what new equipment to look out for in 2012?

R

RafalWM

Well-known member
Is anything exciting being released in 2012?
Digital, large format or offset, that will bring something new to the table. We're looking into a few new investments in terms of equipment, but maybe we're missing something that's soon to come out :)
 
RafalWM said:
Is anything exciting being released in 2012?
Digital, large format or offset, that will bring something new to the table. We're looking into a few new investments in terms of equipment, but maybe we're missing something that's soon to come out :)
Click to expand...

If you had a wish list, what would you want?

What issues would you like to solve with new technology if it could be done?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
its not really new for 2012, but I was recently at the Kodak Versamark facility in Dayton. They had many digital printers in production utilizing their new STREAM print heads. They indicated there was very strong demand. I think we will see this technology really explode. 1200 x 1200 at 650 ft per minute
 
Seen samples from Rene colors look a bit weak. Do you find this true. Also if image gets wet, ink runs do you find this to be true.
 
i dont have hands on experience with the Prosper, but I do with Versamark DH heads, which I think use a similar dye based aqueous inkset. Our color looks very good, with the precoat that is also applied on our printer. The inks do run if wetted, but on our printer we post coat in line also. The finished images with pre and post are solid.
 
Colors are OK, not laser more like offset and yes if wet the ink runs. I have had no problems so far with quality or wetting, I'm sure it will happen but most folks try and keep paper dry so I don't see it as a major issue.
 
X33 said:
check this one out, price tag is $3.8M
Xerox's Waterless Inkjet System CiPress 500 Debuts at Graph Expo / Xerox Newsroom
Click to expand...

There is an interesting video on that page also.

The comment in the video was that the output was more consistent and predictable than offset and this was needed for the manufacturing needs of the business.

Also recently, Frank Romano stated in a video that now digital print was better than offset.

It is sad but true that the offset suppliers have missed the boat on the importance of consistency and predictability and the experienced users of offset have continually insisted that the process can not fundamentally be improved. No imagination in the offset crowd and unfortunately it is going to hurt them.

I like seeing processes that work. Let's see how far this goes.

The better it works, the more it will be sold the lower the cost of the technology will be.
 
Erik Nikkanen said:
If you had a wish list, what would you want?

What issues would you like to solve with new technology if it could be done?
Click to expand...

There are quite a few issues :) Generally there is a solution for most of the problems we've been having with digital print, but the answer is usually spending a few hundred thousand more on equipment, or using more expensive paper :)
I'm mainly just looking for something print-related , that I haven't thought of pursuing.
If nothing pops up in the next few weeks, we're probably just going to get a better unit. Maybe the Xerox 800. The Inkjet systems (mentioned in other posts) are way out of our budget :D
 
Erik Nikkanen said:
There is an interesting video on that page also.

The comment in the video was that the output was more consistent and predictable than offset and this was needed for the manufacturing needs of the business.

I like seeing processes that work. Let's see how far this goes.

The better it works, the more it will be sold the lower the cost of the technology will be.
Click to expand...

Already there was some negative comments on this process.

Is Waterless the Future of Printing (by Inkjet)? - WhatTheyThink

Third comment.

That optimistic feeling didn't last long.
 
I have no doubt that inkjet is the future - going to GraphExpo this year confirmed it for me. The technology is still finicky and has some issues (mainly substrate). Keep your eyes on what Epson, Fujifilm and Canon are up to (somebody already brought up emerging Xerox technology). Unless the German vendors have some top-secret R&D projects going on in this area that we aren't aware of yet it looks like the Japanese are going to dominate. I see this competing against offset lithography and potentially even flexography in the future.

I think that many people get hung up on the fact that these machines are more expensive without realizing that they do not require the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars of into support equipment like CtP (and associated labor). The variable costs of plates, misc. inks, etc are also eliminated. Further the huge setup costs (and associated labor) of large traditional presses are eliminated as well. I haven't done the math but I would bet the marketing gurus at these companies are pricing these machines to hit this point precisely.
 
chevalier said:
I have no doubt that inkjet is the future - going to GraphExpo this year confirmed it for me.

Further the huge setup costs (and associated labor) of large traditional presses are eliminated as well. I haven't done the math but I would bet the marketing gurus at these companies are pricing these machines to hit this point precisely.
Click to expand...

These are interesting times.

There is so much talk about over capacity of offset printing equipment in the industry. Over capacity is not so much the issue but the quality of that capacity. If some new technology comes out that clearly outperforms the existing technology, the older technology is not such a factor.

The expensive inkjets systems as you suggest can be a better economic option than what exists. On the offset side, I talked with a printer within the last two years and he had an Anicolor press. For his type of work, this press suited him well. His comment was that he would NEVER buy another conventional offset press due to how this press performed for him. Anicolor is not even a digital press. It is a lithographic press but one that has better performance in some areas that will fit some printers needs.

I am not an advocate for this press design but it does show that when technology is designed to give better performance, it has an affect on the continued use and the new purchases of existing technology.
 
disadvantages of anilox inking

disadvantages of anilox inking

Hello Erik,

Can you please describe briefly (or preferably at length if you are so inclined) the disadvantages of anilox inking such as in the Anicolor presses or the KBA 74G?

Thanks,

Al
 
Al Ferrari said:
Hello Erik,

Can you please describe briefly (or preferably at length if you are so inclined) the disadvantages of anilox inking such as in the Anicolor presses or the KBA 74G?

Thanks,

Al
Click to expand...

Hi Al,

I can list a few but they are in no particular order.

1. Problems with spot colours. Since the anilox roller has cells, it has some limitations on how much ink it actually applies to the form roller. Ink strength becomes an issue then. This also means that one needs to be limited to the range of print density for the CMYK inks.

2. Density variation due to temperature. These presses might be more consistent than conventional offset but they still have variation in ink feed. These presses use this fact to try to provide some kind of density control via temperature control of the ink fountain roller.

3. Density variation due to water. The KBA presses are waterless but the Anicolor press has a conventional dampening system. If over supplied with water, there will be some problems. Problems with water in anilox inking systems have been documented where this type of technology has been used in newspaper presses. Water will emulsify in the ink and go back to the fountain, so this could potentially cause a problem where at the start, one prints with fresh ink in the fountain and then gradually the ink gets diluted with water to some percent.

4. The printer I talked to also stated that the anilox roller had to be sent out every couple of months for cleaning by blasting out the cells that had material collected in the cells that could not be cleaned out by hand.

There are a lot of advantages with the Anicolor design but these advantages could have been obtained in a press design that did not provide the limitations above. That is why I am not such a fan of this press even if it does some things really well.
 
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