The newly-developed model allows instructions and information on specific work steps to be automatically passed on to users at different production stations, such as prepress, printing, embellishment or binding. Users at the stations can record the implementation of process steps according to job specifications as live feedback to the workflow management system. This enables print service providers to digitally track the production status of their products in a transparent manner.

OneVision’s workflow management system has also been expanded in the new version in terms of customisation of dashboards, in order to reflect the requirements of different user roles.

To allow even more precise, and hence resource-saving, nesting in wide-format work, marks can now also be placed between objects automatically. As a further improvement, the length of the cutting line after nesting is provided as a job property for subsequent calculation of the time required and therefore the cutting costs.

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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 smoother, more error-free and more efficient the production runs, the less waste is generated and the less manual intervention is required. According to the company, the system landscapes of print service providers are usually very individually and differently structured. As XML-based middleware, the OneVision software can be connected to other software and hardware components.

In addition to numerous existing data interfaces, the new version now also enables connection to Google Drive and HTTP data sources. Integration options to additional processing systems have also been implemented. A newly developed module enables the preparation of cutting lines in already imposed sheets for the Duplo DocuCutter DC-618 and DC-648. Also, marks and barcodes can be applied to the sheets as additional information. Duplo’s multi-finishers can thus be configured automatically.

Another new feature is a connection to OptiScout. This functionality prepares the print files for transfer to the OptiScout system and allows integration with countless digital cutting systems such as Colex, Bullmer, Eastman Cuts and many more.

The nesting module has been extended with some innovative functionalities. Intelligent transfer of the print run can shorten RIP times and stabilise the entire workflow. In addition, the nesting of large motifs has been optimised, making even more efficient and economical use of substrates.

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The dashboard, which OneVision says is easy to use, presents statistics on production data across modules as well as individual machine or job statuses so it can be seen which modules in the production setup are performing at capacity and which are causing bottlenecks or could be better optimised.

A new ‘elastic search’ facility makes it possible to analyse the most frequent errors as well as the job results per assembly line. The dashboard is updated as each new job starts, which supports immediate control as well as long-term analysis.

Integration with MIS or e-commerce sites is better supported via Web Services and connections with Canon’s PrismaSync workflow and the Konica Minolta KM-1e sheet-fed inkjet press have now been added. 

OneVision has also added features for print file preparation and PDF workflow to its Asura prepress package. These include automated generation of proof forms and nesting reports, new grouping options within the nesting function, preflighting to test conformity with the PDF/UA standard and automatic bleed generation to handle mis-aligned artwork elements.

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OneVision’s Wide Format Automation Suite provides automated preflighting and colour management tools for wide format print jobs, plus nesting and other productivity-optimising features in order to increase efficiency in both RIPping operations and in use of media. It also supports finishing processes by generating cut line PDFs for subsequent cutting.

‘Our mission is to develop high-performance software solutions that enable our customers to achieve maximum results – technically, commercially and qualitatively. The integration with Canon’s Colorado and Arizona printers ensures high-speed production consistently throughout the entire process,’ said Hussein Khalil, CEO of OneVision Software.

Michele Tuscano, vice president, Large Format Graphics, Canon EMEA commented, ‘Customers need to turn work around faster to meet demand, while at the same time minimising resources. Our large format printers are getting faster, so customers need a workflow solution to keep up with these increased speeds without compromising on quality. OneVision’s Wide Format Automation Suite provides the solution.’

German customers already using the software with Canon printers report reduced errors, improved turnaround times and increased overall output, according to OneVision.

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