James Kinsella, co-CEO of Bluetree, noted that the group had installed the first perfecting Landa press in Europe in 2019 to bridge the gap between litho and digital print and had been using it for stitched and perfect-bound books. Since the 2021 acquisition of high quality book printer Kingsbury Press, the books business has been growing steadily and the plan is to use the new S10P, which will be a seven-colour model, to move more high-end book work to digital. The additional colour gamut of the new press will support both photographic reproduction and enable a move away from the use of spot colours in analogue print.

Mr Kinsella explained that Bluetree’s typical workload runs to some 125,000 jobs a week, ranging from 50 to 5000 copies and noted that the Landa presses will print on the same stocks and sizes as the litho ones, and therefore feed into the same finishing lines – Horizon for stitched booklets and Kolbus for book blocks to be perfect bound. ‘The area that the Landa is making the biggest impact is in booklet work, perfect bound books for example are printed as blocks and then run through our Kolbus KM600. The Landa has enabled much faster turnarounds as well as opening a wider range of materials that traditionally were only available on litho quantities,’ he said.

Bluetree’s second S10P, which will feature double delivery for improved operational efficiency, is scheduled to be installed early in 2024.

Landa executives also revealed further customer details including Model, a Swiss carton and corrugated converter, Bob Jones University of South Carolina in the USA and Wirtz Druck, a 135 year-old German direct mail specialist. Mark Schmidt, managing director of Wirtz, described the S10P as ‘a game-changer’ and said that the company would be transitioning work done under its MailingLiebe brand from mixed litho and digital print to fully digital on the Landa. Installation is currently underway with production planned to begin early in 2024.

Another customer with working experience of a Landa press is Jim Singer of Brodnax 21C Printers, a Dallas, Texas, USA-based commercial printer that has had its S10P in production for around two months and is using it to produce high quality books, 650,000-run direct mail campaigns and a ‘whole spectrum’ of print, including some jobs that were previously done on wide-format equipment. The Landa press here is also a seven-colour model whose colour Mr Singer described as ‘stunning’, saying that he had secured interest from a prospective new client based on the ability to reproduce a specific shade of blue that CMYK-only digital presses could not match. Mr Singer also praised the smoothness of the installation process and quality of Landa’s support.

In terms of Landa’s growth plans, Sharon Cohen, chief business officer, said that three years ago there were only 11 units installed but that number had grown quickly to 50, particularly in the last year. New CEO Gil Oren revealed that a third unnamed investor had joined Benny Landa and Susanne Klatten and that following significant growth in 2023, ‘We are expecting another big leap in 2024’, with the 100th sale expected to be achieved ‘quite soon’.

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Based on the experience of the existing VC70000 and VC70000e models, the new machine is designed to produce ‘exceptional’ quality direct mail, colour books, catalogues, magazines and commercial print applications on coated media up to 300gsm. The new press offers throughput of up to 150m/min at 1200 x 600dpi, but also offers full 1200 x 1200dpi for more demanding applications, albeit at reduced speed.

This is supported by a number of automation and productivity-enhancing aspects that Ricoh says drive down the total cost of ownership. These include a completely new drying system that brings the press up operating temperature up to twice as fast as ‘typical’ competing systems. There is also a built-in scanner/spectrophotometer – available as an option on the VC70000 – that measures and corrects on-the-fly for colour consistency and back-to-front registration accuracy, eliminating manual adjustment.

A quick paper setup function allows media types not already stored in the media library to be profiled automatically and SmartStart allows automated machine setup prior to the start of a shift without an operator on site.

Operational information from the Pro Scanner is collected and interpreted by Ricoh Supervisor software, which creates web-based dashboard views using analytics from its business intelligence tool to optimise device utilisation and throughput, for the both the VC8000 and any other connected print device. Enhanced communication with inline finishing equipment helps complex end-to-end production setups work more effectively; this includes auto-splicing units for non-stop production and/or on-the-f;y paper changes.

The Pro VC80000 has been in beta test at Sattler Media Group in Germany, where Christian Haneke, innovation and solutions manager, commented, ‘The level of automation achieved by Ricoh’s Pro VC80000, combined with up to 50% higher output of high quality products compared to our current technology, as well as its operator-friendly approach, is transforming the role that inkjet plays in Sattler Media Group’s production portfolio.’

Eef de Ridder, vice president, Graphic Communications Group, Ricoh Europe, said, ‘Our high-speed inkjet clients share similar production challenges: they need high speed capacity to fulfil large orders and tighter turnaround times, and tools to make operating their presses easier and more efficient. The Ricoh Pro VC80000 is built on what made the previous generation a client favourite and is a testament to our commitment to helping clients solve their challenges. It sets a new standard in automation and data-first intelligence to increase productivity and usable output with consistency across operators and shifts.’

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Being previewed this week at Canon Expo 2023 in Yokohama, Japan, the VarioPrint iX1700 is not expected to be commercially available until 2025, but will be shown at drupa 2024. While pricing and a raft of other details are unconfirmed at this notice, Canon has said that the CMYK press uses a jetted ‘conditioner’ akin to the ColorGrip primer already used in its sheet-fed and web inkjet presses, to enable printing to a wide range of coated and uncoated media.

The new machine will target print volumes that fall between those achievable with Canon’s toner-based flagship ImagePress V1350, and the inkjet VarioPrint iX2100/3200 and completes the company’s offering for heavy production environments. The 170 A4 images per minute equate to 73 B3 images per minute, which both can be halved for duplex pages per minute figures. The target users are ‘demanding’ commercial printers and in-house print/CRD operations.

Canon says the 2400 x 1200dpi full B3-width printhead and water-based ‘highly saturated’ pigment inks will enable the iX1700 to produce high-quality print applications such as marketing collateral, books and ‘demanding’ business communications.

The ink is said to form a very thin layer, preserving the texture of the substrate and Canon claimed a wide colour gamut for the result but was not yet able to quantify this, other than to say that the Fogra 51 specification was a target and that similar results to those achievable with the iX3200 were anticipated; neither would it be drawn on whether additional channels might be supported at a future date. Being water-based, the ink is expected to be suitable for secondary food packaging applications.

The new press will run with existing Prisma Sync production and workflow software. The new printhead and ink combination is (so far) unique so far to the iX1700 and will not be transferred to the more productive piezo-based iX models, for which Canon Europe’s Hans Schmidbauer confirmed that this remains the preferred technology. Jennifer Kolloczek, European planning, marketing & innovation senior director, production print at Canon confirmed that the company will continue to support toner technology, saying, ‘Electrophotography volumes are relatively stable and both have a place in the market. We see a number of double installs of sheet-fed inkjet and toner presses.’

The iX1700 will encompass a number of automation and reliability features derived from the company’s existing inkjet expertise, including on-the-fly registration correction. Continuous ink circulation within the new thermal printhead is intended to keep ink at the optimum viscosity for jetting for stable operation over long runs. Canon could not confirm the expected lifespan of the thermal printheads nor whether they would be classed as a consumable.

The ability to handle a wide range of media was claimed but no specifications for weight ranges or media types was given. The unit is described as being more compact that the existing iX models, with a minimal configuration occupying a length of around 8.5m and a depth of 1m. More details are expected to be announced as drupa 2024 draws nearer.

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BR Printers’ first HP press installation was an HP T230 at its site in San Jose, California. Since then, its digital capacity has significantly grown with the addition of three HP T240 presses.

David Gall, vice president of BR West and chief strategy officer of BR Printers, said that the goal for these installations ‘was to create a unified, connected solution that complements offset facilities, expedites production and delivers high quality prints. Since purchasing our new HP digital presses, we’ve been able to exceed these priorities.’

Speaking about the latest additions, Adam DeMaestri, CEO and president of BR Printers stated, ‘The continued investment into HP PageWide web presses is creating new possibilities for our clients through high-volume and high-quality digital printing, resulting in greater ROI for their print projects. Our digital print portfolio has been significantly strengthened with the addition of these presses, demonstrating our dedication to making infrastructure investments in the latest technologies. Our diverse customer base will reap the benefits of these investments, as they enable BR to provide cutting-edge digital solutions to meet our client’s growing needs.’

Greg Fredwest, plant manager, at BR Printers, commented, ‘With these digital print additions, we’ve had the opportunity to be more nimble, more innovative, and more resilient in this fast-paced, competitive environment.’ These installations will support sustainability efforts at BR; the T240 HD comes equipped with energy-efficient features such as automatic shut-off, power-saving modes and uses water-based inks.

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Over the years, Hunkeler’s eponymous Innovationdays event has become an important platform for the continuous feed digital printing industry to coalesce around, attracting all the major press manufacturers as well as a variety of software developers, and providing a highly focused gathering for this part of the digital printing industry.

Almost 100 partners will also present their latest products in all areas of digital printing and processing in Halls 1 and 2 at the Messe Luzern. These partners include all the major manufacturers of printing and finishing systems, software developers and providers of finishing materials and consumables. As in previous years, many of the exhibitors will use the event to offer a European or global premiere of their latest innovations. A selection of these is listed below.

Exhibitor highlights

Mailroom automation for transactional print and direct mail will be the focus of the Bowe Systec stand, with a particular focus on the Fusion Speed inserting system, which will have its first ever live demonstration in Lucerne. The inserter can process up to 30,000 envelopes per hour and will be demonstrated in conjunction with Bowe’s Boxit system for automatic filling of postal trays. The company will also explain how upstream and downstream stages can be streamlined as part of an end-to-end automation concept.

Canon is playing its cards close to its chest but has promised two product news announcements at the event which ‘build on Canon’s expertise in inkjet’. Topics to be discussed also include the company’s strategy and how technology and business innovation can be harnessed together help ‘future-proof’ PSPs’ operations; the focus will be on publishing, promotion and business communications.

Another premiere at Innovationdays will be on HP’s stand, where the recently-launched PageWide Advantage 2200 digital web press will make it first European appearance. During the four days of the event, HP will be printing different applications such as postcards, leaflets, catalogues and books on a variety of substrates on the 150m/min press. In addition, the US company will showcase automation and services solutions.

Hybrid Software Group will feature its technologies for industrial print manufacturing processes which use inkjet and other printing techniques, showcasing all its brands covering the full stack of core technologies needed for inkjet. These include colour management, high-speed Digital Front Ends and Rips, pre-press software for labels and packaging and printhead drive electronics. All the group brands will be represented: ColorLogic; Global Graphics Software; Hybrid Software; iC3D; Meteor Inkjet and Xitron.

Converting and high quality embellishment will be the theme of the Kama stand, which will feature the Servo generation of the ProCut 76 Foil. The machine suits a range of applications from die-cutting, creasing and perforating to embellishment with hot foil, hologram and relief for commercial jobs and folding cartons. It will be shown with the AutoRegister AR3, which uses two cameras to bring each sheet into position at full speed.

Kern will present the new Kern 3200 Flash, a modular multi-format inserting system designed for flexible and complex inserting jobs in the medium- to high-output range. Different configuration options make it suitable for use in transactional and direct mail. A newly-developed inserting module is said to be the only system in this performance class that can be equipped with more than one envelope magazine, allowing the system to process different envelopes job by job, without the operator having to make a physical change. The 3200 Flash can be combined with a choice of modules, including roll and single sheet feeding. It is also possible to integrate up to 16 inserting stations.

Kodak’s Prosper Ultra 520 will get its first European showing

Another European first will be the Prosper Ultra 520 web press from Kodak. To be shown with a Hunkeler unwinder and rewinder, along with the Hunkeler WI8 web inspection system, the press will print live three versions of a ‘magalog’ (blend of magazine and catalogue) with different editorial and marketing content. The application will demonstrate the Ultra 520’s ability to print heavy ink coverage on standard offset paper at 150m/min. Other finished samples from the Ultra 520 and from the Prosper 7000 Turbo press, which runs at up to 410m/min, will also be presented, along with Kodak’s Prinergy On Demand workflow software.

Kyocera will feature its TaskAlfa Pro 15000C sheet-fed inkjet press, with a focus on its sustainability credentials, productivity, output quality and media flexibility. One-to-one demonstrations are being offered. More information may also be available about the graphic-arts focused version that is understood to be in development.

Another world first in Lucerne is the arrival of the Prinova Digital Saddle stitcher from Müller Martini. The highly automated 9000 cycles per hour unit supports both digital and hybrid print production and brings Müller’s Smart Factory concept to magazines, brochures and catalogues. Developments to the Vareo Pro perfect binding line will also be shown, including a mixed mode that allows softcover books and hardcover book blocks to be produced in the same run, complemented by a new de-stacker and sorting for subsequent InfiniTrim cutting. A variety of live jobs, including all-digital and hybrid printed products, will be featured, along with the supporting Connex workflow.

Workflow developer OneVision will explain how its software allows for ‘a complete integration of company processes’ by being configured to suit existing systems. The modular middleware can automate the production process from file input through printing and embellishment and finishing, while connecting to existing print and finishing hardware and software such as MIS or ERP.

Ricoh will be making the first public showing of its Pro VC70000e inkjet press that includes a number of hardware and software features and updates which collectively increase ease of use through automation, while providing greater media and applications flexibility via pre-coating. This will be complemented by the introduction of TotalFlow Producer, which the company describes as a ‘vendor agnostic automated job onboarding solution’. The new workflow software designed to automate job intake and consolidation from multiple sources, to run automatic pre-flighting and to support personalised job upload and status portals for print clients.

Riso will feature its newest additions to the SRA3 Valezus sheet-fed inkjet line, which are targeted at production print job demands that are difficult to handle efficiently on continuous-feed presses. The twin-engined Valezus T2200 is capable of duplex printing at 330ppm. The single-engine Valezus T1200 is aimed at both short and long-run full-colour transactional printing at 165ppm. Both are equipped with feeder/stacker units for a maximum capacity of 8000 sheets on the T2200, and half that on the T2100. Both models support uncoated papers only, from 46 to 210gsm.

The Smart High Definition technology from Scodix will appear in the premiere of the Ultra 6000 embellishment press

Also making a first European appearance will be the Ultra 6000 digital embellishment press from Scodix with SHD (smart high definition) capability. It will be used to demonstrate embellishment of B1 and B2 sheets for a variety of book covers, from paperbacks to high-end jackets and Scodix says it embodies the economics and productivity to replace analogue embellishment technology whilst offering publishers greater flexibility. Examples of the SHD technology will also be shown.

Staff from Solimar Systems will demonstrate how its workflow-enhancing post-composition solutions support production printing on both cut-sheet and continuous feed devices, finishing, mailing, e-delivery and document archiving. The company is partnering with HP to show how direct mailers can save significant sums and with Screen to demonstrate dashboard tracking of incoming work and device-level ink and media consumption reporting via Screen’s Equios workflow.

W+D will use the event to launch its new BB820+, a new flagship inserter which the company says allows for the widest range of direct mail sizes, from C6 envelopes up to B4 flat packages up to 15mm thick, and which can insert at up to 20,000 piece per hour, 25% faster than the model it replaces. The new machine comes with a new rotary feeder for consistent feeding at the higher speeds and an additional servo axis for flexible and size-dependent motion control of collating track, envelope gripper transport andinsert finger.

Short-run book printing using the Sirius dry toner technology will form a major part of the Xeikon exhibit, centred on the roll-fed duplex Xeikon SX30000 press, which is also getting its first public European showing. Three high-end applications will be shown – a coffee-table travel book, a full colour tourist guide and a highly illustrated book on architecture. The SX30000 roll-fed press will be running in line with a Hunkeler Gen8 roll-to-stack solution, producing book blocks which to be bound on an offline Muller Martini Vareo Pro with InfiniTrim.

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The new technology aims to give commercial printing businesses and in-plant production facilities the power to automate prepress functions and reduce the long prep times print professionals face when producing high-quality colour work.

The first of the new Fiery DFEs, the Canon ImagePress Server P400, provides in-plant facilities and light to mid volume production print shops with easy-to-use job management tools to automate basic workflows.

The second, the Canon ImagePress Server N500, supports demanding production environments with high-power, high-value prepress automation capabilities that maximise what print organisations can do with their production equipment. 

John Henze, vice president of sales and marketing at EFI Fiery, said, ‘Our new DFE platforms offer high processing speeds and increased capabilities. These are innovative solutions that can help save time and reduce costs while outputting excellent quality. Today’s market is highly competitive and strained by labour issues. The Fiery DFEs can help in-plants and print shops operate at their peak and keep up with market demands.’

New colour management and zero-touch recalibration features for the ImagePress Server P400 and N500 DFEs feature ‘set-and-forget’ automation tools so operators with little colour management knowledge can produce accurate and consistent colour.

Creating a custom profile and calibration set for new media requires no operator decision making, while the DFE automatically executes recalibration schedules to help maintain colour consistency without complex processes or deep operator training.

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This is Temizis’ third Screen printer. The Turkish specialist in commercial and label printing acquired its first TruepressJet L350 in 2019, followed by a Screen TruepressJet 520HDmono machine in 2021.  

Ufuk Akman, board member at Temizis, said, ‘We’re experiencing a revolution in our industry, with digital printing clearly becoming the dominant player. It’s been our strategy all along to grow our business through focus on customer satisfaction and investing in sophisticated, high-tech printing equipment. These machines enable us to respond quickly to fast-changing customer demand in our markets.”’

The company has been expanding its market share in industries such as home appliances, heating and cooling devices, construction materials and automotive. Across its five branches, Temizis now employs 265 people, 168 of whom work at its headquarters in Eskişehir in northwestern Turkey. 

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ASL Group supply digital printing equipment in the UK with nine locations servicing 7000 customers producing 1.3 billion pages per annum. It works with all the major industry manufacturers and have been a Duplo partner for many years.

Allistair Hunter, managing director at DS Group, said, ‘This is an ever-changing industry where you simply cannot sit still. We pride ourselves on adding value to our customers’ campaigns and projects which is why during our 20 years of operations we have expanded into design, print, direct mail, marketing and media publishing all under one roof. We now provide an in-house, integrated approach, having a full printing operation on site with the latest technology.’

Will Doherty, commercial and industrial printing systems director at ASL Group said, ‘The Duplo DBM-350 Digital System is a fully automatic booklet production system that is perfect for complex jobs with variable paper stock weights and types, and the

‘Duplo DC-618 is just a work horse that combines so many different facets of finishing into one compact machine. The automation behind both Duplo machines means that setting up jobs, change overs, maintenance and tool changes are really fast which in turn reduces operator intervention and downtime. The user interface allows their operators to become overnight experts and able to run multiple machines at the same time. Over the past few years we have installed equipment from Duplo, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Kyocera, each fulfilling a specific purpose within The DS Group.”

Founded in 2001 and with over 30 years of experience, DS Group have spent 20 years in print management, 18 years in direct mail 10 years in marketing and eight years in design.

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Designed in response to existing PageWide user feedback, the new model features a compact ‘single-arch’ duplexing print engine configuration that simplifies access for maintenance tasks, including the swapping of the 12 printbar assemblies, reduced from 24 in earlier models. HP’s 2400dpi HDNA thermal printheads are used throughout and offer 8x nozzle redundancy in black and 4x in cyan, magenta and yellow, to allow printing to continue despite blockages.

Like the existing T250HD model, the Advantage 2200 handles media up to 560mm wide (printable width 520mm) and uses HP’s Optimiser jetted primer for media flexibility and HP Brilliant Inks for wider colour gamut. It also runs at 150m/min but achieves 101m/min in Quality mode, which is said by HP to be 33% faster than previous models; it also has a black-only mode that hits 244m/min. It is capable of printing up to 90 million US letter-sized images per month, on papers between 40 and 300gsm.

Scalability is a key attribute of the new press, with the options for passive or active web cooling according to paper surface and weight. It is also possible to configure one, two or three drying units to cope with coated silk or gloss stocks and/or heavier coverage work. The drying units are claimed to be more energy efficient, recirculating up to 80% of the hot air used. The Advantage 2200 can be used with a variety of third-party suppliers’ equipment for unwinding/rewinding, post-print coating or other inline finishing processes and HP indicated a willingness to accommodate whatever customers wanted in this respect.

‘This new PageWide Advantage platform is a game-changer for the commercial print industry,’ said Annette Friskopp, global head and general manager at HP PageWide. ‘HP has listened to our customers, and we realise ease-of-use and uptime are critical success factors. This new press offers configurations to enable customers to optimise the press for their quality, productivity, versatility, and economics to grow their digital production businesses.’

Commercial availability of the PageWide Advantage 2200 is scheduled for October 2022, with installations expected in the first half of 2023. It will be demonstrated at Printing United in Las Vegas, USA, in October. Two US beta sites were revealed, SG360 and O’Neil Digital Solutions, both of which reported successful installations.

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The machine, launched in June, is the first Konica Minolta-branded MGI product and uses digital ‘spot UV’ and foiling technology developed in the MGI JetVarnish 3D One. The press has been designed to offer special effects for the commercial printing, finishing and packaging industries, using the JetVarnish technology, including the AIS SmartScanner registration system. Also on the Konica Minolta stand at the NEC will be the 81ppm AccurioPress C4080, feeding print to the AccurioShine 3600.

Jon Hiscock, head of production at Konica Minolta UK, said, ‘Our centre piece will be the AccurioShine 3600 and we will take the opportunity to highlight our range of print embellishment and specialist finishing products that span SRA3, B2, B1 and web as well as our B2 cut-sheet Inkjet and workflow solutions.

‘The entry-level device enables users to add value to the print they produce and respond to market demand, because in order to survive and grow their customer base they need to expand their reach and products offered. Many are finding that it’s not enough to just offer fast turnaround, quality and low pricing. The AccurioShine 3600 is great for adding 2D and 3D gloss effects and Digital Hot Foiling tactile finishes. To take it another step forward, it also supports variable data printing, to add more impact to printed products, personalised packaging and labels.’

Konica Minolta will be based on Stand B17 at The Print Show 2022. The event will take place from 20-22 September at the NEC in Birmingham.

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