Digital Print Asia May-June 2013 Issue

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May - June 2013

Helpingyoufcusonwhat Print World Asia Magazine

Covering the Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industries across Asia.

MICA (P) 046/11/2010 - KDN PPS1529/05/2013(025527)

Issue 3 2013 US$8.50

Helping you focus on what matters most ..... ... delighting your customers ... higher productivity ... growing your business

The new Color J75 Press

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What’s

Inside Digital Print Asia May - June 2013

e Digital Technology

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Landa Digital Printing Named a Gartner Production Infrastructures-DFES The State of the Market Going for Hit Rate Working Gun Made with 3D Printer Konica Minolta to Unveil New Inkjet Textile Printer Indian Wedding and Pictures Go Together Workflow Systems, DeJa Vu Over Again

Packaging Technology

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News

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Tetra Pak Inaugurates State-of-the-Art Factory in India Oris CGS Technologies Flexes Packaging Prowess at China Print China’s Traditional Media Advertising Market Sovereignty Shaken by Market Forces manroland Shows off its NewFound Strength at China Print KBA Reports Some Big Orders from Mainland China and Taiwan Mint Asia for Singapore Audience Interested in India ISO 16759 Approved!

GOSS Introduces the World’s First High-Automation Presstek Appoints Channel Manager for Asia Pacific Rim X-Rite’s 5Cs

News Feature

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Buyer Beware Don’t Miss a Beat Heidelberg Solutions Help Kamsri Deliver High Quality Offerings Pleasing the Senses Through Print Good Channel Partners Help You Remain Competitive China Print - The Good, Bad and the Controversial Tougher than it Looks Are the E-book Bubble’s Days Numbered?

No 71 Geylang Lorong 23 #07-02, THK Building, Singapore 388386 Tel : +65 6733 5342 Fax: +65 6733 3586

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Landa S10 Nanographic Printing Press @ drupa 2012 Image source: www.landanano.com/news-events/gallery

L A NDA DIG ITA L P RINTING NA MED A G A RTNE R “COOL V ENDOR IN IM AGING A ND P R IN T SER V ICE S, 2013”

World renowned research and analysis firm, Gartner, Inc., named Landa Digital Printing one of five “Cool Vendors in Imaging and Print Services, 2013”. Landa has developed a unique printing process called Nanography™ that will enable digital printing for mainstream applications.

Nanography, also called the Landa Nanographic Printing™ process, bridges the profitability gap where neither offset nor digital technologies enable printers to profitably produce run-lengths of up to 7,000 copies. Nanography is expected to significantly increase printers’ profitability in the $800 billion offset-printed goods market.

The Landa Nanographic Printing process combines the versatility of digital printing with the qualities and speed of offset in a single press. Unlike other digital technol-

ogies that require special substrates for printing, Nanography can print on any standard off-the-shelf paper and plastic substrate. In one of its key findings, Gartner reports that “A print technology that is able to print on virtually any paper or film will address key issues facing the digital printing industry.”* In its first iterations, Landa will deliver two large format B1 sheetfed presses (41 in. / 1050 mm), the Landa S10C Nanographic Printing™ Press for commercial printing and the Landa S10FC Nanographic Printing Press for packaging converters. The S10FC will also have an analogue inline coating unit that will support both aqueous and UV coatings. Following the introduction of the large format sheetfed presses, Landa will release the Landa W10 Nanographic Printing Press, a 40.1

in. (1020 mm) webfed press for flexible packaging converters, and the Landa W50 Nanographic Printing Press, a 22 in.

(560 mm) double-sided webfed press for publishing printers.

“Gartner analysts have done a superb, in-depth job in comprehensively understanding and conveying the work we’re doing to fulfil a tremendous gap in the marketplace,” says Benny Landa, founder and CEO of Landa Digital Printing. “We are honoured and motivated by such distinguished third-party affirmation.”

The “Cool Vendor in Imaging and Print Services, 2013” report also addresses licensing agreements Landa has announced with conventional digital and offset press manufacturers (i.e., Heidelberg, Komori, manroland sheetfed).

*The Landa Nanographic Printing™ process uses Landa NanoInk™ to create an unparalleled thin layer of ink that enables the substrate to retain its original characteristics after printing, whether gloss or matte, coated or uncoated.

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UV LED Curable Flatbed Inkjet Printer

Ultra-High Speed, High Precision Prints that Capture Your Mind The new JFX500-2131 from Mimaki smashes all established records for a grand format flatbed UV LED printer, with production speeds of up to 60 sqm/h, delivering unbelievably high quality, right down to 2 point text on a massive 210 x 310 cm print area.

The Mimaki JFX500-2131 delivers: • Amazing print speeds of up to 60 sqm/h with CMYK and 45 sqm/h with white ink printing • High precision printing up to 1,200 dpi and variable dot printing with a minimum size of 4 picoliter • No media deformation, no drying time. No warm up time

www.mimaki.co.jp

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This series of articles by David L. Zwang focuses on the processes and products that can lead to the transformation of your current workflows and business, to prepare you for the new challenges ahead.

This series runs about once a month over the course of the year, with the first article having appeared in January 2013. Zwang looks at process transformation and automation, and the steps you need to take to be successful. He will also look at some of the current product offerings and how they are being, or could be, used to help you transform your business and strengthen your customer relationships.

Transforming and

Automating Work-flows In this article, David continues the infrastructure discussion, now focusing on the current state of the DFE (Digital Front End, aka RIPs) in the market, covering Digital Print DFEs as well as CTP DFEs, and the beginning of the plant production workflow.

All of this done with an eye toward building a flexible platform upon which to grow.

P r o d u c t i o n I n f rast r u c t u r e s – DFE s :

The State of the Market

In the last article, we looked at the basic structure and evolution of the DFE. Since it is functionally the controller for each piece of your print production equipment from proofers all the way up to production inkjet presses, it plays a critical role. However, the importance of that role is not just in how it controls the device and manages and prepares the incoming data, it is also critical in how it works with other DFEs in a plant production workflow.

Each device is shipped with a DFE from the device manufacturer. In some cases, like the Canon Océ PrismaSync, HP SmartStream, Kodak NexPress and Kodak 700, or the Xerox FreeFlow Print Servers, it is a DFE the manufacturer developed from the ground up and is used exclu-

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sively in their device product portfolio.

In other cases, like the EFI Fiery Digital Print Server or the CREO Color Server, it is a universal DFE, and is customized to support each disparate manufacturer’s device features and requirements.

As we discussed, at the heart of every DFE is an interpreter. All of the products listed above, except the HP SmartStream, are built on Adobe technology. The HP SmartStream is built on Global Graphics Harlequin technology, except for the HP Labels and Packaging Print Server which uses Esko FlexRip technology. The Harlequin RIP technology has been around since the late 1980’s. For many, it offered a competitive differentiation to the Adobe CPSI technology. Being a smaller company than Adobe, Global Graphics is

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able to react very quickly; in fact, usually faster than Adobe to changes in PostScript and PDF file format changes, even though Adobe created those file formats and the applications that created the files. According to the Global Graphics site, “The Harlequin RIP has processed PostScript files natively since 1988 and PDF files natively since 1997, including rendering of live PDF transparency since 2002.” The Harlequin RIP technology is not only capable of processing the same files as the Adobe technology, but in a recent test performed by RIT, it was found to be currently the fastest RIP technology on the market.

Adobe OEMs, depending on the specific RIP, either use Adobe CPSI (Configurable PostScript Software Interpreter) only,

APPE (Adobe PDF Print Engine) only, or a combination of both. As a refresher, CPSI is the primary software RIP that Adobe has been licensing since the early 1980’s.

In fact, one of the first implementations was Scitex VIP (Visionary Interpreter for PostScript). This software is licensed in a SDK (Software Development Kit) that is composed of a lot of pieces of functionality that are assembled, integrated and configured differently by each OEM. Over the years, the OEMs have become very creative and have developed many value-added features to each of their implementations. Now, when PDF files are processed in a CPSI RIP they are first converted to a PostScript file stream, which can introduce some issues and variability, depending on the structure of the PDF file. In addition to the variability in implementations which can lead to differences in output of the same input file, many of the features found in PDF files are not natively supported. Image transparency is a

perfect example of one of those features.

The chances are, if you have a CPSI based DFE, you have probably already run into some problems with image transparency. Although some of the OEMs have developed significant workarounds to try to address some of those issues with their CPSI implementations.

In 2006, Adobe introduced APPE to address those issues and more importantly to offer native support for processing PDF files. By using the same basic PDF library technology that is used in the Adobe Creative Suite to process the files, processing reliability increased dramatically. Since that initial introduction, continued APPE development has brought greater adoption, speed and increased feature support, including PDF/VT, which will be discussed later in the series.

While some of the Adobe OEMs currently use either one of the core technologies

or the other, some use a combination of both core processing technologies, as in the Fiery and CREO solutions. In those cases, they use a weighted decision-making system to determine which path the file takes. While APPE is the newer and more ideal processing technology for processing PDF files, there are still cases beyond just PostScript files where CPSI is the preferred path in these systems.

These cases include ‘value-added’ features and even some workarounds for a very few PDF transparency and file attribute issues.

Before there were digital presses, there were CTP devices, and before that imagesetters (filmsetters). CTP devices still exist and probably will for a long time, since they produce plates for non-digital presses including offset, flexo and gravure.

While I was previously discussing DFEs for digital print devices, the DFEs that drive CTP devices are very similar and

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in some cases identical. In fact, these were the developmental models for the digital print DFEs that exist today, so you will see many of the same features and even similar user interfaces.

However, in the case of a CTP device, it is usually is making plates for many, if not all, of the presses on the floor, depending on the size of the plant. As a result, the DFE started to take on a new role as the hub of the plant production workflow for those print technologies.

The CTP DFE was developed to support all of the relevant basic required features like file format support, preflight, interpreter, color management, trapping, screening, and device controls.

When the CTP systems and their digital print offspring started to support digital presses, additional feature support was added to include basic imposition, soft proofing, JDF/JMF, and more re-

cently layer management and VDP (Variable Data Processing), and the list of features keeps growing.

Solutions like Agfa :Apogee Prepress, Fujifilm XMF, Harlequin (through OEMs), Heidelberg MetaDimension, Kodak Prinergy, and Rampage started to take the new role of CTP production hub more seriously. This expansion into capturing the management of the plant workflow began to present new efficiencies as well as new problems.

And while it is nice to have a production management hub, what happens when you start to bring in disparate pieces of equipment from a variety of vendors? Is the feature redundancy of the multiple full featured DFEs a benefit or a does it create problems and workflow silos?

In the next article we will look at the features, benefits, and issues that are associated with the expanded role of this new class of Workflow DFEs, as well as the entrance of the even newer specifically designed production management software solutions.

David Zwang, travels around the globe helping companies increase their operational productivity, margins and market reach. With over 40 years of industry experience, David specializes in process analysis and strategic development for firms in the fields of publishing, design, premedia, and printing.

Remember If you have any topics you think are important and would like us to cover during the balance of this series, please let us know!

You can contact David via email at david@zwang.com

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DIGITAL technology Six-figure-quantity direct mailers seem unwise. Junia Phua, Managing Director of award-winning Generic Print based in Singapore, shares with Christel Lee of Print World Asia how to focus on achieving a higher hit rate with a lesser print run.

Many companies lament the minimal percentage hit rate for direct mailers.

The usual 1% hit rate can maÅke printing hundreds of thousands of mailers look wasteful. There are even companies who boast of double or triple hit rate growth if you adopt their technologies. However, Junia Phua, Managing Director of Generic Print, begs to differ. “‘Cost-per-copy’ is a phrase everybody hates. There are different ways of looking at this phrase. I recommend ‘Go for the hit rate!’ Sometimes cost per copy can be a good thing. I tell my clients not to go for big quantities if there is a minute percentage of hit rate. I would suggest they go for a ‘safer’ number (1000 instead of 100,000) – save the cost, eliminate wastage and focus on emphasising the material to ensure hits,” Phua notes.

Having said that, Generic Print’s clientele are based in Singapore. Phua adds only a minute fraction of his products are exported.

Going Hybrid with the Force Generic Print is an offset printer who made the transition to hybrid printing.

Like many other printers, there was cer-

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tainly apprehension. “Society is evolving so much that we have to admit print runs have declined. So digital is a beneficial step to take and we can afford to be more creative. This is not to say digital printing will rule out offset. As a user, I appreciate the complementary benefits digital brings to offset,” he shares.

Phua’s plant used to operate on A2 and A3 four-colour and single-colour offset presses for marketing collaterals and stationery. Today, two Fuji Xerox presses, sit in his production room churning out high-end, award-winning products.

Phua reminisces, “I started this printing company out of the blue, but to stand out I needed to be different. In hindsight, it would be to our detriment if we had not taken the step to hybrid printing.”

That bold move has also rewarded Phua with his first PIXI Award trophy from Fuji Xerox. He produced a limited edition book featuring the globally known blockbuster series ‘Star Wars’.

“Hybrid printing is one model that allowed us to open up more markets to serve. There are certain features of print that my offset presses cannot execute, which explains the entry of my digital presses. This print model has brought forth a PIXI award trophy for us – through a project we have related to Star Wars.

This is a big bonus for us, as we are dealing with a global brand,” Phua highlights.

Phua has since set his sights on more award-winning print competitions.

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Working Gun Made with 3D printer The world’s first gun made with 3D printer technology has been successfully fired in the US. The controversial group which created the firearm, Defense Distributed, plans to make the blueprints available online.

The group has spent a year trying to create the firearm, which was successfully tested on Saturday at a firing range south of Austin, Texas.

Anti-gun campaigners have criticised the project.

Europe’s law enforcement agency said it was monitoring developments.

Victoria Baines, from Europol’s cybercrime centre, said that at present criminals were more likely to pursue traditional routes to obtain firearms.

She added, however: “But as time goes

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on and as this technology becomes more user friendly and more cost effective, it is possible that some of these risks will emerge.”

Defense Distributed is headed by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas.

are risks as well as benefits.

Mr Wilson said: “I think a lot of people weren’t expecting that this could be done.”

It was assembled from separate printed components made from ABS plastic only the firing pin was made from metal.

3D printing has been hailed as the future of manufacturing.

Mr Wilson, who describes himself as a crypto-anarchist, said his plans to make the design available were “about liberty”.

The technology works by building up layer upon layer of material - typically plastic - to build complex solid objects.

The idea is that as the printers become cheaper, instead of buying goods from shops, consumers will instead be able to download designs and print out the items at home.

But as with all new technologies, there

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Personal liberties The gun was made on a 3D printer that cost $8,000 (£5,140) from the online auction site eBay.

He told the BBC: “There is a demand of guns - there just is. There are states all over the world that say you can’t own firearms - and that’s not true anymore.

“I’m seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have whatever you want. It’s not up to the political players any more.”

Asked if he felt any sense of responsibility about whose hands the gun might fall into, he told the BBC: “I recognise the tool might be used to harm other people - that’s what the tool is - it’s a gun.

“But I don’t think that’s a reason to not do it - or a reason not to put it out there.”

Gun control To make the gun, Mr Wilson received a manufacturing and seller’s licence from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Donna Sellers, from the ATF, told BBC News that the 3D-printed gun, as long as it was not a National Firearms Act weapon (an automatic gun, for example), was legal in the US. She said: “[In the US] a person can manufacture a firearm for their own use.

However, if they engage in the business of manufacture to sell a gun, they need a licence.”

Amid America’s ongoing gun debate in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, US congressman Steve Israel recently called for a ban on 3D guns under the Undetectable Firearms Act. Groups looking to tighten US gun laws have also expressed concern.

Ms Baines from Europol said: “What we know is that technology proceeds much more quickly than we expect it to. So by getting one step ahead of the technological developments, we hope and believe we will be able to get one step ahead of the criminals as well.”

Leah Gunn Barrett, from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, has said: “These guns could fall into the hands of people who should not have guns - criminals, people who are seriously mentally ill, people who are convicted of domestic violence, even children.”

3D printing technology has already been used by some criminal organisations to create card readers - “skimmers” - that are inserted into bank machines.

Many law enforcement agencies around the world now have people dedicated to monitoring cybercrime and emerging technologies such as 3D printers.

Article Source: www.bbc.co.uk Image Source: www.forbes.com

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Konica Minolta

to Unveil New Inkjet Textile Printer “Nassenger PRO120” at ShanghaiTex 2013

Unique Automatic Printhead Maintenance System for Stable, Night-Time & Long-Hour Continuous Printing Tokyo - Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) will be unveiling for the first time a new inkjet textile printer, the Nassenger PRO120, at ShanghaiTex 2013, an international textile and garment machinery exhibition to be held at Shanghai, China, from June 10 through June 13.

As the third model in the Nassenger PRO series, the new, high-performance Nassenger PRO120 has the maximum print speed of 120m2 per hour, twice as fast as that of the popular model, the Nassenger PRO60 introduced last year. Equipped with high-density, independently-driven, water-based inkjet printheads, the Nassenger PRO120 is optimized for sample manufacturing to production in small lots. Konica Minolta’s unique Automatic Printhead Maintenance System supports smooth, continuous printing for long hours of or through night-time operation, contributing to stable print quality and labor-saving for operators. With optional dryer and textile winder, the Nas-

senger PRO120 offers comprehensive inkjet printing solutions from unwinding, printing, drying through winding. With a small footprint of approximately 15m2, the new model is compact to install within limited space in the manufacturing floor. The nine-color ink lineup has been designed so that the textile design and its brilliant colors will take advantage of digital printing into high-quality output.

Digital inkjet textile printing has been drawing interest and seeing new needs, as manufacturing sectors in China look to adding values and increasing productivity. Building on its top-tier position in the European market, as well as for future development in China and other countries in Asia, Konica Minolta enhances the Nassenger PRO series with the addition of the Nassenger PRO120 as its mid-range-speed model utilizing the company’s strengths to meet the needs for sample to full-fledged production with high quality.

The Nassenger PRO120 will be unveiled at ShanghaiTex 2013 (June 10 through June 13, Shanghai, China) and later be exhibited at FESPA 2013, an international digital printing equipment exhibition to be held at London, the U.K., from June 25 through June 29.

Major Features of the Nassenger PRO120 • High-density 1024-nozzle independently-driven inkjet printheads • Maximum Print Speed of 120m2/ hour • Konica Minolta’s unique Automatic Printhead Maintenance System • Reinforcement of extended continuous Print Support Functions • 9-color ink lineup with high-capacity 5-liter bottle of each color • Maximum print width of 1,850mm

For more information, please visit: http://www.konicaminolta.com/inkjethead/products/textile_printers/

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...

.AI

.INDD

PDF

.DOC

Enfocus Connect 11 helps creative professionals generate top-quality PDFs from any application for print and easily deliver completed jobs to an outside service provider.

Designers can rest assured that their documents will output as intended at the highest possible quality. Production sites benefit from knowing that files submitted by clients who use Connect are made with the correct settings and output without problems.

Enfocus Connect exists in two flavors: one for the individual, Connect YOU; and, one for companies who need to collaborate with many outside clients, Connect ALL. In both editions, the Connect application is used to define and create Connectors.

Connectors are easy-to-use applets that sit on your desktop and contain all the technology necessary for optimal PDF creation, preflight, and job delivery to remote locations.

PDF

FLExibLE sOLUtiOns FOr ALL CrEAtivE PrOFEssiOnALs Whether you’re an independent designer, an ad agency working with multiple freelance designers or a print provider serving hundreds of clients, there’s a version of Connect for you.

For the independent designers, small firms or selected clients of a service provider, Connect YOU is an affordable tool for setting up Connectors that can be used on a single computer.

For large design workgroups, publishers or printers who work with many outside clients, Connect ALL allows unlimited numbers of Connectors to be easily set up, and distributed to any number of clients. In addition, Connect ALL offers custom branding, time limited activations of Connectors and updating functions that make managing many clients easy.

HOw DOEs it wOrk? 1. One-click perfect PDF creation from any application using Adobe Normalizer technology built into the Connector.

2. Automatic PDF correction and verification based on Enfocus PitStop technology.

3. Custom job ticket generation to help automate downstream processes.

4. secure, completely automatic delivery of PDF or any other file type to (S)FTP, HTTP, email, or directly into Enfocus Switch.

MOrE inFOrMAtiOn:

www.enfocus.com

Enfocus Connect 11 will be available in the 3rd quarter of 2013.

DistribUtOr:

Datamation (M) Sdn Bhd www.datamationgroup.com

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Indian

Wedding

& Pictures

Go Together It appears to be a double bliss for India – with the growing popularity of digitally-printed wedding albums. Lior Meron of InfoTrends has revealed some amazing facts. Christel Lee reports.

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A research showed a whopping 12,000 weddings take place daily, and clocked some 1.5million photographs taken by this number of matrimonial processions.

These unions are seemingly a major driving force for multiple wedding albums and photography merchandise.

Indians are known to be extravagant at weddings. It’s been said as much as 20% of accumulated lifetime wealth is spent on weddings. Theme weddings turn out to be the icing on the cake for those who want to document the joyous occasion.

Many players have gone into the wedding market, which poses a good opportunity for printers to cash in. InfoTrends quoted an estimate of 11,000 printers offering digitally-printed albums. This market was corroborated by vendors’ showcasing of this service at the Consumer Electronics Imaging Fair held in New Delhi last January. Exhibitors included FUJIFILM, HP, Kodak, Sony, Xerox and Zeiss, to name a few.

Interviews InfoTrends conducted at the show indicate that a typical price per wedding album ranges from about 54,000 to 270,000 rupees (the equivalent of $1,000 to $5,000). An article in Business Today dated February 2012 reported that about 5% to 10% of an Indian wedding budget goes towards applications like wedding albums, photo books,

invitations, and greeting cards.

The average budget for an Indian wedding ceremony ranges from around 19 lakh (1.9 million rupees or approximately $34,000) to as much as 5.5 crores (55 million rupees or approximately $1 million) for an upper or middle class wedding. Indians are growing richer and this is another reason they are inclined to spend more on weddings.

Some 15 years ago, it was common to spend around 10,000 rupees (approximately $185) on a photo album. Now prices between 50,000 and 300,000 rupees (approximately $900 to $5,500) are not uncommon. (Keep in mind that some wedding albums are extensively reworked with metallic effects and jewel work in addition to the printing.)

An article in the Hindustan Times last July reported that Indian wedding industry is growing at 25% annually and puts the total size of the industry at $25 billion.

With the increasing household wealth and more disposable income in India, the wedding market of the country could easily double within the next decade.

Wedding albums and other wedding-related photo merchandise have a huge potential and are one of the big reasons for the success of production colour digital

print in the Indian market. InfoTrends estimates that around 60% of the HP Indigo presses installed in India are being used for these kinds of photo applications.

At the recent PrintPack India show in February, wedding albums were a prime application on display, with examples from Canon, HP Indigo, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Scodix, Xerox, and others. Ricoh showed similar examples in an off-site facility during the show.

The opportunity for production digital colour print in the Indian market is accentuated by the fact that many wedding albums today, as much as 70% of the total, are still being produced using silver halide processes. Silver halide, while producing high quality, has a significant drawback: simplex-only output. To make a photo album with dual-sided pages, silver halide sheets must be glued back to back.

This adds a workflow step and increases the thickness of the album with no true benefit. Over time it is clear that more Indian wedding album volume will shift from silver halide to production digital print. This represents another good trend for print service providers in India who have embraced digital print.

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This series of articles by David L. Zwang focuses on the processes and products that can lead to the transformation of your current workflows and business, to prepare you for the new challenges ahead. This series runs about once a month over the course of the year, with the first article having appeared in January 2013. Zwang looks at process transformation and automation, and the background and steps you need to understand to be successful. He will also look at some of the current product offerings and how they are being, or could be, used to help you transform your business and strengthen your customer relationships.

In this article, David moves the discussion forward, now focusing on ‘workflow systems,’ what that encompasses, and some of the things you need to pay attention to as you review them. All of this done with an eye toward building a flexible platform upon which to grow.

Transforming and Automating Workflows:

Work fl ow Sy stems,

déjà vu all over again

In the last article, we looked at how many of the equipment manufacturers have designed their DFE offerings, and some of the included components. But if DFEs are designed to control a specific device, how do we manage and control the overall workflow that can include many DFEs and the associated devices from disparate manufacturers? And more importantly, how do you do this in a way that allows you to optimize your plant manufacturing capabilities, while ensuring that you have the flexibility to continue to change as future requirements change?

I guess the first question is; what is a workflow? Back in the mid 1990s when CTP started to proliferate, vendors started to market ‘workflow systems.’ Unfortunately, each one of them had a dif-

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ferent view on what a workflow system really was. At that time, out of frustration and curiosity, I decided to create a base model of all of the potential tasks that a CTP workflow could include. This model, which is shown below, was published in the Seybold Report in 1997.

Subsequently, in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s we reviewed and compared most of the workflow systems available at that time against the base model and published the results in the Seybold Report.

It was an important step since it provided each of the solution developers a way to begin to focus and measure their products. This model, in many respects the predecessor to the PRIMIR Transformational Workflow model highlighted earlier in the series, is broken into three sections.

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• Production Tasks, which include the granular production operations; • Production Management Tasks, which comprises the necessary operations to manage and control the Production Tasks; and • Business Management Tasks, which include the operations that are needed to bridge the business requirements with the production requirements.

Trying to include many if not most of these tasks in a solution became the goal of many of the manufacturers, and you can see some of this in the DFE and workflow offerings available today. In many respects, they mimic the earlier CTP workflow systems. However, while

click to enlarge

this may have made sense when CTP was the core of a prepress plant workflow, today with the addition of many disparate digital print, cross-media, and other output production requirements, there is a need for a new look at how this model or a new model should be applied to product offerings and plant implementations.

Ultimately the workflow needs to be the hub, not the device.

As I alluded to in the last article on DFEs, perhaps it has to start with a reevaluation of what a DFE needs to support in the context of the broader workflow with today’s new requirements. If we were to extract the relevant operational tasks from the above model, the DFE could be something simple like this basic RIP. But this really isn’t completely adequate to address all of the needs of a DFE. What about inter-process communication, and device-dependent operations like color management, preflight, trapping, imposition, VDP, etc. So perhaps it should look more like this?

Of course, since a DFE is by its nature a device dependent solution, some of these operations may be unnecessary, and it’s ultimate construction can and should vary based on the specific device requirements. The key here is not to include more than is necessary. Once the

operations in the DFE start to expand beyond the device requirement workflow and move into the territory of the plant workflow, you could wind up with operational feature redundancy which can add cost, confusion, create production silos and inconsistencies in output from different devices, etc.

The specific designation of operations and roles between the DFE and the plant workflow are increasingly the key to successful process automation and greater plant flexibility. It’s not that you can’t create an efficient automated plant workflow with bulked up DFE systems or even some of the tightly controlled device vendor based workflow systems; it just adds an unnecessary level of waste or complexity to the final solution.

Since a workflow is really about building touch points for a series of operations, we need to look at the primary clients of those operations. There are two separate parallel, but sometimes interconnected, data streams in a production workflow: production data, and production files.

There can also be a third if there is variable data involved. To achieve maximum success in building a forward- facing automated workflow, you need to have a solution that will support each of these data streams and provide for the interaction of the results with the other data

streams as needed. This requires an open workflow with good inter-application communication capabilities and good, open, applications to process the data streams.

These ideal workflow and application candidates can come bundled in a comprehensive solution, or can come as separate components that you can select and build to meet your individual plant and process requirements. In the next article we will look at some representative samples of the currently available comprehensive workflow systems and some of their features.

Remember, if you have any topics you think are important and would like us to cover during the balance of this series, please let us know!

David Zwang, travels around the globe helping companies increase their productivity, margins and market reach.

With over 40 years of industry experience, David specializes in process analysis and strategic development for firms in the fields of publishing, design, premedia, and printing.

You can contact David via email at david@zwang.com.

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Packaging technology

Tetra Pak inaugurates state-of-the-art factory in India Source: www.tetrapak.com

€120 million facility will enhance company’s competitiveness with food customers across the region Tetra Pak® today announces the inauguration of its latest world-class factory at Chakan, near Pune, in India. The plant is designed to meet growing demand for Tetra Pak processing and packaging solutions across India, South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The €120 million (INR 700 crores) facility marks a significant milestone in Tetra

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Pak’s increasing presence in the Indian subcontinent.

Said Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jönsson: “Tetra Pak started its market operations in India 26 years ago with a strong belief in the country’s growth potential. In 1997 we inaugurated our first factory here. We appreciate the trust and belief that the Indian dairy and beverage industry has in Tetra Pak. Today, India ranks among our fastest growing markets. Investing in this factory demon-

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strates our strong commitment to supporting our customers to meet growing consumer demand in the region.”

Noted Tetra Pak South Asia Markets Managing Director Kandarp Singh: “Today’s young urban consumer and the growing middle class are shaping and transforming the Indian food and beverage industry. Being ahead of the curve, Tetra Pak is geared to meet the growing demand for food safety and convenience. Today’s consumer looks for nutritious and healthy products in a conven-

ient packaging format, something that Tetra Pak is well equipped to deliver.�

Spread over 45 acres, the new Tetra Pak plant employs the most advanced packaging material production technologies and equipment in the world. Amongst various other facilities, the new plant will have a straw production unit, a processing systems workshop, a filling machine renovation and a technical training academy. The localisation of these processes will greatly increase responsiveness to market demands.

It will also house a Product Development and Innovation Centre which will have a laboratory, a pilot processing plant and a pilot packaging plant to meet the product formulations and development needs of customers.

The new plant doubles production capacity of Tetra Pak packaging material to 8.5 billion packages per year, with the potential of scaling it up to 16 billion packages. It also hopes to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, reflecting

its extremely high standards of energy efficiency, environmental performance and occupant well-being.

For more information please contact Linda Bernier, Director Corporate PR Tetra Pak, Cell: +39 348 145 4229 Annie Kasmai, Cohn & Wolfe for Tetra Pak, Tel: 44 (0) 207 331 5399

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Packaging technology

Oris CGS Technologies Flexes Packaging Prowess at China Print For Oris CGS Technologies, China Print 2013 held in Beijing last May was nothing more than an extension of revenue network. Print World Asia takes a look at their booth on site.

The prepress specialist company is known to dominate in proofing and colour management. To date, Indonesia has been the most lucrative source of revenue. However, there is a shift in focus, according to Yan Wei Phin, Regional Manager, who is responsible for the Southeast Asian market.

Observing the clear decline in visitor numbers, Yan remains unfazed – with confidence in the advantages Oris CGS is known to offer. “This time at the show, we chose to place the spotlight onto packaging – Oris Flex Pack // Web – with the increasing popularity of metallic and white inks on packaging. However, this software is not limited to this sector of

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colours. Through the Oris Flex Pack customers can also achieve the best accuracy for spot colours. Roland DG is the costar of choice for us on-site,” he explains.

“Another product highlight at China Print is the Oris Media Transferfilm. It is a breakthrough when it comes to producing packaging mock-ups or proofs on original stock. It is an open-pored synthetic mesh, which can be thermal-transferred at low temperatures on almost any original media, used a standard laminator,” he demonstrates with a sample to Print World Asia.

When asked if there is any distinct observation on customers from this part of the world, Kenny Chan, General Manager responsible for Greater China, had his own takes. “The concept of colour management was not very well-received due to lack of awareness and understanding of how it works. Customers today are

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more savvy and aware it’s an important aspect to their business; they have been exposed to colour standards like ISO, although many may not readily admit this as part of a deliberate erroneous omission,” he comments.

Chan adds customers’ knowledge about colour management has transcended mere controlling of shades on press – the importance of colour management is recognized as a means to stabilising prepress processes which is pivotal to the overall printed result.

Yan adds, “We have the cooperation with FX across the region with PMW solution” as well as Fujifilm for China in this stage.

There is a lot of exciting stuff to come from our development too, please stay tuned!”

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NEWS

China’s Traditional

Media Advertising Market

Growth Dropped Below ‘5’ in 2012 Source : CTR Market Research/China 31 Jan 2013 The GDP growth rate in 2012 was 7.8%.

This is the first time for the annual GDP growth rate lower than 8% since 1999, and the annual growth rate becomes the lowest since 1998. According to the latest CTR publication on China adspend data, traditional advertising annual growth in China market 2012 was 4.5% only, which was the lowest in the recent 5 years. With the influence from economic environment, the forecast on China advertising market depression in the beginning of 2012 came true eventually at the year-end.

The advertising growth in traditional outdoor media was exhausting, with 2.0% growth over 2011. With the rapid development of the urban railway system in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Metro and light railway advertising showed high growth with 13.2% annual increase rate over 2011.

Although the result in new media varies in the whole 2012, its entire growth slowed down. Public transport TV and LCD building adspends were 2.2% and 14.8% respectively. Fast-food restaurant brands like the leading brand KFC still have the passion on new media adver-

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tising. On the other hand, some Internet brands like Shanghai Yi Supermarket, Alibaba Taobao and Zhenai were interested in new media advertising, while cosmetics/toiletries weaken their advertising on LCD building. Advertising Expenditure-Industries All industrial advertising in 2012 decelerated their growth, some of them even have negative growths. Only beverage and alcohol growths overtook 2011, by 12.4% and 31.9% respectively. Alcohol led the market contribution in all industries, by 33.0%. More and more alcohol brands began to concern on developing brand image, advertising become the first choice.

FESPA CHINA & CSGIA 2013 THE FUTURE FOR PRINT 18-20 NOVEMBER 2013 SHANGHAI WORLD EXPO EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTRE CHINA

WHERE GLOBAL BRANDS MEET TO DELIVER LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRINT BUSINESSES FESPA China & CSGIA is the ultimate fusion of technology for the Sign and Graphics market.

With an extensive line-up of 400 international exhibitors, visiting FESPA China & CSGIA 2013 provides businesses with an opportunity to experience the latest products and technology for screen, digital and textile printing.

Taking place on the 18-20 November 2013 the industries global print manufacturers and suppliers will meet in Shanghai, China to deliver limitless opportunities for print businesses along with an unrivalled programme of visitor features.

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FESPA CHINA & CSGIA 2013, 18-20 NOVEMBER 2013 Digital Print Asia

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20/05/2013 17:25

NEWS

Sovereignty Shaken by ‘Market Forces’

China and India have dominated the industry over the last few years with massive sales and imports. However, the twist of events seems to have tossed these massive markets into an economic tailspin. Christel Lee reports.

Intellectual Property Battles China is deemed (without a doubt) the world’s factory. However, counterfeiting issues have brought so much bad press that many big names have decided to cut their losses and exit. In 2010, China announced plans to require Western companies doing business in China to turn over sensitive technologies and patents to Chinese competitors in exchange for access to the country’s markets. According to a 2010 American Chamber of Commerce report, U.S. businesses were losing Chinese sales because of rules to support homegrown technologies.

In late 2012, Chinese companies were busted for producing fake wines in Chateau Lafite Rothschild’s name. Some 10,000 bottles of the questionable liquor were uncovered in the eastern city of Wenzhou in Shanghai, China. The owner denied any involvement in the counterfeit production and was appalled his

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property was a place to stash the loot.

Analysts have estimated some 70% of wines sold in this name are fakes. To date, legal actions against Chinese firms over fake wines have been successful.

Foreign companies doing business in China lament instances of unpaid bills, piracy, counterfeiting and theft of ideas and technologies. The policy of having to surrender patents has proven disastrous for developers and certainly played a part in foreign companies reassessing their dealings with Chinese companies.

A case in point is Ryan Lee, a Singaporean who invented a mini speaker that could fill a room with music. Reportedly six months into production under Xmi (company name), Lee received calls from European clients asking for a discount.

The European clientele has been offered a dead-ringer at a cheaper price.

The counterfeit was personally verified with a similar looking speaker with no serial numbers accompanied by different packaging, not to mention the world’s apart difference in sound quality. Despite the intellectual property theft, his product reaped S$33M in revenue.

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Loss of market share In 2012, several multinational companies retreated from China. US consumer-electronics retailer Best Buy closed all of its outlets in China. Next, the US soda-maker Pepsi Cola sold its bottling operations in China to the China-based Taiwanese company Tingyi. Shortly after, global food giant Danone suspended operations of its Shanghai company, followed

by Nestlé, which suspended the sales of its ice cream in eastern China.

With the withdrawal of overseas companies, foreign direct investment in China has slowed as well, reports the China Economic Weekly in Beijing, citing statistics edited by the Ministry of Commerce, which show that foreign direct investment grew by 9.72% in 2011, compared to 17.4% in 2010.

One of the notable withdrawals includes Time Warners in 2006, a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks, film and TV entertainment and publishing. The American multimedia conglomerate cited policies in the republic, such as disallowing the holding of controlling stakes in the set up.

Many foreign companies were also losing their market share to domestic companies, which are familiar with local consumers’ habits and concentrate their efforts on producing cheap substitutes for foreign goods. Yet this may seem ambiguous for obvious reasons.

Consolidation Sting India – one of the top four economies in the world has also suffered some speed bumps. Bloomberg reported (quoting the Commerce Ministry) output at factories, utilities and mines dropped 0.4% from a year earlier after a revised 2.3% gain in August, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement in New Delhi. The median of 28 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 2.8% increase.

The trade deficit was $20.96 billion in October, the Commerce Ministry said in a separate report.

Press reports state that factory production has been subdued for most of 2012, hurt by moderating consumer demand and a drop in exports as the global recovery falters. The Reserve Bank of India had signaled it may lower interest rates in the first quarter of 2013 to aid growth

as inflation cools, after resisting calls from the Finance Ministry for a cut.

Manufacturing dropped 1.5% in mid2011, while capital goods output decreased 12.2%. Mining rose 5.5 percent and electricity output increased 3.9 percent. India’s exports merchandise shipments fell 1.6 percent in October from a year earlier to $23.3 billion, while imports climbed 7.4 percent to $44.2 billion, according to the Commerce Ministry.

Indranil Pan, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. in Mumbai, admitted there has been a weakness in demand.

One of India’s packaging giants, Parikh Packaging, recently announced that Austria-based Constantia Flexibles Group headquartered in Vienna will acquire 60% of its stake. Pranav Parikh, director at Parikh Packaging, said, “World over, we are witnessing consolidation. Today, Indian firms are looking to expand their business and also their presence in countries which have huge potential. This acquisition will help Parikh Packaging to cater for domestic and international markets.”

A top official of Constantia Flexibles said, “This acquisition will help Constantia operate in a highly attractive growth market. India has an ever-increasing middle class with growing demand for packaged food and health care products, which we want to address with top quality products and services. We also want to support the growth of our international key accounts in this market. The acquisition is part of the international growth strategy of Constantia Flexibles and constitutes another important step for further growth and expansion in Asia.”

Parikh Packaging, which has been a regular participant in the annual Asian Flexo Excellence Awards, was started in 1999.

The company caters to flexible packaging for pharmaceutical and food sectors and has clients in India, UK, US, South Africa, African Continent, the Middle East and Far East, Sri Lanka, Canada, New Zealand, UAE, Egypt, Yeman, Nigeria and Kenya.

Incidentally, the newspaper which published this coverage is also a renowned media company in India and is to be acquired shortly as well.

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NEWS

Manroland Shows Off its Newfound Strength at China For Oris CGS Technologies, China Print 2013 held in Beijing last May was nothing more than an extension of revenue network. Print World Asia takes a look at their booth on site.

software is not limited to this sector of colours. Through the Oris Flex Pack customers can also achieve the best accuracy for spot colours. Roland DG is the costar of choice for us on-site,” he explains.

“Another product highlight at China Print is the Oris Media Transferfilm. It is a breakthrough when it comes to producing packaging mock-ups or proofs on original stock. It is an open-pored synthetic mesh, which can be thermal-transferred at low temperatures on almost any original media, used a standard laminator,” he demonstrates with a sample Observing the clear decline in visitor to Print World Asia. numbers, Yan remains unfazed – with confidence in the advantages Oris CGS is When asked if there is any distinct obknown to offer. “This time at the show, servation on customers from this part of we chose to place the spotlight onto the world, Kenny Chan, General Managpackaging – Oris Flex Pack // Web – with er responsible for Greater China, had his the increasing popularity of metallic and own takes. “The concept of colour manwhite inks on packaging. However, this agement was not very well-received due The prepress specialist company is known to dominate in proofing and colour management. To date, Indonesia has been the most lucrative source of revenue. However, there is a shift in focus, according to Yan Wei Phin, Regional Manager, who is responsible for the Southeast Asian market.

to lack of awareness and understanding of how it works. Customers today are more savvy and aware it’s an important aspect to their business; they have been exposed to colour standards like ISO, although many may not readily admit this as part of a deliberate erroneous omission,” he comments.

Chan adds customers’ knowledge about colour management has transcended mere controlling of shades on press – the importance of colour management is recognized as a means to stabilising prepress processes which is pivotal to the overall printed result.

Yan adds, “We have the cooperation with FX across the region with PMW solution” as well as Fujifilm for China in this stage. There is a lot of exciting stuff to come from our development too, please stay tuned!”

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©2013 Presstek, Inc.

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NEWS

China Print: KBA reports some big orders from mainland China and Taiwan First KBA Rapida 145 in China handed over to Ningbo Beike

After signing the big contract with Taiwanese Chen Yi Paper Container for six medium and large-format Rapida presses. (l-r) Walter Zehner from KBA Greater China; Jürgen Veil from KBA; Ralf Sammeck from KBA, Steve Chung, general manager Chen Yi Paper, Dietmar Heyduck from KBA, Kevin Chung from Chen Yi Paper and Akio Pong from KBA agency Shining Graphics in Taiwan

On the second day of China Print 2013 in Beijing KBA handed the Rapida 145 showcased over to Ningbo Beike Packaging. This is the first KBA Rapida 145 large-format press to go to China and the second in Asia to be installed after the trade show at the customer’s plant in Ningbo.

It will join existing presses from other German and Japanese suppliers. The highly-automated Rapida 145 will mainly be used for printing packaging and display products, and will strongly support the company‘s growth strategy.

Founded in 1998, Ningbo Beike Packaging is based in the Zhejiang Province in eastern China. The company focuses on colour packaging printing for the food industry and on paper storage racks used in supermarkets. The company owns three manroland presses and one Mitsubishi press. The new KBA Rapida 145 press will be installed in a new factory established in 2010.

“We did extensive research before purchasing this press. We know that the Rapida 145 was launched at Drupa last year and that it contains brand-new cutting-edge automation. KBA is the market leader in large format and is well known for its state-of-the-art technology”, said Wu Jie, general manager of Ningbo Beike when explaining why he

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Shaking hands on two more KBA Rapida 105 sheetfed presses: Jackson Leung, CEO C&C, and Ralf Sammeck, KBA executive vice-president sheetfed sales

opted for the press. “The Rapida 145 press has the fastest printing speed in its format class on the market. We are also impressed by its low energy consumption, environmentally-friendly functions and the wide range of substrates it can handle. This press will help us to improve the quality of our products and competiveness. With the Rapida 145 we target to increase our sales volume by 50 million Yuan (approx. $8m) annual-

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ly.” Mr Wu Jie is also looking forward to working with KBA: “This is the first time that we will cooperate with KBA, but will be definitely not the last time,“ he said. “We are honoured to be the first Chinese user of the Rapida 145 press, which meets our production needs in terms of speed, efficiency, quality and energy saving.”

The city of Ningbo is famous for its home appliance manufacturing industry which is why demand for large-format packaging printing is high. “The large-format Rapida 145 press fits perfectly to our products,” said Wu Jie. It will be mainly used to print packaging, displays and newly-developed storage racks.

Two further Rapida 145 presses for packaging printers in China Weihai Color Printing Packaging Paper Industry in Qingdao (Shandong province) has also become a new KBA customer with an order for a five-colour Rapida 145 press with coater. In addition, Tangshan Sanli in Tangshan, also a packaging printer, decided on a Rapida 145 four-colour press and joined the KBA family. Furthermore, many book, commercial and packaging printers from China opted for KBA Rapida 75 and Rapida 105 presses in the B2 and B1 format classes.

C&C orders another two Rapida 105

Big deal from Taiwan: 6 presses for Chen Yi Paper

Once again C&C, one of China’s biggest printing groups famous for its children books and also successful in commercial and packaging printing, reaffirmed its longstanding partnership with KBA. C&C became a KBA user in 2006 and 2007 following the delivery of two four-colour Rapida 142 presses. These two large-format presses were joined by a further three six-colour Rapida 105 presses with coaters in 2012. These presses allowed C&C to enter the packaging market successfully. Now, at China Print 2013, this big KBA customer opted for two further five-colour Rapida 105 presses, both with coaters. The new KBA Rapidas will join the company’s existing Rapidas at the facilities in Shanghai and Guangdong.

The order from Chen Yi Paper Container in Kaohsiung is the biggest single deal for KBA at China Print so far and one of the biggest deals in the Taiwanese sheetfed market ever. This big packaging printer ordered two Rapida 164 six-colour large-format presses with coaters, a five- and a six-colour Rapida 106, both with coater, and a five- and six-colour Rapida 105 also with coaters.

Three of the six presses will be shipped in the third quarter 2013 and installed in the existing factory in Taipei. The other three presses will be installed in 2014 in a new plant in Kaohsiung in the south of the Taiwanese island.

Handing over the Rapida 145 at China Print 2013 with Rong Youda, president von Ningbo Beike (3rd from right), Wu Jie, general Manager Ningbo Beike (3rd from left), KBA marketing director Klaus Schmidt (2nd right), KBA sales director Dietmar Heyduck (2nd left) and Wang Lianbiao, general manager KBA China (l)

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NEWS

Mint Asia for

Singapore

Audience

In t e r e s t e d in India

Rajiv Verma, CEO HT Media Ltd., said, “When we conceptualised Mint, we were always very clear that it would be a regional media brand and I am delighted that, with this launch in Singapore of MintAsia, we have started on that journey. This is a first for an Indian media company.”

The paper was unveiled at the IIMPact alumni event in Singapore on 6th April, 2013, by Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India and Mr. R Sukumar, Editor of MintAsia. The content of the paper will be distributed into various sections including Banking & Finance, Policy & Corporate Affairs, Opinions & Views of experts across industries and a lifestyle section from Mint Lounge.

R Sukumar, Editor of MintAsia, while talking about the content of the paper, said, “Singapore is one of the world’s foremost financial centres and many decisions regarding investments in India happen here. With our unique Web First approach and a weekly print offering, both backed by an integrated newsroom we will try and cater to the India-specific information needs of the discerning Singapore reader.”

MintAsia is out every Friday and will also be available on stands at a cover price of SGD6.

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Singapore-based audience interested in Indian business and economy will now have a weekly title containing unbiased and clear minded weekly with in-depth analysis and sharp insights that will keep the global audience abreast of developments shaping the Indian economy and markets.

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NEWS

ISO 16759 Approved!

After what feels like forever but what is really only a couple of years, ISO 16759 (Quantification and communication of the carbon footprint of print media products), has been approved. Yay!!

This is very exciting, but it marks only the beginning of an important journey for our industry. We are expecting ISO to publish ISO 16759 this summer. When it is available, the printing and publishing industries and their supply chains will be able to start calculating carbon footprints to a common standard using their choice of calculator. ISO 16759 is not a calculator but a framework of requirements. This means the market can develop any size and shape of calculator it wants, specific to different printing and publishing sectors and needs in the supply chain.

As long as a carbon footprinting study complies with requirements of ISO 16759

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print buyers, publishers, consumers and anyone else in the print media involved in print media production, will be able to trust the data. For the ISO authors the real work will begin once this starts to happen: the standard is rather like slightly shakey software that has just been released into the market. Only when users start offering feedback, can the standard be made even more robust.

The publication of ISO 16759 puts the printing and publishing industries in a unique position. This standard is the first of its kind to be on track to reach market.

Despite over four years of struggles and debate, ISO will publish the draft of ISO 14067 (Quantification and communication of the carbon footprint of products and services) as a technical specification not as a standard. The document did not achieve consensus because of concerns over reporting and worries that it might be used as a restraint to trade.

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This means that there is no ISO standard that specifies the basis for calculating the carbon footprint of a product or service.

Only ISO 16759 is specific to a given industry sector.

ISO is either missing something or they are ahead of the curve on the need for tangible carbon footprinting data. Given the number of companies already touting carbon calculators for our industry, we rather hope the latter to be true. And we are already aware of a certification project to establish whether a calculator meets the requirements of ISO 16759.

The only way is forwards!

– Laurel Brunner

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Create online storefronts with uStore, enabling customers to order personalized/customized documents from a catalog or upload their own documents such as Adobe® PDF or Microsoft® Word. Built to meet the challenges of receiving, producing, and delivering high volumes of short-run jobs through the Web, StoreFlow provides a truly automated, touch-less workflow for increased efficiency and profitability. To find out more, visit: www.xmpie.com/rbl/storeflow.html

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NEWS

Goss Introduces the World’s

Fir st High-Au t omation,

Compact 2x1 Press for Newspaper, Book and Semi-Commercial Printing

[\ · Automatic plate changing included as standard · Flexible run lengths a key benefit of the new design · Compact height (2.2 meters) provides quality, operational and ROI advantages Recognizing changing habits of readers and emerging opportunities for printers, Goss International is launching a first-ofits-kind, highly automated 2x1 web offset press for the production of newspapers, books and semi-commercial publications.

The new Goss Magnum Compact press system boasts a range of design features packaged to deliver fast makereadies, simplified operation and run-length flexibility.

The new design retains proven and class-leading features of the Goss Community/Magnum platform – the world’s best selling single-width press platform – while introducing automatic plate loading and compact design to this market sector for the first time.

Faster makereadies, lower waste

The inclusion of automatic plate changing as standard is a crucial factor in delivering new capabilities. Enabling plates for the next product or edition to be loaded while the press is running, the full sequence of old plate removal/new plate loading re-

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quires less than 30 seconds, producing a dramatic impact on crew requirements, makeready waste and press uptime. Additionally the removed plates can be reused – making this technology ideal for repeat small-batch production of books and other publications.

Multi-shaftless press drives are similarly standard on every model, with the result that each cylinder level and inker module is driven totally independently, as is the infeed roller, providing maximum flexibility and control over changeover waste. This control can be further enhanced with the addition of optional Goss DigiRail digital inking.

According to Eric Bell, Goss International marketing director, this combination

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of automation technologies makes the Magnum Compact press ideal for producing run lengths from as low as 500 copies through to 250,000+. “Today’s cost pressures on printed media mean that printers of every size and variety need to streamline production, reduce overheads, and keep their presses running round-the-clock,” comments Bell.

“This press system is another example of Goss using its decades of engineering and technological expertise to bring the benefits of automation and large-scale production efficiencies to smaller operations. This latest innovation will deliver more flexibility and opportunity for printers of newspapers, as well as books and specialized or niche publications.”

As well as the widely-acknowledged print

Easier operation, more flexibility quality benefits of compact towers, the short height (2.2m), single-level design of the Magnum Compact press also provides clear operational benefits, enabling prepress, press and mailroom to be operated seamlessly. Maintenance is also simplified – the opening of the inker units allows simple, single-level access to blankets, rubber rollers and ink ducts for cleaning and setting.

The low height also means that this press can be installed in simple industrial buildings. As a result, both initial investment and ongoing operating costs are reduced dramatically, while environmental impact is also lessened.

In reducing makeready time by as much as 90 percent, the automation of the Magnum Compact enables printers and publishers to reach into new markets and

new applications. Short run lengths and low pagination can be produced cost-effectively. Folders accommodating up to 16 webs enable smart production configurations, while quarter folder and double parallel options add format flexibility for books, semi-commercial magazines, direct mail and academic literature. Heatset and UV options can also offer added-value.

“Tackling the main sources of cost in printing, the Magnum Compact design incorporates features for reducing overheads – including crew sizes – and materials consumption into a press design that facilitates a wider application range,” concludes Bell. “What’s more, with greater substrate flexibility and the use of standard inks and consumables, the Magnum Compact press even presents a compelling alternative to inkjet presses for a number of applications and business models.”

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NEWS

Presstek Appoints Channel Manager for Asia Pacific Rim West Drayton, UK – Presstek, Inc., a leading supplier of digital offset printing solutions and services to the printing and communications industries, today announced that Ian Pollock has assumed the role of Asia Pacific Region Channel Manager, reporting directly to Geoff Loftus, Vice President of Operations. Mr. Pollock supersedes Tim Sawyer who left Presstek to pursue other opportunities.

Ian understands the industry well having spent the bulk of his career with Ryobi, ABDick and then Presstek where he has held a range of Service, Marketing and Sales Management roles. With over 30 years of industry experience, Ian brings a strong product management and marketing background to this role where he will be responsible for driving Presstek’s growth objectives for the graphic arts market across Asia.

Ian will be supporting Presstek’s channel partners in the region such as Aserve Global Solutions in Singapore and ADP in Malaysia, subsidiaries of ServTouch Services Pte Ltd., a leading technolo-

gy solutions and aftermarket support service provider. Featured products in the region are Presstek DI® digital offset presses available in 34cm, 52cm and 75cm configurations, 2-, 4-, and 8-page CTP systems and open platform plates including chemistry-free Presstek Aurora Pro and Aurora EXP as well as Presstek Aeon, a high resolution non-preheat thermal plate.

Pollock notes, “I believe Presstek’s innovative products are an ideal fit for today’s market dynamics and I am eager to support our partners in the Pacific Rim region with Presstek solutions.”

For more information about the full range of Presstek products and services offered in the EAMER market, visit www.presstek.com, e-mail info@presstekeurope.com or call +44 (0) 20 8745 8000.

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NEWS

X-Rite’s 5Cs Colour, China Print, Consistency, Customise, Customers: Peter He, Vice-President for Sales Greater China from X-Rite Asia Pacific Limited, sums up for Print World Asia. Christel Lee reports.

At China Print one could see a handful of exhibitors showcasing similar products to the same customers. However, China itself is a market force to be reckoned with. While some were impressed by the rate of production churned out in the republic just to keep up, there was however another group who felt less confident.

X-Rite is one of the major players in colour management, catering for higher and higher market expectation and demand in the massive republic. Peter He, Vice-President for Sales Greater China, has been actively presenting its solutions to prospects at China Print. His two-decade span in the industry has shown him just how printers in the republic have changed.

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“Printers’ standards of colour management are getting higher. They have also begun to exhibit signs of wanting to stabilise or enhance their qualities, reduce wastage and costs. They are always on the lookout for solutions to these challenges. Colour management has recently been the focus within the full process from prepress to printing for printers.

While printers have embraced the idea of investing in solutions and products, they still grapple with control and integration,” He observed.

Attributing these situations to escalating global demands and output from China, he added X-Rite had been working to stand out among competitors by providing full solutions and added values.

“It’s of utmost importance to deliver complete solutions, optimum support and service to customers. Times have evolved the game plan. We have also begun having to be abreast of customers’ developments and provide a customized solution to help in the business – to remain competitive,” He explained.

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Colour Fidelity in He’s opinion has found its way into the packaging world – implying X-Rite’s direction in the business for China. However, the company’s commitment to colour accuracy and consistency is prevalently recognised in the republic.

“We are present in every printer’s stable, the only question is how much of us is in them.

“China is a republic with a massive population, and living standards are escalating in proportion. That places packaging in a position of growth and that includes digital packaging printing,” He commented.

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NEWS Feature

“BUYER BEWARE” Tell me - as a buyer how many times have you purchased something either personally or in business that didn’t return you the satisfaction or pay back that you ultimately thought you or your business deserved?

Has today’s Salesperson forgotten where their monthly salary actually comes from? Is the pressure from their Management so “Number” focused that the true customer / relationship approach has been lost forever?

As a “mature” buyer myself I always look for that salesperson that has an ability to connect with me from the first moment they open their mouth. Unfortunately even as late as today I found that these moments are extremely rare in the world of the BUYER. The problem seems to consistently get worse, today’s lack of customer focused Sales People continues to create a cultural change in buyer behaviour, the move from human interaction to now buying online supports the elimination of needing to talk to that “common commodity” yes you guessed it - the annoying salesperson!

Whilst this shift is stronger in today’s retail B to C environment, the ability to access cheaper and more flexible technology is starting to drive a similar effect in today’s B to B world!

Let’s take a minute to focus on the Buyer – Vendor relationship shall we.

Big, Medium and Small Brands alike all sell the same - Yes more often than not they sell you WHAT THEY WANT TO SELL whilst never asking or knowing “what are your specific Wants and Needs”?

Remember that Salesperson’s consistent grinding approach whilst

selling to you the “Features and Benefits” (as he/she see it)?

This ultimately ends up in you being part of a Price War (with no

bullet proof vest) to support your ultimate justification of purchasing

a product or service that you NEVER really

“Needed” or in fact “Wanted” in the first place!

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Does this all sound familiar? Well there is another way, we’ve listed below some helpful suggestions to support getting what YOU REALLY NEED:

• First take one step back and clearly understand “Your Own Customer’s Needs” - this supports setting an accurate direction for your business and helps align your specific Needs.

• Next define your “WANTS and NEEDS” (at a high level initially) and always reference these as your ultimate requirement when buying any product or service from any Vendor.

• Don’t conform to the common Vendor approach of a discounted price for a limited time only with a FREE set of Steak Knives as the reason to buy the WRONG solution at the WRONG time to fit your so-called Needs (this only supports their needs in their time).

• Finally make the Vendor/s accountable by continuing to reinforce YOUR requirement by making them justify and you qualify that their proposal will meet and or exceed your required NEEDS.

By Paul McLean -Managing Director , 121 Performance Email: paul@121performance.com

• So if we all take the time to change the way we BUY, focusing on our specific “WANTS and NEEDS”, maybe just maybe the BUYER will finally be understood by the Salesperson, only time will tell.

Visit www.121performance.com to find out how 121 Performance can assist you further.

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NEWS Feature

Don’t Miss a Beat!

Experience the Revolution of EFI Digital Inkjet Printing at the 21st Shanghai International AD & Sign Technology & Equipment Exhibition!

In today’s competitive business environment you need integrated, scalable printing solutions to support your success – and to set you apart from the competition. Visit EFI™ at the 21st Shanghai International AD & Sign Technology & Equipment Exhibition on July 10-13, Booth W1-125, in the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center. You will learn how you can add EFI solutions to your business equation for greater productivity, business efficiency and profits.

Be the first to see the new VUTEk® HS100 Pro in the Asia Pacific region. The HS family of high-speed UV flatbed and rollto-roll presses represents a true replacement for analog equipment with the productivity of screen and image quality approaching offset.

We have been working hard to make sure you get the most out of your time. Below are some of the opportunities we have in store for you: • Ample networking opportunities for you to interact with EFI creative professionals who can help you grow your digital print business.

• Web-to-Print eCommerce Software EFI Digital StoreFront® delivers the best online job submission workflow to allow you to accept more work, produce it more effectively and increase your profitability.

• The VUTEk HS100 Pro high-speed digital UV inkjet press represents a true alternative to analog equipment. Innovative imaging technology driven by the Orion OS software platform delivers critical color accuracy and consistency your customers’ demand with the productivity and digital effi-

Join us

ciencies you need. The VUTEk HS100 Pro allows you to take on short-run jobs more profitably, while letting you produce longer sheet runs at a lower cost per print than analog technology.

• VIP Booth Tour: Workflow Tours are scheduled every hour, on the hour during show hours. The tour will include demonstrations, highlights and an interactive Q&A component.

Please join us and you could win a gift!

• EFI Fiery XF production RIP accelerates your turnaround and delivers the high-quality output with vibrant color that customers want.

• Don’t miss your chance to see EFI’s products in action!

Exhibition Dates: July 10-13 Venue: Shanghai New International Exhibition Center Booth #: W1-125

EFI invents integrated digital technology for businesses and enterprises worldwide that helps them increase their profits, productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Visit www.efi.com to learn more.

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Get a free entrance pass when you register online.

One Click to Color

Print World Asia • 3/2013

Wide Format / Proofing Technology

53

X-Rite exact™ is a next generation handheld color measurement solution that takes into account the new business needs and dynamics of a global supply chain.

Learn eXactly how X-Rite can help manage color.

Share your color challenges and hear how X-Rite can help. xrite.com | pantone.com

YOUR COLOR.

ALWAYS IN HARMONY.

X-Rite is either a registered trademark or trademark of X-Rite, Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. PANTONE and other Pantone trademarks are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Pantone LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Pantone is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. © X-Rite, Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. L7A-072 (11/12)

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NEWS Feature

Heidelberg Solutions Help Kamsri Deliver High Quality Offerings

How many times are you welcomed with a cup of either a south Indian filter Kaapi, tea or an array of soft drinks when entering a spanking office of those mighty IT complexes? Replace that moment with, entering into a 55000 square feet printing facility to be greeted by the Managing Director himself and surprising you with a refreshing can of Badam (almond) Milk. At Kamsri, such small and big delights are commonplace and one is bound to feel the air of difference and excellence.

When Suresh Srinivasan, Managing Director of Kamsri, migrated to Bangalore in 1992, all he had was an experience

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that he had gathered from his first venture - Srikam print pack - a “flexo printed poly bag manufacturing” unit which he started in Chennai, and the passion to excel in the flurry of a fragmented printing industry. This, coupled with a post-graduate diploma in Plastic-Technology gave Suresh the much needed impetus to extend his entrepreneurship goals in printing across states. And thus a second unit - Kamsri, was established in Bangalore, where he had earlier graduated as a Mechanical Engineer. Kamsri made a humble beginning in 1995 with a used two-color offset press, a progressive e-system team and an adequate understanding of market dynamics.

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In 2000, Kamsri having won trust of customers as well as industry colleagues incepted Shreya Prints and catered to the commercial print requirements of customers. Later, Shreya Prints merged with Kamsri. Around then, business volumes were moving up and the stress on quality and delivery was increasing. The quest to comprehensively meet a customer’s requirement took precedence, and an additional used Heidelberg GTO two-color press had come to aid; however prepress continued to be outsourced.

The joining of Mrs. Lakshmi Suresh, Finance Director, Kamsri, in 2005 proved to be a turning point for Kamsri. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Lakshmi took an enormous task of giving Kamsri the much needed marketing exposure and reassessed their positioning. With some research, she foresaw the opportunities that can be tapped by venturing into the apparel industry. Her estimates turned accurate and a new stream of customer base was discovered, which shot the sales up.

In 2007, history repeated itself with Mr. R. Viswanaathan, Executive Director, Kamsri joining in and like Lakshmi, became one of their greatest assets. In no time, Viswanaathan became the backbone of the process, systems and the team management at Kamsri and the wheel of Quality-Standards was put into motion.

After having followed the cycle of reading the market, offering the required and consistently achieving excellence, the changing times didn’t go unnoticed

by Suresh. As he puts it, “We needed to move on from our approach of delivering just what is required to the approach of building our capacity and adding real value to the client, which comes through quality output and solutions that matter to our clients the most.”

That explains the recent addition at Kamsri - the Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 six-colour press. “After a thorough market survey, feedback from printers, and the knowledge exchange at Heidelberg Print Media Academy, Chennai, it was clear that the value-add offered to any client, irrespective of scale or industry, will be the key driver for Kamsri’s growth. A vast experience of almost two decades gave us the confidence to customize and deal with each client as a unique one,” shares Viswanaathan.

“Besides meeting quality, productivity and value-add requirements, there is a very high brand value that Heidelberg scores, and it helps us to position ourselves better and escalate our business.

We walk taller wearing a Heidelberg Badge,” adds Suresh.

The highly innovative technology of Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 comes equipped with production speed of up to 15000 sheets per hour and is equipped with touch screen operating panels (at feeder and delivery). The Prinect Press Center and Intellistart process-oriented operator guidance system help to achieve uninterrupted production even across a wide variety of substrates ranging from 0.03 mm to 0.80 mm (0.0012 inch t0 0.0315 inch).

The Speedmaster XL 75 has program controlled inking roller and blanket wash-up device which reduce the make-ready times. Shortest make-ready times as well

as consistent high production speeds are a given with Speedmaster which in turn ensure the decisive competitive edges in technology and productivity.

Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 at Kamsri has become one of the main attractions, for both, internal and external stakeholders. Also, Kamsri’s press operators know how to use the press most efficiently. Their operators have also been a part of Heidelberg’s “Operator Development Program” - a fully sponsored onemonth training program by Heidelberg India, which aims at enhancing the skills of press operators so that they can utilize the technology to its best and reap all the benefits.

As it now stands, Kamsri has an in-house prepress set-up with a designing team, state-of-the-art Mac and Windows workstations and a CtP device. In the press division, they have a five-colour press (28x40 format) with a guillotine, other than the six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75. Their postpress facility comes with automatic die-cutters, folder-gluers along with lamination and slant bed punching machines.

Lakshmi describes Suresh as “a hardcore entrepreneur by nature” while also nostalgically recalling Suresh publishing his own notes during his college days. Behind Suresh’s subtleness, is a dynamic identity which becomes evident from his work and all that he builds.

In order to further breathe professionalism into his ventures, Suresh completed

an MBA from Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad in 2012. His zeal for excelling in business and to further hone his leadership abilities led him to ISB. He rightly believes that this education will prove to be a differentiator for Kamsri.

Having spent two decades in the skill based industry now and with a robust 200 member team, Kamsri has come a long way and takes pride in its cohesive team which stood by it, thick and thin, right from the inception. Organizations see many ups and downs and Kamsri has had its share too but has survived and excelled, nevertheless.

With a soothing highbrow sense of humor and a never ending urge to learn and grasp, Suresh dreams of building a promising yet an understated enterprise, alongside his ‘Home and Financial Director’ - Lakshmi, his ‘cohort’ - Viswanaathan and his ‘technology partner’- Heidelberg.

Kamsri moves on with a single goal - to provide quality and value to its customers. “Our vision is to optimize our current capacity”, echoes the entire Kamsri team.

With an expert team, a streamlined and tested process, an ISO 9001:2008 certification and their recent pride possession of Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75, Kamsri has already taken a leap of faith and is strongly headed towards its vision. The company also has a stable ERP set up and is equipped to move into the space that is advancing into digitalization and automation. Clear in vision and action, Kamsri assures a magic touch to whatever it lays its hands on - A touch of Quality.

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NEWS Feature

Pleasing the Senses Through

Print

While we were hunting through the boxes for the last Asian Print Awards competition, one entry smelt. I started asking, “Why do I smell fish?”My colleague said, “Nobody brought fish here.” Christel Lee reports.

It turns out the entry was from a digital printer – after a smelling hunt. The entry was a glossy seafood restaurant menu and the page where it showed the type of fish they serve had a pong that shot through our noses. That menu won in Category 15 for Catalogues, Booklets and Brochures.

Sensory Branding Although we were unable to identify if this feature snagged the entrant its medal, the fact that it won speaks a lot about what one can do to appeal to the customer. It is said the human nose can individualise over 10,000 different odours and has a strong evocative power of memories and experience over the years, allowing us to differentiate brands.

Neuromarketing studies revealed smell triggers 75% of emotions, and is linked to pleasure, wellbeing, emotion and memory. This olfactory sensation can hence influence customers’ emotional state and mood to make them more susceptible to products that impact their behaviour.

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In the United States, a study performed by the Sense of Smell Institute revealed while people’s visual recall of images sinks to approximately 50% after only three months, they recall smells with 65% accuracy after an entire year. Similarly, a study carried out at the Rockefeller University shows that in the short term we remember just 1% of what we touch, 2% of what we hear, 5% of what we see, 15% of what we taste and 35% of what we smell.

Research has also highlighted the influence of touch on consumer purchasing decisions – one study found that customers who pick up a product are almost twice as likely to purchase it.

The same study found that customers who focus on a product for more than three seconds are 63% more likely to buy it – highlighting the benefits to manufacturers of adding additional attention-grabbing features to products or packaging to ensure that they capture the imagination of consumers.

There will be certainly two sides of this debate – either the smell appeals to you or it doesn’t. The latter breaks the deal.

The usual three to six seconds of marketing is no longer the pivotal point between you (marketer/brand) and customers.

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How to Make it Work Dr. John Medina, a molecular biologist and research consultant, wrote a book entitled ‘Brain Rules’. He documented examples of effectiveness of smell boosting sales. One of them was a vending machine which emitted the aroma of chocolate. The company enjoyed 60% increase in sales. Another was an ‘Aroma Billboard’ which emitted a waffle cone smell. That boosted ice-cream sales by 50%.

Dr. John Medina is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.

Simon Faure-Field from Equal Strategy, a customer experience consultancy firm, wrote in his article ‘This is what sensory branding can do for your business’,: “You choose the right kind of ambience for the particular kind of customer and the type of products or services you are offering.

And getting the balance right is not only an art form, it’s also a real science.”

In the end, I asked my colleague, “Isn’t fresh seafood supposed to be odourless?”

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NEWS Feature

Good Channel Partners Help You Remain Competitive How do you identify a good distributor? It’s certainly more than just helping the principal clock installations. Christel Lee gets some insights from Tim Klappe, Managing Director of Norde Distributors International.

The Philippine economy reportedly grew 6.4% in the first quarter of 2012, the fastest since 2010 and already far outpacing the International Monetary Fund’s forecast growth of 3.5% for 2012. The growth surge was driven in part by a recovery of electronics exports after a decline in demand in the previous year, while analysts say the economy was buoyed by strong domestic consumption. By the fourth quarter of last year, the Philippine economy had expanded 6.8%, lifted by a strong performance from service industries.

“About 70% of our economy is from consumption, so remittance is the key fuel behind that,” said Haj Narvaez, Manila-based head of research for the Philippines at Credit-Suisse. “It drives consumption in malls. Even on the property side, the government estimates a third of remittances go into home purchases and rentals of properties.”

local market. Response has been phenomenal,” he comments. Norde International is the exclusive distributor for Hewlett Packard’s equipment in Manila, Philippines.

“In the Philippines, we are fortunate that the print industry is growing. That, however, does not cue us to be complacent.

As a distributor, while sales are important, I feel it’s imperative we extend the real benefits to the customers.

“That extra mile comes in the form of creative input. There are customers who would like to adopt new business models but lack the knowledge and expertise. That’s where we come in to guide customers on achieving their goals - especially to transform from a traditional

The recently circulated news about manufacturers taking on more distributors indicates the industry is becoming even more competitive. Naturally, issues such as quality and support can be compromised due to fierce competition. That leaves many players having to negotiate between the pressing need for sales and good network coverage through distributors.

Tim Klappe, Managing Director of Norde Distributors International, is quick to point out what a good distributor does.

Klappe says many printers in the Philippines have now embraced the entry of digital print and novelty printing has been the popular focus. “We have customers who have been able to produce nicely printed novelty products for the

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printer to a marketing services company. For instance, customers may have the technologies to produce a particular product. However the market is not aware that this customer is there. So we recommend web-to-print and digital marketing functions that place the company ‘out there’ to be known. The awareness is gradually built, and business will flow subsequently.” he notes.

Klappe adds for both for B2B and B2C, they like to say “We make digital printing happen”.

This is not to say distributors have a cushy job. “As a distributor, we invest a lot of resources to build up the market.

Every single added value means something which reflects on us, and the principal.”

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NEWS Feature

China Print – the Good, Bad and the Controversial The renowned China-based exhibition lasted just four and a half days, instead of five as marketed. This sends a big message to the industry about the Republic – to begin with it is already struggling with declining output. Christel Lee of Print World Asia reports.

China Print is predominantly comparable to drupa and, over the years, it has warranted substantial market attention. However, those who have been watching would notice a steady decline in numbers. The current market situation has not made things better.

Organisers claimed on the show website that they expected to attract 180,000 visitors. This number certainly is massive, however being present on-site it felt otherwise. Booths were spotted empty in spite of company signs erected, while visitor numbers were significantly lower by the tail end of the third day.

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The Good It would be fair to say China Print has not quite lost its touch as an international exhibition. The crowd had sprinkles of visitors from India, Thailand, maybe Indonesia. For some, it was a big source of economically-priced equipment – think ‘bargain centre’.

For those with business acumen, China Print was an extension of their profit margins. Renowned digital press manufacturer MGI Digital clocked a sale each day. This was the US firm’s maiden exposure at China Print. Raymond Pena Jr. commented that for his company’s first attempt at Asia, the response has been beyond expectations.

The show was also a big showcase for manroland after the last couple of turbulent years. Ever since Langley Holdings’ takeover and overhaul of management, the team has enjoyed some relief. manroland sold at least four machines at China Print as at its second day.

By the fourth day of the event KBA had sold over 21 machines as had Founder Electronics, one of the Republic’s most famous digital players. The Beijing-based company, which debuted its latest digital presses, was swarmed by local interest.

Goss International known for its newspaper web presses’ dominant market presence targeted three markets: newspapers, books and semi-commercial publications with the Magnum Compact.

According to Eric Bell, Goss International marketing director, this combination of automation technologies makes the Magnum Compactpress ideal for producing run lengths from as low as 500 copies through to 250,000+.

“Today’s cost pressures on printed media mean that printers of every size and variety need to streamline production, reduce overheads, and keep their presses running round-the-clock,” commented Bell.

Heidelberg AG and Hewlett Packard booths seemed to be the spots where most visitors congregated.

The Bad, and…

One appalling feature was the usage of ‘tents’ on site! It was said many exhibitors were given the impression their booths would be erected within the concrete building of the exhibition centre.

However, three big tents were erected to serve as floor space. Ventilation was powered by generators with inflatable plastic tubes hanging below the roof.

The Controversial

Some exhibitors successfully masked the presence of others with big walls creating a false impression as the end of the hall, effectively resulting in loss of visibility at the show. Those who got the short-end of the stick could only lament they were “placed at the wrong booth”.

A big international player surprisingly had a much smaller booth! This company was known to invest in super large floor space to cater to a wide display of equipment. Staff was seen commencing the dismantling of the booth on the fourth day of the show.

What made matters worse was the fact that many exhibitors housed in tents were told to dismantle on the fourth day of the exhibition for security reasons.

Those in exhibition buildings were told electricity supply would be terminated at 11am on the last day of the exhibition.

One worrying sight nobody could miss was the blatant disregard to safety at a tradeshow where paper predominated throughout the site. Visitors were seen lighting up beside presses despite numerous signs prohibiting the act!

Organisers should have exercised more consideration before deploying marshals to send visitors out approaching 5pm.

Being asked to leave in the middle of a customer negotiation was a common complaint.

This could lead to a potential uproar accompanied with losses if those asked to leave by marshals happened to be big customers on the verge of a million-dollar deal, although not much hope was pinned on getting compensation from the organiser. It is, however, assumed much damage has warranted a price reduction on space for the next exhibition in order to attract those already-bitten.

Peddlers stood outside halls selling the China Print catalogue, similar to the thick listing of exhibitors given out complementary with registration last drupa.

Buying from these peddlers entitled you to a 50% discount at RMB100 a book, in comparison to buying from the show organiser.

Major exhibitors commented their booths were not ready on the first day and many had to wear masks while last minute work was executed. It would not be surprising to hear that China Print’s credibility has been significantly tarnished as a result of the shortcomings experienced by exhibitors and visitors alike.

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NEWS Feature

V

Tougher Than It Looks it can be mandated for instance for safety or quality control. A Technical Specification is a document companies can follow if they choose; it’s unlikely that customers will demand it.

When standards makers started working on ISO 16759 for quantifying the carbon footprint of print media, there were two primary reference documents: PAS 2050 and a working draft of what was supposed to become ISO 14067. Both documents were written to help companies quantify and calculate the carbon footprints of products and services and are closely aligned.

The snag is that ISO 14067, having failed in the final stages of voting, will not be published as an international standard. It has instead been approved as a Technical Specification and is expected to be published shortly. The difference between the two is that fully compliant implementation of a standard can be confirmed by third parties, such as certification bodies;

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So on the basis of ISO 14067’s rejection should we worry about ISO 16759’s vote due to close in a couple of weeks? Maybe, but it is important to keep in mind the reasons why the latter was not popular.

Perhaps the most important of these is that ISO TS 14067 is nonspecific and can be applied to whole categories of activities. This means that in the view of some countries it might have negative implications for trade in developing countries.

The authors of ISO TS 14067 also strove to reflect the interests of all products and services, which is partly why the document has been in development for over four years. And ISO TS 14067 has a complex set of communications options, including labels and claims that were considered to place heavy burdens on the companies trying to implement it.

As a Technical Standard ISO TS 14067 is available to any organisation that wants to use it. However it is not a standard so it is essentially toothless. This could

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be seen a step backward for those of us who are trying to encourage industry and service providers to improve their environmental impact, starting with carbon footprinting. Equally publishing ISO TS 14067 at least gets this document into the public domain. The document reflects a tremendous amount of work done by committed professionals from all over the world, so it should have some value in the marketplace. That value is in its completeness and the extent to which it reflects the needs of generic carbon footprinting methodologies.

Different areas of industry, from agriculture to exhibitions can use it as a starting point for a sector specific implementation. That might help industry to reduce overall carbon footprints and improving grass-roots business efficiency.

– Laurel Brunner

THINK BEFORE YOU INK

d us; it lly impresse a re 0 3 0 3 d n “ The Xeiko g quality an n ti n ri p h tc o n ates features top label substr rd a d n ta s n ing. it can print o specific prim r fo d e e n e re not without th Xeikon we a h it w , re o Furtherm s!” click charge confined to

— Alex Tan,

CEO, gapore t Pte Ltd., Sin n ri P y lit a u Q Orient

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Selecting the right digital press is a difficult process – which one will be right for your business both now and in the future?

You need to be able to rely on the experience, know-how and excellence of Xeikon equipment.

Xeikon simply ticks all the boxes: ✔ High profitability ✔ Superb print quality ✔ Unique flexibility ✔ Unrivalled sustainable technology Xeikon International BV T. +31 (0) 117 37 50 20 info@xeikon.com

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NEWS Feature

Are the E-book Bubble’s Days Numbered?

Recall the rage of electronic books a few years ago and the aggressive emergence of tablets beginning with the iPad. That caused substantial panic for the book printing sector. However, the tide seems to be turning. Christel Lee investigates.

Some years back one could walk anywhere and spot a person holding either an iPad or a tablet, or mid-sized tablet PC. It made me feel very dated with my Finnish branded aphone. I recall my conversation with a renowned paper manufacturer who believed books are here to stay. The Taiwanese traditional book reader, formerly Vice-President of Gold East Paper, was not about to part with his books.

In recent years, we have watched our big bookstores close one-by-one, Borders being one such earth-shaking closure in Singapore.

The United States-based bookstore operated in Singapore for 13 years and it was one of the most crowded hanging out places in downtown Orchard Road. Borders Bookstore in Singapore was also famed for its sale of the Harry Potter series and consumers were known to queue outside overnight for fresh-off-the-press copies.

Its decision to exit the market in 2011 left many fans in shock. On the other side of the camp stood bored shoppers who cited ‘poor book selection and proliferation of non-book products – including toys and cookware’ as the reasons for giving the store a miss. Local press quoted industry insiders attributing the cause of its closure to the store’s endless discounts which cut into its earnings. Other book lovers said the bookshop’s range was not as comprehensive as before.

The Tide is Changing Just about everyone I know carries a tablet and I felt sheepish after revealing what (in my language) I called an ‘impulse purchase’. “Where have you been?!” was the most popular question directed at my old-fashioned habit of having a basic phone.

I am still a book reader and one of my favourite haunts is the library. I attempted to read off a tablet but my eyes just couldn’t take the staring for long hours. Facing my work computer doesn’t count.

Today, tablets are economically-priced and competition between PC makers and smart phone manufacturers is nothing less than intense. Blackberry CEO, Thorsten Heins, shared the same sentiment.

He told Bloomberg there would not be any tablets coming out of his company

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unless it can justify the launch with sufficient profit. This is notwithstanding Blackberry is struggling for market share in the mobile phone market, along with Nokia – which did not go far with its latest range of smart phones.

Additionally, while many huge book printers have signed merger agreements, a big boy from Taiwan has just recently cemented its presence in Hong Kong with a 40,000sqft outlet! Eslite Bookstore is one of the largest retail bookstore chains in Taiwan. It is also one of the largest providers of English language publications and translation materials in Taiwan with headquarters in Xinyi District, Taipei.

If you are wondering how that could work, Catherine Wang, Operating Director of Eslite, justified the move saying the key to its

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success is a flexible business model that adapts to each locale.

“We are a chain bookstore, but we customise for each location. People in Hong Kong work long hours in the office and after midnight, when the MTR closes, they disappear. And given the work-orientated lives of many Hong Kongers, it’s perhaps no surprise that the most popular books are ones on business, psychology (‘How to deal with your boss’), health and cooking.

The literary book section in Hong Kong is struggling; it’s only about 10–12%. However, it’s 15% in Taiwan,” she says.

There are debates on both sides of the issue. Some argue it’s a matter of individual preference. However, when accompanied with good business decisions, you can still snuggle up with a good book with just candlelight.

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