On Demand-Into The Paperless Zone

To compete in the future, you must start providing customers with non-paper-based services today.

LAST YEAR at the On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing conference, the unofficial theme of the show was dotcom fever. Now that the fever has broken, the big bang buzz is all about paperless communication. But this isn't your father's "paperless office of the future," mind you. This is different.

In the past, when the term "paperless office" was first being bandied about like a baby at a bridal shower, the term reflected the hazy euphoria associated with early computing. This time around, having had the benefit of a few more years experience to refine its point of view, the industry was able to more accurately express its vision of the future.

So what did it say?

"Paper is a powerful medium that will be around for generations, and the same is true of the Web, but those who stick their head in the sand will perish," declared Charles Pesko, Jr., managing director of CAP Ventures, during his keynote address. "You must embrace new digital printing technology."

Some 21,276 people heeded that call by attending the three-day conference and exhibit in New York, now in its eighth year. Although Pesko said the On Demand show was continuing to grow, the number of empty seats at the keynote painted a different picture. Still, those who came got to see the latest wares from some 200 exhibitors and learn what direction the industry is heading from experts like Pesko.

Introduced at the keynote as "Mr. On Demand," Pesko both cautioned and cajoled attendees about the perils of paper. Though careful to avoid declaring paper-based communication completely dead (in fact, he said, CAP Ventures expects paper volume to increase over the next 20 years), he insisted that the foundation of the industry was changing. Citing data gathered by CAP Ventures, Pesko was quick to point out that betting your business' future on paper alone is tantamount to self-destruction, especially as paper use slows and e-pages grow.

"You must offer non-print services...to keep your business growing in the future," Pesko implored. "Make the decision today to deal with media other than print. If you elect to not make this transition, I suggest selling your business."

Using statistics bent toward a more paper-friendly future, Bernhard Schreier, chairman of Heidelberg's management board, agreed that businesses must begin providing non-paper-based services. However, he chided Pesko's assessment of the future saying, "I think both will play a major role in the future. I believe new technologies will supplement the printed page, not replace it."

Citing some of his own statistics in his portion of the keynote address, Schreier predicted strong continued demand for paper through 2010. He also countered Pesko's figures with humor, drawing mild laughter from the audience when he remarked, "Reports of the death of hard copy were greatly exaggerated."

However, despite minor disagreements on the tack paperless communication will ultimately take, both agreed that companies must embrace digitally based printing and communication to be successful in the future.

Fly On The Wall

Of special interest to in-plants, Pesko noted that CAP Ventures predicts outsourcing to grow over the next four years to the tune of 17 percent compounded annually. Coupled with the "go digital, or go bust" message that's been circulating for the last few years, the message in-plants should take home from On Demand is one of preparedness.

"You're going to be competing with huge conglomerates as consolidation continues in the market," warned Pesko. "The role of the print provider is changing. Focus on producing new products and services to meet customer needs."

Speaking at the "Go Digital" panel discussion, Roger Gimble, director of worldwide marketing for Global Document Solutions, echoed many of these same themes.

"Make yourself a one-stop solution for your customers," Gimble encouraged printers. Some other advice:

• Be consultants to your clients.

• Help manage information migration.

• Get involved in database management.

• Offer variable data.

• Personalize digital documents.

Speaking at the same panel, Todd Deluca, executive director of strategy and development for Riso, added a second movement to the "Go Paperless" concerto, suggesting that without a strategy to manage communications, printers could end up in dire straits.

"I think if there isn't an overall plan about how to manage a company's information, it's inviting trouble," Deluca cautioned.

Deluca also suggested consideration of these points when implementing a digital solutions strategy:

• What's your priority: Systems-based, cost-based or productivity-based?

• New systems require flexibility relative to technological advances.

• Continued access to advanced technology and trend information.

• Security, storage and support.

A good example of what companies have to gain from diversifying their offerings is provided by commercial print provider FP Horak, of Bay City, Mich. After deciding to diversify to include information management, print-on-demand, and mailing and fulfillment services, Horak went from $10 million in sales in the traditional forms market to $22 million in information management.

"We changed our mission statement from a print provider to being more of a total business information solutions provider," said Tim Dust, president of FP Horak, during the "What's Your Digital Strategy" session. "It's given us the opportunity to diversify in a much larger industry, and that's given us much more opportunity overall."

Hitting The Floor

Hearing about the trends is fine, but On Demand attendees got to actually see the latest technologies in action on the 104,000-square-foot exhibit floor.

Heidelberg, presenting what it called a vision of the future, demonstrated how offset and digital printers can work together on a single project. Though this process is no stranger to in-plants, Heidelberg drew crowds as it produced a 12-page saddle-stitched book, first using a Quickmaster DI 4-46 direct imaging press, then loading the resulting four-color signatures into a Digimaster 9110 to add variable data. An in-line booklet maker collated and stitched the job.

Elsewhere, Heidelberg announced three new products: the Imagedirect 665 Production Scanner, which delivers true 600x600-dpi resolution at 65 ppm; the Heidelberg Inserter for the 9110, which inserts preprinted color and image-rich pages into black-and-white documents without slowing down workflow; and the Heidelberg Perfect Binder, to produce in-line, cover-bound books up to 11⁄2˝ thick.

Heidelberg's NexPress Solutions subsidiary showed off its NexPress 2100 digital production color press, touting its on-board diagnostics and operator-replaceable components.

Just as Heidelberg stepped into digital printing territory once dominated by Xerox, Xerox moved onto Heidelberg's turf by displaying a direct imaging offset press. At the show was the DocuColor 233 DI-4, a 233-ppm, four-color press, touted as one of the most affordable DI presses. Xerox also offers the four-color DocuColor 400 DI-4 and five-color DI-5, both printing 400 ppm.

Xerox had a host of other digital products on hand, as well, including a few new products, and showed no signs of slowing its pace—despite the unfortunate timing of a Business Week cover story on Xerox's management woes, with the headline "Downfall."

The company introduced the 12-ppm DocuColor 12 Laser Printer for proofing or color output. It boasts a color locking capability for consistent color. Also new, the 500-ppm DocuPrint 500 CF launches Xerox into the continuous-feed market. Printing at 240 or 300 dpi, its average monthly volume is 8 million impressions. Xerox also released an entry-level version of its digital production printing workflow software: DigiPath Xpress.

After several major debuts at last year's On Demand, Indigo concentrated on demonstrating real-world applications of its color products. On hand were the Indigo e-Print Pro+, printing 2,000 four-color 81⁄2x11˝ pph, for low- to mid-volume short-run color; the seven-color UltraStream 2000, printing 4,000 four-color 81⁄2x11˝ pph; and the six-color TurboStream, boasting powerful front end processing and 2,000 four-color 81⁄2x11˝ pph. All offer 800-dpi resolution.

Xeikon showed its new 70-ppm DCP 320 Dx printer, upgradeable to 130 ppm, with the new IntelliStream 3.0 DFE. Designed for variable printing, its dual processor iRIP is four times faster than the previous version and offers much faster file downloading. Online storage capacity has been boosted to 5,400 pages. It features automated imposition, a high-speed TIFF direct workflow and job tickets for remote job submission, and it handles decompression, merging of variable data files, calibration and screening all on the fly.

Xeikon products have found their way into other vendor's offerings, as well. One of them, Océ Printing Systems USA, is also selling the DCP 320 Dx, as well as the 320 D and 500 D IntelliStream systems. At On Demand, Océ demonstrated the 500 D, creating personalized color booklets .

Another centerpiece of the Océ display was the new DemandStream 4030 cut sheet printer. It offers highlight color in duplex mode for 11x17˝ printing and features multiple resolution mode for automatic resolution management, built-in backup and security, and multiple data stream support. It delivers cut sheet output at 108 images per minute. Océ also touted its PRISMA document management and delivery architecture, which enables a consistent interface to environments with multiple vendors' equipment.

IBM Printing Systems showcased its IBM Infoprint Color 130 Plus, outputting up to 138 color impressions per minute with 300-lpi screening. Its Advanced Function Presentation system manages every object on a page from the output server to print completion, ensuring data integrity. The system can automatically restart on the last page printed without rerunning the whole job.

A New Type Of Clustering

Konica Business Technologies and Advanced Hi-Tech (AHT), after partnering last year, showed their cluster printing solution at On Demand. Unify Konica, a new AHT digital print server, can cluster from two to 10 Konica 7075 and FORCE 75 printing systems, which means splitting jobs across multiple printers. This increases output and production speeds. Optional document management tools, impositions, variable data printing and booklet making are available. Unify is a browser-based application, and offers automatic color and black-and-white document splitting, scanning and archiving.

The innovator of cluster printing, T/R Systems, was also at the show, announcing additions to its MicroPress system. It will soon offer connectivity to the 75-ppm Minolta DiALTA Di750 monochrome printer/ copier, and a joint T/R Systems and Océ system is on the way. At the show, T/R Systems introduced an enhanced version of e-Ticket that allows complete document submission, ticketing, cataloging, viewing and ordering via the Internet. Printers can create, manage, store and publish custom job tickets on their Web sites, letting customers submit new documents or order reprints from a catalog.

AHT developed the AHT Document Server for Canon (DSC), a browser-based system that uses a single server to centrally control up to four Canon U.S.A. printers, helping users balance workloads among devices in different locations.

Canon also introduced new capabilities for its imageRUNNER 110: ImageSmart production software version 4.17; a post-process document inserter with 4,000-sheet capacity for inserting preprinted color documents; the imageSCANNER 65, scanning 65 ppm at 600x600 dpi; and the Canon Perfect Binder to allow printing and binding of up to 250 books per hour.

Expanding its color offerings, Minolta demonstrated the DiALTA CF2001, producing 20 color copies a minute, and the DiALTA CF9001, offering eight color cpm. Minolta touted the tool-free replacement of drums and the transfer belt system that allows greater speed. The 2001 has a duplexing document feeder, a paper feed unit, a 10-bin sorter, and stapling and hole-punching capabilities. The 9001 boasts 600-dpi resolutions and 11x17˝ full bleed printing on 12x18˝ sheets.

Ricoh took another crack at the color market with the debut of its new Aficio Color 6513 at On Demand. It sports improved image quality and faster throughput, and is networked with the Fiery E-710 print controller. It also features full bleed capability and an optional editing function.

The new DPS400 system, from Océ-USA, permits concurrent scanning and printing at high speed. At the system's core is Océ's Image Logic technology, which automatically enhances scanned originals. The DPS400 prints more than 6,000 images an hour at 600x600 dpi.

In the offset area, Hamada showed off its B452 four-color wide landscape offset press. The B452 series prints 10,000 sheets per hour (sph) and comes with a newly designed stream feeder and a continuous dampening system. The Easy Plate Setting system minimizes makeready time by decreasing plate hanging and registration time.

To demonstrate their digital printers, Océ and Heidelberg used Mohawk Digital Papers Navajo grade. Mohawk showed its expanded Digital Papers line at On Demand, with new additions like Satin 2.0, 50/10 plus gloss for color copiers and Xeikon presses, and three new Inxwell whites.

Not to be outdone, Georgia-Pacific showcased its large family of digital printing papers, like the Microprint family and Quantum Digital Opaque. Fresh from its merger with Fort James, GP also announced new packaging for its entire line of imaging papers.

Front-end Innovations

Presstek had a big presence at On Demand. It's laser were on several DI presses. At its own booth it showed computer-to-plate systems like the Dimension200, using its trademarked ProFire thermal laser imaging technology. It handles plates up to 20x21˝, including aluminum-based thermal plates. The Dimension200 streamlines plate production with auto plate loading. It is CIP3 compatible and interfaces with industry standard protocols and hardware. Presstek also offers the Dimension400, for 27x31˝ plates, and the Dimension800, for 32x44˝ plates.

Another provider of DI imaging systems, CreoScitex, was also at the show, displaying its Spire CSX2000, the newest member of the Spire Color Server family. It drives the Xerox DocuColor 2045 and 2060 color digital printers at printer-rated speed. Spire color servers have a fast RIP and productivity-enhancing features like the Gallop mode, which enables users to RIP and print the same file simultaneously, and a powerful built-in imposition tool that can be used with any application, including variable information jobs.

The university in-plant market might be interested in what Danka Business Systems had to show at On Demand. Through an agreement with Elan GMK, it is marketing a book scanning software called BookScan Pro. It offers an automated, single-pass process for scanning, deskewing, despeckling and centering images. Predefined margins can be customized and it treats each page of a double-page scan individually. It also has sophisticated editing functions.

E-commerce was not as prevalent as it was at last year's show, but printCafe was on hand with the message that it is going strong. Despite the news of dotcom collapses, it recently added several new sales positions.

Finishing It Up

In production for a late summer release, the CMT 330 three-knife trimmer from Challenge Machinery was introduced at the show. Featuring full digital control of the trimming process, the CMT 330 can store 99 book trimming jobs or be used off-line in a manual feed mode. Other features include two-stage guillotine cutting action and an eight-station cooling tower for in-line systems.

MBO America displayed its new IFF20 in-feed folder. Its slitter shafts have plug bearings and you can set paper thickness fast due to quick setting elements. Stainless steel buckle plates have micro adjustment for sheet stop. The IFF20 is extremely quiet and comes with spiral fold rollers for a tough grip.

Launched at last year's Graph Expo, the new Baum Autofold Junior handles 11x17˝ sheets and can automatically feed and fold at up to 6,400 sph. The feed table capacity is 200 sheets and features such as jam detection and paper empty detection come standard. Baum also showed the Baumcut 31.5, a hydraulic, programmable cutter. It stores up to 99 programs and 6,464 cut steps.

Heralding increased productivity, Duplo USA's DBM series in-line bookletmaker works in conjunction with the Duplo DR-14 rotator, which turns printed sheets from long-edge to short-edge prior to feeding them into the Duplo DB-10 buffer. By holding and compiling the proper number of sheets as the previous set is being processed in the bookletmaker, the DB-10 eliminates downtime. Scheduled for a second quarter launch, the DB-10C interposer can be used to merge inserts or heavy stock into the print stream without copier slowdown.

Standard Finishing Systems unveiled its "Hybrid" finishing solution, consisting of the Standard Hunkeler SF-4 roll-to-sheet feeder, the Standard Horizon SPF-20X in-line bookletmaker, the BQ-340 in-line perfect binder and the HT-30 in-line three-knife trimmer. The sheet feeder provides up to 18 hours of non-stop productivity and can deliver up to 40,000 sheets non-stop. The SF-4 features a rotary cutting system that helps ensure consistently accurate, square sheets.

Also from Standard, the BQ-460 perfect binder produces up to 1,350 perfect bound books per hour and features a newly developed side-gluing device, and automatic air-suction cover feed with miss and double detection.

Just introduced, the GBC PF3200 is an automated tabletop perfect binder. With a production rate of up to 200 perfect bound books per hour and its patented power "nipping" to ensure perfectly square, consistent binds, the PF3200 is best suited for short to medium runs. Another product, the Fusion Punch II in-line punch, handles a variety of paper stocks. It features a software upgrade that recovers misfed documents.

Banner American Products showed its new Foliant Series laminators for single-side lamination of book covers, brochures and more. Comprising four different models and an optional separator, these laminators work with a variety of light gauge films from 133⁄4˝ to 271⁄2˝ wide. Most models have a loading conveyor belt. A decurling device ensures flat lamination.

For slightly bigger jobs, Hunt offers the new Seal 44 Ultra. It handles film widths up to 44˝ and runs at a maximum speed of 4.8 feet a minute. An internal heating element assures even temperature across the length of rollers. Other features include: touch pad controls, adjustable speed dial and auto-grip shafts for easy loading.

On Demand will take place next year April 23-25.

by Allan Martin Kemler and Bob Neubauer