Fespa World Editor’s letter No sooner have we recovered from the excitement generated by FESPA2005, than the autumn exhibition season is upon us once again. And although, sadly, it won’t now include a trip to New Orleans, there are plenty of shows throughout Europe together with FESPA World Expo India, which will be held in New Delhi from 1st to 4th December, to look forward to and enjoy. You can learn more about the latter on pages 24-26 where you’ll also find a list of all of the participating companies, whilst on pages 30-31, industry expert Mike Young provides a snapshot of the Indian screenprinting sector. Also worthy of mention here, is FESPA’s new Digital Show, which is scheduled to take place in May next year at the RAI in Amsterdam. You’ll find more details on this show, which is designed to attract digital specialists operating in a wide variety of graphic and industrial sectors, on page 28. Obviously, this issue wouldn’t be complete without a review of FESPA2005 and this starts on Page 34. In the pages that follow, I report on the major changes that some of the leading digital manufacturers are experiencing at present – a true digital revolution if every there was one! Michel Caza comments on the screenprinting aspect of the show, whilst Mark Godden, highlights both the obvious and the unexpected. In his view - and I’m sure it’s one that many visitors share – some of the most innovative new products are to be found on the stands of the smallest exhibitors and this was certainly true at FESPA this year. This issue also features the winning entries of the FESPA2005 Awards competition. Pure Gold starts on p.44 and pays testament to some of the stunning work that screen and digital printers are now achieving. In my view this is the most important part of the whole magazine. Whatever our position or area of activity within the screen and digital sector I don’t think we can ever afford to underestimate the importance of the finished product. After all, that’s what justifies everything we all do on a daily basis and so it’s a thoroughly good thing to keep reminding ourselves of this. So, take a few moments to savour and appreciate the fruits of our collective labours!
NEWS ROUND-UP
4 SUPPLIER NEWS
SPECIAL FEATURES
32 FOCUS ON… Finishing
The latest supplier news.
8 WHAT’S NEW IN SCREENPRINTING
10 WHAT’S NEW IN DIGITAL PRINTING
14 ASSOCIATION NEWS The latest association news.
16 ESMA UPDATE 18 FESPA TECHNOLOGY FORUM
22 CELEBRATIONS
34
FESPA 2005 REVIEW 35 The Big Story - All Change! 38 Around the Show with Michel Caza
40 Edited Highlights from Mark Godden!
Developments at Durst
23 DIARY DATES 24 FESPA NEWSLETTER FESPA World Expo India
28 FESPA NEWSLETTER FESPA Digital Printing Europe 2006
44 FESPA 2005 AWARDS Pure Gold – the finalists The best in screen and digital printing
OPINION
30 IT SEEMS TO ME Mike Young’s snapshot of India
Val Hirst e-mail: val.hirst@fespa.com Fespa World The membership magazine of the Federation of European Screenprinting Associations Vol.14 / No.38 December 2004 Published by FESPA Ltd Editorial office FESPA Association House 7a West Street Reigate, Surrey RH2 9BL Tel: +44 1737 24 07 88 Fax: +44 1737 24 07 70 E-mail: info@fespa.com www.fespa.com Publisher Frazer Chesterman – Director Tel: +44 1737 24 07 88
INFORMATION Advertising Michael Ryan – Sales Manager Tel: +44 1737 22 97 27 Fax: +44 1737 24 07 70 Editor Val Hirst Tel: +44 1623 88 23 98 E-mail: val.hirst@fespa.com Graphic Design Bate Brand Communications 8 St Leonard’s Square, Wallingford Oxfordshire OX10 0AR Tel: +44 1491 835835 www.batebrand.com
56 FESPA CONTACT LIST
54 SHOWCASE Our regular review of some of the latest screen and digital applications.
AND FINALLY…
58 Michel Caza says Grazie Mille Alberto Novarese and Thanks a lot Mark Godden!
Printing The MANSON Group Ltd Reynolds House, 8 Porters Wood Valley Road Industrial Estate St Albans, AL3 6PZ Tel: +44 1727 848 440 www.manson-grp.co.uk
Fespa World. Designed by Bate Brand Communications. Printed by The Manson Group Ltd. Editorial photographs supplied courtesy of the companies they feature. The publishers accept no responsibility for any statement made in signed contributions or those reproduced from any other source, nor for claims made in any advertisement. Fespa World is available to individuals who qualify within the terms of a controlled circulation and by subscription.
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 3
NEWS ROUND-UP – SUPPLIER NEWS
HP acquires Scitex Vision Scitex Corporation Ltd. has announced that Hewlett-Packard and Scitex Vision Ltd., Scitex’s majority-owned subsidiary, have signed a definitive agreement under which HP will acquire the assets and business of Scitex Vision for $230 million in cash. This acquisition will expand HP’s leadership in large-format printing into the industrial superwide category and also complements its existing product portfolio of large-format printers and digital presses. HP will also enjoy the benefits associated with Scitex Vision’s proprietary technology for print heads, which will provide it with a
significant competitive advantage. Dov Ofer, Chief Executive Officer of Scitex Vision, stated: "This move will bring substantial benefits to our customers, who will benefit from access to a wider range of products and services while they continue to enjoy the same high levels of attention that they are used to. Furthermore, our technology will reach a broader audience as it becomes more widely available and employees will enjoy greater professional opportunities as the business grows within a leading global organisation." Enrique Lores, Vice President
and General Manager, Large Format Business, HP commented: "This purchase will further accelerate HP’s push into the rapidly growing digital printing market. Wide-format signage is one of the fastest growing opportunities in this sector, and one we believe that we are now in an excellent position to capitalise on." The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be completed within approximately 90 days, following which the business acquired from Scitex Vision will be fully integrated into HP’s Imaging and Printing Group.
New owner for Autotype Autotype International has become part of MacDermid Inc. of Denver, Colorado, USA, an acquisition that that will provide MacDermid with potential sales of around $0.75billion in the printing, electronics and industrial finishing markets worldwide. The company already supplies offset blanket, flexo plates and Colorspan ink jet printers and supplies. Peter Levinsohn, Chief Executive of Autotype said: "MacDermid’s ‘Can do’ philosophy mirrors that of Autotype and we see the cultures and the
approaches of the two organisations as being very similar. I am delighted that Autotype has found a stable and successful long term owner who understands our business and will be able to help accelerate our growth plans in the screen printing and electronics industries through its extensive network of locations and market contacts. Our existing management team will continue to drive Autotype forward with the advantages provided by a well funded and committed parent."
Agfa to sell Esko-Graphics products for package printing Agfa and Esko-Graphics have entered into a global reseller agreement which allows Agfa to sell Esko-Graphics DeskPack and Plato pre-press software to the packaging market, an agreement which will allow Agfa to add file creation applications to its prepress portfolio for packaging 4 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
printers. Esko-Graphics’ popular DeskPack range of plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop and the Plato step and repeat/nesting system, will enable Agfa offer a more complete workflow solution – from file creation through production.
Xaar choose Impika as a partner Xaar plc, the inkjet printing technology group and IMPIKA SA of Aubagne, France have announced a joint agreement for the provision of integration services for Xaar printheads and other products. Under the agreement both parties will co-operate to provide complete turnkey solutions for clients wishing to use Xaar technology for their production processes. IMPIKA has spearheaded the use of inkjet printing for plastic and smart cards, packaging and labelling, printing on to CDs, as well as glass and metal. It is also developing solutions based on its material jetting technology for microelectronics and biomedical applications.
New marketing partner offers for Dupont’s EFI completes Artistri acquisition of VUTEk DuPont Ink Jet appointed ErgoSoft AG of Altnau, Switzerland, as a marketing partner for its DuPont Artistri digital printing for textiles system. DuPont Artistri marketing partners are a select group of industry-leading fabric, textile equipment and software suppliers whose offerings complement the Artistri portfolio of products for digital textile printing, thus enabling DuPont customers to enjoy a fully vertical, integrated printing solution from fabric preparation through post-processing. ErgoSoft, who has been involved in the development of software products since 1980, will provide its professional level TexPrint software and support to Artistri purchasers.
EFI has now completed its acquisition of VUTEk Inc. for approximately $281 million, plus cash acquired. The acquisition is an all cash transaction. "We are delighted to announce the early close of the VUTEk acquisition and are excited about the growth opportunities for the superwide digital inkjet market as well as the synergies with EFI's existing product portfolio," said EFI CEO, Guy Gecht. "In addition to the immediate accretion from the VUTEk acquisition, as we enter the last month of the quarter, we feel confident that we will deliver on the prior outlook for our existing businesses."
SUPPLIER NEWS
A new beginning An event welcoming Sericol as part of the Fujifilm family recently took place at the company’s Broadstairs base following Sericol’s acquisition by Fujifilm earlier this year. The occasion saw staff, senior managers, dignitaries and guests celebrate the outstanding achievements of Sericol over the last 55 years whilst learning more of the ambitions for the new Fujifilm Sericol Group. Sericol, which employs 1,250 staff around the world, was founded in 1951 by guest of honour, Alex de Gelsey, who came to Britain from his native Hungary in 1946 and began his career as a research chemist in the UK laboratories of Kodak. Since then Sericol has had several owners, the most recent being
Saratoga Partners, a New York based private equity firm. Leading the celebrations, Shigetaka Komori, President and CEO of Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd, explained that the reason for buying Sericol was to broaden Fuji’s printing business from its traditional areas of commercial, publishing and newspaper printing into screen, industrial and package printing areas. The purchase is seen as the most significant development in the company’s long history and one that marks a new beginning. President of Fujifilm Sericol, Ed Carhart explained: "In Fujifilm we have a parent company dedicated and supportive of our long term growth and success. We believe this ‘new beginning’ is like no other."
ISIMAT celebrates 50th Anniversary ISIMAT has recently celebrated two significant milestones in the history of the company: its 50th anniversary celebration coincides with the 10th anniversary of the arrival of its Managing Director, Peter Detzner. The occasion was marked with an open day attended by guests of honour from commerce, industry and politics, who mingled with employees and their families, suppliers, customers, and journalists.
First founded in 1955 by an entrepreneurial engineer, ISIMAT was originally established in a shed, but the company quickly grew, building itself a reputation for the production of innovative and high quality machines in the process. It eventually moved into its present headquarters in 1960. When Peter Detzner, took over ISIMAT in 1995, there were only nine employees and the company was in the doldrums. However, he has since helped to
transform it into a leading manufacturer of high tech printing machines. Today ISIMAT employs a total of 45 people and runs an acclaimed apprenticeship scheme. The highlight of the open day was the introduction of a new screen printing machine for the decoration of round, oval, and square glass hollowware with ceramic enamels, which certainly attracted a lot of attention.
Ellwangen’s mayor presents a collage to Peter Detzner, that illustrates ISIMAT’s history with original documents from the city’s archives.
Harlands joins companies such as Ditone Labels and Boxes Prestige in the Specialist Packaging Division in the group but will maintain a level of autonomy together with its strong brand. John Fitzgerald CEO of Clondalkin’s Specialist Packaging
Division explains; "The Harlands brand, which has become synonymous with quality, service and innovation will remain, and will become a cornerstone of our division’s development. The decision to make this acquisition was heavily influenced by both
Harland's reputation and its strategic plan to move into Poland. Development of the brand will now accelerate in Eastern Europe and the business will set up a facility alongside our already established Boxes Prestige factory."
Wright, Harland’s Managing Director.
The Specialist Packaging Division of Clondalkin has acquired Harlands Labels to prepare for a full-scale development strategy in Poland and Eastern Europe
Clondalkin CEO John Fitzgerald with Ian
Clondalkin acquires Harlands
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 5
SUPPLIER NEWS
Key Environmental Management Standard Xaar’s manufacturing plant, XaarJet AB, based in Stockholm, Sweden has been awarded its Environmental Management Standard System ISO 14001:2004 accreditation.
Greg Lockett, Director of Manufacturing, XaarJet AB, commented: "We took the view that as well as leading the development of inkjet
technology, it was important to also take a lead in the environmental management of our manufacturing plant. Thus, we have invested time and
resources to ensure that XaarJet has a defined environmental management system, against which the activities of the company can be measured."
Arccure Technologies has recently announced two new appointments. Ralph Teunissen has recently been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, significantly strengthening the management team and working with the two company founders Michael Bisges and Knut Kisters. Dutch born Teunissen, will be responsible for accelerating the strategic development of Arccure in the field of printed electronics. He is joined by Holger Ulland, who Holger Ulland is taking up the role of Product Manager RFID. Ulland, who previously worked as Packaging Development Manager at German Unilever, will be responsible for Arccure’s product strategy and its portfolio of RFID production solutions.
6 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
A developing client base in Scotland has led to the introduction of a new Area Sales Manager for Harlands Labels. Mike Christie joins the Harland’s team from the FMCG packaging sector where he was most recently Area Sales Manager for Decorative Sleeves. NUR Europe S.A., has announced the appointment of Chameleon Graphics as its authorised distributor in Greece. Based in Athens, Chameleon Graphics has been specially formed to support and create added value for the digital printing market. The company sells large-format digital printers, cutting plotters, RIP software, inks and media as well as providing installation services, training, maintenance and ‘on demand’ customised colour management support.
Sun Chemical has appointed Trevor Pratt as Business and Marketing Director for its Screen and Circuits division. Based in the UK at Sun Chemicals Orpington Headquarters, Pratt brings considerable experience in strategic market development and profitable sales growth to the company. In this newly created role, he will lead initiatives on geographic expansion and develop a tactical push into specialty industrial markets, including automotives, optical discs, mobile phones and credit cards. Wolfgang Maske has been appointed as Sales Director of GMG GmbH & Co. KG, the creator of colour management systems, with immediate effect. He is responsible for the sales regions of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Prior to joining GMG, Maske held the position of Sales Manager at Colorgate GmbH and has formerly worked for EFI, where he played a crucial role in the company's success by setting up the specialist retail channel.
Stephen Emery
Trevor Pratt
Mike Christie
Ralph Teunissen
Appointments
Inkware, a VUTEk company, has appointed Stephen Emery as InkwareOEM Sales and Marketing Manager. Emery will be responsible for increasing worldwide business relations with existing and new OEM customers and third-party ink businesses. Emery comes to Inkware with more than 20 years experience in the digital imaging industry, most recently, running the worldwide sales and marketing for American Ink Jet Corporation. In his new role he will endeavour to gain a fuller understanding of customers’ needs, emerging applications, and opportunities to capitalise on the company’s expertise in solvent and UV curable inks and new technologies.
NEWS ROUND-UP – WHAT’S NEW IN SCREENPRINTING
MACtac launch 5th worldwide awards After the considerable success of the first three MACtac Awards competitions and the fantastic response to the fourth event which opened up the the competition to the world MACtac has announced the launch of ‘MACtac Worldwide Awards 2006’. Max Linder, Communication and Marketing Director of MACtac Europe, explains: "Our self-adhesive products are used for a large number of impressive and prestigious projects throughout the World each year and the
Awards competition is a way of acknowledging that, whilst also highlighting the skills of the companies who use them most creatively. Once again, the competition will recognise projects from three large territories: Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania. This time around, special mentions will reward small scale and low budget jobs, a move which should encourage even the smallest companies to participate." Entries are invited from design-
Higher drying temperatures reduce screen tension Recent Screen Printing Technical Foundation research shows screen tension loss that occurs with higher drying temperatures is permanent, and further mysterious dips follow stencil washout, reclamation and degreasing. In 2002, the Screenprinting Technical Foundation confirmed that higher drying temperatures cause a reduction in screen tension. The 2005 experiment mimicked the 2002 SPTF Heat vs. Tension project with two additional sets of screens and extended the testing to include printing each screen with 250 impressions. "Our goal was to track the screens farther in the process to see if stabilisation occurred differently based on temperature," said 8 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
Dawn Hohl, Technical Manager, SPTF, noting three conclusions: • Higher drying temperatures result in permanent tension loss. • Mysterious tension dips were again seen on measurements taken on wet screens. (The hygroscopic expansion of polyester mesh may explain these changes.) • Screen tension remained virtually unchanged before, during and after printing on all meshes. "Recommendations based on this study are to keep drying temperatures as standard as possible to ensure screen to screen tension consistency," Hohl said. For further information visit: www.SGIA.org
ers, applicators, screen and digital printers, signmakers, advertising agencies and design studios as well as those responsible for the purchase of signs and graphics. The winning projects, which will be evaluated by three different juries according to region, will, according to Max Linder help to provide a unique source of inspiration for all users of self-adhesive products. He continues "The winning entries will be presented to the world’s trade press, feature on our Internet site and form part of our commemorative prize
book that is distributed to thousands of advertising agencies, designers and end-users that use or create visual projects. Today, more than ever, the MACtac Worldwide Awards stimulate creative exchange not only between countries, but also between continents." The closing date for entries is January 31st, 2006 and winners will be informed by the end of the first quarter of 2006. For further information visit: www.mactac-europe.com
Sun Chemical makes ink for MetalfFX Sun Chemical has signed up as an official MetalFX ink maker, which means that inks for the process metallic colour system are now available from the world's biggest ink company. John Adkin, the European Product Director for Sheetfed and UV inks, said: "As the highestvalue supplier of colour-related products and services in the world, we need to keep tabs on the latest breakthroughs in technology. Sun Chemical has been interested in the development of MetalFX for some time now, and interest in the marketplace is now sufficient for us to become
an official MetalFX ink supplier." Sun Chemical’s first UK distribution point for MetalFX inks is the company’s UK plant in South Normanton, Derbyshire, from which it can now offer official process and metallic inks that are compatible with the MetalFX system. Adkin continues: "We are very excited to be offering this new process to our customers as we believe that it will open up more market opportunities and lead to some great printing! We now look forward to developing the relationship between MetalFX and Sun Chemical further over the coming months."
NEWS ROUND-UP – WHAT’S NEW IN DIGITAL PRINTING
BASF inks are simply a mouse-click away! Justinx dye sublimation inks from BASF are now being offered exclusively on the Internet, enabling users to benefit from uncomplicated, low-cost on-line purchasing. BASF has enlisted the assistance of Ursa Chemie GmbH and FedEx Express to ensure that the inks are supplied simply, speedily and to a consistent quality. They can be used in conjunction with the broad spectrum of
digital systems, including Mimaki JV4, Mutoh Viper and Roland Hifi Jet Pro II, as well as variations and rebuilds of these printers, whatever the resolution, speed or ink-feed system and on virtually all polyester and polyamide surfaces. The inks can be ordered from the web shop simply by visiting www.justinx.basf.com and can be paid for by credit card.
New feature for the Jeti Gandinnovations are premiering a new product feature for the Jeti 3312, 3318 and 5000 at this Autumn’s exhibitions. The High Definition (HD) Back-lit Camera is ground-breaking back-light printing technology, which uses an electronically enhanced camera and video capture board to obtain a perfect match front and back. The software automatically
registers print targets, so that when the substrate material is reversed, the camera – attached to the print heads – tracks the image from the reversed side by calibrating with image targets, thus ensuring the most accurate alignment and compatible colour profiles available. For further information visit: www.gandinnovations.com
Encad racks up 1000 NovaJet installations Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group (GCG) has announced that Encad has now installed 1000 units of its successful NovaJet 1000i wideformat printing solution in the Europe Africa and Middle East Region (EAMER). This milestone achievement comes only a little more than a year after the printer’s launch in the region and follows the company’s recent announcement of year-end sales figures that surpassed expectations by 20%. Recipient of the 1000th NovaJet 1000i is Dubai-based repro-house and service bureau, Mediatech, who service the highend of the marketplace via advertising agencies representing international clients such as L’Oreal, Lancôme, Ralph Lauren, and Emirates Airlines to name but a few. As such, colour stability is of critical importance for Mediatech’s Managing Director
Tony Tadros, who operates the NovaJet 1000i in conjunction with Kodak media. He says: "We have been delighted with the performance of the printer since its installation. Given the superior level of colour stability it offers, it is perfectly suited to production of the many backlit applications that we create for use in airports and shopping malls in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. He continues: "The high degree of humidity and temperature in our region can have a detrimental effect on ink performance to the extent that colour shift becomes an enormous problem, whilst UV light also presents its own issues. However, the NovaJet provides us with the consistent level of vivid colour which is so important for our customers." For further information visit: www.encad.com
ProfileMaker 5 reduces production time and costs GretagMacbeth, has extended its ProfileMaker 5 family with the addition of ProfileMaker 5 Packaging, a new colour management solution for multicolour printing of as many as ten freely definable colours, with or without CMYK. This new software, which is available immediately, addresses the growing demands
10 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
of package professionals printing n-color output, who require accurate, predictable colour reproduction within the multicolor imaging workflow. Based on the unique multi colour separation plug-in and Generic Output Profiler technologies, it yields exceptional results in a fraction of the time previously required.
Previously, managing colour in a multicolour workflow involved creating new profiles for each new combination of colours being printed, however, with GretagMacbeth Generic Output Profiler technology — with ProfileMaker 5 Packaging — users now can automatically regenerate a new profile when one or more
spot colours change, without the need to recreate test charts, plates or cylinders. A new tool on the GretagMacbeth website, helps users determine the substantial savings they can realise by calculating their own individual return on investment. For further information visit: www.gretagmacbeth.com
NEWS ROUND-UP – WHAT’S NEW IN DIGITAL PRINTING
Epson launches new generation printers Epson is launching a new large-format printer range, which incorporates its latest 8-colour Ultrachrome K3 inkset The new range includes the 17inch wide Stylus Pro 4800, 24inch Stylus Pro 78600 and 44inch Stylus Pro 9800, all of which offer a number of options geared specifically to meet the demands of professionals in the photographic and fine art sectors. The Epson UltraChrome K3 ink is a specially designed formulation incorporating a new
pigment and resin coating which produces a wide colour gamut for excellent reproduction of saturated colours and accurate simulation of industry proofing standards. Furthermore, it delivers prints that look good in any lighting condition and have a professional finish. There are three shades of black: (K) ink: photo or matte black,
light black and light light black. The coloured inks include, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta, a combination that provides more neutral gradations in colour prints, resulting in life-like replication of skin tones. It also provides excellent greyscale performance and smoother tonal reproduction for high-quality black and white
printing. A new improved driver technology which features printer colour adjustment modes, makes it easy to print in whatever mode matches the colour space of the digital input, for example, sRGB or Adobe RGB. For further information visit: www.epson.com
Esko-Graphics celebrates installation Austrian of 1000th Kongsberg table Roadshows Esko-Graphics has produced and installed the 1000th worldwide Kongsberg XL samplemaking table at the Ferrara plant of SCA Packaging Italia. Coincidentally, the first Kongsberg was also installed at SCA some 15 years ago and is still going strong! The Kongsberg XL tables are part of the Kongsberg product family, which have now been installed in more than 75 countries across the globe. Recognised for their reliability and longevity, Kongsberg tables have enjoyed continuous feature updates and improvements. The latest successful development is the iXL series which was launched at FESPA and integrates the Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering (MGE) i-cut vision system and iscript workflow for perfect print to cut registration. This solution complements the printing of packages, signs, displays and POP
materials with a unique finishing solution which offers high productivity and high precision for the widest range of soft and rigid materials. SCA Packaging Italy is a division of the Swedish SCA Group, a multinational company, which specialises in the manufacture of graphic paper, hygienic products and packaging. The production line includes a wide range of high quality packaging from conventional American boxes to heavy-duty containers. Commenting on the installa-
tion which was carried out by B+B International, Kongsberg’s exclusive Italian distributor, Gianfranco Pierotti, Plant Director in Ferrara. Said: "Our packaging production capabilities enable us to produce customised packaging for all varieties and shapes of machinery and printed displays, which is why the cutting quality of the Kongsberg table is very important for this kind of packaging, particularly for short-runs." For further information visit: www.esko-graphics.com
Encad will be holding a series of Austrian roadshows during September and October. Run in conjunction with its Austrian dealer, Kalle Repro Media, Encad will be using the events to showcase the recently launched Kodak 1200i Wide-Format Printing System, as well as a broad range of Kodak wide format inkjet media. The dates and locations for the October events are as follows: 10.10 Linz 13.10 Dornbirn 11.10 Salzburg 12.10 Hall For further information on Encad’s Roadshows please contact Andres Gruber at Encad on +49 89 660390 50 or agruber@encad.com
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 11
NEWS ROUND-UP – WHAT’S NEW IN DIGITAL PRINTING
Imprint’s Spyder will open new markets UK printer Imprint, which operates two Inca Eagle flatbed inkjet printers at its Newcastle plant, has taken delivery of one of the world’s first Inca Spyder 320 machines. The company, who provide point-of-sale material for major retail and horticultural groups throughout the UK report that the Spyder 320 will enable it to target new markets. "We took delivery of our first Inca Eagle printer in 2001, with the second machine going in a
year later, and they have changed the course of the company, which was previously a screen and litho house," says development director David Bullivant. "These two printers, which have output first class quality 24 hours a day since they were commissioned, now account for 75 per cent of our revenue, so when we saw demonstrations of the new Spyder 320 we could instantly see the potential it offered us to break into new markets”.
Imprint uses its Eagles for runs up to 300, but intends to use the Spyder 320 to print shorter run, high value added jobs. Bullivant continues: "Although we have only had it for only a few weeks, we’ve already put through a huge range of material with fantastic results and plan to use it to print exhibition panels, one of the markets we are looking at." For further information visit: www.screen.co.jp
TETENAL receives approved ink status in record time TETENAL AG & Co. KG advanced its technological lead in the field of UV-curable ink-jet inks by receiving Approved Ink status for its new T-Jet UV-White in record time from Spectra. TETENAL’S new T-Jet UV-White is a jettable opaque white ink formulation suitable for use with Spectra printheads. White ink is particularly important in the package printing and display graphic markets
where materials such as metallic foils, transparent film materials, and dark pre-colored surfaces are used extensively. These materials either do not have the necessary opacity or are too dark to achieve suitable image quality when using the semi-transparent inks used in process colour printing. By imaging a white underlayer a suitable printing surface with high reflectivity is created. TETENAL's product range in
the area of UV-curable inks (brand name: T-Jet UV) includes an eight colour formulation and its new white T-Jet UV-White. The company also produces water-based inks under the product name, T-Jet W, and various special inks for a variety of industrial applications under the brand, T-Jet F. For further information visit: www.tetenal.com
Intelicoat launches new materials InteliCoat Technologies, has launched a series of new Magic brand products, all of which will be introduced at the Viscom exhibition in Dusseldorf this Autumn. Magic GFPOLY, is a 250 micron glossy polypropylene banner material which has been formulated to work with the latest generation of solvent ink jet printers manufactured by Océ, Mimaki, Mutoh, Roland, Seiko, Vutek and Nur. A glossy polypropylene, it is constructed with a specialised coating that offers a high degree of whiteness and colour gamut, as well as an extremely smooth surface for high photographic resolution, making it the first high quality glossy polypropylene in solvent inkjet media. It can be used to 12 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
produce high-end P.O.P. banners, roll-up displays and trade show graphics. Magic DMPSV-G is a glossy, universal vinyl product with a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating and release liner for use on wide-format, water-based printers with either dye or UV inks. Caliper is 290 micron (130 micron without release liner) and possible applications include board-mounted graphics and point-of-purchase displays. POLY-PRO glossy polypropylene is constructed with a specialised coating that offers a high degree of whiteness and colour gamut, as well as an extremely smooth surface for high photographic resolution. This universal 190 micron prod-
uct may be used on water-based wide-format printers with either dye or pigment inks for all indoor applications including short-term promotional graphics, trade show graphics and pointof-purchase advertising. For further information visit: www.magicinkjet.com
ColorGATE boosts effectiveness of digital print production ColorGATE, is offering a cost-free update for all Version 4 products for download from its website, including the current software solutions Productionserver4, Photogate4 and Proofgate4. The new release, version 4.05, Build 195, focuses on Speed Screen, a powerful raster technology for increased productivity within production environments of large format inkjet output. ColorGATE’s flagship product, Productionserver4, shows remarkable and significantly faster raster processing and image output speeds using ColorGATE Speed Screen raster together with improved print quality. In comparison with print output using the ColorGATE Crispy raster, ColorGATE Speed Screen offers a stunningly striking RIP speed, resulting in more efficient production and time savings. The respective updates of Version 4.05, Build 195 for Productionserver4, Photogate4 and Proofgate4, are available for download by customers with client login from www.colorgate.com/colo rgate.rip/en/download/upd atezentrale/updates/
ASSOCIATION NEWS
FESPA members to enjoy increased benefits Chris Smith - New Projects and Member Services Manager – FESPA.
In a move to broaden its services to members, FESPA has appointed Chris Smith as New Projects and Member Services Manager
Based at FESPA’s Reigate office, Smith, who will report to the General Secretary, Nigel Steffens, will be responsible for the co-ordination, planning and management of new projects and membership services for FESPA’s 27 National Associations. Smith joins FESPA from the Digital and Screenprinting Association (DSPA), where he was Executive Secretary for the past eight years. His responsibilities included all communications with members regarding member services, the organisation of National Council and Annual General Meetings, and the production of Association budgets. Prior to the DSPA, Smith spent 30 years at the public service union, Unison (formerly NALGO), latterly as Personnel Manager, when he was responsible for the
Swedish Association launches new initiative SSTF, The Swedish Screen Printers Association, has launched a new project entitled ‘The Brain-Office’ which aims to translate current legislation, regulations, obligations and best work practices into an easily assimilated format that will enable screen and digital printers to access any information they need to help them run their businesses efficiently and effectively. The winning posters are selected, from amongst literally hundreds of entries, by Torbjorn Lenskog and Lars Lilendahl, two of Sweden's most respected screen practitioners, together with representatives of the leading screenprinting companies. SSTF is also considering the possibility of officially crediting the companies who
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effective functioning of the personnel department with direct line management of nine staff. Nigel Steffens, FESPA’s General Secretary, comments: “Being a not-for-profit organisation, we’re committed to using any revenue we generate for the benefit of our members, who now number over 5000 worldwide. “We have already implemented plans to reduce the costs of exhibiting at our exhibitions, as illustrated by the lower prices announced for FESPA World Expo India, FESPA Digital Printing Europe and FESPA 2007. The next logical step is this appointment which will enable us to identify and drive the development of new services. We’re delighted to have recruited a manager of Chris’s calibre and experience and are confident that our members will quickly feel the positive effects of his expertise.” Chris Smith adds: “My involvement with the DSPA and with other National Associations has given me a real insight into the issues that Associations face. I’m therefore very much looking forward to working closely with FESPA’s National Associations and supporting FESPA’s members by promoting existing services and developing new initiatives.”
decide to participate. For further information visit: www.screentryck.org
Swedish poster project When the Association first initiated its poster project five years ago, little did it realise the workload that lay ahead, but both support from members and the response from the participating schools of screenprinting was overwhelming. So much so, that the Association is determined to continue with it as long as such levels of interest remain. The winning posters are selected by Torbjörn Lenskog and Lars Liljendahl, two of Sweden’s leading screen practitioners, together with representatives of the leading screenprinting companies from amongst
Autumn date in Slovakia The Slovakian Screenprinting Association has announced that it will be hosting a twoday Seminar in October in collaboration with Czech Screenprinting Association and the FESPA Project Committee. On the 7-8 October, at a venue soon to be announced in Bratislava, the Seminar will include sessions covering all aspects of screenprinting and Bill Appleton has agreed to be a guest speaker. On the first day, the topics covered will include: • Developments in process colour and highfidelity printing, which will explore new ways in which to increase the colour gamut and improve tone and resolution. • Low profile stencil technology, which will look at how problems in printing in four colour process using conventional UV cured inks can be overcome, whilst highlighting the benefits for precision circuit board printing. • Determining the ideal sequence for four colour screen process printing • Understanding and controlling moire in screen process printing. On the second day, there will be an informal round table discussion during which delegates will be able to ask questions about the previous day’s presentation. For further information and to reserve a place, visit: www.sietotlacovyzvaz.sk
literally hundreds of entries. Each year, students of screenprinting are given a different theme, which is jointly selected by their teachers. Previous themes have included "Sweden 2001", "Design Responsibility", "Globalisation", "Year 2003" and "Year 2004, the latter of which was introduced in September last year and the winning entries were subsequently shown in Stockholm in March 2005 and at FESPA2005 in Munich. The idea behind the project is to provide young people with a chance to express how they think and feel about the world around them using a visual medium, whilst also promoting screenprinting generally. For further information regarding this year’s Poster Project visit: www.screentryck.org
NEWS ROUND-UP – ASSOCIATION NEWS
Expert speakers at Athens workshops Following two extremely well attended pre FESPA seminars organised earlier this year by Materia Grigia, with the support of the Greek Screen Printing Association (Hel.SPA) and FESPA, the publishing and event promotion company is hosting a seminar on UV Screen and Digital Printing in Athens on 14-16th October, 2005, to enable screen and digital printers to learn all about the latest printing techniques. The UV workshop, which was promoted on the Materia Grigia stand at FESPA, will take place at an Athens exhibition centre, where two fully working production laboratories, complete with screen and digital printers and a UV curing unit, will be specially constructed for the occasion. Michel Caza, who needs no introduction, will conduct the proceedings and will also preside over the UV technology section. Digital printing professor, Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth will take charge of the Large Format Digital Imaging Division, with the assistance of Antonios Granis of the Colour Consulting Group of Salonica. Dr. Hellmuth, who graduated from Harvard University, also holds a PhD in art and architectural history from the Karl-Franzens Universitaet, Graz, Austria. He currently leads the FLAAR Centre at the Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA and also has a real practical knowledge of printers. Antonios Granis boasts an MS degree in colour and often hosts seminars on colour management and giglee printing.
The programme is as follows: Friday October 14th - Theory Day 10:00-13:30 Michel Caza, supported by Dr Hellmuth, will open the workshop with a discussion entitled "Production workflow and different application organisation within a modern screen and digital printing production facility", which will cover issues such as technology choices, cost effective production, on demand solutions, marketing and production considerations. Following lunch, the delegates will split into two groups, according to their area of interest, to hear Michel Caza talk about "UV inks in screen printing" which will include pre-press shortcuts, colour separation techniques, colour matching, mesh and mesh count choice, emulsion choice, emulsion application for optimum stencil thickness, imaging and ink considerations and industrial applications. Dr. Hellmuth and Antionios Granis will explain the importance of colour management, colour profiling, consistency, ink lightfastness and adhesion, ink characteristics, the differences in inkjet technologies and differences between digital substrates. Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th Practical workshop and "hands on" applications. The UV screen printing group, led by Michel Caza, will learn about the emulsion stencilling method; UV exposure tests; use UV inks and modifiers; set up a UV screen press for printing and discover the UV optimal ink cure and production speed.
GlassPrint, a specialist conference for advanced glass decoration technologies and techniques that is to be held on October 26 at the NH Moerfelden Hotel at Frankfurt in Germany, which is within easy reach of the main Frankfurt International Airport. The Conference will focus on specialist printing trends and new Decoration of glass and glass products is becoming increasingly developments in decoration across the flat and hollow glass sectors important as glassmakers seek to add value to their products and as and will be accompanied by an techniques and technologies in the exhibition mounted by members of ESMA, who is working closely decoration sector are changing with the publishers of Glass rapidly, glassmakers have been magazine, to organise this exciting clamouring for an opportunity to review and discuss them in depth. event. The exhibition will be open To address this, Glass magazine has from 08.00 onwards and visitors will be able to see details of glass joined with some of the leading decorating techniques and suppliers of glass decoration equipment, materials and services technologies being promoted by 15 different suppliers. Andrew to host a conference and exhibition which is devoted to this Bopp, from the Society of Glass & Ceramic Decorators in the US will exciting area. The result is
Specialist event for glass decoration
16 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
Presidential Presentation Mrs Pei Guifan, Vice President of CSGIA, presenting a memento to FESPA President, Ricardo Rodriguez Delgado on the occasion of a meeting at FESPA 2005, between FESPA and CSGIA.
The digital printing group will receive practically-based image processing tips from Dr Hellmuth and will learn how to make substrate and printing choices, how to calibrate and colour match, the rudiments of giglee printing and the broad spectrum of digital applications. * All delegates will gain ‘hands-on’ experience under the guidance of the two renowned industry experts, as well as enjoying a further exclusive session on "Textile printing with UV inks", delivered by Michel Caza, the original pioneer of this technique. The workshop, which will be held in English with a direct Greek translation, is priced at €250 for HelSPA and FESPA members and €350 for non members, and includes lunch and refreshments. There are 40 available places within each group. Representatives of the sponsoring companies, as well as members of the European trade press will also be in attendance. For further information and discounted hotel rates, please contact Maurizio Tumidei, tel.: +30-2109215023, 9215639, 9215287, fax: +30210-9215287 or e-mail: materia@otenet.gr
deliver the Keynote address at 09.00. Bopp, who is a recognised authority on glass decoration and on the production, economic and legislative challenges surrounding it, will speak for an hour, after which the conference will divide into two separate groups, one of which will look at new developments, whilst the other will examine new technologies. Speakers will include Dr Martin Baumann of Ferro Glass Systems, Christian Schweickert from Thieme, Raimundo Mediavilla from Saatiprint, Robin McMillan from Sun Chemical Screen, David Parker, from MacDermid Autotype, Martin Hehl- Heinz of Marabu, Oliver Kammann, of Werner Kammann, and Harald Gavin of Isimat. Delegates are free to switch between groups, in order to attend presentations that are of particular interest to them. The day will be
interspersed with breaks for refreshment and lunch and at 15.30, there will be a panel discussion, following which delegates will have a further chance to view the exhibition, which remains open until 19.00. The cost of attending GlassPrint is €225 per delegate, which includes access to the keynote presentation and all the technical papers, the panel discussion and the exhibition, together with all refreshments and lunch. To book your place, contact Sian McConnell at Glass tel +44 1737 855172; e-mail: sianmcconnell@uk.dmgworld media.com; or visit www.glassmediaonline.com for further details. To reserve accommodation at the NH Moerfelden Hotel visit www.nh-hotels.com
FESPA TECHNOLOGY FORUM
a&b
Examining the output
of the M-Press.
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Bernd Wilhelmi, Zentner Systems explaining in-line screen cleaning equipment manufacturing.
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the group with the M-Press. All roads lead to Sefar. Sefar’s Decovision passes the ‘spot the screenprinter’ test.
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A mission to inform As part of its mission to provide education and access to information, the FESPA Technology Forum arranged a two day tour for Dutch and Belgian screenprinters The trip was designed to provide them with the opportunity to meet some of the major industry suppliers and learn more about the latest equipment and materials on offer. Organised by Christian Duyckaerts and Isabelle Lebfebvre, respectively the president and secretary of the Screen and Digital Workgroup of Febelgra/FESPA Belgium and Marius Gort, secretary of the ZSO (the Netherlands screen printing and sign organisation); the tour also had the full backing and support of FESPA. Accordingly, in late June, a group of 18 screenprinters started the long journey south from Antwerp to southern Germany. Following an overnight stop in Freiburg, the first day began at the Teningen Headquarters of Thieme, the hosts for this part of the event. The group received a warm welcome from Juergen Wischedel, and Frank Thieme of Thieme and FESPA’s Michael Ryan and all three encouraged the visitors to enjoy the proceedings and make full use of the opportunity to really get to know both their peers and the industry suppliers. Indeed, many of the screenprinters happily took this advice to heart and freed from the interruptions and hassles of everyday business life, were soon busily discussing every aspect of screenprinting and finding workable solutions to common production problems.
Thieme Peter Geiger from Thieme kicked off the presentations with an in-depth discussion of Thieme’s latest multi colour printing 18 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
line, the 5000 XL. His audience were surprised to learn just how many multicolour lines are already operational, with Thieme themselves having sold over 100, a quarter of which are installed within the UK. It quickly became apparent that inline workflow is the topic that most preoccupies screenprinters at present, with everyone agreeing that it has to become a prerequisite if screenprint shops are to remain competitive. Further discussion also revealed that there is now an increasing demand for wider format printers and machines such as the 5000 XL, which is especially designed for large format screen printing. It accommodates materials from 1600 x 3050 mm to 2020 x 3300 mm and includes many new and improved technical features, such as sheet feeding and gripper systems, energy saving, UV drying and squeegee assembly. The fully automated, four colour 5000 XL also prints on to thicker substrates – 10mm instead of 6mm - and at a speed of up to 3000 sq.metres per hour. In addition to its size and speed, the machine also offers many technical innovations in respect of the control system, the squeegee unit and the gripper system, all of which, have been adapted to suit the specific requirements of large-size screenprinting. After a tour of the impressive Thieme manufacturing facility, lunch was eaten to the accompaniment of the much vaunted M-Press in full operational mode; although so eager were the assembled company to absorb every facet of the machine’s facilities, that food was largely
forgotten! The M-Press, which combines AGFA’s advanced inkjet technology with Thieme’s flair for design and manufacturing, is the first fully automated flatbed inkjet press that prints long runs economically and everyone wanted to test the quality and durability of the output for themselves. Much praise was heaped on the fullyautomatic inline concept, as well as the printing speeds achieved with the newly developed heads, with most people agreeing that the M-press would set new standards within the industrial digital printing sector. The 64-head shuttle and the advanced gripper system, which automatically accommodates and transports a wide variety of both rigid and flexible materials, received special mention and the group also commented favourably on the modular design and construction of the machine, and the fact that it is fully compatible with Thieme’s 5000 XL series. The M-Press can thus be configured into a fully automatic hybrid printing line, which facilitates such options as white, spot colour and varnish printing. Not surprisingly, the M-Press led some of those present to question the whole future of screenprinting. But Frank Thieme responded robustly, arguing that screen and digital printing are complementary rather than competitive technologies, and can be used together at will to provide the perfect combination of speed, quality and cost for each application. He summarised: "Screen printing and digital printing offer very
FESPA TECHNOLOGY FORUM
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specific possibilities and advantages". And Peter Geiger added: "Due to it’s versatility, screen printing offers far more scope in the industrial sector than we have yet realised. For example, in the printing of compact discs, which has become a multimillion dollar industry and which has led to the development of completely new machine concepts. Another example is the direct printing of beer cases and the application of fragrances to paper and other carrier materials. It is therefore absolutely vital to retain an open mind and recognise new possibilities for screenprinting as they occur. And since many industrial applications demand high printing standards, we still see much potential for screenprinting in this sector."
Sericol Sericol’s Export Business Manager - UV Graphics, Kevin Rhodes, gave the next presentation which comprised of a very informative overview of screenprinting methods and provoked many questions from the audience. According to Rhodes, an increasing preoccupation with quality and cost reductions have helped to increase the amount of automation and standardisation within screen shops and in his view, the efficient streamlining of the production process is the key issue for the future. Four colour process now accounts for such a high percentage of screen output, that print quality is constantly being compared with other print processes, such as digital and offset, with the result that expectations have been raised. Rhodes suggested that good colour management is the key to managing costs and consistency of output. However, he cautioned that colour management systems are only as good as the base formulations used, which is where he claims Sericol offers a tangible advantage. He made the point that Sericol delivers formulations that are produced by skilled
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colour matchers rather than simply trusting to computer predictions. He went on to add that although inks are now designed for use in many different applications, the adhesion rate depends on whether all of the finishing requirements can be fully and properly met. He then revealed that POP materials are now almost always produced using UV screen inks, a trend that has been driven mainly by larger screenprinters, who have already invested in multi-colour lines, gaining market share. However, as a result of this, most screenprinters are now gradually upgrading and replacing their original presses. He commented that due to the wide choice of presses now available, choosing the right machine was an increasingly difficult task for all screenprinters. Put quite simply, how do they know whether a press is suitable for their own requirements? Persuasively, he made the case for Sericol. He said: "Sericol’s business is built on sales to screen customers, so when we entered the digital market, distributing Inca presses, the need to ensure that screenprinters’ requirements are properly met has remained our top priority. This always overrides our desire to simply sell machines for the sake of it – we value our long term core business too much to jeopardise it by selling a machine which isn’t right for a customer and his business."
inks for 24 hours and solvent inks for three hours to test their durability. Many printers underestimate the importance of the squeegee, an oversight that can result in an escalation of costs way and beyond the cost of the actual squeegee itself. He then proceeded to pass on some useful tips that will help ensure that a squeegee lasts for a good, long time:
Fimor Manual Zuckermann from Fimor, a leading manufacturer of squeegees, was the next to take to the podium. First of all he amazed his audience by revealing the amount of effort and testing which occurs during the process of squeegee manufacture. For example, polyurethane squeegees have to withstand both the corrosive effects of screen inks and friction with mesh and substrates. Accordingly, they are immersed in UV
General • Store flat (for long period) / rest flat before using • Protect from direct light and excessive temperatures • Rest assembled squeegees on holder (not on blade) • Don’t soak blades in solvents • Clean immediately after printing (even with UV inks!) • Leave to rest for several hours (ideally 24Hrs) before sharpening and after sharpening • Rotate blades regularly : use/prepare several sets of holders per machine • Never apply excessive pressure in printing or sharpening Whatever your equipment or process: • Establish optimum squeegee parameters by testing and taking note of the recommendations of your suppliers • Establish a written squeegee maintenance procedure, including : • Ensuring that there are enough holders for each machine • Choice of squeegee per type of print job • Defining the number of cycles before resharpening on long runs • Defining the method for sharpening • Defining the method for cleaning (including the choice of chemicals) • Controlling storage, Inventory control and minimum levels for squeegee and holders • Promoting the awareness and training of printers as to the importance of the squeegee FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 19
FESPA TECHNOLOGY FORUM
Zentner Later on in the afternoon, the group headed south to the manufacturing facility of Zentner Systems, a leading manufacturer of automatic screen washing and decoating machines, where they were welcomed by Bernd Wilhelmi and the Bochonow family. In addition to producing cleaning equipment, Zentner also supply related systems such as vacuum distillation of cleaning agents, waste water treatment, and purification of air exhaust. Traditionally, employee safety has been given a low priority within the screenprinting sector, despite the fact that printers are in constant contact with a variety of harmful chemicals when engaging in manual screen cleaning processes. Only slightly less important are concerns regarding consistency of output and the high cost of chemicals. However, thanks to Zentner, these concerns can be consigned to the past. The company offers a fully bespoke service and its systems can be can be tailor made to suit individual requirements. Systems range from the entry-level machines right up to a fully automatic, in-line system which includes modular handling and feeding units which reclaim stencils and prepare the mesh for coating, a process that combines the greatest production efficiencies with the best environmental practice. In addition, Zentner Systems offer a number of solvent-recovery solutions, such as the SOLTEK 3-Tank System, which comes complete with automatic solvent replenishing and offers the ultimate in employee safety and operator convenience, coupled with significant reductions in chemical consumption.
Remco Werner Deck, Managing Director of Remco GmbH and a leading screenprinting chemistry specialist, who has clocked up more than 25 years experience in the market, gave the next presentation. Remco supply "Varioclean" emulsions and "Variowash" screen cleaner, which remove almost all graphic, industrial and textile screenprinting inks and lacquers, whether solvent, water based or UV, from screens. Like Zentner, Remco are totally committed to producing products which ensure both employee safety and environmental safety and to this end, the Variolean range offers many desirable advantages. For example, all chemicals used are fully biodegradable, produce little 20 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
waste, are easy to transport and are very economical. After refreshments, it was time to board the FESPA bus once again and leave Germany for the beautiful northern Swiss countryside for an entertaining overnight stay, before embarking on the second day of the trip.
Sign-Tronic The day began with a visit to the SignTronic facility in Widnau, Switzerland to see the latest pre-press technology for screenprinting and offset printing. The Sign-Tronic Stencilmaster, the world’s first fully automated in-line screen prepress of its kind, exposes screens digitally, using UV light, at a speed of up to 26 sq.m’s per hour to produce excellent image quality. The stencilmaster is constructed for the fully automated vertical in-line production of frames up to 90" x 106" with an image size of 65" x 86". The high resolution of 1270 DPI, micron precision and sharp dot reproduction ensure a unique image quality with screen rulings to 150 lines/inch. Furthermore, the Stencilmaster is an open system that interfaces with any RIP which outputs one-bit TIFF files. During a tour of the manufacturing facility, the group were able to see the large number of systems that were undergoing the final phase of production before being shipped out to screenprinters all over the world.
Sefar The final leg of the journey took the group through the beautiful Swiss countryside to Sefar, a company whose name is synonymous with screenprinting and who produce screenprinting meshes as well as offering extensive application engineering expertise. Colette Shanahan introduced the audience to one of the company’s latest innovations, Sefar LFM, a large format mesh that has been specially developed for large format screenprinting. The reduced mesh thickness facilitates more uniform ink deposit, finer colour graduation and sharper-edged fine lines and screen dots. The thread used for the mesh is much finer than normal thread, but it is almost as tear resistant and can be used in the conventional way. Furthermore, since it relaxes less when tensioned, it offers a greatly improved lifespan, thus prolonging the life of the screen and helping to reduce costs. Sefar LFM is ideal for use with a wide
variety of different mediums such as paper, glass and textiles and for any wide format application where top quality reproduction is of paramount importance. The final presentation, given by Monika Spirig, provoked a lot of interest and comment. Monika introduced two new Sefar products, Decovision and Decoview, printable foils, which are perforated to provide one way transparency, when applied to windows, car windscreens and glass doors. Whilst Decovision is a non-adhesive product, Decoview has a self-adhesive backing and is available in a whole range of coated or transparent foils suitable for use in a wide range of interior and exterior applications. It offers a six-month lifespan, after which it can easily be removed without leaving any residue. Both materials can be used in conjunction with screen and digital printing technologies, offer excellent printability and are easy to use and apply. All too soon the day reached its conclusion and it was time to board the coach for the final time. Everyone agreed that the trip had been enjoyable on a number of different levels, providing as it had, an opportunity to learn about the latest equipment and materials, quiz suppliers, share ideas, pool knowledge and experiences and not least, to make lots of new friends along the way!
FESPA would like to thank the following companies for their hospitality Remco -
www.remco-chemie.de Sericol www.sericol.com Thieme www.thieme-products.com Sign-Tronic www.sign-tronic.ch Sefar www.sefar.com Fimor www.serilor.com Zenter: www.zentner-systems.de
Representatives from the following companies attended: Azerty Zeefdruk, Cogeaf, De Groot & Klein, Etiquettes Ramgal, Evident, Felbrega, FESPA, Illico, Kappa Drogenbos Display & Packaging, New Roels Display, Omnimark, Print & display, Utinam, Van Der Waal
CELEBRATIONS
Developments at Durst Durst Image Technology, a division of Brixen-based Durst Phototechnik AG, recently hosted a two-day event for distributors, customers and friends, to help it celebrate a series of new initiatives. Central to these is the completion of new buildings and the installation of high-tech production equipment at the company’s Lienz headquarters. These new facilities, which cover some 3.150 m2, and form part of a E4.6 million investment programme, feature kanban and rail based production lines, similar to those used within the automotive sector. This latest expansion marks the Lienz facility’s steady growth since it was first established in 1999. Since then, the workforce has expanded from 12 employees to 71 and 5% of the company’s sales volume is routinely reinvested to fund both research and development and capital expenditure. Michael Luckner, Marketing Manger for Durst Digital Technology, revealed that Durst is now manufacturing its third generation of flatbed printers using its own print heads, which are being made in the new Class C clean rooms on the Lienz site.
He also announced that Durst has opened a ‘Technical Academy’ for digital printing. He says: "The problem with introducing new technologies is that employees are suddenly confronted with altered work cycles and performance testing methods. Training seminars which address individual areas, such as colour management or quality assurance in printing are available, but only in certain areas and seldom consider the total work flow although this is crucial to a company’s overall performance and profitability. Our new Technical Academy addresses all of these issues in tandem and is designed to be of real practical use to the companies who use our equipment." The first seminars, which will be given in German and English, are planned for the autumn, Spanish and Russian sessions are scheduled for the spring and Japanese and Chinese sessions will follow shortly thereafter. Luckner continues: "As well as fielding experts from within the company, we will also be using external specialists too. A team of four will supervise the training centre and topics covered will include the preparation of
files, colour management, proofing, creative pictorial techniques, printing optimisation, digital punching, folding and bending of printing media, profitability calculations, quotation costing, and workflow optimisation." Dr. Richard Piock, General Manger of the Durst Group adds: "The seminars are designed to be of interest to designers as well as screen printers and printing shops. We are not merely doing this to make a profit, but as part of an overall strategy to promote acceptance of digital technology and to establish the Durst brand as a true market leader." Durst has invested E1.5 million in the Academy, and anticipate that there will be around 1000 graduates each year. The company also used the occasion to officially open an ‘Art Parc’, which includes parking lots, next to the production area in Lienz. The park is designed to represent all of the continents, which are denoted by the thoughtful use of native trees and plants. Pictures by artists who entered a recent competition held by Durst add further colour and interest to the area. The art park will be complemented next year by a gallery complex named after the co-founder of Durst, Luis Oberrauch, the father of the present owner and the president of the south Tyrolian employers’ association, Christof Oberrauch.
Dr. Piock explains: "As a company, which pioneered systems for the reproduction of pictures, we naturally have a special interest in visual communication and since many Tyrolian artists, especially at the beginning of their careers, have little opportunity to exhibit their work, the art park is designed to remedy this." The first exhibition features the work of artists who entered a photographic art competition entitled "The Fence", which Durst launched earlier this year. The winning entries, chosen from 78 submissions, have been printed on to a selection of different materials, including brushed aluminium, glass and printable textiles, using a Durst Rho inkjet printer and UVdurable ink.
NEWS ROUND-UP – DIARY DATES
Diary dates for 2005/6/7 Viscom 2005 29th September – 1st October 2005 Dusseldorf Messe, Germany Organiser: Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 2 11 90 191 197/-218 Fax: +49 (0) 2 11 90 191-149 www.viscom.-messe.com
Slovak/Czech Screen Printing Seminars 7th-8th. October 2005. Venue tbc, Bratislava, Slovakia. Organiser: Slovak Screenprinting Association Tel: ++42 1 32 74 43 589 Fax: ++42 132 74 30 434 e-mail: bartos@bartos.sk www.sietotlacovyzvaz.sk
Slovenian-Italian Print Forum September 30th - October 1st 2005 Hotel Jama, Postojna, Slovenia Organiser: Miha Rejc, Section For Screen, Pad And Digital Print and Zavod SDT Se_ana Tel: ++01 / 565 72 50 E-mail: miha.rejc@all4print.net www.all4print.net/forum2005/index .php
Digital and Screen Printing Association Awards 2005
If you would like your event to feature on this page, please send full information via e-mail to Val Hirst at: val@valhirst.demon.co.uk
Visual Communication 2005
Thursday, 13th October 2005 Stationers Hall, London Organiser: DSPA Tel: +44 1737 240 792 E-mail: info@spauk.co.uk
10 - 12 November 2005 Fiera Milano, Halls 15/16, Milan, Italy Organiser: Reed Exhibitions Italia E-mail: visualcommunication@reedexpo.it
GlassPrint 2005
Productronica
26 October 2005 NH Moerfelden Hotel, Frankfurt, Germany Organiser: ESMA/DMG World Media (UK) Tel: +44 1737 855 172 e-mail: sianmcconnell@uk.dmgworldmedia.com
IMLCON 2005 -International In-Mold Labeling Conference and tabletop exhibition 26-28 October 2005 NH Barbizon Palace Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Organiser: AWA Conferences and RBS Technologies, Inc Tel: +31 20 676 2069 Fax +31 20 676 2375, e-mail info@rbstechnologies.com
IMI Ink Jet Academy: Theory of Ink Jet Technology 7-8 November 2005 Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Lisbon, Portugal Organiser: IMI Tel: +44 1223 236920 www.imieurope.com
15 - 18 November 2005 The World's Leading Trade Show for Electronics Production New Munich Trade Fair Centre, Munich Germany Organiser: Messe Munchen GmbH www.productronica.com
Screen Printing & Signs China 2005 21st-24th November , 2005, Guangzhou City Exhibition Centre (Huacheng Avenue East, Guangzhou) on Organiser: ASGA and CSGIA) Tel: ++86 10 84043402, Fax:++ 86 10 64034996 e-mail: shenchunyan@csgia.org or visit www.csgia.org
TV Textilveredlung & Promotion 27-29 January, 2006 Stuttgart Fairground Organiser Messe Stuttgart Tel.: +49 (0) 711 / 2589 - 225 Fax.: +49 (0) 711 / 2589 - 657 e-mail: annabell.bischoff@messestuttgart.de www.messe-stuttgart.de
FESPA Digital Printing Europe 16 – 18 May 2006 RAI Exhibition Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Organiser: FESPA Tel: +44 1737 229 727 Fax +44 1737 240 770 e-mail: info@fespa.com www.fespadigital.com
FESPA 2007 5 – 9 June 2007 Messe Berlin, Berlin, Germany Organiser: FESPA Tel: +44 1737 229 727 Fax +44 1737 240 770 e-mail: info@fespa.com www.fespa.com
Fespa World Expo India 05 1st-4th December Pragati Maiden Fair Ground New Delhi Organiser: FESPA Tel: ++44 1737 22 97 27 Fax: ++44 1737 24 07 70 e-mail: info@fespa.com www.fespa.com
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 23
NEWS ROUND-UP – FESPA NEWSLETTER
FESPA targets a brand new audience Following the overwhelming success of FESPA 2005 in Germany this year, it is evident that FESPA has a great team of professionals who are capable of delivering world-class events. Now the same exhibition team is hard at work on the next event in the expanding FESPA portfolio, FESPA World Expo India.
FESPA will place all of the experience and knowledge gained during the organisation of FESPA 2005 in Germany at the disposal of Services International, who is providing operational support on the ground in India. Services International has also built a solid reputation for itself and is used to working in tandem with foreign organisations to execute successful exhibitions. Whilst FESPA knows a lot about the screen and digital printing markets in India and has excellent contacts within the industry, it feels that it is important to ensure that the needs of the regional audience are also properly understood and fully satisfied. This is why it is delighted to be partnering with Services International. FESPA World Expo India is unique – never before in India has there been a screen and digital printing exhibition that has featured such a plethora of European equipment in action. 24 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
This is very much a working show, and as such, provides Indian screen and digital printers with the opportunity to experience a whole range of different technologies at first hand. FESPA is also working very closely with the Screen Printers’ Association in India (SPAI) in order to fully understand the particular needs and idiosyncracies of the Indian marketplace. Bhargav Mistry, Vice President of SPAI, whose company is also one of the largest manufacturer of screenprinting equipment in India, has been extremely supportive during this endeavour. Bhargav and his fellow members of the SPAI are equally committed to the show and the SPAI has been instrumental in bringing the concept of FESPA India 2005 to fruition.
How is the show progressing? The FESPA organising team visited Delhi in August to meet with some of the contractors, carry out a site visit at the Pragati Maidan and to meet up with some of the Indian exhibitors and trade press to discuss the plans for the show. Over 80% of the available space has been sold and a high level of commitment has been shown by both Indian and European manufacturers. It is confidently anticipated that the event will attract over 150 exhibitors from across the World, and somewhere between 10,000 – 15,000 visitors from India, the Middle East and Asia. FESPA expects the show to comprise two thirds screen printing equipment and materials and one third digital products. With over 100,000 screen printers in India, there is much diversity, with companies ranging from very small "one man band" operations to very
FESPA NEWSLETTER
Above: Exhibition Frazer Chesterman (far left) samples traditional Indian fare with (left to right ) Joseph Chau (Autotype International), Gurbaksish Gulati (Gurbaksish Enterprises), Vineet Jain (Spinks India).
large and successful businesses. India already has a very well established and buoyant market for sign and graphics which has been significantly boosted by the growth of the Bollywood industry and its demand for colourful and vibrant graphics. Digital technology has made an enormous impact here, as it has facilitated the production of such material at a relatively low cost. However, India also produces some of the world’s finest screenprinted products, particularly in the areas of textiles, commercial graphics and electronics, whilst also satisfying the demands of a wide range of industrial applications. Certainly, the contribution to the Indian economy made by both screen and digital printing cannot be underestimated.
What benefits will visitors to FESPA India enjoy? FESPA India is a working show, so all visitors will have the opportunity to witness a whole
range of printing technologies in action, and will thus be able to see and experience at first hand everything the leading screen and digital manufacturers and suppliers have to offer. Further, the event will also provide visitors with an enriched learning experience, as it will combine demonstrations of all the latest equipment and materials with an educational seminar programme. The seminars will take place on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd December, and full details are available on the FESPA India website www.fespaindia.com For screen and digital printers in India and indeed the whole Southern Hemisphere, the show will also provide a great networking opportunity, together with the chance to thoroughly explore the whole sector. For example, FESPA expects some of the European manufacturers to use the show as a way to break into the Indian market for the first time.
Entrance to the exhibition is free - simply visit www.fespaindia.com to register for your entry badge.
What is FESPA doing to support screen and digital printing in India and the surrounding region? Any profit gained through FESPA India will be used by the SPAI to establish a college for screen printers, in order to encourage young people to consider a career in the screen sector. Frazer Chesterman, FESPA’s Exhibition Director is extremely pleased with how the plans are progressing. He says: "I am very excited about this new venture and confidently predict that the event will provide immense benefits to all screen and digital printers operating within this region".
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 25
FESPA NEWSLETTER
Visitors will be able to see the following exhibitors at FESPA World Expo India Company Stand No Afford Industrial 11/J1 Apollo Colours Ltd 11/F2 Apsom 10/A1 Aqua Tint 11/D8 Aroxide 11/H4 Arrow Coated Products* 10/B1 ATMA** 11/K3 & K6 Autoscreen (India (P) Ltd 11/ B0/B1/B4 Autotype International 11/C1 BSA CHT* 11/J4 Changzhou Hawk 11/E1 Chinese Pavilion 10/B2/B3 Chromoline Corporation** 11/G4 Dave Renton Screenprinting Supplies 11/C9 Dhaval Color Chem (P) Ltd 11/F3 Durst 10/C4 Electron 11/J7 Encres Dubuit* 11/C2 Fimor 11/B5 Forever Digital Transfer** 11/C4 Fotec 11/G3 Gandi Innovations 10/C1 Global Impressions 11/F6 Grafica Flextronica* 11/D2 Grunig Interscreen** 11/C5 Gurubakshish Group* 11/E3 Hanky & Partners 11/H8 Hebei Kanglida 11/K7 Hix Corporation** 11/F3 ICI 11/B10 Indian Dyes Sales Corporation** 11/F5 Indoflex Screen Print Supplies 11/A1 IST* 11/H7
Nationality Spain UK India India India India Taiwan India Singapore Bangkok India China China USA UK India Austria India France France Germany Switzerland USA USA India Switzerland India Taiwan China USA India India India Italy
JN Arora* 11/A3 Kinnari* 11/E10 Kiwo** 11/A4,5,6,7 KNF 10/D1 Knowell Corporation 11/J10 Lancer Group 11/F5 Lüscher AG* 11/B6 M & R** 11/F3 Magicrayon 11/G1 Manoukian/Lechler** 11/A1 Marabuwerke** 11/C5 Matan Digital Printers** 11/K3 & K6 Mehler Haku 11/E8 MHM Siebdruckmaschinen 11/D3 Micro Inks Ltd 11/H6 Monochem 11/G7 Murakami Co Ltd 11/C8 Nicomatic 11/B2 Nor-Cote International** 11/K3 & K6 Ora Squeegees** 11/G4 Papermart 11/K2 Parag 11/E9 Photokina Chemicals (P) Ltd 11/G4 Polipren srl 11/B4 Polyone/Wilflex** 11/A1 Print Kimya 11/E7 Priplax* 11/A2 Proditec* 11/C7 Pröll KG** 11/E2 & E3 Promoworld 11/C4 Reliable Screen Printers 11/B9 Rita Pad Printing 11/E2 Rutland Plastic Technologies** 11/F3 Saatichem** 11/B0 Saatiprint** 11/B0 San Fibres 11/B3 San Printech 11/G3 Screenways 11/D5 Sefar 11/G3 Sericol 1/I2 Shenzhen Juisun Screen Printing Machinery Co. Ltd* 11/B8 Siasprint* 11/E5 Spinks India 11/G2 Star Elastomeri 11/D9 Sunlight 11/H3 Sunstar Graphics (P) Ltd 11/K3 & K6 Svecia Engineering AB 11/C3 T & M Maschinenbau GmbH 11/E11 TAS International 11/I3 Technigraf** 11/C5 Tony Screen Supplies 11/D6 Ulano** 11/B0 Union Ink** 11/A3 Unirich Trading** 11/G4 Unitech 11/H1 US Screenprinting Institute** 11/F3 Verseidag Techfab** 11/A3 VFP** 11/B1 Vutek Inc** 10/B0 Waghulde Screens 11/K0 Zydex* 11/C6 *Stand Reservation **Co-Exhibitors
26 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
India India Germany India India USA Switzerland USA Canada Italy Germany Israel Germany Austria India India Japan France UK UK India India India Italy UK Turkey France Germany Germany India India India USA Italy Italy India India India Switzerland India China Italy India Italy India India Sweden Germany Australia Germany China USA UK Singapore India USA Germany France USA India India
www.fespaindia.com
FESPA WORLD EXPO INDIA The largest exhibition in the region for screen and digital printing. Unique to the region, this exhibition will show you the latest technology and information from manufacturers, suppliers and speakers worldwide.
What will be on show? Screen and digital printing: Machinery Inks Substrates Consumables Pre-press technology Finishing equipment Services
Entry to the show is FREE To register for your free entry ticket go to www.fespaindia.com
FESPA NEWSLETTER
The ultimate digital printing show FESPA Digital Printing Europe, 16-18th May 2006, RAI, Amsterdam
Since its launch in early June, bookings for exhibiting space at FESPA Digital Printing Europe 2006 have already far exceeded expectations, with 45% (3,400 square metres) of stand space now allocated. Following extensive research, the specialised event will focus on the increasingly diverse sphere of industrial print applications. Thus, the show will not only feature those companies involved in the production of digitally printed signs and graphics, but will also include exhibitors who supply the equipment and materials used for digitally printing on to ceramics, glass, textiles, white goods, wood, home furnishings and electronics. BeDigital Llumicolor, ColorSpan, Esko-Graphics, Gandinnovations and NUR are amongst a host of exhibitors who have already reserved space at the show following its official launch at the recent sell-out FESPA 2005 exhibition in Munich. Frazer Chesterman, FESPA Exhibition Director, comments, "We are delighted by the immediate enthusiasm surrounding the launch of FESPA Digital Printing Europe 2006. This is attributable in no small measure to the huge 28 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
success of FESPA 2005 in Munich, which once again confirmed FESPA’s track record and expertise in organising and delivering world class events." Amongst those companies who have already reserved space at next year’s Digital Printing show is NUR Macroprinters, a leading supplier of wide-format inkjet printing systems. "As a long-time FESPA exhibitor we were pleased to hear that a dedicated show for industrial printing technology is to be delivered," says Thibault Dejaiffe, NUR’s Marketing and Sales Support Manager. He adds: "This is a huge growth area for us and this new event offers us the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our capability in front of a guaranteed multi-regional audience. Quite simply, it is an event we can’t afford to miss." This is a view echoed by Basile Fattal, Marketing and Communications Manager of wide format inkjet manufacturer, ColorSpan, who comments, "The
fact that FESPA is committed to keeping abreast of the latest market trends in order to satisfy the needs of manufacturers is really important to us. As a company operating within the digital printing sector, Digital Printing Europe 2006 is the prime arena for us to exhibit our latest technology." Sandra Buxadé, Export Manager, of Spanish wide format manufacturer, BeDigital Llumicolor SL, is equally appreciative of the benefits that the event offers: "Right now, FESPA is the most important global show for us in terms of guaranteeing a high quality visitor audience. We are continually building a network of worldwide distributors and thanks to the international pull of FESPA, we have always enjoyed excellent leads, not only from Europe, but also from Africa, the Middle East and beyond. We are expecting more of the same next year in Amsterdam." FESPA Digital has already
received over 1000 registrations online from people wishing to visit the show. Visitors will be able to see both existing and new applications for digital printing, which will encourage them to expand their businesses to cover new and exciting areas and also enable them to respond to the ever increasing demands of their customers. As well as being able to visit all of the major manufacturers and suppliers on their stands, visitors will also be able to participate in a variety of workshops and seminars, which will provide them with the opportunity to learn more about these new applications. For more information on FESPA Digital Printing Europe 2006, and to register for your FREE visitor entry badge please visit www.fespadigital.com If you would like to exhibit please contact Michael Ryan or James Ford on Tel: +44 1737 240788.
OPINION
It seems to me... A snapshot of the Indian screenprinting industry By Mike Young
“
Even though India is the world’s largest democracy, she cannot yet match the western hemispheres’ sheer appetite for the creative use of screenprinting. However, while the opportunity simply didn’t exist during the western world’s screening heyday of the 70s and 80s, screenprinting has now achieved a new status in this part of Asia. Virtually all industries in India have grown and flourished since its Independence in 1947, due to its strong labour-force and respectable work ethic. Indeed, over 500 major foreign-owned OEM companies and internationally recognised brand leaders have opened up shop in India, with many more queuing up to manufacture products for both the domestic and export markets. These alliances have enabled India to become a serious and cost-effective supply base, particularly with regard to high-end commercial and industrial applications. As a consequence, the country’s leading importers of equipment and consumables have not only witnessed a significant boost in business traffic – they have more than compensated for any shortfall within their traditional markets. Perhaps this has also provided domestic manufacturers with the incentive to match importers’ quality and product enhancements in accordance with increased customer demand. India’s predicted economic growth of some 10–15%, is even more astonishing when one considers the considerable cultural barriers, something that seldom troubles western screenprinters. I offer the following snapshot as an example. A country that can be both fascinating and infuriating at every turn, India has a population of over a billion, both rich
30 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
and poor and offers a landscape of extreme contrasts. It is also a melting pot of creeds, cultures and industries, many of them high tech and presents a formidable linguistic minefield unbelievably there are some 18 official languages and hundreds of different dialects! That said, English is the default choice and is widely understood nationwide. India has about 25,000-fulltime screenprinting businesses of which only ten percent or so can be considered as major players, with another 40,000 part timers. Once only the largest companies had digital capabilities, but digital printing has now been embraced in much the same way here as elsewhere. There are an estimated 150 main (usually very large) commercial and industrial printers, over 7,000 textile printers and as many as 1 million companies earning a living from screenprinting, which are typically staffed by only three or four people. To the best of my knowledge, no professionally calculated value has ever been placed on the industry and I am not going to start now! It would be fair to characterise India as being in ‘catch-up’ mode. Commercial screenprinting, missed a generation or two since interior/exterior advertising became part of the mainstream and POP/POS and the like are only just beginning to play a key role in the consumer marketplace. Despite that, the industry is fast-tracking on three fronts: digital, up-market commercial and industrial applications. Here as elsewhere, digital printing is used to complement the screen process to fulfil the needs of the customer, but it is particularly relevant in a market that demands wide variety but limited quantities.
Mike Young discusses the principles of printing cyan with the staff of a Spectrum Scan, a premier commercial screen and digital printing company in Mumbai.
But perhaps the most growth has occurred in ‘high-end’ commercial printing sector and ‘demanding/closetolerance industrial applications’ such as graphic overlays, automotive decals, OEM labels/logos and nameplates etc, areas that will continue to develop as more and more foreign companies make India their second home. As for the lion’s share of the market, Mike Robertson, SGIA’s President, recently observed that in the western hemisphere, 20% of the screenprinting community do 80% of the business, whilst in India, 10% do 90%! Such insights underline their desire to invest in the latest products and processing skills. Contrary to belief, money is not an obstacle per se, since the community is more than willing to invest when higher quality and productivity and lower production costs are the dividend. Another observation was made about transferring manufacturing operations offshore to reduce costs. Whilst this practice is popular in the western world, it is not exercised in India. Again, this has more to do with the Indian obsession with quality rather than ‘quantity’. Indian screenprinters already export to
OPINION
Mike Young has enjoyed a distinguished hands-on management career spanning 35 years in graphics and high end industrial screenprinting applications. A frequent speaker in all aspects of highdefinition screenprinting he has presented numerous technical papers and contributed to all of the major trade journals world-wide. Mike is currently the Production Director at, Heinrich Ceramic Decal, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
China and Japan and although they openly welcome further export opportunities, they are more concerned with raising their quality to meet international standards and then some! In pursuit of this commitment, companies are queuing up for ISO certification, including 14000 and ISO/TS 16949 (for greater process discipline) and many are establishing world-class infrastructures in order to compete with western companies. Indian screenprinters want to succeed and they will do whatever it takes to achieve that objective, and although Indian screenprinters bagged a sizable number of awards at FESPA2005, outside India, few seem to realise that they can now achieve the highest standards as a matter of routine. As for investing in the newest technology, well, imagine my surprise when after entering an old and ramshackle building, I was confronted by a climatically controlled studio, complete with an armada of top-of-therange Macs with huge portrait monitors, running every imaginable graphic design software and complemented by a fleet of the latest scanners, imagesetters and wide format digital printers, all of which were merrily churning away non-stop 24/7!
Over to you
No one would ever guess the sophisticated level of this operation from the building’s exterior, let alone the locality, but I am sure it would be the envy of many western pre-press companies and printers. Unlike other parts of the world, India’s screenprinting sector is driven by commerce – not suppliers. Nevertheless, suppliers play a major role in elevating standards, so it is unfortunate that the one element that could undermine the evolution of the screen process is their general indifference and poor service. Suppliers tend to promote their lowerend ranges although screenprinters will pay to access the same products as their western counterparts. If growth is to be sustained then suppliers will need to focus on how best to service specialised end users who need the best. A challenge, perhaps, but one that needs to be speedily addressed. Without exception, I found Indian screenprinters craved the opportunity to invest in excellence, and the forthcoming FESPA World Expo will provide them with much inspiration, whilst visitors from further afield will appreciate everything the Indian marketplace has to offer, including the many delights of North India’s diverse and delicious cuisine!
”
Is there anything you would like to take issue with in this edition of the Magazine? Or is there some industry related topic that you would like to raise for general discussion? If so we want to hear from you. Please address your thoughts to: Val Hirst, Editor, FESPA, Association House, 7a West Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 9BL, UK or e-mail to val.hirst@fespa.com
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 31
FOCUS ON FINISHING
Finishing with a flourish
Coat it! SEAL Graphics is one of the leading suppliers of image and print finishing solutions in the world. In addition to laminating and encapsulating equipment, it has invested a significant amount of money into the development of a wide range of media, which is especially suited to the specific demands of wide format and super-wide format inkjet printers. At FESPA 2005, for example, it launched no fewer than 11 such items, ranging from vinyl media suitable for water-based printing to materials suitable for use in conjunction with solvent, eco-solvent and UV-curable printers. Taken together with a variety of paper media, SEAL can offer consumables for the entire gamut of indoor and outdoor display applications. In terms of new hardware, SEAL Graphics’ major aim is to make the whole process as simple and user friendly as possible, on both film and liquid laminators. Earlier this year, it launched a sub-£2000 liquid sign coater, the AquaSEAL Sign Coating system. This consists of a coating unit with matched coating and cleaning solutions, that uses low cost substrates, such as uncoated vinyls, to enhance and protect cut sheet images up to 1372mm 32 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
62series.
Sign Coater.
When it comes to digital printing, the right finishing touches can make all of the difference between a good product and one with real eye-appeal. Highlighted here are three popular finishing techniques that ensure maximum profitability for every application.
(54ins) wide. Operating at speeds up to 1.5 metres per minute, the laminator is described as ‘plug-and-play’ and is so simple to use that it requires no training whatsoever! A Meyer bar is used to ensure that an even coating of approximately 14 microns is applied, to produce finished images that are ideal for use in a whole range of short- and mid-term indoor and outdoor applications, such as signs, banners, display and exhibition graphics. The AquaSEAL Sign Coat is an environmentally friendly, water-based clear gloss liquid laminate containing low levels of virtually odourless, volatile organic compounds. It is touch-dry within 30 minutes at normal ambient temperatures, cures in 24 hours and is compatible with a host of solvent and light solvent inks from manufacturers such as Mutoh, Mimaki, Roland and Océ. At the other end of the liquid lamination spectrum, the company has added the AquaSEAL SW3300 to its range of liquid laminators providing UV, chemical, water and abrasion protection to digital print, typically billboards, truck side curtains and other flexible outdoor applications. Capable of applying liquid laminate at the rate of three metres per minute, at widths of up to 3.3m (129ins),
this machine is also extremely easy to use. Special features include a simplified LCD/touch screen panel to control run/stop and heat and speed functions, together with an automated infrared curing system. It also uses segmented heaters to conserve power when running narrow materials, whilst common plumbing between both dual and single tank designs, delivers a more efficient flow path for the liquid. After use, the coated non-stick drain pan and dedicated drain valve are real bonuses when it comes to cleaning. While liquid applications are finding increasing favour as the ideal means of protecting output from flatbed printers, SEAL Graphics’ film laminators remain the finishing industry’s mainstay. One of the latest additions to its large range of hardware is the Seal 62, which comes in two versions, the 62C and the 62S, which offer either a cold or a single heated top roller. Both machines are derived from the widely acclaimed 62Pro and use the same high pressure nip system to deliver over 2N/mm2 force and provide superb results when using pressure sensitive films, at speeds up to five metres per minute. For information visit www.sealgraphics.com
FOCUS ON FINISHING
Dome it! Some twenty years ago, regular screenprinted labels were transformed into three-dimensional emblems with the addition of a clear polyurethane resin. Further, this new addition not only made the labels unique – it also made them resistant to environmental agents and therefore ideal for use in even the most taxing applications. The shape of this special coating provided the labels with a distinctive raised finish, hence the practice has become known simply as doming. Defining doming today, however, is not easy as it is constantly evolving and used to produce a wide range of novel products. And to their delight, many of the screenprinters who have invested in a doming machine have been able to expand their businesses into new and profitable directions as a result. One such innovative company is Danish Label Coating and its Managing Director, Jørgen Clemmensen, is happy to pass on some
tips gleaned during his use of the technique over the last ten years. He says: "To us ‘doming’ is an ideal way to enhance the customer’s product marking, since we use it to transform an ordinary print into something which is both durable and eyecatching. It is easy to use the doming technique in conjunction with many different materials, such as polyester, polycarbonate, PVC and aluminium etc. Further, the clarity of the polyurethane can be used to create ‘windows’ where desirable. Doming can also be applied to small and large text and logos." He continues: "The fact that doming is a relatively quick process means that we can use it to enhance all manner of products. In fact we have built a factory that specialises in it, which enables us to work closely with our customers, who are mainly printers in northern Europe, to provide workable solutions to their brand identification problems, a facility which has significantly added to the profitability
of our company." Clemmensen goes on to say that he chose Demak equipment because it was the first company to offer an impressive automatic system. He says: "Demak was also happy to carry out several small modifications at my request and thus we had a bespoke machine which suited our particular requirements perfectly." Today, Danish Label Coating runs three fullyautomatic and two specially designed machines, all purchased from Demak, which are easy to use and program and are networked to the Demak Service Centre. Clemmenson adds: "if something goes wrong, and we need help, we only have to activate a few keys on the keyboard. However, we only rarely need to use this facility – we purchased our first Demak machine in 1995 and despite being in constant use every day, it is still going strong!" For further information visit: www.demak.it
Cut it!
for measuring. This is followed by automatic alignment of the cutting paths to the graphic for the entire layout, resulting in very precise cutting, which compensates for registration and image or media distortions. The Kongsberg i-XL can also be equipped with a belt feed mechanism for continuous printed material loading, either via roll or sheets, when linked with MGE’s automatic sheet feeder. Serious time and cost savings can be achieved since the combined system helps to reduce set-up time, material waste and overall production time, whilst performing exact cost calculations. Jef Bogaerts, Business Development Manager at Esko-Graphics, comments: "The combined solution of the robust Kongsberg i-XL tables with the MGE i-cut vision technology brings tremendous value to packaging, signage, display and POP producers. Digital flatbed inkjet printing applications, printed directly on to a wide variety of rigid substrates, are becoming increasingly popular, with run lengths becoming smaller and lead times becoming shorter. The Esko-Graphics and MGE solution complements digital printing with a unique automated finishing solution that facilitates high productivity and high precision for the widest range of materials." For further information visit: www.esko-graphics.com
Esko-Graphics offers a range of automated digital finishing systems for signs and displays, which are based on the Kongsberg XL-Series of short-run production tables. The Kongsberg i-XL tables are ideally suited for cutting, creasing and scoring low volume corrugated and folding carton jobs because of their excellent tooling versatility. The recently introduced multipurpose MultiCUT toolhead further enhances their cutting capability for use in the packaging, sign, display and POP sectors, using rigid materials such as acrylics, polycarbonates, polypropylenes, alubonds, plywood, etc. A unique feature is the integrated MGE i-cut vision control system, with the i-cut camera in the MultiCUT head. Each printed object on each sheet is thus measured with its register marks for registration and any dimensional changes, distortions or material variations, such as shrinkage or stretching are noted. The i-cut software then automatically fine-tunes each cutcontour for perfect cut-to-print. Via i–script workflow integration in the digital printer RIP and print control system, key cutting and layout data is linked with a barcode when printing register marks. Upon commencement of the finishing process, the i-cut camera reads the barcode, retrieves the corresponding cutting and layout data and automatically moves to the register marks
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 33
FESPA 2005
FESPA 2005 REVIEW
The biggest and best FESPA began in style, with an official opening ceremony hosted by FESPA President Ricardo Rodriguez Delgado and FESPA President Elect Hellmuth Frey who cut the ribbon which spanned the entrance to four halls at Messe Munich. Visitors from 121 different countries were then free to visit the 523 exhibitors who between them covered 27,500 square metres of stand space. In total the exhibition welcomed over 20,301 visitors, 4000 of them completely new to the show and 60% of whom came from outside of Germany itself, reflecting FESPA’s
34 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
worldwide appeal. 53% of visitors emanated from other European countries, whilst 9% visited the event from other continents. At the end of five exceptionally busy days, which included a full programme of ancillary events, both exhibitors and visitors declared the show a resounding success and expectations were raised for FESPA’s next European venture. FESPA’s first Digital show is scheduled to take place at the Rai, In Amsterdam on 16-18th May 2006 May next year. Over the next few pages, Val Hirst, Michel Caza and Mark Godden share their impressions of the event, whilst the pictures tell their own stories!
FESPA 2005 – THE BIG STORY
All Change! FESPA 2005 fielded the biggest digital contingent yet, but for some of the most influential companies in this sector, there are major changes afoot. Val Hirst reports There’s nothing like an exhibition for providing companies with a platform from which to deliver their corporate message and since the big three super-wide manufacturers, NUR, Scitex and VUTEk are all experiencing a time of change, FESPA 2005 provided them with a perfect opportunity to unveil their visions for the future.
First up was VUTEk, on its first outing since its acquisition by EFI, a world leader in digital imaging and print management solutions. VUTEk has arguably always been the most media savvy of all the printer manufacturers, and was eager to reassure everyone that its new owners would be simply ‘adding value’, rather than making any drastic changes. Since over the years, VUTEk has been owned by a number of different investment companies, EFI, a company with whom it has some synergy and who regularly invests some 28% of its annual revenues into research and development, appears to be something of a benefactor. When quizzed about future plans, Fred Rosenzweig, President of EFI said: "VUTEk is already a tightly run and profitable company and we want to ensure that it stays that way, whilst also using our own expertise to enhance its overall product offering." When asked whether this would also mean moving into new markets, Andrew Brown, Vice President and General Manager of VUTEk said: "We don’t regard ourselves as Missionaries. As we see it, timing is crucial for product success, so we are more concerned with producing
the machines that our customers need to service their chosen marketplaces. We don’t aim to be the first, we simply aim to be the best." He went on to dismiss the challenge posed by competitors from the Far East, saying: "What our customers expect from us are well built, reliable machines that live up to expectation. As yet, the machines that are coming out of the Far East don’t carry the same guarantees regarding consistency of performance and output. I am not dismissing these manufacturers by any means and applaud their capacity for reproduction, but I don’t feel that they will pose a real threat until they start offering a greater degree of innovation and a fail-safe distribution and after sales service plan." Fred Rosenzweig added: "Our job now is to further distance VUTEk from its competition. We plan to own it forever and will do what ever is needed to cement the reputation it has already built." Over at the NUR stand, the company’s charismatic Managing Director David Amir had a slightly different message. "NUR has always been a pioneer," he declared and went on to hint that the company is
preparing to spearhead the drive into new market sectors. "We have been working on ground-breaking new technology, which we will be able to bring to market in another year", he explained, adding that the time to leave a market is when the number of competitors multiply. Amir feels that as far as the graphic sector is concerned, NUR has surmounted all of the challenges it has faced, in terms of producing the machines its customers need. He points out that the company is always spearheading new concepts which have helped to broaden the horizons of its customers, whilst at the same time being scrupulous in ensuring that any machine it sold was suitable for its designated purpose. "I would rather turn business away than sell for the sake of selling – when customers buy machines that don’t do the job they expect, they distrust digital technology as a whole and it takes time to make up that lost ground, plus you lose a customer forever," Amir asserts. He admitted however, that NUR’s plans are largely dependent on it securing further funding. Fortunately, some three months after the show, it appears to have done just that, having reached a definitive FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 35
FESPA 2005 – THE BIG STORY
agreement with Fortissimo Capital Fund, who will be investing $12 million in NUR, with the agreement of its three lender banks. Scitex’s attendance at FESPA was somewhat clouded by the uncertainty regarding its future ownership. Rumours about a tie up with Hewlett Packard abounded. Rather than risking a series of one to one confrontations with the press, Scitex held a press breakfast, ostensibly to talk about its machines. However, Executive Vice President, Itai Halevy sensibly addressed the ownership issue himself, stating that the company still wasn’t in a position to make any announcement regarding HP or any other suitor for that matter. He pointed out that Scitex had enjoyed nine consecutive quarters of growth and profitability and that its primary responsibilities were to its shareholder and its customers. "We are taking our time over this because we have to be certain that any decision we make is the right one," he said. But he also admitted that the uncertainty couldn’t continue indefinitely and hoped to have more definitive news "very soon." He too dismissed the Chinese threat, arguing that although Scitex was already manufacturing within China and thus
36 FESPA WORLD
taking advantage of the cheaper facilities offered there, Chinese printers per se had not yet achieved the standard of reliability required by western screenprinters. In the event, this is a challenge that will now be faced by HP, who acquired Scitex shortly after the show, giving it an enviable spread of products throughout the whole digital spectrum. Other companies also had similar issues to face at FESPA. Inca Digital’s Marketing Manager, Heather Kendle was candid when discussing its objectives. "We major on the development of inkjet technology," she said artlessly, thus confirming that Inca, like NUR is already looking further afield than purely graphic applications. What she didn’t reveal was that Inca was about to be acquired by Dianippon Screen Manufacturing Ltd, news that broke on the fourth day of the show. Since then the usual reassurances regarding ‘business as normal’ have been made, and with the backing of a giant Japanese company, Inca’s entry into new market places will receive all of the extra investment it needs. Hopefully, all of these companies will prosper and their new owners and investors will recognise that the key to their future success lies in retaining the entrepreneurial essence of the original
company, whilst providing it with the greater level of financial security and long term investment needed. Whilst considering these acquisitions, we should also remember the two Agfa allegiances, the fruits of which were unveiled at the show. The M-Press, the result of Agfa’s collaboration with Thieme is reviewed more thoroughly elsewhere, but it is probably Agfa’s tie up with Mutoh, resulting in the launch of the Anapurna 100, that will prove to be more relevant to screen and digital printers. This wide format UV inkjet printer has been specifically designed to accommodate the requirements of high volume industrial applications and features printheads jointly developed by Agfa and Xaar. Agfa will also be responsible for manufacturing the machine’s UV-curable inks. The advent of these machines underline Agfa’s determination to cover every spectrum of the digital market, with possible repercussions for some of the pioneering companies previously mentioned. It will therefore be interesting to revisit all of these companies at the Rai next year, to see what, if any changes have occurred and how far they have progressed in their desire to break new ground.
Around the show with Michel Caza As usual, because of the frantic round of entirely enjoyable commitments, I didn’t have time to see as much of the show as I would have liked, which is, I suspect, true of many visitors. However, my overall impression was that screenprinting is alive and well, that the popularity of digital printing continues to increase and although at present, it is confined largely to the graphics sector, there were also many new printers at work in the textile hall. What’s more, many manufacturers are also beginning to use digital technology in the broad spectrum of industrial applications, a development we shall doubtless see more of in Amsterdam next year. One of the things that immediately struck me, was the imagination that had gone into stand design, with many exhibitors operating from beautifully crafted and aesthetically pleasing stands. This underlines the growing importance of FESPA as a premier event, and helps to provide visitors with a more visually stimulating and interesting experience. My only regret is that no one had the foresight to initiate a stand award competition to reward such enterprise, although the judges would have been thoroughly spoilt for choice! My own personal favourite was the Fimor stand, which had as its centrepiece a typical "Le Mans" racing car sporting Fimor’s corporate colours of green and white. Fimor was also showing its squeegee blades and two remarkable sharpeners, an automatic and a semi-automatic, which both featured double diamond grinders. Fimor also showed multi-shore blades (five combined and co-extruded shores!) moulded blades, special squeegee blades for use with ceramics and textiles, blades made from conductive polyurethane to 38 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
help reduce static electricity, pinch blade manual cutters and a pneumatic cleaner for squeegees. In the best stand context, I must also mention Sefar, for its particularly original stand and also for the hugely enjoyable evening celebration it held to mark its 175th anniversary! With limited time at my disposal, I decided to concentrate on the screenprinting halls, except that is, where the digital and screen processes overlap, as in the case of the much lauded Agfa/Thieme collaboration, the M-Press. In the event, this long awaited flatbed press was the invisible man of the show, because the only sight of it that we were permitted was a real time video! What a pity! One of the advantages of this press with its 64 piezo heads, is its speed - 400 m2 / hours - and it would have been interesting to have seen the resulting output at close quarters. One of the many attractions of the M-press is that it can be used in tandem with existing screenprinting presses to facilitate enhancements such as clear coating and spot colours. And, if anyone feels that the hefty price tag will act as a deterrent, they will be interested to learn that Agfa/Thieme claim to have sold l7 MPresses already! It has long been argued that the biggest disadvantage of screenprinting is the production of the screen itself, although with the proliferation of CTS technology, this is becoming less of an issue. So it was interesting to see that other parts of the screen process are also becoming automated too. Companies such as Buisine, Chim ' 92, Grünig, ESC and Dane-Grönlund are pioneering automated lines which offer screen reclamation, de-coating, drying, re-coating with emulsion, exposure and washing, in a
variety of different combinations. As well as substantially reducing both time and labour costs, such arrangements also dispose of the resulting waste in an environmentally sound way. This I predict will become a real growth area. The efforts of the FESPA Team to include companies operating in both vertical and horizontal markets began to bear fruit and we saw exhibitors who cater for a wide range of industrial applications, including those who were demonstrating machines for printing on to glass sheet. There were also a lot of companies involved in label printing, although here, the classical Gallus was curiously absent. This left the field open for the innovative and very fast Kammann K-61 OS machine (2.000 m / hour), which used a combination of dry offset and rotary screenprinting, along with presses from Stork, Kinsel, Zimmer and M&R. Other new areas of interest included Mould Decoration (IMD), the printing of membranes switches, the printing of rigid and flexible printed circuits (PCB), and RFID printing, an innovation which is used in the labelling sector to provide product identification via the use of radio frequencies. I also saw equipment for printing on to glass bottles, CD/ DVDs and plastic packaging. Tampo printing was also much in evidence and represented by such companies as TecaPrint, Tampograph, Tampoprint, Chungfou, Cofellow, Everbright and Tampo Techniek. An exhibitor worthy of special note is Autotype, who as well as producing a wealth of innovative products for use in many different screen markets, has now introduced a new substrate, Autotex DP, a film which stops the growth and the dispersal of bacteria. This product has many obvious applications in hospitals,
FESPA 2005 – THE BIG STORY
but can also be used to good effect on computer keyboards, membrane switches, and on almost any object you care to name that exists within a health sensitive environment. Autotype also introduced another interesting material, a special polyester, which will help to reduce the problem of graffiti when applied to signs and advertisements. On the squeegee side, all of the major players were there, with RKS unveiling a new carbon squeegee blade, which, it claims, is as easy to sharpen as polyurethane. It was also showing squeegees made from a combination of fibreglass and polyurethane, a special squeegee it has created especially for rotary screenprinting and a laser powered squeegee sharpener! When it comes to screenprinting presses there is no extraordinary progress to report, but rather a plethora of enhancements relating to reliability, quality, electronics, tools, controls, etc. There were many new exhibitors in this area, and inevitably, some from China and India. Of special note was the multicolour press shown by the Indian company Grafica Flextronica. Among the big players, size was
becoming something of an issue! Both Siasprint and Thieme were offering 2 x 3m presses, as were Argon and IS, whilst the Kippax offering was a whopping 6 x 3,3m machine! Sakurai showed its twocolour cylinder press, where the sheet passes from one cylinder to the other. More cylinder presses were to be found on the SPS and ESC stands and the biggest Chinese manufacturer was also represented. There has been a huge worldwide increase in the popularity of UV technology in all of the graphic and industrial sectors. New inks for circuits, IMD, membrane switches, RFID, and in the automotive sector are now under development and Nor-Cote has now breached one of the final bastions with the introduction of UV conductive and electroluminescent inks. All of the major ink manufacturers and suppliers from Europe and America were present at FESPA 2005 including Encres Dubuit, VFP, and Tiflex together with the Chinese company Zongyi and Chayaboon from Thailand who were making their European débuts. The textile hall was a new departure for FESPA and all of the big manufacturers
were there. The companies with the two biggest stands were MHM with its Type E machine, which prints a staggering 1,400 T-shirts / hour and M&R, who was showing a six to 12 colour press. Sefa, and Tas International also fielded sizeable stands. Elsewhere, visitors could see every permutation of water and dye-based printer, flocking, transfers and numerous transfer presses. Here again the tendency is towards ecologically friendly inks, as Denmark and Germany particularly, are against both the phthalates and PVC components of the standard plastisol inks. However, these new alternatives are very much more expensive! This is another area where UV ink will eventually come into its own. Perhaps the most significant development in this hall was the use of ink jet to print T-shirts as shown on the Kornit stand. All in all It was a very big and happy FESPA and although, as someone who has been attending the show since the first Fespa in1963, and who is used to hearing that the most recent event is the ‘biggest and the best’ this time, it really was! -
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 39
FESPA 2005 – THE BIG STORY
Edited highlights from Mark Godden For logistical reasons, I flew into Amsterdam, drove to Munich and somewhere along the way, picked up a really scary chest infection. Needless to say, I had never felt less like hauling my wretched carcass around an exhibition, but thanks to a regime of throat-calming ice cream and regular restorative visits to the press-centre, I was able to find much to interest and entertain me. Out on the floor, one of the loudest buzzes was the even closer relationship that industry heavyweights Mutoh and Agfa are building. The how, what and why underpinnings of this fusion are doubtless reported elsewhere, so I prefer to address the innocent question – what does it mean? Well, if you’re an industry operator, say a reseller punting inkjet printers, materials and service offerings into the screen and allied industries, did Agfa even make it onto your competitive analysis? Probably not, but it should. Forget any notion you may have filed 40 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
away that Agfa is about little orangecoloured boxes of 35mm film, or about outdated repro-gear and the like. Agfa is a world-class imaging company and you are in the imaging business. Agfa brings inventiveness, marketing muscle and huge capability to the industry. It’s an enterprise with the wit and wherewithal to actually grow the market. It also brings intent. It wants its piece of the imaging arena. The fruits of this deal also suggest that there’s more to Mutoh than meets the eye. Here’s an company that’s capable of getting what must be a very challenging development project delivered to Agfa’s satisfaction, which is all to its credit in my view. Mutoh’s output, by which I mean printers, appeals to and has untold applications within the "imaging industry." That’s a very convenient description of something that’s becoming, become even, mind-frying in its sheer scope. Addressing this opportunity is Mutoh’s job and that means it has to deal with lots of industry
sub-sectors and lots of overlapping interests. I don’t expect everyone will warmly applaud Mutoh’s latest outing with Agfa, but I would never criticise a company for doing its job and doing it very well. If you’ve been around as many exhibitions as I have, a flatbed-cutting plotter is something you could easily walk past and not give a second thought to. I’m glad I paused for long enough at the Esko stand to see a magnificent Kongsberg machine sporting some exotic enhancements courtesy of MGE. What Esko was demonstrating, in a nutshell, is an ability to take printed output and cut it reliably in the context of a production orientated workflow. Cutting printed output is not new of course, but doing it on a flatbed of Kongsberg-calibre is an idea with great prospects. Thanks to its i-Cut smarts, Esko’s system doesn’t care much about little first and second order errors such as image distortion, material positioning and so on.
FESPA 2005 – THE BIG STORY
It just puts a Kongsberg-precise, coextensive cut around your imaged output. It’s fast, it’s reliable and the most exciting thing is, it’s barely happening yet. I think this whole print-cut application space is a thinly veiled opportunity for the more creative operators out there to make towering reputations and towering piles of money too. There must be untold applications for the whole notion of making highly individual, customised output, which capitalises on the fusion of printing and cutting or routing. My message is, look into this and look into it closely. This is a sleeping giant of a technology that’s capable of driving the value of what you print way beyond the price it traditionally demands. At an event on the scale of FESPA there’s a very real possibility of not seeing the wood for the trees. How does the man selling 5mm rubber grommets get your attention at the motor show when there are Ferraris you simply have to buy? How does someone with a 5mm thick disk of transparent plastic get your attention at FESPA? Chances are, they don’t. I wasn’t looking for it, but I did find such a disk, a sample of a very clever plastic. It can be moulded. It can be cut. It could be drilled without healing over and
42 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
it’s as crystal clear as a piece of plastic could be. You could make a passable lens out of it. It’s not coated at all. Oh, and I almost forgot, it’s electrically conductive and some customers at MI-5 love it! Did you visit the Zimmer stand? Now that’s what I call a piece of kit. I hesitate to describe it as an inkjet, probably because it isn’t one, but it is a printer. This is one of those comparatively rare bits of hardware that immediately turns peoples’ eyes to Euro or Dollar signs. The machine makes printed doormats. You can take a coarse, rubber backed mat and print the design, logo or whatever upon it. The system steam fixes and washes the output and there you have it – a very nice piece of output you can actually sell for a very nice sum of money. I love this machine. It prints gooey ink in sixteen colours right down to the fibre. It’s not a weak, superficial print. It absolutely grabs you by the eyeballs, it’s so poppy and colourful. Zimmer – check it out. I’m not going to do a detailed review of every inkjet printer at the show because of space limitations, but suffice it to say, there were a lot of printers out there. Of all the industries that are enduring the arrival and the inevitable churn that results when
disruptive technologies turn up, I would say screen is doing a good job of embracing it and turning events to its advantage. I don’t hear the death rattles of the screen process now or anytime soon, what I do see though, is an expansion of the market for digitally equipped screen printers and evidence of an uptake amongst the more creative operators. So to conclude, the exhibitors did a great job and visitors turned up in their thousands and bought things. FESPA put on a terrific exhibition. Here’s the recipe should there be any desire to repeat it. Take an inventive, notoriously diversified industry founded on the whole notion of controllably depositing practically any printable liquid onto more or less any chemically or mechanically receptive substrate and let it sit for a few aeons. Now you have your base stock. Add a few devastatingly disruptive technologies, (make sure to include a generous drizzle of digital) a pinch or two of fresh thinking and a flamboyant zizz of new ideas. Shake it all up and there you have it – FESPA! I look forward to my next helping in Amsterdam!
FESPA 2005 AWARDS
Pure Gold! One of the undoubted high points of the show was the FESPA 2005 Awards, which are designed to highlight the very best in screen and digital printing. This year the judges faced the difficult task of judging over 400 entries, submitted by companies in 20 different countries. The 20 categories covered the many diverse aspects of screen and digital printing, including point of purchase materials, calendars, posters, textiles, and various digital categories, to name just a few.
Nigel Steffens, FESPA General Secretary, commented: "We were hugely impressed by the stunning work submitted, and were delighted by the broad range of suppliers and nationalities represented. It was particularly gratifying to see such a large number of entries from India, some of which achieved Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. "One of the most encouraging aspects of the competition was that it revealed that
44 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN /05
the screenprinting process is continuing to develop and evolve. We saw some truly excellent, technically superb entries, ranging from the printing of electronic circuits to religious icons, which showed the process at its very best. Similarly, entries in the four digital categories showed that digital technology is also producing stunning, high-quality results, which can compete with traditional processes."
CIB Bellemare
Rig Persona
Category 1A
Category 1B
Process Colours
Single/Multi Colours
Gold Award
Gold Award
FESPA 2005HEADING AWARDS
Pasja Category 2B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
Augustus Martin Category 2A Process Colours Gold Award
CIB Bellemare Category 3B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
FM Siebdruck Werbung Category 3A Process Colours Gold Award
FESPA WORLD FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 12/04 45
FESPA 2005 AWARDS
Augustus Martin Category 6A Process Colours Gold Award
Pasja
Klenke
Category 4A
Category 4B
Process Colours
Single/Multi Colours
Gold Award
Gold Award
Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Category 5A Process Colours Gold Award
Michel Caza Eurl Category 8A Process Colours Gold Award
Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Category 5B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
46 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN /05
FESPA 2005 AWARDS
Sitopapir Category 9 Books (Additional Category) Gold Award
Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Category 9B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
CD Papanikopoulos Category 9A Process Colours Gold Award
Augustus Martin
Riebl Siebdruck
Category 10A Process Colours Gold Award
Category 10B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
Michel Caza Eurl Category 13A Process Colours Gold Award
Torun Print Tech Category 11A Process Colours Gold Award
48 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN /05
Anil Labels Category 11B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
FESPA 2005 AWARDS
Far left Heinrich Ceramic Decal Category 14A Process Colours Gold Award Left Heinrich Ceramic Decal Category 14B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
OM Decals
Studio Reya
Efekt
JSC Elga
Category 15A
Category 15B
Category 16A
Category 16B
Process Colours Gold Award
Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
Process Colours Gold Award
Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
Klenke Category 17A Process Colours Gold Award
Monochem Graphics Category 17B Single/Multi Colours Gold Award
Panorama Category 18 Gold Award
50 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN /05
Domberger Category 20 Gold Award
FESPA 2005 AWARDS
Winners of FESPA 2005 Awards
Category 1 Point of Purchase Products – Printing on paper and board, including paper banners and backlit papers Process Colours Gold CIB Bellemare Silver Augustus Martin Bronze CIB Bellemare Single/Multi Colours Gold Rig Persona Silver Rig Persona Bronze Sitopapir Category 2 Point of Purchase Products - Printed on all types of plastics, including plastic banners and backlit plastic + lenticular Process Colours Gold Augustus Martin Pic: Silver CIB Bellemare Bronze Augustus Martin Single/Multi Colours Gold Pasja Silver Michel Caza Eurl Bronze Sitopapir Category 3 Point of Purchase Products – Plastic printing in sheets, flexible or rigid Process Colours Gold FM Siebdruck Werbung Silver Augustus Martin Bronze Spectrum Scan Pvt Single/Multi Colours Gold CIB Bellemare Silver Studio Reya Bronze Klenke Category 4 Calendars Process Gold Silver Bronze
Colours Pasja CIB Bellemare ogi Display Arts
Single/Multi Colours Gold Klenke Silver Rig Persona Bronze Disgraf Category 5 Postcards, Greetings & Christmas Cards
52 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
Process Colours Gold Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Silver Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Bronze MichelCaza Eurl Single/Multi Colours Gold Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Silver Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Bronze Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Category 6 Posters, single sheets Process Colours Gold Augustus Martin Silver
Weiss Siebdruck
Bronze
Augustus Martin
Single/Multi Colours Bronze CIB Bellemare Pics Process: DSCF0054.JPG, DSCF0055.JPG
Books (Additional Category) Gold Sitopapir Silver Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Bronze Omega Print Category 10 Decals, Printed Labels, Fleet Marking, Window Decals etc Process Gold Silver Bronze
Colours Augustus Martin Classic Stripes New Jev Screen
Single/Multi Colours Gold Riebl Siebdruck Silver New Jev Screen Bronze Monochem Graphics Category 11 T-shirts and other garments, caps, direct printing on transfers Process Gold Silver Bronze
Colours Torun Print Tech Midi Print Graphic Elements
Category 7 Posters, multi-sheets
Single/Multi Colours Gold Anil Labels Silver Pulitel SAS Bronze Torun Print Tech
Process Colours Bronze Kumazawa Screenprinting
Category 12 Pennants, Banners, Tapestries, Draperies
Single/Multi Colours No award
Process Colours No award made
Category 8 Original Serigraphies and Paintings
Single/Multi Colours No award made
Single/Multi Colours Gold Michel Caza Eurl Silver Studio Reya Bronze Klenke
Category 13 Other Textile Products, eg. Bags, Scarves, Ties and Canvas
Category 9 Fine Art Reproductions, Books, Brochures Process Gold Silver Bronze
Colours CD Papanikopoulos CD Papanikopoulos CIB Bellemare
Single/Multi Colours Gold Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Silver CIB Bellemare Bronze Studio Reya
Process Colours Gold Michel Caza Eurl Single/Multi Colours Bronze Graphic Elements Category 14 Glass & Ceramic, eg. Tableware, Tiles, Glasses, Mirrors – curved and flat. Direct Printing, Decals and Backlit Process Gold Silver Bronze
Colours Heinrich Ceramic Decal Deco Mat Kft OM Decals
FESPA 2005 AWARDS
Single/Multi Colours Gold Heinrich Ceramic Decal Silver JSC Elga Bronze Santi Arts Hi Tech Category 15 Metal & Wood Products, Signs and Objects Process Gold Silver Bronze
Colours OM Decals FM Siebdruck CIB Bellemare
Single/Multi Colours Gold Studio Reya Silver Klenke Bronze Atelier Fur Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli Category 16 Direct Printing on Three-Dimensional Products, Bottles, Mugs, Skis, Packaging etc Process Colours Gold Efekt
Category 17 Miscellaneous: Compact Discs, Credit and Phone Cards, Automobiles, IMD, Fascias, Dials, Nameplates, Signs, Gauges etc. Printed Circuits & Membrane Switches, Hybrid Circuits, etc. (A & B) Process Gold Silver Bronze
Single/Multi Colours Gold Monochem Graphics Silver Schurter Bronze Schreiner Group Category 18 Digital Printing on Rigid Material Gold Silver
Gold
Domberger
FESPA 2005 YOUTH AWARDS COMPETITION Gold Silver Bronze
IPTS Lda, Portugal Iptomar Estt, Portugal Lycee Professionnel Zola, France
Highly Commended: Dhirubhai Mistry Centre for Excellence, India Kobnhavns Tech Skole, Denmark Kroschke, Germany
Panorama Palmer Werbe Art
Category 19 Digital Printing on Flexible Material Gold
Single/Multi Colours Gold JSC Elga
Colours Klenke Kroma Riebl Siebdruck
Category 20 Digital Printing – Speciality
Kroma IPTS Lda, Portugal – Gold
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 53
SHOWCASE
b
a
Showcase c
d
54 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
When Marks & Spencer launched its new ‘Natures’ range recently it needed a high quality label in keeping with the luxurious yet natural feel of the brand. The range comprises a wide variety of different products, all of which come in an assortment of exotic fragrances. Unsurprisingly, Marks and Spencer commissioned Harlands Labels, a UK printer with long experience of working with companies active within the health and beauty sector. The Hull-based company produced the massive number of labels required on its newly installed MPS330 combination press and so far, has produced in excess of 650,000 labels. These include front labels printed on white PE in seven colour Flexo plus varnish, wrap labels printed in eight colours on a clear PE and back labels printed in two or three colours on white PE. What’s more, production is still ongoing!
ARTFIX of Sao Paulo, recently completed the biggest vehicle wrap job ever awarded in Brazil. Using its VUTEk UltraVu 3360FC and UltraVu 2360FC printers to produce over 18,000 m2 of graphics to fully wrap 1200 vehicles for the Brazilian beverage giant, AmBev. ARTFIX printed directly onto adhesive vinyl to produce 35 wraps of 15 m2 of graphics every day!
Harlands Labels also delighted Marks & Spencer by creating a fantastic finish for
Monster Digital used a combination of skill
its new Daniel Galvin Haircare range.
and the Scitex Vision XLjet 5+ to produce
Harlands produced 18 different types of label including wraps, lid and peel and read labels on a range of clear PE, PP and white PP in up to five colours plus varnish. The success of the design owes much to Harlands innovative use of a specially formulated transparent white screen ink to give a semi opaque look to the base design. This was complemented with an overall matt varnish and four further gloss screen colours with a grey, white or black spot colour according to the label type.
The UK wide- format print specialists
SHOWCASE
e
g
f
h a b
Marks & Spencer new ‘Natures’ range. &
f
OSG Hungary Ltd join celebrations
with their Scitex Vision XLjet 5+.
c d
Colour Care Leave In Conditioner. Moisture Plus Nourishing Intensive Conditioner and Shampoo.
e g h
Sin Fung bus panel advertising. Artfix300 vehicle wrap. Exhibition centerpiece “Wave Wall” by The Graphics Gallery.
over a 1000 metres of suitably stunning window displays for installation at 25 stores of the 1st Bank clothing chain in a little under a week. Monster Digital’s client Tony G Creative Retail was so pleased with both the quality of the work and the speed of delivery, that it has now commissioned Monster Digital to provide similar displays for Ist Bank’s stores nationwide. Riding the tube of a ferocious wave is an experience that you never forget, but is one which is only usually enjoyed by a skilled and fearless surfer. Now, however, even lily-livered landlubbers can imagine the feeling of exhilaration simply by visiting the "Life’s a Beach" exhibition in Newport News, The Mariners’ Museum. The exhibition is designed to create a visual timeline of beach life and visitors meet the exhibition’s centerpiece "wave wall" within the Surf and Recreation area, which traces the evolution of watersports. The Graphics Gallery used its VUTEk PressVu UV 200/600 to produce the graphic, which was printed directly on to
self-adhesive vinyl before being applied to a pre-fabricated frame. When Hungary joined the European Union last year, two huge banners were stretched across the Elizabeth Bridge over the Danube, celebrating both the return of the country to Western Europe and the fact that it had joined the 24 other nations in the EEC. A little of that glory rubbed off on OSG Hungary Ltd, the company produced both the banner and all manner of building wraps, streetlight posters and colourful liveries for Budapest’s streetcars on its Scitex Vision XLjet 5+. Hong Kong based Sin Fung is reaping the benefits of an investment in a Scitex Vision TURBOjet by using it to attract a plethora of new business. Since the printer’s installation the company has seen its share of the Hong Kong bus panel advertising market rise from 20% to 50%. The TURBOjet has also been instrumental in helping Sin Fung to clinch a lucrative printing deal with electrical giants Philips.
Meanwhile, Sin Fung’s earlier purchase of two Scitex Vision XLjet+ printers has enabled it to maintain its leading position in Hong Kong’s bus shelter advertising market. Markley Enterprise, Inc., of Elkhart,
Indiana, USA, is the first company in the world to upgrade its PressVu UV 200/600 to include the new white ink option, a facility that has enabled it to produce a job for Mack Trucks, one of the leading heavy truck manufacturers in the USA. Markley produced over 100 4ft x 1ft, bulldog logo signs, which are now displayed in Mack Truck dealerships throughout America. Previously, it has used white 6mm Sintra for these logo signs, but since the logo accounts for only about 10% of the actual surface area, with the remainder requiring a black background, a lot of ink and printing time was wasted. Now the company merely needs to print a white logo onto black Sintra, producing a superior product with obvious cost benefits. FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 55
INFORMATION
FESPA ‘contact list’ The following list of Telephone, Fax and E-mail numbers will help you when you need to contact a colleague in FESPA.
FESPA board
Telephone
Fax
Hellmuth Frey – President
49 408 50 40 21
49 408 537 18 12
hfrey@frey-siebdruck.de
Ricardo Rodriguez Delgado – Past President 34 914 85 28 70
34 916 71 02 73
rrd@panorama-sa.com
Michel Caza
33 1 34 67 16 79
33 1 34 67 28 89
michelcaza@aol.com
Lascelle Barrow
44 207 537 42 00
44 207 531 12 77
las.barrow@amartin.co.uk
Gyorgy Kovacs
36 28 51 66 15
36 28 51 66 16
imago@vnet.hu
Anders Nilsson
46 493 130 40
46 493 121 20
info@gamlebyscreen.se
Enrico Steijn
enrico@imaba.nl
31 79 343 5353
31 79 343 5354
Kurt Sperisen – International Ambassador 41 44 910 5150
41 44 910 3866
kurt.sperisen@bluewin.ch
Nigel Steffens – General Secretary
44 1737 22 53 21
44 1737 24 07 70
info@fespa.com
Frazer Chesterman – Exhibition Director 44 1737 22 97 26
44 1737 24 07 70
frazer.chesterman@fespa.com
Val Hirst – FESPA Magazine Editor
44 1623 88 23 98
44 1159 81 81 99
val@valhirst.demon.co.uk
49 62 22 57 80
49 62 22 57 82 00
rudi.roeller@kiwo.de
ESMA board Rudi Röller – ESMA Chairman David Parker – Treasurer
44 12 35 77 11 11
44 12 35 77 11 96
dparker@autotype.com
Pedro Rodriguez – Deputy Chairman
34 944 02 27 47
34 944 71 11 82
rodriguezpj@sunchem.com
Sem Seaborne – HSEP Ctee. Chairman
44 12 35 77 11 11
44 12 35 77 11 96
sseaborne@autotype.com
Jon Bultemeyer – IA Ctee. Chairman
49 71 41 691 249
49 71 41 691 242
bu@marabu.de
Bryan Collings – General Secretary
44 12 27 28 25 73
44 12 27 28 25 74
bryan@brycol.demon.co.uk
Ralph Roschlau – Board Member
49 71 41 69 11 26
49 71 41 69 11 03
ros@marabu.de
Daniele de Rosa – EPP Ctee. Chairman
39 03 19 711
39 03 19 33 392
DDerosa@saatiprint.com
Cyril Bousquet – TDS Cttee Chairman
33 474 373 333
33 474 373 321
cyril.bousquet@tiflex.fr
chris.smith@fespa.com
FESPA secretariat Chris Smith – New Projects & Member Services Manager 44 1737 22 97 20
44 1737 24 07 70
Mandy Goldfinch – PA to Nigel Steffens
44 1737 22 97 23
44 1737 24 07 70
mandy.goldfinch@fespa.com
Michael Ryan – Sales Manager
44 1737 22 97 27
44 1737 24 07 70
michael.ryan@fespa.com
James Ford – Sales Manager
44 1737 24 07 88
44 1737 24 07 70
james.ford@fespa.com
Karen Pooley – Group Marketing Manager 44 1737 22 97 25
44 1737 24 07 70
karen.pooley@fespa.com
Samantha Yardley – Operations Manager
44 1737 24 07 70
samantha.yardley@fespa.com
44 1737 22 83 50
44 1737 24 07 70
lorraine.harrow@fespa.com
Ruth Fahie – Sales and Marketing Assistant 44 1737 22 83 53
44 1737 24 07 70
ruth.fahie@fespa.com
Sarah Willcox – Accounts Manager
44 1737 24 07 70
sarah.willcox@fespa.com
44 1737 22 83 52
Lorraine Harrow – Sales and Marketing Assistant
44 1737 22 97 24
Secretaries of FESPA national associations
Telephone
Fax
E-mail / Website
Christian Handler
Austria
43 15 12 66 09
43 15 13 28 26 19
verb.druck.u.medientechnik@aon.at
Ilze Eisaka
Baltic States
371 9277364
371 9271620
ilze.eisaka@eisako.com
Isabelle Lefebvre
Belgium
32 25 12 36 38
32 25 13 56 76
isabelle.lefebvre@febelgra.be / www.febelgra.be
Eugeny Ivanov
Bulgaria
35 96 082 39 48
35 96 082 39 48
ett@popovo.net
Mirjana Bjelan
Croatia
38 51 45 52 327
38 51 45 52 327
mirjana.bjelan@zg.htnet.hr
Vladimir Havel
Czech Republic
420 487 71 27 12
420 487 72 63 55
vladimir.havel@sca.com
Finn Obbekaer
Denmark
45 63 12 70 00
45 63 12 70 80
fo@ga.dk / www.ga.dk
Regina Aas
Finland
35 89 71 72 99
35 89 73 84 52
regina.as@kolumbus.fi / www.seripainoliitto.fi
Arnaud Couvreur
France
33 1 53 89 25 31
33 1 53 89 25 26
gpsfr@noos.fr / www.gpsfr.org
Torben Thorn
Germany
49 611 80 31 15
49 611 80 31 17
tt@bvdm-online.de / www.bvdm-online.de
www.druckundmedientechnik.or.at
www.sitotisk-serigrafie.cz
56 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
INFORMATION
Kimon Papas
Greece
30 210 52 39 41 6
30 210 52 48 23 7
papath@ath.forthnet.gr
Janos Buranyi
Hungary
36 28 51 66 15
36 28 51 66 16
mszsz@vnet.hu
Bhargav Mistry
India
91 250 248 0998
91 250 248 0786
bhargav@graficaindia.com / www.s-p-a-i.org
Giuseppe Scozzi
Italy
39 06 44 18 82 71
39 06 44 24 95 15
siaf@cna.it / www.cna.it
Marius Gort
Netherlands
31 20 5 43 55 56
31 20 5 43 55 35
zso@kvgo.nl / www.zso.nl
Jon Halvorsen
Norway
47 33 07 15 30
47 33 07 15 31
jeh@ahml.no / www.serigrafer.org
Robert Kochaniak
Poland
48 12 296 03 85
48 12 656 01 32
biuro@ssp.com.pl / www.ssp.com.pl geral@apigraf.pt / www.apigraf.pt
José Carragosela
Portugal
35 12 18 49 10 20
35 12 18 43 87 39
Marius Codirla
Romania
40 722 28 21 22
40 264 59 71 39
viking@mail.dntcj.ro / www.arsitd.homestead.com
Artem Nadirashvili
Russia
7 09 53 65 38 96
7 09 52 32 18 66
info@midiprint.com / www.rspa.ru
Dusan Golubovic
Serbia and Montenegro 38 11 63 21 23 49
38 11 13 61 50 23
tehnologika@beotel.yu
Ludovit Bartos
Slovakia
42 132 74 30 434
bartos@bartos.sk / www.sietotlacovyzvaz.sk
Edo Sternad
Slovenia
386 1 565 72 50
386 1 568 45 78
edo@ib-procadd
Pablo Serrano
Spain
34 91 307 74 44
34 91 307 76 08
pserrano@aspack.es / www.asibnet.org
Else-Britt Lindeborg
Sweden
46 87 62 68 17
46 86 11 08 28
else-britt.lindeborg@grafiska.se
Hans Peter Weiss
Switzerland
41 18 37 10 40
41 18 37 10 42
hp.weiss@wemedia.ch / www.vss-apss.ch
Ibrahim Demirseren
Turkey
90 212 212 41 16
90 212 212 41 07
ared@ared.org.tr / www.ared.org.tr
Michael Turner
United Kingdom
44 1737 24 07 92
44 1737 24 07 70
info@spauk.co.uk / www.spauk.co.uk
SGIA
1 70 33 8513 35
1 70 32 73 04 56
miker@sgia.org
42 1 32 74 43 589
www.screentryck.org
Other associations Mike Robertson
List of advertisers Aeroterm as Afford Industrial SA BASF Be Digital FESPA World Expo India FESPA Digital Printing Europe Fimor Gunig J-teck3 srl Lechler Marabuwerke GmbH & Co.KG RKS Siebdrucktechnik GmbH Saatiprint Saatichem Scitex Vision Sefar AG Spühl AG B & C The Cotton Group Thieme GmbH & Co.KG VFP Vutek
31 51 49 15 & 17 27 29 47 51 23 43 inside front cover 53 13 inside back cover 41 21 47 37 9 7 outside back cover
Magazine coupon for ordering Fespa World All members of FESPA receive this magazine every three months free. If you are not a FESPA member and wish to order a copy, the annual subscription for four copies, including postage, is €63.00. Please complete the following order form to ensure your copy for the future. The magazine is published in English with selected summaries in German, French and Spanish. Full translations are available on www.fespaworld.com to members and subscribers. I enclose my cheque for €63.00 payable to FESPA for issues 42, 43, 44 and 45. Future issues Issue 42 November 2005, Issue 43 March 2006, Issue 44 June 2006, Issue 45 September 2006 (Block capitals please)
Name Company Address
Tel: Fax: Photocopy this sheet and send by post or Fax to: M. Goldfinch, FESPA, 7a West Street, Reigate, Surrey RH2 9BL, UK, Tel: +44 1737 240788 Fax: +44 1737 240770
FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05 57
AND FINALLY…
‘GRAZIE MILLE ALBERTO NOVARESE AND ‘THANKS A LOT MARK GODDEN ! Michel Caza exercises his right of reply If you are expecting this column to focus on the FESPA exhibition, you are going to be rather disappointed. The show was, of course, a great success, outperforming even our high expectations, I did everything I could to support it. But I must confess that whilst in Munich, my days were so busy and occupied with FESPA business, that I didn’t get to see all of the wonders it had to offer, although you will find a comprehensive show review elsewhere in this magazine. So, here I want to focus on two items which appeared in the last issue of Fespa World, namely, the "Face2Face" article with Alberto Novarese, the CEO of Saati and Mark Godden’s demytholisation of the digital printer market in "And Finally ". With regard to the former, I read the Alberto Novarese interview with great pleasure, not least because I share the views espoused therein. In fact, Alberto’s vision regarding the future of screenprinting is the one that I have been advocating for years! I wholeheartedly agree with his statement that effective staff training is vital if screenprinting is to remain a viable and evolving technology. Customers have increasingly high expectations and the ability to offer a high level of service and quality is crucial to a company’s overall success. Alberto also makes the valid point, that the current popularity of digital printing methods begins to pale when one moves away from the sign and display graphics sector and into the industrial and textile spheres, where screenprinting 58 FESPA WORLD AUTUMN/05
still remains the superior process. It is true, that when one visits the exhibitions, one sees a lot of digital equipment, but this because the shows tend to focus on the "visual communication" aspect of printing, rather than the industrial and textile aspect, although this trend was reversed, to some extent, at FESPA this year. Alberto’s plan to standardise screenprinting technology is also a sound one, although, personally, I feel that it should not go too far, as complete standardisation, whilst ensuring an averagely good and consistent result, precludes the creation of something which is truly sensational. This is what happened to offset printing- there are many offset printers who can provide perfectly acceptable work, but there is less chance of finding a printer who can produce work to the same remarkable standard as that master of the offset process, Draeger, or those who followed him. I also like the idea of screenprinters occupying specialist niche markets and, for many companies this is definitely the way ahead. On the other hand, many suppliers are too preoccupied with their own product niche, to the detriment of applications in different industries. It is up to us screenprinters to explain to manufacturers what we need from them, rather than for them to dictate what is good for us! They should also remember that all components have to work together – after all, what is the point of using a good fabric with a bad emulsion, mediocre ink and an unreliable press? So when Alberto advocates more collaboration amongst
the various manufacturers of screen equipment, materials and ancillary products I salute him! Grazie mille, Alberto, you are right! The future of the screen process depends on the co-operation of all the industry suppliers – without it screenprinters simply won’t be able to give of their best. And so we come to "And Finally" and once again I applaud Mark Godden for highlighting the phenomenon of ‘Specmanship’. And I was particularly delighted that a big specialist from the digital world had bravely decided to confirm in print something which I had long suspected, i.e. that the manufacturers of digital equipment embroider the truth as far as the speed of their machines is concerned! Of course when I have questioned this before, I have been accused of simply defending my supposed preference for the screen process, despite the fact that I was one of the initiators of digital flat bed UV technology in 1997-98! I have often said that to claim to print 400 m2 / hour is terribly misleading if you don’t also reveal that this is in 72 dpi! If you want to print any reasonable quality graphic, designed to be viewed at close quarters, you will not be doing it in 72dpi - you will most likely be printing in 720dpi and you certainly won’t be achieving speeds of 40 m2 / hour or anything like it! So although the printer may be able to reach such a speed, it is of academic interest to the average customer. In fact, it would be interesting to know how many digital entrepreneurs have failed because their businesses have been based on such unrealistic
promises. It seems to me that too many manufacturers have failed to explain either the intricacies of colour management or the need for expert and well-targeted sales and marketing. After all, it is one matter to find 20 customers requiring 1.000 copies and quite another to find 1.000 customers requiring 20 copies! Mark also made the point that printer manufacturers ensure that customers feel obliged to purchase abominably expensive ink own brand inks by muttering darkly about compromised results if alternative products are used. "If you don’t buy our ink we won’t guarantee your result", they threaten and of course, he is right, they do precisely that! But things are slowly changing for the better. At Fespa2005, it was evident that printer manufacturers were becoming more circumspect. Yes, they still regard speed as a major advantage, but on the whole, justified this with clarification as to resolution. And purchasers too, many of whom are indeed, "once bitten twice shy" were less gullible and determined not to buy another "pig in a poke!". But I appreciate what Mark wrote and salute his candour. And best of all, I am thrilled that at last, I am not the only one who is out there saying what must be said and generally making waves!
Have you got something you want to say about any of the articles that appear in Fespa World? If so address your comments to Val Hirst at val.hirst@fespa.co.uk