Germany calling In a little over two months the great and the good of the print industry will congregate in Düsseldorf for another drupa show. But what exactly can you expect to see there? Nessan Cleary gives us an insight.

Kodak's Versamark VL2000

I must confess that I like the inevitability with which large shows like drupa and Ipex come round every couple of years. Some people complain that they don’t have the time or the money to go to these shows and that there’s no point anymore since new products supercede old products all too quickly these days. And these complaints are all true, but they miss the bigger picture, that a show like drupa gives off a buzz that lights up the whole industry, and gives people a chance to get together and share ideas, and we’d all be much poorer without this opportunity.

Indeed, looking back at past drupas we can chart the rise of digital printing, from an interesting concept that might someday be useful, to an accepted technology. For this year’s show there are a lot of new digital printers, including a number of high speed inkjet narrow format printers, signalling the longterm importance of inkjet technology. There are also a number of wide format inkjet devices, which illustrates the extent to which wide format sign and display print has become a staple business for mainstream commercial printers.

The need to accommodate digital printers has also led to new developments in terms of workflow. At the last drupa we saw vendors start to develop links between digital printers and prepress workflows, but now most developers have recognised that workflows must be designed from the outset so that they are able to output to both conventional and digital print.

Another interesting trend from this drupa is that we are seeing much greater co-operation from vendors that would otherwise be competing against each other. This reflects a new-found realism amongst vendors that there is little point committing vast resources to invent something if it already exists elsewhere.

One company that embodies all of these trends is Screen which is planning to use drupa to completely reinvent itself in response to the growing use of digital printing. Screen has built up an enviable position as one of the leading suppliers of platesetters for conventional printing, with many other vendors rebadging Screen’s CtP engines for their own use. However, Screen has also developed its own DI printer and is transforming its business to better serve the needs of on-demand printers.

Screen also is entering the wide format arena, with the announcement of its Truepress Jet2500UV. It will be given its commercial launch at drupa, having been previewed at last year’s Fespa show. This is a hybrid flatbed and rollfed printer with a maximum print width of 2.5m. It will print on reels up to 50m long. It has seven colours, including a pre-white. Resolution ranges from 300 to 1500dpi, but It uses grayscale printheads which give a much greater apparent resolution than the actual resolution would suggest. So Screen claims that even at 300dpi it is possible to produce almost 70m2/hr for applications such as billboards and banners.

Screen also has its own high speed narrow format inkjet printer, the Truepress Jet520, first shown as a beta at the last Ipex show. This is now a finished product, with the first four in Europe having been installed at GI Direct in Leicester at the end of last year. It’s a continuous feed, single pass system using an array built around relatively cheap and easily replaceable Epson greyscale printheads. It can print up to 64m/min to a width of 520mm which equates to 25,200 A4 colour pages/hr simplex, and 50,400 pages/hr duplex. Screen is aiming it at both the POD and transpromo market, as well as for newspaper printing, and will be demonstrating it printing newspapers at the show.

Not surprisingly, Screen will also show off its Trueflownet workflow. This was originally developed as a pre-press workflow but along with Screen’s newfound embrace of the POD market, other modules are being added to Trueflownet to enable it to drive digital printers and to take files submitted over the Internet.

Fujifilm is also transforming itself, having developed its XMF workflow to drive both digital and conventional setups. It too is looking to sell more digital print hardware and it has an agreement with Xerox which will see it distributing the new Xerox printers in some markets. At drupa, Fujifilm will be showing off a brand new flatbed printer, the Acuity HD2504. This is a greyscale printer with a flatbed for rigid media,. However, it can also accept rollfed media too. Speed ranges from 16 to 8m2/hr.

Fujifilm will also release its Pro-V violet chemistry-free CtP plate, together with a new range of more environmentally- friendly pressroom chemicals.

Kodak also has several new inkjet printers to show off. Without doubt one of the major headline acts of the show will be the Stream Concept press which we covered in the February issue. This is billed as an offset-class machine, and Kodak claims that it will be able to produce images able to match the print quality of an offset press. More importantly, it will also have the kind of speed and cost per copy advantages of offset printing but combined with the full variable data flexibility of digital printing. It uses a brand new Stream print head that uses continuous inkjet technology. It’s not due for a commercial launch until 2010, just in time for the next Ipex show. But it is bound to be one of the must-sees of this show.

Besides this, Kodak will also launch a new Versamark printer, the VL2000. This is aimed at data centres with volumes of 1~5million pages/month. It operates at maximum production capacity of 1090 A4 impressions/min. It uses drop-on-demand print technology with a resolution of 600x600dpi and features the same transport mechanism as the faster VT3000 printer.

Despite all this activity with its inkjet portfolio, Kodak has not forgotten its electrophotographic Nexpress printers. The commpany now refers to its original Nexpress printers as the S-class and these now feature a more modular architecture so that it is possible to swap elements such as the inline feeder between printers. There’s also a choice of front ends: Nexpress V, built on Adobe PDF print engine; the Vcs, which is compatible with the existing Creo front ends which are widely used with other digital printers; and the Vp, which is optimised for working with large image files for photo production.

Kodak will also show the Nexpress S3000 which it announced last year. With an output speed of 3000 sheets/hr, it is the fastest model in the Nexpress line-up. Also on the stand will be the M700, which is essentially a rebadged version of the Canon C7000, with various options including a booklet maker and finisher. Kodak will also show its Digimaster EX black and white printer. This has been overhauled for better integration with digital workflows via JDF. Kodak has also improved the range of substrates that it will work with and added a new booklet maker option.

Drupa will also see Kodak’s Print on Demand Solutions group take a bigger share of the limelight. This is the division responsible for the Creo colour servers, and as such it is likely to give Efi a real run for its money. For starters, Kodak is likely to stop offering Efi print controllers with its Versamark printers in favour of Creo devices.

In addition, PODS will be showing a new OEM workflow initiative for digital printers aimed at dealing particularly with short run and web generated work. “The fast growth of the digital printing market presents operational challenges for digital print providers,” said Gershon Alon, Director, Workflow Business Unit, PODS Group. “This growth requires an efficient and automated workflow to increase productivity and profitability for the print providers. Our OEM partners will benefit from best in class workflow products and solutions, backed by Kodak’s technology and integrated with the well known Creo Color Servers. This tight integration provides print providers with a flexible portfolio of products that is unmatched for profitability and effectiveness.”

Kodak has expanded its concept of the unified workflow, bringing web-toprint directly to its Prinergy workflow through an Insite Storefront module. Kodak will show a new version of the Darwin variable data software which has a tidier interface and scripted rules options, JDF job submission and imposition.

Drupa will also mark the launch of Prinergy v5.0 which promises better integration with digital printers.

And, as this weren’t enough, Kodak will also unveil a faster version of its Magnus platesetter.

Not to be outdone, Xerox will be showing off its new flash fusing technology. This works by flashing a high intensity Xenon light more than 2,000 times per second, using the light rather than heat to fuse the toner to the substrates without having to touch the substrates. “Think of the instant pulse of heat you would feel if you were to hold your hand in front of a flash camera,” explained Peter Crean, a research fellow at Xerox’s Research Centre in Webster. “Now imagine thousands of those firing at high speed. In fact, the lamps that line up along the paper path inside the machine pulse light sequentially 120,000 times/minute, exposing and fusing the toner to the paper as it passes by at 226ft/min.”

This makes for a fairly high speed printer. It also means that there are less problems printing to delicate substrates and those that have adhesives, such as labels, and reduces the moisture that the fusing process takes from the substrate, which in turn leads to less paper curl and shrinkage.

Xerox will show flash fusing working in two continuous feed printers. The 490/980 is a colour device, with a maximum speed of 493 images/min two-up, simplex on A4 paper, and 986 images/min in duplex configuration. Resolution is 600dpi. Xerox will also show a monochrome printer, the 650/1300, also using flash fusing. This can print up to 1308 duplex A4 pages/min, and has a resolution of 1200x600dpi.

There are also persistent rumours that Xerox will unveil an inkjet printer at drupa.

EFI has just released the latest version of its Fiery XF server for wide format printing. This features EFI’s Clean Color technology which delivers enhanced colours in all image areas as well as highly precise and correct colours where they are needed, such as skin tones, greys and spot colours. It also includes a Full Gamut profile, which results in primary colours being reproduced perfectly and colour rendering which is not limited by profiles.

EFI also has an inkjet label printer, the Jetrion 4000. This now supports web widths up to 30.5cm and is available in four or six colour versions. It can reach speeds of up to 30.5m/min and boasts a maximum resolution of 1000dpi. It uses UV inks and works with most substrates thanks to a builtin corona unit.

Workflow specialist Dalim will be showing off the JDF Connectivity Package in its Dalim Twist workflow. This allows tools from other vendors to work pro-actively within the workflow. For example, it can exchange files with Alwan’s CMYK Optimizer ink management solution and in doing so, it can drive the settings of the ink optimisation solution directly from the workflow via the JDF communication standards. This avoids the need for a dedicated queue or hotfolder making it possible to set up a fully automated workflow driven from a database.

Dalim will also be introducing its Virtual Library,. This will look very familiar to anyone who uses Apple’s iTunes player. It works in conjunction with Dalim’s flatplanning software, Mistral, and shows virtual representations of completed magazines, which can be used for proofing, or made available to readers. Each publisher can display its own virtual library of magazines, with readers being literally able to turn the pages. Metadata can be streamed automatically from Dalim’s Mistral with details such as titles, and editorial or ad pages. Because it’s linked to the flatplan it updates automatically if pages are changed or removed.

The system is already being used by paper manufacturer UPM as a virtual brochure of its papers, since Virtual Library can simulate the different paper stocks, including the effects of whiteness, see-through and opacity, in real time.

Presstek will be showing off both its 52 and 34 DI presses. The 34DI is a portrait format press capable of producing 7000 sheets/hr. Its larger sibling, the 52DI is a landscape format device which can produce 10,000 sheets/hr. Presstek is emphasising its environmentally-friendly credentials with both offering chemistry-free platemaking and waterless printing.

Presstek will also show off its Dimension CtP systems. All of these will be running in conjunction with Presstek’s Momentum Pro workflow based around working with PDF files.

Interestingly, Presstek has also signed a deal with Press-sense to distribute its products. Press-Sense is best known for its iWay web-to-print solution, normally seen working with digital printers.

On the finishing side, GBC will be showing laminating kit for both the wide format and print on-demand markets. GBC has three new laminating systems to show off for the print ondemand sector. The 620os is a single sided laminating system, positioned as an entry level unit for use with short runs from colour printers and offset presses. It’s aimed at markets such as the production of book covers, dust jackets, as well as sheeted gift cards, postcards and business cards. It has automated controls for easy operation and a maximum speed of 15m/min and accepts a maximum sheet size of 52x74cm.

GBC also has the 5031 TS which can be integrated into a commercial printing or in-house production environment for two sided lamination. It’s made up of three individual components: the laminator itself plus a feeder and cutter which together can be used as an in-line finishing system with minimum manual intervention. The laminator has a dual heating system that has both heat shoes and heated nip rollers for working at fast speeds.

There’s also a 3052 system which has a sheet counter which can be pre-set to stop after laminating a pre-set number of sheets, and an integrated slitting device to slit the roll according to the correct length. It has an operating speed of up to 30m/min, covering a maximum working width of 52x74cm. It is aimed at short run on-demand digital jobs.

For wide format users, GBC will be showcasing the 1064 WFt and the 3064 lamionators. The 1064 is a wide format cold laminator aimed at the entry level end of the signage, photographic, copy shop and screen print markets. The 3046 is a more sophisticated device, offering bi-directional operation and is able to run thermal and cold finishing jobs consecutively for maximum productivity.

GBC also has an extensive range of laminating materials, including its new Lay-flat film aimed at compensating for paper curl, a problem for prints from some toner based digital printers. It allows for immediate lamination after printing and can cope with the excess of accumulated fuser oil.

Finally, visitors will almost certainly hear an enormous amount about protecting the environment. Needless to say, none of the vendors are likely to question the wisdom of hundreds of thousands of people flying to Germany for the show. In theory it is possible to catch an early flight to Düsseldorf, do the show in a day and take the last flight home. But given the sheer size of drupa and the breadth of new products, and more importantly, new ideas that are there, it’s probably more sensible to set aside several days. However, be warned, hotel rooms are scarce and extremely expensive!

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