The Norfolk-based commercial and publication printer has over the past four months been one of several printers around the globe to trial a new print-to-mobile system, similar to QR codes and NFC (near field communication). To access extra online content, readers download a free Ricoh app and scan the page with their smartphone or tablet cameras. They then choose from up to six links, which could include links to buy online, watch videos or join a Facebook group. The USP of Clickable Paper, according to Ricoh, is that activating the page for scanning, or ‘authoring’, is carried out after the PDF is created, with the digital technology built to respond to the printed design rather than the other way around. “The good thing is we can print the pages any time, we don’t have to wait for Ricoh to enable it, so it doesn’t hold up production,” confirmed Julian Barnwell, managing director at Barnwell Print. The first stage of the trial has involved Barnwell customer, magazine publisher Just Regional, adding interactive content to both advertising and editorial pages. Both Just Regional and its advertisers have responded extremely positively, reported Barnwell, as have other potential users of the system. “New clients just want to know when they can start doing this. The demand’s there,” he said. “It gives a lot of life to the printed page and more importantly it gives you accurate information on what people are using Clickable Paper for, which is great for advertisers.” Key learnings from this first stage have centered around finessing the technology, reported strategic marketing manager at Ricoh UK, Gareth Parker. The importance of educating all parties about the importance of the quality of PDFs, and the need to re-author repeat adverts with slight changes and avoid similar images in different adverts, has also emerged. The second stage of the trial will involve “taking a closer look at how the system performs in a commercial environment,” said Parker, with Barnwell rolling Clickable Paper out to other projects, including a fishing book and East Anglia Ambulance magazines. “One of the other things we are looking at in stage two is how viable it is for printers to do the authoring themselves. We need to understand how we can support that.” He added that Ricoh hoped Clickable Paper would become commercially available to other UK printers in the first half of 2014....

The investment, which also includes Fuji’s XMF workflow, is part of a move to bring digital printing in-house for the Gillingham, Kent-based business. This deal marks the first time Fuji’s new Uvijet OC inks have been sold to a UK customer. According to Fujifilm, the inks are specifically formulated for optimum performance on corrugated materials. STI Line operations director Dave Driver said: “The Uvijet OC inks will guarantee exceptional flexibility for us, so we can immediately proceed with the cutting and finishing stage, delivering finished products quickly.” Driver explained that STI was adopting digital print technology in order to better respond to a changing marketplace: “The increasing demand for short run products, as well as the importance of reducing lead times, has driven us in the direction of digital print. The 3.1m-wide Onset S40i employs a six-colour inkset and operates at speeds of up to 560sqm/hr. The manufacturer states that it can print at a resolution of up to 1,000dpi. “In the last few years the performance offered by this technology has grown steadily and now perfectly suits our requirements,” said Driver. STI Line supplies packaging and POS products for a range of sectors including the cosmetics and beauty...

The Norfolk-based commercial and publication printer has over the past four months been one of several printers around the globe to trial a new print-to-mobile system, similar to QR codes and NFC (near field communication). To access extra online content, readers download a free Ricoh app and scan the page with their smartphone or tablet cameras. They then choose from up to six links, which could include links to buy online, watch videos or join a Facebook group. The USP of Clickable Paper, according to Ricoh, is that activating the page for scanning, or ‘authoring’, is carried out after the PDF is created, with the digital technology built to respond to the printed design rather than the other way around. “The good thing is we can print the pages any time, we don’t have to wait for Ricoh to enable it, so it doesn’t hold up production,” confirmed Julian Barnwell, managing director at Barnwell Print. The first stage of the trial has involved Barnwell customer, magazine publisher Just Regional, adding interactive content to both advertising and editorial pages. Both Just Regional and its advertisers have responded extremely positively, reported Barnwell, as have other potential users of the system. “New clients just want to know when they can start doing this. The demand’s there,” he said. “It gives a lot of life to the printed page and more importantly it gives you accurate information on what people are using Clickable Paper for, which is great for advertisers.” Key learnings from this first stage have centered around finessing the technology, reported strategic marketing manager at Ricoh UK, Gareth Parker. The importance of educating all parties about the importance of the quality of PDFs, and the need to re-author repeat adverts with slight changes and avoid similar images in different adverts, has also emerged. The second stage of the trial will involve “taking a closer look at how the system performs in a commercial environment,” said Parker, with Barnwell rolling Clickable Paper out to other projects, including a fishing book and East Anglia Ambulance magazines. “One of the other things we are looking at in stage two is how viable it is for printers to do the authoring themselves. We need to understand how we can support that.” He added that Ricoh hoped Clickable Paper would become commercially available to other UK printers in the first half of 2014....

The investment, which also includes Fuji’s XMF workflow, is part of a move to bring digital printing in-house for the Gillingham, Kent-based business. This deal marks the first time Fuji’s new Uvijet OC inks have been sold to a UK customer. According to Fujifilm, the inks are specifically formulated for optimum performance on corrugated materials. STI Line operations director Dave Driver said: “The Uvijet OC inks will guarantee exceptional flexibility for us, so we can immediately proceed with the cutting and finishing stage, delivering finished products quickly.” Driver explained that STI was adopting digital print technology in order to better respond to a changing marketplace: “The increasing demand for short run products, as well as the importance of reducing lead times, has driven us in the direction of digital print. The 3.1m-wide Onset S40i employs a six-colour inkset and operates at speeds of up to 560sqm/hr. The manufacturer states that it can print at a resolution of up to 1,000dpi. “In the last few years the performance offered by this technology has grown steadily and now perfectly suits our requirements,” said Driver. STI Line supplies packaging and POS products for a range of sectors including the cosmetics and beauty...

The design and print company in Chertsey, Surrey has bought a Xerox Color C800, a Color C75 and a refurbished 4127 mono machine as well as ROI Storefront web-to-print platform. The new kit will be used to produce manuals, flyers, business stationery and promotion material for corporate clients. The C800 runs up to 80 pages per minute on substrates up to 350gsm and has built-in colour management. The Xerox C75 will back up the other Xerox and both machines have Fiery front ends. one- and two-colour Heidelberg GTOs Managing director Stuart Partridge said the kit replaced two leased Xerox machines, a 5000 and 4110, which were “OK but had issues of speed, oiling and click charges that were getting expensive – we weren’t as competitive as we could be”. To support the Xerox investment, the nine-staff company has also bought a Morgana DocuMaster Pro to ease bottlenecks in finishing and was also finalising an order for a Matrix MF-530 laminator to bring everything in house and quicken turnarounds. “Speed of the C800 means we can print more of the things we could not do cost effectively on the 5000,” said Partridge who bought the kit from Xerox reseller Smart Print. Partridge said the new machine could do a job in one hour that took four hours on one of the Xerox 5000s. Another plus with the machines was the ease of Xerox’s “one-click-technology”, he added. “We have always used Xerox and been relatively happy. I thought the C800 was little above us but quality and speed were great. “Business has been stable for the last two to three years and we want to push on. This year we hope to increase our £1m turnover by 15%. The team is from a repro and graphic-design background, so strong on studio and artwork skills.”...