The Big Picture - February 2012 by ST Media Group

02.12

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Fine-Art Reproduction A Palette of New Opportunities

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in this issue

February 2012 Volume 17 Number 2

COLUMNS 4 InSight

Worry vs. control.

12 Business + Management

delicate balance: A sales growth and production.

14 Inside Output

inding the right F communication tools.

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES 16 Turning Fine Artists into Clients By Mike Antoniak

Fine-art reproduction can develop into a lucrative specialty – if you’re willing to master the craft, appreciate the subtleties of the artist’s eye, and understand how best to replicate their work. Here are five shops making a name for themselves in the fine-art marketplace.

20 Ubiquitous UV

I n just a few short years, UV’s tidal wave has come ashore and made its impact on the wide-format industry. And UV – including UV LED – will likely continue to increase its share of the market. To help you keep up with the UV’s rapid expansion, we’ve provided details on the latest UV printer models from 27 manufacturers.

28 ISA Sign Expo Orlando: 10 ‘Must-Knows’

From March 22-24, the annual Sign Expo hosted by the ISA will be back in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. To help plan your ISA road trip, we’ve provided 10 “mustknows” covering the ISA spectrum – from educational seminars and exhibitors, to attendee pricing and discounts at Orlando hot spots, and more. See you there!

ON THE COVER: Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra, Fall 2011 by David Saffir (davidsaffir.com), output with an HP Designjet Z3200 printer onto HP Professional Satin Photo. © D. Saffir 2011. Cover design by Laura Mohr.

THE BIG PICTURE february 2012

6 Wide Angle

Heavy metal.

8 Up Front

ews and N noteworthy.

32 R+D

he latest T tech, products, and supplies.

40 Job Log

pdating a U former six-pack.

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insight by Gregory Sharpless

www.bigpicture.net Gregory Sharpless Editor/Associate Publisher gregory.sharpless@stmediagroup.com Britney Grimmelsman Associate Editor britney.grimmelsman@stmediagroup.com

Worry vs. Control The old Mark Twain quote, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened,” came to me the other day when one of our company’s employees was fi xated on whether or not a dead tree adjacent to our parking lot was going to fall. It has slowly but surely begun its descent to the ground, it appears, and on this windy winter day, fears were apparently high that its time had come. Indeed, throughout the course of the work day, the tree became the subject of office discussion, and folks from various departments lined up at the windows to consider a) would it fall, b) how long it would take before it fell, and c) whose car it would crush when it did so? I was surprised we did not have an impromptu company meeting to evaluate the situation. But here’s the thing: As I write this, two days later, the tree is still standing. It has refused to cave into the dire predictions that were made about it. Leaving us to have expended more than a bit of company time and people-resources on the question of its survival. All of which leads me back to Mr. Twain and the topic of business in general: Why worry about what you can’t control? And if it’s something that you can control, then by all means go ahead and grab the wheel. In the case of our tree, for example, if we were all so concerned about the likelihood of falling and hitting an employee’s or visitor’s car, then we could have been proactive and cut it down ourselves or hired a service to do so. Yes, gravity might eventually take care of it, but it’s generally better to control when (and where) a tree falls. I think the same is true with many companies. Yes, there are certainly aspects we cannot control – but why worry about those? Instead, let’s focus our energy and resources on those things we can control. You might be amazed, by the way, how taking care of the things you can dictate actually does have an effect on what you thought were factors beyond your influence. Now this becomes an entirely different philosophical discussion, by the way, if our tree falls and no one is around to hear it.

Laura Mohr Art Director laura.mohr@stmediagroup.com Marty McGhie, Craig Miller, Jared Smith Columnists Linda Volz Production Supervisor linda.volz@stmediagroup.com Lou Arneberg - East and Midwest US, Eastern Canada Ben Stauss - West and South US, Western Canada, Europe, Asia Business Development Managers Rick Bachelder, Kathy Boydstun, Terry Corman, Scott Crosby, Brandon Gabriel, Michael Garcia, Kirk Green, Robert Kissel, Tina McLaughlin, Craig Miller, Carmen Rad, Greg Root, Jared Smith, Mark Taylor Editorial Advisory Board

Tedd Swormstedt President Steve Duccilli Group Publisher Christine Baloga Audience Development Director Kari Freudenberger Director, Online Media Subscription Services (847) 763-4938 tbp@halldata.com bigpicture.net/subscribe bigpicture.net/renew Single Copies/Back Issues Debbie Reed debbie.reed@stmediagroup.com

THE BIG PICTURE (ISSN 1082-9660) is published 12 times annually by ST Media Group International Inc., 11262 Cornell Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45242-1812. Telephone: (513) 421-2050, Fax: (513) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to non-qualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $42 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions in Canada: $70 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $92 (Int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2012, by ST Media Group International Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Cincinnati, OH and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Big Picture, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to The Big Picture, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076.

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

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Register today! Education & Networking Events: March 21–24, 2012 • Trade Show: March 22–24, 2012 Orange County Convention Center • Orlando, FL • www.signexpo.org/bigpicture

Produced by:

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Heavy Metal Travel photographer Ken Kaminesky (kenkaminesky.com) began working with Image Wizards to produce brushed aluminum prints of his artwork a little over a year ago. “The aluminum prints are a very unique way to present these images and really must be seen to get an idea of the effect,” says Kaminesky. “The light brushing of the aluminum can be seen through the sheer high-gloss coating, creating an almost 3D look to the photographs.” Although Image Wizards (imagewizards.net) won’t reveal much about its process, it does say that the output is achieved via a wide-format printer using an indirect process onto 92-percent recycled aluminum. Kaminesky’s The Louvre Museum Pyramid on a Rainy Night was shot in Paris after his flight and 15 hours of shooting; available on canvas or brushed metal. 6

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

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upfront upfront

Extreme Home’s Graphic Flair

ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has made a name for itself over the years by rebuilding and refurnishing dilapidated homes for deserving families in need. Thanks to the quick turnaround times offered by inkjet technologies, many of the new houses have incorporated wide-format prints to add some colorful flare. When Steve Hess, VP of sales, marketing, and product development of Hiawatha, Iowa-based World Class Graphics (makepeoplelook.com), caught wind that Extreme Makeover would be heading to his town, he immediately tracked down its producers to chat about how his print operation could get involved. Agreeing to donate a week’s worth of staff time and resources to the project, World Class Graphics, along with a contracted construction crew and local volunteers, set out to renovate the home of someone deserving. The show’s producers chose the family of Audrey Gibbs; a recent widow raising six children, Gibbs suffered a brain aneurism seven months after the death of her husband, leaving her legally blind. Ty Peddington, Extreme Makeover’s host, knocked on the door of the family’s farmhouse on a Sunday morning, promising them the home would be brand new in seven days – and so the countdown to complete the home began. While the Gibbs family was sent on an all-expensespaid vacation to Boca Raton, Florida, back in Iowa the designers turned to the family’s interests for design inspiration – a result of meeting and having in-depth discussions with the family and staffers going through

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

the home. In fact, many concepts were come up with on the fly. “We had all of the ideas before production, but nothing was final until the crew met the family and made decisions on what they wanted to do for them,” says Hess. “For instance, photos were taken of the family farm and of the family during their vacation and we turned the fi les into wallpaper for a couple of the rooms. A tremendous number of fi les were sent to us. We began getting the first fi les on a Sunday – the day they did the ‘door knock.’ We didn’t get some of the fi les until Friday morning with a 5 p.m. deadline. Some projects were even done through the night.” Print-ready PDF fi les from original Adobe Illustrator fi les were provided to World Class Graphics, which used its HP Designjet L25500 printer with HP Latex inks and Onyx PosterShop v10 for output. Hess and crew produced prints that were used for applications throughout the interior and exterior of the house, including a wrapped garage door, wrapped surf boards (with graphics designed by local artists), canvas prints, backlit signage, and more than 2000 square feet of custom wallpaper. The wall graphics were output onto HP PVC-free Wall Paper, while the surf boards were wrapped in HP Air Release Adhesive Gloss Cast Vinyl with HP Clear Gloss Cast Overlaminate. World Class Graphics went on to help Extreme Makeover with two additional homes, including a motor home wrap, later that year.

“ A great idea is a great idea and great ideas cannot be suppressed…at least not forever. The ones who get to profit from the great ideas, however, are not the ones who develop them necessarily, but the ones willing to embrace those ideas before anyone else does.” — Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (startwithwhy.com), from his Re:Focus blog

market metrics

EFI Acquires Cretaprint: Expands Inkjet Focus to Ceramic Tile Printing EFI has announced that it has acquired Cretaprint S.L. (cretaprint.com), a developer of inkjet printers for ceramic tile printing. The privately held Cretaprint is based in Castellón, Spain; it will remain an independent business unit of EFI. “As evidenced by our record revenues, we are benefitting from strong traction in our industrial inkjet segment and are excited about expanding into the ceramic tile market, which represents a tremendous growth opportunity for EFI,” says Guy Gecht, CEO of EFI. “We have been tracking the swift transformation from analog to digital technology in tile imaging for quite some time, and have been deeply impressed with the fast growth and global leadership position of Cretaprint.” Cretaprint lists several inkjet-related products on its website, including: the Cretaprinter and Cretacompact systems; the Cretaplotter, for samples and specialty pieces; and a Cretavision recognition relief system. EFI plans to strengthen Cretaprint’s operations in Spain, to further their expertise and innovation within the tile industry and to grow their market presence. “The ceramic-tile industry can greatly benefit from our innovative portfolio of technologies,” says Ghilad Dziesietnik, EFI’s chief technology officer. “We look forward to sharing our success with Cretaprint’s 1700-plus global customer network and expanding their talented employee base.” “We are extremely excited to join EFI and look forward to leveraging EFI’s Silicon Valley high-tech DNA, inkjet expertise, workflow, and color management,” says Victor Blasco, CEO of Cretaprint. “EFI’s global presence will accelerate the adoption of our digital technology across the globe and especially in emerging markets.”

Drupa Visitor Demographics 2%

22%

57%

57% Europe 22% Asia 7% South/Central America 6% Africa 6% North America 2% Australia/Oceania

Drupa 2008 drew nearly 390,000 visitors – a sizable majority of attendees originating from Europe. The 2012 version of the 17-hall expo will take place May 3-16 this year (drupa.com).

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upfront

Lyra Research Acquired by Photizo Group

FESPA Wrap Rally II: On the Road to Barcelona As this issue goes to press, a trio of FESPA staﬀers are readying themselves to embark on the second-ever Wrap Rally Journey – a seven-day adventure through Europe to find the best examples of innovative digital print technologies and applications, ending in Barcelona, Spain, for FESPA Digital 2012. The tour begins in London and covers nearly 1500 miles and 11 cities, all in just seven days. The FESPA trio will travel in a wrapped motorhome with a design chosen by FESPA’s global community (see one of the three possible designs above). Those wanting to follow the team’s progress can visit fespawraprally.com. The FESPA Digital 2012 event (fespa.com) takes place February 21-24 in Barcelona.

$147,000 Average household income of passengers riding Amtrak’s Acela Express service for the Northeast Corridor, connecting New York City to Washington DC. Titan Outdoor (titan360.com) has won exclusive rights to sell media along Amtrak’s Northeast corridor, which handles about 250,000 passengers each weekday.

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

Photizo Group – the research and consulting firm based in the Lexington, Kentucky area – has acquired Lyra Research (lyra.com). Both firms focus on the print and imaging markets. The new organization will continue to operate from existing oﬃces with headquarters in Midway, Kentucky. Photizo Group (photizogroup.com) and Lyra have cooperated on several projects in the past, and currently, the only overlap is in their client base, the organization reports. “We’ve worked hard to develop our reputation as thought leader in the rapidly evolving managed document-services market space,” says Ed Crowley, CEO and founder of Photizo Group. “Lyra’s 20-year history of providing our industry with thoughtful, in-depth analysis of imaging companies and their products makes them the perfect addition. Clients of both firms will see a vastly enhanced level of value from the new combined company.” Crowley will continue as CEO of the new entity. Frank Stefansson, CEO and executive vice president of Lyra Research, will become chief operating oﬃcer of the combined organization. Charles LeCompte, founder and president of Lyra Research, will continue to play an active role in the company as a senior analyst and spokesman. “Clients will benefit from enhanced capabilities in terms of forecasting, consulting, research, competitive analysis, and publications,” says LeCompte. “The combination of these companies creates a very comprehensive view of the market – from hardware to supplies to services and document management. We can provide a full view of the industry and its future to clients.” Other details about the acquisition: • Each organization will keep its brands intact and associated with its respective products. • The Lyra “Hard Copy Observer” brand will be leveraged across all media to provide a complete view of the imaging market. Photizo Group’s conferences as well as Lyra’s Imaging Symposium will remain intact, and the companies will evaluate the best way to approach the conferences as a single entity in 2013.

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business business++management management

A Delicate Balance: Sales Growth and Production By Marty McGhie

ne of the constant challenges we all face in our shops is finding the proper balance between sales and production. Strategically, you want to continue to grow in the marketplace, of course, so you’re constantly searching for new ways to increase sales. But if the result is your production team being unable to keep up with the sales department’s eﬀorts, this approach can be dangerous. Your company will be focusing too heavily on sales and miss on the production side, disappointing clients. On the other hand, if you concentrate too heavily on production, ignoring sales, you’ll likely never garner the business you want and need in your shop in the first place. What you want is an eﬀective balance between the two, so that sales and production are more evenly matched. Much like the Chinese concept of yin and yang, the sales and production departments must exist side by side, harmoniously. Yes, it can be a tricky challenge – but if you choose to ignore this delicate balance, your company will undoubtedly lose business. If you continually work on the right balance, however, your business can reap long-term rewards.

Challenges on both sides First, let’s analyze your sales staﬀ. In past columns, I’ve noted that cash is the lifeblood of your business. But if we agree that our ability to keep sales flowing through a business is the way we create cash, then we can also agree that you need to constantly focus on maintaining current sales and securing new sales. Your sales team is, of course, very critical to that process. Your sales reps should always be driving toward the next sale. They should be doing everything in their power to land the next sale, and rightly so. Marty McGhie is VP finance/operations of Ferrari Color, a digital-imaging center with Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Sacramento locations. The company offers high-quality large- and grand-format photo, inkjet, fabric, and UV printing. marty@ferraricolor.com

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

At our shop, this is why we compensate our sales reps with commissions based on sales. But this constant drive for additional sales is also why it will always be a challenge for management to ensure that the sales team considers the production side of the equation, not just the sales. On the other side of the business, your production staff ’s mentality obviously comes from a different direction than sales. Your production team’s priorities include getting the jobs done accurately, efficiently, and on-time for your customers. Now, they will probably argue that placing too much sales pressure on production will prevent them from achieving those goals. They don’t necessarily consider themselves to be the enemy of the sales team – clearly they know that without sales they wouldn’t have a job. But, often, you find animosity among the production staff when they perceive that there is no control or standards by which the sales staff is being held. And if you aren’t careful, your production staff can cultivate an attitude that all they’re doing is working like crazy to make the sales team a lot of money. Morale can quickly become toxic. The challenge is to make sure each person on your production team knows that they’re working to create success for the entire business, not just your sales reps.

Establishing a system In order to create a successful business model, you must have both your sales team and your production team working together. But this can only happen if a system of good communication is set up. On the sales side, you must help them understand that there will be some constraints on the production side that they must work with. If your sales staﬀ ignores those constraints, production will inevitably miss customer deadlines and the result is potentially loss of business. In my experience, when sales reps have no formal communication systems or procedures set up to inform them of turn times, status of the shop, machine problems, inventory issues, etc., they’ll tend to overpromise to your >37

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inside insideoutput output

Finding the Right Communication Tools By Craig Miller

can remember when the only way to communicate in business was by snail mail or phone. That is, until the next innovation in communication hit our business: the fax machine. We launched our company in 1994 and, back then, the litmus test for whether you were dealing with a real business was whether or not they had a dedicated fax line. Then came another game changer. I remember when a colleague told me about this new thing called e-mail. By the late ‘90s, that legitimacy test had evolved into whether a company had an e-mail address with the company name dot com. So craig999@yahoo.com would never do if I wanted to be taken seriously. E-mail changed the face of our business as we knew it.

Get it in writing (or e-mail) Like all of you, our business regularly communicates with partners, competitors, customers, employees, suppliers, vendors, sub-contractors, financial institutions, and equipment manufacturers. The transactions we engage in with these people can reach many hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. When you play in that territory, it’s a good thing to have everything in writing. You don’t want to end up on the wrong end of a six-figure deal with both parties claiming, “He said, she said.” I like to conduct business verbally. This comes from my Midwestern upbringing, I suppose, where a man’s word is his bond. But that hasn’t worked so well for me lately. It isn’t hard to make a mistake in a verbal transaction. Look at all the steps involved: The speaker has to say it right. You have to understand it right. You have to write it down right or remember it right. If there is a dispute later, it’s your word

CRAIG MILLER is a principal shareholder in Las Vegas-based Pictographics, (pictographics.net) where he is also director of military and law-enforcement projects, the company’s defense-contracting division.

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

against the customer’s. It’s far easier to say in the first conversation, “Would you be so kind as to e-mail that to me?” When I’ve been faithful to the written word, those e-mails have been worth their weight in ethereal gold. I remind my colleagues and staﬀ, “Put that in an e-mail!” far more than they probably like. E-mails are time- and datestamped, and they’re very hard to totally destroy. Our industry benefits from e-mail more than most because we work in a world ruled by measurements – we sell everything by the square foot or square meter. Simply getting the fraction of one dimension wrong can be disastrous. Recently, for example, a sales rep thought she had heard “quarter-inch” while the customer thought he had said “an eighth-inch,” so the Lexan prints we were producing didn’t fit in the light. Lesson learned: On any job without a purchase order, it’s a good idea to get the important details written down in an e-mail. During the course of many jobs, there are occasions where issues arise that require a decision. Let’s say a photo fi le is in that gray area of almost not being high-enough resolution; it might be acceptable or it might not. You and your staﬀ are pros, you can make that call. But, no need: PDFs can be e-mailed to the client showing critical elements and how they will print at full size. The customer can then decide if it’s good enough. If they say it’s fine, you can proceed without worry. This kind of documentation can be a lifesaver. Another example of good e-mail usage: In the past year, we’ve been getting regular e-mails from our textile suppliers, indicating that the price of polyester continues to rise. Since dye sublimation makes up nearly half of our business, textile cost is significant to us. So, in turn, we then sent e-mails to our heaviest dye-sub buyers to set the stage for future price increases in the products they order. Providing these rationales and the e-mail documentation from our suppliers made our inevitable price increases easier for us (and helped lessen resistance from our customers). E-mail is equally important with your employees. Internal e-mail allows the sender to document important instructions, critical feedback, and praise. File these >37

Up Next COMING UP IN THE BIG PICTURE Look for these articles in upcoming issues: • Going Green: Sustainable Print Providers • Adding ‘Wow’ to Output • Premier Point-of-Purchase

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Turning Artists into Clients Creating new markets and opportunities in fine-art reproduction. You’re an artist and you’ve agonized over the past several months to complete your latest masterpiece. You contact your agent to let her know it’s ready for a buyer, but that process can take even more time. Meanwhile, you wipe your brow, perhaps take a short celebratory break for lunch, and then pick up your brush and begin work on yet another piece of art – you need to get more “product” out to potential buyers in order to put bread on the table. If you had digitally produced prints made of your artwork, however, your work could be more widely distributed – selling itself to a broader range of clientele. Of course, your originals would fetch a greater price, but your prints could pull in all those buyers that could not aﬀord an original. And, by supplementing your artistic income with prints, you put less pressure on yourself to turn around originals so quickly – your quality level goes up, which also spikes the price point on the original as well as the prints. For print providers, these are the types of arguments you must make when pursuing artists as clients. It can develop into a lucrative specialty if you’re willing to master the craft, understand the subtleties of the artist’s eye, and understand how best to replicate their work. As the following profi les show, it’s a market that print shops are now entering from many directions, promoting broader awareness of fine-art reproduction as they deliver these services. 16

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

David Saffir: The custom approach David Saffir knows what his clients want: the same uncompromising print reproductions he demands for his own fine-art and commercial photography. In fact, when he began offering print services to photographers and artists from his Santa Clarita, California studio, it was, in part, an attempt to recoup his investment in wide format. At the time, Saffir had just purchased the Epson Stylus Pro 9600, his first wide-format printer. “I fell into fine-art printing as a service, to help with my cash flow,” he recalls. “I realized, however, that I could not just print and sell my own work, but had to offer printmaking services to others.” The Epson was actually his second digital printer. “When digital first came along, I was still sending work to labs to have my prints made,” he recalls. He bought a Canon dye-based desktop printer to experiment with printing in-house, and used it for some portraits. It convinced him of the potential of digital. Within days after installing the Epson, he was confident enough with the results to venture into fine-art reproduction. When artists and photographers saw the results, they began bringing him work. “Some could provide digital fi les, others needed their work scanned,” he says of those early days. “Within six months I was very busy, and making more and more prints.”

By Mike Antoniak

David Saffir provides a mix of services for artist clients, including basic image setup and file prep, digitizing, advanced image retouching, output, and more. He also produces output for his own photography; he shot Serenity, left, with a Hasselblad H-series camera with a Phase One digital back, processed the raw image in Phase One Capture One Pro, and edited with Adobe CS5. Output was with a 44-inch HP Designjet Z3200, onto HP Professional Satin Photo media.

the time to consult with each artist to make sure his work meets or exceeds their expectations. Clients end up with at least two prints of their work, one to show and one for sales purposes. “They can use this as a print-on-demand service, if that’s what they need,” he says. Many periodically return for reproduction of their latest work, and tell their friends and peers about their satisfaction with his services. “The majority of my business comes from word-ofmouth or personal referrals,” he says. “In the photo business, I’ve always found that people will let others know when they are happy with what you’ve done.”

Today, Saffir (davidsaffir.com) offers various services for those artists in need. Basic image set-up and fi le prep are included with each order; advanced image retouching and fi le prep are priced by the hour. He digitizes original artwork with a Phase One scanning back on a Hasselblad medium-format body, then does image editing in Photoshop. Black-and-white originals require some special handling: “I shoot in color digital, convert to black-and-white using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 in Photoshop, then print on the HP Designjet Z3200 printer – my ‘workhorse’ – using black inks only.” During fi le prep, he’ll soft proof the image on an HP DreamColor Professional 24-inch display. “I calibrate the monitor on a regular basis,” he says. “The screen-to-print match is superb.” He produces an 8 x 10-inch scaled down print for artist approval. For printing, he favors HP Matte fi ne-art photo paper – Photo Satin and Photo Rag for color work, and the Matte Litho for black-and-white prints. “I can also use third-party media, whatever my customer may want,” he adds. “One of the advantages of the Z3200 is its built-in hardware and software,” he points out. “You can take just about any printable inkjet media, and make profi les right on the printer.” Saffir approaches each job as a custom order, taking

Megapixel DI: Adapting and innovating Drawing on experience with sign printing and digital photography, Ken Holyfield launched Megapixel DI (megapixeldi.com) in rural Montrose, Colorado, in 2002 as a provider of large-format graphics. As soon as the oversized prints produced with his Roland CammJet CJ-500 began showing up around town, local artists inquired if he could reproduce their work, too. “I produced a couple of giclée prints, and word about these capabilities began spreading in the local arts community,” he says. “Some artists started getting excited about the possibilities.” Sensing a sizable market he had not initially recognized, Holyfield made himself into an expert. “I read up and educated myself about what was required to produce a truly fine-art print digitally, acid-free papers, and pigment inks.” As more artists brought him their work, he encountered another issue: “The biggest challenge proved to be figuring out how to digitize their art so I could successfully reproduce it at its original size, or larger,” he recalls. After conferring with a local photographer, he invested in a Sigma camera system with a Foveon image sensor. Holyfield could now oﬀer a solution for fine-art reproduction, from capture through print, and demand for this service began to accelerate. In fact, by 2005, business was growing in all directions, and Holyfield was overwhelmed as owner/operator of what was, essentially, a one-man shop. “I considered no longer oﬀering giclée prints because I was spending so much time color-correcting fi les to make sure I could deliver the best match to the original,” he recalls. Instead, he opted for another solution: He hired a “color guru” who brought experience in color correction and www.bigpicture.net

fine art In his initial consultations with clients, Ken Holyfield of Megapixel DI explains his capabilities and the limitations of fine-art reproduction. “It would be foolish to tell them we can always deliver an exact color reproduction of their original. We’re dealing with the color gamut of the printer, versus the color palette available to artists.”

photo restoration – skills Holyfield now credits as key to the company’s continued success with fine-art reproduction. “We reduced the process of color correction from four to six hours down to two or three, depending on the piece of art,” Holyfield says. “Within months we needed a faster printer to keep pace with growing demand.” For output, Holyfield chose the Canon imageProGraf iPF8000S printer with its 12-color Lucia ink system, powered by an ErgoSoft RIP. “It gave us a much faster printer with the wider color gamut we needed,” he says. But there was still one piece missing in his fine-art workflow. Early on, he drew on experience with panoramic photography when digitizing original art. The camera remained fixed in place while the art was attached to a pegboard. He moved each original horizontally and vertically within the frame of view, capturing the art in sections, then reassembled these in Photoshop. It worked, but digitizing the art was both labor intensive and time consuming. Holyfield explained to his father, Bob, what he was trying to accomplish, and the elder Holyfield designed a motorized system that still serves the company today. “Our device allows the originals to be securely held while being moved horizontally and vertically using a remote control,” explains Holyfield. The system can accommodate originals as large as sixfeet wide and four-feet tall, but most of the work is much smaller. “We typically shoot nine frames to photograph an 18 x 24-inch original, which generates a 100- to 150-mg 16-bit file,” he notes. For proofing, he’ll print a scaled-down version of the original, and a three-inch swatch at full size. “You have to find out what customer expectations are,” he advises. 18

THE BIG PICTURE february 2012

“Some want us to spend as much time as it takes to get the best match to the original, and are willing to pay for it,” he notes. “Others are just looking for a cost-effective solution.” Holyfield honestly explains his capabilities and the limitations of fine-art reproduction during initial consultations with each artist: “It would be foolish to tell them we can always deliver an exact color reproduction of their original,” he admits. “We’re dealing with the color gamut of the printer, versus the color palette available to artists.” Most require minor tweaks to the file before printing; and, occasionally, artists prefer the vibrancy of the digitized version to their original. Whether the customer works in oils or acrylics, pencils or photography, once they’ve had that first print done they tend to return to Megapixel DI. “Artists have gotten very educated about the advantages of giclée printing,” he concludes. “We’re able to give them a new way to market their work, and it’s become a very enjoyable part of our business.”

Art by ASI’s Karl Jaeger designed the artwork for a series of prints celebrating the All-American hockey players at Minnesota’s Bemidji State University. Output was on canvas and vinyl using the shop’s Epson Stylus Pro GS6000; Jaeger also did the install work.

Art by ASI: Developing new markets Karl Jaeger didn’t set out to be a specialist in giclée printing. But, as others have discovered, interest in digital print technology can add a new dimension to an artist’s career. “I first considered digital printing as a way to reproduce my work, then it morphed and evolved into something entirely else,” says Jaeger, both a photographer and artist working in colored pencil. With his father Frank and brother Chad, they now operate Art by ASI (artbyasi.com), in Buffalo, Minnesota; they bill themselves as specialists in fine-art and custom-canvas printing. ASI also offers custom-framing services, and maintains an art gallery at its office and on its website. “Getting involved with digital printing opened so many doors for us in reproducing other people’s work,” he says. He’s relied on a succession of Epson printers since 2002 before investing in the company’s 8-color Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 almost two years ago. An artist himself, he also sees economic incentives in digital fine art, both for archiving, and for reproducing work without the upfront investment once required to print a limited series. “It’s the flexibility of digital printing, and the low risk of being able to sell their work without a huge investment that appeals to artists,” he says. “The beauty is we can offer them what amounts to a print-on-demand service.” As area artists learned of these capabilities, they began bringing their work to ASI. “We benefited from a lot of word-of-mouth, and never really had to promote this service,” he says. The company now serves approximately 25 artists working in a variety of media. “We do a lot of work for them on Epson’s canvas and other fine-art papers,” he notes. Typically, prints are in the 18 x 24-inch range, and most orders are for stretched canvas. “Some will describe the work we do as a limited edition of their work, and number each print in a series of as many as 500,” he says. “It’s giving them a new and affordable way to develop new markets for their work.” Speaking artist to artist, Jaeger can convey the advantages of digital printing in terms they understand, even advising them on how to price their fine-art prints. Artists can also draw ideas and inspiration from the ASI website, where the work of Jaeger and a select group of client artists can be purchased. Fine-art prints are offered on paper and canvas, in signed versions and limited series, with or without frames. Jaeger’s own work focuses mainly on sports: regional teams, stadiums and venues, and star athletes in football, baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, and hockey. In fact, the ability to easily reproduce and mount digital prints sometimes leads to installations in the same types of venues he celebrates in his art and photography. A recent project for the new Sanford Arena, home of

An annual project for 858 Graphics: producing oversized canvas prints of the images featured in surf-apparel maker Reef’s new calendar; the prints – up to 6 x 10 feet – adorn the walls at the calendar’s unveiling. the WCHA Beavers hockey team at Minnesota’s Bemidji State University required a series of prints celebrating the team’s All-American players, chronologically arranged against a background highlighting the team history. Jaeger designed all the art, printed it on canvas and vinyl, and handled the installation. “It combines three of our strong points: our artistic ability, adhesive vinyl application, and canvas stretched prints,” he notes.

858 Graphics: Opening up doors In the four years since David Hay and Brandon Stapper began knocking on doors around San Diego to drum up business for 858 Graphics (858graphics.com), their start-up has blossomed into a successful business, despite the economy. “We started with a vinyl lettering machine we bought used off ebay, working out of a garage,” recalls Hay. “We were lucky enough to find some large accounts who gave us a chance, then we added more capabilities as we began getting requests for different types of work.” Today, 858 Graphics has 15 employees working in its own facility, and offers a complete menu of digital printing services. Fine-art printing represents a small share of its sales, but it’s an important part of its portfolio. “It’s growing, but maybe only five or 10 percent of our business,” Hay admits. “The nice thing about it is, it opens doors with some accounts and gives us a chance to sell them everything else we can do.” The company has positioned the service to be less intimidating. Rather than call it “fine-art printing,” 858 promotes the service as “artist’s canvas prints” on its website, where most orders originate. “We don’t want to scare anyone off,” says Hay. “We try to simplify the process and make it as easy as possible for someone to place an order.” The site includes brief videos showing photos transformed into wall-mounted prints, drop-down menus for selecting papers and sizes, and links for uploading files. “The files go right to our prepress department. >38 www.bigpicture.net

Ubiquitous UV A tidal wave of UV tech has made its mark on the market. Today, UV could well stand for “ubiquitous – very.” Printing with UV technologies has become that prevalent in the wide-format marketplace. Consider: Overall, more than 45 percent of all wide-format printers currently on the market utilize UV inks, according to our findings – that’s a significant number, and one that has continued to grow each year. Of 70 flatbed/hybrid printers we reported on in our 2011-2012 Printer Sourcebook, only two do not utilize UV inks. And of the 130 rollfed printers reported on in the Sourcebook, nearly 20 percent utilize UV inks. In just a few short years, we’ve seen UV’s tidal wave come ashore and make its impact on the market. Industry consultant InfoTrends (infotrends.com) agrees that UV is continuing its growth spurt. Its most recent report on the topic forecasts that the global market for wideformat UV-curable inkjet printers and supplies will grow 20

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

from $1.4 billion in 2010 to more than $3 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, printer OEMs are constantly tweaking their machine oﬀerings, bettering each printer’s mix of features as new models are introduced (including the integration of UV-LED lamps and related technologies, see page 22). And, importantly, the manufacturers have been addressing both the high end of production UV machines, as well as developing entry-level machines to allow small operations to get a foothold into the advantages that UV technologies oﬀer. We’ve provided details on some of the latest UV printer models from each of the 27 manufacturers that follow. In addition, in each company’s listing we’ve strived to note other UV models the company produces (visit the company’s website for the most up-to-date information as equipment rosters may change by the time we go to press).

Agfa Graphics agfa.com The Anapurna M2540 FB UV flatbed from Agfa is a 6color (CMYKcm + white) printer featuring a quick-change vacuum-bed divided into two table zones of four different compartments, allowing the use of different-sized media without having to tape off the whole vacuum bed. Separate parts of the bed also can be used for different jobs in the same print run while maintaining a perfect vacuum, Agfa reports (the vacuum can also be reversed to aid in lifting of large substrates after printing). The printer accommodates media up to 100 x 54 in. and up to 1.77-in. thick. The M2540 FB also features: a maximum print speed of 484 sq ft/hr in Express mode (280 sq ft/hr in Production mode); borderless-printing capabilities; ionizer elements to prevent the buildup of electrostatic charge on media; shuttle safety sensors on both sides of the print carriage to protect printheads from hitting the media; Wasatch SoftRIP standard; and more. Agfa’s Anapurna M1600 is a 63-in. hybrid UV printer offering 4-colors (CMYK) plus white (with dedicated white-ink mixing and circulation system). Utilizing Agfa’s flexible G2 inks, it features Konica Minolta 1024 printheads. The M1600 can accommodate roll media as well as rigid media up to 1.77-in. thick and features a two-zone vacuum table for dealing with a variety of substrates. Top print speed is 500 sq ft/hr in Express mode; its Production mode offers 305 sq ft/hr; Poster mode is 150 sq ft/hr. A Wasatch SoftRIP Agfa edition is standard. Top resolution is 720 x 1440 dpi. Other wide-format UV machines in the Agfa line include various Anapurna machines (the 2500 LED, M, M2050, M4f, Mv, Mw, and M2) as well as the Jeti 3348 UV Galaxy and JetSpeed rollfed printers, Jeti 5048 UV XL, and Jeti Titan 3020. Anderson Group America andersonamerica.com Anderson America’s Ajet hybrid UV digital printer is capable of printing flexible and rigid substrates up to 5 x 10 ft. The 7-color (CMYKcm + w, varnish optional) Ajet boasts speeds up to 301 sq ft/hr and 720 x 1440-dpi resolution and can accommodate media up to 1.97-in. thick. Features include: an auto-tensioning and roll-feed takeup system; automatic head wiping; a printhead safety device to detect incorrect media height; a visually guided graphic user interface; UV light timer; and more. An Onyx ProductionHouse RIP is standard. Also in the Anderson lineup is the CoJet, a 48 x 96-in. flatbed that offers 6 colors (CMYKcm) + white; top resolution is 720 x 1440.

CET Color cetcolor.com CET Color’s X-Press 1000 is a flatbed UV that can handle substrates up to 49 x 99 in. and 4-in. thick. It oﬀers an 800 x 1200-dpi resolution maximum; the X-Press 1000’s Production speed is 960 sq ft/hr (4-pass) and High Quality speed is 400 sq ft/hr (8-pass). Three inksets are available: CMYK, CMYKcm, and CMYKcm + white + varnish. Features include: Spectra Polaris 512 printheads; a customizable print spooler; four-zone reversible vacuum table; and pin registration system. The X-Press 500H Hybrid UV and the X-Press 500 Flatbed UV are also in the CET UV lineup.

Anapurna M1600 AGFA Durst Image Technology durstus.com Capable of operating in a continuous-feed workflow to eliminate load/unload delays between sheets, the Rho 1000 can print on sheets, heavy boards, and roll media, and can accommodate substrates up to 8-ft wide and 1.58in. thick (2.75-in. thick in the “industrial version”). It’s capable of hitting speeds of up to 5400 sq ft/hr (4100 sq ft/hr in the Rho 1000L version) and oﬀers a top resolution of 600 dpi. Four colors (CMYK) are standard, with options including light cyan, light magenta, white, clear varnish (gloss), and process color additions (orange and green or orange and violet). Rho Premium Rigid Inks and Rho P-O-P Inks are available. Durst recently added a Smart Speed Option (accelerates print speed by more than 20%) and a Spot Gloss Option; a Mirus feeder allows for the loading of stacks up to 1500 kg on pallets from three sides (and two parallel stacks can be loaded at the same time). The feeder is capable of handling media up to 5-mm thick. A Mirus stacking solution is also available. The Durst Rho 900 UV printer, based on the company’s 800HS model, features an automated media handling (auto-feed) system and process colors – orange and green, or orange and violet. The 98-in.-wide Rho 900 is equipped with Durst’s Quadro 30D Array printhead technology and oﬀers 600-dpi resolution. Durst reports that the 8-color machine (CMYK + 4 ink bays that can be set up as print www.bigpicture.net

UV jobs/apps required) can hit a maximum output of 72 4 x 8-ft boards/hr with its continuous board printing option; speed for P-O-P-quality printing is 34 4 x 8-ft boards/hr. It can accommodate media up to 1.58-in. thick (2.75 in. in the industrial version) and as small as 12 x 17 in. if need be. The media-handling system incorporates an auto-feed table with belts, sheet feed gate with guides for parallel board printing, and automatic two-point pin registration system to ensure accurate front-to-back registration. Other Durst UV models include the Rho 1000L, Rho 800 Presto and Presto /HS, Rho 750 HS, Rhopac 160 Corrugated Display Printer, Rho 500R and 320R.

EFI efi.com EFI’s Vutek GS3250LX is a production-level UV printer utilizing “cool cure” LED technology. The LED-lamp technology allows the machine to consume less energy, increases uptime and requires less maintenance, and expands the range of substrates that can be printed on, EFI reports. The printer features an 8-color inkset (CMYKcmyk + white), a selectable dual resolution of 600 or 1000 dpi, and a print speed up to 2400 sq ft/hr in Fast-5 (4-color + white) mode (1200 sq ft/hr in 8-color+white mode). The GS3250LX can accommodate flexible or rigid substrates up to 126.5 in.-wide and up to 2-in. thick; it is also multi-roll capable

UV LED The majority of wide-format UV machines currently available utilize mercury-vapor (or similar) lamps to cure their UV inks. But several UV machines utilizing UV light emitting diode – aka, UV-LED – lamps are now available and in production. What’s the difference? Here are just a few advantages that companies producing UV-LED lamps and machines point to: • Lamp longevity: Although they cost more at the outset, UV-LED lamps are designed to be longer-lasting than mercury bulbs. • No warm-up: UV-LED lamps are instant on/off, with no warm-up time or standby mode necessary. • Less substrate heat: UV-LED lamps deliver less heat to the media/substrate, allowing for a wider range of media and substrates to be printed on. • No danger to the human eye: UV-LED systems don’t emit UV-B or UV-C wavelengths, which can cause eye damage. • “Greener” technology: There are no mercury lamps to dispose of. “More leading suppliers are embracing LED curing as print service providers look for operational cost advantages and the ability to print on a wider range of substrates,” says Tim Greene, director of InfoTrends’ Wide Format Printing Advisory Service (infotrends.com). “LED-curing models are expected to represent a much higher percentage of new wide-format UV-

THE BIG PICTURE february 2012

UV-LED Increases Its Presence UV-LED 17%

UV-LED 44% UV 56%

UV 83%

2012

2015

UV-LED printer shipments will increase to 44% of all UV-printer shipments by 2015, forecasts InfoTrends. curable printer shipments over the present forecast period – from just 17 percent of shipments in 2012 to 44 percent of shipments by 2015,” he continues. As this article is written, various printer OEMs had UV-LED models on their rosters, including: Agfa’s Anapurna 2500LED; EFI’s Vutek GS3250LX; Fujfilm’s Acuity LED 1600; Lawson’s Express-Jet/ASI; Mimaki’s JFX-1631 plus and JFX-1615 plus; Roland’s VersaUV LEJ-640, VersaUV LEC-540/LEC-330 (and VersaUV LEF desktop printer); and Screen USA’s Truepress Jet1600UV-F2. Inx International’s narrow web press, the NW140, is also utilizing UV-LED.

(two 60-in. rolls). Other features include: instant on/off; a precision alignment fence of accurate board alignment; an enhanced Fiery XF 4.5 RIP; and more. Options include a heavy-duty unwinder, extension table, and small-depth extension table. The Vutek GS3250r is a 6-color (CMYKcm) roll-to-roll UV machine that offers dual 600- or 1000-dpi resolution and speeds up to 2400 sq ft/hr. It also features: multiqueue functionality available at the user interface; multiroll capability (up to two 60-in. rolls), co-branded EFI/3M Premium UV inks in 5-liter containers; an EFI Fiery XF RIP; native JDF connectivity; and optional automated double-sided printing capability. The GS3250r accommodates media up to 126.5-in. wide and up to 0.125-in. thick. Additional EFI UV machines include: the Vutek GS5000r, Vutek GS3250, Vutek GS2000, Vutek QS3250r, Vutek QS3200, Vutek QS2000, Vutek QS220, Rastek H650 and H652, and Rastek T660 and T1000 printers.

X-Press 1000 CET COLOR

Flora Digital floradigital.com The PP2512UV printer from Flora Digital (ShenZhen Runtianzhi Digital Equipment) is a 4 x 8-ft UV flatbed that features Konica Minolta printheads, and offers resolutions up to 1440 dpi and a top speed of 409 sq ft/hr in Standard mode (269 sq ft/hr in Quality mode). It can accommodate materials up to 3.9-in. thick, including corrugated, FomeCor, Gator Board, Sintra (PVC), ceramic tiles, glass, plexiglass, wood, sheet metal, paper, adhesive vinyl, fabrics, and more. Available in 4- or 8-color versions (CMYK/CMYKcm + w + varnish). A PhotoPrint RIP (Flora edition) is standard. Also available are the PP2512 Turbo, the HJD5000UV, PP3218UV, F1 250UV, F1 180UV, and F1 320UV printers. Fujifilm North America fujifilmusa.com The Uvistar 2 printer series is the second generation of the Uvistar UV rollfed inkjet printers from Fujifilm North America and is recommended for P-O-P and display-graphic printings. Available in 3.5- and 5-meter (print width)

versions, it builds on the existing Uvistar platform. The 4color printer uses Uvijet QK inks and offers 600-dpi resolution (1200 apparent). Top speed on the smaller machine is 2991 sq ft/hr; it’s 3800 sq ft/hr on the larger Uvistar. The Uvistar 2 boasts new parallel drop size (PDS) technology, which enables users to print 40-pl drops together with 20-pl drops, eliminating the need for “light” colors to achieve quality print results, Fujifilm reports. Other modifications include: a new Linear Encoder that monitors printhead location for improved accuracy of drop placement; upgraded electronics offering greater control over printhead heating; a front-end scale-up feature allowing large files to be RIP’d in smaller sizes and then scaled up on press; and multi-roll support enabling users to work simultaneously on as many as three rolls up to 65-in. wide, with cores of varying weights, widths, and diameters. A ColorGate Production Server RIP is standard; a flatbed table for rigid materials is optional (accommodates substrates up to 1-in. thick). The Acuity LED 1600 incorporates a fast-curing LEDUV ink, a long-life and low-power-consumption LED lamp system, and a high-precision and high-speed printhead. The LED 1600 prints roll media and rigid substrates up to 13mm (approximately ½-in.) in thickness and can accommodate media up to 63-in. wide. It can hit a top speed of 215 sq ft/hr at 400 x 600 dpi, and offers resolutions up to 1200 dpi. The 8-color printer (CMYKcm + w + clear) features: Intelligent Curing Control technology for precise LED light volume and alignment; VersaDrop jetting technology to ensure smooth tonal gradations; simultaneous single-pass printing of two or three layers of color, white, and clear inks; and a reusable cartridge and replaceable ink-pouch system. The LED 1600 also employs Spot Color Matching Software to simplify the process of matching spot colors. Fujifilm’s other UV printers include: the Acuity Advance, Advance LT, Advance X2, Advance HS, and Advance HS X2, plus the original Uvistar printer series. In addition, the company is the exclusive North American distributor of Inca’s printers (see Inca listing).

Onset S40 INCA DIGITAL

www.bigpicture.net

UV Gandy Digital gandydigital.com Gandy Digital’s Pred8tor is a UV flatbed with a roll-to-roll option. The 5-color (CMYK + W) printer offers resolution up to 900 dpi (1800 dpi apparent) and a top speed of 1920 sq ft/hr in Production mode (400 sq ft/hr in Extra Fine mode). Maximum print size is 48 x 96 in. (rigid), and the Pred8tor can accommodate media up to 2-in. thick. The machine’s touch-and-drag GUI runs on the WiFi-enabled Apple iPad, which comes loaded with video tutorials and a live diagnostic system; also available on the GUI is a materials inventory-control ordering system. A print extension table is optional as is a roll-to-roll rewind unit.

Express-Jet/ASI LAWSON

GCC gccworld.com The StellarJet K72UV from GCC is a hybrid flatbed/rollto-roll UV inkjet. Supporting rigid and flexible substrates up to 71-in. wide and rigid materials up to 2-in. thick, the K72UV is available with four standard colors (CMYK) and four additional colors as an option (light cyan, light magenta, white, and varnish). It prints at a standard resolution of 720 dpi, but can achieve 1440 dpi with the addition of light cyan and light magenta inks, the company reports. The production speed on the device is 113 sq ft/hr (316 sq ft/hr in Eco mode). An Auto Media Calibration system automatically adjusts the printhead to the ideal height. Also available in the StellarJet series: the K100UV and the 250UV with dedicated white ink. HP hp.com The HP Scitex XP2500 (10.5-ft-wide) and XP5500 (16.6-ft) models – replacements for the Scitex XP2300 and XP5300, respectively – are both 4-color UV printers that can print simultaneously on up to three rolls of media and can utilize HP Specialty Billboard Scitex Inks to achieve high ink coverage. Both have a top resolution of 360 dpi and come standard with Caldera GrandRIP+ or Onyx ProductionHouse RIPs. Top speed on the XP2500 is 2850 sq ft/hr; the 24

THE BIG PICTURE february 2012

XP5500 tops out at 3500 sq ft/hr. Options include a doublesided printing kit and HP Vertical Cutter kit (XP2500 only). The HP Scitex FB7600 is an upgrade to the company’s FB7500 printer and offers in-line saturation control for backlit applications, hot folders, and job queue. The 6-color (CMYKcm) machine can print up to 5380 sq ft/hr at top speed (1937 sq ft/hr in Text mode), provides a resolution of 600 dpi, and can handle rigid and flexible media up to 65 x 126 in. (up to 25-mm thick). The machine uses HP’s new FB225 Scitex inks, which are designed to better adhere to plastics and possess improved flexibility on corrugated media; the pigmented UV-curable inks also are Greenguard Children & School certified. A Caldera GrandRIP+ or Onyx ProductionHouse RIP is standard; multi-sheet loading table is optional. Other HP UV printers include: the HP Scitex FB500, FB700, and FB7500 flatbeds, plus the Scitex XP2750, XP5100, and TJ8600 rollfed UV machines. Inca Digital Printers incadigital.com Inca’s Onset S40 printer, positioned between the company’s flagship Inca Onset S70 and the Onset S20, features Fujifilm Dimatix Sapphire QS-256 MEMS printheads, with jetting accuracy resulting in prints with tighter fine text, as well as smoother prints, Inca reports. The S40 prints at up to 5059 sq ft/hr (with automation), offers a 63 x 124-in. print area, and can accommodate media up to 2-in. thick. It’s intended for the production of single and doublesided displays, P-O-S, exhibition graphics, backlit/frontlit displays, outdoor signage printing, and cosmetic/fashion graphics, etc. The UV flatbed is 4-color standard with optional light cyan and light magenta (Fujifilm UVijet OB inks); users can choose among uni-directional, bi-directional, and super-high-quality print modes. Additional features include variable levels of gloss (from Satin to Gloss), user printhead replacement, and automatic print setup controls. In addition, the S40 is compatible with Inca’s flexible automation system (optional), offering users the choice to operate in manual, semi, or three-quarter automation from the same configuration, as well as Inca’s Print Run Controller (PRC) software module.

Barak5 MATAN

Incaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Spyder V printer, based on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original Spyder series of flatbed inkjet printers, prints at 1400 sq ft/hr at top speed. Substrates as thick as 2 in. with dimensions up to 63 x 126 in. can be printed on the device. Available in 4-, 5-, and 6-color configurations (CMYK, CMYK + white, and CMYKcm or CMYKOV). Other UV printers in the Inca lineup: the Onset S70, the Onset S20, and the Spyder 320. All Inca printers are exclusively distributed by Fujifilm USA (fujifilmusa.com). Infiniti infiniti-dt.com The FinaUV 160+ from Infiniti is a 62-in. UV flatbed available with CMYKcm and CMYK + W inksets. It boasts a top resolution of 1440 dpi and speeds up to 259 sq ft/hr (4-pass, 720 dpi). It can accommodate media up to 1-in. thick. An Infiniti RIP is standard; optional Wasatch RIP. InkTec jetrix.co.kr The Jetrix 3015FQ from InkTec is a UV-curable flatbed thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s available in 4-color (CMYK) or 8-color (CMYK + white + varnish + primer x 2) versions. Maximum rigid media size is 5 x 10 ft; maximum media thickness is 4 in. Top speed is 323 sq ft/hr in Production mode (107 sq ft/hr in Fine Art Mode). Features include: Spectra grayscale printheads with VersaDrop from 10 to 30 pL; head auto-height adjustment system; intelligent vacuum table; Auto Ink Clean/Refill system; and more. Other Jetrix UV machines include the 2513FRQ and Jetrix 2030. The Oldham Group (oldhamgroup.com) is the US Jetrix distributor. Inx International inxdigital.com The Inx Digital MD1000-6 UV flatbed printer from Inx is designed for shortrun production of packaging prototypes, ad-specialty items, P-O-P ad items, containers, decorative tins, and

more. The MD1000-6 offers: CMYK + W (and/or clear) inks; 1200 x 900 resolution; a High Production speed of 317 sq ft/hr (105 sq ft/hr in High Quality mode); and a maximum media thickness of 2 in. Maximum media width is 98 in. Onyx PosterShop is standard;

ProductionHouse is optional. Also available is the Inx Digital MD660 (60-in. width). In Q2 2012, the company reports, it will introduce the MD1000-12, which will feature 12 printheads and an optional CMYKOG color set.

agfa graphics

Integrated solutions. Advanced technology. Faster delivery.

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UV Lawson Screen & Digital lawsonsp.com Lawson’s Express-Jet/ASI is an industrial direct-tosubstrate printer that uses UV LED curing and is engineered to handle ad-specialty applications. It offers 5 colors (CMYK + W) and resolutions up to 1200 dpi. Standard maximum print size is 18 x 18 in., but the XL Print Option allows for 20 x 30 in.

JFX-1631 plus MIMAKI USA

Matan matanprinters.com The 5-m (196-in.) UV-curable Barak5 is a roll-to-roll printer with a flatbed option. It can image up to three rolls of 63-in. media simultaneously, and print onto coated and uncoated media as well as rigid media as thick as 1 in. The Barak5 features a top speed of 3800 sq ft/hr and a true resolution of 600 dpi. Its Barak UV 300 pigmented inks are highdensity and flexible with large color gamut. The Barak5 is armed with a Caldera RIP. The printer is compatible with roll and rigid media. Matan also offers the 3-m (118-in.) Barak3 and the Barak IQ UV printers. Mimaki USA mimakiusa.com Mimaki USA’s JFX plus series of LED UV-cure printers includes the JFX-1631 plus and JFX-1615 plus. The machines feature a post-cure unit, and as a result, reports Mimaki, now offer a top speed of 254 sq ft/hr at 300 x 600 dpi (140 sq ft/hr at 600 dpi in Standard mode). Both machines feature a top resolution of 1200 dpi. The 1631 plus can handle media up to 65 x 126 in., while the 1615 plus can handle media up to 65 x 63 in.; both accommodate media up to 1.97-in. thick. Two inksets are available: Rigid (CMYK+ w + clear) and Flexible (CMYK + w). A RasterLink Pro5 RIP is standard; a roll unit is optional for continuous roll-media feeding. The UJF-706 flatbed can accommodate media up to 28-in. wide and nearly 6-in. thick. Capable of 1200-dpi resolutions, the machine is available with two inkset configurations: Rigid (CMYKcm + w + clear) and Flexible (CMYKcm + w). 26

THE BIG PICTURE february 2012

Other Mimaki UV machines include the UV-160 series and the UJF-706 printer series. M.T.L. Print Ltd. meitaldp.com The Meital 304-D printer from Israel-based M.T.L. Print Ltd. is a 4-color UV flatbed that utilizes Xaar 1001 HSS (hybrid side shooter) printheads. It can handle media up to 4 x 8 ft and 1-in. thick and offers a top print speed of 1600 sq ft/hr; high-end resolution is 1080 dpi. A Caldera Plus RIP is standard. Option: matte or gloss modes. Also on M.T.L.’s UV roster: the 301, 302, 302-D, 303, and 304 printers. Novus Imaging novusimaging.com Novus Imaging’s 126-in. Synergia H hybrid press is available in two models: the AQ and UV (indicating the type of ink used). Both offer: 2400-dpi apparent resolution; Spectra Q class printheads with a 10-30 pL variable drop; 4-color standard ink system (optional colors include cmW, orange, gray, red, and blue); the ability to handle media up to 2-in. thick; iPad integration; and a Caldera Grand RIP+. The Synergia H/AQ features the company’s new AquEpoxy inks, which are water-based epoxy inks and environmentally sustainable. Novus reports the inks offer superior adhesion, long-term outdoor durability, and low maintenance requirements. Print speed of the Synergia H/AQ ranges from 1500 to 2500 sq ft/hr. The Synergia H/UV utilizes UV27 UV-curable inks and offers speeds from 700 to 120 sq ft/hr. It can be field-upgraded in speed and ink type to the H/AQ. US distribution of the Novus Imaging machines by Global Imaging (globalimaginginc.com).

Synergia NOVUS IMAGING Océ North America oceusa.com The Océ Arizona 360 GT and Arizona 360 XT flatbed UV printer models are both 4-color printers offering an Express Mode print speed of up to 377 sq ft/hr on the GT (392 sq ft/hr on the XT) and a new High Definition print mode for fine-feature reproduction, including the ability to print text as small as 2-point size (for technical and indus-

trial applications such as printing on lenticular lenses and membrane panels). The Arizona 360 GT features a standard table size of 49 x 98.4 in., while the Arizona 360 XT features an extra-large table size of 98.4 x 120 in.; they can print on a variety of rigid substrates up to 1.89-in. thick. The printers also include a UV-curing system designed to provide more UV energy to support difficult-to-cure media while reducing heat at the media surface by 50%, improving support for heat-sensitive media such as thin polystyrene or polyester films. Both models also feature a new-style tabletop that allows very thin media to be printed directly on the table without mechanical distortion of the media into the vacuum holes. Available options include a roll-media option (up to 86 in.) and a white-ink option. Other UV printers in the Océ lineup: the Arizona 550 XT, the Arizona 550 GT, and the Arizona 300 GT. Polytype America Corp. polytype-digital.com The Virtu RS25 from Polytype America features a printing width of 98.4 in. and allows for printing of roll media as well as board materials. The printer offers a 6-color inkset (CMYKcm) + white, and a top resolution of 1200 dpi. Maximum substrate thickness is 3.7 in. In Production mode, the RS25 can hit 861-1507 sq ft/hr (1507-2799 sq ft/hr in Speed mode). Options include an add-on table, automatic feed system, anti-static device, camera with monitor, an oven for textiles, and more; choice of 30- or 80-pL printheads. Also available are the Virtu RS35 and the Virtu RR50 UV machines. The company is the US distributor for the SwissQPrint UV printers (see SwissQPrint’s listing). Roland DGA rolanddga.com Roland’s 64-in. VersaUV LEJ-640 UV-LED wide-format hybrid printer is offered in three Eco-UV ink configurations: CMYK + white + clear; CMYK + white + white, for high-opacity white printing on transparent films; and CMYK + clear + clear, for thick dimensional effects such as embossing. The clear ink can be put down in both gloss and matte finishes. Applications range from packaging prototypes and P-O-P to wide-format signage, décor, exhibits, and window displays. Capable of handling roll media as well as board stocks up to half-inch thick, the LEJ-640 hybrid features a top print resolution of 1440 dpi and can hit speeds up to 133 sq ft/hr in CMYK mode. Other features include the Roland OnSupport system, which allows remote monitoring of production activities; an automated white-ink circulation system; built-in sensor to check media thickness; and an advanced media-takeup system. Also in the Roland UV line is the narrow-format VersaUV LEF-12 “benchtop” flatbed UV printer built for three-

dimensional objects. The LEF-12 offers a 12 x 11-in. printable area and supports materials up to 4-in. thick and up to 11-lb. It prints CMYK + white + clear (Eco-UV inks), with resolutions up to 720 x 1440 dpi. A VersaWorks RIP is standard. Other Roland UV printers: the VersaUV LEC-330 and VersaUV LEC-540 printers.

Arizona 360XT OCÉ NORTH AMERICA Screen USA screenusa.com The 98-in. Truepress Jet2500UV from Screen USA is a 98.4-in.-wide hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll printer that boasts speeds up to 727 sq ft/hr and accommodates rigid and rollfed media up to 1.9-in. thick. The printer’s piezo dropon-demand printheads produce eight levels of grayscale with drop sizes from 6 to 42 pl and produce images with precise dot registration, sharp text, and a 1500-dpi maximum resolution. Screen’s flexible UV inks are available in the standard 4-color (CMYK) inkset; light cyan, light magenta, and white are optional. Ink tank capacity is 5 liters/color to accommodate long print runs. Screen recently added two new features to the Jet2500UV: multi-layer printing and automatic generation of see-through graphics. The company’s Truepress Jet1600UV-F2 is a 66-inch UV LED flatbed that has been developed specifically for the sign and display business. A 5-color printer (CMYK + w), the Jet1600 UV-F2 is capable of hitting speeds of 254 sq ft/hr at 300 dpi (140 sq ft/hr in Quality mode). It offers a maximum resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi and it can accommodate a diverse array of substrates up to 1.96-in. thick. Two types of ink are available to users—FlexLED for rigid materials and HardLED for flexible media. A post-cure unit is standard; a roll unit is optional. SigmaJet sigmajet.com The Manta Slim KM8/720UV printer from SigmaJet (formerly Grapo Technologies) can accommodate media up to 60 x 81 in. and 2.4-in. thick. Top resolution is 360 dpi (720 apparent) and it can hit speeds of up to 1184 sq ft/hr (323-431 sq ft/hr in Production mode). Available in two ink configurations: CMYK or CMYK + white (Fujifilm Sericol inks). A SigmaJet RIP is standard; a Caldera V8 RIP is optional. >35 www.bigpicture.net

ISA SIGN EXPO ORLANDO:

10 ‘MUST-KNOWS’

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT ORLANDO.

Ensuring your tradeshow success in Florida this spring.

By Britney Grimmelsman

From March 22-24, the 66th annual Sign Expo hosted by the International Sign Association (ISA) will be back in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. The exhibit hall floor will showcase the breadth of the sign industry, with hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services. Last year’s Expo in Vegas proved to be its largest show since 2008, leading many to believe the industry was beginning to rebound from the recession. And with many companies on the upswing, it’s the perfect time to scope out the latest in wide-format technologies and build relationships with manufacturers, as well as other industry professionals. To help plan your ISA attack, we’ve provided 10 “must-knows” covering the ISA spectrum – from educational seminars and exhibitors, to attendee pricing and discounts at Orlando hot spots, and much more. See you there! 28

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

19,000 COUNT ‘EM

With a 14-percent increase in attendance at last year’s Sign Expo – 19,000 attendees in all – ISA is expecting an equally solid turnout in 2012. Plan your time wisely because the event will showcase 550 exhibitors on the show floor, with 1900 booths. “Our 2011 exhibit hall floor was teeming with new products and, based on the exhibitors who have already committed to 2012, we’re certainly expecting that to increase,” says Lori Anderson, ISA’s president and CEO. Continues Sarah Singleton, ISA director of marketing: “Last year’s ISA Sign Expo had a huge turnout, and this year is trending toward an even better event. Currently our early attendee registration numbers are almost double what they were last year. Our support by suppliers and distributors is up, our show floor is already larger than the last time we were in Orlando [in 2010], and we still have three months to go before show time. If you look at our show statistics over the past 18 months, it appears the industry is very strong. In our conversations with exhibitors, it appears 2011 has been a positive year and they are cautiously optimistic about 2012 and these numbers are being reflected at ISA.”

GET SCHOOLED

Been out of school for a while now, eh? Now might be a good time to dust oﬀ the ol’ cerebral cortex. Step oﬀ the show floor to experience an array of more than 75 industry-specific educational programs covering 13 distinct industry tracks, which include Digital Print Imaging, Customer Service, Digital Electronic Signage, and more. Five sessions tailored specifically for digital printing include: • Make More with Your Wide-Format Printer: Tapping into New Ink and Media Solutions; • 100 Ways to Make Money with a Printer/Cutter; • Boosting Your Profitable Print and Cut Workflow; • Prepress Automation, Not an Option Any Longer; and • Solving Printing Defects and Complications. Pricing for educational sessions is $129 per session, or attendees can choose among three package-pricing

DON’T

LATE!

The Expo schedule stacks up like this:

options: Genius ($459, unlimited number of education sessions); WorkSmart ($359, choice of 60 education sessions taking place Thursday-Saturday); or JumpStart ($259, choice of 18 intensive workshops taking place on Wednesday). Discounts for ISA members. Attendees receive ISA Professional Development Unit credits for each session.

Wednesday, March 21 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Pre-Expo education workshops 1:00 p.m. ISA/Southern States Sign Council golf tournament Thursday, March 22 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Expo education sessions 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Exhibit hall open 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Free Happy Hour

Friday, March 23 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Expo education sessions 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Exhibit hall open 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Free Happy Hour 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ISA Custom & National Sign Company annual meeting Saturday, March 24 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Expo education sessions 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Exhibit hall open

‘BUT

WON’T I MISS THE

MADNESS?’

No! Lucky for you, attending ISA doesn’t have to mean missing out on March Madness, the hoops extravaganza that is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Have your brackets ready and track your progress in the new Basketball and Social Media Lounge, which features a 103-inch TV. Drop in and check out the latest scores, log in at the cyber café, and follow what everyone is saying about ISA events on the oﬃcial Twitter wall. Relax, recharge, and enjoy a drink from the cash bar all while staying connected online. Lounge hours: Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. www.bigpicture.net

ISA Sign Expo

NETWORKING OPPS

OLYMPUS GROUP

Put a face to all those e-mail addresses and phone voices by connecting with industry professionals face-to-face through one of several ISA networking events. Hosted by ISA’s international committee, the Global Sign Forum and Reception welcomes industry leaders from more than 30 countries to exchange ideas, discuss issues, and develop international business relations. Sign up early because seating is limited. The Forum takes place Friday, March 23: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. The Custom and National Sign Company Meeting & Networking Event invites sign and graphic executives to mingle with representatives from major sign companies to answer questions regarding installation needs. Your ISA Expo badge is all you need to attend the event and a cash bar will be available. The event happens Friday, March 23: 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Need a good excuse to hit the fairways? The ISA/Southern States Sign Council Golf Tournament is a shotgun start tournament and will take place at the MetroWest Golf Club at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Registration fee is $125 and includes green fees, golf carts with a GPS yardage system, unlimited practice ball, $10 merchandise voucher, and a boxed lunch.

7 30

WELCOME TO ORLANDO:

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

In September of 2011, Milwaukee-based custom graphic manufacturer Olympus Group (olympusgrp. com) spread its wings and flew from the brewing capital to the home of Disney with its opening of a second facility in Orlando. The company first opened its doors in 1893 and grew to become a leader in the custom printing and sewing industry, eventually specializing in grand-format digital prints and dye sublimation. The new G7-certified facility features an EFI Vutek QS3220 UV hybrid printer, Zünd L3000C precision cutter, GBC 640T laminator, an automatic grommet machine, and much more. “Florida represents about 25 percent of our current business and to help us better service our key customers we needed to have a local presence,” says Hayes Holzhauer, general manager for the Orlando facility. “This facility will allow us to reduce logistical costs and provide faster turn times to Florida, while being supported by our headquarters in Milwaukee.” The company focuses on producing banners, backdrops, rigid signage, event graphics, and vehicle graphics. But while Olympus can print just about any standard graphics project, mascots are its real pride and joy. In fact, the shop has concepted, designed, and produced more than 14,000 mascot costumes. Its impressive client roster includes: McDonalds, Walt Disney World, Kellogg’s, GM, and many more. To support its new second-home, Olympus invested more than $500,000 in new equipment and technology, and plans to hire 25 more employees over the next three years to sustain the growing market.

BEST OF THE BEST:

NOW LIVE!

With so many exhibitors sprinkling the tradeshow floor, there’s no question that new products will be everywhere – but only one can be named “number one.” ISA has tweaked its former New and Green Product Showcases. This year, in voting for the competitions – Best New Product and Best Green Product – you’ll be able to text your vote for products that debuted after April 2011. And the race for the top will be displayed live as the show proceeds. The competing products will be listed on signexpo. org and in ISA show materials. Voting is open from Thursday at 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. The products with the most votes by noon on Saturday, March 24, will be named Best New Product and Best Green Product. Last year, 3M’s Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080, vehicle-wrap fi lms, took home the title of “Coolest New Product.” Image Microsystems’ process for converting eWaste into a material for traﬃc signs was named the “Coolest Green Product.”

Taking care of

ISA will once again co-locate with the International Reprographic Association (IRgA) convention and tradeshow. To offer further value to attendees, ISA has also partnered with the European Sign Federation (ESF) and Digital Signage Federation (DSF). These partnerships will provide an expanded platform to network, attend expert-led educational sessions, and result in a more robust tradeshow floor, the ISA reports.

Plan your attack

Three for the

price of one

business

Register online for admission to the Sign Expo exhibit hall before February 17 for just $30 ($15 for ISA members); after that: $40 ($25 for ISA members). If you’re looking to save a little dough, ISA is offering a company package for the first time: For $999, a shop can send its entire staff with unlimited education sessions and exhibithall admission. Save more money by staying in an ISA official hotel and receive $50 off the education fee (see signexpo.org for list of official hotels and pricing). After each show day’s end, experience Orlando’s entertainment district with a free entry to Universal CityWalk Thursday night, beginning at 5 p.m. Discounted tickets are also available for Disney World, Universal Studios, and Mears Motor Shuttle. Free coupon books are also given to ISA attendees at Orlando Premium Outlets. And for added convenience, attendees can check their bags at the Orange County Convention Center and check in for their flight before leaving the show.

Find the most up-to-date list of more than 500 exhibitors and booth numbers at isasignexpo.org. And to make the best use of your time at ISA, check out the ISA’s a2z show planner, which allows you to build your route within the floorplan, showing just the exhibitors you are most interested in visiting and create a time efficient plan for your visit. Plus, you can choose to permit the exhibitors that you add to see your contact information, allowing them to start a dialogue in advance of the event. You can also email your map to your colleagues to make certain you are all on the same page about what you want to see at the show. www.bigpicture.net

rr++dd

LexJet Launches Infinium ‘Transportable Graphic’

LexJet has introduced Infinium, a print media with a laminate and adhesive built into a single conformable material – in essence, says the company, “a fully transportable graphic.” Compatible with low-solvent, solvent, latex, and UV-curable printers, Infinium can be applied to virtually any surface, including irregular surfaces

and curves. To use the product, an image is reverse printed onto the Infinium media and it’s then applied face down on the substrate with heat, water, or the company’s Infinium Bond primer (depending on the application and whether it’s intended to be a temporary or permanent graphic). Infinium is manufactured with water-based chemistries and has no VOCs and is PVC-free, the company reports. It’s compatible with most commonly used post-print processes, including laser cutting, routing, and thermoforming without distorting the graphic. Available in gloss and matte versions, in these widths: 25-, 36-, 42-, 50-, and 54-in. LexJet also has introduced FaceMount Perforated Window Grip, a 60/40 perforated film (60-percent printable area, 40-percent open area pattern) engineered to make for easier window applications. The film features a low-tack grip adhesive that’s repositionable and easy to remove, with little to no post-removal residue. Designed for use with low-solvent and solvent printers, FaceMount is available in these roll sizes: 54 in. x 82 ft and 27 in. x 12 ft. LEXJET lexjet.com

Pro Vehicle Outlines Releases 2012 Template Collection Pro Vehicle Outlines, a division of CADlink, has released its 2012 vehicle template collection. The collection comprises more than 9000 vehicle and specialty templates, including cars, trucks, SUVs, trailers, and specialty vehicles; model years from 1994 to 2012. All templates are provided as vector images in Adobe Illustrator format. Price: $149 for 6-mo online subscription and $249 for 12-mo subscriptions; $349 for Pro version, which includes online subscription as well as a DVD library, template reference book, and special pricing on upgrades. In addition, the company has launched its new North American website, provehicleoutlines.com. The new website provides a much easier product download and navigation for current and potential customers, the company says. PRO VEHICLE OUTLINES provehicleoutlines.com

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

New RIP Editions From Shiraz Shiraz Software, based in the UK, has announced new editions of its RIP Server, Signature, and Focus solutions. All of the new products feature a full-scale rebuild of the underlying architecture, Shiraz reports, as well as faster RIP functionality, a redesigned Dashboard, enhanced customer-service module, remote access, extended support for machines from various manufacturers, native support for the latest Windows 7 and Mac OS X Lion systems, new media profiles, and more. Shiraz Server V8, for demanding production environments with multiple users and devices, now includes an HPGL/2 engine to support rendering and printing of vector and raster files and features increased speed, stability, and ease of use. For smaller wide-format facilities, Shiraz Signature V8 adds the redesigned user interface and also incorporates new developments in image management for smarter printing. It’s now available in single-user Solo or multi-user Server editions. Shiraz Focus V4, for fine-art and photographic output, offers: the ability to split and visualize an image over any number of rows and columns for complex, triptych-style presentations; a Ruby Gallery Wrap feature, to arrange images for canvas wraps in a diamond formation; and more. It is also available in Solo or Server editions.

Brushed Black Metallic Added to 3M’s 1080 Film 3M Commercial Graphics has announced a new color/finish combination to its 3M Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080: Brushed Black Metallic. As with the other 1080 Series films, the Brushed Black Metallic version is a pressure-activated, 3.5-mil cast film designed to provide dimensional stability and durability without the need for an overlaminate. It’s available in 60-in. widths. The new Brushed Black Metallic color was selected in the company’s recent Wrap Battle: 1080 contest, which asked fans of the product to vote for their favorite new color and finish. 3M COMMERCIAL GRAPHICS 3mgraphics.com

SHIRAZ SOFTWARE shiraz-software.com

Three New Rio PET Sign Media From Value Vinyls Value Vinyls has introduced Rio PET Sign Media, a new line of scrimless sign media that can be used for long-term indoor as well as short-term outdoor displays. Featuring an extremely smooth matte finish compatible with digital printing, screen printing, and pressure-sensitive lettering, the new Rio PET line is engineered to provide low-curl prints when producing hemless signs. The Rio PET series includes: Rio PET 16-oz Opaque Ultra Smooth; Rio PET 13-oz Backlit; and Rio PET 13-oz Gray Back. All are available in 126-in. widths. Applications include banners, banner stands, retail/aisle banners, point of purchase, and outdoor banners. In addition, the company has introduced Rio Max FR Frontlit, a coated 16-oz material developed for heavy-duty use. Designed to hold up against vigorous winds, Rio Max FR is tolerant to cold weather and extremely resistant to tearing and fraying. It features a smooth matte texture on the face, is compatible with screen printing, and is NFPA701 Fire Retardant certified for indoor use. Available in 54-, 98-, and 126-in. widths. VALUE VINYLS valuevinyls.com www.bigpicture.net

r+d

FDC Graphic Films Adds to Banner Line

Datacolor Launches Spyder4 Colorimeters Datacolor has introduced the Spyder4 line of advanced colorimeters, able to calibrate a variety of wide-gamut and normal-gamut displays, including monitors, laptops, and projectors, as well as TVs, iPads, and iPhones. All Spyder4 models feature a simple install wizard, and deliver an average of 26% more accuracy and improved low-luminance performance over previous Spyder3 technology, the company reports. The new line includes: • Spyder4 Express is a cost-effective colorimeter that quickly calibrates a single display computer or laptop right out of the box. iPad and iPhone calibration is also available with Datacolor’s free SpyderGallery app. • Spyder4 Pro, ideal for those that want more control over light and color management, offering ambient light measurement and the ability to calibrate multiple displays, as well as iOS devices. • Spyder4 Elite offers the highest level of customization and capable of calibrating projectors. Developed for professional photographers, videographers, and others who must match colors precisely, the Elite model can manage multiple displays and calibrate them using a full set of gamma and non-gamma tone response curves to create custom workflow settings. The user can also define a custom calibration. Includes the L-Star workflow and supports the Cineon, NTSC, PAL, and HDTV video standards. Price: $119 for the Express; $169 for the Spyder4Pro; $249 for the Elite model.

FDC Graphic Films has expanded its digital print media line with the introduction of 7505 series 13-oz super smooth blockout banner and 7506 series 15-oz super smooth blockout banner. Both products are two-side printable PVC and feature a blockout layer that obstructs light and a matte finish. Their smooth face provides a print surface suitable for eco-solvent, solvent, and latex printing. Both media feature tear-, curl-, and fire-resistance, and both pass the NFPA 701 fire-resistant certification test, FDC reports. Available in 54-in. widths. FDC GRAPHIC FILMS fdcfilms.com

Aurora’s New Act II SP and Twill SP Textiles Aurora Specialty Textiles Group has added Act II SP and Twill SP to its Northern Lights Printable Textiles collection. Specially pre-treated to yield excellent color pop and line definition while maintaining the fabric’s soft hand, both fabrics are compatible with latex and UV-cure print technologies as well as solvents. Prints produced with latex inks will rival dye sublimation, the company reports. Both styles are excellent choices for retail soft signage, indoor and short-term outdoor banners, window graphics, exhibits, and other applications. Act II SP is is made of 100% recycled plastic drink bottles. Both new textiles are available in widths from 60 to 122 in. In other Aurora-related news, the company has been named a member of the HP Registered Latex Developer Program (RLDP). In this program, HP partners with media vendors in order to fully optimize the compatibility between HP printers, HP Latex inks, and third-party media. Nine products from Aurora’s Northern Lights Printable Textiles collection have been tested and certified for use, the company reports. In addition, iMidia Digital Technologies (thinkmidia.com) has joined the company’s distributor network.

DATACOLOR

AURORA SPECIALTY TEXTILES GROUP

datacolor.com

auroratextile.com

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

QUICK SHOTS

Inx, Avery Guarantee agreement: Avery

<27 The Manta Slim is designed for shops that have limited space for a UV printer; it measures 118 x 150 x 59 in. Other SigmaJet UV printers include: the Manta, Manta White, Gemini, and Shark. Distributed in the US by Integra Technologies International (integraint.com).

Dennison will offer its ICS Performance Guarantee to customers using Inx Digital International Triangle inks for specific media. The Performance Guarantee involves Mimaki JV3, JV33, and JV5 printers with Triangle JVS or BVJ inks, Mutoh Valuejet 1614 series printers, and the Roland Soljet and VersaCamm series with Triangle MLD or EDX inks. averydennison.com, inxdigital.com

Testrite’s New Product Supplement: Testrite has released its latest New Products Supplement. The 28-page catalog offers information on the company’s newest displays and accessories; all items are now shipping. testrite.com

Parts Depot for printer parts, accessories: Global Garage has launched Parts Depot, an online store for new and used industrial printer parts and accessories. Parts are currently available for Agfa, EFI Vutek, HP Scitex, and Zund; other manufacturers will be added based on customer feedback, the company reports. Printhead cleaning is also available. shop.globalgarage.net

PosterPrint certified for Designjet L26500/ L28500: ErgoSoft PosterPrint v14 RIP software has received a “certified” designation from HP for the Designjet L26500 and L28500 Latex printers. ergosoft.net

Lightroom 3.6 and Camera Raw 6.6: Lightroom 3.6 and Camera Raw 6.6 final releases have been made available by Adobe. The updates provide raw file format support for nine new cameras and add more than 30 lens profiles. adobe.com

ICEit! 2.0 released: FineEye Color Solutions has issued ICEit! 2.0, a color-separation technology delivered as a Photoshop plug-In. Replacing the default RGB-to-CMYK separation process in Photoshop, it’s designed to capture more of the original RGB image’s color gamut during CMYK conversion, resulting in cleaner, brighter images that require less color editing, the company reports. It supports both GRACoL and SWOP specs. fineeyecolor.com

Output Factory 1.0 public beta: Zevrix has released a public beta of Output Factory 1.0, a new version of BatchOutput that automates printing and exporting from InDesign. Output Factory adds various features including layer versioning, skip files with errors, detailed output history, and more. zevrix.com

Update for pdfaPilot: Callas Software has released pdfaPilot v3. It brings full support for the new PDF/A-3 standard, making it possible to archive the original document (such as Word, Excel, XML) into the PDF/A file. This enables creating long-term archival documents that carry the native documents or dynamic data in them. Available as pdfaPilot Server 3 and pdfaPilot Desktop 3. callassoftware.com

VersaUV LEJ-640 ROLAND DGA Signs International Distributor sidsigns.com The SID UV 200S is a 6-color (CMYKcm) printer that offers 24 Spectra printheads (128 nozzles) and an 81-in. print width. Top speed is 419 sq ft/hr in Draft mode (300 x 600 dpi, three passes), while High Quality mode is 204 sq ft/hr (600 x 600 dpi, six passes); top resolution is 800 dpi. The SID UV 200S can accommodate media up to 1.18-in. thick. Also available is the SID UV 165P printer. SwissQPrint swissqprint.com The Impala hybrid UV printer from SwissQPrint uses an 8-color inkset (CMYKcmk + W) + varnish (optional spot colors available), and oﬀers print speeds up to 1441 sq ft/hr in Draft mode (484 sq ft/hr in Std Production mode and 387 sq ft/hr in Quality Production mode). Top resolution is 1440 dpi; maximum print area is 59 x 98 in. (optional Endless Flatbed Solution). Also available is the Oryx UV flatbed printer. All SwissQPrint machines are distributed in the US by Polytype America Corp. (polytype-digital.com, see Polytype’s listing). Teckwin teckwin.com Teckwin’s TeckPro UV3200 is a roll-to-roll printer that features a maximum print width of 130 in., resolutions up to 800 dpi, and a top speed of 990 sq ft/hr in High Speed mode (484 sq ft/hr in Production mode). The 7-color printer (CMYKcm + w) allows for simultaneous printing on multiple rolls (two rolls, 64-in.) and oﬀers a double-sided backlit printing option. A Teckwin Caldera GrandRIP+ is standard. Other UV machines from Teckwin include the TeckStorm TS-300 and TS-600 printers. www.bigpicture.net

editorial board

Meet Our Advisory Board The following 14 leaders from the digital-graphics arena comprise our Editorial Advisory Board, providing us with expertise and feedback, helping ensure that The Big Picture continues to cover the most critical subjects of interest to print providers. Rick Bachelder President, Filmet Filmet (filmet.com) has invested heavily in digital printing. The company, which specializes in prototypes, runs of banners, interior décor, and more, employs 80 people at its 65,000-square-foot facility.

Kathy Boydstun President, Fusion Imaging Fusion Imaging (fusionimaging.com) is the resulting company from ProGrafix International’s acquisition of Impact Imaging in 2005. Under Kathy’s leadership, Fusion has become proficient in large-format graphic production, as well as project consulting, installation, lighting, and event-marketing graphic applications.

Terry Corman CEO, Firehouse Terry Corman bought Indianapolis-based Firehouse (fire-house.net) in 1989. The company had been founded 19 years earlier as a full-service commercial color lab, but under his guidance, has expanded its reputation as a major digital “print-for-pay” provider.

Scott Crosby Partner, Holland & Crosby Holland & Crosby (holland andcrosby.com) oﬀers P-O-S and promotion solutions to clients from its oﬃces in Ontario, where it’s invested in state-of-the-art digital equipment (including the first Inca Onset in North America).

Brandon Gabriel Principal, New Business Development, LAgraphico LAgraphico (lagraphico.com) is a graphic-solutions provider with more than 25 years of experience. Its current capabilities include creative, pre-media, litho oﬀset, grand-format, and display. The company is FSC-certified and employs more than 200.

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

Michael Garcia President, OAI Inc. Michael Garcia is the founder of OAI (oaicorp.com), which designs and prints outdoor, vehicle, environmental, and stadium graphics. Named a US Chamber Small Business Blue Ribbon Award Winner, OAI is the largest large-format imaging company in the Southeast. Michael is a member of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

Kirk Green President/CEO, Ferrari Color Trusted for its excellence in innovative visual-communication solutions, Ferrari Color (ferraricolor.com) produces graphic campaigns for many of the nation’s top retail brands. The Salt Lake City-based company, which employs 140, also creates environmental displays for larger-than-life events.

Robert Kissel President, KDM P.O.P. Solutions KDM P.O.P. Solutions Group (kdmpop.com) is a second-generation, family-owned company that specializes in P-O-P through its oﬀerings of digital, screen, and litho (in short as well as long runs). KDM executes much of its printing for advertising agencies, retail, petroleum companies, and the fast-food industry, and also provides services to print brokers.

Tina McLaughlin CEO, greatBIGcolor, Inc. Founded in 1998, greatBIGcolor (greatbigcolor.com) is a national print project production facility specializing in large- and grand-format graphics. As a G7 Master-qualified print shop, the company is an industry leader for in-store P-O-P/PO-S and out-of-home projects. With FSC certification and a complete line of sustainable printing solutions, greatBIGcolor is a forerunner in eco-friendly campaigns. The Denver-based business is a certified WBENC.

Craig Miller President/CEO, Pictographics Craig Miller, along with wife Susan and daughter Christy Stevens, runs Pictographics (pictographics.net). The company produces graphics for events, trade shows, garments, interior decorating, and architectural installations at its 20,000-square-foot headquarters.

Carmen Rad President, CR&A Custom Los Angeles-based CR&A Custom (cracustom.com) is the only dually woman- and minority-owned wide-format digital print operation in the US. A full-service digital print-production and visual-display company, CR&A works with major corporations across the US, Puerto Rico, and Dubai.

Greg Root President, SuperGraphics Seattle-based SuperGraphics (supergraphics.com) designed the world’s first computergenerated bus wrap in 1993. Since then, it’s expanded into every area of large-format graphics, utilizing technologies ranging from grande-format inkjet and screen printing to electrostatic. Greg oversees manufacturing plants in the US and Canada, as well as an international sales force.

Jared Smith President, bluemedia Bluemedia (bluemedia.com) is a leading provider of design and printing for use in vehicle, large-format, and environmental graphic applications for b-to-b and b-to-c organizations. Jared co-founded bluemedia in 2000.

Mark Taylor COO/Sr. Vice President, GFX Int’l GFX International (gfxi.com) is a marketing-at-retail design and production firm. Oﬀering large- and grand-format digital printing, screen printing, and litho, GFX also provides projectmanagement services, creative and imaging work, finishing, and fulfillment.

business + management <12 customers and let production worry about how to get it produced. If, however, you develop a system that communicates timely information to your sales team, informing them of what you can and what you cannot do in any given day or week, then your sales team will do a much better job working with your customers to agreed-upon deadlines that will work for them and that the production team can achieve. For example, our company sends out a “ticker” every morning and every afternoon to the sales team, outlining the standard turn times on each machine we operate. The sales reps can comfortably assume that a normal-sized job can be delivered in the time frame indicated on the ticker. Big jobs always need to be quoted on turn times. This frees up our sales staﬀ to communicate immediately to the customer when their job can be shipped. The system doesn’t have to be sophisticated – any communication is better than keeping your sales reps guessing. But be careful not to place all the responsibilities on the sales team. Your production team needs to develop a “cando” attitude for this to work. If you allow your production team to create buﬀers of comfort when establishing timelines, you will inevitably extend customer deadlines out too far on a consistent basis, and you’ll ultimately lose business. Face it: We operate in a world where customers demand quick turn times on a regular basis. If your shop develops a reputation of being great on quality and price, but you’re very slow on turnaround times, that may very well end up being your epitaph. It’s critical that your production team works its hardest to achieve customer demands.

It’s all about profitability When there’s an improper balance between sales and production, typically sales blames production and vice versa. Frankly, neither is to blame. This is management’s fault. While proper communication systems are important, the only way to achieve true balance among all your employees is to make sure everyone is working toward the same overall goal. And that goal must be profitability. If your company’s goal is only sales growth, then that will probably run counter to what production’s responsibilities are. On the other hand, if your overall company goals are oriented around rework, cost of sales, production eﬃciencies, etc., then it lowers the incentive to sell. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have sales and production goals as metrics to manage. My point is that the overriding goal that drives your corporate strategy – including every employee in the company – needs to be all about profitability. If you can manage to get both sales and production to focus on selling and producing profitable sales, you have won the biggest part of the battle.

inside output <14 e-mails and they become an important historical record for the HR department. These internal e-mails are not a replacement for verbal communication, but they certainly have become an invaluable augmentation.

Tweetless, but rockin’ the texts For many of you, though, e-mail is probably “low-tech” compared to the latest craze in online communication that’s demanding the presence of businesses: social networking. I’m a bit of a Luddite when it comes to social media – I don’t understand Linkedin or Facebook, although I belong to both. But Twitter? I have never tweeted nor have I been a tweetee. Not once. First, I can’t bring myself to have the word “tweet” ever fall from my lips. I predict that even though I plan to live a long life, I will die totally tweetless. One social-related outlet that I can get behind is texting. I have to admit I never thought I’d be one to text. For years, I would see people bent over their cell phones thumbing at them like they were trying to crush the phone in their bare hands. Trying to type using a phone’s numeric keypad was more frustration than I could bear. When I bought my first iPhone, though, my texting aversion evaporated. I came to find the ability to send a brief message very eﬃcient. And, in many cases, it eliminated the necessity of a phone call. The ability to send pictures, phone numbers, and addresses became invaluable in both my professional and personal worlds. Texting rocks! If I want to show oﬀ our company’s latest work, rather than use Facebook I prefer to post very high-resolution images on our Picasa site (you can also use Flickr or iCloud if you prefer). I send the link to one or a chain of colleagues or customers. You can make the uploaded photo album available to the general public or only people with the link. And you have the capability to write extensive captions to each image or video. This photo-posting method gives the end-user the ability to look at or zoom in on the highresolution image, or watch a slide show or a video. After they have viewed the images, you can permit them to download any of the content. We recently did this for a client in Amsterdam; they printed out our pictures and used them in their planning meeting for their tradeshow in Paris that spring.

A manageable presence So for now, with the exception of texting, it seems that good old e-mail fi lls almost all of my modern telecommunication needs. But I know that social-media outlets can’t simply be ignored. It’s important to establish a manageable presence on the popular networking sites and find exactly how the tools work best for your company. Keeping up with the ever-changing communication outlets can seem overwhelming, but tackling the technologies can ensure that your business runs in the most eﬃcient fashion possible. www.bigpicture.net

fine art <19 Sometimes, we get perfect files, sometimes not. We even get images sent right from someone’s smart phone they want enlarged.” When needed, a prepress representative will call that customer, explain the limitations, and explore possible solutions for a better file and print.” Prints are produced with a Roland AdvancedJet AJ-1000 solvent inkjet, with Roland inks on 13-ounce canvas. Typical Art Canvas orders are for 18 x 24 or 24 x 36 prints, Hay reports. Work can be shipped as rolled prints or stretched and mounted to 1/2- or 1-inch stretchers. The company also offers prints on canvas up to 8-feet wide x 18-feet long. Most orders are for one or two prints, but the company handles much larger specialty projects, as well. One such project required a series of large mounted canvas prints highlighting the history of a solar turbine company for installation at its headquarters. And, each year, 858 reproduces the images featured in the surf-apparel maker Reef’s new calendar as oversized canvas prints adorning the walls at its annual unveiling. The largest of this year’s prints measured 6 x 10 feet. The big projects can sometimes prove easier than printing on canvas for consumers. Corporate marketers are generally familiar with the capabilities of digital printing, and the possibilities. For most consumers, though, printing on canvas is still a new concept: “The biggest challenge is figuring out where the sweet spot is in terms of the cost and quality,” Hay observes. “It can be hard to understand where consumers’ expectations are when they order a print on canvas. Some want the cheapest print, but the best quality. Others aren’t happy when their pictures

For its giclée work, Marco Fine Arts utilizes 22 wideformat printers, including a range of Epson Stylus Pro 9900s, 11880s, and the GS6000. “We are fine tuned to producing art and we know what machine to go to for which type of work for the most accurate reproduction,” says owner Al Marco. 38

THE BIG PICTURE february 2012

are blown up, even though we’ve tried to explain the problem with their original file.” A revamp of the 858 website is in the works to make it easier for customers to proof Art Canvas orders prior to printing. “This is not a specialty for us, but one of many services we provide,” says Hay. “It’s something we want to pay attention to because it’s a growing market.”

Marco Fine Arts: A thorough approach Most people arrive at digital fine-art printing as an opportunity to reproduce their own work, or develop new revenue streams for their large-format capabilities. Al Marco brings a unique perspective and requirements. As the owner of Marco Fine Arts (marcofinearts.com), he’s been meshing his print craft with the fine-art market and museums for nearly 30 years. “Our clients are some of today’s best-known artists and photographers,” he asserts. Their prints can be found in private collections, in galleries, and on museum walls around the world. Marco Fine Arts offers whatever they require in terms of reproduction services: silkscreening, lithography, serio lithography, and giclée printing. “Print technology has really come a long way,” he continues. “Digital fine-art printing is an accepted medium now, and most artists know about it and accept it as an efficient, effective tool for reproducing their work.” At its 40,000-square-foot facility in Hawthorne, California, Marco Fine Arts offers services ranging from image capture though output, finishing, framing, and authentication of a fine-art print or series. Giclée services are rendered with an array of 22 different wide-format printers, including a range of Epson Stylus Pro 9900s, 11880s, and the GS6000. For digitizing artwork, the company provides scanning services and has a photo studio where a mounted 4 x 5 camera, equipped with a BetterLight scanning back, captures a high-res file. When it’s time to print, clients can choose from a comprehensive selection of media, including acrylic, aluminum, bamboo veneer, and the company’s own proprietary fine-art and canvas papers. “Our paper is something we developed over the last 20 years, a handmade paper with a coating that gives us one of the highest color gamuts possible,” he says. It’s just one more indication of how focused this company is on delivering the best in fine-art reproduction, and the thoroughness of its approach. “Today an artist could buy a printer and computer, calibration equipment, and software to print their own work,” admits Marco. “But they have to put in hours at the computer, walking over dollars to get to some pennies,” as he puts it. Freelance writer Mike Antoniak is a frequent contributor to The Big Picture magazine.

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ad index

February 2012

AGFA 25 www.agfa.com Alpina Manufacturing 39 www.bannergrip.com bpic.net 13 www.bigpicture.cnet Brand Management Group 1 www.brandmanagement.com Esko 11 www.esko.com Flexcon IBC www.myflexcon.com Graphics of the Americas 15 www.goa2012.com

International Sign Assoc. 5 www.signexpo.org LexJet 39 www.lexjet.com Mimaki USA Inc. IFC www.mimakiusa.com Palram OBC www.palram.com Panel Processing 15 www.panelprocessing.com Seiko Instruments USA 3 www.seiko-i.com Ultraflex 11 www.ultraflexx.com

job log

Updating a Six Pack “Whether you call them vinyl graphics, vinyl wraps, car wraps, or vehicle wraps, the installation is where it counts – when the design and printed product come together and the vision is achieved.”

THE BIG PICTURE FEBRUARY 2012

The Client Mussetter Distributing The Player DeMink DeSigns (deminkdesign.com) Tools & Supplies Roland VersaCamm SP-540, Roland EcoSol Max ink, Roland VersaWorks RIP, 3M ControlTac TJ180 V3, 3M 8580 laminate, Walco 60 laminator The Job Kombucha, a tea-based beverage known for its supposed detoxifying powers, rejuvenated its branding with new packaging for 2011. Looking to capitalize on the rebrand, Mussetter Distributing – a beer and beverage distributor in Sacramento, California – sought to update some of its old fleet trucks to promote the new relabeling. One particular vehicle in need of a changeout was a former Miller beer truck that had been designed to resemble an actual six pack. Distributor owner Rich Mussetter didn’t have to search far for a print provider, he’d been driving past Auburn, California’s DeMink DeSigns every day for years. Production “Because the truck was older, the first question I asked was, ‘How is the vehicle’s paint?’ He let me know it was okay, so we accepted the challenge,” says Steve DeMink, the shop’s owner. “And, the Mussetters were no stranger to the wrap world – they already had a pretty good idea of what they wanted.” Although Mussetter had communicated a pretty clear design concept using images of the new Kombucha look, DeMink wasn’t satisfied. “After a digital mockup and a couple of test prints, I put the brakes on. I didn’t feel like the pop was there. So I set up a quick photo shoot on a banner table: chair on a table with a taped-up section of 15 feet of cut Olympic blue vinyl as a backdrop. I added some LED lighting behind the bottle to bring out the color. Then we cropped and rendered the fi les in Photoshop. Because I was able to control the image quality with a Canon Rebel XT camera, no prep work other than cropping and scaling the images was required,” explains DeMink. With the team finally happy with the design and image, DeMink moved to the output stage. Using a Roland VersaCamm SP-540 with EcoSol Max inks and VersaWorks RIP, DeMink output the wrap onto 3M ControlTac vinyl. To finish, a 3M Scotchcal 8580 laminate was added using a Walco 60 laminator. A single installer handled the wrap.

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Another building wrap.

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