Hot Products for In-plants
Chemistry-free CTP
The Glunz & Jensen PlateWriter 3000 is a two-up and four-up chemistry-free CTP system designed for small to mid-size printers. It can produce up to 20 two-up or 10 four-up plates per hour. The system includes a Harlequin-based RIP with a powerful hardware platform and an integrated finishing unit to cure plates without the need for chemicals or processing. Plates are finished using low energy halogen heat sources, then automatically gummed. They do not require processing baths, exposure units or rinsing water, yielding a very low energy consumption plate. —www.glunz-jensen.com
Small But Powerful
The Heidelberg Suprasetter A52/A75 has a strikingly small footprint. Even with full automation it is the smallest platesetter in its class. It can be configured for semi-automatic or fully automatic operation. The Auto Top Loader can hold 50 to 100 plates and the Dual Top Loader handles two plate sizes and up to 100 plates. Slip sheet removal is automatic. The Suprasetter A52/75 uses laser technology developed by Heidelberg, and offers reliable imaging quality including AM, FM and hybrid screening. The Suprasetter A52/A75 reportedly has the lowest energy consumption and heat output compared with other small-format thermal platesetters. —www.heidelberg.com
Process Free Plates
Increase your environmental credentials with Kodak’s Sonora XP Process Free Plates. They deliver the print capabilities and productivity of mainstream plates, without the processing and chemistry. These non-ablative, thermal, negative working plates incorporate Kodak’s press ready technology. Not only do they enable your in-plant to remove chemistry, water, energy and waste from plate making but they are capable of printing with recycled paper and board stock. Sonora XP plates offer run lengths up to 100,000 impressions with sheetfed presses, and are perfect for high-quality, short- to medium-run sheetfed jobs. The plate can be handled before and after imaging safely for up to one hour under white light. —graphics.kodak.com
Chemistry-free Plate
With Azura TU, Agfa Graphics expands its reach to serve sheetfed printers with chemistry-free printing plates with the built-in advantages of the ThermoFuse technology. Azura TU extends the run length up to 150,000 copies, and the Azura CX clean-out unit and a pH-neutral gum are all that are needed to clean and protect the plate. All variables in the platemaking process are eliminated. The system has a very long bath life, combined with very low gum and negligible water consumption. —www.agfa.com
Digital Printing Advancements
Konica Minolta has improved upon its bizhub PRESS C6500 series and bizhub PRESS C7000 series with the launch of the bizhub PRESS C1070/C1070P/C1060 series and bizhub PRO C1060L color digital presses. With the ability to handle a broad range of substrates and various in-line finishing options, this new series can handle complex print specifications without compromising speed or quality. It features fourth generation Simitri HDE toner and Screen-Enhancing Active Digital (SEAD IV) processing. The series also includes air-assisted paper feeder (PF-602, LU-202) and air-suction paper feed unit (PF-707) options.
—www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com
New Latex Wide-format Printers
The new Ricoh Pro L4160 and Ricoh Pro L4130 are Ricoh’s first entries into wide-format graphics. Using Ricoh multiple jetting piezoelectric print heads, these roll-to-roll printers handle media sizes up to 63.8˝ or 54˝ wide. They support up to seven colors in various configurations, including orange, green and white inks in addition to CMYK. The printers use aqueous latex ink, reportedly more environmentally friendly than traditional petroleum-based inks due to lower levels of volatile organic compounds. Latex inks also eliminate the need for special ventilation. Ricoh latex inks offer outdoor durability of one to two years, or two to three years with lamination. —www.rpp.ricoh-usa.com
Short-run Label Printer
The latest addition to OKI Data Americas’ web printing platform is the C711DW, a high-quality, entry-level, narrow format web product with optional film laminating and digital diecutting finishing solutions. This machine is a fast, short-run, digital label printing system that delivers exceptional color; operates in either continuous (roll-to-roll) or cutsheet modes; and handles a variety of substrates, including paper, polyester and vinyl at widths of 6.5-8.5˝ in rolls and a maximum outside diameter of 14˝. —www.okidata.com
Press and Feeder
The Impressia Digital Multi-Media Press from Xanté helps printers meet the demand for fast, full-color letterhead, cards, envelopes, labels, banners and more. Its Enterprise High-Speed Feed System with a straight, multi-speed feed path allows users to keep production moving. The press prints at speeds of up to 78 full-color #10 envelopes per minute. In addition, the system is driven by the iQueue Prepress Workflow, giving it the ability to handle complex digital files, make critical color adjustments and apply screening, among other tasks. —www.xante.com
Storefront Access Across Devices
Version 7 of EFI’s Digital StoreFront combines the software’s SmartStore Builder interface with HTML5 tools for optimized Web-to-print storefront access across desktop, tablet and mobile devices. This includes devices that run Windows, Linux, Max OS, iOS, Android and Windows Mobile. Print shop administrators can choose from a variety of pre-built layouts and themes, as well as easily customize storefronts. In addition, pre-flighted files, job attributes and order information flow directly to downstream systems, eliminating redundant touches and delays. —www.efi.com
Synthetic Papers Suited for Digital
xpedx has broadened its portfolio with the addition of two new synthetic papers: PoliPrint Xerographic Polyester Paper and YUPOBlue for HP Indigo. PoliPrint is designed for high-heat, dry toner production equipment, such as the Xerox iGen and Kodak NexPress. It features a specialized coating for excellent toner adhesion and resistance to most contaminants. YUPOBlue is optimized specifically for HP Indigo presses and carries a three-star certification rating from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). With the feel of a luxurious silk paper, it does not require surface treatment prior to printing, and is 100 percent recyclable, waterproof, and tear and stain resistant. —www.xpedx.com
Paper for Offset and Digital
PaperMax has launched RainbowMax, a premium, heavyweight, carbonless paper that is guaranteed to run on both offset and digital platforms. Carbonless paper is designed to transmit images from one ply to subsequent plies beneath it with manual or mechanical pressure, without using carbon paper. RainbowMax’s image transmission speed is considerably faster compared to leading U.S. brands, resulting in a crisp, dark image all the way down to the sixth ply. RainbowMax’s micro-encapsulation technology provides clear, deep images that are nearly immediate. —www.papermaxusa.com
Post-consumer Fiber Inkjet Paper
An uncoated fine paper created for inkjet printing has been launched by Cascades. Cascades Enviro Jet is reportedly the only inkjet paper in North America with 100 percent post-consumer fiber. In addition, it is certified by FSC and EcoLogo, and processed without chlorine. Designed especially for printing direct mail, transactional documents and books, Cascades Enviro Jet performs well on both high-speed pigment and dye ink presses. The treatment applied on the surface of the paper helps the colors to keep their vibrancy. —www.cascades.com
Stitcher Suited for Digital and Offset
Winner of a 2013 Must See ’Ems award, the Presto II Digital Saddlestitcher from Muller Martini provides production, labor and workflow eficiencies. Giving users the ability to integrate roll or flat sheet printed digital material with conventionally printed signatures, they no longer need independent finishing solutions for each type of formatted product. It can process single sheets or also be equipped with folding modules for multipage signature processing. It has been designed as a scalable technology that can support both current offset and future digital production requirements. —www.mullermartiniusa.com
Double Speed 3D Spot UV Coating
MGI USA’s digital inkjet spot UV coater, the JETvarnish 3D, includes a “Twin” option, which doubles the speeds for 3D spot UV coating with raised effects. The “Twin” option works at speeds of up to 2,234 (12x18˝) sheets per hour; it also doubles the amount of coating that can be applied in one pass to a maximum of 200 microns, opening up new markets such as Braille. MGI’s inkjet technology features a fixed head configuration, which maintains precise registration. These gains in speed and productivity are ideally suited to higher-volume applications. —www.mgiusa.com
Creaser for Digital Jobs
Users can create a multitude of unique, full-bleed applications with Duplo USA’s DC-646 slitter/cutter/creaser. Performing up to eight slits, 25 cuts and 20 creases in a single pass, the DC-646 eliminates white borders and prevents toner cracking on fold lines up to 30 sheets/min. It also offers optional rotary tool and cross-perforating modules, both with strike-perforating capabilities for increased versatility. Users can create 24-up business cards on 12x18˝ paper or 36-up on 14x26˝ paper, slit-score greeting cards, perforate direct mailers with tear-away cards and more. The machine comes built-in with a CCD scanner, making it possible to recall any job stored in memory simply by reading the printed barcode. —www.duplousa.com
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
