IT’S A BIG, WIDE WORLD OUT THERE SinaLite.com is a division of Sina Printing Inc.
00 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011 PM40010868 R10907 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to 4580 Dufferin St., Suite 404, Toronto ON M3H 5Y2
SUPER TRADE PRINTER
SUPER TRADE PRINTER
CONTENTS Volume 50, Number 7 Features
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Bridging the Gap After its 2010 purchase of bankrupt Gandinnovations, Agfa pours R&D dollars into the Canadian facility to build a vital piece of its inkjet portfolio
22
Digital Press Development The most-recent offerings from 12 manufacturers of inkjet- and toner-based presses, as well as related software
6
NEWS Advertek celebrates its new home, PollyCello becomes first in Canada with SGP Certification, and the Bank of Canada introduces plastic notes
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CALENDAR August 2011 Mexico City hosts a car-wrap championship, NorQuest holds a 4-day Executive Forum in Edmonton, and the Canadian Printing Awards deadline draws near
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EDIBLE Eat this Ad Volkswagen of South Africa invites its readers to get a taste of the road – literally
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BOOKS On the Same Page Webcom shows off its $12 million investment to reposition itself in the shifting world of book production
Columns
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GORDON PRITCHARD To Maximize Your Quality Potential You Must Eliminate “Quality” Redefining the quality pyramid to better describe what constitutes a superior printing company
15
ZAC BOLAN QR Codes: Printer’s Panacea or Marketing Misfire? Decrypting the effectiveness of the alien glyphs that tie print media to mobile computing
16
VICTORIA GAITSKELL My Walmart Plan The secrets behind Walmart Canada’s environmental push and realistic goals for small business
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Congratulations PrintAction for 50 years of support for the Canadian Graphic Arts industry. Fujifilm wishes you continued great success.
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Archive
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July 1986 The Statue of Liberty reopens, Boris Becker wins the 100th Wimbledon and Comgraph ’86 amazes attendees with desktop publishing
Celebrating 50 years in the Corporate VP & General Manager, Canadian printing industry! Graphic Systems Business Division, Morihiro Atsumi Fujifilm
Resources 23 Services to the Trade Cover photo by Jon Robinson
33 Marketplace
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JULY 2011 • PRINTACTION • 3
PERSPECTIVE
takes you to DRUPA 2012 In cooperation with LM Travel / Carlson Wagonlit – DRUPA experts since 1977
Gone for Good
iving in this blessed country, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate the role unions play in today’s world. There are certainly many parts of the world where unions remain a vital mechanism for the proper development of economic and social systems; and we cannot be so arrogant to think Canada has evolved to a point at which all of its workers can do without protection. However, the rotating strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), and subsequent Canada Post lockout, has done irreparable damage to the crown corporation – yes, its employees – and the printing industry. Eight days after the strikes began, when they hit Toronto and Montreal, Canada Post estimated it had already lost $100 million. The major concern of strike fallout focused on consumers moving to electronic-billing platforms, instead of relying on the mail. While the full impact of this switch is impossible to measure, a June 27 article by The Globe and Mail shed some light on the situation: ING Direct had 350,000 customers switch to online banking (almost half of its 1.8-million Canadian customers now receive statements exclusively online); and Shaw Communications had around 70,000 customers sign up for online billing in June (about 10 times the normal rate). These two examples alone will result in Canada Post losing millions of dollars annually. It will be argued that a massive e-billing transition is inevitable, but this misses a vital point. Instead of fostering its own initiatives around electronic communications, Canada Post has effectively lost hundreds of thousands of customers who are unlikely to return. This price is to be paid one day by Canada Post employees, taxpayers and more immediately – more directly – by the Canadian printing industry. Canada Post is not going away any time soon and neither are its financial challenges. It is hard to understand why CUPW would not see this bigger picture. With close to 22,000 employees – more than one-third of Canada Post’s workforce – expected to retire within the next 10 years, it appears much of the negotiation deadlock centred around Canada Post’s efforts to change wage-and-benefits packages for future employees – without dramatically impacting current employees. Wages and benefits account for close to two-thirds of Canada Post’s revenue. At press time, the release of its 2010 financial results had been delayed for more than two months, but in 2009 Canada Post’s consolidated net income was $281 million on revenues of $7.3 billion. More alarming, the crown corporation’s pension liability has reached $14 billion with a solvency deficit of $3.2 billion. Mail volumes at Canada Post have fallen 17 percent per address since 2006, while it claims to add around 200,000 new addresses per year. Before the strike began, after five months of unsuccessful negotiation, Denis Lemelin, CUPW President, was quoted as saying: “It is difficult to negotiate when Canada Post’s demands for rollbacks stay on the table. They have been going after our sick leave, our pensions, our retirees and our newest members. All this while they are making profits. Why can’t they invest some of these profits in their people and communities instead of machines?” Perhaps Lemelin believes these Canada Post profits are an example to the United States Postal Service, which recorded a net loss of $8.5 billion in 2010. It would certainly help explain why CUPW’s initial offer would have added $1.4 billion of new costs to Canada Post over the life of the proposed contract. On the bright side, CUPW can now assure Canada Post employees that they will be carrying around less weight.
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Canada’s Graphic Communications Magazine. Proudly published for two generations.
Editor Jon Robinson • 416.665.7333 ext. 30 • jon@printaction.com Associate Editor Clive Chan • 416.665.7333 ext. 25 • clive@printaction.com Contributing Writers Zac Bolan, Clint Bolte, Peter Ebner, Chris Fraser, Victoria Gaitskell, James Harvey, Nick Howard, Thad McIlroy, Gordon Pritchard, Josh Ramsbottom, Nicole Rycroft, Andrew Tribute, Trish Witkowski Publisher Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Associate Publisher Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Production Manager Anders Kohler • 416.665.7333 ext. 37 • anders@printaction.com Intern Tiffany Kay Garcia • 416.665.7333 ext. 34 • tiffany@printaction.com Advertising Sales Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Circulation ADPIC Subscription Services • 800.363.3261 • subscriptions@printaction.com PrintAction is published by Youngblood Publishing Limited and is Canada’s only national monthly publication serving the graphic arts industry. ISSN 1481-9287. Annual Subscriptions: Canada: $31.15 ($27.57 + $3.58 HST) United States: CN$69.99; Other Foreign: CN$139.99
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4 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
2230 Meadowpine Blvd. Mississauga, ON L5N 6H6 Tel. (905) 286-5155 Fax. (905) 821-0055 Email: info@k-north.ca Website: www.k-north.ca Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/knorthinc
“After careful and exhaustive research, we chose the Komori LS1040P because of its superior quality of print, reduced makeready times, and environmental alignment. It was the best machine we saw with a great team at Komori to support it. We have not been disappointed.� Craig McEwen Managing Partner ION Print Solutions
Pictured with their new Komori are partners Peter Fargey (front) and Craig McEwen
PRINT NEWS HP signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Printelligent, a provider of Managed Print Services (MPS). Upon completion of the acquisition, Printelligent’s assets will be integrated into the LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions unit within the Imaging and Printing Group of HP. The acquisition is expected to close in HP’s fiscal third quarter. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Printelligent has been in business since 1988 and has been offering Managed Print Services since 1993.
BUSCH GMBH’s presidents from subsidiaries in Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States and The Netherlands traveled to Boisbriand, Québec, to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of Busch Vacuum Technics in Canada. Paul Wieser, President and General Manager of the Canadian operation, also hosted three of the parent company’s five shareholders, Ayhan Busch and her sons, Sami and Kaya. The consul general of Switzerland in Montreal, Claude Duvoisin, and Boisbriand Mayor, Marlene Cordato, also attended the 25year celebration. Busch Vacuum Technics currently employs 52 people within its Boisbriand facility and sales centres in Mississauga, Calgary and Vancouver.
JOHN PHAN, Founder of Anvy Graphics, and Bryan Hall, Display Graphics Sales Specialist with Fujifilm Canada, celebrate the installation of Canada’s first Fujifilm Acuity Advance HS X2 wide-format inkjet printer. Debuted in June of 2010, the Acuity Advance HS X2 can print in sizes of up to 8 x 10-feet at up to 700square-feet per hour in Express Mode. Founded in 2002, Anvy Digital now employs 16 people in 10,000 square feet of space. The company produces signage (both indoor and outdoor) as well as vehicle wraps and other forms of display graphics. KRISTA NICHOLDS, co-owner and VP of Marketing of Ottawa-based Dollco Integrated Print Solutions, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Canadian Printing Industries Sector Council (CPISC) – a government-funded organization focused on skills development and HR management practices in the printing industry. After being involved with CPISC for a number of years, Nicholds replaces retiring board member Abe Giesbrecht, Training Coordinator at Friesens Corp., who served on the board for four years. POLYCELLO of Amherst, Nova Scotia, becomes the first Canadian printing facility to be certified under the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP). With brands like MicroPack Steamable and SmartPack (recyclable), PolyCello focus on the flexible-packaging sector, primarily within the frozen food, food service, pet food, towel and tissue, and lawn and garden markets. The company has been family owned since 1956, claiming to be the first ISO 14001-registered flexographic printer in North America. PolyCello is also ISO 9001 certified. 6 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
XEROX acquired NewField IT, a U.K.-based print consultancy and software provider, to expand its Managed Print Services (MPS). NewField IT, which is to operate as a wholly owned Xerox subsidiary, helps companies implement MPS more quickly. Its Asset DB software suite creates visual maps of a floor plan to show how assets – like printers and copiers – are used throughout an office. This visual mapping technique is combined with a database that tracks usage patterns of document devices. NICK HANSEN, President of Hansen Signs; Geoff Flack, Branch Manager of ND Graphics in Dartmouth; and Richard Juneau, Agfa Account Manager oversaw the installation of an Agfa Anapurna M2. In business for 30 years, Hansen Enterprises of Moncton, New Brunswick specializes in sign production, design, installation and maintenance. The company works with applications like illuminated sign cabinets, channel letters, LED video boards, awnings, cutout letters, pylon and monument signs, as well as billboards and vehicle wraps.
SCOTT CURRIE, owner and President of Prime Imaging, oversaw the installation of an HP Scitex FB700 into the company’s Toronto facility. The large-format inkjet machine is capable of handling both rigid and flexible materials and has been integrated with a white-ink kit. Entering its 28th year of operation, Prime Imaging, which focuses on both large-format and commercial printing, also recently completed a re-branding with a new logo that features a stylized “P”, while the Prime Imaging name is displayed in a contemporary Sony Sketch EF typeface.
ACUITY SOLUTIONS GROUP of Richmond Hill, Ontario, closed its doors in early June and posted a notice that the property is in possession of Grant Thornton Limited, a Court Appointed Receiver for Acuity. The company struggled financially in recent years, but in April 2010, Acuity President Ron Morgan announced he had finished a restructuring to gain new financing. “The restructuring puts us in a better financial position moving forward,” wrote Morgan on the company’s blog. The company was known as Acuity Innovative Solutions before the restructuring. HELGE HANSEN, President and CEO of KBA, during the company’s 86th annual general meeting in Germany, announced plans to trim KBA’s workforce at its Würzburg and Trennfeld plants by 700 “to restore competitiveness and profitability in a much-diminished market.” However, Hansen also reported that the company’s sales are up 27 percent in the first five months of this year, over the same period last year. Despite the company’s growth in orders and sales numbers, it has fallen short of its annual targets so far. Company management says it stands by its objective for 2011 of a single-digit percentage increase in group sales over the previous year (€1.18 billion), and a moderate improvement in earnings.
LARRY LIPPERT and Paul Grose of BCT Southwest Ontario installed a Ryobi 3404DI press. Sold and installed by Canadian Printing Equipment Ltd., the 3404DI is a waterless device and capable of UV printing. BCT Southwest Ontario has 15 employees and has been in business since 1987. The franchise’s parent company, BCT, is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and has more than 60 franchise locations across North America.
KARL BELAFI JR., VP of Sales at KBR Graphics, celebrates the Ontario-first installation of a MGI Meteor DP60 PRO at Flash Reproductions, owned by David Gallant, VP, and Rich Pauptit, President. Sold through KBR Graphics, the 4-colour press reaches a maximum resolution of 2,400 dpi, while working with sheet sizes from 4 x 6 inches up to 13 x 40 inches. Relative to competing toner-based systems, MGI’s Meteor line is noted for its ability to print on a range of substrates, from paper to plastic, and weights of up to 16 point. Etobicoke, Ontario-based Flash Reproductions was founded in 1969. TRANSCONTINENTAL, Domtar, Cascades, Catalyst and Tembec have been named among the Top 50 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Knights magazine in its 10th annual ranking. Corporate Knights recognizes “clean capitalism” in Canada. The Co-operators Group took the top position, followed by retailer Mountain Equipment Co-op. The forestry and paper products sector had a strong showing, with Domtar named third on the list while Cascades, Catalyst, Canfor and Tembec took seventh, 13th, 20th and 47th respectively. Media conglomerate Transcontinental holds the 24th spot in the 2011 ranking. KURT HAMLIN joins Presstek as Director of Strategic Accounts to focus on commercialprinting and folding-carton manufacturer with the capacity to install a Presstek 75DI – a 29-inch press available in 4- to 10-unit configurations. With over 30 years of industry experience, Hamlin most recently served as VP of Operations for Vision Graphics in Colorado, which is a $16 million printer with 85 employees and two facilities. He also worked with manroland as a District Sales Manager and spent time as General Manager of Current Printing Solutions.
HEMLOCK PRINTERS and Blanchette Press, both located in the Vancouver area, received Gold Awards in the Digital and General Print categories, respectively, within Sappi North American Printers of the Year competition. More than 2,100 entries were submitted for this year’s program, revolving around print produced on Sappi stocks. Blanchette Press also won a Silver in the Magazines (sheetfed) category, as well as Bronze awards in Annual Reports, Brochures and Printer’s Own Promotion categories. Toronto-based C.J. Graphics won a Silver and a Bronze award in the Brochures category. Mississauga-based Somerset Graphics won a Silver and a Bronze award in the Magazines (sheetfed) category. St. Joseph Communications won a Bronze in the Magazine (web) category. KODAK announced, that because of increases in energy and raw material costs, it will increase the price of all of its flexographic plates, globally, by seven percent as of July 15. “The value that our plates bring to the market – high quality, efficiency, repeatability, and more – continues to make them a sound investment for flexo printers who desire the best possible results,” said Mohan Garde, VP and GM, Packaging Business, Prepress Solutions, Kodak. “As always, we’ll continue to pursue manufacturing efficiencies that will minimize any future pricing impacts for our customer base.” DOMTAR and FPInnovations unveiled CelluForce as their new joint venture, originally announced back in July 2010, to manufacture nanocrystalline cellulose, a recyclable and renewable nanomaterial that will be commercialized throughout the world. Nanocrystalline cellulose will be produced in what the partners call a large-scale commercial demonstration plant, which is currently under construction on the site of Domtar’s pulp and paper mill in Windsor, Québec. The plant should be operational in the first quarter of 2012.
NUSTREAM GRAPHIC begins to distribute GMG colour management products throughout Canada. “We represent exceptional companies such as Screen in CTP, Xeikon and Agfa. With all this experience in CTP, toner and inkjet digital printing, and traditional offset, we wanted to close the loop with the best solution for colour management,” said Steve Daigle, Sales and Marketing Director, Nustream. Quebec-based Nustream Graphic has sales and service locations in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
DYLAN WESTGATE of Sydney Stone took home the first prize in PrintAction’s fourth-annual race-day celebration held at Grand Prix Kartways in Toronto. This is Westgate’s second title in three years, after edging out his business partner, Michael Steele, who won the race in 2010. This is the fourth consecutive year that an executive from Sydney Stone has captured the title. The winner of the 2011 Consolation Round went to Tina Frankie, a student with Ryerson University’s Graphic Communications Management program, who is spending the summer as an intern with Heidelberg Canada. RICOH, according to a June report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide over the next three years. The Japan-based company indicated that its first round of major job cuts are to be concluded by March 2014. From a total staff count of over 100,000, Ricoh currently employs 40,000 people in Japan and around 69,000 across its international operations.
ADVERTEK officially opened its new 30,000-square-foot plant in Vaughan, celebrated by the city’s mayor, Maurizio Bevilacqua, and company co-owners, Joe Montalbano and Simon Spina. Advertek was founded 14 years ago with Montalbano and Spina taking over in 1999. The company now runs four Heidelberg sheetfed presses, including two 6-colour, 40-inch machines; a 4-colour, 20-inch; and a 2-colour, 18-inch. Advertek has also invested in several pieces of finishing technology and toner-based presses, including a Xerox 800 and Xerox 4127. Construction on Advertek’s new plant, designed by Montalbano and Spina, began in June 2010 with operations starting up in November of last year.
ROBERT VAN VELZEN, owner and President of The FSA Group, passed away in June in Toronto at age 51. He founded Fulfillment Solutions Advantage (FSA) Inc. back in 1993 as a unique direct-marketing company that leveraged both print and database technologies. Today, The FSA Group remains as one of Canada’s mostinnovative communications companies, based on its FSA Datalytics, FSA Delivery Net and FSA Media divisions. BANK OF CANADA plans to introduce a new series of Canadian currency starting in November. Unlike the cotton-paper money previously released by the Bank of Canada, the new series will be printed on a plastic polymer and contain several new security features, most prominent of which are two transparent areas on the bill. The first bill of the new series will be the $100 note. The $50 note will be issued in March of next year, the $20 note at the end of 2012, and the $10 and $5 bills are scheduled to arrive in 2013. The bills are expected to last 2.5 times as long as the current bills, saving the government at least $200 million over the bill’s eight-year lifespan.
Building from the 5-year Environmental Printing Awards program, PrintAction magazine presents the Canadian Printing Awards to celebrate industry innovation and achievement
Canadian PRINTING AWARDS
The Canadian Printing Awards are sponsored by: GOLD SPONSORS
Entry deadline: September 15, 2011 • Awards Gala (at Graphics Canada): November 10, 2011 Industry Achievement categories Free, nomination-based category
• Community Leader of the Year Award • Emerging Leader of the Year Award • Printing Leader of the Year Award • John A. Young Lifetime Achievement Award (Determined by PrintAction magazine)
The Canadian Printing Awards will be hosted by Dianne Buckner, host of CBC’s hit reality television show Dragons’ Den. She was also host of the long-running CBC series Venture.
Environmental Printing categories
SILVER SPONSORS
OTHER SPONSORS Table Wine Sponsor
• Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Co. (250+ employees) • Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Co. (1-249 employees) • Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Technology • Most Environmentally Progressive Packaging Project • Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Project Quality Printing categories
Contact us for more information, entry forms or sponsorship opportunities.
Email: CPA@PrintAction.com • Tel: 416.665.7333
www.PrintAction.com/CPA
• Best of Show • Self Promotion • Brochures • Business & Annual Reports • Direct Mail • Variable-data-printing • Magazines & Catalogues • Newspapers • Books • Calendars
• Display Graphics • Packaging Printing • Labels • Stationery Packages • Business Cards • Handset Printing • Web Offset Printing • Finishing • Student Projects
JULY 2011 • PRINTACTION • 7
PRINT CALENDAR
AUGUST
Mexico City is one of the oldest cities in the world, second to Tokyo in population and fifth in the world in the size of its metropolitan area. Although great strides have been made to improve air quality in the last two decades, pollution remains a major issue for this valley-situated metropolis.
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Organized by Messe Dusseldorf (drupa), Pack Print International 2011 begins in Thailand at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre. In addition to packaging technology, the event also focuses on prepress, bookbinding, paper converting and print finishing.
Printing Industries of America’s Lloyd DeJidas, Director of Graphic Services, hosts a 2:00 pm Webinar called Improving Pressroom Plant Conditions to Optimize Production. The event focuses on topics like combating erratic sheet feeding, sheet set-off, pressroom lighting, and fugitive spray powder. US$99*
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One month from today, in Banff, Alberta, NorQuest’s Centre for Excellence in Print Media hosts a 4-day Executive Forum in cooperation with Heidelberg’s Print Media Academy. Primary speakers at the event include Heidelberg’s Stan Solomidis and Martina Brand, as well as CPISC’s Marie Evaline. $1690*
One month from today, printers from across North America arrive in Chicago for Graph Expo 2011, running under the theme “Embrace Technology,” at McCormick Place South. For the first time, organizers are introducing a Marketing Pavilion complete with a how-to theatre.
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Centro Banamex in Mexico City plays host to exhibitors like Agfa, Canon, Celupal, HP, Konica Minolta, and Plasti-Mundo at FESPA Mexico 2011 – wide-format, screen, and textile printing. The event features a Wrap Cup Master Series in which car-wrap artists vie for prizes and the regional championship title.
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Described as a first in the franchise-print sector, AlphaGraphics Inc. and Allegra Network LLC join forces to hold a joint Technology Expo at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is expected to include over 150 vendors and 600 franchisees from both networks.
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Rochester Institute of Technology holds its Lithographic Relationships & Variables workshop with instructor Ray Prince, VP with NAPL. The event focuses on the application of sheetfed and web press operating principles in troubleshooting and controlling variables – primarily materials. US$895
Entries into PrintAction magazine’s Canadian Printing Awards are due one month from today (September 15). Building upon the 5-year Environmental Printing Awards program, the CPA initiative features over 20 categories organized into three distinct sections: Quality printing, environmental initiatives and industry contribution.
Pricing listed at standard rates, with * denoting available member or early-bird discounts.
8 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
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Eat this Ad n April 2011, the South African division of Volkswagen decided to do something different with their ad to promote the new Golf R model. The sporty hatchback had superb handling characteristics which made it “eat” corners when driven enthusiastically. Along the same lines, Volkswagen would invite readers to eat the ad, literally. Conceived by advertising agency Ogilvy, the ad was produced through RedWorks, Ogilvy’s print production partner based in Hong Kong. The ads were printed using an inkjet process and edible inks in Hong Kong before being shipped to be bound in Auto Trader magazine. A total of 174,000 pieces were produced. The paper is made mostly of glutinous rice flour, in other words, rice paper. Rice paper has been used for centuries in East Asian countries for
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artwork and books. In Vietnam, it is even used in spring rolls, after being softened in water. As with any edible product, contamination is a vital concern. “It was a challenge, but once again well-handled by Redworks,” says Tommy Le Roux, the Copywriter at Ogilvy for the campaign. “As far as cross-contamination concerns go, we placed the insert into a plastic wrapper to protect it and keep it fresh. “Public reaction has been incredible. In an odd twist, it seems to have become very popular online as well. Everything from advertising blogs to social networks to food sites have picked up on the idea and featured it all sorts of ways.” When asked what the ad tasted like, Le Roux said, “Great! The edible ink left quite a impression on people’s tongues though!” – Clive Chan
10 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
PRINT BOOKS
On the Same Page ver two days in June, Webcom Inc., a 36-year-old book manufacturer based in Toronto, received dozens of visitors to tour one of Canada’s largest printing-technology investments made since Wall Street broke in late 2009. Beyond the $12 million outlay, fashioned under Webcom’s new BookFWD market strategy, the multi-machine installation garners more attention because of its unique manufacturing platform, centred around the country’s first inkjet-based HP T300 web press. “Book publishers are challenged in many ways, from demanding time constraints to evolving environmental considerations to new e-product investments. The most critical determinant of a publisher’s ability to successfully navigate these challenges is improving the financial returns of their printed product,â€? said Webcom President, Mike Collinge, when the investment was first announced back in October 2010. Nearly eight months after first announcing the initiative, Collinge reinforced his market approach with more than 250 guests at Webcom’s June open house, entitled Game Changers 2010: “Inventory, distribution and production costs can all be reduced‌ Print must change and improve its value. [This investment] signifies our readiness to change the rules of the game in favour of winning strategies for book publishers.â€? During Game Changers 2011, Webcom announced a “multi-year strategic allianceâ€? with Pearson’s educational business for North America (details of the contract were not released). To better leverage its equipment investment, the book manufacturer also introduced a new logo, corporate colours, and tagline: “We’re on the same page.â€? While the HP T300 investment, coupled with a new HP Indigo 7000 (primarily used to print covers). attracts much of the attention; Webcom also spent millions overhauling its finishing department to accommodate the new presses. “Webcom is a very old company in a very old business that everyone – the general public – would say is tired and dead,â€? says Gary Hughes, President of Muller Martini Canada.
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“They have reinvented themselves by putting in digital, but they are also investing in every other aspect of their offset business as well. It is not a digital strategy or an offset strategy,� continues Hughes, “it is a book manufacturer’s strategy for the market and you have to bring more and more to the table all of the time in that industry.� The Bolero line, with an ability to bind spine widths from an 1/8 of an inch up to 3-1/8 inches, replaces two older binders and will primarily support conventional printing. The Bolero also has the capability to apply Webcom’s Layflat PUR Otabind – a technique created by the company about 20 years ago. The Acoro line is to be used within what Webcom classifies as its digital production capabilities. The PUR binding applied by both the Acoro and Bolero lines is also supported by Webcom’s integration of a Volumetric PUR Nozzle (VPN) spray system. VPN minimizes the amount of glue needed to produce a strong, high-quality bind. While the Acoro and Bolero both offer hot-melt glue options, Hughes describes Webcom as being ahead of all other North American book printers with its VPN adoption. In addition to the massive Muller Martini lines, Webcom also installed a Standard Horizon StitchLiner 6000. This system, purchased through KBR Graphics, can produce up to 6,000 booklets per hour – or inline cover feeding and booklet production at up to 600 feet per minute. Magnum Manufacturing supplied Webcom with its FlexBook system, which connects to the T300. It is only the second such book-block installation in the world and, according to Magnum, can reduce makeready time and spoilage by upwards of 90 percent. “In what everyone would say is a mature industry, under siege from e-readers, here they are stepping up and putting in some of the most-advanced digital technology out there,� says Hughes. “With the publisher’s BookFWD interface, you can see how Webcom is tying in digitization from their customer’s experience right through to manufacturing.� – Jon Robinson
HP’s Environmental Case for Digtally Printed Books
To support its HP T300 press (top), which runs a 30-inch web at 400 feet per minute, Webcom invested heavily in a unique Magnum FlexBook system (middle) and Muller Martini Bolero and Acoro finishing lines (bottom).
BEST SELLER GHPDQG SURĂ€OHV SDUDPHWHUV GHĂ€QLQJ WKH VFHQDULRV Press
Print run length
Total return rate, R
Partial return rate, Rp
Sold books
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Distribution distance
Scenario A
Timson
1*625,000
Scenario B a
Timson
1*400,000
25.0 %
20.0%
500,000
125,000
2,000 km
2.5%
2.0%
392,000
8,000
Scenario B b
Timson
2,000 km
1*50,000
2.5%
2.0%
49,000
1,000
2,000 km
Scenario B c
T200
61*1000
4.1%
3.3%
59,000
2,000
500 km
)RU WKH EHVW VHOOHU GHPDQG SURÀOH WKH SXEOLVKHU SODQV WR VHOO ERRNV ZLWKLQ \HDUV DQG IXOÀOOV WKH GHPDQG E\ XVLQJ HLWKHU RI WKHVH two scenarios: ‡ Scenario A: All the books are printed at once with the offset press, Timson Offset, at one centralized location. ‡ Scenario B: 400,000 books are printed with the offset press, at one centralized location, a second run of 50,000 with offset, and the extra GHPDQG ZLOO EH IXOÀOOHG ZLWK VKRUW UXQV L H ERRNV DIWHU WKDW RQ the Digital T200.
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Total return rate, R
Partial return rate, Rp
Sold books
Unsold books
Distribution distance
Timson
1*6,250
25.0%
20.0%
5,000
1,250
2,000 km
Scenario D a
T300
1*2,000
2.5%
2.0%
1,960
40
2,000 km
Scenario D b
T300
4.4%
3.5%
3,040
110
2,000 km
Scenario E a
T200
2.4%
1.9%
2,060
40
500 km
Scenario E b
T200
15*200
2.5%
2.0%
2,940
60
500 km
Scenario F a
T300
1*1,000
2.5%
2.0%
980
20
2,000 km
Scenario F b
5
4,020*1
0.0%
0.0%
4,020
0
0 km
)RU WKH FODVVLF ERRN GHPDQG SURÀOH WKH SXEOLVKHU SODQV WR VHOO ERRNV RYHU \HDUV DQG IXOÀOOV WKH GHPDQG E\ XVLQJ DQ\ RI WKHVH IRXU VFHQDULRV ‡ Scenario C: All the books are printed at once on an offset press at a centralized location. ‡ Scenario D: An initial run of 2,000 books is printed with the Digital T300 press at a centralized location and then short runs are produced over the remaining 5 years (same press, same location) to maintain the bookstore shelf stock, i.e. print-to-stock. ‡ Scenario E 7KUHH LQLWLDO UXQV RI FRSLHV HDFK DUH SULQWHG RQ WKH Digital T200 press at three regional locations and then very short runs are produced over the remaining 5 years to maintain stock (same presses, same locations). ‡ Scenario F: An initial run of 1,000 copies is printed on the Digital T300 press at one centralized location and the rest is printed on demand on WKH 'LJLWDO 5 SUHVV DW UHWDLO ERRNVWRUHV
During Webcom’s Game Changers open house, HP released its new 8-page study called The Environmental Case for Digitally Printed Books, which is a life-cycle assessment and comparison of inkjet, toner and traditional offset book manufacturing. JULY 2011 • PRINTACTION • 11
GORDON PRITCHARD
To Maximize Your Quality Potential You Must Eliminate “Quality”
Maximizing the print manufacturing experience means creating a process that delivers on customer expectations while also delivering on the company’s need for an effective and cost-efficient production process. Performance above project requirements are a waste of time, money and resources. Performance below requirements are unacceptable. Since the process revolves around meeting customer expectations – it’s usually best to first define what those expectations are. The next step is to turn those expectations into performance targets. Those performance targets, as well as tolerances, are embodied in words that have attributes – metrics – that can be quantified, specified, measured, and certified, and against which the company or its processes can be evaluated. This way a vague word like quality can be turned into clearly defined characteristics. This approach to process improvement can be applied to all facets of the printshop from initial client contact through to final delivery. 14 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
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Maximum resolution, widest gamut: Fine art reproduction > 240 LPI, 10 micron FM screening, 4/C+ – Narrow tolerance for variation through the run, press proofs, tight press to proof match. Colour match and variation is judged by eye and by instrument (typically a spectrophotometer).
The ‘Quality’ Pyramid
High res, wide gamut: Corporate brochures, specialty books >200 LPI, 20 micron FM, CMYK at higher solid ink densities, – Tight tolerance for variation throught he run, tight press to proff match. Colour match and variation is judged by eye and by instrument (typically a spectrophotometer). Presswork aligned to industry standards: Commercial colour, GRACoL150-175 LPI, CMYK at standard solid ink densities – Industry standard tolerance for variation through the run, very close press to proof match. Colour match and variation is judged by eye and by instrument (typically a densitometer). Low/Med resolution, standard gamut: Rack brochures, inserts, flyers 133-175 LPI, CMYK at standard solid ink densities – Variation through the press run may exceed industry standard tolerance, “pleasing colour” good but not perfect match to proof, grass is green and sky is blue but may not be the exact green or blue. Colour match and variation is judged by eye.
Illustration by Tiffany Kay Garcia
Replacing “quality” to maximize the print manufacturing experience
The ‘Quality’ Pyramid
el
The term quality is so broadly and over used in the print industry that it has lost any real meaning. So, in order to give meaning to the term the printshop needs to rethink, and look more critically at the way it does business. Print production is not looked at as a creative process. Instead, it is looked upon as a commodity that results from a manufacturing process. As a result, quality lies in the execution of the print manufacturing experience from initial customer contact to final presswork delivery. Looked at from that point of view, one can translate quality from being a fuzzy personal perception into quality being made up of discrete and potentially measurable components. So the first step the printer needs to do to maximize quality is to totally eliminate the term from their vocabulary and replace it with words that have specific meanings, preferably meanings that can be quantified, specified, measured, tracked and communicated.
ev
The first step to quality is to eliminate “quality”
reproduction represents the original art. Fidelity can be broken down into two components: q Resolution, and w Gamut. Resolution refers to the halftone screening being used. Higher frequency screening delivers finer levels of detail rendering fidelity and hence a level of detail that is closer to the original art. Resolution is a metric that can be specified, measured, and certified from a coarse 100 lpi AM screen to an ultra-fine 10-micron FM screen. Specifying resolution targets can help determine everything from scanned image dpi, to make-ready times, to what equipment – such as plates and plate imaging, loupes, and paper – the printer will need to invest in. It is also very easy to demonstrate the different detail rendering capabilities of different halftone screens. Gamut refers to the colour range capability of the presswork. The greater the gamut, the greater the potential for the presswork to reproduce the original art. Again, gamut is a metric that can be specified, measured, and certified. Strategies to enhance gamut might include printing at higher than standard solid ink densities, employing extra “bump” colours/touch plates, using wide gamut inks, or using a 6or 7-colour process. Accuracy can be broken down into two components: q Alignment of presswork to a signed-off proof, and w Alignment of presswork to a print characteristic target (ISO 12647-2 or an inhouse standard). Alignment of presswork colour to the signed off proof can be verified by using basic tools such as spectrophotometer measurements of colour patches or more complex tools such as full press sheet scans. Tolerances for the accuracy of either individual colours or the sheet average can be specified using agreed to DEab values based on industry norms, individual shop capability, or customer requirements.
”L
A
certify consistency can be as simple as documenting solid ink densities and/or grey balance at specified points during the run or be as complex as implementing consistency assurance solutions such as System Brunner Instrument Flight. Tolerances for consistency can be agreed to between print buyer and supplier, and quantified. Tolerances can be based on industry standards (“We maintain a DEab of 5 or less for all colours.”), or proprietary standard (“We deliver System Brunner 4 Star presswork”) or a house-specific standard. The important thing is that consistency is a metric that can be objectively quantified and documented. Fidelity refers to how closely presswork
Presswork quality without “quality”
Although this rethinking of quality can be applied to all aspects of the printshop’s activities, as an example, here’s how this process might play out for just one part of the production process: quality in presswork. You can look at presswork quality as having three key characteristics: consistency, fidelity, and accuracy. Those terms would then replace the word quality in both internal and external communications. Consistency refers to the stability of the presswork within the pressrun. Consistency is a metric that can be specified, measured, and certified therefore providing numeric certification of the printer’s performance. Tools that can be used to
“Q ua lity
sk a group of printers if they consider themselves “quality” printers and you’ll typically get a “yes” answer, while print buyers and specifiers will make statements like: “Quality is a given” or “Every printer can deliver quality.” But ask them to define specifically what quality means and you’ll usually get blank stares. If you can’t define something as critical as quality in print, then how can you be sure that you are receiving and/or delivering it? And importantly, how can you expect to find opportunities to improve upon it – opportunities that your competition may miss?
The “Quality Pyramid” is a way to visualize presswork performance targets and metrics, as well as to identify them from the customer’s point of view and communicate them internally. In this particular case, the graphic represents one printshop that offers four print standards that can be tailored to meet individual customer needs. This printer’s offerings are clearly stratified and standardized so that they can be communicated to internal resources and customers in order to be handled appropriately throughout the production chain. It’s important to understand that “Level 1” is not better quality than “Level 4”. Instead, Continued on page 26
ZAC BOLAN
QR Codes: Printer’s Panacea or Marketing Misfire? A
One of many Websites offering free QR Code generation. Simply choose content type, enter your text, choose a size and generate. The Code appears as a PNG file in the window, or you can utilize the HTML Permalink provided.
the literal sense. It’s called Quick Response because the contents can be decoded and read at high speeds by a machine – not by you. Though the name may not be familiar, most people are at least aware of these distinctive talismans sprouting up everywhere. Cities, towns and villages are littered with these enigmatic glyphs, each offering the lure of secrets embedded deep within a matrix of mystery. The “mark” in marketing
So where are all these QR Codes coming from? With the skyrocketing rise in camera-enabled smartphone use, marketers have been searching for new ways to lure the tech-savvy consumer into interactive promotional campaigns. For this purpose, the QR Code is the perfect tool. Put simply,
a QR Code contains information that can be read by a machine and decoded into something we can understand and use. While all QR Codes share a similar appearance, the density of the matrix reveals how much information they can actually hold. At the low end of the scale, a 21x21 matrix can contain between 10 and 25 characters, while a tightly packed 177x177 matrix can conceal up to 4,296 alphanumeric characters. However, while it might seem a good idea to embed the first chapter of your novel into a 177x177
two-dimensional matrix technology evolved from standard vertical line barcodes as the need arose to scan and decode information quickly. Developed by Toyota subsidiary DensoWave, matrix barcodes were Calgary-based musician Joal Kamp had his mind blown initially used to track vehicle by the marketing potential of the QR Code. parts on automotive assembly lines. Because the codes could contain phones and software improved in sophisrelatively large amounts of information, tication QR reading technology for the they were well suited to automated and masses finally became a reality. Simultarobotic manufacturing. neously, the explosive growth in smartShipping logistics was the next indus- phone user numbers triggered the birth try to embrace the QR Code with major of mobile and proximity marketing. players like UPS and FedEx arming their workers with Buck Rogers-style scanning What is it good for? pistols that could record and transmit Because QR Codes contain alphanumeric package and delivery data. For most information their potential as a marketearthlings, this was their first glimpse of a ing tool is only limited by imagination. previously sequestered technology. The information embedded in the code In the late-90s, the Digital Convergence can be very simple, a phone-number for Corporation attempted to bring code example. Or a QR code could contain a reading to the masses with its ill-fated large amount of personal contact infor:CueCat reader. The awkward cat-shaped mation similar to what a vCard might device was just capable of reading pro- display. However, most often mobile marprietary :CueCat barcodes – and only keters use QR codes to direct the reader possible after tethered to a painstakingly to a mobile-optimized website designed configured personal computer. Thou- to engage, gather information and persands of these devices were freely given haps reward an interacting user. away in the hopes of creating a user base. The benefits to the marketer are obvious. Once engaged, a user is far more likely to participate in the associated marketing activity. But there are usually benefits for the 1. Version information user as well. The QR codes on realtor’s signs 2. Format information are routinely used to give the shopper enhanced information about a property. A 3. Data and error correction keys QR target site might contain a special offer, discount or coupon – perhaps as a reward 4. Required patterns for giving up an email address or a survey response. All well planned QR target sites 4.1. Position have one thing in common: They are designed to elicit a response, turning a passive 4.2. Alignment consumer into an active participant and hopefully, a buyer. In addition to spurring docile con4.3. Timing sumers into action, the other major value to marketers is the unrivalled access to 5. Quiet zone usage metrics. By setting unique landing pages for QR Code traffic, marketers are Decoding the code – the cryptic elements of the QR Code revealed. able to access detailed usage metrics QR matrix, it’s important to remember Many major magazines like Forbes and showing precisely how many people are that most QR reader apps cannot decode Wired incorporated :CueCat codes into scanning the codes on a daily, or even that much data. The practical content advertisements during 2000, however, the hourly basis. In fact, your GPS enabled limit for QR is more in the range of 250 technology failed to gain any traction and smartphone may even be giving the marcharacters. eventually dissipated into oblivion. In keter your location, opening up the conAdditionally, in their never-ending quest 2006, PC World magazine retrospectively troversial proximity-marketing can of for smaller-faster-better, mobile marketers named the :CueCat as one of the 25 Worst worms. These detailed metrics allow marhave embraced the new micro-QR code Tech Products of All Time. keters to accurately gauge the ROI of the standard, taking one-quarter of the space Decoding then returned to the domain advertising campaign – a far cry from the of a standard code, but only able to hold a of large-scale enterprise users with the re- old model of placing advertisements in maximum of 35 numeric characters. sources to develop proprietary reading magazines and hoping for a bump in sales QR Codes have been among us for a devices – that is, until the birth of smart- several months down the road. while. Starting life back in 1994, this arcane phones. As processor-enabled camera Continued on page 30 Illustration courtesy of Wikimedia
t first glance, you feel as if you have just spotted some cryptic graffiti, perhaps the tag of a delinquent extraterrestrial. On closer inspection, you wonder if this could be some new kind of crossword puzzle. Somehow you know it means something, perhaps even something significant, but you cannot recall what this thing is or how to use it. You’ve just stepped into the QR Zone! QR stands for Quick Response, which one would naturally think has something to do with marketing. It doesn’t – at least in
JULY 2011 • PRINTACTION • 15
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16 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
he next generation of packaging went on display June 21 to 23 at PackEx, a biennial tradeshow of sector software, hardware and services, billed as Canada’s largest such exhibition, now in its 35th year of operation. The scores of eye-opening marvels amassed on the showfloor at the Toronto Congress Centre were reinforced by two signal events organized by PAC – The Packaging Association: One was PAC’s influential Leadership Awards competition, recognizing packaging innovations in design, technical achievement, and environmental sustainability, and the other was an intensive 3-day conference program highlighting the latest in packaging technology and trends. Walmart Canada Corp. gained prominence at both events by sponsoring its own Best of Show Award in this year’s competition and by hosting its fifth annual Sustainable Packaging Conference for one day of the conference proceedings. According to PAC President and CEO James Downham, Walmart’s Sustainable Packaging Conference has emerged as one of the most-important and well-attended forums for the packaging community. In a written welcome in Walmart’s conference brochure, Downham explains that environmental sustainability continues to be one of packaging’s top priorities, owing to the growing prominence of Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR. Briefly stated, EPR is an environmental policy that extends a producer’s responsibility for a product to the post-consumer stage of the product’s life cycle, requiring producers to design and implement stewardship programs to achieve waste-reduction targets. “EPR is the game changer that is shifting risk and opportunity across the packaging value chain,” Downham’s welcome states. “Cost to producers for taking on end-of-life product responsibilities are projected well into the billions. It is becoming clear that new thinking and leadership is necessary to help transition industry towards a future with Sustainably Financed Municipal Solid Waste. In response, PAC is assembling industry leaders to proactively address this pressing issue. “To ensure inclusiveness and transparency, PAC is including important stakeholders from the recovery community and government. Our focus is on optimizing, mobilizing and mitigating risk of end-of-life solutions for packaging design, recovery (collection and processing) and end markets.”
Frank Augurusa ext. 14 frank@blackiprint.com
Ranked as the world’s largest corporation by annual revenues (a figure Walmart Canada President and CEO David Cheeseworth cites as $400 billion), Walmart certainly possesses the necessary resources and influence to take on a global leadership role in environmental sustainability. Many of Walmart’s Toronto conference presentations, conducted by environmental heavy hitters both from inside Walmart and from other key external organizations, filled a room with 850 seats, often leaving several dozen additional listeners standing at the back. The report below summarizes just a few
very brief highlights of the extensive information they provided. Cheesewright, whose former achievements include successfully introducing Walmart’s supercentre format into Canada, presently oversees a growing chain of 325 Canadian stores and over 85,000 associates, serving more than 1-million customers a day. In the conference brochure and a formal address, he emphasized his company’s commitment to sharing information on environmental sustainability widely: “At Walmart, we strongly believe that sustainability should not be a competitive advantage. For this reason, we remain committed to hosting events like this one, where we create opportunities for industry leaders to learn from each other and share information with the goal of becoming sustainable,” he writes. His speech to conference attendees confirms: “You should be able to get any information you want to hear about Walmart’s sustainability practices. If not, pick up the phone and tell me. We will share anything with anybody – competitor or not.” Later, in a personal interview, I asked him how PrintAction readers, who are primarily employed by or own relatively small printing companies, would fit into Walmart’s scenario. He replied that in business, because of Walmart’s huge scale, instead of trying to compete with Walmart, it often makes better sense for smaller businesses to leverage the special strengths of being small – strengths such as service, flexibility, and uniqueness – in a way that big businesses can’t. But Cheesewright says sustainability is a different matter: His company urges suppliers of every size to try to understand what Walmart is trying to achieve and emulate their approach that, to be effective, sustainability must reach right through the structure of the business from the executives down to the grassroots level. He insists on the necessity of embedding sustainability throughout an organization’s culture: “It’s important to be open to feedback, not just about what’s working well, but also what doesn’t work and what we could do better. Walmart operates on an open-door concept that allows any associate to raise any issue of concern – either directly or anonymously, if they choose – without any negative repercussions. Besides often providing useful insights, it’s an amazingly good way to keep in touch with what is going on.” Additionally, Cheesewright’s speech outlines Walmart’s My Sustainability Plan (MSP) program that gives Walmart associates a vehicle to integrate environmental practices directly into their daily lives. The plan asks them to identify something they are passionate about in the categories of Planet, Health, or Life, then commit to a plan to make it part of their daily lives, track their progress, and share their story to inspire others. Cheeseworth reports that in the 18 months this program has been running, more than half of all Walmart associates have developed MSPs. Examples of their initiatives include quitting smoking, recycling, carpooling, or switching to sustainable products. Continued on page 28
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Meet the game-changer. The world makeready champion, ROLAND 700 DirectDrive For zero-time plate changes, nothing out-performs the ROLAND 700 DirectDrive press. With directly driven plate cylinders, all plates can be changed simultaneously and easily during the same time the impression and blanket cylinders are being washed. For even more speed, QuickChange modules allow you to automatically pre-select all makeready steps, and print length correction on-the-fly allows you to correct while the press is in operation. The ROLAND 700 DirectDrive’s speed, quality, and efficiency make it the bridge between offset and digital for short-run printing. Truly, changing the game.
Bridgingthe
Gap
18 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
Canadian-built inkjet s with Belgium’s imagin by Jon Robinson
strikes a chord g giant
T
he majority of Agfa Graphics’ research-and-development dollars are now
directed into the inkjet sector, which is overseen by Richard Barham, Vice
President of Inkjet Systems. He would not provide specific numbers for
how much this sector contributes overall to the Graphics group, which has focused on the development of prepress consumables and software for decades, but he explains that Agfa’s inkjet business grew by 402 percent in 2010.
Most of this inkjet growth is the result of recent acquisitions, of course, predominantly the July 2010 purchase of Harold M. Pitman Company, one of the largest graphic arts distributors in the United States, with 502 employees and 16 locations. (Agfa’s inkjet sector experienced an organic growth rate of 63 percent in 2010.) Overnight, the Pitman purchase pushed the annual revenues of Agfa’s North American operations to $500 million. In addition to gaining a substantial footprint with inkjet consumables, Agfa’s acquisition of Pitman also disrupted a hardware-distribution agreement with a key inkjet rival, EFI VUTEk, which later established a new channel through Heidelberg USA. Also boosting Agfa’s inkjet growth was a muchquieter, November 2009 move to acquire the majority of assets of Mississauga-based Gandi Innovations Holdings. Founded in 2001 to manufacture wideformat inkjet devices, Gandi reached a sales peak of US$127 million in 2008, but, by May 2009, the operation was forced into bankruptcy protection in both Canada and the United States. Without disclosing the acquisition price, Agfa claimed the move had no major impact on financial Opposite page, top: Richard Barham, Agfa’s Vice President of Inkjet. Bottom: From Agfa Canada, James Burghgraef, Account Manager; Eddie Camara, Inkjet Sales; Tom Walsh, Product Manager, :Jeti; Brian Paradis, Business Manager, Central and Western District; Lesley Hepditch, Account Manager; and Rob Layton, Agfa Canada’s Director of Research & Development, :Jeti.
debt as it picked up an established portfolio of wideformat inkjet devices. Gandi’s Jeti line fills a production gap between Agfa’s entry-level :Anapurna machines and the massive :M-Press designed for industrial screen-printing operations. Agfa finalized the acquisition in January 2010 and the company’s new :Jeti team has since launched new machines and upgrades at a rate that is 40 percent greater than first anticipated. The 116,000-square-foot :Jeti plant in Mississauga is now Agfa’s inkjet R&D centre for North America. Building the bridge
At the time of acquisition, the :Jeti line included solvent-based roll-to-roll devices, UV-based roll-toroll devices, as well as UV flatbed. “When Agfa looked at the :Jeti line, what they really looked at was an industrial-grade, mid-range inkjet system,” says Richard Barham. Agfa was also clearly interested in Gandi’s dominant position in aqueous-based directto-fabric machines, which Barham sees as a market ready to explode in North America. “You are really talking about industrial printers and these are people who produce outdoor signage, POP – all day, every day – in high production environments,” continues Barham. “This is the market served by the :Jeti line and it consumes a lot of ink, so it is quite an interesting market for Agfa.” In 2006, Agfa Graphics began manufacturing inkjet ink in a Belgian facility with a maximum annual capacity of a million litres. Having previously dabbled in solvents and aqueous fluids, Agfa designed the new facility to produce high volumes of UV ink, which was taking over European and North American printing markets. Agfa sold just shy of 650,000 litres of inkjet ink last
To increase speed and colour capabilities, the :Jeti Titan’s base configuration of 16 print heads can be upgraded in the field to a maximum of 48 print heads.
JULY 2011 • PRINTACTION • 19
year. “I am going to run out of capacity in that plant sometime next year, so we are already in the planning phase for an expansion,” says Barham. In addition to the UV capabilities of the :Anapurna and :Jeti lines, the :Dotrix packaging press, Barham says Agfa is now putting about one :M-Press into the market each month. A successful :M-Press installation will go through five tonnes of ink per year. Agfa is now able to run ink from Belgium in its newest Canadian-made :Jeti devices. “We find Canada a very easy place to work,” says Barham. “When you are trying to move rapidly, the ability to get good people is critical and great for business.” Overseeing Agfa’s inkjet business on a worldwide level, Barham is also responsible for inkjet-based development centres in Belgium (Gent and Antwerp), Holland, Germany and Korea. “The speed at which I was able to build and expand the team here exceeds any of those other places.” The :Jeti team in Mississauga now consists of 40 engineers, fostered in large part by at least six world-class university engineering programs in Southern Ontario and Montreal. “When you walk around, you will notice we have a lot of young engineers who are out of those schools which means we are bringing a lot of high capability into this industry – it is a hightech area,” says Robert Layton, Director of Research and Development at the :Jeti facility. This is not Agfa’s first engineering commitment to Canada, following major information-technology investments in Waterloo and Toronto about three years ago, as the company was consolidating its vital healthcare operations. Agfa’s healthcare IT investment in Ontario now employs around 500 people, creating close ties to those university programs and helping its Mississauga inkjet facility to bring in graduate students. “The industry has not been able to attract a lot of the best and brightest out of the universities and we are able to do
that here,” says Tom Walsh, Product Manager, :Jeti. “It is great to see young guys – very smart guys – really excited about what they are doing.” A veteran of the Canadian printing industry, Walsh recalls Agfa’s prior manufacturing interest in Canada as the old Hoechst plate-making plant, which was actually shuttered around the time that Agfa bought Hoechst in 1996. Today, there are very few manufacturing facilities of printing technology left in Canada, including the country’s once dominant position in papermaking. “It is not too often your typical Canadian print service provider gets to visit an actual manufacturing facility,” says Walsh. “Toronto, of course, is the centre of the graphics industry for Canada, so our facility is a tremendous opportunity here.” Walsh often finds himself hosting visitors from the United States and Europe, wanting to see how the product is made. “It really is a great Canadian story bringing customers through here so they get a sense of what is happening in Canada.” Eliminating the forklift
Some of the Mississauga team’s most-recent work, a flat-to-roll (FTR) option for the :Jeti 3020 Titan machine, was unveiled at a Las Vegas sign show in April 2011. Based on Agfa’s October 2010 introduction of the same option for its :Jeti 1224 HDC, FTR allows users to switch from flatbed- to roll-based production without a loss of speed or quality. While these FTR options hint at Agfa’s new strategy to develop highly upgradable machines, the :Jeti 3020 Titan cements its approach: Users can start with a base configuration of 16 print heads and field upgrade all the way to 48 heads. “We wanted to set the new gold standard for upgradability,” explains Barham, who describes the Titan as unique in the market with its ability to offer 10 distinct levels of speed and capability. This allows a printing company to expand capabilities
As the worldwide VP of inkjet, Barham also oversees the development of high-end inkjet systems, such as the Leopard in Mortsel, Belgium. R&D expertise flows to the Canadian operation.
as their inkjet business grows, without having to purchase a brand-new machine – “customers do not like forklift upgrades,” says Barham. Taking the Titan from a 16head count to a 32-head count basically doubles its productivity, while integrating all 48 print heads allows a printer to add more colour (introduce white inks, varnishes or other specials) and reach a top speed of 2,432 square feet per hour. In addition to its new Belgian-built :M-Press Leopard (launched in May 2011), Agfa has also launched a new 5metre :Jeti 5048 UV XL machine (May 2011) and the solvent-based :Jeti 3348 HSS (October 2010), which Agfa describes as the fastest 3.25 metre, roll-toroll printer in its class. While solvent is clearly in decline in North America, it remains a popular inkjet process in developing print economies like China, Russia and the Middle East. To address an emerging market in North America, Agfa also recently launched a new Aquajet Pro ink set for the direct-to-fabric :Jeti Aquajet machines, which the company also upgraded with new hardware since taking over Gandi. “There are more Aquajets out there than any other industrial direct-to-fabric printer in the world,” says Barham. Still an untapped market in North America, relative to Europe, direct-to-fabric provides new opportunities in comparison to traditional dye-sublimation processes that require post-press calendaring. The new Aquajet Pro inks can print on flexible materials like polyester, which allows a user to literally pull their work off of the printer, fold it up, and ship it. “The price per square foot that [printers] are able to sell this product for is two to three times what they can get for vinyl just because of the novelty and convenience,” says Walsh, who believes a lot potential remains for commercial printers wanting to get into wide-format graphics. “For once commercial printers get to poach somebody else’s business, as opposed to having it happen to them.” Analyzing its large offset customer base, Agfa’s research indicates that 66 per-
cent of a commercial printer’s customers are already buying wide-format graphics elsewhere. This creates a natural, starting target for commercial printers to sell wide-format graphics. From a technical viewpoint, because commercial printers are also accustomed to hitting numbers for consistency, relative to the less-precise tactics used by screen printers, they also have a skill set to exploit modern inkjet colour control. “We have a lot of [commercial printers] who have taken an :Anapurna because they want to learn the market and it is a low-investment risk relative to an off-set press,” says Walsh, who sees companies with a moderate inkjet business lean toward the :Jeti line for capacity. In addition to machine upgradability, Agfa is also focused on building its inkjet portfolio, particularly the :Jeti line, to accommodate the numerous applications of wide-format graphics. Integrating the system
With print heads being the most-expensive part of any inkjet system, pundits for years questioned why Agfa did not purchase a print-head manufacturer, most obviously Xaar, which Agfa had invested in back in 2003. “We put money into Xaar to manufacture a head which was ahead of its time, and which is what we now use in the :M-Press,” explains Barham. Describing Agfa as being purposely print-head agnostic, Barham currently sources print heads from seven different manufacturers, including the industrial suitability of Xaar, Ricoh for high-speed applications, and Spectra for very-large-format work. “An inkjet system is more than just a head: It is a head and it is an ink which matches that head, married with a system that is designed around a specific application,” says Barham. “Unless you can put all three of them together yourself, you are in a very difficult position.” Gandi Innovations was founded as a systems integrator and Agfa’s investment in Canada should help the Belgian imaging giant build a stronger inkjet position.
Agfa Canada now has around 100 employees involved with its inkjet portfolio, including about 40 engineers building and testing the systems, as well as a full compliment of staff to run one of the country’s few remaining demonstration centres dedicated to print.
20 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Companies featured:
Digital Press Development While the term “digital printing” continues to be overused, much in the way that electronic prepress once dominated printing vernacular, it remains the best way – even if it is somewhat confusing – to define both toner- and inkjet-based production. Unfortunately, the term digital printing – once a great marketing description to sell small-format, quick
• Agfa
• Kodak
• RISO
• Canon
• Konica Minolta
• Screen
• Fujifilm
• MGI
• Xerox
• HP
• Ricoh
• Xeikon
turnaround presses – also devalues a printer’s expertise and portrays traditional offset printing as lacking numbercrunching sophistication. However, loads of development dollars continue to be applied to this digital press realm, including the most-recent software and hardware upgrades by the following 12 companies.
Canon Toner In April 2011, Canon Canada released new models within its imagePRESS platform, including the imagePRESS C7010VP, C6010VP and C6010, which are the first jointly developed presses by Canon and Océ. The new VP-designated models are designed to handle an expanded range Canon imagePRESS C7010VP of media (16 lb bond to 120 lb cover weight), while reaching a top printing speed of up to 70 letter-sized pages per minute (ppm) on the C7010VP and 60 ppm on the C6010VP. The C7010VP, C6010VP and C6010 models also feature new sensor technology for better humidity control, including an enhanced airflow unit, which is key for more accurate toner distribution. The new models also rely on Canon’s oil-free V Toner, which holds a small particle size (5.5 microns) relative to competing systems. Inkjet In late May, Océ (a subsidiary of Canon) launched its ColorStream 3500 as a scaled down version within this inkjet-based press line to help companies transition from black-and-white to colour printing. Available with up to six colours, the ColorStream 3500 reaches a top speed of 75 metres per minute with a print width of 540 mm (21.25 inches). This speed translates to producing, at 600 x 600 dpi resolution, 505 A4-size ppm (537 letter) for a single unit or 1010 A4-size ppm (1,070 letter) for a twin configuration. The system can reach a maximum top resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi at full speed. Software In March, Canon Canada released what it refers to as Cloud Portal software that enables a range of imageRUNNER ADVANCE systems to directly access Google Docs and Microsoft SharePoint Online cloud-based services. Using its MEAP technology, Cloud Portal for imageRUNNER ADVANCE software is a free application that allows users to scan and store paper-based documents directly to the cloud.
Xerox Production Inkjet System 22 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
Xerox Inkjet In February 2011, leveraging its proprietary solid ink technology, Xerox introduced the early development phase of its Production Inkjet System, which the company describes as the world’s first high-speed, waterless inkjet system. The Xerox Production Inkjet System was developed using more than 2,000 patents leading to a print head design that precisely controls every dot. Driving the inkjet device are 56 print heads with more than 49,000 nozzles jetting nearly 2-billion ink drops per second. The system is based on a granulated, resin-based ink formulation and includes an intelligent scan bar that checks billions of ink droplets per second. According to Xerox, the Production Inkjet System can produce around 2,200 pages or 500 feet per minute. The machine also has the ability to produce on lightweight, untreated stock. According to Xerox, the system has received the highest de-inkability rating from INGEDE. Toner In May 2011, Xerox continued to build on its light-production ColorQube platform, first introduced in the 9200 series last year. The three new multifunction printers in the ColorQube 9300 Series are also cartridge-free and allow users to cut costs through the company’s Hybrid Color Pricing Plans. The new models hit speeds of up to 55 ppm in colour, 60 ppm in black and white, and scan at 60 impressions per minute in colour. Software In May 2011, XMPie, a subsidiary of Xerox, launched the Hosted e-Media Express Edition, which is described as an entry-level version of PersonalEffect e-Media, delivered as a subscription-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. XMPie Hosted e-Media Express manages all non-print campaign functionalities (email, PURLs, Web and campaign analysis). The print functionalities are typically delivered through XMPie’s desktop-level solutions, such as uDirect and uCreate. In May 2011, Xerox announced a new partnership with Cisco to deliver cloud services. The alliance plans to bring Xerox’s managed print and cloud IT outsourcing (ITO) services to customers over Cisco’s network infrastructure.
USED EQUIPMENT
Kodak Prosper 5000XL
Kodak Inkjet In February 2011, Kodak debuted its Prosper S20 Imprinting System, as part of its overall Prosper S-Series, which also includes the S5 and S10 models. Based on the company’s Stream Inkjet Technology, the Prosper S20 has a 4.16-inch imprinting width and can reach speeds of up to 2,000 fpm (600 mpm) at 600 x 300 dpi. Rivaling the speed of web offset presses, albeit with a much smaller format size, Kodak describes this system as geared toward magazine, newspaper, and commercial insert printers. For larger format production, the 24.5-inch-wide Prosper 5000XL is rated for a top speed of 650 feet per minute. The 5000XL press has monthly duty cycles of up to 120-million A4 impressions. Toner Kodak introduced its NexPress SX line back in September 2010, planning for a mid-2011 release, which includes an option to handle a sheet of up to 26 inches in length – based on a sheet feeder or the Lasermax Roll Systems roll-fed unit. Users of Kodak’s earlier-released NexPress SE model can upgrade to the SX version, which increased productivity from 120 to 131 images per minute when employing the longsheet option. The SX platform also includes new halftone screening methods (up to 180 lines per inch); a new version of Kodak’s Intelligent Calibration System; and a matte-printing option based on a special fuser roller. At the same time, Kodak also expanded the capabilities of the NexPress fifth station to include a light black for stronger tonal reproduction. The fifth station can now handle light black, clear, red fluorescent, MICR, red, blue, green and dimensional printing. Software In April 2011, Kodak expanded its Web-to-print Solutions portfolio by becoming an authorized reseller of Online Print Solutions (OPS) applications. OPS’s core product, OrderDesk, provides a Web-based storefront to deploy fulfillment, job submission, online design and toner-based printing. The company’s VWeb and VPrint products also allow users to create, manage and track variable data and cross-media campaigns with elements of print, email, SMS messaging, and personalized URLs.
Konica Minolta Toner Konica Minolta launched its flagship press for commercial printing, the bizhub PRESS C8000, in mid-2010 and has since followed up on this commitment by introducing three new models in the bizhub PRESS C6000/C7000/C7000P. The C8000 model reaches a top speed of 80 ppm, while the C6000 hits 60 ppm and the C7000 hits 70 ppm. With the ability to handle stocks weighing up to 350 g/m2, the bizhub PRESS series runs Konica’s Simitri HD+ colour-polymerized toner to reach a maximum resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi. In February 2011, Konica Minolta reached an agreement to have its systems distributed globally by Kodak. In May 2011, Konica released light-production machines with the bizhub 652/552. This series of monochrome devices print and copy at speeds of 65 and 55 ppm. Software In March 2011, Konica Minolta introduced a new set of free mobile printing applications, called PageScope Mobile, for its bizhub line of toner presses. PageScope Mobile connects a bizhub MFP with an end-user’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to browse, read and instruct printing of select documents and images. PageScope Mobile allows users to print emails and attachments directly to a bizhub MFP. The software also supports the printing of PDF, TIFF, JPEG and XPS documents. Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000
JULY 2011 • PRINTACTION • 23
LETTERPRESS & FINISHING
Agfa Inkjet In May 2011, Agfa introduced a less-expensive model to its :M-Press line of industrial, inkjet-based presses, designated as the :M-Press Leopard. Employing the same shuttle system as the :M-Press Tiger, the greyscale (variable droplet) Leopard works with sheet sizes of up to 1.6 x 2.6 metres, while providing manual loading based on Thieme’s 55 vacuum zoned universal print table. The maximum print speeds for the :M-Press Leopard are 483 m2/h, while photographic quality mode reaches a top speed of 283 m2/h. In April 2011, Agfa introduced its next generation of :Agora inks that are applied through the inkjet-based :Dotrix Modular press. These UV inkjet inks were developed specifically for the newest Kyocera KJ4A print heads – to print on virtually any substrate at high speeds. The :Dotrix press is rated to produce over 1,200 m2/h at full speed. Agfa :M-Press Leopard
Software Agfa’s most significant software release in 2011 came in late January with the arrival of :Apogee 7. The main application of the company’s software suite is Apogee Impose, which is an imposition module that relies on live job information (making it rules-based) rather than templates to perform imposition. :Apogee 7 also allows print buyers to go beyond the standard Web-to-print screen to create new jobs in the prepress stage with WebApproval. In March 2011, Agfa introduced a new iPhone App that allows users to access an :Apogee Prepress server from their iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. The :Apogee Prepress App allows users to visualize the JDF submitted job list and track the equipment status in prepress production. In April 2011, Agfa launched APOGEEnetwork as an online hub for Apogee users to access news, articles, white papers, user guides, videos, online training, release notes, and software downloads. APOGEEnetwork also hosts the :Apogee User Forum where users can share experiences and exchange information.
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT
HP Digital
Envelope Press
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Inkjet In March 2011, HP added a fourth model, the T400, to its inkjet web press line. The T400 prints up to 4,926 full-colour A4 ppm, which HP describes as 37 percent more than the closest solution from competing vendors. The HP T400 relies on new HP A50 process-colour inks and new HP A10 print heads in a 1,200-nozzles-per-inch design. HP’s inkjet web press portfolio also includes the T350 with a 30-inch width and a maximum speed of up to 600 feet per minute (3,600 A4 ppm), while the T200 features a 20.5-inch print width and a rated top speed of 400 feet per minute for monochrome work, or 200 fpm in colour. The press produces a top resolution of 1,200 x 600 dpi. The oldest press in the line, T300, prints at a top speed of up to 400 fpm. HP also recently introduced MICR printing for its T-series. In January 2011, the Specialty Printing Systems division of HP introduced its new C400 Color Print Module for mail, trans-promotional and web offset imprinting. These thermal inkjet applications, applied in the HP mPrinter 4000, are designed for low-cost coding, marking and addressing. Toner In February 2011, during the annual Dscoop user’s conference, HP highlighted around 20 new upgrades to its Indigo WS6000 press for label and packaging production, including new blankets for better substrate compatibility; a new enhancement unit for the photo imaging plate; compatibility with HP Indigo Print Care; and Continuous Color Control. Within its Indigo press models, starting with the 7000 and 7500 models, HP has introduced a Vision System that includes a new approach for defect detection using inline scanning. The Indigo 7500 is a 7-colour press with a top speed of up to 120 A4 full-colour ppm on substrates weighing between 70 and 400 microns (460 microns with thick substrate option). HP’s Indigo 7500 press is available with two new finishing options, including Lasermax Roll Systems, PageReady, which is an in-line slitter/cutter/stacker scheduled for release in August 2011 and ideally suited for direct-mail applications. The Indigo 7500 can now also be integrated with a new UV coating machine developed by GMP.
PRESSDOWN
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Software In February 2011, HP introduced a new toolkit within its HP Capture program, designed to help customers sell high-value direct marketing applications, including stepby-step sales meeting guidelines, industry case studies, and an ROI calculator for full colour, variable-data printing campaigns. The new HP Capture program includes version 3.5 of HP Smart Planner software, which is an estimating tool with the ability to compare toner-based ROI with traditional offset. In February 2011, HP, based on its SmartStream Production Pro server, announced a new collaboration with Pitney Bowes to enable Advanced Function Printing (AFP) environments, based on Pitney Bowes’s P/I Output Manager system. P/I Output Manager processes multiple input print streams, transforming them into a JYLT/ICF data stream ready for production on the Indigo W7200 and 7500 presses. HP SmartStream Production Pro Print Server is available in a new IN100T tower configuration for HP Indigo 7500 presses. Users of the Indigo 5000 or 5500 models can now migrate their HP SmartStream OnBoard Print Server to the HP SmartStream Production Pro platform – using a new Production Pro IN040 or IN050 upgrade.
BUSINESS FORMS
Meteor DP8700 XL
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MGI Toner In June 2011, MGI launched its new Meteor DP8700 XL press, joining the Meteor DP60 Pro. The 4-colour press works with sheet sizes of up to 13 x 40 inches, while a larger 13 x 47 inch format can be employed via a manual bypass. MGI claims the machine hits 3,600 dpi resolution (8-bit printing) and more than 20 line-screen variations ranging from 95 to 270 lpi. The press can produce up to 4,260 A4 (letter-size) pages per hour or up to 2,280 A3 pages per hour. MGI rates the system with a monthly duty cycle of 600,000 A4/letter pages. Meteor DP8700 XL also features a new auto-adjusting offset feeder table and new silicone-free, dry toners.
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Fujifilm Inkjet Fujifilm continues to release more technical details around the development of its J Press 720, which was shown for the first time in North America in late 2010 and directly aimed at the commercial printing sector. The sheetfed, inkjet-based machine runs a standard 4-up offset sheet size and prints on coated offset stocks, while relying on paper handling which closely resembles an offset press. The system also employs a CCD sensor to scan every sheet and make needed adjustments. The J Press 720 uses Fujifilm Dimatix’ Samba print heads to achieve true 1,200 x 1,200-dpi resolution. It produces up to 2,700 29.5 x 20.8-inch, 4-up size sheets per hour, or the equivalent of 10,800 8.5 x 11-inch pages per hour. Fujifilm has also leveraged its chemical experience to develop a pre-coat solution, as well as water-based inks, to enable the production of bleed-free images.
TRADE PRINTING
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Xeikon
Indigo Digital & Heidelberg Offset
Toner In mid-2010, Punch Graphix launched its new Xeikon 3500 press aimed directly
at the label-printing market – specifically for the production of self-adhesive and heat transfer labels. It handles web widths from 200- to 512-mm wide and prints at a speed of 19.2 metres per minute, which Xeikon claims to be twice as fast as the closest competing system. Building from the previous 3300 model, the 3500 holds a wider printing format of up to 512 mm versus a 330-mm printing format found on the 3300. The system’s LED-based imaging head creates true 1,200-dpi resolution and 1,200 x 3,600 dpi addressability with variable dot density. The Xeikon 3500 is standard-equipped with five colour stations, including one for applying spot colours. The Xeikon 3500 can produce up to 570 square metres per hour in 4- or 5-colour printing. An upgrade path to the 3500 model is available for companies running Xeikon 3000 or 3500 machines. Software In April 2011, Xeikon launched
version 2.5 of its X-800 frontend with the latest Adobe PDF Print Engine, which is basically a PDF rendering technology designed to better handle transparency and to provide more flexibility in a workflow that runs multiple printing processes. Xeikon 3500
RISO Inkjet In mid-2010, RISO launched five models within its ComColor line of printers, billing them as the world’s fastest cut-sheet, inkjet printers. With printing speeds between 90 to 150 A4 ppm, RISO describes the devices as filling a gap between the higher production colour devices and lighter multi-function printers. The top speed of up to 150 ppm applies to both simplex and duplex printing. ComColor is rated for a monthly duty cycle of 500,000 pages, while it can handle heavier stock weights of up to 210 g/m2. In March 2011, RISO demonstrated new tray-pull capability, single-pass transpromo MICR printing, and full-colour envelope printing on ComColor high-speed inkjet printers.
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TRADE PRINTING
BINDERY & FINISHING
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Inkjet In mid-2010, Screen commercially launched its Truepress Jet SX as a B2-size sheetfed, inkjet-based press for the commercial printing market. The system, first seen in 2008, provides for single-pass duplex production, while users can also use the press for overprinting variable data on offset-produced material. Truepress JetSX has a maximum resolution of 1,440 x 720 dpi. In March 2011, while not a new product development, Screen USA announced an important marketing agreement to have Konica Minolta help sell and market Screen’s Truepress Jet520 Series of inkjet web presses.
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Toner In late-2010, Ricoh introduced its newest toner-based press in the PRO C901/C901S Graphic Arts Edition, which generally refers to the availability of bundled software, hosted services, and professional services. Working with format sizes from 5.5 x 8.5 inches to 13 x 19 inches, the PRO C901 works with weights of up to 300 g/m2 at rated speed. The press is rated with a 350,000 monthly duty cycle, running with controller options from EFI and Creo. Employing Ricoh’s PxP toners and oil-less fusing technology, the Pro C901 is also rated at a top production speed of 90 ppm, or 5,400 pages-per hour. The Pro C901/C901s Graphic Arts Edition is also available with Ricoh TotalFlow Solutions for multichannel marketing services.
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Continued from page 14
Level 1 simply has a different set of criteria compared with Level 4 that can be used in determining customer requirements and whether those needs will be met, or not, in the final presswork. Even for the printer that offers only one print characteristic, by looking at customer expectations and presswork this way each aspect of production can be described in greater detail, quantified and toleranced. Because quality has been replaced by measurable attributes, it is now unambiguous and the criteria – whether systems, equipment, facilities, or process-related for delivering on customer expectations – can also be established and communicated both internally and to customers. So, the next time you are tempted to say: “We’re a ‘quality’ printer” stop yourself and think about how you can best describe your performance capability without using that trite, vague, term. As W. Edwards Deming said: “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” About Gordon Pritchard: Formerly Print Quality Marketing Manager for eight years at Creo and three years at Kodak, Pritchard has presented at print technical conferences trained printers and buyers regarding print quality issues in Europe, North America, and Asia. His articles have been published in trade journals, co-authored TAGA paper on halftone screening, authored BRIDG’s guide to halftone screening. Previously Technical Director of Western Canada’s largest commercial sheetfed shop. His print quality blog is here: http://qualityinprint.blogspot.com/ and he can be reached at: pritchardgordon@gmail.com.
26 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
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Continued from page 16
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We kept hearing that associates were really concerned about the environment, but most people didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a clue what to do about it as individuals. The MSP program gives people a tangible way to get started and really do something,â&#x20AC;? he recounts in his speech, adding that his own personal MSP is a regular morning bicycle ride with colleagues. Cheesewright recommends that printers and other businesses could implement something like the MSP program with their staff, as well as participate in ShareGreen.ca â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a Website Walmart launched last year to provide Canadian businesses with sustainability resources and enable them to share case studies and comments. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nothing is better than sharing ideas,â&#x20AC;? Cheeseworth affirms in his speech. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can make progress in sustainability by committing time and passion, but the real answers are about collaboration and the ability to collaborate in areas where we have not normally been able to collaborate before.â&#x20AC;? He asked the audience to go through the day seeking out people they had never met and looking at how to forge collaborative partnerships with them going forward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss the fact that the contacts you make will be as valuable as the content you hear,â&#x20AC;? he says. Why green marketing needs to come clean
Another conference presenter, Scott McDougall, is President and CEO of TerraChoice and author of three studies called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Sins of Greenwashingâ&#x20AC;? that have been attracting regular mass-media attention in North America and abroad since 2007. His companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Website defines â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;greenwashingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as: â&#x20AC;&#x153;the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.â&#x20AC;? It subdivides this practice into seven categories or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sinsâ&#x20AC;? according to the type of misrepresentation being committed. For instance, The Sin of No Proof entails â&#x20AC;&#x153;an environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification.â&#x20AC;? Common examples are facial or toilet tissues that claim to contain various percentages of post-consumer recycled materials without providing any supporting evidence. The Sin of Vagueness entails â&#x20AC;&#x153;a claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer.â&#x20AC;? For example, the overused term â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;all-naturalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; could well describe ingredients such as arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde, since all are naturally occurring â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and toxic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; substances. To avoid sins of vagueness, McDougall suggest that marketers should replace such inexplicit terms as â&#x20AC;&#x153;greenâ&#x20AC;? , â&#x20AC;&#x153;environmentally friendlyâ&#x20AC;?, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;eco-friendly,â&#x20AC;? with more precise explanations of what they mean; for example, â&#x20AC;&#x153;30 percent recycled contentâ&#x20AC;?. Perhaps short of The Sin of Fibbing, the most blatant greenwashing transgression is The Sin of Worshiping False Labels: â&#x20AC;&#x153;a product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement exists.â&#x20AC;? As evidence of the false-label phenomenon, McDougall shows the audience
TRADE PRINTING a fictitious “Certified Environmentally Conscious” seal of approval he bought online for $15! As an antidote to fake labels, his study includes a list of 24 certification standards or programs that are recognized as legitimate. He points out that green advertising has more than tripled in the last three years, and although some players in the marketplace are manipulating the opportunity adversely with such devices as false labels, he offers the encouragement: “If you get it right, then your marketing will be very, very effective.” McDougall admits that his studies have attracted media attention partly because of the deliberate salaciousness of their titles. But additionally, he notes that so far the third study, investigating 5,296 products making green claims in the United States and Canada, and released in the last quarter of 2010, has attracted 244-million media impressions. He believes this astronomical publicity count proves that his latest study has hit a nerve because today’s world is watching green claims closely. He elaborates on the implications of this surveillance for businesses: “If you make investments in sustainable packaging, you run a risk of scrutiny. And if you hit that nerve the wrong way, all that work and good intentions run the risk of backfiring. So you need to pay attention to the issue of greenwashing and take a genuine sustainability proposition to market. And if you do, why would you not want to receive this level of scrutiny?” McDougall reports that 95 percent of the products he studied most recently were found to be committing one of the Seven Sins. “But to consumers faced with this reality, we still say keep buying the products, because you need to send the signal with your dollars that you want more green products in the marketplace. There is evidence that the more we continue to demand green products while simultaneously demanding more transparency, companies are responding constructively. So keep buying green products and, when you’re offered the choice between one that’s more transparent and informative versus one that’s not, choose the ones that are more transparent.” Based on this rationale, McDougall urges green marketers to confess and repent their sustainability sins: “If you admit your limitations and reveal your products and yourself as on a journey, your customers are willing to join you on that journey. You can say things like: ‘We’re not sustainable, but we think we know what it looks like. Look at this step we’ve taken.’ “Being sustainable starts with the willingness to reveal the detail and imperfections in your claim. We don’t trust people or products who purport to be perfect – especially not in as complicated a claim as environmental sustainability.” McDougall concedes that his company’s slant on sustainability differs from Walmart’s: “David Cheesewright says sustainability should not be a competitive edge, and that Walmart wants to share sustainability intelligence with everybody who’s interested. But the fact is that not everyone takes advantage of these kinds of opportunities the right way. We want you to use sustainability to win in the marketplace and take marketshare away from those who don’t care.”
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Bolan Continued from page 15
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Despite the backing of major magazine publishers, the :CueCat optical reader failed dismally in its attempt to bring barcode scanning to the masses.
Beyond the hype – does it really work?
In a bid to get a feel for the average person’s ability to deal with a QR Code, I devised an experiment where I distributed 100 business cards containing no character-based information – just a QR Code. As I meet a wide variety of people through the course of my week, I chose the recipients somewhat randomly but skewed to include a cross-section of age groups, financial demographics and an even split between genders. When given the card, recipients reacted in one of two ways – they either had smartphone in hand within seconds to decode the message or they would look at me quizzically as if to say “what the hell is this?” Initially, I told these people nothing except “if you can figure out what to do with this, please contact me.” As you might expect, my initial response rate was quite low. One of the few who bothered to delve deeper into the mystery was a friend whose “Quick Response” spanned an afternoon. Here’s the timeline in his own words: 3 minutes – Google search to find out what that sort of code was called, expecting that something wouldn’t be called a barcode if it has no bars. 10 minutes – trying to find an app for my phone that will work on my 3G iPhone that I haven’t bothered to update to iOS4. Only one app would. 10 minutes – taking pic after pic of the barcode and none of them reading in that App. 10 minutes – looking for an App I might have missed (there wasn’t one). 5 minutes – one of my staff trying the reader he had on his phone, unsuccessful, gave up. Continued on page 32
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Bolan Continued from page 30
This business card was randomly given to 100 people. Responses were varied, but the majority of people experienced some degree of difficulty in decoding the contents. The small boxes on the right hand side of the card represent the characters contained within the card.
25
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32 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
4 hours later – same staff member tries again absent-mindedly while we are talking about something else. His phone reads it this time. “I’m sure it will be much easier once the initial learning curve is tackled,” my friend concluded, “I started with ‘what do you even call one of these?’ which certainly added steps.” My friend’s experience may be more typical than mobile marketers will want to admit as many smartphone users have yet to fully explore the potential of the device they are carrying. Later, I modified the experiment parameters by telling people that it was called a QR Code. With that tidbit of information, the responses were more frequent, though people’s experiences still varied widely. The first to respond was Lyn, using a Motorola Atrix smartphone running the Android OS. She was able to readily locate and download a reader App to decode my card, which contained all the usual contact information. However, being unfamiliar with QR Codes she was suspect of the results. “I downloaded the QR Droid App onto my phone, photographed your card and received your contact info,” Lyn wrote, “I then got an error message and the App would only provide me with plain text, not the links. “However, I’ve got no idea what I was supposed to do,” she added. I assured Lyn that she’d done precisely the right thing in that QR Codes are designed to elicit a response. Other responders had a more difficult time deciphering the Code. I recently gave one of my QR cards to Joal Kamps, a local musician who’d seen the codes used in display advertising but had never bothered to read one with his iPhone 4. Within a day I received his animated response. “I can hardly believe what just happened,” Joal enthused. “After meeting you tonight, I drove home and Googled ‘QR Code’ and read the Wiki link that came up. Shortly thereafter I was on my new iPhone, trying to figure out which QR Code App would work the best… this is really blowing my mind. “And to think I grew up pre-Nintendo… now I can scan barcodes on a phone! This QR Code App did it all for me – bizarre, intriguing! I pointed out to Joal that the potential marketing benefits for an aspiring musician utilizing a print-based campaign featuring QR Codes. Joal could add a mobile-optimized Webpage to his existing site with a free MP3 sample of one of his
songs. The URL could be embedded in a QR Code that Joal could print on his business cards, gig posters or flyers. Anyone interested in attending Joal’s next show could scan the code and hear a sample of his music. Can QR Codes save the world?
Darren Barefoot seems to think so! Darren and partner Julie Szabo run Capulet Communications, a Vancouver-based firm specializing in Web marketing. In September, 2009 Capulet produced a series of posters for thebigwild.org, a conservation awareness organization founded by Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. The posters, rolled out in seven major cities across Canada, consisted of a large QR Code and the tagline “Do Something Small To Save Something Big” as well as a tiny line of instruction along the bottom imploring users to download a QR reader for their phone – nothing else. This intriguing call to action directed QR reader enabled viewers to a mobileoptimized Website about an ecologically sensitive area in their region. Western Canadian posters were concerned with the Flathead River Valley in Southeastern
Capulet Communication partners Julie Szabo and Darren Barefoot developed the first QR Code-based environmental marketing campaign for thebigwild.org.
British Columbia, while the eastern posters focused attention on the Restigouche Watershed in New Brunswick. Once directed, mobile users could sign a petition to preserve these areas and join The Big Wild’s mailing list. I asked Darren how the campaign came about. “We undertook the project because we wanted to get some mainstream media coverage for The Big Wild,” Darren explained. “We couldn’t really tell conservation stories, because that’s what our charity partners (like CPAWS) do. So, we devised this technology trend story around being the first environmental
campaign in Canada to use QR codes. We pitched the idea to MEC, and they were excited for us to give it a try. Since then, they’ve started adding QR codes to their advertising.” Wondering if the QR trend had taken root, I asked Darren if it comprised a major part of Capulet’s recent marketing initiatives. “Very little, in truth,” Darren revealed. “It’s just another new tool in our ever-expanding digital toolkit. However, recently a client wanted to get attendees at a concert to sign a petition. We urged the client to put QR codes on the back of their staff clipboards, so that the concert-goers could scan the code and complete the petition online.” Because Capulet Communications specializes in web-based marketing, I then asked Darren if he was seeing his clients shift to targeting mobile users.
QR as a cure-all
Interestingly, in an age when we all expect digital marketing to leave the printer behind, the best way to widely disseminate a QR Code is print. The positive impact on direct mail advertising is already being realized as marketers combine variable data with QR Codes and unique website landing pages to engage and convert otherwise passive consumers. In fact, the United States Postal Service believes so strongly in QR they are offering a three percent discount to direct-mail marketers integrating the technology into their campaigns. Moreover, direct mail is just the tip of the 2D barcode iceberg. The Quick Response Code has the potential to be a great value-add to any print piece, assuming the publisher has some way to captivate and convert the responder.
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A QR Code in the wild – A smartphone user scans a QR-enabled poster to learn more about thebigwild.org.
“We’ve definitely seen a rise in the attention that the mobile space receives,” Darren responded. “We’ve watched mobile traffic to client sites rise from one or two percent a few years ago to between eight and 12 percent today. That number will only go up, so increasingly we need to consider mobile marketing strategies like QR codes. “I think of them as ‘more information’ buttons in the real world,” Darren surmised, “like Foursquare and Facebook Places, I see QR Codes as a new way to connect bricks and mortar locations with the online world.” Nonetheless, some see QR Codes as a black mark on privacy. Laurie Venance, marketing analyst with Digital Pages, Inc. finds the demand for interaction that the QR Code enables to be invasive. “I don’t like the attitude of marketers using subtle force in their ads by only including a QR code,” Laurie explained. “As an individual I want to choose what organization or to whom I give information about myself. The QR code as the only means of my gathering further information on that particular ad galls me as it opens me to data harvesting that I am not willing to hand over without my consent. The assumption that I MUST give information about myself BEFORE I can receive more information about the advertiser is an arrogant assumption of my blindness to their ultimate goal.” Laurie makes a valid point as online consumers become increasingly – and justifiably – sensitive about widespread dissemination of their personal information.
Aside from the obvious potential in promotional printing, QR technology is a great way for print catalogues to compliment eCommerce initiatives or magazine advertisers to directly engage their target demographic. Both of these QR applications have the potential to revitalize lagging print numbers. And, QR Codes aren’t just for the big dogs, small businesses can also benefit from QR enhanced print. Business cards, postcards, flyers or even drink coasters have the potential to direct traffic to corporate websites or special promotions – ensuring that marketing dollars have a future in print. The additional value offered by the QR Code gives print something its been lacking… a functional connection to the digital world, or as Darren Barefoot put it, a more-information button. Zac Bolan’s blog: blog.softcircus.com
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July 1986 The Statue of Liberty, after two years of refurbishment, is re-opened by First Lady Nancy Reagan, Boris Becker beats Ivan Lendl to take the 100th Wimbledon Tennis championship, and Sarah Ferguson marries Prince Andrew.
Comgraph ’86 appeals to smaller print operations A 3-day event held at the Metropolitan Convention Centre June 8-10, Comgraph was a show “geared to the needs of in-plant printers, instant printers, weekly newspapers, typographers and small commercial printers.” Desktop publishing systems were in the spotlight with systems from Apple Canada, and major typesetting manufacturers showing PC-based systems outputting to typesetters. A dozen speakers were on hand to discuss various aspects of desktop publishing, including Jack McClelland, of McClelland and Stewart. McClelland spoke about the revolutionary impact of technology on the book trade, saying that about 50 of his authors (including Margaret Atwood) had submitted copy on computer disks, but others such as Farley Mowat still bang away at typewriters, and then have others input their material on computers. Yvonne Perry of Adobe Systems highlighted the ‘PostScript’ developments which “allows the laser printer to access, scale and rotate hundreds of typefaces” while using a single file. On the Linotype Canada booth, visitors were shown the power of PostScript through the recently released PageMaker software from Aldus Corporation.
Production schedule at Griffin House would drive some printers crazy Yvonne Perry, National Training Manager, Adobe Systems Inc., addresses the desktop publishing conference.
Of interest to both desktop publishers and commercial typesetters at the Linotype Canada booth was the demonstration of the Macintosh Plus with PageMaker software combining text and graphics for full page output to the Linotron 100.
34 • PRINTACTION • JULY 2011
Many printers would be driven to a frazzle if they had the production schedule of Griffin House Graphics in Toronto. It is not unusual to have six or seven saddle-stitched booklets of several thousand copies each in his shop for delivery the next day, then be notified that another is arriving at 6:00 in the evening for delivery at 9:00 in the morning. “This would drive some printers crazy,” said Phil Lacroix, Plant Manager, “but for us it is routine and where we excel at our capabilities.” All the company‘s equipment is chosen for ease of operation and fast set up. The company has operated for 15 years for the financial and corporate printing markets, but is looking to enter the commercial printing sector, said Lacroix.
Phil Lacroix (left) supervises the operation of a new nine station Omnibinder at Griffin House, run by John Marshall and Beverley Gonyea.
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