so the time taken to perform key operations can be drastically reduced. Understanding that many operators will be continuously monitoring the workflow, XMF’s colour scheme has been designed to be less stressful on the eye.

The web-based supporting system, “XMF Remote”, allows remote proofing over the internet, bringing benefits in terms of eliminating the need to produce physical proofs and streamlining the actual collaborative approvals process. This means XMF contributes not only to streamlining the proofing process, but also to reducing waste and saving resources. This “excellent functionality” and “contribution to society and environment” were highly rated, and were part of the reason for the system winning the “Good Design Award”.

One of the judges commented, “The objective of this workflow system is to streamline the print process. The major reason for winning the award is its system and user interface, designed for efficient operation by various types of users involved, such as clients who order print jobs, designers who create materials, and operators in printing company, etc. Its simple and functional user interface design is a good example of the industrial user interface of the future.”