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Tag Archives: Value innovation

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When iron stirs emotions: Koenig & Bauer commended for product campaign by Marketing Club Dresden/ Germany. Photo: kba.com

Graphic Repro On-line News to Friday 15 December 2017

Welcome to a roundup of 15 News items, plus Laurel Brunner’s Verdigris environmental Blog, which this week looks at Kodak, as it hopes to become the leading company for sustainability in the graphics industry.

As the year draws to a close the news has also slowed down, so I shall leave you to browse through this week’s headlines which contain an excellent selection of mixed news once again. Of particular note are the leaders on Tuesday with Baldwin Technology having now finalised the acquisition of QuadTech from QuadGraphics; and then on Thursday we have Leonhard Kurz, as it announces ground breaking test results from INGEDE confirming flawless deinkability for the recyclability of KURZ’ foil-decorated papers and boards. Then Sappi on Friday, as it announces plans to significantly increase the production of dissolving wood pulp at its Saiccor and Cloquet Mills in South Africa and North America by 2020.


Mike Hilton's Global News Review 08072016.001

World Premiere: Dr. Ulrich Hermann, Member of the Board and Chief Digital Officer at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, started at 12. December 2017 together with Tom Oelsner, SVP Sales Excellence, the go-to-market campaign for Heidelberg. Read our ValueCheck and ValueDialog report.


The tailender for this week goes to Koenig & Bauer (Monday) for the commendation it received for its current campaign ‘Built for Your Needs. The KBA B2 Presses’ product campaign, at an awards ceremony held at the Marketing Club in Dresden at the end of November.

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere and are due to close for the holidays during the coming week, do take care, stay safe and enjoy your time with your family and friends over the festive season and New Year. Please don’t drink and drive, or text and drive, or even use your cellphone when driving… we need you to stay alive. Have a wonderful Christmas and wish you a very Happy and Prosperous and Successful New Year 2018.

My best wishes and best regards

Mike Hilton


e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and our drupa Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides an overview of the week’s news each weekend.

Headline News

Almost 30,000 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 pages

Week beginning Mon 11 December – the published date appears in article footline

Monday
When iron stirs emotions at Koenig & Bauer
Koenig & Bauer commended for product campaign ‘Built for Your Needs. The KBA B2 Presses’ at event held in Dresden…

Sun Chemical price increase for Flexible Packaging
High raw materials costs the reason for the increase…

Flint announces price increase for Packaging Inks
Increased, incremental cost escalation forces Flint Group to raise the prices of its Packaging Inks products…

Tuesday
Baldwin Technology acquires QuadTech Inc.
Acquisition creates vision and inspection print technology powerhouse for the commercial, newspaper, labels, packaging, converting and publication gravure industries…

Mimaki to exhibit at PSI 2018 in January
Mimaki to bring a mini promotional product factory to PSI 2018 at Messe Düsseldorf 9 – 11 January

Resource Digital’s Fujifilm Acuity investment pays off
High Wycombe-based wide-format printer impressed with upturn in productivity following Acuity Select HS installation…

Wednesday
Digital transformation of Heidelberg gathers pace

Heidelberg breaking new ground in customer support: Heidelberg Assistant goes into series production…

 

New reader survey suggests print investment opportunities

Vaughan Patterson, product marketing manager for commercial and industrial print at Ricoh SA reports on the recent Two Sides global survey which included South African respondents…

 

Screen Truepress Jet L350UV for Tenovis in Slovenia

Tenovis answers short-run demand and opens up new market opportunities with Screen Truepress Jet L350UV…

Thursday
Kurz cold foil passes deinking test with distinction
Ground breaking test results from INGEDE for the recyclability of foil-decorated paper confirm flawless deinkability…

Streamline Press Leicester chooses ‘Push to Stop’
Streamline seeks ‘world class’ status with Heidelberg investment in ‘Push to Stop’ Speedmaster XL 106-5+L…

Screen and Meccanotecnica to collaborate for books
Companies to collaborate for optimised book finishing using EQUIOS Book Solution with Universe Sewing from Meccanotecnica…

Friday   
Sappi to significantly increase DWP capacity by 2020
Sappi confirms expansion plans for dissolving wood pulp (DWP) capacity at its Saiccor and Cloquet Mills…

FINAT Technical Seminar March 2018, Barcelona
The New World of Labels: FINAT event tackles the technical challenges from 7 – 9 March 2018 in Barcelona…

The first Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 in France
Rollin Imprimeur greatly improves cost-efficiency and flexibility with France’s first Speedmaster CS 92…

The lead article from a week last Friday…

Sappi Fashion White grades launched for shopping bags
Unique brand communication with excellent colour reproduction on new grades for shopping bags of the future…

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. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You can also visit blog.drupa.comfor the latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2017
Only 49 articles 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 in 2015, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

VaueDialogue 2017

Previous…      #InfluenceB2B Transformation for the Digital Age
#InfluenceB2B programme leads from innovation to transformation! By Andreas Weber, Head of Value…

Online Features Nov/Dec Chapter 08

Previous…      Comexi and QuadTech collaborate for flexible packaging
Both companies invest in research, innovation and training to better serve flexible packaging printing with closed-loop colour control…

Future solutions for the ‘growth market of packaging printing’
More than 300 customers from around the world attended the Packaging Day hosted by Heidelberg at its Wiesloch-Walldorf plant in November…

Sappi expands speciality and packaging paper capacity
Sappi to acquire the speciality paper business of Cham Paper Group Holding in Switzerland and Italy…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Kodak & Corporate Responsibility
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Mon 11 Dec

Previous…      Sustainability Initiatives
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Mon 04 Dec

Drupa Newsroom

Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf in 2017 and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience…just scroll down to view each Chapter

News from Messe Düsseldorf 2017

Previous…     Intelligent Printing in Focus
All in Print China to be staged at the new International Expo Center in Shanghai from 24 to 28 October 2018

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 is supported and sponsored by:
Drupa 2020,   Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, and  Kemtek Imaging Systems

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

Heidelberg, MPS in Obersulm and the publisher of turi2 edition selected the most important media persons in Germany for a unique, masscustomized cover page for a printed magazine. In total a number of 1,241. All together delivered as “pixels” a complete portrait of each single candidate printed on Primefire106. — One of those media VIPs was Andreas Weber, Head of Value, Frankfurt am Main/Germany.


Graphic Repro On-line News to Friday 24 November 2017

Welcome to a roundup of just 16 articles at the end of a quiet week for news, which tapered out almost completely by Friday. You’ll also find Laurel Brunner’s Verdigris Blog discussing the increasingly difficult problems encountered in successful paper recycling, as inks and coatings continue to change quite rapidly in their formulations and content. Rather like chasing moving goal posts.

Key news this week includes a more than £2-million pound spend by Taylor Bloxham of Leicester, UK on a new highly-spec’d Rapida 106 from Koenig & Bauer on Tuesday; while on Wednesday Wrap Cube became the first UK company to use 3M’s 780mC Reflective Wrapping Film, supplied by Spandex (you must see the photographs to appreciate why this gets a mention); and on Thursday,

Heidelberg celebrated the world premiere of the Primefire 106 with packaging printers from all over Europe at MPS-WestRock in Obersulm near Heilbronn, Germany at the beginning of November; and Scodix announces the start of its commercial roll-out of the E106 Digital Enhancement Press at an Open House, from 4 – 6 December at Gundlach Packaging Group’s facility in Oerlinghausen, Germany.


See as well the real-time report by Andreas Weber: “Value Check: Very well done — World Premiere of Heidelberg Primefire106 at MPS Multi Packaging Solutions in Germany”


To end the week on a high note, we had just one article from InPrint on Friday announcing that last week’s show in Munich ended with positive results. The next InPrint will take place in Milan at the end of 2018, before returning to Munich at the end of 2019.

That’s it until next time. There’s more to explore if you check out the headlines carefully, including the British Book Design and Production Awards winners on Monday; and some sound advice from Charl Vogel at Ricoh South Africa on Tuesday.

My best regards

Mike Hilton



e-News comprises:  Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and our drupa Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides an overview of the week’s news each weekend.

Headline News
Almost 30,000 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 pages

Week beginning Mon 20 November – the published date appears in article footline

Monday
British Book Design & Production Awards winners 2017
The BPIF announces the winners of the 2017 British Book Design and Production Awards, held on 16 November in central London…

UPM supporting learning with Save the Children
UPM supports schooling opportunities of young people at risk of social exclusion due to poverty…

Tonejet unveiled Cyclone at InPrint 2017 in Munich
Tonejet Cyclone unites patented technologies to eliminate long lead times and minimum print runs for cans…

Neschen expands portfolio with EcoLam 1650
The perfect introduction to high-end print finishing…

Tuesday
How some commercial printers get hamstrung over new kit
Some commercial printers who invest in new production equipment don’t necessarily get the returns they reasonably expect says Charl Vogel, head of Commercial and Industrial print at Ricoh SA…

At Ricoh’s ‘Art of the New’ event in Telford, UK today…
Latest version Ricoh ProcessDirector v3.6 introduces white paper manufacturing to streamline production…

Taylor Bloxham switches to Koenig and Bauer Rapida
Taylor Bloxham invests in new generation, high performance Rapida 106 from Koenig and Bauer, replacing two machines…

Harlow Printing invests in StitchLiner Mark III
South Shields operation future-proofs business with newest next-generation Horizon StitchLiner from IFS…

Wednesday
3M’s Reflective Wrapping Film now available in UK
Wrap Cube is first UK company to use 3M’s 780mC Reflective Wrapping Film, supplied by Spandex…

Label Academy publishes new industry textbooks
The Label Academy has extended its book series with the publication of two new reference books, ‘Shrink Sleeve Technology’ and ‘Label Markets and Applications’…

Acuity investment sparks year of growth for Art & Servei
Spanish packaging and POS printer looks back on a year of increased productivity and faster customer delivery times…

Storbildsbolaget adds EFI Vutek FabriVU 340
Swedish large-format specialist makes the switch to EFI Vutek FabriVU to meet growing soft signage print volumes…

Thursday
World premiere of Heidelberg Primefire 106 at MPS
Heidelberg celebrates the world premiere of the Primefire 106 with packaging printers from all over Europe at MPS-WestRock in Obersulm near Heilbronn, Germany at the beginning of November…

Scodix E106 press available from December 2017
Scodix starts commercial roll-out of its E106 Digital Enhancement Press at an Open House from 4 – 6 December at Gundlach Packaging Group’s facility in Oerlinghausen, Germany…

Sign & Digital UK to return to the NEC in 2018
Sign & Digital UK announces increase in exhibitor presence for the 2018event, from 24 – 26 April 2018

Friday   
Third InPrint in Germany ended with positive results
InPrint is now firmly established as the premier exhibition for print applications in industrial production…

The lead article from a week last Friday…

Easymatrix 106 die-cutter #100 to ship in December
The Easymatrix 106 die-cutter allows value-added products to be brought in house at Salzland Druck in Staßfurt…


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. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry. Visit the drupa 2020 Website. You can also visit blog.drupa.com for the latest industry news and developments.

Online Feature articles 2017
Only 49 articles 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 in 2015, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.

ValueDialog 2017

Previous…      #InfluenceB2B Transformation for the Digital Age
#InfluenceB2B programme leads from innovation to transformation! By Andreas Weber, Head of Value…

Online Features Nov/Dec Chapter 08

Previous…      BPIF Printing Outlook for Q4 2017 available now
Pick-up in output and orders despite a fluctuating Q3 – cost pressures and uncertainty shakes confidence for Q4…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2017

Recycling Paper Getting Complicated
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Mon 20 Nov

Previous…      New Standard supporting the environmental impact of print
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Mon 13 Nov

Drupa Newsroom

Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf in 2017 and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience…just scroll down to view each Chapter

News from Messe Düsseldorf 2017

Previous…     Intelligent Printing in Focus
All in Print China to be staged at the new International Expo Center in Shanghai from 24 to 28 October 2018

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 is supported and sponsored by:
Drupa 2020,   Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, and  Kemtek Imaging Systems

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


By Andreas Weber, Head of Value

You should keep the date 8 November 2017 in mind. Experts from around the globe joined the #Heideldruck #PackagingDays to get deep insights on how the packaging business makes progress to get transformed by innovation bizz concepts and digital print technologies. It’s all about the paradigmeshift from #massmarketing to masscustomization.

My take: It’s not a speculation anymore. It’s meanwhile a solide fact that modern print technologies like Heidelberg presented it take the lead to guide us in a sustainable way on the digital transformation journey. Driven by competency, creativity, relatedness and ‚German Mut’ we have new a solide basis to re-invent what we do. It’s amazing that such huge and fast growing markets like Label & Packaging were able to adopt print innovations in their sophisticated industrial environment on such a high level.

To make a long story short, I will share my real-time report via Twitter, a rich collection of quotes, comments, photos and video interviews produced in an authentic and unplugged manner during the event. It should give you the feeling like to have joined us in Wiesloch at the Heidelberg Print Media Center and at the MPS factory in Obersulm, Germany.

 


Note: For any reason there is probably a technical problem caused by WordPress. Some of the video thumbnails are shown upside down. But the videos should work properly if you click on it.


Prelude

A real world premiere commented by Andreas Weber.


Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer made clear that his company is the market leader in providing packaging print production solutions on a high-class quality & productivity level.

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In medias res

Steffen Schnizer, GM Sales at Multi Packaging Solutions MPS, Obersum/Germany, highlighted the excellent partnership with Heidelberg to make Primefire106 perfectly fitting to the needs of MPS customers demand.

Steffen Schnizel gave a special interview in German language as well. His key point: Packaging printing creates the highest demand regarding quality, color, productivity, reliability. At least Heidelberg could fulfill that now in the field of digital printing as well as in offset printing.


Heidelberg’s SVP Global Head of Digital Print Business Montserrat Peidro explains the relevance of digital print innovations for the market. Masscustomization is already the main topic to cover an increasing demand by brand owners! — (English version first, German version second).

 

NOTE: See as well the ValueDialog with Montserrat Peidro I published earlier this year. It‘s about the specific benefits of Primefire106 and the advantage of industrial digital printing.

 


Focus on technology

Heidelberg’s Board member Stephan Plenz shared great insights to identify the right technological needs and solutions. The secret: It’s not enough to have the right digital print engine … The Heart or better: the brain is Prinect — Heidelberg’s digital frontend system architecture which’s able to manage all kind of digital printing machines plus offset printing machines in once.

 

 


At a glance via Value@Twitter Moments

 


 

Read and share our ValueStorify as well to get access to all relevant Tweets

 

Bildschirmfoto 2017-11-13 um 09.44.45

 


 

 


 

Mark Schaefer (left) and Andreas Weber at #xug17orlando. Photo: Jeroen van Druenen, Amsterdam, NL.

 

By Andreas Weber, Head of Value

 

Amazing success: #xug17orlando wasn‘t just a best-in-class conference on #multichannel #print #transformation. — Via #InfluenceB2B it became a BLOCKBUSTER attracting experts around the globe. — Read as well the summary of all relevant content topics via my Storify multimedia report: ValueCheck at #xug17orlando — Be. More. Human. All you can learn regarding #Transformation #Print #Multichannel #Masscustomization

So far (10/29 to 11/04) we got for a very special topic like ’multichannel‘ a giant reach on Twitter of more than 1.2 Million and on LinkedIn of more than 110k via my own accounts. And even after the conference ended there is still interaction. Seems that my #influenceB2B Programme works properly! It includes a smart mix of real-time messaging and storytelling including a bunch of live videos, photos, comments, re-tweets a.s.o.. Very special: round about a number of 20 ’silly talks‘ — unplugged live video interviews with attendees, speakers, sponsors and organizers. (Special thanks to Christian Kopocz for doing the perfect camera work). All of them were shown on screen directly to the audience during the sessions, a part was shared via Social Media and Vimeo. So it’s not by chance to got those great stats and amazing feedback.

Can‘t wait to see the stats by others who contributed as well like XUG – The XMPie Users Group Inc., XMPie, Christian Kopocz, Jeroen van Druenen and others. Additional effects were created by Mark Schaefer and Mandy Edwards as leading Social Minds giving presentations and sharing our Tweets.

 

Christian Kopocz reported in the meantime interesting figures covering the total reach by Real Time Tracker checking the hashtag #xug17orlando as well. I made it already part of my chart. 

 

#InfluenceB2B success factors at #xug17orlando

  • At least it was all about having a great and seamless conversation driven by competency, trust and for sure a lot of fun!
  • No briefings and storyboards were needed. All activities happened spontaneously.
  • Almost all conference attendees got involved and became part of the game (so not only as usual the hosts, sponsors and speakers).
  • The intense Social Media work helped to get straight to the point and to showcase in real-time what happened and what was really relevant to the audience.
  • Even the main Round-table was on-the-fly re-organized to adopt the #InfuenceB2B Programme rules. Any single participant got the chance to share the individual expertise and opinions to answer the key question: How to make money with XMPie? The result was a rich collection of Hashtags representing a short&sweet practical guide.

 


Some comments of attendees and supporters

Brian Euclide, President TEC Mailing Solutions LLC, Madison, Wisconsin

— NOT OFTEN — do I leave a conference or a user group meeting with a positive attitude or an optimistic outlook. However, recently I attended the #XMPie User group meeting #XUG17Orlando for the first time and I feel personally compelled to highlight not only this group but the people in attendance. From the very first minutes upon arrival until the last minute at the bar before an early morning flight… I had the opportunity to engage with people like Andreas Weber Helene Blanchette Lori Wisz and of course Inbar Keren Yudasin. I have never left a conference wanting to stay another day! I left so inspired and yearning to go back. Thank you to Jeroen van Druenen & Christian Kopocz for having the #CloudMailingGuys! #Xerox #TECMailing

Mark W. Schaefer, Keynote Speaker, Executive Director Schaefer Marketing Solutions

Agree! This was a first-class event. Very impressive group of attendees. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and hope you’ll have me back some day soon!

Inbar Keren Yudasin, Production Systems Analyst at Fuji Xerox Australia, Sydney

I really liked your Live Videos [my Silly Talks] done in a charming and unplugged mode. It‘s so authentic. And quite important for a better understanding how to benefit from other expert minds to gain a better knowledge

 


Sample for a ’Silly Talk’-live video by Andreas Weber with one of the sponsors, PunchOut2Go. They liked it that much that they published it immedately on their own Twitter account. — Plus the charming talk with lovely guests from France! And the most interesting conversation with Adobe. TX to Mike Zahorik!

 

 

 

 

 


Contact

Andreas Weber could be reached at anytime via LinkedIn!

About

Andreas Weber is an international very well reputated analyst and as well an educator, speaker, influencer and transformer. Since more than 25 years he deals with all major technology inventors like Apple, Adobe, Canon, Google, HP, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Xerox and many others. He is also in touch with many start-ups and innovative graphic communication service providers around the globe.

Since the very beginning he is a digital communication savvy and online community organizer.

His business activities are dedicated to the ‘Transformation for the Digital Age’ via presentations, management briefings, coachings, workshops, analysis&reports, strategic advice.

 

 


 

 

 


 

#InfluenceB2B.001

By Andreas Weber, Head of Value
Analyst | Educator | Speaker | Influencer | Transformer

—German Version—

 

“Everything we need to know is right in front of our eyes!”

 

Over a period of around three decades I have been able to participate in over 550 national and international innovation projects, many of which I was responsible for myself. They always turned out well. For quite some time now, it has been apparent that innovation cannot be the goal, but rather a means to an end. Transformation is the goal. The logical consequence: Beyond Innovation. Transformation wanted — welcome #InfluenceB2B!

 


1. Keep moving!

First of all: I have — with a heavy heart — left Mainz, the city of Gutenberg, after spending around 30 years there. My new home is Frankfurt am Main: The financial metropolis with an ideal infrastructure, multi-cultural, cosmopolitan and innovative — in short, the city has a spirit that inspires.

Nevertheless: I will always remain connected to the values of Gutenberg’s Galaxy. Because despite all the negative talk, it’s more worthwhile than ever before to grapple with the world of print. Hardly any other other cultural technology, hardly any other sector that has penetrated our world so intensively and continuously, has held its ground so well over the centuries when it came to transforming our lives, our culture and our economy. The endless (and often fruitless) debates about the risks facing print due to the Internet have clouded our vision. Print, per se, can be disruptive, and we need to understand that it is a fundamentally important driver of transformation, and not a victim of it!

 


2. Stay ahead!

My basic idea: In order to benefit from the fantastic, irrevocable and irreversible changes of the digital age to the greatest extent possible, we must all find a way to understand transformation not only as the optimisation of existing things through (technical) innovation, but instead that transformation can be used as the sustainable (or better: fruitful) basis for all business activities.

 

 


3. A new world

The things I do are the result of thinking, creative discourse and transformation for the digital age. The hashtag #InfluenceB2B describes it best: an objective that goes far beyond publication and consulting/coaching. Good social skills geared towards smart storytelling, interactive conversations and communities represent the foundation for establishing sustainable relationships outside of one’s own disciplines. ValuePublishing, which I created in the run-up to drupa 2016, takes on a central role here: It became an important tool of an #InfluenceB2B programme which combined blogging, education, keynotes, coaching/advising and community organizing in a targeted manner on a kind of platform. The outstanding network effects are the decisive aspect here.


AW #influenceB2B Value sells

 


4. Transformation as the business

Transformation has strategic and operative dimensions. At the beginning, as already mentioned, we have thinking and discourse, not the actual activity. Those who still think that transformation means finding a ‘digital’ business model with optimised processes and then everything will be good have not even begun to understand the digital age!

Rather, it’s about comprehending the basic nature of transformation and, thanks to a more in-depth understanding, being able to gain new insights:

  1. Transformation requires and supports a sense of community and empathy, in order to establish a connection to reality in the digital age.
  2. The comprehensive insight into new and relevant technologies plus the smart adaptability of the resulting benefits are what actually get transformation moving in a beneficial way — and keep it going.
  3. The efficiency of transformation increases with the uncontrollable dynamics of every economic, cultural and social framework.

 


5. Effective work – amazing results!

My focus is on achieving and also sharing new insights through media-based and personal discourse. This requires a systematic approach which is based on exponential dynamics and not linearity. And the best thing: It works right from the beginning! Above all and precisely because of the outstanding network effects which I achieve with my ‘transformed’ working methods.

Here are a few of the key points (especially for those who like to use statistics):

  • Daily contact with 5,000 to 10,000 active social media users (via tweets and an automated twitter/online news portal that is updated each day)
  • Directly addressing up to 25,000 hand-picked decision-makers in real-time via sustainable storytelling and social conversations
  • Powerful viral effects with maximum interactions through focussed messages (benchmark to date: 6.5 million impressions on a specific topic in a very short time).
  • ValueBlog as a multi-media compendium (ISSN certified) which to date bundles specifically relevant findings in over 400 posts — with high internationality (to date, 90,000 unique viewers on ValueBlog from more than 125 countries, with up to 2,150 viewers per day)
  • Real-time tracking and analysis with targeted evaluation possibilities, a kind of lightning market research on a wide variety of topics — on-demand
  • Increased impact through global partnerships with international specialist groups, user groups, experts, pioneers and companies from a wide range of disciplines
  • And last but not least, the H2H factor: Substantiated know-how from personal meetings with over 120,000 participants from all over the world during talks, seminars, workshops, lectures, executive briefings, etc.

 


6. Where is the beef?

Thanks to my network effects and conversations, no time is wasted with complex acquisition activities or briefings that start at zero. This is a lot of fun, as I can get dynamic things moving without any waste or loss and continually integrate new target people/groups who are interested in innovation topics like transformation. The ‘coverage’ in cultural and creative economies as well as the digital economy is continually growing. 

 


#InfluenceB2B.002

 

Conclusion

The move from being a publisher/consultant with offices in Mainz to an initiator of an #InfluenceB2B programme in Frankfurt am Main opens up a whole new series of possibilities. And it works elsewhere as well, as my lecture tour to the mega city of São Paulo, the new hotspot for transformation, confirmed in August 2017. Prior to this trip I prepared my topic with blog posts and discussions with hundreds of new contacts, above all through LinkedIn, which provided me with a specific idea of the expectations there. The result: My business partners and audience were very satisfied (I received the best rating of my career) and I was able to strengthen and also expand my contacts in Latam with exciting new projects.

I have numerous other examples of my successes which I would be happy to tell you about in a personal conversation. Why not contact me, preferably via LinkedIn! — By the way: My business principle has not changed: You can choose between “Rent-a-Brain” on a daily basis or specific projects with a fixed budget. After all, things that prove themselves survive!

 


 

 


 

Von Andreas Weber, Head of Value

Canon Europa hat zu einer neuen Organisationsstruktur gefunden, die bestmögliche Kunden- und Marktorientierung ermöglichen soll. Interessenten und Kunden haben es nunmehr mit einem zentralen Ansprechpartner zu tun, der seinerseits die Koordination mit unterschiedlichen Canon-Experten steuert. Das Customer Experience Center von Canon in Poing bei München repräsentiert als echter Hotspot eine Erster-Klasse-Anlaufstelle für Print-Innovationen. — Am 20. September 2017 wurde zu den Production Printing Days 2017 nach Poing eingeladen. Das dargebotene komplette Leistungsspektrum an Hard- und Software trumpfte mit einer Vielzahl an Anwendungslösungen auf, die von Expertenteams erläutert wurden, damit die Besucher sich durch den wahren Dschungel an Neuheiten durchfinden konnten. Ein guter Zeitpunkt für einen ValueDialog, der Canons „Transformation Journey“ verdeutlichen soll. Mark Lawn, Canon Europe, Director of Graphic & Communications Group, stand Rede und Antwort.

Warum unterscheidet Canon zwischen ‚Commercial Printing‘ und ‚Graphic & Communications‘?

Mark Lawn: Diese Differenzierung bezeichnet unseren Weg, eine Art Profil unseres Auditoriums in einem dynamischen Umfeld zu finden. Viele neue Applikationen finden nicht mehr nur in klassischen Marktsegmenten statt. Nehmen Sie als Beispiel eine Firma wie Amazon, die nicht mehr nur mit Büchern handelt, sondern diese auch selbst druckt und damit zum ‚Graphic Communications Provider‘ geworden ist. Hier müssen wir als Technologie- und Lösungs-Lieferant anders agieren können.

Das heißt, Canon stellt sich darauf ein, mit unterschiedlichen Firmentypen zu tun zu haben, die einerseits eine Geschichte in der Herstellung von Drucksachen haben und im Digitaldruck weiterkommen wollen sowie andererseits Quer- oder Neueinsteiger, die mit Hilfe von Print-Innovationen neue Geschäftsmöglichkeiten erschließen?



Inspirierend: Canon zeigte anhand einer eigens kreierten, fiktiven Marke auf, wie per Omnichannel Markenkommunikation funktioniert. Fotos: Canon Europe (oben), Andreas Weber


Mark Lawn: Ganz genau. Es gibt ausserhalb der klassischen Druckbranche, die sich auf industrielle Fertigung von Drucksachen fokussiert, eine Vielzahl dynamischer Anbieter, die ein breites, crossmediales Lösungsangebot entwickeln für eine Vielzahl an Kunden. Unsere Organisationsstruktur muss sicherstellen, hier jeweils einen zentralen Ansprechpartner zu bieten, der Wissen und Ressourcen bündelt, um individuelle Anforderungen präzise zu erfüllen. Im Bereich Graphic & Communications ist es entscheidend, sich in der Wertschöpfungskette nach vorne bewegen zu können, um zu einem möglichst frühen Zeitpunkt Einfluss auf Kommunikationsprojekte nehmen zu können und Print ins Spiel zu bringen. Also nicht nur mit denjenigen zu agieren, die Druckaufträge vergeben. Hier können gerade kleinere Dienstleister ihre hohe Flexibilität unter Beweis stellen. Das wollen wir aktiv unterstützen.

Dynamik bedeutet Veränderung. Womit müssen wir mittelfristig rechnen? Die drupa 2020 steht schon fast vor der Tür…

Mark Lawn: Pragmatisch gesehen, stellt sich die Frage: Womit beschäftigen wir uns heute? Aus meiner Sicht mit der Darstellung des Möglichen mit Hilfe von Print-Innovationen; es muss die Kluft geschlossen werden zwischen dem Stand der Technik und den Anforderung der Marken/Werbungtreibenden mit ihrer ‚digitalen’ Ausrichtung im Marketing. Hier wissen die wenigsten um den Nutzen von Print in einer vernetzten Welt. Die Print-Branche insgesamt muss sich in der Verantwortung sehen, das rasch zu ändern — vor allem auch mit Hilfe von Experten wie Ihnen als Influencer, im Social Media wie auch in Vorträgen.

Auf die Zukunft projiziert, heisst das, es findet ein Wandel statt vom Print Service Provider hin zum Business Solution Provider? Mit dem Focus auf ein neues ‚Ecosystem‘?

Mark Lawn: Da stimme ich voll zu. Das wird zwingend notwendig sein. Dazu müssen wir aber unser Silo-Denken in der Print-Branche aufgeben. Momentan ignorieren wir noch zu oft den Wandel, den ein Nachfrage-getriebenes Supply-Chain-Management provoziert. Neue Marktpotentiale werden so gut wie gar nicht zur Kenntnis genommen. Und: Wir erreichen mit unseren Botschaften noch nicht das richtige Publikum, um durch passende, neue Leistungsversprechen die tatsächlichen Innovations-Möglichkeiten, die sich mit Print, wie wir bei Canon es verstehen, überzeugend darzulegen. Denn nur so können neue Ideen durch konkrete Anwendungen in wertschöpfende Maßnahmen verwandelt werden. Die Branche muss sich zum ‚Problemlöser‘ transformieren, um jede Art von neuer Herausforderung nachhaltig mit zielführende Lösungen zu bedienen.

Vielen Dank für das Gespräch.


​​


Mark Lawn beim Pressebriefing in Poing. Video: Andreas Weber




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Fotos/Collage: Andreas Weber, Mainz/Frankfurt am Main.

 

„Hier und anderswo. Malerei und Collage“ lautet der Titel einer Ausstellung der Künstlerin Gisela Ruth, die am Freitag, 23. September, 18 Uhr, im ersten Stock des VG-Rathauses (Foyer) in Bodenheim von Verbandsgemeindebürgermeister Dr. Robert Scheurer eröffnet wurde. Einführende Worte sprach Andreas Weber, Beiratsmitglied im Vorstand des Kunstvereins Eisenturm Mainz. Die Ausstellung ist bis Donnerstag, 27. Oktober 2016, geöffnet, und zwar mittwochs von 14 bis 19 Uhr, an den übrigen Arbeitstagen von 8 bis 11.30 Uhr. Nachfolgend per ValuePublishing-Exkulsivreport die Eröffnungsrede von Andreas Weber im Wortlaut. Siehe auch die lesenswerte Ausstellungsbesprechung von Jürgen Strickstrock in der Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz vom 26. September 2016.

 

Meine sehr verehrten Damen und Herren,

„hier und anderswo“ ist ein gelungener, wunderbarer Ausstellungstitel. Er passt zum Ort Bodenheim und der Region Rheinhessen, in der wir uns befinden. Und er passt zur Künstlerin Gisela Ruth, dies aus Soest in Westfalen stammt und lange hier ansässig ist, und ihrem Werk. Vorweg — da ich nicht weiss, wie es Ihnen ergeht: Es ist die erste Ausstellung, in der ich einen umfangreicheren Einblick in das Schaffen von Gisela Ruth erhalte. Wir beide kennen uns über den Kunstverein Eisenturm Mainz e.V. KEM, dem ich als Mitglied und seit einiger Zeit im Vorstand als Beirat angehöre. Im Rahmen von KEM-Ausstellungen und den Jour Fixe-Veranstaltungen von Dr. Otto Martin lernten wir uns näher kennen. Das neueste, hier gezeigte Werk — Land am Fluss.Zeitreise — eine Collage auf Leinwand im Format 50 auf 50 Zentimeter, war Teil der Mitgliederausstellung „Viva Rheinhessen“, die im Sommer 2016 der Region ein fulminantes Ausstellungs-Denkmal setzte, weit über die 200 Jahre hinaus, die den Bezug zu einer ganzjährigen Jubelfeier mit unzähligen Events herstellt. 80 Künstler stellten ihre persönliche Sicht, ihre Gefühle, ihre Gedanken vor. Gisela Ruth setzte einen ganz besonderen Akzent: In zarten, fasst pastell-tonhaft, sensitiv gehaltenen Farben werden kunstvoll Versatzstücke ineinander verwoben, die handschriftliche Dokumente, Urkunden, Fotos, Personen, Landschaftsimpressionen, Grundrisszeichnungen, Kartografien, Architekturen und Bauelemente, eine Stadtansicht von Mainz sowie Spuren der Neuzeit in Form von Windrädertürmen, die schemenhaft aber unübersehbar auftauchen. Natürlich erscheinen auch Rebstöcke und Weinberge — ganz unten im Bild, quasi als Fundament.

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Gisela Ruth: Land am Fluss.Zeitreise. Collage auf Leinwand, 2016, Format 50 x 50 cm. Foto: Gisela Ruth

 

Gisela Ruth hat als Notiz verfasst: „Gestern und heute und was die auf dem Wiener Kongress 1816 künstlich kreierte Region ausmacht: Geprägt von Wasser und Erde als Lebensspender und Energielieferant; Stadt und Land und seine wechselhafte Geschichte, beginnend mit seinem ersten Regenten Ludwig I.; von den Wassermühlen im Rhein zu den Windrädern auf dem Land als weithin sichtbare technische Errungenschaft; ein von seinem Handwerk und seinem Weinbau geprägter Landstrich.“

In Summe ergibt sich eine äußerst vielschichtiges Bild von Rheinhessen, das zunächst ungewöhnlich, fast disruptiv erscheint. Und das immer vertrauter wird, je detaillierter man das Werk betrachtet. — Hier und anderswo.

Ich muss zugeben: An dieser Stelle empfinde ich zur Künstlerin eine starke, für mich selbst überraschend-erfreuliche Seelenverwandschaft. Das Sehen als wichtigste Instanz der Sinneswahrnehmung bedeutet für mich nicht einfach, fotografisch Abbilder zu speichern, sondern visuell Sinneseindrücke zum Teil meiner eigenen Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen, die vom Erleben geprägt ist.

 

Impressionen vom Eröffnungsabend am 23. September 2016. Fotos: Andreas Weber

 

Noch etwas verbindet Gisela Ruth mit mir, meinem Leben: Der intensive Kontakt und die Freundschaft zu einem leider allzu früh verstorbenen Maler, Professor Guido Ludes, den ich Anfang 2014 in meinem Nachruf als den „Meister der Inspiration“ bezeichnet habe. Gisela Ruth, die seit 1972 über die Fotografie und ab 1984 über das Textildesign mit Studienaufenthalten in Japan und Indonesien zum Zeichnen, Collagieren und Malen gefunden hat, hat zunächst den Abschluss eines juristischen Fachstudiums absolviert und sich zusätzlich auf vielfältige Weise künstlerisch weitergebildet. Durch die Rheinhessen Akademie in Oppenheim kam sie mit Guido Ludes in Kontakt, der sie in experimentellen Drucktechniken und Stillleben anleitete. Das Prägende und Einzigartige, das ihr vermittelt wurde, schildert Gisela Ruth wie folgt: „Sehen mit allen Sinnen und die Kommunikation: Aus dem stillen Kämmerlein raus, den Dialog suchen, sich auseinandersetzen.“

Dies ist ein ebenso probates wie weit gefasstes Leitmotto, dem zur Seite steht, sich einerseits intensiv mit ihren Lehrerpersönlichkeiten auseinanderzusetzen, darunter vor allem die Malerin Susann Gassen, Nikola Jaensch (Zeichnung und Collage), Michael Apitz (Zeichnung) sowie Josua Mattern (Abstraktion und Collage) und Andreas Mattern (Aquarell). Hinzukommt andererseits das Identifizieren und genaue Studieren von weltweit renommierten Künstlerpersönlichkeiten. Gisela Ruth schrieb mir dazu auf meine Frage „Wer oder was hat sie am meisten und nachhaltigsten inspiriert und beeindruckt?“: „Alex Katz: Entgegen des Zeitgeistes entschied er sich für konkrete Malerei und abstrahierte dabei, in dem er Dreidimensionalität in Fläche verwandelt. Mich beeindruckt seine ‚eigenen Sprache‘, die Reduzierung alltäglicher Motive und ihrer gleichzeitigen Erhöhung. In meinen Bildern steht oft Reduktion bis zur Flächigkeit neben räumlichen Passagen. — An Sigmar Polke beeindruckt mich seine Vielseitigkeit. — Edward Hopper: Auch hier die Reduzierung des Dargestellten auf das Wesentliche und seine besondere Sicht auf die amerikanische Lebenswelt fast als Filmkulisse.“ Katz — Polke — Hopper bilden eine aussergewöhnliche Kombination und Inspirationsbasis. Wichtig ist, dass sich Bezüge zu Gisela Ruth aufgebaut haben, die nicht einfach nur formal gestalterischen Aspekten folgen, sondern das Wesen dieser exponierten Menschen versteht und im Rahmen des eigenen Schaffens neu interpretiert.

 

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Detail aus dem Gemälde von Gisela Huth „Havanna“ von 2015, das eine neue Sichtweise liefert, indem das Alte im Spiegel der Moderne erscheint. Foto: Andreas Weber.

 

Und auf meine Frage „Wie nehmen Sie das aktuelle Kunstgeschehen um Sie herum wahr? Wie wichtig ist die Auseinandersetzung mit KollegInnen und vor allem mit dem Publikum?“ antwortete Gisela Ruth: „Ich nehme das aktuelle Kunstgeschehen heute als sehr lebendig und so vielfältig wahr, wie noch nie, bei den Stilen wie auch den verwendeten Mitteln, ohne dass es eine bestimmte Stilrichtung gibt. ‚Everything goes‘  führt heute zu einem enorm erweiterten Kunstbegriff auch unter Einbeziehung der aktuell möglichen technischen Mittel, wobei Malerei sich trotz aller Möglichkeiten m. E.  gut behaupten kann. Mich im Kunstbetrieb zu bewegen (Galerien, Messen, Ausstellungen, Kunstvereine, Künstlerbücher, Vorlesungen an der Uni Mainz zu aktueller Kunst in Amerika und im nächsten Semester zu aktueller Kunst in China) macht mir großen Spaß und ist für mich eine Bereicherung. Hierbei neue Kontakte zu knüpfen, gute Gespräche zu führen, Erhellendes zu erfahren oder durch Widerspruch des Gesprächspartners mein Denken neu zu formieren — all dies bringt mich künstlerisch weiter.  Für mich ist es wichtig zu erfahren, ob meine Bilder für sich sprechen, ob ein Dialog mit Betrachter und meinen Bildern stattfindet. Daher suche ich das Gespräch mit dem Publikum (was mir nicht immer leicht fällt, da ich eigentlich mehr zurückhaltend bin).“

Meine Damen und Herren, sie bemerken, es äußert sich eine Künstlerin, die nicht nur hochtalentiert sehenswerte und sammlungswürdige Bildwerke erschaffen kann; hier teilt sich auch mit Worten eine Persönlichkeit mit, offen, mit hellwachem Verstand, die sich durch ihre Sinneswahrnehmung und in der Auseinandersetzung mit Kunst und Kultur ständig weiterentwickelt. Vermutlich liefert im besten Sinne Neugierde, oder besser: Entdeckungsgeist, einen starken Antrieb. Vor allem für das „hier und anderswo“. Die ausgestellten Werke (fast 20 an der Zahl, die meisten aus den letzten drei Jahren) sind der beste Beleg. Wer schon Gelegenheit hatte, sich umzuschauen, stellt fest, dass hier im Bodenheimer Rathaus visuelle Impressionen ganz unterschiedlicher Art repräsentiert sind. Aus dem „hier und anderswo“. Siehe: „Havanna“, von 2015, das eine neue Sichtweise liefert, indem das Alte im Spiegel der Moderne erscheint. Oder das grandiose Landschaftsbild „Spitzbergen“ von 2016, also jüngst erst entstanden, ein meisterhaftes Werk, das sich aus den Zacken der zerfurchten Berge und den in Gelb, Orange, Rot und Blauschwarz gehaltenen Horizontalen formt, wobei die Grenze zwischen Land und Wasser aufgehoben wird; das Gemälde grenzt sich stilistisch deutlich ab von anderen Gemälden. Gisela Roth versteht es, sich treu zu bleiben und trotz allem für ihre Themen jeweils spezifische Akzente in der Darstellung zu finden. — Dies ist eine ganz eigene Sicht auf einen Ort mit extremer Lage, die uns Menschen bisweilen eher lebensfeindlich vorkommen mag. — Gleichzeit gilt Spitzbergen aber als „sicherster Ort der Welt“.

 

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Freude über eine sehr gelungene Eröffnung: Petra Schippers, Gisela Ruth, Andreas Weber (v.l.n.r.). Foto: Armin Ruth, Bodenheim

 

Lebensmomente werden erfasst, zum Beispiel durch die Acrylgemälde „Stillstand“ von 2015, „Mit Kerze“ und „Frühstück“, beide von 2016. In diesen Werken kommt Gisela Ruth dem Geist von Edward Hopper sehr nahe. Vereinzelt erscheinen Menschen in einer glatt und kühl wirkenden urbanen Umgebung. Spiegelungen spielen eine grosse Rolle. Ebenso wie bei dem Gemälde „Angekommen“ von 2013, das den Moment erfasst, indem eine weibliche Gestalt aus dem U-Bahnzug aussteigt, eine andere, nicht näher identifizierbare gerade verschwindet. Der Bildtitel ist wie bei allen der ausgestellten Werke knapp gefasst. Präzision gehört zum künstlerischen Geschick der Gisela Ruth. Doch bei „Angekommen“ gibt es ein Momentum der Irritation: Der Bahnsteig kann nicht das Ziel der Ankommenden sein, sondern nur eine Zwischenstation. Unklar bleibt, wohin die Reise, der Weg tatsächlich führt. —Das „hier und anderswo“ kann man erspüren, auf eine „transitorische“ Art und Weise.

Diese einfühlsamen malerischen Momentaufnahmen haben einen Hauch von Melancholie, der aber zugleich durch die Farbgebung kompensiert wird: Dominierend sind Blautöne. Experten für die Symbolik von Farben charakterisieren das Blau wie folgt:

  • Blau gilt als tiefgründige Farbe und schafft eine ruhige, entspannte und stabilisierende Atmosphäre.
  • Blau wird mit vielen positiven Eigenschaften assoziiert: Sympathie, Harmonie, Freundlichkeit, Friedfertigkeit, Zufriedenheit, Heiterkeit, Ausgeglichenheit, Gelassenheit, Frieden und Freundschaft. 
  • Blau ist die Farbe des Vertrauens und der Verläßlichkeit, die Farbe der Intuition und Kommunikation, Ganzheitlichkeit und Verbundenheit, Passivität.
  • Blau ist die Farbe der Ferne, der Weite und der Unendlichkeit: Als Farbe des Himmels steht Blau auch für Ewigkeit und Wahrheit. Helle Blautöne vergrößern Räume und haben eine frische, kühle Wirkung.
  • Blau ist auch die Farbe, die auf Fotos oder Bildern den stärksten Perspektiveffekt erzeugen kann.

Der Renaissance-Künstler Leonardo da Vinci hatte dies als Erster erkannt und seine „Sfumato“ genannte Technik perfektioniert, um naturwissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse malerisch umzusetzen: In der perspektivischen Weitläufigkeit löst sich die Sicht in einen bläulich werden Dunst auf.

Blau ist zudem die Farbe des gespiegelten Wassers, der Stille und Entspannung. Dies wird in Bildmotiven von Gisela Ruth erfahrbar, die das Wasser in unterschiedlichen Zusammenhängen bis hin zu reinen Naturszenen zeigen: „Pool“ von 2007, „Spiegelungen I – IV“ von 2008, „Am Brunnen“ von 2014, „Im Wasser“ von 2014, „Leitgraben“ von 2016, und ganz besonders „Boot am Altrhein“ von 2010 sowie „Im Gespräch“ von 2016 (eine Uferszene mit zwei in sich versunkenen Spaziergängern) strahlen durch die Spiegelungen, zumeist in leichten Wellen oder aufgelöst durch Reflexionen sich spiegelnder Motive wie Bäume, eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre aus.

 

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Detail aus Gemälde von Gisela Ruth „Im Wasser I“, 2014, Acryl auf Leinwand, Format 50 x 70 Zentimeter

 

Gisela Ruth gelingt es, die Symbolkraft des Blau durch ihre besondere Darstellungsweise der Sujets inhaltlich zu verstärken. Der Betrachter, jedenfalls ergeht es mir so, wird in Gisela Ruths Bildwelten förmlich „barrierefrei“ hineingezogen und gleichzeitig auf Abstand gehalten, um über das, was er/sie erlebt, nachzudenken. 

In der Reihe der Exponate gibt es drei „Ausreißer“, wenn ich das so sagen darf. Zum einen das mit 70 auf 100 cm grossformatige Acrylgemälde „Schattenspiel“ von 2014. Wir sehen eine blonde Frau im Linksprofil, mit geneigtem Kopf und aufgesetztem Arm. Neben ihr erscheint ein Schattenriss, wobei unklar bleibt, ob dies ihr eigener Schatten oder der einer Betrachterin ist, die Frontal quasi ausserhalb des Gemäldes steht. Die Darstellung ist plakativ, fast perspektivlos, mit einer reduzierten Farbigkeit und Akzentuierungen — beinahe dem Prinzip der Valeurmalerei folgend und doch anders: Helldunkelkontraste und feinste Tonwert-Abstufungen innerhalb einer Farbgruppe verbinden die Szenerie mit der psychologischen Befindlichkeit der dargestellten Frau. Je länger man das Gemälde betrachtet, um so deutlicher wird der Drang, dass der Schattenriss so etwas wie die Seele oder der Geist sein könnte, der die Frau verlässt, sich als Teil von ihr separiert. Gisela Ruth schafft es, dass all dies nicht als Bedrohung wirkt, sondern nachdenklich macht, neugierig darauf, sich einzulesen in dieses besondere Motiv. Kunsthistorisch ließen sich eine Reihe von Darstellungen anführen, die in sich versunkene Frauen — meist aus der Mythologie – zeigen; allen voran die Seelenbilder durch Anselm Feuerbachs Iphigenie-Darstellungen. Direkte Parallelen ziehen zu wollen, ist aber meiner Ansicht nach wenig zielführend; es ergeben sich für mich zu viele Abweichungen. Zumal die Darstellungen Gisela Ruths stets im Hier und Jetzt, „hier und anderswo“, verhaftet sind.

Beachtenswert sind zum anderen die beiden kleinformatigen Collagen „Metamorphose“ von 2012 und „Hier ist Leben“ von 2013. Ersteres ist, wie Gisela Ruth sagt, die Umsetzung von Ovids „Apollo und Daphne“ und somit die Geschichte von der Liebe eines Gottes zu einer Nymphe und ihrer Verwandlung in einen Lorbeerbaum. Die zweite Collage versteht sich als Familiengeschichte mit vielen Elementen und persönlichen Ansichten aus der Historie der eigenen Familie. Elemente sind zu entdecken, die in der eingangs beschriebenen, Rheinhessen gewidmeten Collage „Land am Fluss.Zeitreise“ später wieder Verwendung gefunden haben.

Übrigens: Der Begriff Collage leitet sich vom französischen „coller“ — leimen kleben — sowie „colle“ (Leim) ab. Er kennzeichnet eine künstlerische Technik ebenso wie das Kunstwerk an sich. Im Kubismus sprach man daher von „Papier collé“. Verwendet werden beispielsweise Zeitungsausschnitte, Bänder, farbige Papierstücke, Fotografien, die auf einen festen Untergrund (Papier oder Karton) oder Leinwand geleimt und auch übermalt wurden. Im wesentlichen gibt es drei Arten: Collage in Verbindung mit grafischen Elementen; Collage mit Fotocollagetechnik; Collage als „Erinnerung“ mit Fotos, Briefen, Dokumentenauszügen und sonstigen Texten. Das Collage-Prinzip übertrug man auch auf andere Kunstgattungen, zum Beispiel auf die Musik/Akustische Kunst (Klang-, Ton- oder Musikcollagen, auch „Sampling (Musik)“), auf die Literatur und den Film. Eine Übertragung der Collage-Technik auf dreidimensionale Objekte findet in der Assemblage statt.

„Hier und anderswo“. Der Ausstellungstitel fasst in der Reflexion von seit 2006 rund einem dutzend Ausstellungen/Beteiligungen in der ganzen Region bis hin nach Wiesbaden als Leitbegriff zusammen, was für Gisela Ruth ihre eigene, künstlerische Programmatik kennzeichnet; „hier und anderswo“ bildet sozusagen die als Ausstellung inszenierte Collage ihrer künstlerischen Arbeit. Sie hat die Ausstellung gründlich und akribisch vorbereitet. In der Auswahl bestehender Arbeiten und im Schaffen von sechs neuen Werken eigens für die Ausstellung. In chronologischer Folge sind dies: „Im Gespräch“, „Leitgraben“, „Frühstück“, „Mit Kerze“, „Spitzbergen“ und „Land am Fluss.Zeitreise“.

 

Ein seltenes Erlebnis: Ausstellungsbesucher scheinen mit den Bildwelten der Künstlerin zu verschmelzen. Fotos: Andreas Weber.

 

Gisela Ruth gibt dazu selbst in schriftlicher Form Auskunft. Das wichtigste möchte ich zum Schluss meiner Einführungsrede zusammenfassen.

Zunächst darf ich Gisela Ruth zu ihrer Arbeitsweise zitieren: 

„Inspiration finde ich in weitgehend eigenen Fotografien zufällig vorgefundener Motive, mit denen ein flüchtiger Augenblick festgehalten wird, den ich dann künstlerisch durch Aneignung, durch Ausschnitte und Fragmente dieser schon vorhandenen Bildwelten umsetze und somit durch Veränderung der Eindrücke in das Medium Malerei transferiere, gelöst von der direkten Verbindung zur Vorlage.“

„Das lebendige Spiel des Elements ‚Wasser‘ und nicht nur die oft überraschenden Reflexionen der Umgebung auf der Wasseroberfläche sind für mich ein Quell an Impulsen.“

Zum Malprozess äußert sie:

„In einem mehrschichtigen Bildauftrag ergeben sich in tatsächlichen und fiktiven Ebenen Irritationen des Sichtfeldes und verwirrende Bildräume, energieaufgeladene Innenansichten, rätselhaft und von suggestiver Kraft. Die malerisch vorgetäuschten Spiegelungen geben den Blick auf die hinter und vor den Glasflächen liegenden Räume frei, die den Bildern eine überraschende und verwirrende Tiefendimension verleihen. Es finden sich gebrochenen Blicke in meinen Bildern oder ich spiele mit dem Verhältnis von Innen und Außen oder auch Zeit und Raum.“

Und zum Ausstellungsprojekt äußert sich Gisela Ruht wie folgt:

„Der Titel ‚hier und anderswo‘ ist auf zweifache Weise zu verstehen: Einerseits bezieht er sich auf verschiedene Aufenthaltsorte, das „Hier“ in Deutschland, in Rheinhessen; das „Anderswo“ in zum Beispiel Kuba oder Spitzbergen; aber auch umgekehrt: Man befindet sich im Ausland, aber das Zuhause begleitet die inneren Prozesse und prägt damit die Erfahrungen, die man auf einer Reise macht. Gleichzeitig sind damit auch verschiedene andere Dimensionen gemeint: Für das „Hier“ das Nahe oder Vertraute und das „Anderswo“ das Fremde; oder für das „Hier“ das Davor und das „Anderswo“ das Dahinter, das Reale oder Irreale gerade bei den Spiegelungen und Reflexionen.

Was ist „echt“, was sind Spiegelungen? Das ist nicht immer leicht zu beantworten. Der Betrachter wird mitunter verwirrt. (…)  Geometrien werden verkehrt, Dimensionen verändert, Perspektiven ausgedehnt und somit erweitert sich das Dargestellte nicht nur bildlich, sondern auch inhaltlich. (…)

Auch das bedeutet der Titel der Ausstellung: Das Wechselspiel zwischen der [Inspirationsquelle] Fotografie (hier und außen) und dem Malprozess mit seinen Ideen und Gefühlen (anderswo und innen). (…)

Und als Resümee formuliert Gisela Ruth:

„Mich interessiert das allmähliche Malen eines Bildes, Schicht um Schicht, das die Möglichkeit der Überraschung in sich birgt: Die Entdeckung des Zufalls, das Erfinden einer Art und Weise mit einer neuen Malschicht Licht, Tiefe, Raum, Struktur zu bilden, etwas ins Blickfeld zu rücken z. B. durch Schärfe, Kontrastierung oder Reduktion oder etwas verschwinden zu lassen durch Farbangleichung und anderes.“

Meine Damen und Herren, ich freue mich, dass wir heute gemeinsam die Eröffnung einer außergewöhnlichen Ausstellung mit erstklassigen, subtil und gefühlvoll inszenierten Bildwerken erleben dürfen. Dank an die Organisatoren und Gastgeber, aber vor allem an Sie alle für Ihr Kommen und das Interesse an Kunst und Kultur, das wir mit der Künstlerin Gisela Ruth teilen. „Hier und anderswo!“

 

Gisela Ruth  „Hier und anderswo. Malerei und Collage“ — Die Eröffnung am 23. September 2016 in Bodenheim als Film im Magazinformat!  Fotos/Animation: Andreas Weber

 

 

 

valuepublishing-mike-hilton-news-review-19092016-001

 

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 16 September 2016

Welcome to another roundup of 27 news articles posted during the past week, plus one new addition to Online Features from KBA in Nuremberg, with a new long perfector with coating and nine inking units at L/M/B Louko, which scooped this year’s ‘Top Innovator of 2016’ award in Germany.

Then we have Laurel Brunner back with her latest Verdigris environmental Blog, which this week looks at Plastic Dreams. Following which is Nessan Cleary’s very latest Wild Format Technology Guide which explains the basics of the printhead – the heart of an inkjet printer and directly responsible for placing each individual drop of ink on the substrate. This is the ninth article in this new series from by Laurel Brunner, Nessan Cleary, Sonja Angere and Paul Lindström at Digital Dots. All of which can be downloaded as PDFs, with almost 40 still to follow over the coming ten months or so.
On Monday we also announced the first in a new series from Andreas Weber at ValuePublishing entitled ValueTrendAnalysis: Transformation – ‘Beam me up Scotty’. The article is an overture to a series of trend letters and trend studies produced by ValuePublishing together with Muchcommunication.
Our news this week again comprises a completely mixed bag. We have tried to carry all of the current and imminent show-related articles for you which include announcements regarding Photokina in Cologne; from Labelexpo Americas and SGIA Expo which took place last week you will find announcements from EFI, Cerm, Ultimate, Durst, HP, Agfa, Presstek and Xeikon; then we have the agenda for the Inkjet Conference 2016 taking place in Neuss from 4 – 6 October; followed by ProImage, Scodix, KBA, Goss and Presstek at Graph Expo 2016, which opens this coming weekend.
Leading the news on Tuesday: Esko announced more than 120 free online training sessions to be available in a choice of five languages to help Esko’s global customers get the most out of their new software. You’ll find all the details in the article below with links to be able to register.
News leaders this week included Wallpaper Magazine with HP Indigo on Monday teaming up to create 220,000 unique posters for the publication’s 20th anniversary this month. On Wednesday we had HP Inc announce its acquisition of Samsung’s Printer Business, with the aim of disrupting the copier segment by reinventing and replacing service-intensive copiers with superior multifunction printing technology.
Recent sales and installations successes began on Monday with Manroland Sheetfed at Dongguan Xincai Packaging in China; Tuesday saw Heidelberg at Newnorth Print in the UK with the very latest Stahlfolder KH 82 combination model with Palamides delivery; then Esko in Brazil with the milestone 3000th CDI – a CDI Spark 5080 for trade house Clicheria Blumenau – its fifth Esko CDI.
Among the various articles you will find quite a bit of new kit, including EFI with an enhanced Jetrion for labels; Mimaki with new wide-format inkjet direct sublimation for textiles, combining printing and heating for colour fixation into a single footprint; also HP with a new Latex Printer series at SGIA on Friday.


My tailender for the week from Tuesday’s headlines is the Blog Post relating to the K-Show (the world’s number one event for plastics and rubber) from 19 – 26 October in Düsseldorf: by Chris Winczewski at X-Rite Pantone. Not exactly printing as such, but extremely interesting and related – since X-Rite and Pantone and colour control are so closely related to our own industry, and the K-Show is becoming more relevant as production boundaries become blurred in our fast changing world.


That’s it until next time. 

My best regards, 

Mike Hilton

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

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

Mon 12 September…   
Wallpaper* and HP customise commemorative posters
HP Indigo and Wallpaper* magazine team up to create 220,000 unique posters for the publication’s 20th anniversary this month…

ValueTrendAnalysis: Transformation – ‘Beam me up, Scotty!’
This article is the overture to a series of trend letters and trend studies produced by ValuePublishing together with the global expert…

Sawgrass: The Art of Sublimation at Photokina 2016
Sawgrass will showcase its full portfolio of sublimation solutions from 20 to 25 September 2016 in Cologne…

Contact Originators is now a Flint FlexoExpert in the UK
Based in Bredbury, Stockport, the beta customer has successfully passed through the FlexoExpert certification programme…

Dongguan Xincai Packaging adds 10-colour Roland 700
Forward-thinking Dongguan Xincai Packaging in China puts its faith in the Roland 700 with coating, UV and InlineFoiler…

Tue 13 September…   
Esko launches global series of free training Webinars
More than 120 free online training sessions help Esko customers to get the most out of new software…

TheIJC 2016 in Neuss unveils extensive agenda
With just over two weeks to go, the The Inkjet Conference confirms the most involving agenda in the event’s history…

Bespoke training course for apprentice ink technician
Gilmour and Dean Limited work with Attain Training in the UK to expand and invest through apprenticeships…

Newnorth Print adds automated Stahlfolder KH 82
Newnorth increases its B1 folding capacity with combination model with Palamides Alpha 500hd delivery…

Mimaki’s new direct sublimation printer for textiles
The Tx500P-3200DS wide-format solution combines printing and heating for colour fixation into a single footprint…

Wed 14 September…   
HP to acquire Samsung’s Printer Business
Aim is to disrupt copier segment, and to reinvent and replace service-intensive copiers with superior multifunction printing technology…

EFI unveils latest Jetrion 4950LXe LED inkjet and ERP
EFI debuts enhanced Jetrion label inkjet production and ERP Workflow innovations at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont…

Cerm at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Inspiration and Collaboration will be a central theme for Cerm at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont, from 13 – 15 September…

Ultimate TechnoGraphics brings AutoNesting to SGIA
Ultimate TechnoGraphics to showcase Impostrip’s latest AutoNesting in Las Vegas from 14 – 16 September 2016…

ProImage to launch latest workflow at Graph Expo 2016
ProImage has announced the launch of its new generation of newspaper production workflow: NewsWay-X…

Thu 15 September…  

Esko’s 3000th CDI to Clicheria Blumenau in Brazil
The CDI Spark 5080 and software solutions package, and its fifth CDI, supports the leading trade shop’s plate production…

Durst uses Labelexpo to push its label capabilities
Durst uses Labelexpo Americas to announce important steps forward in the capabilities of its label products…

EFI Armor UVF clear coat on display at SGIA Expo
EFI non-yellowing Armor clear coat extends Avery Dennison textured wall films durability to five years…

X-Rite Pantone: Plastics focus for K-Show 2016
Blog Post relating to the K-Show 19 – 26 October: By Chris Winczewski, corporate strategy and innovation exec at X-Rite Pantone…

KBA’s new VariJET 106 sheetfed hybrid Powered by Xerox
New modular hybrid press for folding cartons integrates KBA Rapida platform with Xerox inkjet technology: intro at Graph Expo…

Fri 16 September…   
Scodix drupa success to flow into Graph Expo 2016
Coming off drupa, where Scodix sold over 150 presses, adoption of Scodix digital enhancement is in full swing worldwide…

Goss International and Presstek at Graph Expo 2016
Goss, Presstek and Contiweb to showcase their latest product innovations and partnership success…

Agfa outshines competition in UV flatbed and hybrid
Agfa Graphics wins three Product of the Year awards for inkjet technology for second year in a row at SGIA Expo 2016…

HP unveiled its new Latex 300 Printer series at SGIA
New HP Latex 315, 335 and 365 printers help customers gain affordable access to more application opportunities…

EFI at the 2016 SGIA Expo in Las Vegas this week
A complete portfolio and new market opportunities highlight EFI’s mission and passion to fuel customer success…

Xeikon Laser Die-cut Unit at Labelexpo Americas
Self-adhesive label converting affordable as short runs made easy with Xeikon Laser Die-cut Unit (LDU)…

Presstek Zahara plates at Labelexpo Americas
Codimag demonstrated the benefits of chemistry-free, waterless offset live with Presstek’s Zahara plates…

Last lead articles from Friday in previous update… 

AVT and HP Indigo at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Visitors will be able to see advanced integration between AVT and the HP Indigo 8000 and 20000 digital presses…

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, packaging and finishing, all with complementary consumables. Heidelberg has 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’ with the slogan ‘touch the future’. The issues of ‘package printing’, ‘multichannel’, ‘green printing’, ‘3D printing’, and ‘functional printing’ will become increasingly important to the overall communication strategy. To find out more, visit the drupa 2020 Website.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2016
Only 35 so far this year, with well over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page, with prior years in our Archives.

Downloads 2016 Chapter 01

Previous…   
Two Sides Global Research Survey 2016
Consumers still value print & paper, but environmental misunderstandings persist due to serious lack of awareness…

Technology-related Chapter 02

Online Features Sep/Oct Chapter 07

L/M/B Louko in Nuremberg adds long KBA Rapida 106
Print industry’s top innovator invests in KBA Rapida 106 with nine inking units, perfecting and coater…

Previous…   
First Swing sponsored by Canon South Africa
The benefits of the South African Disabled Golf Association’s First Swing programme for disabled children, showcased in action at Zwartkop Country Club…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2016

Plastic Dreams
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 16 Sep

Previous…   
Standards for Sustainability
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 26 Aug

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017 of new guides. The first four can be found in this special section on the Website, listed in the Index on the Home Page. All have PDFs for downloading.

Latest No 9… The basics of printheads
In many respects the printhead is the heart of an inkjet printer, directly responsible for placing each individual drop of ink on the substrate. By Nessan Cleary

5… Where Do You Start your Wild Format Project?
The range of what’s possible with digital inkjet technology just keeps on growing. There are so many production options to choose from… By Laurel Brunner

6… Wide format Inkjet Basics
Wide format printing has grown at an astronomical rate over the past decade, mainly because it can cope with a growing range of applications. By Nessan Cleary

7… To Judge a Book by Its Cover
Despite the old proverb, humans are prone to judge their fellow man by first impressions, so appearances are important. By Sonja Angerer

8… Workflow Basics for Wide Format Projects
While the creative part of a printing project involving wide, or very, very wide-format production should be unrestrained and ‘wild’ (allowing yourself to think out-of-the-box). By Paul Lindström

FESPA Newsroom
The FESPA Newsroom can be found via the Index on our Home Page.

FESPA Federation News in 2016

Most recent…   
Let your imagination fly at FESPA Eurasia 2016
Speciality print exhibition returns to the CNR Expo in Istanbul, Turkey for the fourth year in December…

Exhibitors present latest technologies at FESPA Mexico
New products and technologies for wide-format, digital and screen print, garment decoration, signage, software and consumables…

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

drupa daily to download as PDFs
These eleven jam-packed drupa daily news issues are ready to read now. They contain hundreds of superb articles, interviews, features and news. You can download each one complete as a PDF…

drupa 2016 Exhibitors’ at show + post-show News
Latest additions of 86 in total are now in alphabetical order can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom.

drupa 2016 News from Exhibitors (now in alphabetical order)
The series of over 240 pre-show articles can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom in alphabetical order.

post-drupa 2016 News from Messe Düsseldorf

Decisive impulses for the global print industry at drupa
drupa 2016 was a resounding success with excellent business deals concluded in an outstanding investment climate…

drupa ante portas Blogs 2016
Includes the tenth and final article in this series from Andreas Weber in Mainz, Germany…

drupa 2016 Expert Articles – and more
Includes the eleventh and final article in this series from Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO and president of Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and drupa president 2016…

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

Antalis South Africa, Canon SA, Screen Europe,  Drupa 2020,  Esko,  FESPA.  Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG,  HP Graphic So lutions, Kemtek Imaging Systems,  Krause-Biagosch,  Leonhard Kurz Stiftung,   Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Muller Martini AG,  Ricoh Europe,  Sappi LimitedThunderbolt Solutions, 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.netPO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia.  e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

valuepublishing-mike-hilton-news-review-12092016-001

One of the top exhibitors: Leonhard Kurz at Luxe Pack in Monaco from 21 – 23 September

 

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 09 September 2016

Welcome to another roundup of news articles posted during the past week. You will find quite a nice selection below, including upcoming appearances at various events led by Leonhard Kurz at Luxe Pack in Monaco from 21 – 23 September (on Monday); Sun Chemical at K 2016 in Düsseldorf from 19 – 26 September (Tuesday); Toray at WAN-IFRA’s World Publishing Expo in Vienna from 10 – 12 October; EFI at Graph Expo in Orlando from 24 – 26 September; and then Industrial Inkjet (Konica Minolta) at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont from 13 – 16 September (all on Wednesday). Then we have Fujifilm at InPrint 2016 in Milan, from 15 – 17 November; and Spandex at the Print Show from 11 – 13 October at the NEC, Birmingham (on Thursday); and finally AVT and HP Indigo with advanced integration to be shown live for the first time at Labelexpo Americas 2016 (leading the news on Friday).

One article in Online Features not to be missed this week came from Canon South Africa, highlighting the benefits of the South African Disabled Golf Association’s First Swing programme for disabled children, and showcased in action at the Zwartkop Country Club near Pretoria. Please don’t skip it. The four latest Wild Format Technology Guides are also complete, with links below. A key software announcement this week from Esko on Monday, with a new clean-sheet design of ArtPro+ which brings fresh innovation to packaging design and prepress with its native PDF editor. On Thursday you will find the latest additions to the new high performance Select flatbed inkjet series from Fujifilm; while on Friday, FFEI introduces both an extended colour gamut and linerless label production for its hybrid Graphium press, enabling converters to address new sectors digitally.


Of particular interest on an environmental note this week on Wednesday, is Brunel Print which claims to be the first UK printer to make all its production carbon neutral without customers incurring a charge for it. This article is by Gareth Ward at the Print Business. I thought those with an environmental interest ought to see it. This was followed by UPM and leading the news on Thursday, as it retains its industry leader position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index for the fifth time in a row. Major sales and installations this week began on Tuesday with Sexton Printing, which expects a 40 per cent increase in productivity with its new Speedmaster XL 75-5+L from Heidelberg; from Healeys, as it meets increased demand for A4 property brochures with an investment in a Horizon landscape bookletmaker; and from York Repro-Graphic as it turns to Asahi’s AWP flexographic plates for fixed colour palette printing – all three are based in the UK. On Wednesday, KBA North America announced a flood of orders and installations for East Coast printing companies; while on Friday to finish the week in style, Fine Print UK is taking the LE-UV route with its latest £1m high-specification Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE-UV investment; while Rotolito Lombarda group has expanded its digital production capabilities with a new HP Indigo 12000 Digital Press in Milan, Italy; KBA announced a large-format Rapida 164 with coater and triple delivery extensi on for Printcenter Eesti in Maardu, Estonia; and lastly: Kase Printing in North America is set to install an automated Stahlfolder TH 82 6/6/4 (debuted at drupa) to complement its two existing Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 presses. There’s a lot more if you scroll down carefully including what SPGPrints is doing in Kufstein, Austria; but as my tailender for this week: Xeikon announced on Friday that it has promoted Filip Weymans who previously served as director segment marketing Labels & Packaging, to vice president marketing at Xeikon. Congratulations Filip on a nice reward for all the effort and hard work.

That’s it until next time.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

ValuePublishing Transformation 22082016.001

Don’t miss to read “Transformation — “Beam me up, Scotty”  by Andreas Weber. A brillant and inspiring ValueTrendAnalysis report.


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

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

Mon 05 September…   
Leonhard Kurz at Luxe Pack Monaco 2016
Packaging trends and a host of ideas for current and future product finishing innovations, 21 – 23 September…

Esko’s completely redesigned ArtPro+ improves productivity
Esko’s new clean-sheet design ArtPro+ brings innovation to packaging design and prepress with native PDF editor…

EFI announces new DFE for Konica Minolta
New EFI Fiery Digital Front End provides higher performance for Konica Minolta bizhub press 1052e and bizhub press 1250e/P…

Apex to provide anilox service to KBA Cortina users
KBA and Apex start cooperation for the reconditioning of anilox rollers for waterless Cortina web presses…

SPGPrints to boost manufacturing capacity in Kufstein
SPGPrints invests in manufacturing expansion in Kufstein, Austria for production of the Javelin textile printer…

Tue 06 September…   
Sun Chemical and Coates Screen Inks at K 2016
Sun Chemical to launch latest generation compliant ink at K 2016 from 19 – 26 October in Düsseldorf…

Manroland Web Systems hosts Mohn Media apprentices
35 apprentices from Mohn Media visited the production Manroland Web Systems’ site in Augsburg in August…

Sexton adds Speedmaster XL 75 with Prinect Inpress Control
Sexton Printing expects a 40 per cent increase in productivity with Speedmaster XL 75-5+L from Heidelberg…

Healeys creates new production landscape with Horizon
Increased demand for landscape A4 property brochures prompts Ipswich printers to invest in SPF-FC/200L bookletmaker…

YRG adopts Asahi water wash AWP flexographic plate
York Repro-Graphic Group in the UK turns to Asahi’s AWP flexographic plates for fixed colour palette printing…

Wed 07 September…   
Toray Industries at World Publishing Expo 2016
Toray to show new newspaper waterless offset printing plates, plate chemistry and processors in Vienna in October…

EFI leads the industry in the Must See ‘Ems awards
Eight Graph Expo awards again reflects EFI’s dedication to making customers more competitive and profitable…

Industrial Inkjet Limited at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Label customisation to take a quick step forward for IIJ at Labelexpo with world’s fastest UV inkjet print system…

Brunel makes Carbon Neutral the only way it prints
Brunel Print claims to be the first UK printer to make all its production carbon neutral without customers incurring a charge for it…

US East Coast explodes with new KBA press installations
Key print titans choose KBA for design, intelligent technology, automated solutions, and meticulous engineering…

Thu 08 September…  
UPM listed as the forest and paper industry leader
UPM retains the industry leader position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index for the fifth time in a row…

EFI appoints GSW South Africa for inkjet portfolio
EFI wide- and superwide-format printers now available from Graphix Supply World in South and Southern Africa and more…

Fujifilm Inkjet technologies at InPrint 2016 in Milan
Fujifilm to demonstrate extensive range of industrial inkjet applications at InPrint 2016, from 15 – 17 November…

Spandex to exhibit at the Print Show 2016
At the NEC in October, visitors will find a wide range of wide-format and sign making equipment and materials…

Fujifilm announces new Acuity Select HS 30 series
Latest addition to the new high performance Select flatbed inkjet series is yet another step up in performance and quality…

Fri 09 September…  
AVT and HP Indigo at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Visitors will be able to see advanced integration between AVT and the HP Indigo 8000 and 20000 digital presses…

Filip Weymans named Vice President Marketing at Xeikon
Xeikon has promoted Filip Weymans who previously served as director Segment Marketing Labels & Packaging…

FFEI Graphium hybrid: Enhanced media handling and finishing
FFEI’s extended colour gamut and linerless label production enables converters to address new sectors digitally…

Fine Print Services elects to go LE-UV with Heidelberg
Fine Print is taking the LE-UV route with its latest £1m high-specification Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE-UV investment…

New HP Indigo 12000 at Rotolito’s Nava Press in Milan
Rotolito Lombarda group has expanded its digital production capabilities with HP Indigo 12000 Digital Press…

Record export from Germany to Estonia for KBA
Rapida 164 with coater and triple delivery extension for Printcenter Eesti in Maardu, Estonia…

Kase to double production with new Stahlfolder TH 82
Kase Printing set to install automated Stahlfolder TH 82 6/6/4 to complement its two Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 presses…

Last lead articles from Friday in previous update… 

KBA North America at Graph Expo 2016
KBA to share its dynamic technology, Drupa introductions and new partnerships in Orlando this month…

Digital Information at Graph Expo 2016 in Orlando
Digital Info to launch InkZone Inline fully automated colour measurement and colour control for web offset from 25 to 28 September…

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, packaging and finishing, all with complementary consumables. Heidelberg has offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2016 (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’ with the slogan ‘touch the future’. The issues of ‘package printing’, ‘multichannel’, ‘green printing’, ‘3D printing’, and ‘functional printing’ will become increasingly important to the overall communication strategy. To find out more, visit the drupa 2016 Website.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2016
There were again well over 70 last year, 90 in 2014, and over 90 in 2013 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page, with prior years’ via Search Archives (option 2).

Downloads 2016 Chapter 01

Two Sides Global Research Survey 2016
Consumers still value print & paper, but environmental misunderstandings persist due to serious lack of awareness…

Technology-related Chapter 02

Online Features Sep/Oct Chapter 07

First Swing sponsored by Canon South Africa
The benefits of the South African Disabled Golf Association’s First Swing programme for disabled children, showcased in action at Zwartkop Country Club…

Online Features Jul/Aug Chapter 06

New installation for Druckerei Münch in Bayreuth
Further KBA Rapida 105 for the postcard and greetings card specialist in Bayreuth, upper Franconia, Germany…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2016

Previous…   
Standards for Sustainability
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 26 Aug

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017 of new guides. The first four can be found in this special section on the Website, listed in the Index on the Home Page. All have PDFs for downloading.

5… Where Do You Start your Wild Format Project?
The range of what’s possible with digital inkjet technology just keeps on growing. There are so many production options to choose from… By Laurel Brunner

6… Wide format Inkjet Basics
Wide format printing has grown at an astronomical rate over the past decade, mainly because it can cope with a growing range of applications. By Nessan Cleary

7… To Judge a Book by Its Cover
Despite the old proverb, humans are prone to judge their fellow man by first impressions, so appearances are important. By Sonja Angerer

8… Workflow Basics for Wide Format Projects
While the creative part of a printing project involving wide, or very, very wide-format production should be unrestrained and ‘wild’ (allowing yourself to think out-of-the-box). By Paul Lindström

FESPA Newsroom
The FESPA Newsroom can be found via the Index on our Home Page.

FESPA Federation News in 2016

Most recent…   
Let your imagination fly at FESPA Eurasia 2016
Speciality print exhibition returns to the CNR Expo in Istanbul, Turkey for the fourth year in December…

Exhibitors present latest technologies at FESPA Mexico
New products and technologies for wide-format, digital and screen print, garment decoration, signage, software and consumables…

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

drupa daily to download as PDFs
These eleven jam-packed drupa daily news issues are ready to read now. They contain hundreds of superb articles, interviews, features and news. You can download each one complete as a PDF…

drupa 2016 Exhibitors’ at show + post-show News
Latest additions of 86 in total are now in alphabetical order can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom.

drupa 2016 News from Exhibitors (now in alphabetical order)
The series of over 240 pre-show articles can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom in alphabetical order.

post-drupa 2016 News from Messe Düsseldorf

Decisive impulses for the global print industry at drupa
drupa 2016 was a resounding success with excellent business deals concluded in an outstanding investment climate…

drupa ante portas Blogs 2016
Includes the tenth and final article in this series from Andreas Weber in Mainz, Germany…

drupa 2016 Expert Articles – and more
Includes the eleventh and final article in this series from Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO and president of Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and drupa president 2016…

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

Antalis South Africa, Canon SA, Screen Europe,  Drupa 2016,  Esko,  FESPA.  Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG,  HP Graphic So lutions, Kemtek Imaging Systems,  Krause-Biagosch,  Leonhard Kurz Stiftung,   Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Muller Martini AG,  Ricoh Europe,  Sappi LimitedThunderbolt Solutions, 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.

ValuePublishing Transformation 22082016.001

Roadmap to Transformation: The strategist, speaker, futurist, digital transformer Frank Diana hits the point by sharing his „Future“ scenario.  Source: https://frankdiana.net

 

By Andreas Weber, Head of Value

Click to access german version  |  Read as well the Webinar-Summary!

This article is the overture to a series of trend letters and trend studies produced by ValuePublishing together with the global expert platform @Muchcommunication. The topics revolve around the significance of the transformation of our thinking and behavior, the ways and means by which we live, communicate and do business. —The basis is the analysis and evaluation of around 100 validated, national and global sources of information that are continuously being assessed. More than 300 trade articles with background material, analyses, trend observances and assessments are currently available as resources in the compendium ValueTrendRadar.com.

Intro 

The desire to be able to make Captain Kirk’s legendary phrase “Beam me up, Scotty” in Star Trek a reality has existed for several decades. It stirs up the fascination of transforming one’s own self to get from A to B in real-time and exchange reality with another on the fly. The self is dematerialized, diffused and constructed again — deconstruct, reconstruct!

The initial question is:
Where do we stand today — where are we headed?

The answer: 
We must not let ourselves be led astray by pure technology euphoria. Let us first take a look back to the future!

 

In medias res

For more than a generation, “digitalization” has had a fulminant impact (regardless of how one may interpret the term!); our living environment and real life go hand in hand with fulminant structural changes at ever shorter intervals accompanied by an enormous increase in pressure, thanks to globalization. The daily deluge of countless appeals incites downright panic as we are made aware of the fact that change caused by digital technology is unstoppable. No stone is left unturned. There is no getting around ‘digital transformation’ — on every corner there stands a self-appointed prophet, or even worse, a know-it-all, who points out the scenarios of why what we do, generally speaking, is no longer possible for future success.

A closer look often reveals smokescreens, eyewash, ignorance based on arrogance and consummate dilettantism. New terms are constantly being hawked with hype and their meaning distorted: The world becomes a “digital world”, trade becomes “digital commerce”; media becomes “digital media”, marketing becomes “digital marketing”, transformation becomes “digital transformation”. Everyone needs a “digital strategy”. Added to that are ultimate verbal creations such as “customer obsession”, “pure business” and more.

The consequences: Every day there is virtually something new under the sun. This leads to an exponentially growing confusion that creates more uncertainty than perspective, spurring the know-it-all prophet on to even more ‘good’ deeds… Phew! A vicious circle. For here — figuratively speaking — gasoline is being used to put out the fire.

How can you escape the confusion? Very easily – by thinking about it in peace and quiet and in reflective practice. Steve Jobs led the way when, after years in the diaspora, he introduced the Apple “Think Different” philosophy in the fall of 1997, with the transformation irreversibly changing not only the ailing Apple concern at the time, but also that of the world of IT, of computing, of music, of telecommunications, of movies, of books, of e-learning and so much more with regard to ‘digital lifestyle’. During the preview, Jobs told his closest colleagues succinctly that the key was the return to the “core values” that existed from the beginning and consequently carrying them on. Success proved him right. A manifest, a master plan oriented to the past is what is always first needed to define new guidelines for decades to come. [See: Apple Confidential – Steve Jobs on “Think Different” – Internal Meeting Sept. 23, 1997. ]

 

Transformation begins in the head!

If one continues this line of thought in the context of change, the logical implication is: Transformation begins in the head. And if the mission is successful, it ends there again. This sweeps away all those who lead one to believe that salvation lies in the inexhaustible innovative power of the latest technology. That is a fallacy. Salvation lies in thinking based on a sound human understanding that recognizes fundamental needs and anticipates the new! But beware: The famous phrase “Mens sana in corpore sano” (“a sound mind in a sound body”), should not be considered here, especially as it is no longer taken in the original sense meant by the Roman poet and satirist Juvenal, who used it to criticize hypocritical piety and dancing around the golden calf. 

“If you want to go forward, you first have to go back to the roots!”

Recourse to Roman Antiquity is not out of place in our context. The Latin verb “transformare” means in essence “reform, reconfigure, alter”. That was the focus in ancient Rome; transformation was part of the genetic code of an empire to create not only expansion, but first and foremost culturally uniform value systems and keep them alive over the centuries — or even make them useful for us people of today.

INFO TIP:  Collaborative Research Centre 644 Transformations of Antiquity of the Humboldt University of Berlin, http://www.sfb-antike.de and http://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/termine-31084 .

“Reform, reconfigure, alter” was ultimately the impetus for constituting the United States of America of 1776. Europe as the “mother” of Enlightenment was not in the position then or even generations later to pursue its own awareness. Those who were interested in freedom, independence, human rights, progress and securing one’s livelihood had to emigrate. Transformation was thus inherent in the USA, shaping the creation and culture of a nation, of a free society as well as that of a dynamic economic area; this continues unabated today.

In American English usage, transformation was given an extended meaning: Going back to the early 15th century, it followed the late Middle English “change of shape”, to be augmented in modern times by synonyms such as conversion, metamorphosis, renewal, revolution, shift, changeover, flip-flop, switch, transfiguration, etc. This provoked a special type of transformation that consciously accepts collateral damage, as well as a return to “great minds” such as Johannes Gutenberg, who was chosen Man of the Millennium by the business elite in the USA in 2000. (See Theo Mortimer: The Man of the Millennium, Dublin Historical Record, 2003 https://www.jstor.org/stable/30101421?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Silicon Valley forward thinker Jeff Jarvis dedicated a book worth reading to him: Gutenberg — The Geek. Core message: “According to Jarvis, Johannes Gutenberg, the patron saint of entrepreneurs, would not only approve, but find himself right at home in Silicon Valley today.”

Recently, especially in China since the 1990s, it has been seen how a society and its culture of thousands of years is transforming at breakneck speed, independently of political liberalism. At the center are economic developments arising from growing expertise and broadening communication skills with unique scale and multiplier effects.

If one compares the transformation effects in the USA und China with those in Europe, a strong imbalance becomes apparent as reflected in stock prices and the design of business model concepts. (See: Netzökonom/Dr. Holger Schmidt: Plattform-Index KW 33: Tencent, Baidu und Weibo legen kräftig zu  as well as: Digitale Plattformen – das zentrale Geschäftsmodell für Unternehmen).

 

Source: Dr. Holger Schmidt: Digitale Plattformen. slideshare presentation dated 20. April 2016. 

 

This imbalance is recognized by business leaders in Germany (like in many other countries), but without any suitable counteracting concepts made visible. (See loc. cit.: Digitale Transformation: Deutschlands Top-Manager sehen großen Nachholbedarf).

The main reason for this, apart from a deficit of topical expertise, is the different interpretation of the word meanings. Digitalization is seen as a technical phenomenon and thus a concern for techies. Transformation is evaluated in terms of the pipeline business model and optimization of the existing order – with fatal consequences. There is complete disregard for the fact that in doing so, the term transformation is replaced by its antonym: Stagnation.

This article will be continued with examples of transformation concepts destined to succeed or to fail.

 

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