UK screen house secures Fespa launched HP FB10000 first
The 625m2/hr UV flatbed, which was launched at Fespa on Tuesday, will be delivered directly from the show to Swanline’s Stone, Staffordshire facility. “The investments we make are typically on behalf of our trade customers, and we know that we can fill the capacity no problem,” said Swanline managing director Nick Kirby. “We have a 60/40 packaging/POS split and we anticipate the technology on the 10000 will enable us to grow both parts of the business.” The £10m turnover, 80 staff business looked at a number of rival machines, but said that their platforms were “pretty much at their limit”, while the HP, with its new HDR technology, would be “continually upgraded”. “The 10000 raises the bar on the speed and, importantly, quality perspective so it will definitely encroach on short run packaging. I think it’s comparable to offset litho,” he added. As well as the FB10000, the company has bought three Esko Kongsberg XP and XN large-format digital cutters and has taken on an additional three staff in anticipation of its arrival. Swanline’s machine will go into production towards the end of July and will be configured with three-quarter automatic loading....
read moreSSE Worldwide previews UV LED flatbed plotter
The BE LED will be available from September and is designed for short-run printed promotional items and packaging. The machine has a print area of 600mmx400mm and can handle thicknesses of up to 130mm. The device, which costs around £22,000, is driven by a Mutoh engine and uses Epson inkjet heads, printing at resolutions from 360x360dpi to 2880x1440dpi in CMYK plus white and gloss varnish. Ilkley-based SSE Worldwide has also launched the small format Eagle 30 and 60 UV Led small format flatbed printers to the UK market, at Fespa. The £35,000 and £45,000 printers are aimed at the signage and promotional product markets. The devices, which can print onto substrates and objects up to a depth of 250mm, run on a specifically designed RIP, Whiterip and currently use Epson DX5 printheads. Managing director Scott Armitage said that the first two UK buyers of the machine were expected to sign at Fespa, this week. “We’ve had a lot of interest on the stand this week so far, from plenty of international visitors as well as from the UK,” he added....
read moreSSE Worldwide previews UV LED flatbed plotter
The BE LED will be available from September and is designed for short-run printed promotional items and packaging. The machine has a print area of 600mmx400mm and can handle thicknesses of up to 130mm. The device, which costs around £22,000, is driven by a Mutoh engine and uses Epson inkjet heads, printing at resolutions from 360x360dpi to 2880x1440dpi in CMYK plus white and gloss varnish. Ilkley-based SSE Worldwide has also launched the small format Eagle 30 and 60 UV Led small format flatbed printers to the UK market, at Fespa. The £35,000 and £45,000 printers are aimed at the signage and promotional product markets. The devices, which can print onto substrates and objects up to a depth of 250mm, run on a specifically designed RIP, Whiterip and currently use Epson DX5 printheads. Managing director Scott Armitage said that the first two UK buyers of the machine were expected to sign at Fespa, this week. “We’ve had a lot of interest on the stand this week so far, from plenty of international visitors as well as from the UK,” he added....
read morePapergraphics shines at Fespa
The Crawley-based firm has created a buzz at Fespa with a silver wrapped double-decker bus as a centrepiece on its stand, decorated by international artist Insa. New products on show include Digimura Ag and Au wallpapers, which are silver and gold respectively. The PVC and polyester-mix papers, which come in 1,280mm x 30m rolls, can be printed onto with UV curable inks only and are applied to a pasted wall without the need to apply paste to the substrate. The new metallic range costs £13 per sq/m. Digimura 2.1 Silk, also launched this week, has joined the rest of the textured 2.1 family of Tactile, Smooth, Rude, Dune and Façade. All are available in 1300mm x 30m rolls at £7 per sq/m. Another new addition to the company’s portfolio is Teslaflex, a new magnetic media that allows users to regularly change wall displays by applying ferrous-film, magnetic top layers onto a plain self-adhesive magnetic base layer. Teslaflex is available in a range of widths. Papergraphics’ Francesca Selby said the new substrates had been developed through a combination of customer research and in-house innovation at the near 80-staff business. “We think of oursleves as innovative – we listen to our customers and respond to their needs and its also really important for us to stay ahead of the market and develop new products that surprise and excite people,” she added....
read morePapergraphics shines at Fespa
The Crawley-based firm has created a buzz at Fespa with a silver wrapped double-decker bus as a centrepiece on its stand, decorated by international artist Insa. New products on show include Digimura Ag and Au wallpapers, which are silver and gold respectively. The PVC and polyester-mix papers, which come in 1,280mm x 30m rolls, can be printed onto with UV curable inks only and are applied to a pasted wall without the need to apply paste to the substrate. The new metallic range costs £13 per sq/m. Digimura 2.1 Silk, also launched this week, has joined the rest of the textured 2.1 family of Tactile, Smooth, Rude, Dune and Façade. All are available in 1300mm x 30m rolls at £7 per sq/m. Another new addition to the company’s portfolio is Teslaflex, a new magnetic media that allows users to regularly change wall displays by applying ferrous-film, magnetic top layers onto a plain self-adhesive magnetic base layer. Teslaflex is available in a range of widths. Papergraphics’ Francesca Selby said the new substrates had been developed through a combination of customer research and in-house innovation at the near 80-staff business. “We think of oursleves as innovative – we listen to our customers and respond to their needs and its also really important for us to stay ahead of the market and develop new products that surprise and excite people,” she added....
read moreGreat Deals Are Always in Demand
This is a guest blog post from John Conley, Vice President Commercial Print and Publishing at Xerox Corporation. For more information about the National Buying Programs available to members through Printing Industries of America affiliates, visit www.printing.org/buyingpower. We are all faced with having to deal with the fast pace of change brought about by advances in technology. This is particularly true in the graphic arts, where we see content providers, equipment vendors, and service suppliers making changes to their product lines and service offerings and developing or using new technology. In the past only large companies had the scale and bandwidth to take advantage of these changes, but organizations like Printing Industries of America have helped to bring the economic advantages of a large printer to small- and medium-size print service providers through programs like the Printing Industries of America National Buying Program with Xerox. The Xerox Buying Program is one of the tools that Printing Industries of America provides to its members which allow print service providers (PSPs) and marketing service providers (MSPs) to compete with any size organization when it comes to acquiring equipment and services at highly competitive prices. The power of Xerox comes to your doorstep at equipment pricing levels that allow you to compete effectively anywhere in the market. This is extremely important as PSPs and MSPs are able to compete outside of their geographies thanks to the expanded branding opportunities that are created by strong Web-to-print solutions. In addition to competitive equipment prices that members through Printing Industries of America receive with the program, users also gain access to all of the tools and services that are a part of the Xerox Go to Market Value proposition—which is focused on creating more value, productivity, and profitability for PSPs and MSPs. Your Xerox sales and service teams can help you with all elements of your business from new equipment, to workflow, to unique materials, to fresh ideas for new capabilities working with valued partners and subsidiaries like XMpie. Xerox and Printing Industries of America have been working together successfully for more than 10 years. The Xerox Buying Program is a key value-added service that is focused on keeping you competitive in the market while at the same time helping to strengthen the programs and services that Printing Industries of America and its Affiliates bring to its members. It is a win-win for everyone. Talk to your affiliate director, Xerox sales representative, or your peers in your affiliate who are already Xerox customers. Start benefiting from the power of the Printing Industries of America National Buying Program with Xerox. Learn more at...
read moreGreat Deals Are Always in Demand
This is a guest blog post from John Conley, Vice President Commercial Print and Publishing at Xerox Corporation. For more information about the National Buying Programs available to members through Printing Industries of America affiliates, visit www.printing.org/buyingpower. We are all faced with having to deal with the fast pace of change brought about by advances in technology. This is particularly true in the graphic arts, where we see content providers, equipment vendors, and service suppliers making changes to their product lines and service offerings and developing or using new technology. In the past only large companies had the scale and bandwidth to take advantage of these changes, but organizations like Printing Industries of America have helped to bring the economic advantages of a large printer to small- and medium-size print service providers through programs like the Printing Industries of America National Buying Program with Xerox. The Xerox Buying Program is one of the tools that Printing Industries of America provides to its members which allow print service providers (PSPs) and marketing service providers (MSPs) to compete with any size organization when it comes to acquiring equipment and services at highly competitive prices. The power of Xerox comes to your doorstep at equipment pricing levels that allow you to compete effectively anywhere in the market. This is extremely important as PSPs and MSPs are able to compete outside of their geographies thanks to the expanded branding opportunities that are created by strong Web-to-print solutions. In addition to competitive equipment prices that members through Printing Industries of America receive with the program, users also gain access to all of the tools and services that are a part of the Xerox Go to Market Value proposition—which is focused on creating more value, productivity, and profitability for PSPs and MSPs. Your Xerox sales and service teams can help you with all elements of your business from new equipment, to workflow, to unique materials, to fresh ideas for new capabilities working with valued partners and subsidiaries like XMpie. Xerox and Printing Industries of America have been working together successfully for more than 10 years. The Xerox Buying Program is a key value-added service that is focused on keeping you competitive in the market while at the same time helping to strengthen the programs and services that Printing Industries of America and its Affiliates bring to its members. It is a win-win for everyone. Talk to your affiliate director, Xerox sales representative, or your peers in your affiliate who are already Xerox customers. Start benefiting from the power of the Printing Industries of America National Buying Program with Xerox. Learn more at...
read moreHP launches flagship flatbed at Fespa
The new machine is targeted at the sign and display, corrugated and retail-ready packaging markets. The 10000 is capable of 312sqm/hour in ‘Sample Mode’ rising to 625 sqm/hr in “sellable” ‘PROD 125′ mode and has a bed size of 1,600×3,200mm. It can handle products up to 25mm thick. It features HP’s HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, which is a combination of new HDR300 printheads, of which there are 312, coupled with new software algorithms for droplet placement and a new pigmented, high adhesion inkset, HDR240. Xavier Garcia, general manager of HP Scitex Wide Format Printing Solutions, said: “We’re are now able to control drop size, drop by drop and that creates a tonal range that replicates very closely high resolution systems like offset and flexo. This is the ‘magic of what the 10000 represents.” The new heads use what HP says is a patented technology that can apply different sized drops, 15, 30, 45 pico litre drops simultaneously by merging 15 Pico litre drops ‘mid air’. According to Garcia, this offers an equivalent resolution of 150 lines per inch (lpi). Shipping of the FB10000 will begin in November, although it is commercially available immediately on a “restricted basis”. The machine will initially be available as in six-colours (CMYK and Lc, Lm), but Garcia said that an upgrade path had been built into the system – suggesting more colours could be added. He said that white might also be a future option, depending on customer requirements. The 10000, which is running live on HP’s stand at Fespa, has been in development for three years and has been in beta testing at KL Druck in Germany for two months. The 10000 will be sold alongside the HP Scitex FB7600, but the features on the 10000 will not be retro-fittable to it. “Basically to introduce the 10000 technology we had to re-engineer the entire press. Architecturally it may look similar to he 7600, but the accuracy required for all the components mean you can multiply by 10 the complexity involved in its construction,” said Garcia....
read moreHP launches flagship flatbed at Fespa
The new machine is targeted at the sign and display, corrugated and retail-ready packaging markets. The 10000 is capable of 312sqm/hour in ‘Sample Mode’ rising to 625 sqm/hr in “sellable” ‘PROD 125′ mode and has a bed size of 1,600×3,200mm. It can handle products up to 25mm thick. It features HP’s HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, which is a combination of new HDR300 printheads, of which there are 312, coupled with new software algorithms for droplet placement and a new pigmented, high adhesion inkset, HDR240. Xavier Garcia, general manager of HP Scitex Wide Format Printing Solutions, said: “We’re are now able to control drop size, drop by drop and that creates a tonal range that replicates very closely high resolution systems like offset and flexo. This is the ‘magic of what the 10000 represents.” The new heads use what HP says is a patented technology that can apply different sized drops, 15, 30, 45 pico litre drops simultaneously by merging 15 Pico litre drops ‘mid air’. According to Garcia, this offers an equivalent resolution of 150 lines per inch (lpi). Shipping of the FB10000 will begin in November, although it is commercially available immediately on a “restricted basis”. The machine will initially be available as in six-colours (CMYK and Lc, Lm), but Garcia said that an upgrade path had been built into the system – suggesting more colours could be added. He said that white might also be a future option, depending on customer requirements. The 10000, which is running live on HP’s stand at Fespa, has been in development for three years and has been in beta testing at KL Druck in Germany for two months. The 10000 will be sold alongside the HP Scitex FB7600, but the features on the 10000 will not be retro-fittable to it. “Basically to introduce the 10000 technology we had to re-engineer the entire press. Architecturally it may look similar to he 7600, but the accuracy required for all the components mean you can multiply by 10 the complexity involved in its construction,” said Garcia....
read moreSt Ives trims board
Lloyd Wigglesworth, the group’s managing director of printing and publishing, will step down from the board at the end of this month and will leave the company in October. He initially joined the group as a non-executive director in 2008 and became a board member in 2009. He will not be directly replaced. “It reflects the restructuring that’s been done at the group. We have fewer factories and businesses under that segment now, and Lloyd has been an important part of that transition,” explained chief executive Patrick Martell, who thanked Wigglesworth for his contribution to the business. The executive management at St Ives’ various businesses will now report directly to either Martell or finance director Matt Armitage. “We are creating more of a matrix structure rather than old-fashioned reporting lines. It’s about the future,” Martell added. The move will also save the PLC a six-figure sum. Wigglesworth had a basic salary of £248,000 and a total package including bonus and shares of £511,000 last year. Separately, St Ives has already announced that it intends to appoint an additional non-executive director....
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