One of the major stories developing at drupa 2012 involves the Nanographic Printing™ Presses unveiled by Landa Corporation founder, chairman, and CEO Benny Landa. These presses use water-based inks comprised of pigment particles only tens of nanometers in size. These nano-pigments are reportedly extremely light absorbent and the new process used to print with them—Nanography™—boasts high uniformity, high gloss fidelity, and a broad CMYK color gamut. And here’s the hook that’s getting everyone excited: Nanography is a digital printing process with offset speed. Landa spoke about the implications of the new process: “Nanography is a new technology for applying ink to paper. In developing Landa Nanographic Printing we had to re-think and reinvent the printing press. The result is digital printing with remarkable performance—from a family of presses that share stunning ergonomic design, a small footprint, and some of the most advanced user functionality available in the market.” Landa has unveiled six Nanographic presses at drupa—three sheetfed and three web presses. Also, news releases have come out in recent days reporting Landa has entered into partnerships with both Komori and Heidelberg for the development, manufacturing, and sale of presses based on Landa Nanographic Printingtechnology. Julie Shaffer, Printing Industries of America’s vice president of digital technology, attended drupa 2012 and sat in on one of the Landa Corporation press events where the technology was demonstrated. She sent along the following video snippet to share. Please feel free to share your opinion with us! For more information like this, visit the Digital Printing Council News and...
Redefining the Print and Graphic Arts Industry for Tomorrow’s Printers
This article was contributed by Larry Kroll, Vice President, Development, PGSF, whose ongoing commitment to expanding the printing industry by cultivating the next generations of printers and graphic artists through the PGSF has resulted in an incredibly successful foundation for the past 56 years. Graphic arts students pose with Ben before a pressroom tour of Printing Industries of America headquarters in Sewickley, PA. Twenty-eight years ago, long before our current Print and Graphic Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) scholarship applicants were even born, one of this country’s leading scientists, Dr. Egon Spengler, stated for the record that “Print is dead.” Here is the video clip you may remember from 1984 declaring, “Print is dead.” For almost three decades the “experts” have been declaring that the printing industry was either dead or dying. However, I don’t believe that there is any knowledgeable person out there today who would not say that the printing industry is still alive, however, gravely injured. The printing and graphic arts industry has endured major damage and critical injury. It is a victim of huge advances in productivity through the use of highly automated equipment, a revolution in competing technologies, and media coupled with the pressures to deliver a finished product “better, faster, and cheaper.” Even though severely wounded, the printing and graphics arts industry will survive. It will survive for the very reasons that it has prospered and grown over the past 562 years when Johannes Gutenberg started up his first printing press in 1450. Since the invention of the Gutenberg press and movable type, the printing industry has faced many life-threatening challenges. I am sure that at each of these crossroads, there were those who declared that “Print is dead.” Just in the last 60 years the industry has moved from hand-set type and letterpress and then from letterpress to lithography to electronic publishing and, of course, to digital printing. And with the introduction of each new advancement came the cry that “Print was dead.” It wasn’t dead…it was evolving…improving and progressing to the next level of accomplishment. What does all this talk of death, injury, and printing history have to do with the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) and our young graphic arts scholars? In my opinion, everything. I believe that the print and graphics industry will once again rebound from adversity. I believe that once again it will find a way to redefine itself and to prosper. Not at the exceedingly high levels and accelerated rate that we experienced just five and ten years ago, but at a more conservative sustainable level—a level that makes sense for stability and long-term growth. Research Shows Americans Still Prefer Print and Paper – WhatTheyThink. One of the primary...
A Passion for Print
Printing is not just a business for many print professionals. It is a passion. People have made printing an integral part of their lives, and we want to highlight some of these individuals as part of our 125th Anniversary here at Printing Industries of America. Watch as Brad performs quality control ink testing. Few people are more passionate than Brad Evans, Senior Research Technician/Lab Coordinator at Printing Industries of America, who has spent three decades performing various testing to make better, higher-quality materials for print production. One of the ways his department serves the printing industry and our members is by analyzing issues such as ink tack for quality control. He is truly devoted to his trade and to assisting printing companies. Here, he shares with us some highlights of his career: Tell us about our testing facilities here at Printing Industries of America. We are able to do all of the Napiri and Tappi test methods to test ink and paper qualities here at Printing Industries of America. One of the services you provide is to perform ink and paper tests to help printing companies with various issues. How many companies do you regularly assist and how have they benefitted? We have two to three dozen companies that regularly use our testing services. Most companies call on us for quality control testing for raw materials such as ink and paper. Other companies order testing for conflict resolution. In one case, a company had a conflict with basis weight (or the weight of paper). If there is a variance in the basis weight, it causes a difference in mailing costs. We are currently testing their unprinted paper to resolve this issue. How long have you been performing this kind of research? For 30 years I have been performing research here; first as GATF, then as Printing Industries of America. What were some of your most interesting case studies over the years? I had a case performing research on packaging for a soap company. The company had been printing with reflex blue ink. After a couple weeks on the shelves, the reflex blue ink on the wrappers would turn pink. As a result, this company now packages their product in polyboard wrap. We discovered that the lye in the soap was reacting with the reflex blue ink. The resulting change to pink occurred because reflux blue is sensitive to the alkalinity of the lye. It seems like you have helped quite a few companies over the years. What is your favorite part about your job here at Printing Industries of America? There is always something new to discover. Every day is different. After 30 years you never know what is...
Automation is the way to “Profitization”
Join us for the Automation Solutions Network meeting hosted by the Japs-Olson Company on September 18-19, 2012, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. You will have the opportunity to hear from Japs-Olson representatives, along with other industry leaders, about how to increase your profitability through automation. Specializing in direct mail and commercial printing, Japs-Olson Company is continually recognized as a leader in the printing industry. Tour this state-of-the-art plant and learn about the history that has helped shape this 512,000 square foot facility. Hear senior management expound upon the benefits of using automation as one strategy to maintain a leading competitive position. Learn how to continuously improve workflow while reducing touch points and improving your business model. Open Discussion SessionsNetwork with print leaders and peers as they discuss best practices to apply to your business. We invited the major suppliers to speak about Japs-Olson’s workflow solutions and integration techniques. Uncover the automation challenges and solutions to integrating inkjet and offset printing processes. The Automation Solutions Network has established itself as the premiere event to exchange ideas and solutions for automated workflows. It focuses on the development and practical implementation of workflow automation and cross-vendor integration implementations. The group welcomes a wide range of users employing automated technology as well as suppliers of those systems. The steering committee of the Automation Solutions Network is made up entirely of printers who have either implemented systems or are in the process of doing so. If you have question about improving your workflow or for more information about the meeting, visit the Japs-Olson meeting page or contact Automation at 800-910-4283 or automation@printing.org. You don’t want to miss this chance to tour the integrated Japs-Olson facility and learn how to increase profitability through workflow automation. We want to know: When you are looking at new software and equipment, what is the number one factor that goes in to your decision-making process? ROI calculations and strategy Stand alone performance of the software or equipment Integrating the software or equipment into your existing processes Tell us, and Printing Industries of America can provide the solutions needed to achieve automation. See our links for more information: The Automation Solutions Network Japs-Olson Company meeting page Automated Solutions Network LinkedIn Page Become a Member of the Automated Solutions...
Print Is Alive on Pinterest!
Print is all around us: it’s in the books and magazines we read, on the packages on our shelves, on the fabric of our clothing. Some of the most visually stunning printing have even won Premier Print Awards. Print is alive, and it is to this idea that we dedicate our new social site. If you have not joined Printing Industries of America on Pinterest yet, we would love to share with you our “Gallery of Print.” We are showcasing everything that is important to us—and important to you. What Is Pinterest? Some of you may be asking, “What is Pinterest?” It is, basically, a “virtual board” that lets you organize and share interesting photos that you find online. Voted one of TIME Magazine’s “50 Best Websites of 2011,” the new social media craze allows you to socialize with other pinners because you can browse their boards and “re-pin,”” like,” or “comment” on their photos. Just visit Pinterest.com to start an account, start building your boards, and following others. Is It Time for You to Get Involved? We asked our resident expert, Julie Shaffer, Vice President, Digital Technologies at Printing Industries of America and head of the Digital Printing Council, which will also host the 2012 Integrated Print Forum this October, for some tips on how to utilize Pinterest to fit into your marketing mix by highlighting your printing products and services: “You might think that Pinterest has more value for individuals than businesses. After all, while stats show that Pinterest is growing rapidly. With over 21 million unique visits, it is heavily skewed toward females (over 80% of users) interested in crafts, hobbies, interior design, and fashion. Why, then, would a printing company want to have a presence there? Because, unlike most other widely-used social media platforms, Pinterest provides a way to present a highly organized grouping of visual elements—so a company can show off specific products around a vertical market (like the ones already there, including retail and hobbies), a product type (calendars, stickers, books), or a holiday, event, or specific topic. Pinterest has become a top driver to many well-known websites, including those for Martha Stewart, Cooking Light, and Country Living. Note that all of those aforementioned brands have a magazine, too, so odds are it’s a potential print driver for them as well! Interactive marketing solution provider Strongmail considers Pinterest an effective channel that can be integrated into existing direct mail marketing initiatives. (The company recently announced the integration of Pinterest sharing with its word-of-mouth customer acquisition product Strongmail Influencer.) Pinterest offers a business library on the site that provides case studies, statistics, vertical markets, tutorials, and many other valuable materials to help businesses leverage...