Print 18: Production Highlights

written by Scott Cullen | September 11, 2018

Manufacturers Showcase New Technology; Show Features Dozens of Educational Seminars

Above: The Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 190 is a digital label press offering what Konica Minolta calls best-in-class graphic output, easy color management, and operator friendly interaction.

Below: The OKI Pro8432WT provides HD-quality color heat transfers for apparel, hard goods, and a wide range of promotional materials.

From September 30 through October 3, The Cannata Report is set to attend PRINT 18 in Chicago. Ever since we began covering this show in 2001, the conference has provided us with a deeper understanding of the production print and industrial print markets, and we firmly believe any dealer involved in production and/or industrial print should attend or, at the very least, send their production print people to this conference. Outside the usual suspects, including Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, OKI Data, Ricoh, RISO, and Xerox, showing their production print devices, dealers will also find many other companies, including those offering finishing equipment and other products related to production and industrial print.

In addition to the exhibitors, PRINT 18 offers dozens of educational seminars that will address points of impact to the graphic communications industry. Topics range from business management, sales, opportunities, and new markets, to operational improvement, technical “how it’s done,” and what show organizers call “the big picture topics that affect us all (the economy, industry, culture, and the future).” The sessions have been developed to focus on business growth for company owners and managers, production professionals, designers, and customer service and sales professionals, but show organizers (as well as us here at The Cannata Report) consider them valuable to anyone in the industry who wants to learn more about significant topics impacting the printing business.

In early August, we contacted eight companies””all of which are familiar to our readers””that will be exhibiting at PRINT18 to learn what they will be highlighting at the conference. Although not all were able to provide intimate details of new releases, and some of what they’ll be showing still hadn’t been confirmed yet, the following is what attendees can expect to see when they drop by the exhibits of these companies.

Canon U.S.A

At Booth 2400, attendees will see the Canon imagePRESS C10000VP and imagePRESS C850 color sheetfed digital presses, as well demonstrations of Canon’s PRISMA workflow solutions and the latest from the company’s imagePROGRAF large format printers. Canon recommends visitors to the booth take the opportunity to see what it calls the world’s fastest 64-inch, roll-to-roll printer: the Océ Colorado 1640, which it says delivers the lowest ink costs for both indoor and outdoor display graphics applications by using Canon’s UVgel technology. In addition to the Colorado, the versatility of Canon’s print solutions will be seen in the booth through the output of the Océ Arizona flatbed printers, according to the company. Canon U.S.A. will also showcase print samples from Canon and Océ devices to illustrate what is possible through the company’s diverse print portfolio, including output from the Océ ProStream inkjet press and Océ VarioPrint i300 color sheetfed digital press.

HP, Inc.

Exhibiting at Booth 2411, HP maintains it will be “Reinventing the Wonder of Print” by giving print service providers new ways to grow and expand their businesses to keep pace with the ever-changing landscape and deliver unforgettable quality with vibrant colored prints. The company was unable to provide specifics at press time as to what the company will be showing, other than to say that a host of the company’s latest innovations and “ground-breaking” technologies will be on display. Attendees will be able to see live and mixed reality demonstrations of HP’s portfolio of presses and printers, including its latest technology releases.

Konica Minolta

The company will showcase a number of different technologies for the first time at Booth 1611, including its previously released AccurioLabel 190, a toner-based digital label press with a new winder/ unwinder from GM, as well as the inkjet-based Precision Label Series. Finishers for both label products will also be shown.

Konica Minolta is also showing the WebJet 100D, a high-speed, continuous-feed aqueous inkjet press for the first time as part of the company’s portfolio of production and industrial print devices. This product is the result of a three-way, marketing, distribution, and servicing partnership with SuperWeb and Memjet. The WebJet 100D offers what Konica Minolta says is tremendous speed and excellent image quality for transactional printing. In the decorative ink space, the company will display its MGI devices, including the EVO 75, which was shown last year, as well as the majority of its lineup of production color and black & white devices, including the C6100 Series and C3080 Series, and the 6136 black & white production printer. Konica Minolta also plans to unveil the AccurioWide 160, a Konica Minolta-developed UV wide-format hybrid device at the show. This is the company’s initial entry into the wide-format space with its own internally developed inkjet print head technology. In addition, attendees can view sample output from the previously released KM-1 inkjet press. And because Konica Minolta is committed to the production space with a full lineup of products, there will also be demonstrations of its production print software to complement the hardware.

OKI Data

Showing in Booth 3038, OKI Data will provide in-booth demonstrations and distributing print samples, showcasing the output of its five-color printing technology and digital transfer printers. Among the products on display will be the C942dn and DP+ digital multi-media printer system, which integrates CMYK and white, all in a single pass, on virtually any envelope size, accommodating a wide array of media, including banners up to 13″ x 52″ long. The C942 printer and the envelope feeder system produces sharp text and rich, saturated press-like colors on light or dark media, printing color-on-color or white-on-color, according to OKI Data.

Recognizing the global market for the custom apparel print industry will increase to $10 billion by 2025, OKI will be showing an alternative to the traditionally, cumbersome screen printing process””the proColor digital transfer printer series. According to the company, this device offers cost-effective, HD-quality color digital transfers for apparel, hard goods, and a wide range of promotional materials, designed to eliminate the need for expensive outsourcing. The 8432WT with its advanced solid opacity white toner technology and CMY color prints any color on any fabric, ranging from 100% cotton to 100% polyester. The more economical C711WT prints color-plus-white on transfer sheets that can be used with a wide variety of substrates and provides a straight-through paper path.

Ricoh

Ricoh will be in Booth 3011, demonstrating its service offerings and sheet-fed portfolio, including the RICOH Pro C7210X and the RICOH Pro C9210″”both ideal for Ricoh Family Group dealers who are looking to expand their businesses with new revenue streams. The RICOH Pro C7210X offers what the company describes as a versatile, affordable sheet-fed digital printer that delivers speeds up to 95 ppm at 2400 x 4800 dpi VCSEL image quality, a fifth color station for clear, white, neon yellow, neon pink, or UV Security Red, textured media capabilities, and oversized printing up to 49.6 inches to everyday, “Main Street” printers.

The RICOH Pro C9210 is a heavy segment, sheet-fed color digital printer that brings accessible power and reliability
to the most demanding production print environments, according to the company, with speeds up to 135 ppm, media support up to 470 gsm, and the capacity to run the market’s longest paper lengths: 49 inches simplex and 40 inches auto-duplex.

Additionally, Ricoh’s Professional Services team will be in attendance. Its role is to empower printers via consulting and training to develop effective color and workflow integration strategies, helping to ensure unique production environments work in harmony for optimal performance.

RISO, Inc

In Booth 3611, RISO is planning on show a wide range of inkjet devices that are excellent alternatives to higher-end inkjet machines, depending on the applications, for commercial printers, in-plants, and even in the office. The plan at press time is to show the RISO T2, a new highspeed production device that combines two GD 9630s (think tandem printing) with various paper sources to facilitate longer, uninterrupted printing, a real must-see. So is the RISO ComColor FW5000 Series, a 90-ppm color inkjet with output at 2.5 cents per page, which the company is looking to fill the gap between the MFPs and the higher-end production devices within an office. The company will also show FW5230, a 120 ppm inkjet device.

Rochester Software Associates

In Booth 436, RSA will offer live demos of its production workflow software, including the latest releases of WebCRD in-plant web to print software, QDirect output manager and ReadyPrint, universal prepress suite. Dealers will be able to explore how these releases can help their customers increase overall productivity and automation while streamlining workflow and reducing touches. The company will also provide resellers with a copy of the latest in-plant research to capitalize on the largest market opportunities.

RSA is known for its ability to print and ticket to all production printers””regardless of brand””making them a great fit for mixed shops and their emphasis on the in-plant market. New release details include:

WebCRD in-plant web-to-print software for in-plants. V10.3 further increases customer satisfaction with faster more user-friendly ordering, automates workflows, increases print center productivity, and provides support to offer and track new digital services. Top new features include document preflight alerts, digital downloads, drag and drop file uploads and more.
QDirect output management software is for production print centers with multiple printers or more than one incoming source. It controls, routes and manages jobs to reportedly maximize staff and equipment.
New release V5.4 furthers automates workflows and increases ease of submission by adding Windows and Mac printer drivers, native IPP protocol support, and improves prepress automation via integration with RSA’s ReadyPrint (prepress) automation module, according to the company.
RSA’s ReadyPrint universal prepress suite includes make ready, prepress automation and document assembly, and an optional advanced preflight module.

Xerox

In Booth 1621, the centerpiece of the Xerox exhibit””based on the fanfare earlier this year when it was first introduced in the U.S.””will be the Iridesse Production Press. This is a high-speed, six-station color press that combines four-color printing with up to two specialty dry inks in one printing pass. Xerox claims this is the only digital press that can print metallic gold or silver dry ink, CMYK, and clear dry ink in a single pass. In addition, Xerox will show its Versant digital press and the iGen press, along with other Xerox inkjet presses. Software will also be prominently featured in the Xerox booth, including its FreeFlow production print workflow solutions, as well as Xerox’s XMPie multi-channel variable data printing software, both highlighting how Xerox provides an end-to-end solution across the entire printing process.

Below: Screenshot of the homepage of Rochester Software Associate’s WebCRD V10.3 release that will be demoed at PRINT 18.