Drupa is Here at Last

• Xerox debuted the newest addition to the iGen platform: the iGen 150 Press, printing at 150 pages per minute. It features a new 2,400 x 2,400 dpi imaging system, an auto density control system to detect and correct streaks before they occur, and Automated Color Maintenance, which analyzes color and notifyies the operator when the press is ready for production. Also unveiled is the CiPress 325 Production Inkjet System, the new IntegratedPLUS finishing solution for booklets.
• EFI announced the new Xerox EX Print Server, powered by Fiery, for the new Xerox iGen 150. It boasts fast RIP speeds and variable data printing (VDP) capabilities that offer open, scalable workflow tools from entry level to advanced. EFI also debuted the 3.2m-wide VUTEk HS100 Pro, a versatile, high-speed digital UV press, with throughput speeds at rates of up to 100 boards per hour.
• Komori and Konica Minolta have jointly developed an inkjet system called KM1. Though it is at drupa as a "technology showcase," KM1 produces high-quality print jobs that are not suitable for offset printing, due to size, short runs, tight deadlines, or the need for variable data processing. The high-speed color inkjet press processes formats up to size B2 and a speed of 3,300 sph (sheets per hour).
• MGI Digital Graphic Technology demonstrated its new B2 sheetfed digital inkjet press, the Alphajet B2 sheetfed inkjet press, which prints in six colors plus UV coating at speeds of up to 3,000 sheets per hour. MGI also announced the JETvarnish 3D inkjet spot UV coater with 3D embossing capabilities.
• Ricoh is showing a prototype of the Ricoh Pro L4000, a seven color, latex ink, large-format inkjet printer including white ink and InfoPrint ADF Express, a new addition to the Ricoh TotalFlow workflow suite. It is also demonstrating the latest generation of its 3D inkjet head technology and a new visual search technology called Ricoh Clickable Paper, a cross-media service enabling consumers to point a smartphone at any printed surface and receive related online content.
• Hewlett Packard is demonstrating its meter-wide full-color HP Inkjet Web Press operating at 800 feet per minute, featuring new inks, printheads and glossy coated paper that support faster print speeds. HP also announced five beta customers for the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press.
• Heidelberg is running two of its new Speedmaster XL 106 presses at the show. The 750x1,060mm-format press features a number of enhancements over the 105 it replaces, including the ability to perfect at 18,000 sph and handle substrates up to 1mm straight or 0.8mm in perfecting mode.
• Epson America introduced the SurePress L-4033AW, a seven-color inkjet digital label press with white ink that makes high-quality, short-run label printing easier and more efficient, even on clear and metallic substrates. SurePress leverages Epson’s original MicroPiezo ink jet technology delivering accurate dot shape and placement for high-end color quality and sharp detail, critical for barcodes and small text.
• Xanté is demonstrating its new iQueue 7 workflow software with features like full job control, screening and half-toning controls, independent CMYK density controls, job cost estimation and imposition.
• Fujifilm is demonstrating the performance advantages of four new Uvijet ink systems. It also launched the Uvistar Pro8 super wide-format printing system, which uses Parallel Drop Size (PDS) technology to produce high definition display POP graphics at speeds in excess of 300m2/hour. Fujifilm's booth features a technology showcase of a new digital inkjet web press that enables duplex printing within a single tower design, and runs at 127 meters/min.
• Landa is unveiling a family of six Nanographic Printing presses—three sheetfed and three web presses—that enable print providers to produce short to medium run lengths at unmatched cost-per-page. (See our Landa story in today's e-newsletter, as well as another story on Landa's partnerships with Heidelberg, Komori and manroland.)
• Pitney Bowes announced new hardware enhancements, software updates and capabilities for its IntelliJet® Printing Systems, including new printhead technology and color inks, and the availability of IntelliJet Print Process Manager 3.1. Pitney Bowes’s IntelliJet Printing System family now supports a fully integrated camera-based content verification solution and a new zero-speed splicer and turret rewinder.
• C.P. Bourg today announced an enhanced "E-series" version of its versatile dual-mode Bourg BSF Sheet Feeder that allows C.P. Bourg finishing equipment connected in-line to a Xerox iGen or Nuvera press also to accept jobs from many different off-line printers and produce them automatically in a JDF workflow.
• Mitsubishi Paper announced a new chem-free CTP plate system. The Violet Digiplate functions without chemicals, is sensitive to violet light and is based on the Polymer Cross Link technology.

Watch for a full drupa report in IPG's June issue.