Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Innovative Print Applications Boost Dynamics

April 3, 2017

Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Multi-Channel Innovation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors

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Two highlights among many others: Xaar announcing the official opening of its new 3D Centre. And Xeikon Café was dedicated to innovations in packaging.

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 31 March 2017

Welcome to this week’s news roundup with 35 articles from the past week and Laurel Brunner’s latest Verdigris Blog, with a headline which conjures up memories of a popular breakfast cereal package featuring three popular gnomic elf mascots – rather surprisingly dating back as far as 1933, with the slogan having been coined even four years earlier in a print advert in 1929, some two years after the popular breakfast cereal was first invented. Snap, Crackle and Pop! Or as they might say in Germany, Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!

There are two new additions to Online Features this week: firstly from KBA detailing its DriveTronic Plate Ident technology enabling perfect automatic plate changes to take place on all formats of KBA sheetfed presses; and then from Heidelberg as innovation takes hold in industrial commercial postpress with the huge success of drupa-generation Stahlfolders in both the UK and Germany.

This last week of March and the end of the first quarter of 2017 has been a fairly busy week for news of a totally mixed bag for you to wade through. The past week has also seen Xeikon Café staged in Lier, Belgium, and Sign & Digital UK take place at the NEC, so I’m pretty sure there will be more post-event news still to follow. The major Xeikon announcement of its entry into UV inkjet with new Panther technology appears on Tuesday, followed by a surprise announcement on Wednesday that Wim Maes, CEO of Xeikon is stepping down will leave in early May.

Key articles this week that deserve checking out come from Gareth Ward at the Print Business UK, and lead the headlines on Tuesday with Ricoh’s high-speed inkjet presses; followed with the leader on Wednesday, with observations from the recently released drupa Global Trends Report, which has seen litho biting back as the digital drive dips. Another of Gareth’s articles also appears on Friday, in which he provides his post-show impression of Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne in February – with inkjet now pushing firmly at the door of commercial print. You will find Xaar plc leading the news on Friday, announcing the official opening of its new 3D Centre on Nottingham Science Park in the UK earlier in the week; and Esko on Thursday, with its plans to debut Simplified Workflow for Labels at Labelexpo Europe, taking place in Brussels in September.

“There is no doubt that High Speed Sintering technology can transform 3D Printing from a low volume prototyping solution to a mainstream manufacturing process,’ said Professor Neil Hopkinson, the original inventor of the transformational High Speed Sintering technology, who heads up Xaar’s 3D division. ‘The step change to high volume manufacturing will be most efficiently achieved through partnerships with committed stakeholders across the supply chain. Our new 3D Centre in Nottingham is the ideal location for such partnerships to flourish.“

The usual collection of recent installation and sales successes began on Monday with Heidelberg Anicolor and Suprasetter CTP at Allura Printing in the United States; then Manroland Sheetfed at Copag in Brazil. On Tuesday we had Kartongbolaget in Sweden with a HP Indigo 30000 and TRESU iCoat coating line; and Gieselmann Druck in Bielefeld, Germany with a new Muller Martini Primera MC. Wednesday saw Cape Town-based RSA Litho add a Xerox 1000 Colour Press and Xerox Versant 80 from Bytes and Oxbow; followed by Marrs Printing & Packaging in the US with a KBA Rapida 106; and then Israeli digital photobook specialist Liel Albums with a new 8-colour Sawgrass system. Thursday saw Servinform in Spain become the latest transactional printer to adop t the high-speed Ricoh Pro VC60000; followed by Muller Martini with a Diamant MC 60 bookline for Pollina in Luçon, France. On Friday we had GPS Colour Graphics in Northern Ireland step up production with Fujifilm’s Superia CTP and Superia plates investment; while Columbus Production in the USA has added a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106; and lastly, Micropress in the UK has invested in EFI‘s Midmarket Print Suite MIS/ERP system.

We had new kit announced on Monday from both Hunkeler and SPGPrints; and then on Tuesday from Flint Group with new Thermal processor for flexo, in addition to Xeikon with its new Panther UV inkjet system for labels which is already mentioned above.

Other items to look out for are the survey from GWG; a new partnership for Sappi’s Biotech division; acquisitions by both Goss and Canon; a call for entries for the British Book Design Production Awards for 2017, with a deadline for entries of 30 June, and FESPA’s winner for the Wrap Master Design Competition.

Our tailender once again serves to remind you of the 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open taking place in Cape Town in May, with George Mecs from France competing in South Africa for the first time, and joining players from Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa for this popular event. You’ll find it among Thursday’s headlines.

That’s it until next time. You will find so much more if you scroll down carefully.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Webinar – Digital Transformation
Wednesday 19th April 2017 4pm (GMT)

e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa and Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.

Headline News

Almost 29,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Week beginning Mon 27 March – date published also appears in article footline

Monday

GWG needs your PDF workflow know how

The Ghent Workgroup needs your knowledge and expertise on PDF workflow and asks you to participate in its latest survey…

Sappi Biotech division partners with CellMark

Sappi Biotech appoints CellMark to increase global sales of Hansa lignin products produced at Sappi’s Tugela Mill…

Goss acquires Graphic Automation Controls

Goss International today announced the acquisition of Graphic Automation Controls, Inc. (GAC) in an asset transaction…

Hunkeler PEM removes dust from paper webs without contact

The PEM paper web de-dusting module cleans paper webs without contact before entering an inkjet printing system…

SPGPrints new 914mm RotaLEN direct laser engraver

New RotaLEN direct laser engraver brings efficient rotary screen imaging for labels and packaging…

Allura Printing moves to offset with SM 52 Anicolor

Allura Printing reduces production time from 16 hours to 3 hours with Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor and Suprasetter A52…

Copag adds the new Roland Evolution to its pack

Pioneering Brazilian company invests in Manroland Sheetfed’s Roland 700 Evolution with UV and Ultima configuration…

Tuesday

Ricoh emphasises the impact of value creation

The name of the game for Ricoh is value creation potential of digital inkjet on its VC60000 and VC40000 presses. By Gareth Ward…

British Book Design and Production Awards call for entries

The BPIF, Oxford Brookes University, The Publishers Association, The Bookseller and The BookMachine call for entries for this year’s Awards. The deadline for entries is Friday 30 June 2017…

Xeikon introduces Panther UV inkjet technology

Xeikon expands portfolio for label printing with unveiling of Panther UV inkjet technology at Xeikon Café in Lier today…

The Xeikon PX3000 debuts at Xeikon Café 2017

Xeikon Café Packaging Innovations 2017 sees unveiling of Xeikon’s new PX3000 UV inkjet digital label press…

Kartongbolaget adds HP Indigo 30000 with integrated iCoat

Kartongbolaget breaks into short-run, personalised cartons with HP Indigo digital printing + TRESU iCoat coating line…

Gieselmann Druck und Medienhaus adds new Primera MC

Gieselmann Druck in Bielefeld, Germany invests in a new Muller Martini Primera MC to bring stitching fully in-house…

Flint’s new Nyloflex Xpress Thermal Plate Processor

Flint Group introduces new thermal plate processing technology in Europe, Middle East and Africa with Nyloflex Xpress…

Wednesday

Litho bites back as digital drive dips says drupa Report

The onward rush of digital printing has been turned according to the latest survey in the 2017 drupa Trends Report. By Gareth Ward…

Printed electronics making its way into more products

Latest OE-A Roadmap edition presents diverse range of application examples and challenges for organic and printed electronics…

Wim Maes to step down as CEO of Xeikon in early May

Flint Group has named Benoit Chatelard as CEO Digital Solutions to take over from Wim Maes on 8 May…

Blackman & White celebrates record sales year at S&D

Blackman & White showcases new developments at Sign & Digital UK with a positive economic outlook…

RSA Litho boosts its digital investment with Xerox

Cape Town-based RSA Litho eyes digital growth with purchase of Xerox 1000 Colour Press and Xerox Versant 80 from Oxbow…

Marrs optimises pressroom with new KBA Rapida 106

Marrs Printing & Packaging adds another ‘arrow in its quiver’ to increase quality, efficiency, and productivity…

Liel Albums adds Israel’s first Sawgrass VJ 628

Israeli digital photobook specialist Liel Albums has elevated its fine art photographic printing with 8-colour system…

Thursday

Esko: Simplified Label Workflow for Labelexpo Europe 2017

The best label workflow, simplified. Esko turnkey solutions simplify label prepress workflow and process management…

Canon acquires Kite.ly e-Commerce platform

Canon Europe acquires London-based Kite.ly e-Commerce platform to expand its mobile printing capabilities via any device…

FESPA announces Wrap Master Design Competition winner

Winning design to be applied to Haugaard Racing Team speedboat for 2017 World Formula 4 UIM Powerboat Championship…

The 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open

South African Disabled Golf Association (SADGA) welcomes Frenchman George Mecs to the Open field in Cape Town in May…

Innovation in postpress taking hold in industrial print

Industrial print shops increase overall productivity using innovative drupa-generation folding machines from Heidelberg…

Servinform adds Ricoh Pro VC60000 to reach new markets

The Spanish transactional printer has become the latest print services provider to adopt the Ricoh Pro VC60000…

Muller Martini Diamant MC 60 for Pollina in Luçon

The French company’s first Diamant MC 60 bookline provides a ‘well-rounded’ solution in the hardcover segment…

Friday

Xaar’s 3D Centre in Nottingham opens for business

The official opening of Xaar plc’s new 3D Centre on the Nottingham, Science Park in the UK took place this week…

Hunkeler underlines how Inkjet is pushing at the door of commercial print

There has been a step up in quality of inkjet printing since Hunkeler two years ago. Presses can now match offset for quality, but the challenge is now about creating the applications. By Gareth Ward…

OE-A Business Climate Survey results are positive

Positive outlook from OE-A members on the development of organic and printed electronics announced at LOPEC 2017…

Agfa Apogee gains GWG PDF preflight certification

Agfa’s Apogee Prepress workflow has passed the latest Ghent Workgroup PDF preflight certification…

GPS Colour Graphics opts for Fujifilm Superia technology

Northern Ireland’s biggest commercial printer steps up production with Fujifilm Superia CTP and plates investment…

Columbus Productions adds Speedmaster XL 106 Perfector

The Georgia-based company adds Speedmaster XL 106 as part of its continued investment towards becoming a market leader…

Micropress opts for EFI Midmarket Print Suite

Micropress, one of the UK’s largest commercial printers has invested in EFI’s Midmarket Print Suite MIS/ERP…

The lead articles from a week last Friday…

Packaging Printing Redefined at Manroland Web Systems

The Manroland Varioman: Background and facts about the innovative web offset Varioman press for flexible packaging printing…

KBA-Flexotecnica hails successful start to 2017

And closer co-operation with KBA-Digital & Web with new shared demo centre for digital and flexo in Würzburg…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, folding and finishing, and consumables. with offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You should also visit blog.drupa.comfor the very latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017

Only 49 articles for last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

Value Dialogueexclusive Interview series

An important role in the breakthrough of industrial digital printing!

‘We keep our promises: sustainable industrial production with premium quality digital printing.’ – Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Interview by Andreas Weber…

Online Features Mar/Apr Chapter 04

NEW…

Innovation in postpress taking hold in industrial print

Industrial print shops increase overall productivity using innovative drupa-generation folding machines from Heidelberg…

NEW…

Perfect plate changes on Rapida sheetfed offset presses

KBA’s DriveTronic Plate Ident is designed to be used with Rapida sheetfed offset presses in half-, medium- and large-formats…

Previous…

Elegant printed products in waterless coldset at RBD

Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei invests in a further varnishing unit for the waterless KBA Cortina in Düsseldorf…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

The Snap, Crackle and Pop of Flexible Packaging

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 31 Mar

Previous…

Case Getting Louder for ISO 21331

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 24 Mar

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017

This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. All have illustrated PDFs to download.

No 24 Calibration & Device Profiling – Intro

While a surprising number of prepress operators and designers still spend a huge amount of time and materials ‘trying to get the colours right’, this should really be a quite straight forward process today. By Paul Lindström…

Drupa Newsroom

Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…

News from Messe Düsseldorf

4th drupa Global Trends Report 2017 available now

The Report, tracking key economic and market developments in the global print industry is available now!…

The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::

drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited and UPM-Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Our Website urls are:

http://www.graphicrepro.co.za

http://www.graphicrepro.net

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: KBA reports the highest profit margin in the company’s history!

March 27, 2017

Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Multi-Channel Innovation, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors, Value Innovation

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Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG (on right) and Christoph Müller, CEO of KBA-Digital & Web and KBA-Flexotecnica, making sure the new demo facilities in Wuerzburg will be on time for the 200th Anniversary opening and celebrations in September by pitching in and helping with the construction during their lunch breaks and at weekends… in exchange for a discount on the contract!

Graphic Repro On-line News to Friday 24 March 2017

Welcome to this week’s news roundup with another 30 articles from the past week, Laurel Brunner’s latest Verdigris Blog, explaining the international standard for assessing the potential deinkability of print; and news from Messe Düsseldorf advising that the 4^th Global Trends Report 2017 is now available to order, with a free Executive Summary you can download in a choice of seven languages. If you go to the news leader on Wednesday, or to our drupa Newsroom, you can read drupa director Sabine Geldermann’s introduction by following the link to the drupa Website where you can then register to download the Executive Summary for FREE. You can also purchase the full report from Messe Düsseldorf’s Online Shop in English or German for a nominal fee.

A key news highlight appeared on Wednesday, as KBA released its Annual Report for 2016, recording the highest profit margin in the company’s history, coupled with a healthy double-digit increase in revenue, market share gains in packaging and digital printing, a solid order intake with a high order backlog as the company prepares to celebrate its 200^th Anniversary later this year. You can also find more about KBA-Flexotecnica’s successful start to 2017 in Friday’s headlines.

The lead article on Tuesday, by Gareth Ward, featured Canon, as it looks to establish its Oce Colorado UV Gel inkjet as a third way between solvent and latex in roll to roll print.

You’ll find a lot of pre-show and pre-event news again this week, beginning with Esko’s European Prepress Innovation Tour on Monday; then Xeikon Café which takes place this coming week, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday Sign & Digital UK announced its lineup ahead of its 30^th Anniversary show which also takes place this coming week at the NEC, Birmingham; and then a FESPA 2017 mention, set to take place in Hamburg in May.

On Thursday, Heidelberg and Gallus took the lead as they announced their lineup for Interpack 2017 taking place from 4 – 10 May in Dusseldorf, and on Friday, we have FINAT with the annual European Label Forum, set to take place from 7 – 9 June in Berlin; and lastly another early mention for InPrint 2017, set to take place in Munich in November, and once again co-located with Productronica. ICE Europe, which took place this week in Munich had mentions on both Thursday and Friday; and lastly, Lopec 2017, which takes place in Munich this coming week, is among Friday’s headlines.

Friday’s news was led by Manroland Web Systems as managing director Alexander Wassermann provides a brief background and facts about the new and innovative web offset and gravure hybrid Varioman press for flexible packaging printing, which is due to commence production at an international packaging printer early next year.

Key sales and installations successes this week came from Heidelberg USA at Adams Lithographing, and Renz UK in Leeds on Monday; from Heidelberg UK at A3 Design & Print in Surrey with a digital Versafire CP; then Essex-based trade finisher Filmdie with a new Horizon perfect binder and three-side trimmer from IFS; followed by Contiweb/DG with a Thallo press for identity and security print at De La Rue in Malta; and lastly Edale with a 7-colour press in Devon – all on Tuesday. On Thursday, Cape Town-based Creative Brands in South Africa announced that it has added a Xerox X1000 Digital Colour Press from Oxbow and Bytes to boost productivity. This was followed by Polar in Portugal with a fourth new cutter equipped for labels at Calipolense in Vila Viçosa.

Our tailender once again serves to remind you of the 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open taking place in Cape Town in May, with Ireland’s Cian Arthurs joining players from France, England, the United States and South Africa for this popular event – in Thursday’s headlines.

That’s it until next time. You will find more if you scroll down carefully.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Download for FREE the Executive Summary of the 4th drupa Global Trends report 2017.

e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa and Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.

Headline News

Almost 29,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Week beginning Mon 20 March – date published also appears in article footline

Monday

Esko announces Prepress Innovation European Tour ’17

Following success in DACH, Esko is expanding its roadshow to other parts of Europe and America…

Scodix at Xeikon Café, from 28 to 31 March 2017

Scodix to illustrate a competitive edge for printers through digital enhancement at Xeikon Café 2017 next week…

Total cost to manufacture pushes publishers to inkjet

Many modern inkjet presses do so much more than just print. They also fold, collate, glue blocks for covers and trim books…

Speedmaster CD 102-X increases Adams’ capacity by 50%

Adams Lithographing also expects to add 30% more overall volume with Speedmaster CD 102-Xs added efficiency…

Renz buy helps Leeds Die Cutting secure profitability

Leeds Trade finisher completes the transformation of its wire binding production with its third Renz-supplied solution…

Tuesday

Canon creates extra-large format category with UV Gel technology

Canon looks to establish Colorado UV Gel inkjet as a third way between solvent and latex in roll to roll print. By Gareth Ward…

A3 Design & Print adds Heidelberg Versafire CP

A3 Design & Print opts for digital Versafire CP to its suite of Heidelberg equipment, replacing two older KM machines…

Filmdie expands trade binding services with Horizon

Operation is 50% faster with IFS-supplied Horizon BQ-470 perfect binder and Horizon HT-30 three-side trimmer…

De La Rue opts for Contiweb/DG Thallo web press

De La Rue concludes Thallo deal for Centre of Excellence for identity and security print in Malta…

Tamar Packaging purchases Edale FL5 for cartons

UK packaging company Tamar has invested in a 7-colour FL5-510 Carton with combination drying…

Wednesday

4th drupa Global Trends Report 2017 available now

The report, tracking key economic and market developments in the global print industry is available now!…

Koenig & Bauer on a growth and profitability trajectory

Annual Report 2016: Backed by a significant increase in revenue and profit, the KBA group achieved or exceeded targets set in 2015…

Sign & Digital UK’s 30th Anniversary final lineup

Sign & Digital UK announces latest exhibitor news ahead of the 2017 show, from 28 to 30 March at the NEC, Birmingham…

Drytac at Sign & Digital UK 2017, 28 – 30 March

Introducing bacteria’s worst new enemy: Protac Anti-Bacterial film from Drytac at next week’s Sign & Digital at the NEC…

SMAG Digital Galaxie finishing solution at Xeikon

High-end digital finishing of wine, spirit & perfume applications presented by SMAG at the Xeikon Café Packaging Innovations…

Nazdar latest ink innovations at FESPA 2017

Nazdar Ink Technologies to exhibit new and established digital inkjet and screen-printing inks and special effects…

Thursday

Heidelberg and Gallus at Interpack 2017 from 4 to 10 May

Pioneer in digitisation for growth market of packaging printing with ‘Smart Print Shop – Zero Defect Packaging’ motto…

BST Eltromat and Kampf at ICE Europe in Munich this week

Industry 4.0: BST Eltromat and Kampf show practical examples at ICE Europe at the Munich Trade Fair Centre from 21 – 23 March…

Color-Logic certifies Ricoh L4100 Series in latex first

Ricoh’s Pro L4100 Series is first latex system to achieve global Color-Logic certification, to be shown at FESPA 2017…

Iggesund’s premium paperboard at Xeikon Café next week

Live print demonstrations will show high-quality effects of Invercote and Incada paperboard grades in digital luxury packaging…

The 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open

Ireland’s Cian Arthur a tough contender in the 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open in Cape Town in May…

Creative Brands creates competitive edge with Xerox

Cape Town-based Creative Brands adds Xerox X1000 Digital Colour Press from Oxbow and Bytes to boost productivity…

Calipolense adds its fourth label cutter from Polar

The Portuguese label printer in Vila Viçosa recently purchased a Polar N 115 AT HD equipped with label options…

Friday

Packaging Printing Redefined at Manroland Web Systems

The Manroland Varioman: Background and facts about the innovative web offset Varioman press for flexible packaging printing…

KBA-Flexotecnica hails successful start to 2017

And closer co-operation with KBA-Digital & Web with new shared demo centre for digital and flexo in Würzburg…

ICE Europe 2017 provided the ideal setting for Meech

ICE Europe was the ideal setting for Meech to address converting industry’s static control and web cleaning needs…

FINAT European Label Forum: A brief for the label industry

Familiarly known as ‘ELF’ the annual European Label Forum is set to take place this year in Berlin from 7 – 9 June…

SPGPrints at LOPEC 2017 in Munich 28 – 29 March

SPGPrints to highlight reliability of non-woven nickel RotaMesh and PlanoMesh screens for printed electronics…

Label Traxx workflow optimisation at Xeikon Café

Label Traxx automated print management software will show attendees streamlined and automated digital label workflow…

InPrint 2017 in Munich from 14 – 16 November

Leading technology providers showcasing amongst exhibitors at InPrint 2017, again co-located with Productronica…

The lead articles from a week last Friday…

Xeikon Café announces final conference programmes

Xeikon Café conference programmes and the live production scheme of innovative digital print applications. From 28 – 31 March…

Mimaki Europe bigger than ever at FESPA 2017

Mimaki Europe has two stands: one dedicated to textiles, the other to Sign & Display, Industrial Print and 3D…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, folding and finishing, and consumables. with offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You should also visit blog.drupa.comfor the very latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017

Only 49 articles for last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

Value Dialogueexclusive Interview series

Previous…

An important role in the breakthrough of industrial digital printing!

‘We keep our promises: sustainable industrial production with premium quality digital printing.’ – Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Interview by Andreas Weber…

Online Features Mar/Apr Chapter 04

Previous…

Elegant printed products in waterless coldset at RBD

Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei invests in a further varnishing unit for the waterless KBA Cortina in Düsseldorf…

De Groot’s new KBA Rapida 106 replaces two machines

An eight-colour KBA Rapida 106 with simultaneous plate changing joins the production facility in Goudriaan, the Netherlands…

KBA large-format for new DS Smith facility in Erlensee

A new high-speed 17,000sph six-colour Rapida 145 with inline coating unit for display and consumer packaging…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Case Getting Louder for ISO 21331

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 24 Mar

Previous…

Digital Printing for Packaging

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 17 Mar

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017

This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. All have illustrated PDFs to download.

No 24 Calibration & Device Profiling – Intro

While a surprising number of prepress operators and designers still spend a huge amount of time and materials ‘trying to get the colours right’, this should really be a quite straight forward process today. By Paul Lindström…

Drupa Newsroom

Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…

News from Messe Düsseldorf

4th drupa Global Trends Report 2017 available now

The Report, tracking key economic and market developments in the global print industry is available now!…

The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::

drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited and UPM-Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Our Website urls are:

http://www.graphicrepro.co.za

http://www.graphicrepro.net

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: “Still going strong! Print is a market with a great future!”

March 20, 2017

Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors, Value Innovation

Leave a comment

Architect’s sketch of the new demo centre for digital and flexographic presses at KBA’s headquarters in Würzburg. — Nine months before the official ceremony to mark the 200th anniversary of Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) in September 2017, the foundations were laid in January at the company’s Würzburg parent plant.

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 17 March 2017

Welcome to this week’s news roundup with another 30 from the past week, Laurel Brunner’s latest Verdigris Blog on digital printing for packaging; the latest Wild Format Technology Guide from Paul Lindström; and three new Online Features from KBA featuring sheetfed in both medium and large-format, as well as enhanced waterless web offset at Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei in Düsseldorf. (We’re catching up after communications glitch with KBA).

Lots of pre-show news among this weeks headlines with Canon Europe with a brand new machine debut, as well as EFI and Zünd at FESPA 2017 on Monday; Ricoh Europe with wide- and large-format inkjet, and Sun Chemical on Wednesday; and Mimaki Europe and Neschen on Friday. FESPA takes place in Hamburg from 8 – 12 May. Other major event coverage appears for Xeikon Café on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, set to take place from 28 – 31 March in Lier, Belgium; while on Thursday, Sappi Packaging and Speciality Papers led the headlines as they announced their plans to present unique possibilities for new packaging concepts at Interpack 2017, taking place from 4 to 10 May in Düsseldorf.

On Tuesday, Sun Chemical announced that it will exhibit at Metpack from 2 – 6 May in Essen just 36km down the road from Dusseldorf, at the same time as Interpack which doesn’t make much sense to me. On Wednesday we have Graphispag in Barcelona, from 21 – 24 March; and lastly on Thursday from the OE-A as it presents the most innovative ideas and outlooks in a competition for members from the organic and printed electronics sectors at LOPEC 2017 in Munich, taking place on 28 and 29 March.

On Tuesday you will find interesting lead comment from Gareth Ward on Kodak, as it slowly edges towards the sale of its Prosper inkjet operation; while on Thursday, Koenig & Bauer announced the official construction start for its new digital and flexographic demo centre in Würzburg to commemorate its 200th Anniversary, as part of euro 6 million site upgrade.

There are a number of nice recent sales and installations this week, beginning with Manroland Sheetfed on Monday at AIIM. Tuesday saw Revista in Brazil with Eversify; KBA large-format sheetfed at DS Smith in Erlensee; KBA again on Thursday as it moves a high-spec Compacta 518 web offset press from Belgium to St. Petersburg in Russia; and on Friday, Heidelberg UK at Woking printer Optichrome, which has installed two high speed Versafire CP digital presses to replace Xerox machines. This was followed by KBA in the UK as it installs a Rapida 106 6-colour with coater at Offset Printing and Packaging in Kent; and lastly, H Heenemann in Berlin with a Muller Martini Finishing 4.0 solution, the Vareo perfect binder, as the ideal solution to handle digital print in shorter runs as it gears for the future with fast-changing market requirements.

The news doesn’t end there as there are still a number of excellent articles I haven’t mentioned. You’ll find them all if you scroll down carefully… including new software; the BPIF with Apprentices; Flint with global price increases for inks and varnishes; then Canon Europe as it offers a first step into professional-level application versatility with more finishing options.

Lastly, news on Friday as one of our long-standing friends, James Matthews-Paul, is appointed as IPEX 2017 Content Curator. James has already signed the London College of Fashion for a printed fashion catwalk as an early sign of radical changes that could follow, from an extrovert but very clever, passionate and dedicated industry analyst and journalist who always thinks outside the box. James is also of a younger generation with refreshing perspectives, which IPEX definitely needs after its last showing in London.

Our tailender once again serves to remind you of the 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open taking place in Cape Town in May, with South Africa’s Reinard Schuhknecht gearing up for his eleventh consecutive appearance in the popular competition – in Thursday’s headlines.

That’s it until next time.
My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Get insights of Print 4.0 via ValueCheck: Autonomous print production proves itself in practice. Read more.

e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa and Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.

Headline News

Almost 29,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Week beginning Mon 13 March – date published also appears in article footline

Monday

Océ Colorado roll-to-roll printer to debut at FESPA 2017

Canon Europe’s expanded range of wide-format solutions with FESPA 2017 Hamburg launch of new 1625mm Océ Colorado…

EFI’s new Vutek 3r and 5r printers at FESPA

To set new benchmark in speed, resolution and automated finishing / productivity for signage and graphics…

Zünd at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg from 8 – 12 May

The FESPA show will put into focus the modularity and the diverse uses of Zünd digital cutting systems…

Focus on the new KBA RotaJET L and VL series at HID

KBA at the Hunkeler Innovation Days 2017 in Lucerne with the RotaJET L inkjet web press in live production…

Avant Imaging installs Manroland R706PLV HiPrint

AIIM’s decade-long partnership with Manroland Sheetfed continues to spur growth and attract new business…

Tuesday

Clarke pleads patience as Prosper deal still hangs

Kodak is slowly balancing the books, and just as slowly edging towards the sale of its Prosper inkjet operation. By Gareth Ward…

Revista and Eversify begin mobile publishing journey

Brazil based Revista Publish has embraced the world of automated mobile publishing after investing in Eversify…

KBA large-format for new DS Smith facility in Erlensee

A new high-speed 17,000sph six-colour Rapida 145 with inline coating unit for display and consumer packaging…

Sun Chemical at this year’s Metpack from 2 – 6 May

Sun Chemical to showcase extensive portfolio of metal decorating solutions at Metpack 2017 in Essen, Germany…

Bograma at the Xeikon Café 28 to 31 March

The Swiss manufacturer will demonstrate creative power of die-cut finishing with digital print in Lier later this month…

Wednesday

Ricoh wide-format and large-format at FESPA 2017

Ricoh supports new market moves for print service providers at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg, including direct-to-garment…

Sun Chemical at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg

Sun Chemical to showcase full portfolio of inks for screen, industrial and inkjet printing and for printed electronics…

New Solution to exhibit at Graphispag in Barcelona

New Solution to showcase new range of label and corrugated packaging printers at Graphispag Barcelona 21 – 24 March…

AVT boosts inspection efficiency at the Xeikon Café

Helios Turbo HD will show advanced real-time digital print inspection and process control in Lier from 28 – 31 March…

Sawgrass’ Virtuoso Print Manager breaks new ground

Sawgrass’ new Virtuoso Print Manager is the first universal print software for all Virtuoso HD Product Decorating Systems…

Thursday

Sappi: Innovative, sustainable packaging solutions

Sappi Packaging and Speciality Papers to present unique possibilities for new packaging concepts at Interpack 2017…

KBA’s new digital and flexographic press showroom

Koenig & Bauer builds new demo centre in Würzburg to commemorate its 200th Anniversary as part of euro 6 million site upgrade…

BPIF celebrates National Apprenticeship Week

The BPIF celebrated with a visit to Jaguar Land Rover, a Letterpress workshop and second edition of Apprentice Newsletter…

From vision to product at LOPEC 2017 in Munich

OE-A presents the most innovative ideas and outlooks in competition for members from organic and printed electronics sectors…

The 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open

South Africa’s Reinard Schuhknecht gears up for his eleventh Canon South African Disabled Golf Open in Cape Town…

Flint announces inks and varnishes price increases

Flint Group announces global price increases of between 4% – 7% for its Packaging, Narrow Web and Sheetfed products…

KBA Compacta 518 moving from Belgium to Russia

Special web width for Deviz in St. Petersburg, one of the largest and most experienced printing companies in Western Russia…

Friday

Xeikon Café announces final conference programmes

Xeikon Café conference programmes and the live production scheme of innovative digital print applications. From 28 – 31 March…

Mimaki Europe bigger than ever at FESPA 2017

Mimaki Europe has two stands: one dedicated to textiles, the other to Sign & Display, Industrial Print and 3D…

Neschen Coating at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg

Neschen will exhibit a large number of new products and innovations at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg, from 8 to 12 May…

IPEX 2017 aims for new horizons with JM-P as Content Curator

James Matthews-Paul appointed IPEX 2017 Content Curator. Signs London College of Fashion for printed fashion catwalk…

Canon adds new entry-level imagePRESS C650

Canon offers a first step into professional-level application versatility with more professional finishing options…

Optichrome pumps up the volume with two Versafire CPs

Woking printer Optichrome has installed two high speed Versafire CP digital presses from Heidelberg UK, replacing Xerox Versants…

Offset Printing and Packaging invests in KBA Rapida 106

KBA Rapida 106 6-colour with coater bound for Kent, as Offset Printing and Packaging prepares for the future…

Muller Martini Vareo paves the way for Heenemann’s future

For H Heenemann in Berlin the Muller Martini Vareo perfect binder is the ideal solution to handle digital print and shorter runs…

The lead articles from a week last Friday…

KBA at Interpack 2017 in Düsseldorf from 4 – 10 May

Marking and print solutions for the most diverse forms of packaging at this year’s Interpack in Düsseldorf, on a joint stand in Hall 12…

The Inkjet Conference 2017: The first programme details

The world’s biggest inkjet event, TheIJC returns to take place 24 – 25 October 2017 in Swissôtel Düsseldorf…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, folding and finishing, and consumables. with offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You should also visit blog.drupa.comfor the very latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017

Only 49 articles for last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

Value Dialogueexclusive Interview series

Previous…

An important role in the breakthrough of industrial digital printing!

‘We keep our promises: sustainable industrial production with premium quality digital printing.’ – Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Interview by Andreas Weber…

Online Features Mar/Apr Chapter 04

Elegant printed products in waterless coldset at RBD

Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei invests in a further varnishing unit for the waterless KBA Cortina in Düsseldorf…

De Groot’s new KBA Rapida 106 replaces two machines

An eight-colour KBA Rapida 106 with simultaneous plate changing joins the production facility in Goudriaan, the Netherlands…

KBA large-format for new DS Smith facility in Erlensee

A new high-speed 17,000sph six-colour Rapida 145 with inline coating unit for display and consumer packaging…

Previous…

KBA at Interpack 2017 in Düsseldorf from 4 – 10 May

Marking and print solutions for the most diverse forms of packaging at this year’s Interpack in Düsseldorf, on a joint stand in Hall 12…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Digital Printing for Packaging

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 17 Mar

Previous…

Thai Forest Certification Scheme

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 03 Mar

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017

This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. All have illustrated PDFs to download.

No 24 Calibration & Device Profiling – Intro

While a surprising number of prepress operators and designers still spend a huge amount of time and materials ‘trying to get the colours right’, this should really be a quite straight forward process today. By Paul Lindström…

No 23 How Printing Companies Can Improve Output Quality

Most wide format printing engines have the potential to produce excellent output quality, both in terms of resolution and colour gamut. By Paul Lindström

Drupa Newsroom

Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…

News from Messe Düsseldorf

Out soon: 4th drupa Global trends Report 2017

General confidence amongst printers and suppliers for 2017 but mixed fortunes for markets and regions alike…

The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::

drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited and UPM-Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Our Website urls are:

http://www.graphicrepro.co.za

http://www.graphicrepro.net

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

ValueDialog: An important role in the breakthrough of industrial digital printing.

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Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Posts in German Language, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Innovation

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Photos: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. — Collage: Andreas Weber, Mainz/Germany.

“We keep our promises: sustainable industrial production with premium quality digital printing.” —Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Interview: Andreas Weber, Head of Value | German version

Presented to hundreds of thousands of trade visitors at drupa 2016 and on the market since January 2017 with the start of the pilot phase: the Primefire 106 – as the first industrial premium digital printing production system in B1 format it is performing successfully in the pilot phase and has proven itself at ‘MPS Multi Packaging Solutions’. An important core element of the new Heidelberg digital strategy has thus been achieved — and now is the perfect time for an exclusive interview by Andreas Weber with Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Head of Digital Sales and Digital Sheetfed General Manager at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (#Heideldruck) on the subject of the market launch of the Heidelberg Primefire 106.

You joined Heidelberg just before drupa 2016. Did you expect that the traditional company would be able to develop into the pioneer of premium level industrial digital printing so rapidly?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: I have to admit that I’m extremely positively surprised. Even my high expectations were exceeded. During my career, I’ve gained a great deal of experience with the transformation of particular market segments on the basis of digital printing. But up to that point I wasn’t very familiar with the world of offset printing as a core area of expertise of Heidelberg. Now, as Heidelberg is merging both together, I’m sure that we can meet the present and future needs of print shops and their customers in the best possible way.

What makes you so optimistic?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: At drupa 2016, I saw the Primefire 106 in operation as a prototype for the first time, where it produced top quality inkjet print samples. Afterwards, I watched as this was implemented quickly and highly professionally in Research and Development, as well as in Engineering, within just a few weeks. After all, what is important is not only complying with ambitious machine specifications but also being able to produce at industrial level with the aid of technical innovations, in line with actual working situations. And that was achieved in an extremely short time. The engineers were open-minded, new ideas from the team and suggestions were taken into account immediately and implemented technically. Also the cooperation with our co development partner Fujifilm went very well for both sides. To be perfectly honest, I’d not experienced anything like it before. They were real highlights for me and they still have an effect today.

The pilot phase for the Primefire 106 began in January 2017. What is so special about it?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: For a successful pilot phase in which the machine runs under production conditions at customers, two requirements must be met. 1. The technology must be complete, i.e. fully developed. 2. Innovations must meet or exceed the needs of the customer. In the context of the print shop business, this means that new printing technologies must be successful from the word go – they must work reliably from a technical and from a commercial point of view. The largest burden for print shops is winning new print job orders, which is very hard work. Once they have a job, they must be able to produce it reliably and without problems on an industrial scale. This means with top quality and speed, extremely good reproducibility characteristics and a very high level of machine availability coupled with minimum makeready times. Ensuring that this can be achieved is the core element of our job.

From left: Thomas Heissler, Global Account Manager Heidelberg, Götz Schümann, General Manager MPS Produktion Oberslum, Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Head of Digital Sales and General Manager Digital Sheetfed Heidelberg in front of Primefire 106. Photo: Heidelberg

Prime fire 106 in action at MPS. Photo: Heidelberg

drupa 2016 — Poto: Heidelberg

drupa 2016 — Photo: Heidelberg

Photo: Heidelberg

Aren’t high quality and an excellent uptime already standard in digital printing?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Unfortunately not. And this is the most important strength and USP of the Primefire 106 in comparison to other solutions on the market that either offer one or the other. With a lot of solutions, this means that the up time may be reduced to as low as 40 % if maximum quality is required. And vice versa – if you concentrate on maximum productivity, high quality standards cannot be achieved. With the Primefire 106, we have proven that we can offer both at once, as demonstrated in the pilot phase. With this machine, we set high standards in terms of dependable high quality performance, which is an indispensable requirement in our target markets of packaging and converting.

The first customer in the Primefire pilot phase is the globally operating MPS Multi Packaging Solutions, with its headquarters in New York City and its production site in Obersulm near Stuttgart. What was the key reason for this collaboration?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: The excellent product specifications as well as outstanding features and, above all, our performance pledge were convincing factors, as everything meets the wishes and stringent requirements at MPS exactly. Furthermore, the two companies have worked together for many years, as Heidelberg is the main supplier for offset printing technology and several pilot projects have already been implemented successfully in the area of offset printing. My colleagues have done a brilliant job, which has resulted in a high degree of mutual trust being built up at many levels over a number of years. And this situation is now being transferred seamlessly to digital printing, with the additional major plus point that, with Fujifilm, we not only have a premium supplier of inkjet printheads, but Fujifilm is a development partner who actively contributes know-how and manpower in this context in order to get the best out of its technology with our machine and production concept. And that’s unique. Another factor is our industry-wide, leading service network with teams who can help out quickly if needed, either remotely or on site. And all these points were appreciated and acknowledged by more than 40 companies at our Primefire customer event at the end of January, 2017.

World premiere of Heidelberg Primefire 106 at drupa 2016. Video: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.

In the context of the Primefire 106, the fact that the go-to-market and new business models will be key success factors was highlighted at drupa 2016. What must be borne in mind or what are potential new challenges?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Heidelberg is renowned for its excellent customer relationships and loyalty — and this is even acknowledged by its competitors. Good customer loyalty is developed when Sales as well as Service identify with the customer as much as possible, have a continual presence and are integrated into the customers’ everyday work. As this has been the case for a very long time, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel with the go-to-market activities for the Primefire. We use tried and tested elements and well-established structures in account management that are valued by our customers…

… and what is the situation as far as business models are concerned?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: In the context of business models we need to rethink, as with industrial printing using inkjet technology one thing is of key importance – our customers must know exactly what they are paying for at all times. The click charge billing models that are commonly used for digital printing work for numerous applications that are made up of a large number of individual jobs, often with small print runs. The click costs comprise a fixed charge plus variable costs and should only amount to a maximum of 20% of the total production costs, otherwise it becomes unprofitable…

… and what exactly does this mean with respect to the Primefire 106?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: With high-volume production with the Primefire 106 in multi-shift mode under industrial production conditions, a different approach is definitely needed, especially for packaging printing. The costs must be completely transparent before the job is started — across all process steps. We call this the “pay for what you consume” model and we have developed new types of contracts which cover all aspects related to the maintenance of the inkjet printheads and other inkjet printing production factors, such as ink, for each contract, in addition to the purchase prices of the machines. We therefore offer an economically relevant model, tailored specifically to packaging print shops, that is an important part of our performance pledge and that, in my opinion, no other manufacturer can offer at the moment.

Best-in-class technology needs a great design as well: Primefire 106 celebrated its World Premiere at drupa 2016. Photos: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.

What impact does this new business model approach have in actual situations? After all, the Primefire concept also changes the way that Heidelberg customers can go about their business.

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: That’s right, digitization in the printing industry changes the way business is done in many areas. Print shops must consider whether it is better to integrate Primefire systems into their existing operation or to separate them off into their own department/company. There is a wide variety of options for how companies want to structure and organize their digital business. From the application-related, technical side or the process workflows, we can offer comprehensive, flexible support.

Have you already received feedback from your customers’ customers – i.e. brands that use packaging?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Since drupa 2016, we have received feedback from companies who order packaging via our customers. The most important feedback is that digital printing solutions must be 100% reliable as the requirements are extremely high. Brand owners or print buyers who find out about the Primefire technology actively approach our customers immediately in order to be able to take advantage of the benefits themselves as soon as possible. In particular, this applies to the time to market speed at the point of sale which enables sophisticated products to be sold more easily and quickly.

What’s more, our customers are also given the chance to not only produce jobs in line with customer specifications but also to actively approach their customers/interested parties with their new ideas on the basis of the new opportunities provided by the Primefire. This new form of creativity is expressly welcomed in order to design marketing activities that are more relevant or to address new target groups more effectively. — Incidentally, this situation has meant that our Primefire pilot customer MPS has been producing actual runs for brand customers from the cosmetics industry since the beginning of February 2017 – and not only test jobs for inspecting samples for new applications. This rapid adaptation of new printing technologies is accelerating the transformation dramatically.

As it looks today, does the success of the pilot phase meet your expectations?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Definitely. Without mentioning any concrete figures, we have received an enormous amount of inquiries. This is mainly because the Primefire 106 is designed as a platform that can be upgraded and therefore is expected to offer a production life of up to ten years.

To finish, can you give us a forecast of how this platform approach will develop with the Primefire 106?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: We keep our promises: sustainable industrial production with premium quality digital printing. In the next few years, there will be hardly any need to modify our Primefire technology in terms of quality, printhead technology and print image resolution. However, it is conceivable that throughput will be increased for more printed sheets per hour. New areas of application will certainly arise in the next few years. Specific solutions, for the pharmaceuticals area for example, will also be planned. This includes new opportunities in the context of digital finishing, e.g. with inline processing. And it is very important to make it clear that enhancements to the Primefire systems will be possible for existing installations for the foreseeable future due to our platform concept. Investments are therefore secured in the long term.

Thank you very much for this informative interview. It seems to me that Heidelberg has played an important role in the breakthrough of industrial digital printing

Photo: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

About Montserrat Peidro-Insa:

Montserrat Peidro-Insa is the new force in the Heidelberg digital team. She joined Heidelberg in the spring of 2016, just in time before drupa. The former HP manager has gained many years of experience in launching professional digital printing systems, and Heidelberg would also like to benefit from this expertise. She is therefore a welcome addition to Jason Oliver’s team and is now Head of Digital Sales and Digital Sheetfed General Manager at Heidelberg. Together with her staff, she will be responsible for the market launch of the Heidelberg Primefire 106.

ValueDialog: Dem industriellen Digitaldruck zum Durchbruch verholfen!

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Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Posts in German Language, Valuable Advice, Value Innovation

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Fotos: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Bildcollage: Andreas Weber, Mainz.

„Wir halten, was wir versprechen: die nachhaltig industrielle Fertigung mit Digitaldruck auf Premiumniveau!“ —Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Interview: Andreas Weber, Head of Value | English version

Auf der drupa 2016 hunderttausenden Fachbesuchern vorgestellt und seit Januar 2017 Beginn der Pilotphase im Markt: Primefire 106 als erstes industrielles Digitaldruck-Premium-Produktionssystem im B1 Format meistert die Pilot-Phase und bewährt sich bei ‚MPS Multi Packaging Solutions‘. Damit ist ein wichtiger Kernpunkt der neuen Digitalstrategie bei Heidelberg erfüllt — und ein perfekter Zeitpunkt für ein Exklusivinterview von Andreas Weber zur Markteinführung der Heidelberg Primefire 106 mit Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Head of Digital Sales and General Manager Digital Sheetfed bei Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (#Heideldruck).

Sie kamen zur drupa 2016 zu Heidelberg. Hatten Sie erwartet, dass das Traditionsunternehmen so rasend schnell zum Vorreiter im industriellen Digitaldruck auf Premiumniveau werden konnte?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Ich muss zugeben, dass ich äußerst positiv überrascht bin. Meine hohen Erwartungen wurden noch übertroffen. Ich habe in meiner Laufbahn reichhaltige Erfahrungen bei der Transformation bestimmter Marktsegmente durch Digitaldruck erworben. Mit der Offsetdruckwelt als Kernkompetenz von Heidelberg war ich aber bis dato nicht näher vertraut. Jetzt, wo Heidelberg beides zusammenführt, bin ich überzeugt, dass wir heutige und künftige Bedürfnisse von Druckereien und deren Kunden bestmöglich erfüllen können.

Was macht Sie so optimistisch?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Zur drupa 2016 sah ich erstmals die Primefire 106 als Prototyp in Betrieb, um hochwertigste Druckmuster im Inkjet-Druck zu erzeugen. Im Nachgang erlebte ich innerhalb weniger Wochen, wie rasch und hochprofessionell die Implementierung bei Forschung und Entwicklung sowie Engineering ablief. Schließlich gilt es, nicht nur ambitionierte Maschinenspezifikationen zu erfüllen, sondern mithilfe von Technikinnovationen praxisgerecht auf industriellem Niveau produzieren zu können. Und das klappte in kürzester Zeit. Die Ingenieure waren offen im Denken, neue Ideen der Teams und Anregungen wurden sofort aufgegriffen und technisch umgesetzt. Und die Zusammenarbeit mit unserem Entwicklungspartner FujiFilm war fruchtbar für beide Seiten. Ganz ehrlich: So etwas hatte ich bis dahin noch nicht erlebt. Das waren echte Highlights für mich, die immer noch nachwirken.

Im Januar 2017 startete die Pilot-Phase für Primefire 106. Was ist das besondere daran?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Für eine erfolgreiche Pilot-Phase, in der bei Kunden unter Produktionsbedingungen gearbeitet wird, müssen zwei Voraussetzungen erfüllt sein. 1. Die Technologie muss fertig, sprich ausgereift, sein. 2. Innovationen müssen den Bedarf der Kunden (über)treffen. Auf das Druckereigeschäft bezogen, heisst das, neue Drucktechnologien müssen sich aus dem Stand heraus bewähren, also nicht nur technisch, sondern auch kaufmännisch solide funktionieren. Die Hauptlast ist doch, Druckaufträge zu akquirieren, das ist für Druckereien harte Arbeit. Liegt der Auftrag vor, muss reibungslos und zuverlässig industriell produziert werden können. Das heisst mit maximaler Qualität und Geschwindigkeit, extrem guter Wiederholbarkeit und höchster Maschinenverfügbarkeit bei minimalen Rüstzeiten. Die Voraussetzungen dafür zu schaffen, ist im Kern unser Job.

From left: Thomas Heissler, Global Account Manager Heidelberg, Götz Schümann, General Manager MPS Produktion Oberslum, Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Head of Digital Sales and General Manager Digital Sheetfed Heidelberg in front of Primefire 106. Photo: Heidelberg

Prime fire 106 in action at MPS. Photo: Heidelberg

drupa 2016 — Poto: Heidelberg

drupa 2016 — Photo: Heidelberg

Photo: Heidelberg

Sind hohe Qualität und beste ‚Up-time‘ im Digitaldruck nicht schon Standard?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Leider nein. Und das ist die große Stärke und Alleinstellung von Primefire 106 im Unterschied zu sonstigen Angeboten im Markt, die entweder das eine oder das andere bieten. Was bei vielen dazu führt, dass, wenn man maximale Qualität realisieren will, die Up-time auf bis zu 40 % runtergeht. Und umgekehrt: Setzt man auf maximale Produktivität, lassen sich hohe Qualitätsstufen nicht erreichen. Mit Primefire 106 bieten wir nachweislich beides in einem, wie es sich nachweislich in der Pilot-Phase beweist. Wir setzen damit hohe Maßstäbe für dependable high quality performance, die in unseren Zielmärkten Packaging und Converting erforderlich und unabdingbar ist.

Der erste Kunde für die Primefire-Pilot-Phase ist der global agierende Konzern MPS Multi Packaging Solutions, mit Headquarter in New York City und seinem Produktionsstandort in Obersulm bei Stuttgart. Was gab den Ausschlag zur Zusammenarbeit?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Die exzellenten Produktspezifikationen sowie exzellente Features und v. a. unser Leistungsversprechen überzeugten, da alles die Vorstellungen und hohen Anforderungen bei MPS exakt trifft. Zudem verbindet beide Unternehmen eine langjährige Zusammenarbeit, da Heidelberg Hauptlieferant bei Offsetdrucktechnik ist und für den Offsetdruck bereits einige Pilot-Projekte erfolgreich durchgeführt wurden. Meine Kollegen haben einen brillanten Job gemacht, was über Jahre hohes gegenseitiges Vertrauen auf vielen Ebenen aufgebaut hat. Das überträgt sich jetzt nahtlos auf den Digitaldruck, mit dem großen Zusatzplus, das wir mit Fujifilm nicht nur einen Premium-Lieferanten für Inkjet-Druckköpfe haben, sondern Fujifilm sich als Entwicklungspartner mit Know-how und Manpower aktiv einbringt, um das Beste aus ihrer Technologie im Kontext mit unserem Maschinen- und Produktionskonzept rauszuholen. Das ist einzigartig. Hinzukommt unser Industrie-weit führendes Service-Netzwerk, mit Teams, die im Bedarfsfall schnell ‚remote‘ oder vor Ort helfen. Alle diese Punkte wurden übrigens bei unserem Primefire-Kundenevent Ende Januar 2017 von über 40 Firmen geschätzt und anerkannt.

Premiere der Heidelberg Primefire 106 als Highlight im Digitaldruck auf der drupa 2016. — Life-Video: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Juni 2016.

Im Kontext mit Primefire 106 wurde auf der drupa 2016 betont, dass für den Erfolg das Go-to-Market und neue Geschäftsmodelle entscheidend sein werden. Was ist zu beachten respektive was sind ggf. neue Herausforderungen?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Heidelberg ist — das wird auch vom Wettbewerb anerkannt — renommiert für seine exzellente Kundenbeziehungen und -treue. Eine gute Kundenbindung entsteht, wenn sich der Vertrieb wie auch der Service bestmöglich mit dem Kunden identifizieren, stets Präsenz zeigen und in den Kundenalltag integriert werden. Da dies seit langem der Fall ist, müssen wir beim Go-to-Market für Primefire das Rad nicht erst neu erfinden. Wir greifen auf Bewährtes und fest etablierte Strukturen im Account-Management zurück, die von unseren Kunden geschätzt werden…

… und wie verhält sich das bei Geschäftsmodellen?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Bei Geschäftsmodellen müssen wir umdenken, denn im industriellen Druck mit Inkjet-Technologie ist entscheidend wichtig: Unser Kunde muss jederzeit genau wissen, wofür er zahlt. Die im Digitaldruck gängigen ‚Clickcharge‘-Abrechnungmodelle funktionieren bei einer Vielzahl von Anwendungen, die sich aus der Summe vieler Einzeljobs oft mit kleinen Auflagen generieren. Die Klickkosten bestehen aus einem Fixum plus variablen Kosten und dürfen dabei maximal 20 % der Gesamt-Produktionskosten ausmachen, sonst wird es unrentabel…

… und das heisst konkret bezogen auf Primefire 106?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Bei hochvolumigen Produktionen mit Primefire 106 im Mehrschichtenmodus unter industriellen Fertigungsbedingungen braucht es in jedem Fall einen anderen Ansatz, gerade im Verpackungsdruck. Es muss vor Auftragsbeginn eine umfassende Kostentransparenz bestehen — über sämtliche Prozessschritte hinweg. Wir nennen das „Pay for what you consume“-Modell und haben neue Vertragsformen entwickelt, die neben Maschinen-Kaufpreisen per Vertrag alle Aspekte der Instandhaltung der Inkjet-Druckköpfe und sonstiger Inkjet-Druck-Produktionsfaktoren wie die Tinte umfasst. Damit bieten wir ein ökonomisch relevantes, für Verpackungsdruckereien zugeschnittenes Modell, das ein wichtiger Teil unseres Leistungsversprechens darstellt und das aus meiner Sicht zur Zeit kein anderer Hersteller bieten kann.

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Funktionsbereiche der Primefire 106: 1. Anleger 2. Conditioning-Werk 3. Jetring-Werk 4. Trocknersystem 5. Lackierwerk 6. Prinect Digital Center Inline mit Perfect Stack-Technologie. Foto: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

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Nicht nur technisch, sondern auch ästhetisch ein Glanzstück. — Foto: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Wie wirkt sich dieser neue Geschäftsmodellansatz in der Praxis aus? Das Primefire-Konzept verändert ja auch die Art und Weise, wie Heidelberg-Kunden ihr Geschäft angehen können.

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: In der Tat, die Digitalisierung im Print ändert die Art und Weise des Geschäfts über viele Bereiche hinweg. Druckereien müssen abwägen, ob sie Primefire-Systeme in den bestehenden Betrieb integrieren oder in eine eigene Abteilung/Firma ausgliedern. Es gibt ganz verschiedene Möglichkeiten, wie man sein ‚Digital Business‘ ausrichten und organisieren möchte. Von der anwendungsbezogenen, technischen Seite oder den Prozessabläufen können wir alles flexibel unterstützen.

Haben Sie schon Feedback von Seiten der Kunden Ihrer Kunden, also Marken, die Verpackungen einsetzen?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Seit der drupa 2016 bekommen wir Feedback seitens der Auftraggeber für Verpackungen über unsere Kunden. Das Wichtigste ist, dass Digitaldruck-Lösungen hundertprozentig verlässlich sein müssen, da die Anforderungen extrem hoch sind. Markeninhaber respektive Print Buyer, die von der Primefire Technologie Kenntnis erhalten, gehen sofort aktiv auf unsere Kunden zu, um die Vorteil möglichst schnell für sich nutzen zu können. Dies ist insbesondere das Time-to-Market-Momentum am Point-of-Sale, um anspruchsvolle Produkte einfacher und schneller verkaufen zu können.

Und: Unsere Kunden erhalten zudem die Chance, nicht nur gemäß Kundenvorgaben Aufträge zu produzieren, sondern auf Basis der neuen Möglichkeiten der Primefire mit ihren Ideen aktiv auf ihre Kunden/Interessenten zuzugehen. Diese neue Form der Kreativität ist ausdrücklich erwünscht, um Marketingaktivitäten relevanter zu gestalten bzw. neue Zielgruppen besser zu erreichen! — Nebenbei, dieser Umstand hat dazu geführt, das unser Primefire-Pilotkunde MPS bereits seit Anfang Februar 2017 für Markenkunden aus dem Beauty-Bereich echte Produktionen fährt – und nicht nur Testjobs quasi zur Bemusterung neuer Anwendungen. Diese schnelle Adaption neuer Print-Techniken beschleunigt die Transformation ganz erheblich.

Aus jetziger Sicht: Trifft der Erfolg der Pilot-Phase ihre Erwartungen?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Definitiv. Ohne dass ich konkret Zahlen nennen darf, die Anfragen sind enorm. Vor allem auch, weil Primefire 106 als Plattform ausgelegt ist, die Upgrade-fähig ist und daher in der Vorausschau bis zu zehn Jahre Produktionseinsatz bieten kann.

Können Sie zum Abschluss einen Ausblick geben, wie sich dieser Plattform-Ansatz mit Primefire 106 entwickeln wird?

Montserrat Peidro-Insa: Wir halten, was wir versprechen: Die nachhaltig industrielle Fertigung mit Digitaldruck auf Premiumniveau! An unserer Primefire Technologie wird in den nächsten Jahren kaum ein Änderungsbedarf entstehen, was Qualität, Druckkopftechnik und Druckbildauflösung angeht. Denkbar ist aber, den Durchsatz zu steigern, mit mehr Druckbogen pro Stunde. In den nächsten Jahren werden sicher neue Anwendungsbereiche hinzukommen. Zudem geplant werden spezifische Lösungen, wie z. B. für den Pharma-Bereich. Hierzu gehören auch neue Möglichkeiten im sog. Digital Finishing, z. B. mit Inline-Verarbeitung. Ganz wichtig ist aber festzuhalten: Erweiterungen der Primefire-Systeme können aufgrund unserer Plattform-Konzeption bei bestehenden Installationen auf absehbare Zeit vorgenommen werden. Damit sind Investitionen sicher und nachhaltig wirksam.

Besten Dank für das informative Gespräch. Mir scheint: Heidelberg hat dem industriellen Digitaldruck zum Durchbruch verholfen!

Montserrat Peidro-Insa ist die neue Powerfrau im Digitalteam von Heidelberg. — Foto: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Zur Person

Montserrat Peidro-Insa ist die neue Powerfrau im Digitalteam von Heidelberg. Sie kam in Frühjahr 2016 gerade noch rechtzeitig vor der drupa zu Heidelberg. Die ehemalige HP Managerin hat viele Jahre Erfahrung in der Markteinführung von professionellen Digitaldrucksystemen. Davon möchte auch Heidelberg profitieren. Sie ergänzt daher das Team von Jason Oliver und ist jetzt Leiterin Digital Sales und General Manager Digital Sheetfed bei Heidelberg. Sie wird sich zusammen mit ihren Mitarbeitern um die Markteinführung der Heidelberg Primefire 106 kümmern.

Mike Hilton’s Global News: Fit for the digital future!

February 13, 2017

4D Printing, CEO Talk on Innovation, Digital Transformation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors

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valuepublishing-mike-hilton-2017-heideldruck-hundsdorfer-001

CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer: ‘Heidelberg goes digital. We are getting the company fit for the digital future.’ — Photos: Heideldruck

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 10 February 2017

Welcome to this week’s news roundup of another 25 of the best received over the past seven days, along with Laurel Brunner’s Verdigris Environmental Blog which this week is centred around Kodak’s Plate Green Leaf Awards for 2016, which also has a slot in Monday’s headlines with a list of winners – that includes South Africa. There’s also a new addition to the Wild Format Technology Guides section, with No 20 in the current series from Sophie-Matthews Paul.

It’s been a good week for news of a totally mixed bag which included both Sappi’s first quarter financial results on Wednesday; and Heidelberg’s third quarter report on Thursday, and tuckedaway in Heidelberg’s results is this elaboration of future plans from CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer, as Heidelberg realigns its organisation to accelerate the company’s digital transformation and thus ensure the correct business models are in place for the high-growth customer segments in the years ahead. In future, there will be a division that will develop, manufacture, and supply appropriate digital technologies and products for new business models. Another division will devise and market these models. Furthermore, th e global sales and service network will be more strongly focused on the digital challenges that customers face.

‘Heidelberg goes digital. We are getting the company fit for the digital future,’ adds Hundsdörfer. ‘To do that, we will develop and roll out our own innovative business ideas. However, we will also be strengthening our position in this area through acquisitions.’

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Selection of Twitter screenshots to document excellent awareness: Thousands of impressions created via Value Publishing’s Social Media activities reporting in real-time on the #Heideldruck’s analyst meeting last Thursday.

Sappi also announced a range of current projects for both Europe and the United States, but in a separate article which leads the headlines on Friday, with comments from Sappi Europe CEO Berry Wiersum and Sappi Limited CEO Steve Binnie. All three articles shouldn’t be skipped if you want to keep yourself abreast of what’s going on in the industry.

If you check out this week’s headlines you will also find announcements related to the upcoming Hunkeler Innovationdays in Switzerland from Heidelberg; for Dscoop at Ipex in the UK; for Xeikon Café Packaging Innovations 2017 in Belgium; and European Sign Expo 2017 in Germany. There are some superb recent sales and installations this week, led by Xerox in Cape Town on Monday at The Print Place; Ricoh with its 2000th Ricoh Pro C7100 colour cut sheet press at Ligurgaf in Italy, and Polar at Truyol in Spain on Tuesday; Fujifilm at NWN in Wales and GSE at ACW in Germany on Wednesday; while Thursday saw Heidelberg’s first Primefire 106 B1 digital printing system at MPS in Obersulm in Germany begin its pilot phase, also marking the market launch of this new digital press powered by Fujifilm, which debuted at drupa last year. Remaining with MPS and also with Heidelberg, but in Kilbride, Scotland, which is to install the world’s first 18-unit XL 106 extra long packaging press next month for full commissioning by mid-year. Finally, an HP Indigo 5900 for firm 6 Colour Digital in St Helens, UK, completes this week’s lineup.

Please check out the rest carefully, as there are important announcements from Komori and Screen on workflow; from X-Rite and South Africa’s Digital View on service, and lots more.

The tailender this week goes to Canon South Africa for its 2017 South African Disabled Golf Open – to be held from 15 – 17 May in Cape Town – in the headlines on both Monday and Thursday.

That’s it until next time. Do have a good week ahead.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

ValuePublishing Transformation 22082016.001

Transformation is key in the Digital Age. Read our ValueTrendRadar Analysis “Beam me up, Scotty”.

e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa and Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.

Headline News
Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Week beginning Mon 06 February – date published appears in article footline

Monday
Heidelberg at Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne
Economical and flexible finishing of short runs from digital printing focus from Heidelberg with Muller Martini and Polar…

PDF 2.0 interop workshops ensure consistent implementation
The PDF Association, the non-profit industry trade-group for organisations specialising in PDF technology, announces two PDF 2.0 interop workshops for 2017 in the UK and USA…

Kodak SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award winners
Kodak selects eight SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award winners for 2016 from across the Globe…

Canon South African Disabled Golf Open in Cape Town
Inspiring Canadian, Bob MacDermott will compete in 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open from 15 – 17 May…

The Print Place adds creative versatility with Xerox
The full-service print specialist in Goodwood, Cape Town, South Africa has purchased a Xerox Versant 80 Press…

Tuesday
2000th Ricoh Pro C7100 highlights press’ dependability
Italian print service provider Ligurgaf has bought the 2000th Ricoh Pro C7100 colour cut sheet press…

Komori and Screen GP develop integrated workflow solution
Co-operation improves automation in printing processes that include combined offset and digital systems…

Ipex scoops participation of Dscoop
The UK branch of the Dscoop organisation will stage its 2017 UK event at the NEC during Ipex. By Gareth Ward…

Siegwerk publishes its first Sustainability Report
In this first report, Siegwerk discloses its goals and activities and sets a new standard for its sustainable actions…

Third POLAR high-speed cutter in 12 months for Truyol
Digital in Spain replaces four older machines with three new Polar cutters, to more than double productivity…

Wednesday
Sappi announces First Quarter 2017 results
Sappi delivers strong first quarter 2017; announces major investments in speciality packaging grades…

Axaio Software adds Server version of MadeToPrint
MadeToPrint Server for Adobe InDesign CC 2017 Server is now available from Axaio Software…

Canon launches new i-SENSYS printer
A small footprint device for high speed, high quality black and white printing for fast-paced work environments…

NWN Print renews long-standing Fujifilm partnership
North Wales newspaper printer extends its Fujifilm low chemistry processor investment and long-term plate contract…

GSE Dispensing reduces material waste for ACW
ACW-Film achieves 50 per cent solvent ink savings and improved safety with GSE Dispensing’s Colorsat Compact…

Thursday
Heidelberg Third Quarter results for 2016/2017
Heidelberg significantly increases net result after taxes in third quarter, with high order backlog for strong fourth quarter…

DigitalView appointed as X-Rite Certified Service Partner
X-Rite appoints Digital View in Johannesburg as its Certified Service Partner for the Southern African region…

Canon South African Disabled Golf Open 15 to 17 May
Young disabled golfers’ ‘papa’ Rushdi Sylvestor to compete in 2017 Canon South African Disabled Golf Open…

Impressive line-up of expert speakers for Xeikon Café
Rafi Albo, global guru of connected 1to1 marketing will deliver keynote presentation for the Conference programme…

Market launch of Heidelberg Primefire 106 on schedule
The digital printing system on schedule as international packaging printer MPS in Obersulm, Germany begins the pilot phase…

Friday
Strengthening Sappi Europe’s competitive advantage
Sappi has announced range of projects in Europe and the United States to support its growth strategy and 2020Vision…

MPS invests in the world’s first 18-unit packaging press
The press will be installed during March at MPS East Kilbride, Scotland and be fully commissioned by mid-year…

Higher quality is on the cards for 6 Colour Digital
St Helens print business has upgraded to an HP Indigo 5900 to offer customers improved quality and productivity. By Gareth Ward…

FINAT Radar: A unique in-depth industry profile
The European label industry’s in-depth market analysis is provided twice yearly to its members…

Dare To Create Different: at European Sign Expo 2017
Launch of European Sign Expo 2017 marks fifth year of growth…

The lead article from a week last Friday…

South African print mogul Lambert Retief has died
One of Paarl and Cape Town’s greatest entrepreneurs has died after losing a short battle with brain cancer…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, folding and finishing, and consumables. with offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You should also visit blog.drupa.comfor the very latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017
Only 49 articles for last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

Online Features Jan/Feb Chapter 03

Previous…
Blömeke lauds first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV in Germany
Blömeke opens up new areas of business with the first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV in Germany with a matching service package…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Prizes for best behaviour
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 10 Feb

Previous…
Good enough to eat?
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 03 Feb

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. The first 18 can now be found in this special section in the Index on our Website Home Page. All have illustrated PDFs to download.

No 20 – Inks and their variations
Normally the key to the success of every print job, whether analogue or digital, depends on the correct mix of media and ink. By Sophie Matthews-Paul

No 19 – Installation Basics for Wide Format Projects
Have you ever heard that print is dead? Well, if you have, I’m sure you disagree, especially when we look at the development of digitally printed options. By Paul Lindström

Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…

News from Messe Düsseldorf 2016 – 2017

Previous…
Messe Düsseldorf to reconstruct Southern Section
Plans for the reconstruction of the South Entrance and Halls 1 + 2 in a EUR 140m investment approved for completion in 2019…

The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::

drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited and UPM-Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Our Website urls are:

http://www.graphicrepro.co.za
http://www.graphicrepro.net

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Dare to Print Different!

February 6, 2017

CEO Talk on Innovation, Digital Transformation, Multi-Channel Innovation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors

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Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 03 February 2017

Welcome to this week’s news roundup of 25 of the best received during the past seven days, together with Laurel Brunner’s Verdigris Environmental Blog, and a new addition in Online Features Chapter 03, as Blömeke opens up new areas of business with the first Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV to be installed in Germany.

Xerox: Significant benefits!

“Our fourth quarter results demonstrate that we are realizing significant benefits from our Strategic Transformation program,” said Jeff Jacobson, Xerox chief executive officer. “We delivered strong margins that countered expected pressure on revenue.” Jacobson continued, “With the separation of Conduent now complete, we turn our full attention to delivering on our strategy, which includes pursuing the growing areas of the market. As the strategy begins to yield results, our revenue trajectory is expected to improve over time while we expand our margins and continue to generate strong cash flows.”

We had financial results from UPM on Tuesday and Xerox on Thursday; while UPM Biofuels took Monday’s lead slot, and Baldwin’s acquisition of Air Motion Systems led the headlines on Wednesday. EFI’s acquisition of Xerox FreeFlow DFE software also appears among Friday’s headlines. On Monday we reported the death of Xeikon’s founder Lucien De Schamphelaere on 20 January, at the age of 85; while on Friday, we were extremely sad to report the death of South Africa’s Lambert Retief, one of Paarl and Cape Town’s greatest entrepreneurs, who died on Thursday 26 January after losing a short battle with brain cancer. He was only 64. A memorial service to celebrate Retief’s life was held at Anura Vineyards in Klapmuts (near Paarl), on Friday 3 February.

On Wednesday, Sappi announced its new Website which highlights its global presence with increased functionality and robust educational resources. Please take look. It’s impressive. Also on Wednesday, Ricoh Europe announced the launch of the new Ricoh Pro C5200s series to enable print service providers to broaden their services.

You’ll find a good selection of news relating to upcoming events beginning with Xeikon at Hunkeler Innovationdays later this month; then for Xeikon Café Packaging Innovations in March in Belgium; Kornit at C!Print in Lyon last week; FESPA in Hamburg in May; and from Sign & Digital UK in March at the NEC; while IST (UK) will exhibit at PrintWeekLive! in Coventry in May.

Recent notable installations this week came from Heidelberg UK with Versafire CV digital; Renz UK; Heidelberg USA with a Speedmaster long-perfector equipped for coating and UV; from KBA North America with a large-format seven-colour Rapida with full UV; then Heidelberg in Germany with the first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV with matching service package; followed by EFI Vutek wide-format in Ireland; Polar in the UK; and lastly Meech static control, in the UK and Europe.

The tailender goes to the PIA, which on Tuesday opened submissions for the 2017 InterTech Technology Awards with a 2 June deadline.

That’s about it until next time. I hope you have a good week.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

FESPA 2017 will happen in Hamburg/Germany — 8–12 May, 2017

e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa and Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.

Headline News
Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Week beginning Mon 30 January – date published appears in article footline

Monday
UPM Biofuels joins the Made by Finland campaign
UPM Biofuels moves to celebrate the centenary of Finland by joining the Made by Finland campaign to highlight innovation…

Death of founder of Xeikon and digital printing in Belgium
Xeikon is sad to announce the death of its founder Lucien De Schamphelaere on 20 January at the age of 85…

Hartgraph adds CV digital capacity at its Amersham plant
Hartgraph Print returns to Heidelberg for second digital press, a Versafire CV, to run alongside its Linoprint 751…

David John Papers completes upgrade with third Renz system
Slough-based David John Papers in the UK has added its third Renz solution in 18 months to streamline its binding workflow…

Tuesday
UPM announces record Financial Results for 2016
UPM finishes strong record 2016 year with good fourth quarter…

Call for 2017 InterTech Technology Awards submissions
Printing Industries of America opens submissions for the 2017 InterTech Technology Awards with 2 June deadline…

Sappi Limited launches new Website
New Website highlights global presence with increased functionality and robust educational resources…

Xeikon Café Packaging Innovations 2017 in March
During the four-day event suppliers join forces to a bring range of innovative digital print applications across a variety of sectors…

Speedmaster XL 106 long-perfector with UV for Paulson Press
Paulson Press aims to double productivity with its newly installed Speedmaster XL 106 LPL machine from Heidelberg…

Wednesday
Baldwin has acquired Air Motion Systems
Baldwin Technology Company creates global UV curing powerhouse by acquiring Air Motion Systems…

Kornit Digital at C!Print in Lyon this week
Kornit Digital shows new Avalanche R-Series and announces workflow collaboration with Custom Gateway…

Xeikon brand protection at Hunkeler Innovationdays
The Xeikon 9800 duplex press to showcase quality, versatility, speed and reliability in Lucerne from 20 – 23 February…

FESPA 2017 Global Print Expo in Hamburg in May
Leading wide-format event brings together innovation, education and inspiration across screen, digital and textile print…

New Ricoh Pro C5200s supports flexible production
Ricoh launches the Ricoh Pro C5200s series to enable print service providers to broaden their services…

Record tenth KBA press installed at Imagine!
Imagine! Print Solutions in Shakopee, MN continues growth with new KBA Rapida 164 64-inch UV Press…

Thursday
Xerox reports Fourth-Quarter 2016 earnings
Delivers strong adjusted operating margin of 14.0 per cent and cash flow of $462 million from continuing operations…

Blömeke lauds Germany’s first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV
Blömeke opens up new areas of business with first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV in Germany with matching service package…

Ireland’s Minprint chooses Vutek hybrid LED printer
EFI Vutek printer allows innovative print provider to be more creative and push the boundaries of traditional print…

Sign & Digital Business Theatre lineup for 2017 show
Sign & Digital UK has announced the Business Theatre lineup for its 30th anniversary event at the NEC in March…

Spandex to exhibit at Sign and Digital UK 2017
Spandex to showcase the unique swissQprint UV flatbed printer, and range of wide-format and sign making equipment at the NEC…

Friday
South African print mogul Lambert Retief has died
One of Paarl and Cape Town’s greatest entrepreneurs has died after losing a short battle with brain cancer…

IST (UK) predicts LED-UV momentum in 2017
LUV is IST Metz’s name for its LED-UV package and includes the lamp module, a control cabinet, water chiller and screen software for ease of operation. Also exhibiting at PrintWeekLive! in Coventry…

EFI acquires Xerox FreeFlow Print Server DFE business
Xerox and EFI partner to give customers best in class FFPS and EFI Fiery Digital Front End software…

Polar 137N Plus guillotine for Route 1 Print
Guillotine investment prepares way for Route 1 Print’s optimised same day trade print service…

Scapa invests in Meech Hyperion static control
Scapa eliminates static issues on its rewind equipment with Meech Hyperion 971IPS bars…

The lead article from a week last Friday…

Real and Artificial Intelligence: Guy Gecht at Connect
Using both to gain profit-building efficiencies. An overview of EFI Connect 2017, 17 – 20 January in Las Vegas by Rosemary Monaco…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, folding and finishing, and consumables. with offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You should also visit blog.drupa.comfor the very latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017
Only 49 articles for last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

Online Features Jan/Feb Chapter 03

Blömeke lauds first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV in Germany
Blömeke opens up new areas of business with the first Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE UV in Germany with a matching service package…

Previous…
Print’s transcendence of time unites customers with your digital story
Print is being integrated with digital in ways we never would have thought possible. By Vaughan Patterson, Ricoh SA…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Good enough to eat?
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 03 Feb

Previous…
Trumping the Paris Agreement
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 20 Jan

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. The first 18 can now be found in this special section in the Index on our Website Home Page. All have illustrated PDFs to download.

No 19 – Installation Basics for Wide Format Projects
Have you ever heard that print is dead? Well, if you have, I’m sure you disagree, especially when we look at the development of digitally printed options. By Paul Lindström

No 18 – Machine Head
Investing in the right wide format equipment is paramount for any digital print provider. With options more diversified than ever, just how do you find out which machine will really rock your shop? By Sonja Angerer…

Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…

News from Messe Düsseldorf 2016 – 2017

Previous…
Messe Düsseldorf to reconstruct Southern Section
Plans for the reconstruction of the South Entrance and Halls 1 + 2 in a EUR 140m investment approved for completion in 2019…

The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::

drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:
Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited and UPM-Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Our Website urls are:

http://www.graphicrepro.co.za
http://www.graphicrepro.net

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Focus on digital printing

January 23, 2017

Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, Multi-Channel Innovation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors

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To keep informed follow on Twitter via hashtag #hid17.

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 20 January 2017

Welcome to this week’s news roundup of 20 of the best received during the past seven days, as well as the latest Verdigris Environmental Blog from Laurel Brunner, and the two very latest Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, bringing the total in this new series to 19.

You’ll find a number of superb sales and recent intallations among this week’s posts for leading technology from Ricoh in the UK; Heidelberg in North America; from Fujifilm with Inca Digital in Johannesburg, South Africa; KBA in the United States; EFI in both Spain and Israel; IFS with Foliant in the UK; Edale in Thailand; and MPS with its first Domino-powered Hybrid narrow web press in North America.

Event news this week came from this year’s sell-out EFI Connect customer event in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; with upcoming event news from Heidelberg for its participation in PrintWeekLive! In the UK which takes place from 8 – 9 March; and from Ricoh Europe on Friday, with its plans for Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne next month.

New kit this week from Intec, Zund and Drytac on Monday; from Canon with three new MFP devices on Wednesday; and from Komori on Thursday with its very latest Lithrone press, which it describes as the ultimate one-pass double-sided printing press to meet the most demanding requirements.

The tailender is from Sappi and Felix Schoeller, who jointly announced on Thursday they are to develop sustainable packaging solutions by combining their unique core competencies.

That’s it until next time.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

EFI Connect was a big success. Read more.

e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa and Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.

Headline News
Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Week beginning Mon 16 January – actual date published also appears in article footline

Monday
New Intec CS3000 model launched today
Intec enhances ColorSplash digital imaging range with new CS3000 with affordability in mind for lower volume users…

Hubergroup develops MGA Natura sheetfed ink series
The fast-setting ink series is ideal for high-volume printing of food packaging and fast post-print processing…

Zünd adds more powerful, versatile, automated router
With the high-powered RM-L router option, Zünd brings to market a robust new 3.6kW routing solution…

Drytac announces new Polar Carpet film for graphics
Create ‘Slip Certified’ slip resistant short-term graphics for short pile carpets with Drytac’s Polar Carpet film…

Tuesday
Advantage Ricoh in digital colour printing stakes
ADP has swopped Xerox for Ricoh and it is thumbs up for the C9110 from the Dorchester UK printer. By Gareth Ward…

Classic Open House for Heidelberg’s classic X-Press
Open House at Classic Litho + Design, Inc. showcases cost-effective benefits of high-spec Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102…

Pureprint has fast turnaround work covered with Foliant
IFS-supplied Foliant Taurus Laminator supports demand for 24-hour delivery at Pureprint Group in the UK…

Edale eight-colour press for EVA in Thailand
EVA Enterprise in Bangkok, Thailand, returns to Edale to invest in full UV FL3 eight-colour label printing press…

Wednesday
Fujifilm and USS Graphics: A South African success story
Full-service South African commercial printer strengthens its Fujifilm partnership with second Inca Digital Onset in two years…

Heidelberg digital and litho live at PrintWeekLive!
Under the banner Simply Smart there will be a Press Center XL 2 and Versafire CV five-colour B3 digital press; with Anthony Thirlby representing Heidelberg on the discussion panel…

EFI Connect once again reached sell-out capacity
Global EFI customers from 37 nations jumpstart their business opportunities in 2017 at sold-out Connect conference…

Canon announces three new imageRunner Advance MFPs
New Canon multi-function printer series designed to meet the demands of today’s modern office environments…

Thursday
Sappi Europe and Felix Schoeller Group to collaborate
Sappi and Felix Schoeller to jointly develop sustainable packaging solutions by combining their unique core competencies…

Komori announces Lithrone GX44RP debut
Komori has developed the ultimate one-pass double-sided printing press to meet the most demanding requirements…

First EFI Nozomi C18000 for Hinojosa in Spain
Hinojosa selected for first worldwide installation of EFI’s Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED inkjet corrugated board press…

MPS EF SYMJET hybrid press first for North America
Meyers is first in North America to purchase the MPS EF SYMJET digital UV inkjet label press powered by Domino…

Friday
Ricoh at Hunkeler Innovationdays 2017 in Lucerne
Ricoh to focus on end-to-end workflow with Ricoh Pro VC60000; and Pro C9100 at Hunkeler Innovationdays in February…

Premier boosts productivity with Promatrix 106 CS
Premier Folding Carton in Cincinnati reaping the benefits of Heidelberg’s Promatrix 106 CS die-cutting machine…

El Paso Paper Box adds KBA Rapida 106 seven-colour
Texas firm differentiates itself with perfecting, full inline UV, upgraded quality controls, and faster productivity…

Campus Digital Imaging adds EFI Vutek 3r LED printer
Newly launched roll-to-roll model replaces three printers, improving throughput and enabling same-day delivery for Israeli firm…

A couple of the key articles from last week…

Xaar signs piezo inkjet printhead partnership with Xerox
Xaar has signed an agreement with Xerox Corporation to partner for bulk piezo inkjet printhead production…

Ricoh achieves BPIF ISO 12647 certification
Ricoh UK Products Ltd achieves world’s first UKAS accredited ISO 12647 certification for a digital press manufacturer…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, folding and finishing, and consumables. with offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You should also visit blog.drupa.comfor the very latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017
Only 49 articles for last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

Online Features Nov/Dec Chapter 08

Previous…
Improving colour across suppliers
Colour is an integral part of every product we see and touch, and it elicits an emotional response. By Shoshana Burgett, director of corporate strategy for X-Rite Pantone…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Trumping the Paris Agreement
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 20 Jan

Previous…
Packaging Technology Cuts Emissions
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 13 Jan

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. The first 18 can now be found in this special section in the Index on our Website Home Page. All have illustrated PDFs to download.

No 19 – Installation Basics for Wide Format Projects
Have you ever heard that print is dead? Well, if you have, I’m sure you disagree, especially when we look at the development of digitally printed options. By Paul Lindström

No 18 – Machine Head
Investing in the right wide format equipment is paramount for any digital print provider. With options more diversified than ever, just how do you find out which machine will really rock your shop? By Sonja Angerer…

Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…

News from Messe Düsseldorf 2016 – 2017

Previous…
Messe Düsseldorf to reconstruct Southern Section
Plans for the reconstruction of the South Entrance and Halls 1 + 2 in a EUR 140m investment approved for completion in 2019…

The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::

drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited and UPM-Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Our Website urls are:

http://www.graphicrepro.co.za
http://www.graphicrepro.net

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

ValueCheck: Autonome Print-Produktion bewährt sich in der Praxis

November 3, 2016

Digital Transformation, Posts in German Language, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Value Innovation, ValueCheck

3 Comments

Ergebnisse im Expertencheck: Push-to-Stop-Tour Ende Oktober 2016 mit namhaften Experten aus Europa und den USA bei Lokay Druck, Darmstadt, Druckerei Pruskil, Ingolstadt, und Aumüller Druck, Regensburg belegt, das drupa-Innovationen von Heideldruck nicht nur Praxis-tauglich sind, sondern aus dem Stand heraus die Wertschöpfung im Print vervielfachen. —Siehe zu Push-to-Stop den ValueDialog mit Rainer Wolf, Leiter Produktmanagement Sheedfed bei Heideldruck “Quantensprung durch Digitalisierung im Offsetdruck” mit allenTechnik-Aspekten, Funktionsweisen und Nutzen der neuen Automatisierungslösungen.

Von Andreas Weber, Head of Value

Wenn’s läuft, dann läuft’s. Zur drupa 2016 vorgestellt, jetzt bereits in der Praxis bewährt: Die intelligente, automatisierte Maschinentechnik katapultiert die industrielle Printmedienherstellung auf eine nie dagewesene Leistungsebene. “Print ist ein Daten-getriebenes Geschäft. Wir haben Datenmengen von über 20 Terrabytes im direkten Zugriff”, so Thomas Kerndl, Technischer Leiter der Druckerei Pruskil in Ingolstadt. Das braucht es auch; bei Pruskil müssen in der Spitze bis zu 400 Druckplatten pro Stunde den Maschinenpark füttern, damit die Kapazitäten mit vollautomatisiertem Auftragswechsel ausgeschöpft werden können. Damit dies gelingt, hatte man auf der drupa 2016 die neueste Heideldruck Speedmaster XL 106 (eine Achtfarben Wendemaschine) inklusive umfangreicher Software gekauft und im September 2016 in Betrieb genommen. Gefertigt werden in Top-Qualität sowohl Klein- als auch Großauflagen für Markenunternehmen sowie speziell für den Automobilbereich. Mein Eindruck: Seit man bei Pruskil in nur vier Wochen die Push-to-Stop-Philosophie umgesetzt hat, ist der Drucker an der Maschine quasi zum ‘coolen DJ’ im Sinne des Data Jockey geworden, der während der Print-Produktion Regie führt. Vermeidbaren Stress hat er nicht mehr, eher die Helfer, die wieselflink Druckplatten an der Maschine platzieren müssen.

Wallscreen wird zum Cockpit.

Thomas Fleckenstein, Lokay Druck

Cool! Vegane Drucksachen!

Push-to-Stop bei Pruskil

Thomas Kerndl, Pruskil

Christian Aumüller erläutert Wege zur Arbeitsoptimierung

Druckplatten-Roboter bei Aumüller

Eine riesige Wallscreen-Konsole macht den gesamten Auftrags- und Herstellungsprozess transparent. Wobei die Druckmaschine den Prozess eigenständig kontrolliert und die optimale Produktionsweise berechnet. Und dies nicht nur bei einem Auftrag, sondern bei gleichzeitig bis zu 30 Aufträgen in Serie. Sprich: Während nach Druckwalzenreinigung und automatischem Plattenwechsel (bei Jobs im PSO-Standards in unter drei Minuten!) bei weniger als 100 Anlaufbögen High-Speed mit 18.000 Bogen pro Stunde produziert wird, kann der Drucker die nächsten Aufträge sichten respektive in Echtzeit prüfen und sicherstellen, dass er die Maschine am Laufen hält.

“Die per intelligenter Software gesteuerte Druckmaschine trifft die besseren Entscheidungen”, betont Thomas Fleckenstein, Geschäftsführer sowie Head of Marketing bei Lokay Druck. Autonomes Drucken sei nicht nur Mittel zum Zweck, um maximale Effizienz in der Produktion zu erreichen, sondern biete neue Chancen für neue Märkte und Anwendungen. Vor fast 10 Jahren war Lokay die erste testierte “umweltfreundliche Druckerei Deutschlands” und hat sich nachhaltig auf Premium-Niveau etabliert. Heute ist man einer der ersten als neuartiger Betriebstypus: Dem “Smart Print Shop”. Kleine und mittlere Auflagen in Echtzeit zu fertigen, ermöglicht durch Automation neue Leistungsangebote. “Wir bieten neuerdings sogar vegane Printprodukte!”, so Fleckenstein. Das kommt bei der auf Nachhaltigkeit und Umwelt bedachten Klientel von Lokay sowie Neukunden sehr gut an.

Push-to-Stop mit Leidenschaft: Christian Aumüller setzt auf Technik-Innovation im Einklang mit Lean Management und hoher Unternehmenskultur. Foto: Andreas Weber, Mainz

Smartes Print benötigt die smarte Organisation

Beim Traditionsunternehmen Aumüller Druck stehen nicht nur relevante technische Innovationen im Fokus, sondern auch Lean Management und eine auf Mitarbeiter, Partner und Kunden ausgerichtete Firmenkultur. Langjährige Partner sind die führende Online-Druckerei Flyeralarm sowie Heideldruck. Gemeinsam entwickelt man Anwendungslösungen, die helfen, die Produktivität enorm auszuweiten. Neben dem Drucksaal ist die Weiterverarbeitung hochautomatisiert, um den gigantischen Output des Dtuckmaschinenparks bei Aumüller ohne Stau zu Endprodukten verarbeiten zu können.

Beachtenswert: Roboterisierung (wie beim Stapeln der bis zu 1.500 Druckplatten pro Tag) und Automatisierung dienen primär nicht dazu, Mitarbeiter überflüssig zu machen oder Kosten zu sparen, sondern die “Touchpoints”, sprich die Zahl der manuellen Eingriffe in den Arbeits- und Prozessabläufen zu reduzieren. Christian Aumüller, der mit seinem Bruder Stefan die Geschäfte leitet, betont, dass man eine eigene Methodik/Systematik etabliert habe, wie man Technologie-Innovation optimal und somit wirkungsvoll in alle Prozessschritte einbindet. Motto: Das beste Design der Schnittstellen Mensch-Maschine-Abläufe entscheidet über den Gesamterfolg und den Maximalen Nutzen für Kunden.

Bei Aumüller fanden bereits vor einem Jahr, Ende 2015, erste Feldtest im Rahmen des Push-to-Stop statt; immer in Verbindung mit aktuellen Produktionsaufgaben. Die Erkenntnisse sind von Heideldruck aufgenommen und berücksichtigt worden. Sonst wäre eine solche umfassende “Rundum-Erneuerung” des Bogenoffsetdrucks nicht in so kurzer Zeit praxisreif gewesen. Christian Aumüller betonte, dass durch den Push-to-Stop-Feldtest neue Optionen identifiziert werden konnten, die sich den Technik-Profis in Entwicklung und Produktmanagement bei Heideldruck unter “Labor-Bedingungen” nicht offenbaren konnten. Dazu Christian Aumüller: “Wir sind stolz darauf, die Automation im Print so weit voranzubringen, um unsere Produktionsleistung nochmals deutlich zu erhöhen. Und das nicht nur bei Grossauflagen, sondern auch bei den wichtiger werdenden Kleinauflagen.”

Und ganz ‘nebenbei’: Aumüller hat den Digitaldruck für On-Demand-Druck von Kleinauflagen in seiner Branchenbedeutung entmystifiziert. “Bei Auftragsserien von rund fünf Jobs mit einer Auflage von nur 200 Druckbögen unterschreiten wir mit unserer auf Push-to-Stop ausgerichteten Speedmaster-Offsetdruck-Technik die Möglichkeiten im Digitaldruck bezüglich der Kosten und steigern die Geschwindigkeit! Und gleichzeitig nutzen wir die enormen Vorteile des autonomen Druckens für hohe und große Auflagen.”

Fazit: Autonomes Drucken im Sinne von Push-to-Stop ist erfolgreich etabliert und wird sich weiter entwicklen. Den individuellen Vorteilen und Nutzungsmöglichkeiten bei Druckereien eröffnen sich neue Dimensionen. Verkauft werden nicht mehr Druckkapazitäten, sondern Kunden bieten sich einzigartige High-Speed- und High-Quality-Services in Echtzeit, die den Wert von Print steigern und für die Anforderungen im Digitalzeitalter fit machen.

Siehe auch den multimedialen ValuePublishing-Echtzeit-Bericht von der Push-to-Stop-Tour Ende Oktober 2016. Mit kurzen Kommentaren, Bildimpressionen und Live-Videos.

Link: https://storify.com/zeitenwende007/valuecheck-automation-via-push-to-stop-in-practice

SKANDAL: Jeder macht was er kann, keiner was er soll!

May 24, 2014

CEO Talk on Innovation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Innovation

11 Comments

Ein bewusst „böser“ Kommentar von Andreas Weber,
Sprecher DigitaldruckForum, Mainz

Das ultimative Manager-Motto scheint zu sein:
“Man kombiniert etwas, was nicht funktioniert, mit etwas, was nicht stimmt.”

Zwei interessante Wochen liegen hinter uns: Interpack 2014 in Düsseldorf, Online Print Symposium 2014 und Fespa Digital in München sowie vor allem die Swiss Publishing Days in Winterthur mit dem Thema „Inkjet macht Druck“.

So beeindruckend die Vielfalt der gebotenen Informationen ist, so ernüchternd ist die Erkenntnis, das das größte Übel die sind, die sich als Marktführer und Brancheninnovatoren selbst beweihräuchern und die von ihnen verschandelte Realität ignorieren.

Hoch bezahlte Manager aus der Digitaldrucktechnik-Herstellerindustrie bringen ihre Botschaft nicht rüber (von wenigen Ausnahmen abgesehen, lieber François Martin!). Ihr Fach- und Branchenwissen ist lausig. Ihre Vortragsfähigkeiten sind grauenhaft. Null Empathie, null Emotion, aber dafür viel Hybris. Sie kommen zu solchen Events wie Gladiatoren, treten selbstbewusst auf, verbreiten Blödsinn. Und sind gleich wieder beim jeweiligen Event verschwunden, ohne mitzubekommen, was sich in ihrem Markt tatsächlich tut. Selbst Mitarbeitern, vor allem aus dem Vertrieb derselben Hersteller, ist so etwas mehr als peinlich! Und mindert den Erfolg dramatisch!

Was ist nur los?

Nach über 20 Jahren sog. Innovation der Print- und Publishing-Branchen tun die meisten nur, was sie können, aber nicht mehr was sie tun sollten. Digitaldruck spielt nach wie vor im Profi-Print-Markt nur eine marginale Rolle (gemessen an Print-Output und Umsatzvolumen). Der Kardinalsfehler: Die neuen Print-Technologien werden in Konkurrenz zu den klassischen Verfahren gesetzt. Statt zu zeigen, dass Print wichtiger Bestandteil einer digitalen Kommunikationskultur sein kann und muss.

Manager bei Digitaldrucktechnik-Herstellern, die vor zehn Jahren bei Hersteller-Firma X grosse Fehler machten (wie z. B. die Bedeutung von Fotobüchern als Wachstumsmarkt zu verleugnen), sind heute bei Firma Y in neuen Top-Entscheider-Positionen. Und setzen ihr düsteres Schaffen eifrig fort. Selbst wenn die neuen Arbeitgeber am Abgrund stehen und ihre Kunden mit nach unten ziehen. Dieselben Manager, die nicht kommunizieren und präsentieren können, kippen auch die Budgets für PR und Marketing-Kommunikation. Die Folge ist, dass aus der einst hervorragenden Fachkommunikation der Print-Branche ein stupider Push von Pressemeldungen mit Produkt- und Messeneuheiten über alle Kanäle geworden ist, die keiner braucht und die keinen Nutzen bringen. Fachzeitschriften-Verleger wissen, wovon ich rede!

Hinzukommt: Marketingabteilungen werden transformiert zu Market & Business Development-Units, die aufgebläht plumpe Verkaufsförderung betreiben und deren Leistung darin besteht, Kundenbeispiele zu sammeln und auf teuren VIP-Events vorzustellen.

Stoppt diesen Wahnsinn!

Und die meisten Kunden dieser Hersteller, die Druckerei-Unternehmen, lassen sich diesen schädlichen Dilettantismus gefallen. Munter wird gekauft, was als neu und zukunftsträchtig gilt. Man nennt so etwas das Lemminge-Syndrom.

Scheinbar wird übersehen, was alles passiert beziehungsweise nicht passiert, und dadurch die Branche nachhaltig schädigt. Die einst so stolzen Drucker werden von Jungspunden aus dem Digitalsektor als Loser belächelt. Das ist skandalös, aber selbstverschuldet.

Und gelinde gesagt, ist das heller Wahnsinn. Und muss sofort gestoppt werden, wenn der Schaden nicht noch größer werden sollen. Immerhin reden wir davon, dass im Sog der Technik-Hersteller hunderttausende Druckerei-Betriebe Schaden nehmen. Milliardenverluste in den letzen sechs Jahren, auf globaler Ebene in deutlich zweistelliger Höhe, sind die Folge, ebenso wie Arbeitsplatzverlust und Pleiten. Dies nur auf Strukturveränderungen und Marktveränderungen abzuwälzen, ist Selbstbetrug. Innovative Technik und Marktchancen durch Innovation gibt es zuhauf. Allein die Markt- und Kommunikationskompetenz ist unterentwickelt; ebenso wie die Innovations-Freudigkeit, mit dem Anspruch, die Printwelt nachhaltig zu verändern und neu auszurichten.

Fazit: Der Fisch stinkt vom Kopf her. Jagt dilettierende, selbstverliebte Top-Manager zum Teufel. Kehrt zu den Wurzeln zurück, die Print stark gemacht haben: Pionier- und Innovationsgeist, Kompetenz, Zielstrebigkeit sowie Werthaltigkeit. Der „olle“ Gutenberg würde sich freuen. Und last but not least: Formuliert endlich klare Botschaften, Visionen und solide Leistungsversprechen, um das Ruder rumzureisen, bevor der Print-Kahn endgültig kentert.

Beste Grüße aus der Gutenberg-Stadt Mainz!

Bildcollage von Andreas Weber, unter Verwendung des Gemäldes der Künstlerin Ying Lin-Sill “Gutenberg Memorial 2009”, Öl auf Leinwand.

—valuetrendradar

Print&Transformation for the Digital Age

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Tag Archives: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Innovative Print Applications Boost Dynamics

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 31 March 2017

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Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: “Still going strong! Print is a market with a great future!”

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 17 March 2017

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“We keep our promises: sustainable industrial production with premium quality digital printing.” —Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Interview: Andreas Weber, Head of Value | German version

About Montserrat Peidro-Insa:

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„Wir halten, was wir versprechen: die nachhaltig industrielle Fertigung mit Digitaldruck auf Premiumniveau!“ —Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Interview: Andreas Weber, Head of Value | English version

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Headline News Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

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Headline News
Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page