PRINT 05 - Seven Days in September

PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 drew an international audience to the Windy City for a week of new technology demonstrations.

THE STATISTICS ARE in from the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05, held last month in Chicago, was a big success by many of the reported metrics.

Attendance was in the neighborhood of 62,000. The number of exhibitors, 954, was up from the 893 at the last PRINT show in 2001. The international flavor of the show was demonstrated by the more than 7,200 international attendees from 99 countries, up from 75 in 2001.

Clearly, the show had the printing industry spotlight for its week-long run. Some would argue, with merit, that seven days is too long for a trade show, but as one part of an international series of shows that rotate around the globe on a four-year basis, the length of the show was set to meet the needs of its international audience.

For the GASC, the show met or exceeded its goals, said Regis Delmontagne, president of GASC. "This show exceeded many of our expectations as well. The positive response to our initiative to significantly enter the package printing sector and the success of those exhibitors serving that sector, the increase in international attendance, and the continued success of the educational program all contributed to a very successful event overall for everyone involved."

The trend for more commercial printers getting into package printing was clearly evident at the show as more than 200 exhibitors displayed products geared toward the package printing and converting markets.

Chris Raney, vice president, folding carton products for Bobst Group, felt that PRINT 05 was the busiest trade show in North America in the last five years. "I was surprised by how many folding carton clients attended this show."

Gallus Inc. was able to meet many new prospects by leveraging its relationship as a part of the Heidelberg Group. Jon Guy, Gallus president, stated, "At this show, we have been able to reach new prospects and spread the word about narrow web and in-line productivity among prospects who, without being here, would likely have had no opportunity to look at us."

So PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 reached out to commercial and package printers alike, and to those companies that support them. For major shows of this nature, companies make sure they put their best foot forward with new products and newsworthy announcements. Here's a synopsis of some of the products and news that made the show an exciting event.

News from the show

Esko-Graphics announced a new initiative in North America called Design Life-Cycle Management (DLM). It is part of a larger Product Life-Cycle Management (PLM) solution that manages product design, packaging design, production, and manufacturing.

According to Mark Vanover, director of marketing for Esko-Graphics, DLM is a suite of software and hardware products based on the Scope workflow products. Components of Scope include DeskPack, BackStage, PackEdge, and WebCenter. These modular based solutions will allow upgrades and additions as needs change over time.

The initiative is targeted at consumer product companies, private label retailers, and their suppliers, and will help drive costs out of design implementation. "Design Life-Cycle Management solutions will speed time-to-market and dramatically reduce costs, while helping to eliminate errors," says Simon James, executive VP and general manager.

Kodak and Muller Martini announced the signing of a reseller agreement in which Kodak Versamark will provide its D-series continuous inkjet printing systems, the DS9100 and DS6240, to Muller Martini to mount on its Concepta web offset press. This will create a hybrid printing system that combines the advantages of traditional offset printing with the ability to create high-speed variable printing at speeds up to 1,000 fpm.

Kodak's Graphic Communications Group also announced the expansion of its Business Development Services, which are designed to help customers maximize their return on investment. The program includes business planning resources, industry and vertical market resources, application guides, and marketing templates.

Heidelberg and GretagMacbeth announced the delivery of the 1,000th Prinect ImageControl on-press color control system. Prinect ImageControl, available as version 4.0, is a major element of the Heidelberg Prinect workflow solution. Heidelberg and GretagMacbeth have had a successful long-term relationship that has spanned 25 years.

Heidelberg also has launched its new systemservice 36plus service package that includes intelligent support services for 36 months with the purchase of a new press. It features an annual Heidelberg inspection, including maintenance and full coverage of all repair services and parts.

Products abound

Schober USA showcased its Schober RFID applicator, which places RFID transponders under pre-printed labels. It works with label widths from 20 mm to 200 mm at rates from 5,000 to 20,000 labels per hour. An on-board RFID reader ensures the readability of each tag before and after integration.

Sun Chemical, through its Kohl & Madden subsidiary, introduced what it calls a breakthrough technology with its Liberty™ inks. These inks can stay open indefinitely on press, yet will dry very quickly when applied. The formulation does not use volatile organic compounds or cobalt dryers.

Kodak introduced products designed to allow companies to remove processing steps from platemaking. These include the Kodak Magnus 400 CTP imaging device and the Kodak Thermal Direct non-process plates. Because the Thermal Direct requires no processor and no adjustments to the imaging device, it shortens the platemaking cycle.

Jetrion launched its low-VOC solvent inks for VideoJet® and Domino® continuous inkjet printers. These inks will allow printers to reduce VOC levels within their plants or expand operations while remaining within VOC emissions limits.

Bobst Group demonstrated its SPeria 106-E Autoplaten® Diecutter, the SPeria Foilmaster 102, and its Mistral 110 A-2 CS and Amazon 105 A-1 folder gluers. The SPeria Foilmaster 102 is a solution for diecutting, embossing, and hot-foil stamping. It can be quickly changed over from a diecutter with cold embossing to a hot-foil stamping and embossing press.

Concentric Screening™ is a new halftone dot technology introduced by Artwork Systems. This screening technique divides the conventional AM screen dot into thin concentric rings, which limit ink buildup on the plate. This will allow printers to increase screen rulings without experiencing common problems such as mottle, dot gain, and variability associated with high screen rulings.

Hewlett-Packard demonstrated its HP Indigo ws4050 and ws2000 presses that are designed for high-quality digital printing of labels and packaging. Alon Bar-Shany, VP and general manager, said that more than 100 HP Indigo ws4050 presses are sold each year worldwide, and the number of digital impressions has been doubling each year.

Esko-Graphics introduced its Cyrel Digital Imager (CDI) Spark 4260, a flexo imager designed for all digital flexo plates up to 42˝ x 60˝. It provides variable resolutions from 2,000 to 4,000 ppi and is capable of screen rulings up to 200 lpi. Depending on the imaging device installed, it can image a full-size plate as fast as 12 minutes at 2,000 ppi.

GMG showed v4.1 of its GMG FlexoProof proofing software for the flexo and packaging markets. It supports all standard spot color systems, and the particular structure of the printing stock being used can be reproduced during the proofing stage.

by Tom Polischuk

Editor In Chief