Pf july august 2015

Vol. XVI • No. 100 • AUGUST 2015

Rs. 20

Key Innovations Showcased in 2015 InterTech Technology Awards

FORUM’s 34th Annual General Meeting in Pictures

Dr. B. Kumar, Vice President - II, giving a brief of THE FORUM

Mr. R.K. Sridharan, Treasurer, presenting Accounts Statement for the year

Mr. K.B.S.Shanmugasundram, Jt. Secretary

Mr. P. Chellappan, President sharing his thoughts on the year’s activities

Mr. M. Venkatesan, Hony. General Secretary, presenting the year’s report

Mr. N.R.Kumar, Committee Member, gave a talk on “Marshmallous - The secret

of success”

Mr. R. Jayaraman, Past President presenting Appreciation Memento to

Mr. Kumar

View of the Members

July - August 2015 / Vol. XVI, No. 100 / Print Forum 1

From President’s Desk

P [email protected]

Dear Members,

An issue that all of us have faced in the recent past is the shortage of qualified and/or trained manpower. A concrete solution to this issue has been taken by the Karnataka Offset Printers Association (KOPA) and The Offset Printers Technology Trust (TOPTET) who have opened a training centre in Bengaluru. Congratulations to them on their achievement.

The growing importance and relevance of digital printing cannot be ignored. This is amply evident from the fact that even traditional printers are slowly embracing this technology. This issue has two articles about the key differentiator between offset and digital printing - Variable Data Printing (VDP), which also happens to be my area of personal interest.

The first article is about how the printing giant HP, with its Mosaic variable data software, helped print a million different shrink sleeve covers for Diet Coke bottles. These sleeves which became a sensational hit with the consumers even turned into collectibles. The next article is about the other major digital printer manufacturer Konica Minolta which has come out with its own variable data software called EngageIT, which works in tandem with InDesign to produce interesting variable data pages.

Continuing the digital printing discussion, the swift advent of this technology into the web printing segment was at display at the ‘2015 London Digital Book Printing Forum’. Another significant change brought about is the complete revolutionising of prepress operations. The articles about innovative concepts like ‘Plate On Demand’ is truly a sign of things to come in all our offices.

Our magazine which has kept us up-to-date with the latest developments in the printing field has a number of interesting write ups in this issue on areas of major growth in printing including flexo- printing.

Our Prime Minister’s key mantra of ‘Make in India’ is slowly catching up. Kudos to two youngsters, Santokh Singh and Khushwant Rai, for developing low cost Braille printers based on Dot Matrix printing technology. They have been recognised appropriately by the National Innovation Foundation which has given them the Innovation Award at the 8th Biennial National Grassroots Innovations Award function held in March at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The HP Print Excellence Awards for the Asia Pacific and Japan region was held in Singapore in mid June this year. 18 awards were won by 11 Indian printers and I am happy to inform you all that my company PM Digital Products was one among them.

We take new steps to improve participation in the forum, we should also look at improving participation in the magazine. Please make the magazine more engaging by sending in your articles to our editor.

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Office-bearers P. Chellappan, PresidentMobile 93810 01810Rm. Senthilnathan, Vice-President IMobile 98410 41997Dr. B. Kumar, Vice-President II Mobile 94440 51707M. Venkatesan, Hony. General SecretaryMobile 98842 74908K.B.S.Shanmugasundram, Hony. Jt Secretary Mobile 98842 74912 R. K. Sridharan, Hony. TreasurerMobile 98416 47690

Committee Members V. S. Raman, 99403 19704R. Venkatasubramanian, 98402 60413S. Giridharan. 98840 30519 V. Vaidyalingam, 93828 67972Nitin Shroff, 98400 22652K.R.S.S. Mahendran 86953 29444 N. R. Kumar, 99401 72067Alan Baretto, 98417 21406Murugavel, 95001 22075

Co-opted MembersT.E. Srinivasan, 98403 55284L. Ramanathan, 87540 16030Nizamappas, 99625 28890

Advisory Committee (Past Presidents of THE FORUM)M. S. NagarajanV. SubramanianVipin SachdevDr. N. SankaranarayananR. NarayananD. RamalingamR. JayaramanR.S.Bakshi

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All communications about THE FORUM and the Journal are to be addressed to Hony. General Secretary The Printing Technologists Forum 25, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai 600 014.

July - August 2015 / Vol. XVI, No. 100 / Print Forum 32 Print Forum / Vol. XVI, No. 100 / July - August 2015

Print ForumRegd. with RNI Under No. 71818/99

July-August Vol. XVI / No. 100The Official Journal ofThe Printing Technologists ForumChennai

In this issue . . .

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n Copyright for all materials published in PRINT FORuM remain with the authors/editors/publishers of the respective magazines books/newspapers from which materials are reproduced.

n The facts set out in PRINT FORuM are from various sources which we believe to be reliable and true to the best of our knowledge. However, we cannot accept no legal liability of any kind for the publication contents, nor for the information contained therein, nor conclusion drawn by any party from it.1

n Further it is notified that neither the Editor, Publisher or the Printer, or the President and his Team of The Forum will be responsible for any damage or loss to anybody arising out of any error or omission in PRINT FORuM. Members/Readers are advised to satisfy themselves about the merits and details of each before taking any decision.

n Articles and materials appearing in the pages of Print Forum are drawn from a number of sources : books, journals, newspapers and internet - current as well as very old. To many editors of various technical journals and newspapers, the accomplished authors and business leaders who have shared their wisdoms and their words whose articles published in these journals, and their publishers, we owe our debts and gratitude which is difficult to assess or acknowledge. We always acknowledge the sources of every article and materials published in every issue of PRINT FORuM at the end of the articles, with our courtesy.

n Ours is a member supported non-profit organisation and our main objective is to spread print-knowledge to all within our limitations and constraints.

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Home-grown technology for currency printing

The CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) here is set to don the role of technology provider for the domestic security printing industry.

The institute is preparing to tap the industry demand for technology to support the indigenous manufacture of fluorescent ink and pigments used to print currency notes and other documents with security features. The Bank Note Press at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, a unit of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India, has approached the NIIST for technology inputs.

Currently, India depends on China and other countries for the industry requirement for fluorescent materials used in security printing of bank notes, cheques, passports, stock certificates, and other high-value documents. Fluorescent inks contain materials that glow under ultraviolet light. They can be printed as a transparent feature or a visible design element on currency to prevent counterfeiting and forgery.

A team from Bank Note Press, Dewas, (BNPD) is scheduled to

visit the NIIST later this month to hold discussions on technology support for indigenous manufacture of fluorescent ink under the Make in India programme. The NIIST holds a patent on a molecule that has potential application in security printing of bank notes. The BNPD prints bank notes of Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100, and Rs.500 denomination. It has its own security printing ink manufacturing unit to meets the requirements of currency printing units in India. “If the partnership materialises, it will be a major step leading to India’s self reliance in materials for strategic applications,” says A. Ajayaghosh, Director, NIIST. The institution has also received enquiries from a couple of firms in Bengaluru and Manipal for technology to manufacture fluorescent ink, dyes and pigments used in textiles, safety equipment and security applications.

“If the pact goes through, the NIIST may go in for reverse engineering after evaluating the molecules we have already isolated,” Dr. Ajayaghosh said. “The industry partnership is expected to help us reorient our research activities towards a need- based approach”. He said the manpower resources

of the Chemical Sciences and Technology division at the NIIST would be augmented by appointing more scientists with expertise. n

Courtesy : www.thehindu.com

Printing tech institute in Guwahati soonPrinting Technologist Consortium of North East has welcomed the Assam Government’s move to set up the first Printing Technology Institute in the Northeastern region.

The Consortium, in a press release, said that the State Government has already alloted 30 bighas of land at Amingaon in North Guwahati for setting up the Instutute and preliminary construction works are expected to start shortly. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had announced the establishment of the Institute in Assam while attending the first-ever international seminar organised by the Consortium in Guwahati in May last.

A meeting was held on September 21 in the chamber of Director, IPR, Assam, Ranjit Gogoi, where Consortium president Pranab Talukdar and other office-bearers were present. The meeting discussed about the preliminary works of the Institute and prepared a road-map, the release said. n


For every

disciplined effort

there is a

multiple reward.

– JIM ROHN

New Braille printer launched

A new Braille printing machine that was inaugurated at the Indian Association for the Blind at Sundararajanpatti in Madurai

“It is the most advanced Braille printing machine in the world”As part of i ts Founder’s Day celebrations, Indian Association for the Blind (IAB) inaugurated a new Braille printer on its campus at Sundararajanpatti here on Saturday.The Braillo 650 W Braille printer, sponsored by State Bank of India DFHI, is one that is more technologically advanced than the existing printers at the Braille press on the campus.“The Brai l lo 650 W printer is manufactured in Norway and is the most advanced Braille printing machine in the world. In the country, there is only one other printer of this grade in Dehradun,” said Abdul Raheem, vice-president of the IAB.Priced at Rs. 85 lakh, the printer can print 650 Braille characters in a second.“The time involved in printing will be minimised. The cost of paper used to print Braille books in our old machines was Rs. 1.60 which will now just cost 80 paise, bringing down the cost of the book by half for the students,” he noted. At present, the computerised Braille press at the IAB, which was established in 2000, prints textbooks for visually

challenged students from Classes 6 to 12 as well as novels, journals and their monthly publication ‘Vizhichaval’, a Braille magazine which aggregates news from various newspapers and magazines.“Through the new addition to our press, we will be able to give students of classes 10,11 and 12 guide books and notes for various subjects. Books for competitive examinations can also be printed in Braille and our monthly newsletter can even be brought out as a bi-monthly since we will be minimising the time spent to print,” said N. Ramani, editor of “Vizhichaval’.Mr. Ramani said a 120-page book could be printed in five minutes.“We can offer visually-challenged students and adults a wider variety of news, articles and books to read through Braille,” he said.K. Aravind, executive vice-president of the SBI DFHI, inaugurated the Braille printer. C. Ramasubramanian, president, IAB, and P.K. Ram, AGM and Branch Head of SBI DFHI, were also present.n


New Braille printer launched 2Home-grown technology for currency printing 3Key Innovations Showcased in 2015 InterTech Technology Awards 4Man who published books that simplified government rules 6‘Intelligent Barcode Solution’ for printing 7More than managing print 8Heidelberg/Masterwork Partnership 11RevolutionaryHigh-resolution Printing Technology for Non-porous Substrates 12Self-employment gives freedom, confidence 13Xerox to fight counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry 14Packaging Opportunities 15The future of chemistry-free plates 17H-UV Curing 18Mark Andy launches online parts store 20Kaliswari installs India’s 1st Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 21Print Software as an Infrastructure Investment 22A Guide to Heidelberg Packaging 23DMI - Dhirubhai Mistry Institute for Print Education, Research & Training 24Letterpress printing kick-starts revival 25Pitney Bowes pledges high-quality with AcceleJet 26


Key Innovations Showcased in 2015 InterTech Technology Awards

taken of a brand color, users can convert the data to CxF/X4 data, and then export it to a PDF/X file, tagging it with color definitions and sequence instructions. The ORIS CxF technology is used to control and verify compliance with the color throughout the supply chain—from brand owners to packaging designers. Judges praised its standards-based and non-proprietary nature as well as its ability to communicate color precisely between multiple graphic service providers.

EFI DirectSmile Cross Media: Electronics for Imaging, Inc.

EFI DirectSmile Cross Media is a solution to the growing demand for effective cross-media communications. It is a fully featured solution that automates the process of executing cross-media campaigns, including sending out mass and individually triggered emails and messages, pushing messages to social media, personalizing print communications, and tracking results. EFI has also streamlined the integration with third-party CRM solutions such as Salesforce.com.

One judge commented, “For years printers have been removed from marketing campaign conversations. DirectSmile credentials them in a way that goes beyond the trade and repositions them as valuable partners.”

Automation Engine Connect: Esko

The complex task of getting third-party software (MIS, shipping, Web storefronts, finance, etc.) to automatically and correctly exchange information with production systems just became easier with Automation Engine Connect. It allows all order information—for example, pricing, quantities, production-related info, and costing—to move to and from systems through the Esko interface. One judge commented, "Integrating the prepress workflow with internal and external business systems enables packaging artwork to be delivered just in time. Esko’s solution lowers the IT hurdle to make different systems communicate with Automation Engine.”

Prinect Media Manager: HeidelbergHeidelberg ’s Pr inec t Media Manager is a browser-based, multi-channel media publishing tool that merges content creation, project management, databasing, and e-commerce, helping to keep marketing messages consistent and timely across all channels. The clever “mind-mapping” interface coordinates the work of everyone connected with a particular job. Media data is stored in a central database, linked logically, managed centrally, and made available to all applications. The judges admired the proactive manner in which resources and content

were managed, recognizing that technologies like these help printing companies transform themselves from conventional service providers into partners able to manage content for their customers’ communication needs.

Highcon Euclid Digital Finishing Technology: Highcon Systems Ltd.

Highcon’s Digi ta l F inishing Technology brings the advantages of digital technology to creasing and cutting papers, labels, folding cartons, and microflute. Creasing is carried out by Highcon’s Digital Adhesive Rule Technology (DART). Data is sent to the DART canister, which releases resin in the form of rules that, once cured, produce hard raised lines. Cutting, perforation, or etching is done by an array of high-powered CO2 lasers. The Euclid technology handles up to 1,500 B1-sized sheets per hour. The judges noted that the dramatic improvement in turnaround time for small to medium converting runs could be enough by itself to justify the technology’s use.

KODAK PROSPER 6000 Presses: Kodak

The KODAK PROSPER 6000 Presses use Kodak’s continuous inkjet technology to produce high quality commercial print products at speeds up to 1,000 feet per minute. New driers, interstation drying, and nano-technology ink let the presses overcome a key inkjet limitation—the ability to print glossy and other coated stock with heavy coverage

at fast speeds. Equally innovative is Kodak’s Intelligent Print System that monitors thousands of inputs and adjusts on the fly to maintain registration and color quality. One judge summed up the panel’s reaction, “The speed and quality are impressive, and the coated samples really got our attention.”

NX advantage, KODAK FLEXCEL NX System: Kodak

The NX advantage feature set for the KODAK FLEXCEL NX System comprises a set of new advanced imaging and screening features that enable flexo printers to print more opaque whites, enhance overprints and reverse print, achieve better spot color printing, and deliver smooth highlight transitions. One aspect of the technology pairs precisely imaged plate surface patterns with anilox volume to improve ink transfer and enables greater color density and opacity with a lower volume of ink. The technology further raises the print quality of flexo, noted the judges, giving printers the ability to compete with the best that gravure printing has to offer.

MGI iFOIL: MGI Digital Technology

The MGI iFOIL is an in-line complement to the company’s JETvarnish 3D UV spot coater (a previous InterTech Award recipient). With an innovative digital process, iFOIL makes embossing and hot foiling easy, requiring no plates, no dies, and no makeready. This allows users to produce hot foil stamping and embossing jobs from one to thousands of sheets on the fly. The

iFOIL can utilize many different types of available market foils in a variety of colors, metallic tones, reflective patterns, and holographic effects. One judge said, “The digital era in package converting has started, and the benefits of iFOIL are clearly apparent.”

X-Rite eXact with Scan Option: X-Rite

T h e h a n d h e l d X - R i t e e X a c t spectrophotometer with Scan Option enables printers

and packaging converters to control, manage, and communicate color across the entire color workflow. The inventive Scan Option lets users rapidly scan color patches without the use of a track, especially beneficial in packaging work where color targets can be hard to access. “The ability to scan multiple color bars in one pass is an incredible advantage,” said a judge. eXact also supports all measurements specified in the latest ISO standards, allowing for predictable results when optical brightening agents and fluorescent materials are involved.

The InterTech stars, recognized as a symbol of technological innovation and excellence, will be presented before an audience of industry leaders during the 2015 Printing Industries of America Premier Print Awards Gala Featuring the InterTech Technology Awards and the Product of Excellence Awards, September 13 in Chicago, IL.

A technology review booklet showcasing all of the year’s entries will be distributed this fall at GRAPH EXPO 15 and with the August issue of Printing Industries of America—The Magazine; the publication will also be available at www.printing.org/InterTech.

For more information about the InterTech Technology Awards, contact Dr. Mark Bohan, Vice President, Technology and Research, Printing Industries of America, at 412-259-1782, [email protected], or visit www.printing.org/InterTech. n

Courtesy : www.myprintresource.com

Printing Industries of America released more information about the ten technologies recently selected to receive a 2015 InterTech Technology Award. An independent panel of judges deliberated over technology nominations which showcased the dynamic and innovative nature of the industry. The judges singled out the following technologies as meeting the award criteria of being truly innovative and expected to have a major impact on the graphic communications industry. The recipient technologies are listed below alphabetically by company:

Océ VarioPrint i300: Canon U.S.A., Inc.

The Océ VarioPrint i300 is a color sheetfed inkjet press that bridges the gap between the flexibility and efficiency of toner-based sheetfed presses and the economy and productivity of web-fed inkjet systems. It can cost effectively run both monochrome and color jobs up to a B3 format at a top speed of 294 letter images per minute. Its print heads produce 600 x 600 dpi, achieving a perceived 1200 dpi with drop size modulation. The judges singled out the Océ VarioPrint i300 as a technology that will have a significant impact on the industry by opening up inkjet to the cut sheet market.

ORIS CxF : CGS Publishing Technologies International LLCORIS CxF is one of the first commercial implementations of the ISO standard that established the Color Data Exchange Format (CxF/X) for spot color characterization data. After measurements are


Ricoh India introduces ‘Intelligent Barcode Solution’ for printing

Ricoh India Limited, provider of digital office equipment, IT services, has introduced Ricoh’s Intelligent Barcode Solution (IBS) software that enables a wide range of Ricoh Multifunctional Products (MFPs) & Printers to print barcode and optical character recognition (OCR).

Ricoh has launched IBS in order to meet the requirements of today’s customers and make the work environment more flexible and functional.

Today, many businesses print barcode and OCR that are used to keep track of inventory and mission critical documents with the help of a separate device or supplementary hardware. The user-friendly design enhances productivity for businesses operating in the SAP environment by automatically translating the Barcode language into the Ricoh print driver language without interrupting the work flow.

IBS seamlessly integrates with Ricoh MFPs and Printers to expand functionality and also has built-in function that eliminates the need for programing modification, thus reducing the programmer’s workload.

“In today’s demanding business world, companies are looking for MFPs/Printers that can handle beyond just normal workflow, demanding solution that is embedded or compatible with existing units. Ricoh has introduced IBS with the objective to provide a solution to the customer that is cost effective, reliable, reduces workload and makes the process efficient by streamlining the workflow further” said Manoj Kumar, managing director and CEO, Ricoh India Ltd.

IBS will offer companies a versatile solution that works efficiently with input-output control options such as paper tray selection, duplex, staple and hole punch. It also allows multiple users to access Ricoh MFP’s/Printer’s features without special configuration.

Users do not have to modify application software as IBS automatically translates to Ricoh code. Ricoh’s IBS is very much cost-effective for customers as it brings barcode printing into the office while optimizing the capabilities of the existing Ricoh MFPs/Printers. n

Courtesy : www.computer.financialexpress.com

Why does the print disappear when an ATM receipt is exposed to sunlight?

ATM receipts (recently even bus tickets are issued with the same kind of print-outs) are made by a simple printing method called thermal printing. It is based on the principle of thermochromism, a process of change in colour with heating.

Thermal printing essentially works by creating impressions using print-heads over a special kind of paper roll (found in ATMs, vending machines) coated with organic dyes, waxes. The paper used is a special thermal paper that is impregnated with mixture of a dye and a suitable matrix such as a fluoran leuco dye and an octadecylphosphonic acid. When the print-head made of regular array of minuscule heating elements receives the signal for printing, it raises the temperature to the melting point of the organic coating to cause print impression on the paper roll through the process of thermochromism. Usually black-colour print-outs are obtained, but it is also possible to generate red print-outs by controlling the temperature of print heads.

It is common to see these print-outs fade over time even when stored at normal room temperature. More so when heated or brought near a candle flame and when exposed to heat of sunlight. Continuous exposure to sunlight generates a lot of heat, much above the melting point of these coatings, to cause irreversible damage to chemical composition of the coating eventually leading to fading or disappearance of the printed matter. n


P Muthuswamy: The man who published books that simplified government rules

All central government offices have a rule book written by P Muthuswamy. Who was the man and how did he come to write these books?

Some time in 1955, M Subbalakshmi, a Tamil housewife in her 20s, had spent long hours on a cyclostyle machine at her rented house in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, helping her husband make numerous copies of notes he had prepared for departmental tests. She did not know the importance of what she was doing; only that the copies were to be distributed among his colleagues who were preparing for the same tests.So she could never imagine that this would eventually turn out to become the country’s popular database of rules and norms of bureaucracy. Neither could she imagine that it would eventually lead her husband, P Muthuswamy, an accountant in the post and telegraph department, to establish Swamy Publishers, which would grow into a brand name in the years to come.“It was my grandmother’s greatest dream to get her son a government job. She sold all her jewellery and shifted to Trichy for his education. Once he got a government job, he started writing more departmental tests for promotion, and that was how it all began. Notes he used to prepare for his exams became popular among his colleagues and my mother used to help him prepare copies to distribute among his friends. Then others he had never met heard of the notes and asked him for them and he began charging a nominal amount for them,” she says.In 1957, Muthuswamy published the first book, Pension Rules Made Easy, a small handbook that sold for Rs 3. “Initially, the entire family was

involved in the publishing process, from preparation to packaging to sending them by Value Payable Posts (VPP),” says Chennai-based Brinda Venkataramanan, eldest daughter of Muthuswamy and the managing director of Swamy Publishers, who vividly remembers those days when her mother would sit and count the VPP receipts, struggling to tally them with the days’ accounts. “Agents finally stepped in when they became aware of its growing popularity. By the time my father was transferred to Kolkata in 1965, Swamy Publishers had become a well-known enterprise,” says Venkataramanan. Her younger sister, Uma Balasubramaniam, is in charge of their Delhi office.Muthuswamy, who was from T h a n j a v u r i n Ta m i l N a d u , completed his education from Ranganathapuram village and moved to the University of Madras. After he graduated in BA Economics, he joined the postal department as a clerk in 1941. After the success of the first book, he went on to publish three more books by 1958, each immensely popular. “Appa was a workaholic and he would sometimes work through the night. His other passion involved cycles. Before his publishing work became popular, he would buy old cycles, repair them and sell them,” she says. After working in Kolkata for three years, Muthuswamy was posted back to Chennai in 1968. It was only in 1992 that Swamy Publishers opened their Delhi office.In teres t ingly , the man who popularised the rules and norms of central government employees,

found himself at the centre of a controversy when his seniors found out that he was running a publishing house alongside. It was in violation of the code of conduct for government servants, which does not allow them to be involved in any other business enterprise. “He stood by his stand that he was serving others and making governance easy by reducing misinterpretation of rules.Considering the fact that even government departments officially subscribed to his books, the ministry of home affairs and finance finally issued a special permission for him to retain the business,” says Venkataramanan. The ministry had also exempted him from paying any part of his income to the government.Swamy Publishers now publishes at least 75 titles; their first book is in its 37th edition. Sixty years later, its rule books have found their way into most government offices. More titles such as Swamy’s Leave Rules Made Easy, Swamy’s Pay Rules Made Easy and Swamy’s Income Tax on Salaries are being added to the list, besides handbooks on anti-corruption rules, RTIs and other relevant issues. While the printing has now been outsourced, Venkataramanan heads the editorial team of 10. Their best advertisement is still word of mouth. “We have never been into aggressive business tactics. After all, this is a service, though we have to run it in a sustainable manner,” she says.Rulebooks apart, Muthuswamy’s other legacy is the higher secondary school he started in Porur near Chennai, five years before his death in February 2000. He had always been inspired by PS Sivaswamy Iyer, a prominent lawyer in British India and the advocate general of Madras presidency, who had donated his wealth to start a school in his village. It was where Muthuswamy had studied. “Iyer was always in his mind. Appa asked me if I would be able to run a school if he opens one,” Venkataramanan says. The school now has over 2,200 students and 80 teachers. n

Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com


More than managing printMIS systems now communicate with the many parts of a modern print business to maximise benefit.

Management information systems (MIS) have moved a long way since the days when they were clunky. They now present a more intuitive proposition. Today’s MIS packages are not your dad’s management information system. They are a piece of true 21st century software ingenuity.

What is more, MIS is now moving towards a cloud-based service, meaning printers are never out-of-date with their software, pulling down the latest versions from remote servers in the form of Software as a Service (SaaS), rather than loading the contents of a purchased set of CD-ROMs that arrived in a cereal-box like package. Forget the 2000s – today’s MIS is increasingly connecting with web-to-print systems (W2P) and offering customer-driven online print estimating.

Kingprint 60% online ordersAt Kingprint in Ballarat, which prints books and general commercial jobs, around 60 per cent of work now comes from online orders, a massive jump from six years ago, when the ratio was three-to-four per cent, shortly after the Victorian regional company introduced W2P. “Transitioning to online has been a success story with us,” reflects managing director John Schreenan.

Online job orders range from mid-sized to large, with typical book runs of 10,000 up to 50,000. The 37-year-old company, with 12 staff, also offers a broad array of general commercial print to its national customer base, and being located in regional Victoria is no drawback, due to its online capabilities.

Kingprint has integrated Printworxs, its Cloud-based DolphinWorxs MIS, based on Dolphin’s v4 software, with EFI’s Online Print

Solutions platform, the W2P end of the operation – all of it feeding a Xerox FreeFlow Core workflow to Kingprint’s Xerox iGen 150 and Color 1000 digital presses and to its offset complement – a Shinohara A2 five-colour press and a Heidelberg Speedmaster two-colour (for PMS work). The company has further enhanced its options with the recent addition of a Horizon rotary die cutter.

There are two levels of clientele, explains Schreenan. “We have got corporate clients whose artwork and other specifics are catalogued within the system, ready for their next order, and retail and trade clients who can place orders from scratch.” Clients can track their project from job lodgement, through artwork, prepress, print and despatch.

Customers log in and place their order through the EFI OPS system, which prints out a job ticket. Information is then transferred semi-automatically to the DolphinWorxs Printworxs MIS, and a Printworxs job bag is created from pre-existing templates, using the MIS’s estimating, production and CRM. OPS provides client ordering, file uploading, estimating and approvals as well as backend preflighting. Schreenan would like to see the W2P component fully integrate with the MIS component and anticipates that a fully automatic handshake between the EFI and DolphinWorxs ends of the workflow will soon be established

Vendor’s MIS productsS t e p h a n i e G a d d i n , C E O o f DolphinWorxs, says the MIS developer is working on integrations – not only with EFI’s OPS – but with Aleyant’s Pressero, and is in early talks with Workflowz, Australian representative of online editware

Chili Publish. DolphinWorxs offers two MIS products to the Australian market. Printworxs, a Cloud-based MIS, integrates directly to Xero Cloud Accounting. This feature is built into the software and does not require any technical setup. Meanwhile, Dolphin MIS can be set up to integrate to cloud systems such as Xero, but has to be done on an individual basis, because each Dolphin client has a uniquely configured system and workflow.

“Dolphin MIS is a system built around the client’s needs and workflow,” she says. “The modular structure allows clients to buy what they need and fit individual features around existing systems and other third-party applications. It is infinitely flexible and almost every aspect of the software can be configured around clients’ needs and preferences. Printworxs allows work from any internet connected device and subscriptions come with free phone applications.”

MIS vendor printIQ is at the forefront of integrating today’s web innovations into its management software. The company’s director Mick Rowan describes the new breed of web-enabled print management systems as standing out from the traditional MIS products on the market. “Everyone accesses the application from an internet browser. It can be hosted in the cloud, at a local databank, or internally if you have an IT infrastructure. Production staff manage the factory, while customers quote, order and track, all from anywhere in same application.”

Rowan says that with no software to install, and no separate web portal or online ordering system to add on, printIQ “certainly does represent a quantum shift from what most printers are doing right now. The main differentiator between using the printIQ MIS as your W2P solution is that printIQ is more than just a shopping cart. It combines the power of the Quote Intelligence pricing engine with an integrated online ordering process

to give your customers an online experience specifically designed for the complexities of print.

“The combination also removes the need to integrate the online order with your MIS. With printIQ, the online order hits production as soon as the order is confirmed by the customer. This is a smart move, given that integration is rated as one of the biggest frustrations with IT systems,” he says.

Rowan sees printIQ integrating itself into a lean, digital-style production regime, with features such as fast and user friendly quotes turnarounds, W2P and MIS in the one, single system, artwork submitted directly into printIQ with a thumbnail of the PDF appearing on the quote screens, job bag and the invoice, and online payments made through an integrated credit card gateway. There is an interactive job bag that allows recording of time, altering the production path, generating POs and updating job statuses.

Tharstern is one of the pioneering MIS vendors in this market, and Tresta Keegan, managing director of the trans-Tasman company, says the latest generation of its MIS products have all the cloud acumen available today. She reports that around 25 per cent of Tharstern’s Australia-New Zealand users now access its Tharstern Primo product remotely, utilising virtualised environments, working with providers like Rackspace; or creating that infrastructure inhouse to achieve the same result. “In Australia, our first virtualised environment of nearly 100 users was in 2006 and well before cloud was the buzzword it seems to be now.”

In terms of integration with other cloud-based services, Thastern Primo, the majority of new customers coming on board over the last two years have opted for seamless integration with Xero Accounting; and Tharstern has a large site using the features of the cloud-based Netsuite solution - both are in the cloud, where sites using Primo are a mix of Primo in the cloud and

locally hosted onsite in the printer’s environments.

Similarly, Tharstern’s MIS range is fully W2P compatible, explains Keegan. Tharstern has standard tools - APIs and web services using cXML -- so collaborative partnerships with other industry vendors is typically easy to scope, develop and implement. “We have our own web portal product called e4printPRO which seamlessly integrates with Chili Publish for powerful variable data but Primo also seamlessly integrates with partner products like XMPie and Pent Net,” notes Keegan.

“Tharstern UK also offers a range of solutions not so openly adopted in Australasia but the portfolio is reasonably large and it means customers implement solutions that have the features relevant to their particular business objectives.”

Nicola Bisset, group managing director of Optimus, says the UK-based MIS pioneer’s product suite integrates well with W2P products. “At a technical level, a specially designed ‘web service’ uses internet-standard communication protocols; this allows it to receive messages from a variety of sources.

“Typically, these messages would be a request to create a job from a W2P order, or for related information such as to generate a price for an online quote. Because W2P systems utilise a wide range of message formats, once the messages are received by Optimus they are passed to an adapter which then converts them into a form that Optimus can process efficiently. This ‘adapter layer’ also means that Optimus can be easily adapted to talk to a wide range of W2P systems.”

She says that from a standalone MIS perspective, a Cloud-based Optimus dash MIS is able to deal with any process or substrate. “Given the diverse nature of our global industry and client demands, this has proven to be good software matchup for companies that might do things a little differently.”

Steve Leverington, sales and marketing director of Printers Choice, says its B2B solution can be skinned to a customer’s corporate branding. “It keeps track of current stock levels, allowing customers to review and place orders. Features include advanced searching, order status, order approval process and a selection of reports.”

He says the Australian-developed Printer’s Choice MIS, flagship product of the 14-year-old local software company, is a completely integrated solution from online to general ledger. It has the ability to run on Cloud-based servers, enabling companies with little or no network expertise to take advantage of the latest server technology.

W2P for a range of MISAustralian developer Pent Net’s cloud-based W2P integrates with most MIS offerings, including Tharstern, Quote and Print, Dolphin, and EFI’s various MIS products, says Pent Net director Peter Ludwig.

He says Pent Net, an independent Australian software supplier specialising in the print industry, goes further than just integrating with MIS. It also connects to workflows, such Enfocus Switch and Pitstop, as well as Prinergy and Prinect.

“Pent Net’s philosophy is to enable our print customers to automate as much as possible, via connecting with their MIS, as well as their workflow systems, then all the way to their various printers such as HP Indigo, Fuji Xerox, Canon, Ricoh,” adds Ludwig.

MyPrintCloud is a W2P Cloud solut ion with an integrated print management suite to help commercial PSOs and design houses have instant web presence. Lucas Eyre, global business manager for MyPrintCloud, notes that it is shipped with a ready Retail Web-to-Print store, a catalogue of thousands of professional templates, and is as easy to use as a self-design tool and a shopping cart.


“The Web Stores are t ightly incorporated with our integrated print management solution which enables you to collaborate across your processes effectively,” he says. “We also provide a CRM and Email Campaigning module to help companies build relations with their customers in an effective manner and keep track of their sales. The main aim of this comprehensive Print Enterprise Solution is to take the local print and design businesses a step forward, and build loyalty with existing customers in corporate and retail, while building a brand name for MyPrintCloud at the same time.”

Whirlwind for W3PAndrew Cester, CEO of Whirlwind Print, a major trade printer located at Knoxfield in Melbourne, is a print ecommerce visionary. He sees flexibility and speed as the keys to the future of commercial printing nd predicts that MIS, equipped with cloud capability and web-to-print, will become the preferred model, as print buyers will be able to complete the majority of a design brief from their tablets, from where it can be fed into a remotely located art department, prepress and onto the presses.

These days, MIS is a concept that reaches far beyond simple order taking, even if that has long ago migrated online. The power of the web carries far more potential for print transactions than that.

Nineteen-year-old Whirlwind Print began as a graphic design agency and its heart has always been in this phase of the printing process, reflects Cester. So it was only natural that it would one day invest itself fully in design-rich web-to-print, a concept that is ingeniously being marketed as W3P, to differentiate it from W2P, which omitted design templates from the web equation.

Whirlwind’s W3P offerings, through exclusive Australian rights to UK design company Grafenia, were announced by Whirlwind to

industry acclaim last year. There is w3client, which enables print buyers and ad agencies to create customer-specific, editable templates from Adobe InDesign in as little as ten minutes, and have them ready as orders, complete with print-ready PDFs. And there is w3shop, aimed at SMEs and micro-businesses, which can order online using a library of over 80,000 design templates and 25 million photos from Grafenia’s Fotolia image collection.

Cester tells ProPrint that since Whirlwind launched its W3P services, more than 100 Australian PSOs have signed up and he forecasts further rapid growth. Some printers have signed up for the w3client MIS alone, which enables integration with various financial software, such as Xero, and can generate invoicing, or be interfaced with internal financial systems.

However, most of Whirlwind’s printer clients have chosen the full online print management solution, including in their package w3shop, which can be transparently integrated as a tab in their websites. For example, Design To Print Solutions in Somerville on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, a Whirlwind client, has transformed its website from a relatively static repository of basic company information into a dynamic, content-rich ecommerce platform.

“The printers taking w3shop are either developing specialist niches in terms of their products and services, or else they want to become the most successful printer in their locality,” says Cester. “Right now, less than 30 per cent of printers in Australia have a true transactional website but we believe that will change quickly.”

Ecommerce relationships with w3c l ient and w3shop users around Australia – integrated into Whirlwind’s production hub – have started to pay dividends for Whirlwind, bringing significant amounts of work to its Knoxfield site, keeping things busy on its Komori Lithrones, and increasingly

also on its Xerox iGen and HP Indigo. Cester reflects: “We’re adding value to the design, print and procurement process and that’s the way of the future.”

Choosing a MIS – some pointers“The printer needs to have a clear vision about the problem – or multiple problems – they are trying to solve by installing the MIS. Knowing what they want to achieve from the MIS and communicating this to the vendor prior to install means far less miscommunication. It also allows you to select the MIS based on its strengths and best features to suit the problems you are trying to solve.”

S t e p h a n i e G a d d e n , C E O , DolphinWorxs“Set aside resources to get the job done. Do the work to get the solution going in the shortest period of time. It is not a destination, it is a journey. Make sure that you review your solution every six months with your staff and also with the solutions provider. Staff leave, customers’ requirements change, there may be new machinery in your business, and this can all affect how you use or integrate your MIS solution into your business.”

Steve Leverington, Sales & marketing director, Printers Choice“An MIS in our experience is an investment motivated by many different reasons and desires. Often these are born out of a particular bottleneck or multiple inefficiencies that bring a business to the point where doing nothing is no longer an option. A good MIS can accurately reflect sales, production and financial data in a myriad ways, in isolation and in combined form. Therefore the choices are numerous, so the key to preparing an MIS to be utilised to the best of its functionality is, in simple terms, to ensure that the company knows what specific emphasis they want presented from the get-go.”

Nicola Bisset, Group managing director, Optimus“A printer needs to make sure that their MIS supplier is willing to work with other software suppliers so that the MIS can be integrated as part of a suite of software solutions including W2P and workflow. Then over time, all the various software can be integrated to enable true automation.”

Peter Ludwig, Director, Pent NetAvoiding MIS-takesCustomers must do their due diligence and make sure that they have chosen the right MIS. This is the number one priority. A close second is that the MIS vendor should have a solid local team that understands the market.

The MIS vendor should have a well-structured implementation process with key people to manage the project, pricing, set-up and support.

The data must be correct before entry into the new MIS and this is the perfect time to data-cleanse and take the time to test the current pricing, look at the product mix, and make the right business decisions.

Willingness to change is a strength that should be applauded but the key stakeholders should be aware that an MIS installation may plunge part of the business into confusion for a while; there is no escaping the upheaval. However the benefits, to the business, are enormous if it is executed well. The view of the business, with the right MIS, will be clearer and strategic decisions will be exponentially easier.n

Courtesy : www.proprint.com.au

Successful Start for Heidelberg/Masterwork Partnership

The strategic partnership between Heidelberger Druckmaschinen ( H e i d e l b e r g ) a n d C h i n e s e m a n u f a c t u r e r M a s t e r w o r k Machinery (MK) in the postpress sector for packaging printing has had a successful start. Heidelberg is using its global sales network to sell die cutters and folder gluers produced by Masterwork, plus additional machines for packaging production. It is also providing service support.

In six months, more than 10 machines have been shipped to customers, primarily in Europe, reflecting the partnership’s success. The aim is to continuously increase the volume of business by progressively expanding the product portfolio.

“By using MK products, we can meet the specific demands of our customers on the packaging market,” said Harald Weimer, member of the Heidelberg Management Board responsible for global sales. “They need the best machines for their

individual requirements so as to ensure efficient and cost-effective folding carton production. We offer customers what they need, whether from Heidelberg or a partner. In MK, we’ve found a partner that has impressed us with the quality of its production and innovative research and development. It is a partnership that more than meets our high expectations.”

Continuous Portfolio ExpansionThe partnership between MK and Heidelberg aims to satisfy the growing demand for innovative machines for postpress in the packaging sector. The right products and technologies, comprehensive service, and a rapid supply of spare parts are key. The products that are being distributed include the Promatrix 106 CS and Easymatrix 106 CS diecutters. Future offerings wil l inc lude var ious of f l ine inspection, hot foil embossing, and blanking equipment. n

Courtesy : Heidelberg

The MK Diana Smart folding carton gluing machine is an ideal solution for short and medium runs.


Videojet Introduces Revolutionary High-resolution Printing Technology for Non-porous SubstratesThis Technology Combines MEK-based Industrial Ink Performance With the Simplicity of Thermal Inkjet

Responding to the needs of food packaging, pharmaceutical and cosmetics operations for high resolution coding on non-porous packaging, Videojet Technologies, a leader in coding, marking and printing solutions, introduces its latest innovation in thermal inkjet printers, the Videojet 8610. Utilizing fast-drying inks including MEK-based fluids, the 8610 provides high resolution print on non-porous packaging materials including films, foils, plastics, and coated stocks.

Incorporating a patented cartridge for industrial inks including MEK-based printing fluids, the Videojet 8610 offers the ideal suite of performance attributes for any thermal inkjet solution on the market today. "Videojet has long recognized the growing needs of packaging professionals to in-line print multi-line codes and other high resolution marks, including DataMatrix and QR codes, without modifying their packaging designs. The innovation inherent in the 8610 is our new industrial ink cartridge technology - a fully contained, high resolution print cartridge designed specifically to jet MEK-based inks," commented Chris Riley, President America & Global Functions for Videojet. "Coupled with the automated Cartridge Readiness System™ (CRS), the 8610 print system is ready when you are, regardless of the frequency or length of common line interruptions. The result is the ability to use fast-drying solvent inks such as MEK and still achieve clean, repeatable codes time after time." With print resolutions of up to four times greater than continuous inkjet technology, the 8610 offers near-letter quality printing with excellent

edge acuity, addressing a long-standing need for manufacturers trying to print high resolution marks on these challenging substrates.

The Videojet 8610 print system is comprised of three main components - a controller with user interface, an industrial printhead featuring the innovative Cartridge Readiness System™ and a disposable inkjet cartridge. "For manufacturers with flat, controlled substrates, the 8610 is arguably the simplest MEK printing system available," added Riley. "The 8610 has been designed from the very beginning to focus on simple usability. Maintenance is minimal and only requires an occasional wipe of the print array and the shutter. Ink replenishment is accomplished with a simple cartridge change, a task that can be performed in 15 seconds or less by a novice operator. Additionally, there are no wear parts to replace and no calibration or tuning required - freeing up production personnel to focus on other line demands."

In demanding, high throughput environments, reaching production targets can often mean working packaging lines to the limit of their capacity. Videojet understands that any unplanned line stoppage directly impacts productivity and consequently profits. The 8610 design brings a new dimension to printer availability as each cartridge change provides a new print array, helping to ensure peak performance. And with on-board Code Assurance, the 8610 controller simplifies job selection and data entry, helping to ensure code accuracy by enabling operators to get the right code, on

the right product, time after time.

"Experience tells us that having great print quality is never sufficient by itself, it must also be relevant to the application needs of our customers. This latest Videojet innovation provides a robust industrial solution for customers with demanding applications that are currently not well served by available technologies. We strive to find solutions that meet our customers' needs and we are excited to bring revolutionary print performance and ease of use to our customers with the Videojet 8610," said Riley.

For more information about the Videojet 8610 Thermal Inkjet, call 91-75063-45599 or visit http://www.videojet.in/in/homepage/products/thermal-Ink-jet/videojet-8610.html.

About Videojet

Videojet Technologies (http://www.videojet.in ) is a world-leader in the product identification market, providing in-line printing, coding, and marking products, application specific fluids, and product life cycle services. Our goal is to partner with our customers in the consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical, and industrial goods industries to improve their productivity, to protect and grow their brands, and to stay ahead of industry trends and regulations. With our customer application experts and technology leadership in continuous inkjet (CIJ), thermal inkjet (TIJ), laser marking, thermal transfer overprinting (TTO), case coding and labeling, and wide array printing, Videojet has more than 325,000 printers installed worldwide. Our customers rely on Videojet products to print on over ten billion products daily. Customer sales, application, service, and training support is provided by direct operations with over 3,000 team member in 26 countries worldwide. In addition, Videojet's distribution network includes more than 400 distributors and OEMs, serving 135 countries. n

SUCCESS STORY: ‘Self-employment gives freedom, confidence’

When Manzoor Mir completed graduation in 1989, he did not run after government job but started a small shop making wedding cards. 26 years down the line, Mir takes pride in his decision choose self-employment as his venture has become a preferred shop for making wedding cards.

“My father was a senior officer and he insisted that I should apply for government job. Given the higher position and clout of my father, I could have easily got the government job, but I wanted to go for self-employment,” said Mir who has done his schooling from Tyndale Biscoe School here.

In 1989, Mir opened a small shop ‘Zahoor Enterprises’ at Khayam. “I had an inclination towards printing. I used to spend hours to examine printing in newspapers and glossy magazines. But I selected making wedding cards. However, at that time it was difficult task as I relied on conventional methods of card making,” he said.

Gradually, Mir said his clientele increased in past over two decades. “My proud moment was few years ago when former principal Tyndale Biscoe School JM Ray who is based

in England praised me during a reunion meeting saying “I receive your wonderful wedding cards from my friends in Kashmir.”

Mir said card making has developed into a small scale industry in Srinagar. “There are lot of people involved in fabrication of the cards like pasting, decoration, printing and packaging. I promote self-employment by outsourcing these jobs to over 100 families including unemployed youth,” he said.

Mir said he has over 2,000 types of wedding cards. “However, most of the customers now prefer wedding cards with traditional touch,” said Mir.

“Card making has come a long way in Kashmir. Earlier people liked flashy cards with warm colours. Now customers want something traditional with modern touch,” he said.

“But for some, wedding cards are not just invitations but status symbols. Customers choose cards on the basis of their status. We have wide range of cards ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 100,” he said.

Mir said a prominent business family in Kashmir recently purchased fancy

wedding cards for Rs 1300 a piece in Delhi. “Later, they fell short of cards and placed orders with us. We prepared cards for them at Rs 30 per piece. They were amazed to see the quality of our cards. It is a pride for us that we now receive orders from other states also,” he said.

“Usually, both the two families whose wards are going to be married with each other make cards at my shop. But I maintain utmost secrecy that they don’t know the quantity or price of cards purchased by either side,” he said.

Mir said he has received best business partner award by Delhi Wedding Cards Association and CBS Radio Kashmir. “Computers have revolutionized card making but I prefer traditional way to prepare them. More than printing, I ensure that the cards are made with utmost care and love. After all these cards join two souls for life,” Mir said in a philosophical tone. n

Courtesy : http://www.greaterkashmir.com

Be Careful on whether it’s a Quote or an EstimateWhen you give a price to a customer, is it a quotation or an estimate? Since there is a great difference between these two words, weigh carefully whether the form you use in giving a price to a customer should be headed “quotation” or “estimate”.

If you ever get into a difference of opinion with a customer over an invoice, your customer’s attorney might well read from the Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary the definition of the two words “quotation” and “estimate”. It reads:

Quotation (n.); a price quoted or current, as of securities, etc.; as the quotations for wheat. “Estimate (n.); a valuation based on opinion or roughly made from imperfect or incomplete data; a calculation not professedly exact; appraisement; also, a statement, as by a builder, in regard to the cost of certain work”.


Xerox plans to use printed electronics to fight counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry

Thin Film Electronics ASA, a leading player in printed electronics and smart systems, recently announced that Xerox will launch two new products that feature Thinfilm Memory – Xerox Printed Memory and Xerox Printed Memory with Cryptographic Security. The Xerox Printed Memory solutions are geared toward supply-chain security applications and provide anti-counterfeiting capabilities for pharmaceutical products, governmental tax stamps and refill authentication.

Traditional anti-counterfeiting methods such as invisible ink, holograms and RFID tags can be easily copied and hacked, and are often expensive to implement. By integrating Thinfilm Memory with advanced security printing and digital cryptography, the solutions are inexpensive and difficult to counterfeit as every stamp is uniquely encrypted and can only be created by authorized personnel. In addition, key features of the solution will work offline, enabling secure validation of an object or process without being bound to the Internet.

Rewritable data within each tag can identify if a medication refill

has been authorized, a shipping tax has been paid, or whether a package passed through an authorized distributor. Using a smartphone-based reader, printed memory tax stamps can be used for tracking and tracing the location of packages, authentication and verification of a product’s information.

“Keeping ahead of counterfeiters is a complex challenge that requires an unprecedented level of security in a growing global market,” said Davor Sutija, Thinfilm’s chief executive officer. “We are pleased to provide Xerox and its customers with another layer of defense to combat counterfeiting across multiple industries. Xerox has a history of innovation in this market, and its advanced solution expands the use of printed memory technologies for security and authentication.”

Tax or revenue stamps are issued on behalf of international, national or local governments, their licensees or agents, and indicate that a tax or duty has been paid. Tax stamp security and authentication systems enable governments to protect revenues generated by tax stamps, estimated to be in the billions of dollars..

“We see a significant opportunity for printed, flexible electronics to make an impact across a range of industries,” said Steve Simpson, vice president, responsible for Xerox printed labels. “By building upon Thinfilm’s printed memory technology, we were able to develop an innovative, anti-counterfeiting solution and launch the next phase of the project, which will bring the solution to the market.”

In December 2014, Xerox licensed Thinfilm’s proprietary printed m e m o r y , t h e o n l y p r i n t e d , rewritable memory commercially available today. Under this licensing agreement, Xerox plans to produce this innovative security platform in high-volumes at its plant in Webster, New York.n

Courtesy : www.dqindia.com

Packaging Opportunities With many companies having cited the benefits of diversifying into packaging, Rob Fletcher investigates the opportunities available in this sector and what printers need to get started

Before printers receive that final knockout punch, perhaps they should consider diversifying into a niche sector such as packaging

Packaging a punch Ever since I first stepped foot in the print industry, ‘diversification’ has been one of the key buzz words. And with exciting markets such as wide-format print and crossmedia amongst the options open to traditional printers, it is easy to see why so much is said and written about this subject.

One key market that has gained a lot of recognition for the opportunities it has for traditional print companies is packaging, with many that have already made the move citing plenty of work available. And with the print industry now more competitive than ever, those companies looking to get ahead of competitors may consider also diversifying into this market in order to offer customers additional services.

With this in mind, what sort of opportunities are open to traditional print firms in the packaging sector and how might they go about diversifying their services in order to take advantage of this additional work?

Not suitable for everyoneO n e c o m p a n y e n j o y i n g t h e current level of demand in the

packaging sector is Graphic Packaging International, which last year boosted its service offering by purchasing another successful packaging company in the form of Benson Group.

Nikki Clark, marketing manager convenience and consumer products Europe at the combined company, says although the firm has enjoyed a busy year and there are opportunities for expansion in the market, the sector is not suitable for all print companies.

“Printing high volume food and beverage packaging is a specialist area to work in, and won’t be suitable to all printers,” Clark warns, adding: “We have invested heavily in new presses and colour management systems to ensure colour consistency

across the work we manufacture. We have experts in our business who bring invaluable knowledge, ensuring our production processes are as efficient as possible.

“Our teams manage projects from initial design concept to manufacture and finally delivery of finished product. We have our in house design team, who deliver inspiring designs suitable to be mass-produced in our state-of-the-art production facilities. We have 11 European manufacturing sites each with their own specialist manufacturing processes. With our own fleet of lorries we can easily distribute our finished produce across the UK and into Europe.”

With this in mind, Clark goes on to explain that Graphic Packaging International does not sit on its laurels and is always on the lookout for ways to further boost business. This strategy led to the opening of a new Global Innovation Centre in Bardon in August—at a cost of approximately $1m (£634,500).

“The Centre provides an inspirational area for our packaging design teams to work on innovative projects for food and beverage customers. With access to our premium mock up service, GPI is quite literally at the cutting edge of our industry,” Clark explains.

The investment at the Bardon site is not just forward thinking in terms of the buildings and equipment, but it is an investment in the brightest people working in the industry, giving them the space and tools that allow their creativity to flourish.

“Customers can meet with members of our European design team—a group of creative minds with an eye for detail, innovation and fresh design flair and with the technical design and production teams, who develop bespoke concepts that fit without global production capabilities,” Clark explains.

“Our design prototype service features our new Zund S3 M800 plotters and Roland DG UV printer.

Graphic Packaging International recently opened a new Global Innovation Centre in Bardon as part of an effort to better serve customers within the food and beverage

sectors

A Culture of

Discipline

A companies have a culture,Some companies have discipline,but few companies havea culture of discipline.

When you hav e disciplined people,You don’t need hierarchy.

When you have disciplined thought,You don’t need bureaucracy.

When you have disciplined action,You don’t need excessive controls.When you combine a culture ofdiscipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great performance.

A short take from “Chapter 1”Good is the Enemy of Great, p.13 –this is from Good to Great : Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by John Collins published by Harper Collins, 2001.


These produce realistic and colour accurate samples, so that customers are able to see exactly the impact their products will make on the store shelf. Our new 3D printer enables us to mock up plastic components, allowing us to offer our customers total packaging solutions across multiple material substrates.

Graphic Packaging International’s Global Innovation Centre houses a range of kit

such as new Zund S3 M800 plotters and a Roland DG UV printer

“We are excited for the opportunities that 2016 will bring to Graphic Packaging International in Europe in both the food and beverage markets as we grow our presence in Western Europe.”

Additional revenue streamsOne major manufacturer that has firmly established itself in the packaging sector is Manroland Sheet-fed, with a host of products and solutions on offer. Martin Hawley, managing director of Manroland Sheetfed UK, says the feedback from customers is that the packaging market is ‘buoyant’ at present and that, given a well thought out strategy, represents a potential expansion market for printers.

Hawley explains: “Currently I would describe the packaging market as reasonably buoyant from the recent conversations I have had with our customers in this sector of the print market. The packaging market will always have seasonal peaks along with new product launches and rebranding which always helps this sector of the market.

“I do not think that any owner of a print company will just wake up

one morning and think let’s get into packaging; if it was that easy everyone would be doing it. There are a number of key differences between the commercial printing market and the packaging market. Investment in the prepress, finishing equipment, substrates, knowledge of the market and skilled personnel are to name but a few of the areas that would need very careful consideration by any company looking at such a venture. Plus, do they have a press that is capable of handling the substrates, inks and potential coating requirements?

Martin Hawley of Manroland Sheetfed UK says the company has a number of

products available that can help customers differentiate from competition. Pictured: the

Manroland 705 LV Evolution

“Is there a requirement from their current customers for printing packaging work? Or will they have to find the business, as it is a very competitive market. That said if they got it right and the business case stacks up it would give the company additional revenue streams plus the ability to offer their customers a solution to both their commercial printing and packaging requirements.”

With this in mind, he goes on to highlight various kit on offer from the company in this sector. Technology includes a full range of presses that Hawley says can be

specified to the customer’s needs. He also highlights some features that can help Manroland customers stand out from the competition.

He expands: “Manroland have a number of key features which can help give the customer that differentiating factor such as the indexing in-line foiler, in-line inspector and sorter, in-line colour pilot and register, a number of drying and curing options plus simultaneous plate changing and direct drive technology to reduce make ready times and reduce waste as some print runs become smaller in this sector.

The list of options that are available goes on. “Come along and see us at The Print Show in October at the NEC Birmingham where we will be able to give you a short visual tour of the Evolution printing in out Print Technology Centre in Offenbach. We will be more than happy to discuss what Manroland Sheetfed has to offer to the packaging market and print market in General.”

Bespoke and pertinent printAnother manufacturer currently enjoying the benefits of an expanding packaging market is Antalis, which offers a range of substrates for the sector through its Antalis Packaging division. Speaking about the market, Steve Welshman, packaging specialist at Antalis Packaging and Nick Edmondson, product manager graphical boards at Antalis, agree that the market is busy and may represent a potential diversification avenue.

Edmondson comments: “The market is busy now. It is a good market for printers to look at. Innovation,

flexibility and any USP’s will help greatly. It is likely to get increasingly competitive.”

Welshman agrees, adding: “As space is important and that moving is too costly to consider, ways of freeing up valuable warehouse space or speeding up their throughput either by means of new or upgrading machinery or using a different type of packaging are being looked into.”

However, Welshman is more cautious when it comes to possible d ivers i f i ca t ion , s ta t ing that companies considering this should carefully consider their decision before making a move. He explains: “I wouldn’t recommend that printers look to expand into selling packaging, unless it was something very bespoke or pertinent to the type of print that they produce.

Manroland’s Roland 700 HiPrint range of devices can be used by print companies to

create packaging products

“There are a large number of smaller packaging merchants and in particular corrugated box makers who provide smaller quantities on a quick turn-around basis on small orders. To fully enter the packaging market and be competitive, a wide stock range with in-depth stock levels is required.”

Regarding the packaging product portfolio on offer from Antalis, Welsh-man says the firm is perfectly placed to supply the market, due to its position in the print and paper industries.

Welshman explains: “We have established a team of regionally based ‘Packaging Specialists’, who have in-depth knowledge and expertise to help our print sales

teams to sell more packaging into their customers, working with them and our customers with a solutions based approach based on our in-depth knowledge of being part of this industry for many years.”

Products on offer include Invercote, Incada, and Carta Integra coated graphical boards, as well as creative and luxury papers and boards from stock ranges like Keaykolour, Curious, and Rives, and bespoke products to meet specific demands.

The company also recently launched Chromolux for HP Indigo in white and a range of tints and will be stocking Teknocard, a solid bleached board in one and two sided gloss and also uncoated.

(Above & below) Examples of packaging work created using products and materials

from paper company Antalis

The future of chemistry-free plates

Agfa Graphics will showcase its new Attiro VHS clean-out unit (pictured) at WPE 2015, as well as the new N95-VCF chemistry-free plate

T h e ‘ u n i ve r s a l p l a t e ’ i s a n advancement on the revolutionary N94-VCF, launched in 2011, which saw over 70 percent of Agfa’s global newspaper customers make the change to chemistry-free plate technology.

Newspaper segment manager at Agfa Graphics, Emiel Sweevers, c o m m e n t s : " O u r c h e m - f r e e technology offers our customers a stable and mature solution that has a proven record of satisfied users.

“Both the new N95-VCF plate and the Attiro VHS allow us again to set a new standard for the newspaper industry."

The benefits of using chemistry-free plates for newspaper production include reliable plate production due to the lack of conventional processing parameters, as well as being simple to maintain

Welshman adds: “We can use our knowledge and expertise to offer our customers products that are designed for what they do, and have been tried and tested with other customers wanting the same result. Therefore, we know it works, and can offer the same solution to help show them potential savings.”

So, although some consider the packaging market as one that is more difficult to move into, the general consensus is that, with a well thought-out plan and the right kit, it represents a useful diversification option for print companies. n

Courtesy : http://printmonthly.co.uk

T h e N 9 5 - V C F c a n s u p p o r t significantly higher run lengths than its predecessor, and is compatible with UV ink printing for more flexibility in the press room. The high image contrast means plate inspection and optical recognition by punch and bending equipment is easy and dependable.

The World Publishing Expo 2015 will also see Agfa launch its new Attiro VHS clean-out unit, capable of producing as many as 400 plates an hour—with a combination of the new unit and the N95-VCF producing further advantages die to the unique cascade concept, such as minimal gum consumption and infrequent maintenance.

Sweevers adds: “At WPE 2015 we introduce not only the new plate but also an improved version of the cascade technology in the Attiro clean-out unit, improvements for the Advantage N platesetters and new features in the new Arkitex Production workflow software.

“That is a long list, which shows our commitment to this industry of printed newspapers.” n

Courtesy : http://printmonthly.co.uk


In the heat of the momentAs most commentators now agree, the growth prospects for the United Kingdom are far more encouraging than they have been for several years. I believe the time is right for printers to reflect on the technological advances that have occurred in the industry during this difficult time. Komori, for example, has consistently invested in research and development since the banking crisis of 2007, and has therefore many new technologies that should be of interest to the modern, performance-orientated printer. For this issue of Tech Buzz, I have selected one such new technology that gives numerous financial, operational and ecological benefits to the new breed of print professionals.

Komori’s H-UV curing system has been held in high regard in Japan for several years and has now taken off across Europe. The total number of installations world-wide is in excess of 200, 60 of which have been installed across Europe. These machines have been selected by the purchaser for a variety of reasons, all of which, ulti-mately, give the printer benefits over the traditional UV or conventional processes.

H-UV printing when compared with printing with conventional inks. The first is print-on-demand: general commercial printing that needs to be turned around quickly to meet customer deadlines. For most companies that use conventional ink, they must print CMYK and then overprint with either a machine varnish through a fifth printing unit, or apply a water-based coating through an in-line coating unit. However, a Komori four- colour H-UV press will provide instant curing of the job, without the need for any varnish or coating, so no fifth printing unit or coater needs to be specified.

Graph 1

Where the H-UV process can really differentiate itself from the competition, though, is by the added-value-print that you can create on an H-UV press equipped with an in-line coater. For example, very high gloss spot and overall coating, or ‘drip off’ effects, can easily be created on a Komori Lithrone with a coater. Such a press only requires one H-UV lamp, which would be positioned at the end of the machine. Comparatively, a classic UV system would need an inter-deck lamp before the coater, plus two lamps at the end of the press. Alternatively, using conventional inks and water-based coating, as the vast majority of the commercial printing industry does, would require high energy end-of-press IR and warm air knives.

The savings in redundant equipment do not need spelling out; neither do the resulting reductions in the complexity of installation and maintenance. How-ever, the power savings are so dramatic they do need further expla-nation. The single H-UV lamp requires 63 percent less power than the IR and warm air knife combination.

H-UV CuringPeter Redmond, director of technical services at Komori UK, reveals the benefits to be gained with an H-UV curing system, analysing the affect this technology could have on the wider printing industry

The Komori Lithrone press only requires one H-UV lamp, compared to a press with a classic UV system which would need an inter-deck lamp before the coater, plus two lamps at the end of the press

Komori’s H-UV curing system utilises a single, specially developed UV lamp head to cure highly sensitive UV inks, which results in an instant cure. As demonstrated at Drupa 2012, the drying process is so fast, sheets can be sent to the finishing department direct from the press delivery.

Before walking you through the Komori H-UV curing process, I would like to highlight those potential print quality benefits that have enabled it to gain strong recognition across Europe.

One of the most impressive and practical features of the H-UV process is colour stability; the colour of the sheet you see in the delivery pile stays true to the final colour. You can measure it, compare it with the contract proof or with a previously printed sheet and you know instantly whether any adjustments are needed.

No later dry back, because the ink is already fully cured. Look through the linen tester and you’ll see none of the dot gain or feathering you would normally associate with classic UV.

On the dotPre-press departments can use the same dot gain compensation for H-UV printing as they do for conventional printing.

Even at a glance, it is obvious that the quality of the image is enhanced both in terms of increased dynamic range and rub resistance. Colours are strong, even on uncoated and matt papers. The contrast between the coarse structure of such materials and the saturated colour image creates a punch that even conventional print on coated paper cannot achieve. This is immediately noticeable if you compare the same job printed by H-UV and conventional ink.

Through extensive close collabo-ration, Komori’s research and development centres in Japan and Holland, working with selected ink manufacturers, have developed H-UV sensitive inks that can combine exceptional print quality with maximum drying capability—irrespective of the running speed, or indeed the substrate.

Add to that, the total elimination of any need for spray powder. Apart from the obvious environmental benefits (a cleaner press, a cleaner and healthier pressroom), the printed sheet surface is free of spray powder so the ink has better reflective qualities and therefore has a brighter appearance.

When printing the reverse side of the sheet, again, there is no spray powder to transfer to the blankets, which would have a tendency to degrade the print quality and would also necessitate regular cleaning of the blankets during production. Feedback from current users would suggest that the Komori H-UV curing system can result in a 20 percent productivity increase when compared to conventional printing.

H-UV on straight pressesI would now like to look at the Komori H-UV curing process in more detail. There are effectively two general applications that set aside

H-UV lamp life is a little less when compared with a rival LED-UV, but then the considerably lower replace-ment costs far outweigh this.

The single H-UV lamp on a straight press dries the sheet so completely that sheets can be taken directly from the delivery back to the feeder for reverse side printing. In the print-on-demand market (as most are today), job turn-around is quite obviously faster. Work in progress is also vastly reduced, freeing up working capital and eliminating the need to hold pallets of printed sheets around the factory floor, waiting hours to dry or perhaps even overnight.

For on work and turn jobs only one make ready is needed, as printed sheets can be put straight back through the machine, so only one set of plates are required. Further to this, job planning is simplified, as there is no need to interchange jobs. Also, old plates do not have to be remounted or new plates made. And again, as there is no spray powder on the first printed side of the sheet to contaminate the blankets, additional blanket washing is eliminated.

H-UV on perfecting pressesThere are different but equally strong benefits within the H-UV process when perfecting, where just two H-UV lamps are required. On four-over-four-perfecting, for example, there is one low power H-UV lamp over the perfecting unit, which dries the sheet completely, even when the press is running at top speed, before the sheet is turned over. And that is regardless of the level of ink coverage or type of substrate being used.

A completely dried sheet before the reverse side even reaches the start of the perfecting can eliminate the need for non-printed gaps on the sheet which are normally required to avoid marking, from suction slow down wheels at the delivery.

That allows more front-to-back flexibility. The production team and the operators will appreciate

this, and so will the designers and publishers, because full out colour can run anywhere on both sides of the sheet. The sheet size can therefore, in certain circumstances, be reduced, to the liking of financial directors on both sides of the fence.

On perfect ing presses using conventional ink there is general recognition of the need for rough surface jackets on the second set of impression cylinders, to minimise contact with the surface of the already printed side. Ask any print technical expert and they will tell you that this rough surface slightly degrades the wet printed image.

After H-UV curing on the first side, with no wet image to worry about as the sheet is transported through the second set of units, there is no need for these jackets.

The result here is that both sides of the sheet remain identical in quality. That is always desirable, but especially for jobs where front to back colour matching is critical—on double page spreads, for example.

Substrate flexibilityWith H-UV, there is instant and total curing of the ink, even on materials such as film and foil. Because of this, when overprinting on H-UV pre-printed metallic and whites, none of them need any supplementary drying or sealing and all can head straight to the finishing department.

Now, as this is Tech Buzz, let’s get a little more technical. Look at Graph 1 above. It shows that the wavelength range of the H-UV lamps carries further benefits. Classic UV operates at short wavelengths, which generate ozone and also generate heat as a result of IR radiation. Systems such as LED-UV dry ink within a narrow wavelength range—around 380 nano-metres. This means that LED-UV ink formulation is even more critical than H-UV, and that increases its price. However, H-UV operates over a wider wavelength range, a range which releases no ozone and, with far less IR radiation emitted, very little heat—in fact,


Mark Andy launches online parts store

Mark Andy has launched an online parts store – http://parts.markandy.com. Thousands of genuine OEM replacement parts for Mark Andy presses and Rotoflex offline finishing systems are now available for customers to purchase online 24/7.

This initiative was driven with the goal to offer customers a central, online location to easily navigate and place orders for OEM Mark Andy and Rotoflex replacement parts, provide transparent market pricing, and guarantee a fast turnaround for delivery.

With a comprehensive and easy-to-use search tool, customers can locate parts by machine model or by part number/keyword. Search results are accompanied by reference images to further assist in identifying the correct replacement part a converter may require. Special offers will be featured periodically in the online store and machine reference manuals are also available for download. All of these features, including pricing and order placement, are accessible after registering to create a secure online account and profile. For a limited time, free delivery will be offered on all online orders placed on the new parts store.

Visitors attending Labelexpo Europe 2015 may visit the Mark Andy stand where Customer Support representatives will be providing demonstrations of the store’s functionality, and can answer questions.

Dave Telken, Global Director of Aftermarket Operations of Mark Andy states, “This is an exciting and key initiative for Mark Andy and will provide a significant advantage to our customers as well as our global dealer network. In addition to competitive pricing and fast delivery, customers will benefit from ordering and installing Mark Andy and Rotoflex genuine OEM replacement parts. This ensures high quality and reliable performance of their equipment. I look forward to welcoming visitors in the Mark Andy stand at Labelexpo Europe, to showcase our new online parts store and also discuss our extensive Customer Support offering, which is second to none in the industry.” n

only around a very tolerable four to five degrees centigrade above the ambient temperature of the pressroom.

Consequently, the press and the sheets stay cooler and there is no premature curing, which is especially important on heat sensitive substrates such as plastics and foils.

You will also see that the range in which H-UV operates reaches peak efficiency level with the minimum waste of energy, when compared with classic UV and IR systems.

Graph 2

That takes us on to the CO2 emission comparisons on Graph 2 above. Using conventional printing with oil-based inks as a base, classic UV generates 1.8 times the quantity of CO2 emissions. In cont-rast, H-UV emits only 55 percent of the CO2 emitted with conventional printing—environmentally, this is very impressive.

We have been buzzing here about H-UV in the commercial print environment. Do not discount the use of H-UV on packaging, however. In the same way that classic UV offers massive benefits in non-food sectors, so does H-UV, but with further plus points. In short, it is virtually odour free and dramatically broadens the opportun-ities to print on heat sensitive and non-absorbent substrates, and the energy levels are also dramatically reduced. But that’s a different ball game—but one that seems destined to grow in popularity.n

Courtesy : http://www.printmonthly.com

A key to achieving success is to assemble a strong and stable management team.

Vivek Wadhwa

Kaliswari leads the way: Installs India’s 1st Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92

Sivakasi-based Kaliswari Group has bought the first Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 in the country. The global Fireworks exporter has added the four-colour press to its in-house printing division.

The Kaliswari group manufactures and sells fireworks under the well-established and reputed “Cock” brand. Pyrotechnics is the key business, but the 92-year old Kaliswari group also operates in other diverse verticals, such as educat ional ins t i tut ions , transportation and hotels. An in-house printing division caters to the commercial and packaging needs of the Group’s own Fireworks and other businesses.

A.P. Selvarajan, the Director of Kaliswari Group is clearly excited about his latest investment. “We are more than happy to invest in the first Speedmaster CS 92 press in India. The format and production speeds of the CS92 score an A+, but the wow factor is the assured savings in plate and paper costs.”

Launched in the ‘Print China’ exhibition in April 2015, the Speedmaster CS 92 was specially targeted at the Asian printing fraternity. A.P. Selvarajan impressed by the technical advantages that the Speedmaster CS92 had to offer, after watching a demo at ‘Print China’. He signed up for the press in the very next month. The installation is currently in the works and the press is expected to be operational by this month-end.

he Speedmaster CS 92, a size 37- format press, has a production speed of 15,000 sheets per hour. It can handle substrates with thickness ranging from 0.03 mm – 0.6 mm (0.0012 in – 0.024 in). Printing plate costs are almost 20% lower with the CS92, a key competitive advantage in a fiercely contested market. The

unique format class caters to about 90% of commercial print products. Alongside the classic 16-page A4 format, the Speedmaster CS 92 also promotes the use of additional imposition layouts – Nine A4 repeats or 6-page products in three rows of repeats.

Ganesh Kumar, Senior Sales Manager, Heidelberg India for Sivakasi region states, “The Speedmaster CS 92 is based on the extremely successful press format – the Speedmaster CD 102. This ensures stable print quality throughout the entire run, exceptionally easy operation, and outstanding productivity. Developed by Heidelberg engineers in Germany and equipped with high-performance components such as the fully automated Preset Plus Feeder and Preset Plus delivery with pile heights of 1.3 meters (51.18 in), contact-free AirTransfer System, stable inking and Alcolor dampening with vario system, intellistart for easy make-ready, the Speedmaster CS 92 is a reliable and secure investment. In addition, the press can be converted for UV operation as well.” n

To do the right thing at the right time, in the right way ;to do some things better than they ever done before ;to eliminate errors;to know both sides of the questi-on ;to be courteous;to be an example;to work for the love of work;to anticipate requirements;to develop resources;to recognise no impediments;to master circumstances;to act from reason rather than rule;to be satisfied with nothing short of perfection.

— John G. Shedd


W h e n y o u h e a r t h e w o r d infrastructure as it pertains to your business what do you think of? Your answer to this question probably depends on your age. Older generations will more than likely think; buildings and other capital investments of the physical nature.

In the technology age, the software that we use to run our business is a huge part of our business’ infrastructure and it is only going to continue to grow.

Software runs our print businesses from order entry to invoice. The investment in software is part of our overall infrastructure, we could benefit from making software decisions more like we make infrastructure decisions.

When you decide on a new location (physical plant or retail):

You think long-term.

You think about the ability to scale in this location.

You think about the integrated services (trash, electrical, bandwidth, back-up generators, etc.).

You consider the convenience of the location for your customers and employees.

You get second opinions.

You consider the level of effort and disruption to your organization to make this change.

When you invest in print software – it would help to think along these same lines:

Think Long-Term with Print Software Decisions: Don’t make short term software decisions, avoid print software decisions based on a single customer, and avoid emergency software

Print Software as an Infrastructure Investment

decisions (e.g. your biggest customer just required a fully functioning web-to-print in their RFP due next month). Software (especially cloud-based software) is deceivingly easy to purchase, yet has a tendency to be very difficult to decommission, even if it’s only launched for one customer. This means that even if you think a software solution is a short-term fix, don’t be surprised if four years from now that software is still live and you’re still paying on the technical debt (overhead) to keep it up and running.

Think Scalable: Every company should be planning and aspiring for growth that is the definition of staying alive. When you make print software decisions, think about them with growth in mind. If you add additional services in the future (e.g. promotional products, wide format, etc.) can your Print MIS handle those types of products/services? If you decide to purchase another company or do a tuck-in of another company’s customers can your accounting package handle it? If you landed a monster account could your web-to-print solution scale to handle 1,000’s of transactions?

Think Integrated: There are no point solutions anymore, meaning that every piece of technology you buy should be thought of in the context of what it needs to connect to both upstream and downstream. Your web-to-print purchase needs to connect to your Print MIS. Your Print MIS either needs to include a full accounting package or connect to your accounting package. Your pre-press, imposition, and planning tools should integrate to your Print MIS. When print software technologies

don’t connect, they create islands of inefficiencies in your business which are characterized by high labor costs and high error rates.

Think : Too often we focus too much on our business and not enough on how it is for our customers to do business with us. Print software is the tool that enables you to embed the print offer inside customer’s existing business processes. Your main goal is to make buying print and print related services as easy as possible on your customer. Think about your business from the perspective of the customer. Invest in software that differentiates you by making the customer experience better.

Get Second Opinions: Choosing the right software partner (if you treat them like vendors you get what you deserve) is difficult. Go out and get opinions from your peers, from other users of the software, from people who have gone before you and are willing to share in an honest way. Too many print software decisions are made solely on what is described in the sales process which is slightly jaded by the sales person’s job description (sell you stuff). I hear it every day, “the sales person told us this world work.”

Understand Your Level of Effort:The last but not least, software is work and most of that work needs to be done by you! When you invest in print software you are investing in a solution that needs to be configured to meet the needs of your business. I’m not talking about custom development; I’m talking about the marriage between a print software product and your business. Most software solutions have literally 100’s of configuration options which can be used to optimize the software for your needs. This requires someone from your organization to adopt the software like you created it. Own it. This ownership mentality will help

The Unbeatable Leader in the Folding Carton Market Publishes “A Guide to Heidelberg Packaging”

Heidelberg has published the first of four volumes of “A Guide to Heidelberg Pa c k a g i n g , ” a u n i q u e h a n d b o o k s h o w c a s i n g H e i d e l b e r g ’ s p o r t f o l i o of innovative packaging solutions, with a focus on folding carton and label production.

The first volume, available for download now, features an introduction to Heidelberg Packaging and product information on Heidelberg sheetfed presses, Prinect press products, Star System peripherals, and environmental press solutions. Subsequent volumes will focus on Prinect Prepress Software, Suprasetter CtP, and Production Data & Reporting Tools (May); Consumables Optimization and Technical, Performance & Consultative Services ( June); and Diecutters & Folder Gluers (July). As structured, “A Guide to Heidelberg Packaging” provides a useful overview of Heidelberg’s entire portfolio, based on facts relating to the development of the packaging market, as well as current and future trends.

One-Stop Shop for All Your Packaging NeedsFrom prepress and workflow, to 29”, 40” and VLF sheetfed, to postpress and finishing, Heidelberg offers tailored solutions for the entire value-added chain in

finishes inline. Heidelberg’s 57” Speedmaster XL 145 and 64” XL 162 large-format packaging presses are ideal for cost-efficient production at any run length.

Workflow, Process Control and Value-Added ServicesHeidelberg’s Prinect Packaging Workflow lays the foundation for fully integrated, efficient and sustainable packaging printing. By ensuring consistently high print quality, short makeready times, and minimal waste, Prinect Packaging Workflow optimizes administration,

data handling, and business management in packaging production from the design stage through finishing.

Packaging printers must meet particularly high standards when it comes to the process reliability of their equipment. Inspecting repeats to spot the tiniest of errors is especially important in pharmaceutical packaging to provide the

necessary security. To ensure process reliability, Heidelberg offers multiple safeguards in both press and postpress applications with high-tech automatic process monitoring systems.

Building on its long history of innovation in packaging, Heidelberg also offers several new, value-added solutions and segment-specific services geared to reducing downtimes, ensuring consistently high productivity and achieving top quality, reproducible results in a single, end-to-end workflow. These and other topics will be discussed in forthcoming volumes of “A Guide to Heidelberg Packaging.”

H e i d e l b e r g t r a n s f o r m s t h e packaging market’s requirements into profitable solutions.

To download Volume I of “A Guide to Heidelberg Packaging,” click here. To learn more about any of our packaging solutions, visit www.heidelberg.com/us or call 888-472-9655. n

Courtesy : https://www.heidelberg.com

in diving into all the areas of the software to figure out how it can best work for your company. This takes time and effort.

Print software is becoming one of the key strategic initiatives of your business. In the online, digital economy, software matters more than your physical assets. Software

investments and their successful implementations are now creating the differentiation that new press investments did a decade ago. Our mindset has to change to see software as an integral part of your business infrastructure that deserves strategic decision making and long-term planning. n

packaging printing, including associated services and consulting support. As the only manufacturer to offer end-to-end production and software solutions for packaging, Heidelberg focuses on what packaging printers—single-shift or high-volume—expect to achieve in terms of quality, brand value, and responsiveness to customer needs. Heidelberg is the one-stop shop for a complete packaging solution.

Heidelberg’s integrated solution portfolio gives it around 40 percent of the global packaging printing market in the folding carton and label segment. A highlight of Heidelberg’s press portfolio is the Speedmaster XL 106. With an output of 18,000 sheets per hour, the XL 106 was designed specifically for industrialized packaging printing. Special options include a variety of unusual surface finishes for eye-catching packaging that stands out at the point of sale, along with custom configurations designed especially for packaging printing. These include the FoilStar cold foil module for applying foil


DMI - Dhirubhai Mistry Institute for Print Education, Research & Training

Grafica is the only screen printing machinery manufacturer in the world to run a comprehensive training institute – DMI - in India, offering FREE training and education, through DMI (Dhirubhai Mistry Institute for Print Education Technology, Research and Training). DMI is the only one of its kind in Asia.

DMI activities: • W o r k s h o p s f o r p r i n t i n g

professionals, • Short term / long term training

programmes for pr int ing technology students

• Students' visits to DMI • Campus programmes at printing

institutes • Corporate programmes with

custom made practical training • Hands on training for customers’

operators. • Onsite Training at customers

place • Educational road show all over

IndiaThese training are available for professionals from the printing industry – offset, screen, digital, flexo, for enhancing their skills. Students from various printing technology institutes also undergo special training at DMI. All programs are offered on an on-going basis, of course free of cost, throughout the year and fresh students are offered placements at the end of the course. So far DMI has completed 7 batches of students who had general education in printing but got

specialized in screen printing along with industrial visits.

Grafica is a pioneer in taking screen printing education to the doorsteps of screen printers through a unique video film Screen on Screen. 15 cities were covered under this film, thus benefiting nearly 2000 screen and offset printers with knowledge on value addition.

Bhargav Mistry, Managing Director of Grafica, an expert in screen printing technology spearheads t h e s e e d u c a t i o n a l / t r a i n i n g programmes.

DMI’s Facilities:DMI has a wide range of state-of-the-art screen printing machines and allied products.

Pre Press:• Pneumatic fabric stretching

equipment• Automatic emulsion coating

equipment• Screen dryer with touch up table• Screen exposing unit• Washing booth• Aluminum frames• Tension meter• Nano-Screen Maker 5-in-1

Press:• CamShell• Nano-Print• Nano-Print plus• nano-prinTex – automatic

world’s first all electrical-mechanical screen printing machine;

• nano-prinTag - automatic world’s first all electrical-mechanical tagless label screen printing machine;

• Squeegee sharpener

Post press:• UV curing/IR dryer

• nano-flashTex – intelligent flash curing system

• nano-Texdryer – electric dryer

Other facilities:• Ink Kitchen• Consumable store• All types of QC tools used screen

printing• Colour management system• Pre press/positive output facility

Screen printing samples library:DMI has huge collection of screen printed samples/products sourced from leading screen printing firms. These samples represent various applications of screen printing – broadly divided into three segments

• Textile/garment screen printing,• Industrial screen printing• Commercial/graphics screen

printing.The sample library has labels and stickers, automobile decals, ceramic transfers, textile transfers, ceramic tiles, printed circuit boards, membrane switches, flexible PCBs, stickers, labels, textile printing, metal labels, precision dials, graphic overlays, greeting cards, wedding cards, general stationery, calendars, halftone printing for glow sings on acrylics, advertising and publicity material like signboard, sun-pack, many more.

DMI’s achievements:Winner of many national and international awards DMI created a world record by achieving two hatricks, separately in ASPT and FESPA students' competitions. In FESPA's Youth competitions won awards for three years' in succession n

Letterpress printing kick-starts revival

Despite the digital age, the time- and labor-intensive letterpress method of printing is making something of a comeback.

Letterpress is the process of printing pages one by one using pieces of movable metal type, assembling them to form text, placing them on the press bed, inking them and pressing them onto paper.

Recently, business and greeting cards are being created via letterpress at the many workshops and do-it-yourself studios that have been popping up in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

In December last year, Hasegawa Insatsu, a printing company based in Shibuya, Tokyo, opened a printing workshop in the area’s Dogenzaka district, where metal machines with a black luster sit in a bright space of white and beige.

The machines are printing presses that have been in use for half a century.

“The smell of ink, the impressions and the shades of the letters. These are the charms of letterpress printing,” explained shop manager Kazuo Hasegawa, 42.

The printing company was founded in 1937, and about 30 years ago switched from letterpress to offset printing. The company also handles digital printing, but Hasegawa said he started this workshop because he “wanted the younger generation to understand the subtle charms of letterpress.”

After the company began taking orders for items such as personal business cards and restaurant menus, and introduced a service that allows customers to operate the printing machinery themselves, it has started to attract younger people in their 20s and 30s.

The results of letterpress printing can vary — too much ink causes unevenness while not pressing hard enough can blur the final product. Nevertheless, the workshop has received positive reviews, such as, “It’s fun to print each individual sheet” and “I get so attached to the finished product that I don’t even want to use it.”

Down to businessTsukiji Katsuji, a company that has been manufacturing lead printing type in Minami Ward, Yokohama,

since the Taisho era (1912-1926), maintains about 260,000 molds and six casting machines.

Company President Kiichi Hiraku, 56, and artisan Hatsuyuki Omatsu, 71, manage the company. At one time they were on the verge of going out of business, but they said that in recent years orders for printing type have been rolling in from designers and other individuals. I recently participated in a hands-on seminar on casting printing type and printing business cards.

We started by making the printing type. I set the molds of two of the characters in my name into the old casting machine, then turned the handle and poured in a lead alloy. The metal molds were immediately cooled by water, and in a matter of seconds the letters tumble out.

Next up was printing. I met unexpected difficulties searching for the double-sided letters with kanji numerals on them — it took three minutes just to gather the type for The Yomiuri Shimbun headquarters phone number (3242-1111) from the shelf where they were stored.

The most difficult part of letterpress printing is selecting individual letters and numbers from a type case. Incidentally, The Yomiuri Shimbun was printed using letterpress until 1986. From a selection of almost 8,500 different letters, a skilled artisan was apparently able to gather as many as 1,000 pieces of type an hour.

My finished business cards showed the ink’s vividness and the letters were slightly concave. I felt the beauty of type, and I was satisfied with my business cards.

Pressing mattersIn response to the wishes of many individuals who want to do their own printing, Robundo Publishing Inc. in Shinjuku, Tokyo, began selling the Adana-21J letterpress machine for individual use at about ¥450,000 in 2007. Along with the subsequent model, which was

26 Print Forum / Vol. XVI, No. 100 / July - August 2015

Published by B. G. Kukillaya on behalf of The Printing Technologists Forum from No. 2 Venu Reddy Street, Guindy Chennai 600 032 & Designed by R.Venkatasubramanian at Industrial Prints, 23 Second Cross Street, Trustpuram, Chennai 600 024 Edited by P. Chellappan

Pitney Bowes pledges high-quality with AcceleJetPitney Bowes has confirmed the launch of AcceleJet, a new printing and finishing system that the company says offers users a “cost-effective path” to high-quality colour inkjet

The roll to cut-sheet printing solution offers one-up roll to dynamic perforation, to cut-sheet output through a high quality, duplex colour inkjet print engine that fits within existing cut-sheet workflows.

The system can also produce full-colour, personalised communications that the company says offer two-to-five-times greater throughput than monochrome, spot colour, or full colour cut sheet toner systems currently on the market.

Jason Dies, president of Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies, says: “Some of the world’s largest mailers rely on Pitney Bowes’ IntelliJet printing systems to produce billions of high-impact colour bills and statements every year.

“Our AcceleJet offering leverages everything we have learned from servicing these high-volume mailers and makes it available to a broader market segment, which includes many businesses that already rely on our industry-leading inserting equipment.”

Other features of the new system include dual print modes to allow users to fine-tune production, as well as a high quality 1200dpi perceived resolution.

“Increasing cost pressures, privacy issues, regulation, emerging technologies and evolving customer preferences are critical business issues facing print and mail operations,” Dies adds.

“Pitney Bowes is helping our clients address these challenges with end-to-end solutions that fully integrate print and mail processes. n

Courtesy : www.printmonthly.com

priced at about ¥300,000, a total of about 130 units were sold.

Satoshi Sugiyama, 43, and his wife Hanae Miki, 40, from Manazuru, Kanagawa Prefecture, produce picture books and poetry collections using this equipment.

Originally they produced digital works based on the thoughts of Hanae’s autistic younger sister, Sakura, 35, and bought the letterpress machinery in 2011 because “her thoughts didn’t come through in digital printing.”

They print one page at a time, assembling words together type by type and transferring illustrations and titles penned by Sakura onto resin plates. It is an immense effort to print 100 pieces, but they are satisfied that “our blood flows through the letters on the page.”

In mid-June, middle school students from Aichi Prefecture visited the Printing Museum in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, which exhibits printing machinery from around the world. The students tried their hands at letterpress printing.

Yusuke Muto, 14, who printed his name on a coaster, was fascinated. “The depth of the letters changes with different amounts of force,” he said. Miyu Omura, 15, printed her favorite celebrity’s nickname, saying with a sparkle in her eye, “The letters are so clear and beautiful!”

I thought letterpress printing was just a relic of the past. But I was impressed by how the beauty of each character reflects the time and labor put into it. I think I will only be using my hand-made business cards when it really counts. n

Courtesy : www.the-japan-news.com/

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Pf july august 2015

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