Ricoh has been confirmed as the latest digital vendor to be removed from the floor plan after deciding to cancel its 1,836sqm booking – which would have made it the second largest remaining exhibitor at the London event. “It’s not a financial decision or a decision based on who’s going to be at Ipex and who’s not, our decision is based purely on our strategic plan on how we can best meet our customer requirements,” said Ricoh UK head of production print Stephen Palmer. “So we made the decision that we can reach more customers by doing smaller shows and very focussed customer events around the UK and indeed Europe,” he added. He declined to comment on whether the company had lost its deposit, but said the company had “reached a decision” with Ipex. He also added that the company still supported organiser Informa and while it had ruled out appearing at Ipex 2014, the company may still appear at Ipex 2018 and hailed its appearance earlier this month at North Print & Pack as “very successful”. While Ricoh’s decision is a major setback for Ipex organiser Informa, which has worked hard to reposition the show following a series of high profile withdrawals that began last summer, it follows a statement issued last week by Konica Minolta, the event’s largest exhibitor, in which it reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to the show. “Ipex perfectly aligns with our aim to continually invest in developing technical innovations and focus on the future of our business, making it the key international event for Konica Minolta in 2014,” said Olaf Lorenz, general manager, International Marketing Division, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe. The company plans to use the Excel show as a springboard for its KM-1 B2 inkjet press, which was shown as a concept at last year’s Drupa. The 1,650sph KM-1 uses Konica Minolta’s own UV inkjet technology and a press chassis from Komori. However, Konica will now be one of the few mainstream digital vendors on the show floor, following the withdrawals of the likes of Canon, HP, Kodak and Xerox. Informa was unavailable for comment at the time of writing, but speaking in March, following Canon’s withdrawal, it said it was “absolutely committed to running Ipex next year”....

Ricoh has been confirmed as the latest digital vendor to be removed from the floor plan after deciding to cancel its 1,836sqm booking – which would have made it the second largest remaining exhibitor at the London event. “It’s not a financial decision or a decision based on who’s going to be at Ipex and who’s not, our decision is based purely on our strategic plan on how we can best meet our customer requirements,” said Ricoh UK head of production print Stephen Palmer. “So we made the decision that we can reach more customers by doing smaller shows and very focussed customer events around the UK and indeed Europe,” he added. He declined to comment on whether the company had lost its deposit, but said the company had “reached a decision” with Ipex. He also added that the company still supported organiser Informa and while it had ruled out appearing at Ipex 2014, the company may still appear at Ipex 2018 and hailed its appearance earlier this month at North Print & Pack as “very successful”. While Ricoh’s decision is a major setback for Ipex organiser Informa, which has worked hard to reposition the show following a series of high profile withdrawals that began last summer, it follows a statement issued last week by Konica Minolta, the event’s largest exhibitor, in which it reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to the show. “Ipex perfectly aligns with our aim to continually invest in developing technical innovations and focus on the future of our business, making it the key international event for Konica Minolta in 2014,” said Olaf Lorenz, general manager, International Marketing Division, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe. The company plans to use the Excel show as a springboard for its KM-1 B2 inkjet press, which was shown as a concept at last year’s Drupa. The 1,650sph KM-1 uses Konica Minolta’s own UV inkjet technology and a press chassis from Komori. However, Konica will now be one of the few mainstream digital vendors on the show floor, following the withdrawals of the likes of Canon, HP, Kodak and Xerox. Informa was unavailable for comment at the time of writing, but speaking in March, following Canon’s withdrawal, it said it was “absolutely committed to running Ipex next year”....

BioSeal has been developed by scientists at infection control R&D specialist Chemical Intelligence. The firm has agreed an exclusive deal with Shackell Edwards, part of the Druckfarben group, for its use in coatings for the printing industry. BioSeal is a biocide that involves micro-particles in a resin. The particles are harmless and dormant until touched, at which point they kill harmful bacteria including MRSA and E. coli. Potential applications include healthcare items such as patient records, printed products for schools and GP surgeries, as well as notoriously germ-laden items such as banknotes. Chemical Intelligence chief executive Rob Gros said the method means bacteria cannot build resistance, with tests showing that BioSeal reduces harmful bacteria on surfaces by up to 99.999%. The firm has a patent pending on the technology, which it said remains effective for the lifetime of the product. “It’s a novel and clever technology that has allowed us to reach this level of efficiency, and not at high cost,” Gros said. “I haven’t seen another product anywhere that can get close to this.” Shackell Edwards has formulated a range of BioSeal coatings for print at its factory in Corby, including oil-based, water-based and UV coatings. “It’s helping printers add value to print,” said Grant Penfield, group managing director at parent Druckfarben, who said BioSeal was more effective and less expensive than existing silver-based antimicrobial coatings. He hopes this affordability and ease-of-use will lead to wide-scale adoption. “Printers’ customers will benefit from a safe-to-touch antimicrobial surface at minimal extra cost. The additional cost in the coating is about 10%-15%, so it doesn’t add up to much in the overall cost of a printed job,” he said. Users can add a special BioSeal brandmark to printed products that have been coated to indicate when a product carries the protection. BioSeal has been field-tested by a range of printers using a variety of sheetfed and web presses, and with inline and offline coating units. “The coatings work normally on-press, and don’t change the appearance of the print or cause yellowing,” Penfield added. For more information visit www.bioseal.co.uk or www.shackell-edwards.co.uk....

BioSeal has been developed by scientists at infection control R&D specialist Chemical Intelligence. The firm has agreed an exclusive deal with Shackell Edwards, part of the Druckfarben group, for its use in coatings for the printing industry. BioSeal is a biocide that involves micro-particles in a resin. The particles are harmless and dormant until touched, at which point they kill harmful bacteria including MRSA and E. coli. Potential applications include healthcare items such as patient records, printed products for schools and GP surgeries, as well as notoriously germ-laden items such as banknotes. Chemical Intelligence chief executive Rob Gros said the method means bacteria cannot build resistance, with tests showing that BioSeal reduces harmful bacteria on surfaces by up to 99.999%. The firm has a patent pending on the technology, which it said remains effective for the lifetime of the product. “It’s a novel and clever technology that has allowed us to reach this level of efficiency, and not at high cost,” Gros said. “I haven’t seen another product anywhere that can get close to this.” Shackell Edwards has formulated a range of BioSeal coatings for print at its factory in Corby, including oil-based, water-based and UV coatings. “It’s helping printers add value to print,” said Grant Penfield, group managing director at parent Druckfarben, who said BioSeal was more effective and less expensive than existing silver-based antimicrobial coatings. He hopes this affordability and ease-of-use will lead to wide-scale adoption. “Printers’ customers will benefit from a safe-to-touch antimicrobial surface at minimal extra cost. The additional cost in the coating is about 10%-15%, so it doesn’t add up to much in the overall cost of a printed job,” he said. Users can add a special BioSeal brandmark to printed products that have been coated to indicate when a product carries the protection. BioSeal has been field-tested by a range of printers using a variety of sheetfed and web presses, and with inline and offline coating units. “The coatings work normally on-press, and don’t change the appearance of the print or cause yellowing,” Penfield added. For more information visit www.bioseal.co.uk or www.shackell-edwards.co.uk....

The latest addition to the Inca Onset series, the Inca Onset Q40i incorporates Fujifilm Spectra Dimatix QS10 printheads to deliver a 10 picolitre drop size, building upon the quality of the S40i model’s 27 picolitre drop size. The flat-bed prints onto media up to 3.14m x 1.6m (123.6in x 63in) and up to 50mm (2in) thick. It can be ordered as a four or six-colour model, offers 1200dpi, and prints up to 310m2/hr, equating to 62 full-bed sheets per hour. Applications for the printer will include backlit cosmetics displays, fashion displays and other closely-viewed graphics, said Inca. New York City-based Duggal Visual Solutions is the first beta test partner of the Inca Onset Q40i. Chief executive Michael Duggal said with clientele that tended to “push creative boundaries” the company was expert at dealing with industry demands. “We have years of experience assessing which machines are capable of satisfying and exceeding those demands,” he added. Heather Kendle, marketing director at Inca Digital, said that Inca and Fujifilm were expecting the machine to generate significant interest at Fespa. She said: “With an output quality comparable to offset litho married with Inca Digital’s on-going commitment to delivering flexible, high-productivity solutions, we believe that the Onset Q40i will attract considerable attention.”...