Digital printing powers up at Ipex

Digital printing is taking centre stage at Ipex lite, as the 2014 show is being referred to, with a string of innovative solutions attracting the attention of the punters, most of whom seem to have come from overseas, underlying the pulling power of what was the world’s biggest English language print show.

Despite the absence of a host of big digital names including HP, Xerox, Kodak, Ricoh and Canon there is still plenty for printers to assess in the halls on the edge of the Thames.

The B2 digital Konica Minolta KH-1, which is still in joint development with Komori, drew the biggest crowds, packing out space for demonstrations on what is the show’s biggest stand.

Konica Minolta has had the floor to itself, in terms of its main digital colour printer rivals, although this show has seen the company launch a host of technology for new applications, including a label press and a packaging solution.

George Fryer, national sales manager for production printing, says, “Konica Minolta digital printing technology will enable print businesses to meet the demanding needs of a host of emerging markets. However we will work through the feedback and business propositions of the solutions on display here before deciding when and if we bring it to Australia.”

Fryer says that Konica is though upgrading its entire bizhub range, with a new suite of print solutions to hit the Australian market from next month, replacing the existing C6000, C7000 and C800 lines with the C1060, C1070, C1080 and C1100, the company’s first 100ppm printer.

Not coming to Australia for another 18 months at least is one of the most innovative solutions on the floor, the LumeJet digital colour printer. It prints onto silver halide based paper, the LED exposing the silver halides. It is a contone RGB print. The technology converts the LED rays down by a factor of five which ‘completely eliminates’ any flaring. Text is printable in high definition down to one point.

Fujifilm has the FFEI Graphium label printer on its stand which it says is the widest digital label press available, printing onto a 410mm web.

FFEI was the company that came out of Crosfield Electronics when Fujifilm acquired it two decades ago, so has a strong heritage. The Graphium is designed to be run as digital only or to integrate with flexo label printing units.

Screen showed its new UV L350 label press, which had its global launch at PacPrint last year. The L350 UV outputs 50 metres a minute at 322mm.

Keith Atherton from Screen ANZ says he expects Aussie label printers to be inking orders soon.

Atherton says, “With the new white ink option, and a throughput and quality level that delivers, the converters and label printers have an unbeatable digital option for short run high quality work.”

Screen also launched a new flatbed UV printer, the 3.2m wide W3200, which outputs 90sqm an hour, with an option later this year for 150sqm an hour. More details tomorrow.

Domino Printing Sciences has a reputation as a science business, but it is bringing commercial products to market. At Ipex it launched a new water based black aqueous ink for its K600 single colour high resolution digital inkjet press. K600i single colour high resolution digital ink jet printer, designed to integrate variable data printing within existing sheet and web-fed presses and finishing lines, or which can be delivered as a standalone digital press.

The K600i produces 600dpi high resolution UV curable print at speeds from 50 to 150 metres per minute. It can be configured for different print widths ranging from 108mm to 558mm, which means that it can be used for general addressing through to the complete personalisation of a covering letter or sheet. Visitors to the Domino stand are looking at the K600i in action on a Herzog+Heymann finishing line, showcasing how a direct mailpiece can be produced with UV inks to offer vibrancy and impact.

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