NEW PRODUCTS

KONICA MINOLTA LAUNCHES ACCURIOPRESS 6272P PRESS

Konica Minolta has unveiled the AccurioPress 6272P press to help customers rethink monochrome print possibilities. Commercial printers, print for pay services and central in-house printing facilities are all major target markets for the fully configured digital production press.

Dual engine technology where over 15,000 images an hour can be printed in one integrated production process is at the heart of Konica Minolta’s newly launched machine. The tandem engine AccurioPress 6272P is the further development of the well established AccurioPress 613P, where two engines are connected via the tandem relay unit TD-502 to double the benefits and sustain today’s high volume monochrome printing environment.

The unique combination provides twice the speed and double the productivity, as well as undisturbed printing without bottlenecks or shutdowns. Independent front to back alignment and a distortion adjustment function ensure accurate duplex registration. The optional Intelligent Quality Care Unit IQ-501 maintains consistent and stable quality without complexity. The standard paper cooling system enables all output to be processed immediately offline after printing.

The newly developed pass-through mode secures the production in the rare case of a machine error. Another benefit is that, with the TD-502, customers can upgrade their existing AccurioPress 6136P and enhance productivity doubling it to that of the AccurioPress 6272P.

Other features for the Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6272P include: • Vacuum paper feeding for smooth paper processing throughout the production process. For offset pre-printed and coated stock, as well as under conditions of high humidity, an optional heating unit can be added as a further enhancement. • The Screen-Enhancing Activity Digital (S.E.A.D) for advanced colour processing. • Simitri HD toner to ensure highest image quality as well as razor sharp reproduction of text and line drawings. • Paper weights of between 40 and 350 grammes in sizes up to 324x483mm. • A stacking unit and a wide variety of finishing options with an interface to third parties (e.g., Plockmatic and GBC) • Konica Minolta’s own controller technology, as well as powerful software tools such as AccurioPro offering advanced functionality and full connectivity from input to output. Malcolm Smith, Category Manager of Production & Industrial Print, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd stated, “Many years of knowledge and global expertise are combined in the TD-502 tandem relay unit to ensure that this system fulfils customer demands in high volume printing environments. The Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6272P will provide another key pillar in our growing production press portfolio for our customers to maximise and ignite the print opportunities that are everywhere.”

Malcolm added: “This launch is also another example of how we are supporting the digital transformation of our clients’ companies by sector and industry, through advanced automation, fewer human touch points and higher productivity with tangible effects leading to increased, high quality output with less waste.” www.konicaminolta.co.uk

HP REVOLUTIONARY NEW PAGEWIDE WEB PRESS

HP has introduces the new HP PageWide Advantage 2200 series press. Designed to meet the needs of print service providers of all sizes, this revolutionary press offers industry leading productivity with quality, and media versatility for those in publishing, direct mail, and commercial print, to help grow their business.

“This new PageWide Advantage platform is a game changer for the commercial print industry,” said Annette Friskopp, Global Head and General Manager at HP PageWide. “HP has listened to our customers, and we realise ease of use and up-time are critical success factors. This new press offers configurations to enable customers to optimise the press for their quality, productivity, versatility, and economics to grow their digital production businesses.”

The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 offers: • Heightened Productivity and Capacity: The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 is capable of speeds up to 500 ft/min colour and 800 ft/min mono and printing high coverage jobs at up to 90 million US letter sized mono images per month or 214,000 personalised A3 colour duplex sheets per shift. Recognising the growing need to print postcards and other applications with thicker stock, this new press delivers game changing productivity for high impact, full coverage jobs. • Top Notch Quality: With the ability to print using HP Brilliant Ink and 2400 native nozzle per inch printheads, this press offers top notch quality to address a wide range of higher value applications, from more colourful trade and educational books to high coverage, impactful direct mail pieces that differentiate clients in the market. • Leading Versatility: The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 handles a wide range of media weights from 40 gsm (27 pound) up to 300gsm/14-point stocks, giving printers the versatility they need. • Reliability & Ease of Use: The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 includes a revolutionary single print arch design with an innovative, robust paper path with fewer components, reducing the number of parts to manage and therefore overall maintenance and servicing time, increasing reliability and maximising uptime. • Flexibility: Designed to offer configuration flexibility, this press features a modular design for customers to start with a lower capacity machine and enhance the machine as their business grows or their application mix shifts. Customers can select one, two, or three dryer modules along with passive or active web cooling modules to fit their needs. In addition, the

HP PageWide Advantage 2200 features a compact single engine duplex design, providing high quality and productivity while saving floor space for customers. • Energy Efficient Technology: The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 comes equipped with HP’s innovative High Efficiency

Drying (HED) system that minimises power usage at higher print speeds by recirculating up to 80% of the air heated during the drying process (based on internal HP data and testing.

Initial testing was performed on March 4, 2020. Test procedure:

Exhaust flow rates were measured under various exhaust damper conditions (open, closed, 10% open)). These exhaust flow rates were then compared to the overall fan air circulation flow rates to determine the percent of air that is exhausted. The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 is expected to be commercially available worldwide on October 19, 2022. www.hp.com

NEW XEIKON HYBRID PRINT AND CONVERTING PRESSES

Hybrid presses can be defined as label presses that incorporate two or more printing processes (digital and conventional) in-line with finishing units (varnishing, spot colour printing, slitting, die-cutting and different embellishment techniques). Hybrid solutions benefit a label printer and converter with medium to long runs with either limited variation in converting (die cutting, slitting) and/or the need to add conventionally produced features e.g spot varnish, cold foil.

Today the standalone digital presses and standalone converting line address the largest part of the market. To expand the growth potential of digital, new solutions are needed. Unavoidably, this will convert conventional printed work into digital production through cost optimisation. Think of larger volumes of SKUs with the same die-cut shape, full colour jobs which hold a static embellishing element. These can be printed more effectively with a conventional process and then enriched with digital full colour printing. Trends in the market indicate luxury brands benefit from what their print provider offers; shorter runs, more versions and variations, variable text or graphics, and personalisation allowing much greater freedom of creativity. Nevertheless, they do not want to give in to brand identity which can be visualised through embellishing elements. Not unlike luxury brands, promotional brands are too looking to find better ways of connecting with consumers through the use of e-commerce.

Xeikon is launching a fully digital hybrid solution based on its (1) digital press (Cheetah or Panther series), the recently developed (2) Xeikon Label Converting Unit (LCU) and (3) Xeikon’s X-800 digital front-end. This solution can be configured to the needs of the converter and becomes a powerful production system enabling label converters to step up their productivity whilst remaining fully flexible for all their customers’ needs.

The main values of their hybrid label solution are: • From substrate to ready-label: a complete, single-pass production process flow • Eliminates a number of production steps resulting in higher productivity • Reduces waste and setup time • Opens up new business opportunities “At Xeikon we take customer input seriously. Our solutions are cloud connected providing us with a lot of data on how the equipment is performing. This results in the ability to provide more automation in combining production runs to increase efficiency”, explains Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s VP of Marketing, ‘’That is why, along with the presses, we develop fully digital converting and embellishing products such as the Xeikon LCU which can be configured into hybrid print and converting solutions.”

Xeikon hybrid solutions can hold both Xeikon’s Cheetah (dry toner) as well as Panther (UV inkjet) technologies hence all end use applications can be addressed through this offering.

Dry toner is the proven technology for all applications requiring adherence to high food safety standards while delivering the highest, matte finished quality and achieving high quality on standard natural paper substrates (wine and spirits). Now the second generation Cheetah technology is used in Xeikon’s current dry toner digital presses.

Xeikon’s UV inkjet Panther Technology was introduced in 2017, with a specific focus on labels across industries requiring high durability including the health and beauty markets. These applications make use of the key benefits of the unique features of UV inkjet such as scratch, scuff, and rub resistance.

“Some of our customers call a hybrid solution the best of both worlds”, continues Filip Weymans, ”All developments at Xeikon fit into our mantra of digitising label manufacturing with the purpose of enabling label converters to develop a profitable and sustainable future proof business.” www.xeikon.com

EFI FIERY INTEGRATION WITH IQ CLOUD SERVICES

Fiery, the digital front end (DFE) server and print workflow business of graphic arts technology company Electronics For Imaging, Inc., has introduced powerful new cloud capabilities and additional productivity enhancements for print businesses in the new version 6.8 of the EFI Fiery Command WorkStation® job management solution.

An EFI IQ cloud integration gives Command WorkStation users the ability to back up and restore their customised user interface settings, local presets, and imposition templates. With a click of a button, they can invite other Command WorkStation users in their print shop, or at other company locations, to download and install common settings and resources. A shop can optimise Command WorkStation for all users even in multiple locations for a faster and more flexible way to consistently manage jobs with the confidence that their configurations are saved securely in their company’s EFI IQ cloud account.

EFI IQ CLOUD CAPABILITIES FOR BETTER BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL

With the same EFI IQ account, managers can easily take advantage of cloud applications to extract value from their print shop data to minimise bottlenecks, optimise equipment utilisation, and track performance by shift. Features available at no charge for use with an unlimited number of cut-sheet digital printers include: • EFI IQ Dashboard, an application that provides a personalised view of printer status, consumables and job status right now; • EFI Insight, an application that helps managers transform print production trend data into actionable analytics that drive business improvement; • EFI Notify, an application that delivers alerts for production blocking events and enables automatic production report distribution; and • EFI Go, a mobile app that delivers EFI IQ dashboard metrics, notifications and more to busy managers to monitor operations even while they are not on site. “This new version of Command WorkStation is a significant milestone in our strategy to improve Fiery capability with EFI IQ cloud services,” said John Henze, vice president of sales and marketing, EFI Fiery. “Using the familiar Command WorkStation interface, users can now access cloud services to better manage both their print jobs and their business.”

NEW ENHANCEMENTS FOR MORE EFFICIENT, FASTER JOB MANAGEMENT

Print businesses also gain important flexibility and faster job set up by using the new selective preset capability in Command WorkStation 6.8. Now, users can define settings that only apply to specific aspects of a job, leaving all other original settings untouched. Using server presets can reduce the time it takes to prepare incoming files and get jobs ready for production by 80%.

Additional features in version 6.8 are being well received by customers. As Darin Lerbs, Production Print Solutions Architect at Marco, an EFI reseller and technology services company located in Minneapolis, commented: “It’s great to see several of my, and my customers’, suggested features in this new Command WorkStation release. For me, being able to rearrange Fiery servers in the server list and easily see server IP addresses helps a great deal. And my customers are going to love the ability to see how long it’s going to take for a job to complete printing — that’s really going to help them plan their workload.” The latest version of EFI Fiery Command WorkStation is available for download at no charge at www.efi.com/cws. For more about advanced digital print production, visit www.efi.com

NEW HORIZON ROLL TO SADDLESTITCHING BOOKLET SYSTEM

High speed seamless production of high quality roll to booklets is now possible with the launch of the New Horizon iCE StitchLiner Mark V. The next evolution of the successful StitchLiner saddlestitching family achieves high quality inline or near line booklet production at speeds of up to 6,000 booklets per hour.

Attention has been paid to increased productivity and flatter finished stitched booklets with the development of the unique ACF-50D accumulator and folder overlapping transport mechanism.

Other features include: • Expanded format size to meet A4 landscape and large format calendar production. • Ability to manage a wider range of formats and substrates, including A4 landscape booklets at over 5,000 booklets per hour. • Consistent high quality production with

individual sheets scored and tightly folded at highspeeds to produce flatter higher quality booklets. • Assured sheet to sheet integrity with in-line configuration and optional barcode verification system. • Variable page booklet applications handled without any operator intervention. • Flexible insertion of up to three sheets anywhere in the booklet with the optional CF-50D cover feeders which also feature split feeding tables for reliable feeding of uneven or folded sheet stacks. • Compatibility for in-line configuration with

TECNAU c50 Revolution 50 and c20 high-speed rotary cutters and the Hunkeler cs8 cutter. The new system incorporates Horizon’s cloud based iCE LiNK workflow which uses cloud technology to automate workflow from upstream to post-press.

It provides access to an intuitive easy to use dashboard that reports real time production analysis for improved efficiency and profitability, remote update capabilities and scheduled maintenance resulting in less downtime. The information is accessible via smartphone, tablet or desktop PC and the software is designed for integration with MIS systems.

“This latest addition to the industry loved StitchLiner family brings with it next generation level automation,” says Eric Keane, IFS Managing Director. “Horizon has developed a highly productive system that can seamlessly handle variable page booklet applications from the latest roll-fed inket web presses. Easy to use and fast to set up it is perfectly positioned to responsively manage a wide range of work in any busy production environment.”

IFS Technical Sales Director, Jason Seaber, adds “The New Horizon StitchLiner Mark V is more compact by design and uses new servo-drive technologies for even faster job make readies. Sheets and covers are scored and plow-folded individually to produce flatter and higher quality saddle-stitched booklets from pre-printed reels or in-line with inkjet web presses.

The iCE StitchLiner Mark V is available now. www.ifsl.uk.com

NEW EASY DOT PET TRANSPARENT L-UV FILM

Nottingham based specialist systems distributor and service provider ArtSystems has announced the immediate UK availability of Neschen easy dot PET transparent L-UV printable film. The new PVC-free, eco-friendly polyester 75 μm film has been designed to create crystal clear advertising messages on glass and other flat, smooth surfaces and will sit within ArtSystems’ new ‘Go Green’ product portfolio. Suitable for both short- and mid-term graphics, the media is easy to handle and durable for up to two years indoors.

Neschen easy dot PET matt L-UV is more environmentally friendly than conventional films as it is up to 40% lighter in weight, hence is cheaper to transport and leads to less waste post usage. To add to its eco-credentials, it contains 25% of post consumer recycled (PCR) content.

On the new introduction, John Draycott, Marketing Manager at ArtSystems, says: “This new film incorporates Neschen’s proven water based, solvent free easy dot adhesive technology ensuring easy bubble free application and residue free removal.

“This dimensionally stable film is compatible with Latex and UV curable inks and is ideal for indoor applications such as trade show graphics, sales promotions, POS advertising, and much more.”

Neschen easy dot PET transparent L-UV film has been HP-certified for use with Latex and UV inks, has an EN 13501 certification, and achieves the best possible fire protection class for polymer films (B-S1,d0).

It is available from ArtSystems, with immediate effect, in widths of 137.2 cm and lengths of 50m and 10m. www.artsystems.co.uk