Graphic Arts Magazine - APRIL 2020

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GRAPHIC ARTS Your perfect connection to the printing, graphic arts, sign and packaging industries

April 2020 | Volume 23 | No. 3 | $7.95

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MAGAZINE

Contents GRAPHIC ARTS April 2020 | Volume 23 | No. 3

Your perfect connection to the printing, graphic arts, sign and packaging industries

April 2020 | Volume 23 | No. 3 | $7.95

9 Organizational Biomimicry What nature teaches us about leading successful print organizations Diana Varma

12 Big Iron: 2020 offset press update Highlights from industry-leading OEM's John Zarwan

20 Government Assistance Funding up to $250,000 for building new upgrades and equipment purchases Bonny Koabel

2020 OFFSET PRESS UPDATE

Big Iron: 2020 offset press update

12

ORGANIZATIONAL BIOMIMICRY

22 Typesetting & Typography Lessons, Rules and Exceptions Olivia Parker

24 One doesn't dabble in packaging Interview with Industry Titan, James D. Downhawn Caterina Valentino

34 Feed your press a healthy diet of ROI Analyze who your services can feed, and build a valuable menu of products Joanne Gore

9

Organizational biomimicry

22

Typesetting & typography: lessons, rules and the exceptions

How to feed your press a healthy diet of ROI

For the

In every issue 8 18,19 27 30 32 33

Installations Print industry news Creative & design New products List of advertisers Classified

34

of print.

View from the publisher

We are indeed living in strange times Who would ever have thought that we’d be living in the midst of a global Coronavirus pandemic? Who would have thought that so many businesses and educational institutions would be forced to close, or that annual events we’re so used to attending would be cancelled – including drupa, the world’s largest printing industry tradeshow. For me, as a proud Irish Canadian, the cancellation of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and celebrations really hit home.

November of 2002 and July of 2003, an outbreak of SARS in southern China caused an eventual 8,098 cases, resulting in 774 deaths reported in 17 countries, with a 9.6% fatality rate. So what we’re fighting now, though referred to as a “novel” virus, is not really that new. These next several months will be a test of our empathy and our humanity, as we must place emphasis on protecting others, by acting responsibly ourselves.

Folks, this is the new normal until we’ve conquered this insidious virus. We must wash our hands every chance we get, keep our distance from each other and “self-isolate.” At press time, health officials also revealed that younger people were also at risk – not just older people with pre-existing medical conditions. So my advice would be to simply keep running your business as best you can, while also ensuring that your employees and family are safe. To cope, many are working remotely from their homes via the Internet, which is an excellent idea.

Finally, Claire Curcio, the mother of our editor Tony Curcio, lost a 3-year battle with Parkinson’s Lewy Body Dementia and passed away March 13 at the age of 99 in Toronto. Tony was with her until the end. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to him and to his family.

As always, stay positive and stay focused – especially during these very difficult times.

Joe Mulcahy Publisher, Graphic Arts Magazine joe@graphicartsmag.com

My firm belief is that we’ll get through this, just like we survived the swine flu in 2009 and SARS. If you’ll recall, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) was a viral respiratory disease caused by the SARS Coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Between

10,671 industry professionals are using Graphic Arts Magazine as their perfect online connection to the printing, graphic arts, sign, and packaging industries of Canada.

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Account Managers

Maureen O’Sullivan Sandy Lee Tim Mulcahy

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Digital Marketing Manager

Art Director

Mark Garrett

Edward Gorodkine

Specialties Graphic Finishers

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE would like to thank our contributing writers: Bonny Koabel • Caterina Valentino Diana Varma • Joanne Gore • John Zarwan Olivia Parker • Tony Curcio 2020 EDITORIAL BOARD Evan Cambray, Fastsigns of Markham and Richmond Hill Ray Fagan, Heidelberg Danny Ionescu, HP Steve Klaric, KBR Marg Macleod, Association Manager DIA Scott Morgan, Master of Digital Media Paul Tasker, Spicers Marc Raad, Significans Automation Serge Trajkovich, RRGR Inc. Gillian Mothersill, Ryerson University GCM

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George Dedopoulos We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

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Tony's Corner

F

Industry recruitment efforts front and centre once again Industry recruitment efforts will always be important. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryerson University’s annual Graphic Communications Management (GCM) Job Fair in Toronto March 26 was postponed, and organizers will “move to a contingency plan.” We’ll keep you informed via our website. I’ve been to these events before, and the halls are always packed with dozens of industry employers interviewing enthusiastic GCM students seeking summer internships or full-time career positions. We’ll see how the current pandemic affects that situation. GCM students and graduates are well prepared to offer a diverse range of skills that provide exceptional value to our industry employers.

Early in March I ran a news item on our website about Canadian Print Scholarships calling for more donations amid a huge rise in first-year student applications at Ryerson. Since becoming a pilot program scholarship partner, GCM has ramped up its promotional efforts in partnership with the Canadian Print Scholarships. “We’ve increased applications by 43% overall,” said Jason Lisi, Chair of Ryerson’s GCM. “We also have a 65% increase in the high-performing applicants’ scholarship targets.”

incentive to attract the brightest and best students to our industry. Last September, Canadian Print Scholarships awarded 68 new and returning students at five schools across Canada, with scholarships for the 2019 / 2020 academic year, valued at $1,500 each. This was the most the organization has awarded in a single year. In total, Canadian Print Scholarships has approved programs in nine schools across Canada – from Halifax to Vancouver as well as at Ryerson. So regardless of where your business is located, your donation will help eager students across the country to become part of our amazing industry.

“We rely on the print community to support our scholarships and hope that more companies and organizations will see the positive results we can achieve together,” added Ken Freek, Executive Director of Canadian Print Scholarships. Donations can be made online at www.printscholarships.ca – and the organization can provide you with a receipt if needed.

Until next time, always remember that we’re here to help.

According to Jeff Ekstein, Chair of Canadian Print Scholarships, this is evidence that its scholarships are indeed a huge

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Tony Curcio Editor, Graphic Arts Magazine tony@graphicartsmag.com

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Installations

Forward Signs installs Agfa Jeti Mira LED from Agfa Graphics Canada Forward Signs, a full-service sign solutions provider with clients across Canada and the U.S., has purchased an Agfa Jeti Mira 2732 wide-format flatbed printer from Agfa Graphics Canada. Starting as a signage company in 1986 serving small businesses in Toronto, Forward Signs now has a team of 100 employees and operates from a 50,000 sq. ft. facility in Scarborough, ON. Serving businesses, industries and government – including retail, healthcare, education, real estate and transit – the company specializes in way-finding and digital signs, metal cladding, on-site installations, in-house design and much more.

3D varnish or primer. It features LED curing lamps, advanced 3D Lens Technology and a roll-to-roll option. Seven-picolitre ink droplets produce detailed images and razor-sharp text – even down to 4-point type, positive and reverse. The Jeti Mira’s Print & Prepare mode enables loading on one side of the table while the other side is printing. The flatbed also offers major advantages in terms of performance, ROI, costs, maintenance and the environment.

“We’re currently expanding our way-finding business for the government, hospital, commercial and infrastructure sectors,” said founder and President Simon Ho. “Our new Jeti Mira will make us much more cost-competitive and bring added efficiencies to our production floor. It will help us to meet ongoing unique customer demands – especially from our architectural, contractor and designer clients. The 2732 will also improve our existing fabrication process, as it can print with high quality directly onto fabrics, glass, acrylic, wood and more.”

The Jeti Mira is a moving-gantry flatbed printer that can print on X and Y axes with precision, while producing quality prints up to 2.69 metres wide in six colours and white, with optional

From left are Forward Signs’ HongYan Jia (Technician), Simon Ho (President) and Chun Liu (Plastic Department Head) beside the Agfa Jeti Mira 2732.

Surrey Digital first in B.C. to install Konica Minolta AccurioWide 200 Surrey Digital Printing in Surrey, BC has become the first printer in the province to acquire the AccurioWide 200 wideformat printer from Konica Minolta Canada. Its unique capabilities have allowed the company, established in 2006, to substantially expand its products and services. “We wanted to bring large-format projects in-house and went with Konica Minolta due to the exceptional quality of service and support we were already receiving with our three small-format Konica Minolta printers,” said VP Jared Cotterill. “Our AccurioWide 200 has been exceptional so far, allowing us to print highquality projects on almost every substrate possible – including foamcore, aluminum, wood, and glass.”

Since the installation, the company has also grown its client base and expects to double its wide-format revenue in 2020.

“We’re so excited that Surrey Digital has expanded their Konica Minolta portfolio to become the first in B.C. to install the AccurioWide 200,” said Mike Wildbore, Director of Business Development, Wide Format Printing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. “They've already put out some fantastic wide-format work with the new technology, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.”

Konica Minolta’s AccurioWide 200 is equipped with UV LED lamps that enable it to print on a wider range of substrates,

8 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

up to two metres wide. The printer is equipped with Konica Minolta 1024i print heads and UV ink technology that incorporates more colour pigment per droplet, enabling “stunning image quality up to 1,440 dpi, while reducing ink consumption per square foot compared to other printers currently on the market,” said the OEM.

From left are Surrey Digital Printing’s Jared Cotterill, Janice Goldring, Jason Sham and Victor Torres, with Surinder Dhiman of Konica Minolta Canada, in front of the new Konica Minolta AccurioWide 200 wide-format printer.

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Feature

Organizational Biomimicry Our world is nothing short of miraculous. All lifeforms on Earth are individually spectacular in form and function, and they’re also collectively brilliant. Earth’s ecosystems use sustainable models of life, death, and rebirth to maintain a delicate balance.

Janine Benyus coined the term “biomimicry” nearly 25 years ago and it refers to innovation inspired by nature. Biomimicry is a practice that turns to nature to help solve human problems. In doing so, biomimicry helps us evaluate and adapt solutions for the bigger picture, taking into consideration the entire ecosystem and long-term sustainability of the solution. Benyus believes that biologists should be sitting at the design table more often. She argues that too many designers are looking to other human-developed solutions when sourcing inspiration for their own new ideas, whereas looking to nature may provide better, longer-term, more sustainable solutions.

Paper, as we know it today

Remixing Mother Nature

There is an excellent example of biomimicry right under our noses and it’s central to the printing industry: paper. Although paper was invented nearly 2,000 years ago, its ancestral form only vaguely resembles our commercialized paper of today. Paper was made using fibres from cotton and linen rags up until only a few hundred years ago. A more cost-effective and more easily sourced raw material was necessary for mass paper production and it was wasps that provided the inspiration. In the early 1700’s, French scientist, Rene Reaumur, observed that wasps chew up wood pulp to make their paper nests. Preliminary trials using wood pulp were not hugely successful and it wasn’t until the mid-to-late 1800’s that wood pulp was used as the primary raw material in paper making, but once there was a winning paper slurry formula, it took off. So paper, as we know it today, is thanks to wasps.

Few ideas in the world are truly original.

The creators of products and services can’t help but be influenced by people, places, and the physical spaces around them. The concept of ‘remixing’ is nothing new, but with our ever-global existence and unparalleled access to the world’s ideas, remixing has become an important part of how new ideas are formed.

‘Remix culture’ refers to the encouragement of modifying, adding to, and otherwise editing existing ideas to create new work. Remixing is not the same as copying outright or plagiarizing; instead it’s using the original as a starting point with the acknowledgement that all things come from something else.

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Even powerful innovators like Elon Musk believe strongly in this idea. On June 12, 2014, Musk released a statement declaring that all of Tesla’s patents would now be available to the public in

the hope of accelerating the advancement of sustainable transportation: “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” In other words, he wants you to remix his company’s ideas to help solve the climate crisis.

Scouring the internet or attending a conference to see what’s happening in our industry is one way to build on and remix good ideas, but those who study within the field of biomimicry believe that there is a virtually untapped resource of great ideas just waiting to be remixed.

Look up from your computers, take a walk outside, and look to nature for your next big idea! Mother Nature has come up with an endless supply of good ideas for us to remix, without concern of copyright infringement lawsuits.

Mother Nature consists of the entirety of life on Earth and how each organism connects with the rest of the system to create sustainable, long term solutions.

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 9

Feature This is often where human solutions are lacking; we opt for short term solutions to satisfy our desires for short term profits or similar metrics.

2. P rocess - how specific groups of animals or insects communicate and work together to achieve more than possible individually.

3. Ecosystem - a cradle-to-cradle system with no by-products, or by-products that can be upcycled into something else.

FORM

Examples from the forest There are three ways in which our human world can mimic successes found in the natural world.

1. Form - mimicking the shapes and structures found in nature.

10 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

Bees are amazing. These little buzzing friends seem to hold magical innate wisdom about everything from how to discover the specialized talents of individuals, to distributing authority, to design. In his book The Wisdom of Bees, author Michael O’Malley reveals how much can be learned about running happy, productive workplaces by observing bee colonies and their hexagonal honeycomb design. A mathematician at the University of Michigan showed that hexagons are the best shape to divide a surface because they maximize storage, minimize material usage, and they’re incredibly sturdy. In fact, 1 lb of beeswax can support 20 lbs of honey! Another important feature of the honeycomb shape is that it’s beautiful. So although it’s believed that form has to follow function, bees teach us that we can have it all. (I can’t wait for future office designs to feature ‘hexicles’ in place of ‘cubicles’!)

PROCESS Dr. Tamsin Woolley-Barker is an author and evolutionary biologist who explains that we can learn a lot about optimal organizational structures from our Earth’s history. She argues that as organizations grow larger and they need ‘huge bones’ to support the weight of their structures. These huge skeletons add weight to the company, adding cost and slowing down adaptation to change.

“Hierarchies can only scale so much — we can’t grow bigger bones forever.”

Woolley-Barker explains that hard working creatures like ants and termites existed during the reign of the dinosaurs and are still thriving today. She calls these creatures ‘superorganisms’ or

species that employ specialized divisions of labour as a group to survive. She states that these types of organisms are made up of distinct individuals who all work together to accomplish a similar

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Feature task as a larger organism, but with much less processing power. Collective intelligence and collaborative innovation is what powers these superorganisms to outlast the huge ‘untouchable’ dinosaurs (and maybe even humans). Although hierarchies in life and in organizations have their place, observing superorganisms in the natural world is an amazing opportunity to rethink the ‘necessary’ structures of our organizations.

ECOSYSTEM Innovation through biomimicry can happen in just about any company in any industry. Take, for example, Interface, who manufactures commercial flooring.

They, along with Biomimicry 3.8, have developed a methodology called ‘Factory as a Forest’ (FaaF). They are using nature as their ultimate benchmark to know when they’ve achieved ultimate sustainability. The idea is to take biomimicry to the next level, beyond just product design, to discover ways to emulate nature’s sustainable and productive ecosystem. This decision is based on the concept of becoming a ‘positive’ business, which aims to achieve better than carbon neutrality, with the aim to not just neutralize the climate crisis, but to aid in solving it.

lens: scoping (define context, identify function and integrate Life’s Principles), discovering (discover natural models, abstract biological strategies), creating (brainstorm bio-inspired ideas, emulate design principles) and evaluating (measure using Life’s Principles). The ultimate goal is that this framework will help organizations take inspiration from the natural world in order to innovate human forms, processes, and whole ecosystems in sustainable ways.

Turning to nature for your next big idea Go ahead and copy, borrow, or outright steal one of Mother Nature’s ideas and apply it to your organization. Ask not “how might we…?” but rather, “how would nature…?” No one can argue that 3.8 billion years of research and

development isn’t long enough. Let’s look to the past and tap into the natural resources all around us to solve the problems of today and future-proof solutions for tomorrow.

To learn more about biomimicry thinking, check out the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus.

To learn more about the Biomimcry DesignLens, check out www.biomimicry. net. To learn about specific ways nature has solved a variety of problems, check out www.asknature.org.

Diana Varma is an Instructor at the School of Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson University and the Owner of ON-SITE First Aid & CPR Training Group, a health & safety company that provides training to the Graphic Arts Industry.

Biomimicry thinking framework So how can you begin to think about designing the next product, service or entire company with the power of biomimicry? Enter the Biomimicry DesignLens. The entire framework is underpinned by “Life’s Principles.”

These are a set of tried-and-true lessons that have proved sustainable throughout the history of planet Earth. They include adapting to changing conditions, being locally attuned and responsive, using life-friendly chemistry, being resource efficient (material and energy), integrating development with growth, and evolving to survive. These are the design lessons that the Biomimicry DesignLens leans on to measure the alignment of human and natural design.

In the DesignLens itself, there are four overarching phases (and specific steps within each phase) to thinking about a design problem using a biomimicry

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GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 11

Standar

Cover Story

Big Iron: offset press update With the focus on digital printing, it seems as if nothing is happening with traditional sheetfed offset presses.

Clearly digital printing technology is making great advancements in format, quality, speed and cost. The ability to do variable imaging is clearly digital’s unique value proposition. Beyond that, digital has almost completely replaced investment in 2-page presses; the halfsize market, moribund for years, is even more challenged with by the success of B2 digital presses. Yet offset remains the dominant printing technology.

According to research by Smithers (The Future of Digital versus Offset Printing to 2024), offset makes up more than two-thirds of all global print volume (including packaging), with digital not expected to reach even 10% until at least 2024. Despite the advantages of digital in a market with ever-decreasing run lengths and shortened turnaround cycles, offset has managed to continue to compete. In the immortal words of Monty Python, “I’m not dead yet.”

It’s not just print volumes that have held up, but printers continue to buy new presses. “All sectors of the Canadian market are quite healthy,” says Aleks Lajtman, Regional Sales Manager for Koenig & Bauer. While packaging shows the most strength and continues to grow, offset is still competitive in the commercial segment. Sean Springett, Chief Executive Officer at manroland

Sheetfed USA & Canada, notes that despite the challenges, there hasn’t been “as big a reduction in market demand as what might have been thought three to five years ago. There has been some transition and attrition of work to digital, but not as much as a lot of exper ts had thought there would be.” Ray Fagan, Sales Support Specialistat Heidelberg Canada agrees.

“Our order intake for the last two years and [current] backlog is better than it’s been since the early 2000s.”

While the purchase of a new press is still often driven by the need to expand capacity or to obtain a capability to meet a specif ic customer need or market requirement, increasingly the newly acquired press replaces multiple older presses as printers consolidate equipment and press crews. Almost all presses sold today are 40” or larger.

The format and productivity of sheetfed offset is hard to match. Packaging still can have million-sheet runs. While run lengths have decreased in commercial, it’s still difficult for digital to compete at even modest volumes. And anything that requires or benefits from a larger format than B2 requires a traditional press.

Perhaps the main driver of the continued need for offset presses is the ongoing improvements in technology, to the point where offset can be competitive with digital at 500 to 1,000 sheets.

One way presses have done this is through reducing the cost of production, particularly consumables. New presses optimize ink, have minimal paper waste, and require less solvent, for example.

But perhaps the press development with the greatest impact has been increases in automation and efficiency that keeps reducing the run length threshold.

Presses are increasingly controlled by computers and software rather than the operator. “It’s the natural evolution of technology,” says Doug Schardt, Komori’s Director of Product Management. "The faster we get on presses, the more we have to take out human element. It’s not just because the press is going fast, but because it’s hard to find good people.

It’s not just beneficial, but also necessary.”

Increasing press productivity and efficiency means greater capacity. As a result, printers are consolidating their work to fewer presses. “You can cut costs just by doing that,” says Schardt.

Because automation makes the new presses so efficient, offset can be priced advantageously compared to digital. For a shop with older presses or issues with floor space, volume, or labour, digital’s cost might make sense. “But in head-tohead competition, it’s really hard to make the numbers work for digital.”

HEIDELBERG Heidelberg remains the largest press vendor with the most comprehensive sheetfed offset press portfolio. The venerable Speedmaster line meets the needs of most printers with sizes from 52 cm to 162 cm and features ranging

Heidelberg Speedmaster 106XL

12 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

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Cover Story from basic SX and CX presses through Peak Performance. Heidelberg has long focused on improving the productivity of their presses. And while most of the focus has been on the larger presses such as the Speedmaster 106XL and Speedmaster 162XL, they have not neglected smaller formats. The Speedmaster XL 75, XL 75 Anicolor and CX 75 have been redesigned to offer even greater use of comfort and efficiency in handling. The Speedmaster XL 106 was the inspiration for the improvements brought to the new machines. These include a new gallery concept as well as the feeder and delivery gantries.

While most of the major press vendors have enthusiastically embraced automation, Heidelberg’s “Push to Stop” concept has perhaps the greatest visibility. By increasing automation features such as auto plate loading, inline colour management, automated measurement and register, and the new Quality Assist software, jobs can be autonomously produced with virtually no operator touch points.

Heidelberg realized that offset printing is experiencing a similar transformation to that of digital print. It has the same workflow; the only difference is the output of the plate. All the press information is part of the digital workflow. The press can do multiple makeready procedures inline, which is a digital workflow. Even the plates are hung completely automated with an operator. That’s the “push to stop.” Thanks to the technology on the press, the makeready times are cut in half, with the first measurable result in less than a minute and under 60 sheets.

To help drive demand for Heidelberg’s offering, Heidelberg has developed an innovative subscription program. The program has been well received and now represents 10% of their global order backlog. With this program, Heidelberg supplies the press, consumables, service,

advanced training and consulting, focusing on maximum productivity over the fiveyear life of the subscription. Heidelberg still owns the press, and so it is a way for the customer to increase capacity and improve productivity without making a substantial capital investment. The business model is analogous to leasing a digital press, as the customer pays a cost per sheet, which drops with increasing volume.

The program is designed for higher volume printers. “It’s not a program for someone who can’t afford a press and needs to finance it,” says Heidelberg’s Fagan.

There are currently two customers in Canada, the Burke Group in Edmonton and Thistle Printing. Both machines are scheduled for 25 million to 35 million impressions per year.

Burke was attracted by the potential increases in efficiency and productivity the technology provides. “The subscription model fits into our strategy for the future, with which we want to increase our overall equipment effectiveness…and achieve our ambitious growth targets,” commented owner Ian Burke. “The contract includes consulting services that increase the effectiveness so that we are competitive in a fiercely contested market.” The subscription contract includes a new 8-colour XL 106 with perfecting, a Stahlfolder TH 82 folding machine, and a Polar N 137 cutting machine. This contract is the first time that the innovative LE UV drying technology has been used on the printing press. The benefits range from the increased productivity to the energy efficiency compared with conventional UV printing, the economy, the variety of applications, and the impressive colour effect. “This is precisely what we need to provide our demanding customers with the best products within the shortest time,” explains Burke. Using LE UV means that the sheets are dry when they reach the delivery, and can go

straight into post-press. There likely will be additional announcements in the future. All revolving around further enhancing the productivity and the ability of the presses to carry out more digital processes, more automatically.

KOENIG & BAUER Koenig & Bauer (formerly KBA) is the oldest offset press manufacturer. While it is perhaps best known for its strength in packaging, they have a strong presence in the commercial markets as well.

Koenig & Bauer is a very diverse company, manufacturing a variety of presses.

Within sheetfed, the Rapida line ranges from the half-size 75/76 cm through the workhorse 105/106 the very and super large format 145, 164, 185 and 205 cm presses.

Automation and productivity are the driving forces behind Koenig & Bauer presses. They offer a variety of standard equipment, including their auto run system that allows for complete autonomous printing. They have the only sheetfed press that can wash up a press unit while simultaneously printing 20,000 sheets per hour. The DriveTronic SIS feeding system guarantees perfect registration, something required for high-speed printing and unique at that speed. The Rapida presses also offer simultaneous plate changing, which can change all plates in 37 seconds. Inline colour control scans every sheet for precise colour management.

“We evaluated a wide array of press manufacturers but in the end it was an easy decision to choose Koenig & Bauer,” says Stewart Emerson, President and CEO of SupremeX Inc., located in Montreal and Laval. “Koenig & Bauer is an established leader and is celebrating its third century in business. We are confident that the addition of the Rapida

Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106

14 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

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Cover Story

Komori Lithrone G40

to our current installed base of Koenig & Bauer presses will further enhance our capabilities, quality, competitiveness, and add much needed capacity. Simply put, we believe that this press is exactly what we needed and is the best of the best,” Emerson added.

that “Support from both Toronto and Dallas has been excellent. The sales and service team are knowledgeable and responsive. It has truly helped to support our continuing growth.”

With a strong presence in a variety of markets and applications, from commercial to labels and packaging, Koenig & Bauer also offers a variety of options that allows the presses to be configured to meet specific customer needs, and customers are certainly taking advantage of that flexibility. Aleks Lajtman, Regional Sales Manager at Koenig & Bauer Canada, says: “We are definitely noticing special configurations. No one’s buying a 5-colour or 6-colour coater. We’re installing double coaters, printing inline between coaters, cold foil, LED, UV, coat before print. This seems to be the focus; printers differentiate themselves in their offering.

Every quote is a special configuration.

Koenig & Bauer is traditionally a custom press manufacturer. So we have great success and expertise in that.”

Japanese manufacturer Komori, sold through Komcan Incorporated (Georgetown, ON), concentrates primarily on 40” presses but also offers 37” and 29.”

Their Lithrone line prints at 15,000 to 18,000 sheets per hour and has all the automation features one might expect, including automatic plate change, non-stop delivery, full-sheet inspection and colour and register control. Today’s presses can be on “auto pilot” for a series of jobs.

The same can be said of its finishing capabilities, with inline rotary die cutting, embossing, cold foil, gloss or matte effects, multiple coating applications and varnish. Koenig & Bauer also has a number of different service offerings, including 24/7 remote service. They are also starting to offer proactive service, monitoring more than 25 touch points on the press to initiate service in order to eliminate downtimes. Sarah Skinner, President of Ingersoll Paper Box notes

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KOMORI

Toronto’s Lowe-Martin has been running a Komori GL640C since they first came available. Jim Theakston, Manager of Print/Digital Operations, says “The levels of automation and reliability are what led us to buying our second GL640C. Couple that with the service and responsiveness of Komcan Inc. and Komori and to this day we are still very pleased with our decision and know we made the right choice—in fact, we just purchased a new Komori Impremia IS29 as well.”

Graf-Pak, a packaging printer out of the Montreal area also recently purchased a new Komori GL640C. “Our new Komori has actually surpassed our expectations.

What a joy to work with! It has increased productivity to a point that we can now fully justify the investment we recently made in more production equipment

downstream in order to keep up with the increased demand.

“Business is good!” enthuses GrafPak’s President, Gerry Djerrahian.

“Even those jobs or plants that might want to look at a sheet to make sure it’s right or that require a customer OK can still benefit from automation,” says Doug Schardt, Director of Product Management at Komori America. “We use technology to get those first sheets as good as they can be.” For example, Komori’s camera inspection uses an “AI” (Advanced Integration) to handle all the choices an operator might do to makeready, such as setting ink keys or adjusting press speed. They are all automated, not just in preset but in the intelligent application of settings in response to shop conditions, stock, speed, coverage, etc. “It’s automatic and very accurate. We’re stable with ink and water balance in 20 sheets, and even to target density in that time as well. If we’re not, the software corrects for that, will tell the program where it missed and why, and make the appropriate adjustment,” notes Schardt. “It’s intelligent enough for different stocks.

So makereadies can be really tight… that’s the level we’re looking at on our presses. A lot of tiny things that add up…we can get to a level of output that couldn’t [previously] be considered.

We’re trying to get the knowledge out of the operator's head and into the press. Consistency has gone through the roof. That’s the path Komori is on.”

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 15

Cover Story Manroland R708 Evolution

MANROLAND SHEETFED Manroland Sheetfed is a leading German producer of sheetfed offset litho printing presses. Founded in 1871, the company is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the privately owned UK engineering group, Langley Holdings. The product line ranges from small-format all the way to as wide as the 1850 mm (64 page) Roland 900 XXL. Manroland’s mandate is to squeeze as much automation and throughput as possible with “one pass productivity” and its trademark “highest efficiency, highest quality” approach. “We were first to come up with Direct Drive technology, simultaneous make-ready, and the first to inline color control,” says manroland Sheetfed U.S. & Canada CEO Sean Springett.

That trend continues with the Evolution series presses. In recent years, Manroland Sheetfed has added new features to improve performance, drive productivity and help reduce operating costs. These include simultaneous plate loading, precision sheet guiding technology, printing speeds up to 18,200 sph, an upgraded Inline Inspector and InlineColorPilot that enhance quality control with a fully automatic system to ensure consistent colour, a sheet-numbering system that speeds up error detection, low energy UV drying technology that reduces energy costs, and an Indexed Inline Foiler that creates less waste, among other advancements. Springett indicates there will be more introduced in the future, in both printing process features and an entirely new press model introduction in large-format.

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Altona, MB-based Friesens recently installed an 8-colour Evolution R700 Perfecting Press. The press is equipped with SAPL, autonomous and simultaneous makeready feature; Friesens can now exchange plates in under one minute while simultaneously washing up the press. Byron Loeppky, Vice President and GM of Friesens, says, “What impressed us most was the [InlineColorPilot system’s] ability to calibrate the system, including print register, without needing to draw a sheet from the delivery.

This saves us time and keeps press stability intact, reducing the overall makeready waste and time.” Steve Voth, Pressroom Manager notes, “The addition of the optional LED UV upgrade allows for quicker job-turnaround, running more unique papers that dry slowly, and obtaining some of the requested effects you can achieve when running LED UV."

been excellent. It’s also much easier working with the same supplier and equipment. Whether the issues are hardware or software, problems are usually diagnosed immediately and fixed remotely. And if we do need on-site support, we can count on manroland reps to arrive within 24 hours.

RMGT (RYOBI) The OEM’s RMGT 9 Series press is still leading the way. RMGT was the first press manufacturer in the world to put LED-UV curing systems into commercial production for offset presses. A cleaner and environmentally friendly LED-UV system increases print quality since it instantly cures ink on the paper even at high speeds, producing sharper images with exceptional vibrancy. It also provides faster turnarounds due to the instant drying of the ink – there’s no wait time

In addition to improvements in the press, manroland has made a concerted effort to increase its partnership with their clients and become a larger part of their production efficiency, says CEO Springett.

“We’ve taken Autoprint even further and coupled with our exclusive TopAnalysis system, we can monitor production daily and report the findings over a 30 day period to discuss press performance and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).

The only way to do this is to partner with customers and ensure they receive the support they need.”

In addition to the increased flexibility and autonomy it provides in manroland Sheetfed products, Frank Giorgio of AIIM Printing in Aurora, ON also points to the ongoing support from manroland Canada. “The support from them has

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Cover Story

between running a second pass or moving a job to the bindery. Also, RMGT’s InstaColor technology covers all facets of the makeready process. Fast, precise plate changing with a choice of simultaneous, sequential and semi-automatic systems is available. In addition to LED UV instant curing, 2-colour to 10-colour configurations are possible, as are convertible perfecting and automation packages.

The 9 Series features maximum print speeds of 16,200 sph, varnish coating, offset quality with short-run quantities, and a maximum sheet size of 24” x 36.”

RMGT has found a niche with a press this size. For years, said the OEM, printers seeking growth beyond the half-size format press are investing in the 40-inch market. “Many budget-conscious printers today are choosing more profitable press formats, such as the 8-up RMGT

9 Series Press. As a result, RMGT has installed more than 50 LED UV presses in North America.”

The OEM cited several advantages of the RMGT 9 Series over other similar presses in the industry. These included a 33% lower investment, 34% savings on plate costs, a 35% smaller footprint, 70% less energy consumption, no spray powder needed and instant drying. “Offset printing is still the dominant print production method for commercial, packaging and advertising print,” Ryobi added. “RMGT's rapid technological advancements have had the largest positive impact on the industry. In the past decade, LED UV instant curing has made the most dramatic technological, financial and environmental impact on the offset print world – and RMGT has led that movement.”

In summary, my advice if you’re looking to make an offset equipment purchase, would be to be absolutely certain of the equipment’s ability to upgrade – including software, productivity, colours and stations, inline processing and automation.

John Zarwan is an independent consultant specializing in profit improvement, product and market strategy, acquisitions and equipment effectiveness, with extensive experience in both family and corporate businesses.

He can be reached via his website www.johnzarwan.com or (902) 892-7272.

RMGT 9 Series Press

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GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 17

Print Industry News

SinaLite celebrates 21 years in business Last month, Canadian trade-only printing leader SinaLite celebrated its 21st year with a special Open House celebration.

Operating from its head office and production facility in Markham, Ontario and led by President Mike Meshkati and VP Brian Meshkati, SinaLite has now partnered with over 10,000 businesses. In 1999, Mike and Brian’s parents, Oscar and Fara, launched their family-owned printing business with a small 1-colour offset press in a modest 1,200 sq. ft. shop. The couple printed flyers, NCR forms and other basic products. Soon they were able to purchase a 2-colour A.B. Dick, followed by a 4-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster – and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, SinaLite serves all of North America from its 100,000 sq. ft. facility and has invested over $20 million in state-of-the-art equipment and technology. It provides more than 1,000 profit-boosting product options to print brokers, print shops, graphic designers, ad agencies, sign shops and more. This year SinaLite plans to expand once again, launching a new apparel printing division, as well as improving its already successful roll-label printing capabilities.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti presents an award of recognition to Sinalite for its leadership, achievements and contributions to Markham’s growth and prosperity. From left are Sinalite President Mike Meshkati, founders Oscar and Fara Meshkati, Mayor Scarpitti, and SinaLite VP Brian Meshkati.

Canon unveils new cost-per-use program Offering its authorized channel partners a free, user-friendly service that delivers a Managed Print Service (MPS) solution for its large-format printers, Canon U.S.A. has officially launched its new eService cost-per-use program. The move means its channel partners can now remotely monitor their customers’ usage and service-related data from their imagePrograf, PRO Series, TX Series, TM Series and legacy printer s. The new eService software is now available to Canon imagePrograf authorized ser vice providers. With the new service, customers no longer have to Canon purchase a printer up ImagePrograf front, or manually order PRO 6000

18 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

supplies or services. Instead, by utilizing eService, clients can pay on a print-per-use basis. Plus, any consumables or services will be provided on an as-needed basis. Customers also receive fullterm service and support (including routine maintenance where available from a channel partner) so they no longer need to worry about checking if there’s enough ink or paper.

Printer breaks record with 20 million impressions ePac Flexible Packaging, a U.S.-based global digital flexible packaging leader with locations in Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom and the Asia Pacific region, has reached a new production record at the start of 2020 on its fleet of HP Indigo 20000 Digital Presses operating worldwide, driven primarily by a doubling of its customer base in the past year.

Now serving over 6,000 customers, production hit a new record in January of 20 million B1 impressions at 10 sites where ePac is currently operating. Compared to January of last year, volume has tripled. “Our customers have discovered the advantages of locally-sourced, fast-turnaround packaging as a means to drive market expansion of their brand. And a high percentage of orders today are from returning customers,” said Carl Joachim, ePac co-founder and CMO. By the end of 2020, ePac is set to roll out a total of 52 HP Indigo 20000 presses as it continues its global expansion to 20 locations. Founded in 2016 in Madison, WI, ePac recently ordered 24 HP Indigo 20000 presses (the largest packaging deal ever for HP) for its global expansion. The investment was valued Carl Joachim at over $100 million.

Agfa upgrades its Jeti Tauro H3300 LED Printer Agfa Graphics has upgraded its large-format hybrid flagship printer with more new features and user benefits. The 6-colour Jeti Tauro H3300 LED now also comes in a 4-colour version (CMYK), which reaches sellable production quality in a just 3 passes. Its Automatic Board Feeder (ABF) is ideal for shorter runs, and fast, smooth changeovers between different media sizes or types. The technology effectively takes over part of an operator’s tasks – including accurate alignment – which is particularly helpful for double-sided printing. In addition its existing master Roll-To-Roll (RTR) version for high-volume runs, the H3300 now also features an optional light RTR Unit that’s particularly suited for occasional, short, single roll-to-roll work. That being said, it can be quickly converted to sheet mode.

With these new additions, the H3300 LED now has six configurations with different levels of automation – including full automation, semi-automation, manual loading and unloading and roll-to-roll Agfa Jeti Tauro H3300 printing.

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Print Industry News

Canadian Print Scholarships calls for donations The School of Graphic Communications Management (GCM) at Toronto’s Ryerson University has experienced a significant increase in first-year applications for the upcoming academic year. “We have increased applications by 43% overall,” said Jason Lisi, Chair of Ryerson’s GCM. “Plus, we have a 65% increase in the high-performing applicants' scholarship targets.” According to Jeff Ekstein, Chair of Canadian Print Scholarships, “this is evidence that our scholarships really do work as an incentive to attract the brightest and best students to our industry.” Last September, Canadian Print Scholarships awarded 68 new and returning students at five schools across Canada with scholarships for the 2019/2020 academic year valued at $1,500 each. This was the most the organization has awarded in a single year. In total, the organization has approved programs in nine schools across Canada, from Halifax to Vancouver, as well as at Ryerson. So regardless of where your business is located, your donation will help eager students across the country become part of our great industry. Donations can be made online at www. printscholarships.ca and a Jeff Ekstein receipt can be provided.

CUPMAC seeks sponsorships for its summer conference The College & University Print Management Association of Canada (CUPMAC) is a post-secondary, in-plant professional print association that promotes innovation, leadership, camaraderie and excellence. It holds an annual conference in June every year. This year’s conference and mini-tradeshow will be held in Niagara Falls, ON June 21-24, hosted by Brock University, one of its 25 members. The annual event is an opportunity for print managers and staff from post-secondary institutions across Canada to gain and share knowledge through participation in workshops, meetings, informal networking, and with conference sponsors. The conference also provides professional development sessions and peer-to-peer seminars. CUPMAC is inviting you and your organization to participate as one of its sponsors. In fact, Konica Minolta Canada has already generously signed up as a Platinum Sponsor by donating $15,000. Other sponsorships available include Gold at $10,000 (one available), Silver at $7,500 (two available), Bronze at $5,000 (unlimited) and Tradeshow Participant (unlimited) for $1,500. Attendees include in-plant managers, purchasers and other key decision makers in printing operations at their respective companies. The event also attracts guests from CUPMAC’s sister associations in the U.S., the UK and Australia.

SGIA to hold first Colour Management Boot Camp in Canada The first-ever SGIA Colour Management Boot Camp, hosted

by Alder Color Solutions and sponsored by EFI, will take place May 12 – 14 at Spicers, 200 Galcat Drive, in Vaughan Ontario just north of Toronto. The three-day workshop is ideal for printers and designers who are ready to become skilled experts at colour accuracy and consistency – especially those who struggle with brand and spot-colour accuracy.

Some of our industry’s best – SGIA Certified Instructors Dan Gillespie (Director of Technical Services at Alder Technology) and Bill Owen (Alder Technology Colour, Workflow and G7 Expert) – will lead the daily sessions. Participants will learn the intricacies of colour theory and principles, goals of colour management, device calibration, colourmanagement procedures, the latest print standards, spot-colour management and verif ication, and much more. Plus, there’ll be hands-on media profiling with EFI’s Fiery XF. Please contact Alder Color Solutions for more information or for group discounts at info@aldertech.com.

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Xerox-HP battle enters next stage At press time, Xerox began a tender offer for all outstanding shares of HP, escalating an ongoing battle for control of HP that Xerox executives began several months ago. Xerox proposed to HP investors a cash-and-stock offer worth $24 a share. For each HP share, a holder would receive $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares. That offer was set to expire on April 21 of 2020, according to Xerox. The OEM has insisted that combining the companies would yield $2 billion (USD) in cost savings and more than $1 billion in additional revenue growth. HP’s board rejected Xerox’s offer outright as undervaluing its company, and added that it plans to return $16 billion to shareholders in an effort to show that HP continues to be a strong and viable company. That being the situation, HP executives did reveal that they are willing to discuss a potential merger – but only on their terms. We’ll keep you up to date on this ongoing power struggle.

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 19

Column

Funding up to $250,000 on building upgrades and equipment purchases

To learn more about applying for CAIF:

There are very few funding programs that have ever surfaced to assist companies with upgrading their facilities or assisting with the purchase of new equipment. With the global trend toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency the federal government opened a program last year providing funding in just these areas. The federal government’s three year, $1.45 billion Climate Action Incentive Fund (CAIF) began July 2019 and every business out there needs to pay attention to how this funding program can assist them.

CAIF is available in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Funding amounts for 2019-2020 are as follow: Ontario $72 million Manitoba $21 million

New Brunswick $ 4 million Saskatchewan $9 million

In February 2020, the first round of CAIF approvals were announced. Funding will be opening again sometime after April 1st, 2020. If you have any building upgrades or equipment purchase projects on the horizon you will want to be ready when the next round of CAIF opens.

What types of projects does CAIF cover?

It covers a broad array of building retrofits, including: • Enhancements to the building envelope that lead to energy reduction. This includes installing energy efficient windows, doors and skylights, increased insulation, weatherproofing, and glazing.

• Installing energy efficient lighting systems.

• Installing energy efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, systems and controls.

• Water heating retrofits, including high efficiency condensing water heating.

• Installing high-efficiency motors & controls.

• Installing energy management controls, including building automation systems.

• Fuel switching to lower emitting energy sources in existing buildings.

The fund also covers retrofitting and upgrading to existing equipment. This includes:

20 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

• Equipment upgrades and retrofits • Machinery upgrades and retrofits • Replacing compressors with variable speed compressors

Using the above example the company making a purchase of $813,500 would qualify for $813,500 x 25% = $203,375 in funding.

CAIF will also cover ancillary costs of a project. For example, a company is purchasing a new printing press for $700,000 with the following ancillary costs:

How does my company qualify for CAIF?

• Shipping • Brokerage • Installation • Electrical upgrade • Set up • Training • Trial runs (scrap material)

30,000 $1,000 $25,000 $20,000 $10,000 $15,000 $12,500

$

113,500 The $113,500 in ancillary costs can be included as part of the total costs bringing the total purchase of the new printing press to $700,000 + $113,500 = $813,500. $

How much funding does a company receive through the Climate Action Incentive Fund?

The Climate Action Incentive Fund covers up to 25% of the project’s total eligible cost. The minimum project cost is $80,000 which would result in a $20,000 incentive. While there is no maximum project cost the maximum amount of funding that will be given per project is $250,000. $250,000 in funding is also the maximum that a company will receive per province.

Therefore, if your company has locations in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba or Saskatchewan you can apply for up to $250,000 per province.

In order to qualify for CAIF your company needs to have a facility in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba or Saskatchewan.

Also you need to have from 1 to 499 T4 employees.

When should I apply for funding?

In order to receive funding, a company must wait for approval before starting the project. If a project is started before the CAIF application is approved the company will automatically be disqualified from receiving funding. Lastly, as with all CAIF programs, only after you have completed the project and submitted proof of payment to the federal government will you receive your refund.

When do I need to complete my project?

In order to receive funding for your approved project, the project will need to be completed and proof of purchase submitted to the federal government by March 31, 2021.

Bonny Koabel CPA, CGA is President of AKR Consulting Canada a Mississauga, ON firm specializing in Government Grants, Subsidies, Tax Credits, Refunds and Rebates since 2003.

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Typesetting & typography: lessons, rules and the exceptions Pinned to my corkboard is an article about the “Hellvetica” typeface. No, I did not spell it incorrectly. Hellvetica is a demented version of Helvetica with wonky kerning, illustrating why mastering typesetting and typography is essential for any designer. Below are a few of the rules I follow when I plan how the text will appear in my projects.

letter. The safest bet is the minimalist approach; combining two contrasting typefaces, such as a serif with a sansserif, or using a single typeface with different weights. Try the website Font Joy to experiment with font pairings.

1. Consider context and audience

Legibility relies on how much space there is between letters, words, and text lines. Tracking, kerning, and leading are the processes of white space adjustment between typographic elements.

When it comes to choosing a typeface, context matters. The typeface selected is the first impression a user will have, and each typeface possesses a mood and voice. If a designer chooses a font that doesn’t fit, the audience will feel disconnected from the message. Also, before choosing, it is imperative you learn your client’s goals. Clients may already have a style guide which you will have to follow, or, they may be unwilling to buy a license for the “perfect” typeface.

2. Typographic hierarchy When reading, the copy needs to be organized and easy to scan. To do this, graphic designers create visual typographic hierarchies that help readers navigate and prioritize different parts of the text. Each section, heading, subheading, body copy, caption, etc. should be distinguished by contrasting elements such as weight, colour, size, space, and different typefaces. This creates focus, direction, and order to the copy.

Be warned though. “Over-design,” where you have too many contrasting elements, can be dangerous and make your typesetting look like a ransom

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3. Text needs to breathe

Tom Sewell recommends that when adjusting kerning, designers imagine that between each letter there are balloons of equal size and volume, forcing the letters apart without the balloon being squeezed above or below.

Sewell also suggests imagining the character ‘o’ between each word to create perfect spacing.

It is recommended that leading never be the same or less than the point size of the type. However, depending on the font, the ascenders and descenders may either require more space or, for typefaces with a small x-height, less, as vast gaps are created between lines.

For leading, the general rule is to set it usually 20% larger than the point size.

Another consideration is the line length itself. If a line of text is too long, the reader’s eyes will lose focus between lines. If the line is too narrow, a reader’s eyes will move onto the next line before they finish the current one, potentially missing important information.

According to the Baymard Institute, the optimal line length is considered to be 50-60 characters per line, including spaces; yet, other sources suggest that up to 75 characters is acceptable.

4. What’s the justification?

The alignment of your copy affects its readability. For Latin-based languages, left-aligned text creates a rag on the right which allows our eyes to easily judge the distance from the end of one line to the start of the next. Centre-aligned copy should be used sparingly for items that run over only two or three lines at most. This is because unlike left-aligned

text, there are no common points where lines begin and end. Justified text is also problematic because there is no visual cue for when the line ends. Furthermore, inconsistent gaps between words may also affect readability, slowing down reading time.

5. Don’t stretch it Unless you are after a specific effect, skewing, stretching, or other wise distorting a typeface is going to affect its readability, legibility, and form.

While skewing text is a quick solution to “fake” italic or back slant a typeface and adding an outline will produce a “bold” effect, eventually kerning and leading may require subsequent manipulation.

While all this advice is useful and will help when planning future projects, the beauty of typography and typesetting is that, once you know the rules and practice them, you can break them.

Olivia Parker, B.Tech, MPC completed her Masters of Professional Communication in 2014 to complement her Bachelor of Technology (2013) from Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson. She presently is the Innovation & Support Specialist at Taylor Printing Group Inc. in Fredericton.

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One doesn’t dabble in packaging: Interview with titan James D. Downham, President & CEO PAC Packaging Consortium When one discusses packaging with a titan, don’t start in the middle of the story.

Sure, consumer demand, environmental conscientiousness and the strong push to right size and minimize packaging are driving the industry. But … according to Jim (James) Downham, President and CEO of PAC Packaging Consortium, the non-profit organization that advocates for progressive change in the entire packaging value chain, that’s starting in the middle of the packaging story. This is an especially important point as printers eye increasing revenues by expanding into packaging.

Downham, starts the packaging story at the beginning. “The discussion that’s dominating the packaging landscape today is everything to do with plastic and the environment. Today, recovery of all packaging is seen as the moral imperative so any waste doesn’t end up in our oceans and rivers.”

While plastic is the preferred packaging material, there is a strong consumer focal point on recycle/reuse that is pulling everyone in packaging to buck up and move from servicing a consumption society of single use containers to a circular economy where packaging is continually resurrected from dust bins, reused and recycled infinitely.

Downham is emphatic. “Whatever packaging is produced today must continue on to its next life. That’s the big story in a nutshell. It’s complicated. It includes sustainability and more importantly the circular economy.”

The circular economy’s basic philosophy is to make, use and return. That approach is diametrically opposed to today’s linear economy of take, make, and dispose. Applying the circular economy is a radically different business model.

Companies participating in the economy don’t just recycle products; they maintain ownership of the product and packaging

24 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

along the entire value chain.

Take Philips. It shifted its business model from selling a lightbulb to offering lighting as a service – a managed service, where Philips retains ownership of the lightbulb and its system maintenance. It brokers with power generating companies on behalf of clients to secure the energy to power the lights at a fixed price for a specified period of time. Firms practicing a circular economy have a strong incentive to be cost effective and efficient.

In May 2019, Mr. François Olivier President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental (a leader in flexible packaging in Nor th America, and Canada’s largest printer) announced the introduction of circular plastic in Québec.

It pledged that The Publisac, the plastic bag that holds weekly flyers will be made of 100% recycled plastic.

Moving to a circular economy not only reduces costs. It pulls the entire value packaging chain of production processes and materials to redesign its processes and products, While retooling costs can be overcome, changing the mindset of industry and consumers alike is a huge hurdle to overcome. Downham acknowledges that educating everyone in the complexities of the packaging industry can be seen by many as inconvenient. “It’s going to take patience and considerable education on everyone’s part. And there is the realization that it won’t be solved in our lifetime.”

On the other hand, Downham is energized by the packaging industry. It’s dynamic.

There are lots of opportunities and innovation is nurtured. Moreover, the entire packaging community is engaged and serious about addressing its problems.

While graphic art is part of the packaging industry, there is a need for caution.

Printers should not simply dabble in packaging. It takes more than a press to enter the packaging business. Before

printers shift resources to packaging, they need to do their due diligence and educate themselves on the complexities of packaging.

PAC Packaging Consortium is the unified voice of the packaging community Founded in 1950, it is an all-inclusive North American-centric corporation boasting over 2,500 members throughout the packaging value chain. PAC’s mission is to drive progressive change in the packaging value chain through leadership, collaboration and knowledge sharing.

It advocates for all materials and package neutrality. Its networking process includes PAC education programs, competitions, facility tours, tradeshows and working groups.

Jim Downham is a former package manufacturing CEO & President. In 2014 he was inducted into the Packaging Hall of Fame. Under Jim's leadership, PAC has created several packaging programs including the PAC GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARDS; PAC NEXT and PAC FOOD Sustainability Programs; PACed Certificate Program; and the IFS PAC secure GFSI benchmarked food packaging safety standard; and intelliPACK, A Smart Packaging Innovation Catalyst.

Caterina Valentino, PhD, is an Instructor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University and the Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University. She can be reached at caterina.l.valentino@gmail.com.

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FREE FOR PAC MEMBER S

STAY CONNECTED Webinar Wednesdays Beginning April 1st TUNE IN WITH PAC PAC remains dedicated to providing unparalleled value to our members. Through this difficult time, we are working to bring you opportunities to connect, learn and grow while allowing you to focus on keeping your family, friends, and co-workers safe.

On April 1st, we will launch our weekly Webinar Wednesday series that will cover important packaging industry topics and trends. Our goal is to offer these every Wednesday at 12pm EST, providing an opportunity for you to connect and grow safely from wherever you are.

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New Innovations and Technologies

IFS PACsecure GFSI Food Safety Standard PAC Awards Winners Profile Food Safety & COVID-19

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Creative & Design

Sappi releases educational materials for fashion designers Sappi North America has launched Verticals: Fashion Marketing – the second part of its educational series for creatives and marketers. Sappi explored The Marketing of Higher Education in the first part of its series. The new guide focuses on the fashion industry and highlights successful marketing and promotional approaches used by leading brands. Sappi's Verticals series dives into individual markets serviced by the company, while also examining the unique challenges, traditions and idiosyncrasies each faces when communicating with target audiences. Printed on Sappi's premium McCoy paper, the guide dives into current marketing trends such as micro-influencers, sustainability, omnichannel shopping, mass customization and premium brand experiences. Much of the resource is devoted to case studies on how leading brands are setting themselves apart through innovative approaches to consumer marketing. Sappi also showcases how print remains a vital part of the marketing mix, with examples of Sappi’s new guide special effects that evoke the tactile side Verticals: Fashion Marketing. of fashion.

History of Stickers Museum opens in Toronto StickerYou has launched the History of Stickers Museum and Stickers: RePEELed Sticker Art Exhibition at “the world’s largest sticker store” in Toronto. The museum showcases the history, development and influence of the adhesive sticker. Moving through history from the 1700s, it features several fascinating artifacts – including a UK penny black stamp from 1840, an original decal vase from the 1800s, fruit crate labels from the 1910s, Wacky Packs stickers from 1974, a vintage Velvet Underground album with an Andy Warhol-designed banana sticker on the front, and much more. It brings together hundreds of pieces of original sticker art from around the world. As a store, StickerYou features a unique, 3-storey-high ‘stickerbombed’ design on the storefront, installed in collaboration with 3M, and a custom experience center where visitors can touch and feel printed products.

Enfocus PitStop 2020 to be released this month Enfocus’ latest releases, PitStop Pro 2020 and PitStop Server 2020, the PDF quality and repair software for prepress, include improvements that offer better automation and new tools for working with vector graphics. Among the highlights is a breakthrough technology that uses computer vision techniques. This enables users to ‘see’ the visual content of a PDF file. What that means is PitStop will be able to look for images and graphical shapes (such as logos) to check if they’re present or absent in a PDF file. The technology can even flag cropped or partial images with options for size and rotation. This feature adds special value when files have specific legal or design restrictions, such as a corporate identity or compliance rules. Also new in PitStop 2020 is the ability to trace raster elements to create a vector shape – helpful when creating varnishes, under-prints or digital cutting paths. Users can also overlay and merge one PDF document onto another, making a single document, while using variables for placement, resizing and opacity. Find and replace text is now an Action List feature, allowing users to better automate search-and-replace text operations. A new check for bleed uses a page-based approach as opposed to object-based technology used in older versions. Plus, adding copied graphics and pages now use variables that greatly increase automation options.

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A wall at the History of Stickers Museum

Epson Surecolor printers win 2020 iF Design Award The Epson Surecolor SC-P7500 and Surecolor SC-P9500 large-format printer lines have been named iF Design Award 2020 winners by iF International Forum Design (Hanover, Germany). Created in 1953, the iF Design Award is recognized around the world as one of the most coveted awards for innovative industrial product design excellence, and its seal is the oldest independent design seal in the world. Products are evaluated based on a wide range of criteria – including practicability, workmanship, consideration of environmental standards, degree of elaboration and innovation, functionality, usability, safety, aesthetics, and universal design. This year's winners were selected from 7,298 entries across 56 countries and regions.

Epson Surecolor P9570/P7570 printer

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 27

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GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 29

New Products

An ultra-compact CI flexo press with added features

A highly accurate sheeter for automotive interiors

Koenig & Bauer Flexotecnica’s Evo XC is an 8-colour Central Impression (CI) flexo press with one of the smallest footprints in the industry. It features a maximum repeat length up to 850 mm and printing speeds up to 400 m/min. Developed for printing with environmentally-friendly, water-based inks on paper and plastic films, it combines machine engineering with an intuitive HMI (Human Machine Interface), a completely new dryer concept, and the latest digital Industry 4.0 features for improved output efficiency and operator friendliness.

Its PrintTronic technology ensures automatic control of printimpression positions with minimal material waste and reduced downtime. Integrated into the HMI, PrintTronic delivers faster printing-impression adjustments on all decks at once, has no requirement for video cameras, no need for dedicated marks or RFID-imbedded sleeves, and is compatible with any type of material (including plates or inks). Other features include a Doctor Blade Chamber where adjustments can be made automatically for faster and more accurate job changeovers, an enhanced DryTronic inter-colour drying system for more efficient heat transfer to the web, and a WashTronic s y s tem t hat a l l ow s i n k s to b e changed much faster. Evo XC flexo press

Maxson Automatic Machinery Company’s SDFK Sheeter can cleanly and precisely cut, deliver and stack vinyl laminated sheets up to 0.125" (3 mm) thick. The sheeter converts webs of multi-ply vinyl laminations into master parts that can be vacuum-formed into door panels, dashboards, headliners and floor panels for the automotive industry. Using dual-knife rotary-cutter technology – rather than a platen die-cutter design – it can convert a web sheet into precise shapes at speeds of up to 300 fpm (90 mpm). The SDFK’s design has both the top and the bottom blades mounted in rotating cylinders. Because of the synchronization of the knife speed to the web speed, no squareness adjustment is required when changing sheet lengths. The cross cutting blades are up to 75” (1,905 mm) long, allowing up to a 72” (1,829 mm) web-trim width. The machine’s delivery system includes an inspection conveyor that allows the operator to have a full view of sheets up to 100” (254 cm) long – with the option to divert outof - specif ication pieces into a “reject” bin. Acceptable sheets are conveyed to a stacking station that jogs the parts into neat piles that are ready for packaging and delivery. Maxson SDFK Sheeter

A fluid applicator that enhances digital print quality Contiweb’s Digital Fluid Applicator (DFA) is a standalone re-moistening applicator for digital web presses, developed to significantly improve the output quality of digitally printed products. Based on the OEM’s Fluid Applicator for heatset web-offset applications, the DFA is a user-friendly system that utilizes tap water and a surfactant to precisely remoisten paper on digital web presses. Silicone can also be added as an option if inline finishing is required. Common quality issues such as loss of signature flatness, growth of cut books, curling and broken folds are overcome with the DFA system. Damage to the printed surface due to friction from inline finishing modules, can be eliminated by its integrated Siliconizer. The amount of remoistening can be adjusted quickly. The system ensures constant coverage, even with changing press speeds, and can be set differently for each side of the paper if desired. Settings can also be saved, reducing set-up times for repeat jobs. The “plugand-play” system is compatible with digital web presses from all well-known manufacturers, said Contiweb Digital Contiweb.

Fluid Applicator

30 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

A handheld UV meter to assess lamp health Lamp Express’ new UV meter – The Lextractor – makes it much easier to read a UV meter. “Users no longer need to decipher cryptic numbers that deal with milliwatts, millijoules and other complex scientific language,” said the OEM. “Instead, The Lextractor simply shows you the health of your lamp.” Basically, users install the fibre-optic coupling on their compatible UV equipment, and connect that to The Lextractor for fast, accurate UV readings. Weekly checks are recommended. If green bars are visible, your device is good to go. If users see orange bars, it’s time to order replacement bulbs to keep your production running smoothly. The technology is especially helpful for commercial and 3D printers, as well as those who use UV equipment in their production processes, such as offset and flexo shops.

The Lextractor

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Printer’s Parts & Equipment, established 1973, is looking for a results-driven sales representative to actively seek out and engage customer prospects. PP&E has an extensive product line that makes it easy for representatives to perform and maximize revenues. Industry experience, and car is required to visit prospects and customers.

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Printing Company For Sale Established in 1991, this established company is located in Northern BC. It serves its loyal client base by offering both offset and digital services. Business has low overhead and a huge potential for growth. Only reason for sale is due to the death of a part owner. For serious inquiries, please give us a call at 250-261-2469.

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GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | April 2020 | 33

Column

How to feed your press a healthy diet of ROI Some of today’s hottest revenue drivers for the print industry include packaging, embellishments, direct mail, textiles, signage and wide-format. According to piworld, the top 100 print buyers forecasted for 2020 will comprise more than 26% of all print demand next year and – at the present rate of corporate agglomeration – is forecasted to be up $1.16 billion from 2019. The top 10 buyers will account for more than 5% of print purchased in 2020.

Print buyers are looking for ways to enhance each customer’s experience by transforming their digital world into a physical one. With a voracious appetite for print, brands like Netflix, Amazon, Shopify and Nike are using physical stores, merchandise branding and “pop-ups” to provide memorable immersive experiences. These “phygital” approaches enable brands of all sizes to bridge the physical-digital gap and engage customers with an experience that transcends platforms, devices and location. Seven of the top 100 forecasted print consumers for 2020 are billiondollar-plus buyers.

One of the major factors driving the growth in our industry is the increasing need to keep customers engaged through communication over various channels. Delivering a memorable, positive experience is the primary consideration for companies hoping to whet the appetite of today’s print and business buyer. Print is a proven, premium channel – and it’s being embraced as an integral part of the customer acquisition process.

A lot of time and money goes into the decision to purchase a new piece of equipment for your print business – one of the most important of which is its revenue generating potential. Whether it’s replacing older equipment, being purchased because of client demand, or because you want to tap into new revenue streams, your shiny new piece of equipment requires a steady diet to turn a profit.

34 | April 2020 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE

Who are you feeding?

Consumer buying habits and expectations have altered the way business buyers research and purchase equipment, technology and print. While you were being wooed by equipment manufacturer speeds and feeds, your customers were being wooed by glossy magazines, touchable textures, eye-popping colours and other brand-showcasing items.

These same customers expect excellent customer service 24/7, regardless of the size of their job, while more and more expect an app/portal where they can check the status of their job, and place orders and campaign details. Yet printers continue to answer the question, “What do you do?” the same way – with equipment information and promises of excellent service, outstanding reputation and quality.

By tapping into the value of touch, printers can create a long-lasting, money-making customer experience.

Today’s biggest consumer group in history, the Gen Z and millennials, will soon account for $4 billion in discretionary spending. A survey of college students found that 92% prefer reading print material to digital material. Frank Rose, at JWTIntelligence.com, reports that 78% of millennial respondents said they enjoy the smell and feel of books and paper. 58% said the same of magazines.

MPA’s Magazine Media Factbook 20182019 states that in the United States, “The top 25 print magazines reach more adults and teens than the top 25 prime time

shows. And, despite generational differences, magazine consumption is strong.”

Compared to digital documents, paper is seen as more official, more trusted, easier to keep confidential and safer/ more secure. More than three quarters of people surveyed by RIT say documents are less trustworthy in digital format since they can be altered without your knowledge. Identity theft is a concern.

When I buy a car, I don’t care what equipment was used to manufacture it.

The main sectors capitalizing on print’s customer journey value are: healthcare (24.5%); food and beverage (19.9%); technology (12.9%); publishing (11.3%); and retail (7%). The marketers and designers who live in these worlds are hungry for brand-showcasing opportunities that enhance their digital programs.

They’re not looking for equipment.

They’re not looking for run rates. They’re not looking for promises.

Use that shiny new piece of equipment to feed these print consumers a menu of treats that spice up their digital strategies – while you spice up your ROI. Joanne Gore is a B2B marketer who’s passionate about print and has spent the last three decades helping companies maximize their marketing and communications efforts. Founder of Joanne Gore Communications, she helps companies tell their story to a new generation of print and business buyers.

Email: joanne@joannegorecommunications.com Follow her on Twitter: @joannegore121

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