Printing United Preview

What would have been on display if the conference hadn’t been canceled because of COVID concerns.

Above: EFI VUTEk Q3r

Editor’s Note: Our PRINTING United Preview was to serve as a virtual tour of the expo and spotlight key highlights of interest to the dealer channel.

Despite PRINTING United’s cancellation, we are publishing much of our original article by Cary Sherburne as written in mid-August. It details a host of new printer introductions, technologies, and updated offerings from a wide array of companies who planned on exhibiting. There is information regarding the latest developments in process automation, end-to-end workflows, printing and finishing solutions, and full cut sheet inkjet printing, to name just a few.

You’ll also read that many of the companies who planned to exhibit kept under wraps information about the new printers and technology advancements set to debut at PRINTING United. We hope to cover those latest introductions in upcoming issues of The Cannata Report or on our website.

Earlier this year, Frank G. Cannata focused on the importance of attending PRINTING United for dealers interested in engaging in production or industrial print in an episode of Fridays with Frank, our weekly video series. Given the emphasis we have placed on the significance of PRINTING United, we feel compelled to publish this piece.

At the same time, we have always been realistic in our assessment that production print is not for every dealer, as Scott Cullen states in his September Editor’s Letter or as Frank wrote in a Frankly Speaking column a few months ago. Allow us to quote our founder: “Is production print for every dealer? The answer is an emphatic no. However, the 20% that sell 80% of the total sales emanating from the dealer channel sure as hell can. For the rest of the dealers, there is light production, wide format, and lower cost label printers. These three segments can be very profitable and help compensate for an eroding A3 MFP MIF.”

The information in the following article provides dealers, for whom production and industrial print at any level is a viable business opportunity, a wealth of intelligence and detail. We are confident that this content is timely despite the cancellation of PRINTING United and hope that you will find it educational and engaging.

The PRINTING United 2021 conference was scheduled for the first week of October in Florida. In preparing this article, I reached out to a selection of PRINTING United vendors in late July and early August. At the time, the pandemic situation was looking good, and everyone I spoke to was upbeat about the show and attendance levels.

A key storyline that ran through just about every exhibitor we spoke with in late July and early August was process automation, reducing touches, improving operator efficiency, and in many cases, reducing the skill levels required. As John Henze, vice president sales and marketing at EFI pointed out, “There is no question that if you measured the skill levels of all production-print operators, it is lower than it used to be. That’s why we are incorporating more intuitive interfaces that enable operators to get to accurate color and G7 compliance quickly, even without a full-blown expert on staff.”

It is also worth noting that Heidelberg has put in place an apprentice program for young service technicians. Beginning in October 2020, the company dedicated a press in its Atlanta customer experience center to this program and has more than 10 participants at a time. Several have been hired to replace technicians who are retiring. President of Heidelberg USA Felix Mueller reported that there is a plan to initiate a similar program for salespeople.

Here, then, is a summary of what we learned from a small selection of exhibitors about what visitors to the show would have seen from them (listed in alphabetical order):

• Canon Solutions America: Canon will be featuring a wide range of printing and finishing solutions for the large format graphics market, including the new Colorado 1630 64” roll-to-roll printer, as well as the Colorado 1650; the Arizona series, including the 1380GT and 2380XT models; the DGI FH3204 dye-sublimation printer for soft signage applications, and the MultiCam Celero 5 Series as part of its digital flatbed cutting and routing solutions. The Colorado 1630 with UVgel technology will be making its debut at the show. It prints durable, odorless, and instantly dry prints on almost any media at 1800 dpi.
• Durst Image Technology: Durst will continue with its theme Pixels to Output at PRINTING United, having invested heavily in the software part of its business over the last four years. This includes Durst Smart Shop, Durst Workflow, and Durst Analytics. The company will also show the new P5 350/HS hybrid flatbed/roll-fed UV LED printer that produces up to 7,000 square feet-per-hour with standard CMYK, and optional LC/LM + white and varnish. In addition, the company will showcase the new P5 TEX iSUB with inline fixation that can print with sublimation inks either direct to fabric or to transfer paper. This printer comes standard with CMYK with optional LC, LM, orange, and blue inks. It prints at up to 4,090 square feet-per-hour. Each printer will be shown with an end-to-end “Pixels to Output” workflow. Both printers are based on the company’s uniform P5 platform upon which it will be building for the future and feature remote and preventative maintenance to minimize downtime.
• EFI: In its front-row booth at PRINTING United, EFI will be showing four printers: the VUTEk Q3r roll-fed printer that prints in up to nine colors at up to 6,000 square feet-per-hour, which will make its debut at the show; the Pro 30h hybrid flatbed/roll-fed UV LED printer, which was launched earlier this year and prints at up to 2,477 square feet-per-hour or 60 boards-per-hour in CMYK plus white; the VUTEk h5, a hybrid flatbed/roll-fed printer that prints up to 109 boards-per-hour in up to eight colors plus white; and a new printer that will be unveiled at the show. All printers are driven by EFI Fiery digital front ends, and the company will also be showing Fiery XF 7.3, the next generation Fiery platform for display graphics which will go into production on September 15. Fiery will also be present in a number of partner booths across the show floor. The new generation Fiery will feature faster processing and improved user interface responsiveness and will also include new intelligent prepress tools that enable faster preparation or adjustment of files to get to a print-ready file more quickly. It also includes QR code support for flatbed cutters and better integration to Zund cutters as well.
• Heidelberg: The last time we could find that Heidelberg had an offset press at a U.S. trade show was GraphExpo 2013 with an SM52. That’s changing at this year’s PRINTING United, where Heidelberg will have one of two offset presses at the show. The company’s focus will be on its Smart Print Shop approach and Push to Stop autonomous printing. The goal is to show a connected, end-to-end automated workflow encompassing both offset and digital printers in a relatively small footprint. Included will be a Heidelberg Versafire digital press, a Heidelberg SX74 sheetfed offset press, and a Polar cutter. The core “brain” of the system is the latest update to Prinect, a prepress workflow solution that connects all areas of the print shop from customer order entry to output on the Polar cutter, including management of both offset and digital printers and presets for cutters and folders from a single interface. Visitors will see a complete system based on the company’s subscription plan. Applications being produced include both commercial print and labels/packaging. The company will also introduce a new product, Print Shop Analytics, that bundles all of its analytic capabilities, allowing print shops to uncover ways to reduce makeready, increase consistency, and work with less touches based on real-time data.
• HP Inc.: HP will have a full portfolio of wide-format products available at the show and will be featuring two printers that were announced earlier this year from its Latex family. The HP Latex 700W and the HP Latex 800W are the first HP printers in the 54” to 64” category with white ink. These printers produce output at up to 334 and 388 square feet-per-hour, respectively. HP also will be showing output on a wide range of eco-conscious media to accompany its eco-conscious water-based latex inks. The company will be showing a new printer that will be announced shortly before the show.
• Komori/MBO: Following Komori’s acquisition of MBO, these companies will be exhibiting together in a 3,500 square foot booth. All of the printed materials will be produced at customer sites and brought to the show for finishing. This includes product catalogs printed on B1 sheets on a new Komori GL40P, as well as other sample application sheets. At the show, the B1 offset sheets will be folded as a 16-page signature by the MBO K80 Combi Buckle/Knife folder. The folder includes a palletized feeder and AutoPilot, a camera system installed at the feeder that identifies the current job via a printed data code and acts as a QC system as well. When it detects a new job via the code, the system resets itself appropriately. This automation allows the operator to load several jobs, press start, and walk away to do other work. The plan is to transport folded signatures to the Muller Martini booth so they can be stitched and trimmed on Muller Martini’s new stitcher to show a complete process. The Komori Impremia IS29 will print several jobs on B2 sheets, including CR80 cards (42 up) and presentation folders. Cards will be die-cut on the show floor using the BSR 550 rotary die-cutter and incorporated into a self-mailer. The roll-fed finishing line will produce mailers that are printed on a 20” wide roll by a Canon ProStream and sheeted, trimmed, and folded live on the show floor with a tip-on CR80 card, then glued to deliver a 5.5×9 completed self-mailer.
• Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.: With exponential growth over the last year in the areas of embellishment, labeling, and packaging, Konica Minolta’s showcase will include the following products:
  • The AccurioWide 200 hybrid UV LED wide-format inkjet printer, which boasts superior image quality and high productivity for outdoor and indoor job applications.
  • The AccurioLabel 230 toner-based printer offers a maximum print speed of 76ft/min and short warm-up times.
  • The MGI JETvarnish 3DS with iFOIL offers high speed and high productivity, with production speeds up to 3,000 sheets-per-hour based on 30-micron coating thickness. The device can turn regular print jobs into high-margin spot UV jobs, or even higher margin 3D embossed jobs.
  • The AccurioPress C14000 with inline finishing equipment, Konica Minolta’s first high-volume, toner-based production press.

The company looks forward to engaging with printers on their latest applications and how it can help them rethink the future of print to grow their businesses.

• RGMT: PRINTING United will mark the worldwide launch of the new 8-UP+ RMGT 970 offset press under the theme “Bridging the Gap.” As RGMT has done for the last several shows, the press will be running live demonstrations every hour. The theme highlights the gap between digital print and conventional offset, claiming the press can produce offset quality at digital quantity, as well as the ability of this new press to replace two to three older conventional offset presses. The company will also show a new automation package called ASAP (Automated Smart Assist Printing) that allows a single press operator to move autonomously from one job to the next with no more than three minutes of downtime in between. This is enabled by simultaneous plate changes in about a minute and 40 seconds and automatic blanket washing and application of ink profiles. At start-up, the plates are auto-registered, and color controls are automatically set to the requested density. A recent survey reflects that 80% of the company’s 9-Series presses are running with only one press operator, an additional cost savings.
• Ricoh USA, Inc.: In its booth at PRINTING United, Ricoh will showcase a variety of technology, services and solutions. Highlights of Ricoh’s booth will include the Ricoh Pro C7210X, a five-color digital press, now featuring metallic toners, that reportedly bring superior price performance and predictability to the most demanding production print environments. There will also be demonstrations of Ricoh’s wide-format printing systems, designed to empower customers with what Ricoh described as superior customization, flexibility and color gamut, and ease-of-use to produce a range of in-demand graphics applications across a broad array of substrates. Making its return to the PRINTING United floor will be Ricoh’s Color Lab, where color management and design experts will be available to illustrate how to make applications “pop” while driving new revenue streams. The booth will also feature software and services stations to share how customers can boost productivity, control costs, and gain competitive agility with Ricoh business software, consulting, and professional services solutions. Ricoh experts will be available to discuss ways to cross sell and upsell within existing industries and new markets to bring in even more return on investment.
• RISO, Inc.: RISO has long been an innovator in the inkjet field and will be showcasing its full cut sheet inkjet printer lineup. Featured at RISO’s booth will be its 160 PPM ComColor GD line of cut sheet inkjet printers in various configurations to show off its versatility and productivity, and the impressively fast 320 IPM Valezus T2100 device. Also, at the booth will be the newly launched ComColor FT 5430, which prints at 140 PPM and includes both an additional 2000-sheet feeder for increased productivity and a newly designed multifunction finisher. RISO’s earth-friendly oil-based ink and heatless imaging process are unique technologies among the inkjet devices at the show, and definitely worth a closer look.
• Roland DGA: In July, Roland DGA announced the 64-inch GR2-640 and the 54-inch GR2-540 large format vinyl cutters as additions to the Roland DG CAMM-1 series. These next-generation machines are capable of cutting almost any shape quickly and cleanly from a broad range of materials, including everything from thin automotive films and heat transfer sheets to thick reflective sheets and sandblast masks. This makes the GR2-640 and GR2-540 ideal for applications such as signs, decals, window film, vehicle wraps, sports apparel, and more. The Roland DG CAMM-1 GR2 series cutters will be on display along with other solutions, some of which will be shown for the first time, including the Texart XT-640 high-volume direct-to-garment (DTG) printer and the VersaUV LEC2 series flatbed UV printer, which now includes orange and red V-BOND inks. The company’s TrafficWorks traffic-sign printing solution will also be on display, and Roland DG will be conducting live vehicle-wrap demonstrations daily.
• RSA: RSA has three new digital production print software releases this fall, debuting them at PRINTING United booth #4849. Visitors will be able to see how to automate workflow using releases of WebCRD Web to Print, ImpactVDP, and ReadyPrint prepress. WebCRD has new shop and customer collaboration inside the application. ImpactVDP has a new QDirect integration for automated data driven VDP production. ReadyPrint has a new web-based automated prepress workflow and more. Demos are available at the show or can be requested virtually by contacting RSA.
• Standard Finishing: In 4,000 square feet of exhibit space, Standard Finishing will feature live demonstrations of die-cutting, perfect binding, and trimming, slitting and creasing, folding, saddle stitching, and roll-fed print solutions, including the Hunkeler Roll-to-Stack solution that will be producing book blocks that will be perfect-bound on the Horizon BQ-500 Perfect Binder and trimmed on the Horizon HT-300 Three-side Trimmer. The company will highlight its automation features in both Horizon and Hunkeler solutions with the tagline “power of smart finishing.” It will also be featuring iCE LiNK, a cloud-based workflow management system from Horizon that allows print providers to manage and monitor production across multiple finishing devices to provide a higher level of production efficiency.
• Vanguard Digital Printing Systems: Vanguard Digital, a Durst Group Company in which Durst acquired a stake last year, will be located in a booth adjoining that of Durst. Vanguard, which augments Durst’s offerings by providing sub-$250,000 solutions, has seen huge growth of about 54% over the past two years. President and CEO Dave Cich describes it this way: “Durst is Mercedes-Benz and we are Toyota; they both get you where you need to go but in different ways.” Vanguard will be unveiling two new printers at the show. The VR6D, priced at $140,000, prints 30 boards-per-hour in quality mode and is a high-quality mid-range printer with exceptional speed. It features Ricoh Generation 6 print heads. The second new product at the show is the VKH900, selling at the high end of Vanguard’s price range and printing up to 60 boards-per-hour in quality mode or 120 per-hour in production mode. Cich reports the company had a good experience at PRINTING United 2019 and credits that event with bringing the company to the attention of a lot of people, including Durst. Vanguard will also be showing Pixels to Output integration at the show and is in the process of constructing an office and demo center next to Durst’s Brixen headquarters, enabling a desired expansion into Europe.

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