PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
13
BULLETIN
White dry ink opens up
new possibilities for
Xerox customers
Xerox has introduced a White Dry Ink for
the Xerox iGen 5 press’s fifth print station.
The new ink will enable print providers to
add special textures and finishes to printed
work, such as a snowflake with textured
details, a book cover with a white horse on
a dark stock or a clear vinyl window film
with white text.
Jim Hamilton, Group Director of Keypoint
Intelligence InfoTrends, said: “This announcement
opens up a whole new range of applications.
Designers will love the ability to use white on
coloured and transparent substrates to create
promotional items like brochures, business cards,
greeting cards and invitations, point-of-purchase
signage, direct mail postcards and letters, and
book covers. The opportunities also extend to
packaging applications like folding cartons.”
In response to continued demand for personalised
photo products, including photobooks and
brochures, Antalis has brought out a new range
of FSC-certified papers offering vivid, high
definition print quality. The E Photo range has four
finishes: lustre, for the look and feel of traditional
photographic paper; metallic, for an added ‘wow’
factor; matt, for a tactile sensation; and a unique
pyramid texture. E Photo was designed for HP
Indigo and Xeikon printing systems, but is also
compatible with dry toner and laser technologies.
EFI and PrintReleaf promote reforestation to customers
PrintReleaf and Electronics For Imaging,
Inc. (EFI) have joined forces to provide the
PrintReleaf reforestation service directly to
commercial printers so that they can offer
it to customers as a means of offsetting the
environmental impact of print jobs.
PrintReleaf CEO and Founder Jordan Darragh
said: “PrintReleaf automatically measures paper
consumption and plants a number of trees
equivalent to paper used in the customers’
desktop printer and copier fleets. Our collaboration
with EFI, together with the popularity and
market presence of EFI software, means that
commercial printers around the world can offer
their print customers an equivalent service, thus
bringing verified reforestation to many more print
customers.”
Faster and more efficient
Konica Minolta has introduced a series
of ‘simply efficient’ colour production
printers for print rooms that are new to
digital printing and looking to expand their
service, as well as more experienced print
providers with large, repeat print volumes.
The AccurioPress C6100 Series includes the
85 ppm C6085 and the 100 ppm C6100 and
features highly automated features, such as
automatic colour adjustment, skill-less operation,
constant control of gradation and front-to-back
registration.
Karl-Friedrich Edenhuizen, Product Manager,
Production Printing Group, said: “Graphic
communication providers, CRDs and Print for
Pay operations will all benefit from these simply
efficient presses. The Integrated Color Care Unit
overcomes some of the biggest pain points in
digital print production, such as time-consuming
front to back registration, extensive colour set-up
and complex paper set-up operations.”
n
Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress C2070 series
has been awarded a FograCert Validation Printing
System (VPS) certificate for use with optional EFI
Fiery, CREO or Konica Minolta controllers. Fogra
used the AccurioPress C2070P in a number of
configurations to test its PDF/X conformance,
proofing substrate colour, gloss and fluorescence,
colour accuracy, uniformity, permanence and light
fastness. Prints were tested for fading, long and
short-term repeatability and rub resistance.
Innovation maintains photobook
unit sale levels
Sales of consumer photobooks in Western Europe are on course to rise slightly to
25.6 million units this year, up from 25 million units in 2016, according to the latest
Futuresource Western European Photobook Market Report
.
Futuresource attributes the rise to a combination of higher quality products, direct online sales and
innovation from new market players, including Google which recently entered the U.S. market.
Jeremy Wills, Senior Market Analyst of Print & Imaging at Futuresource Consulting, points out
that smartphones are starting to have an influence, due to the improving resolution of smartphone
cameras, which can now provide images of high enough quality for photobooks, and to the
emergence of additional ordering options.
“Although there is no substantial influence of smartphone-placed orders yet, new, easy to use apps
are being developed and are expected to play a significant role in the future. This is partly due to new
developments in Artificial Intelligence, facial recognition and curation, which allow resellers to offer
ready-to-print photobooks, tailored to the consumer,” he said.
Futuresource’s analysis shows that online orders continue to dominate the market, accounting for
close to 95% of all photobook sales. More than 70% of orders last year were web-to-home and 22%
web-to-retail.
If the boot fits
This larger than life, 2 metre sports shoe was 3D printed by Dekom 3D
Plus, based in Switzerland. Produced as a concept piece to demonstrate
how 3D printing enables sports brands to add impact to their marketing
campaigns, the shoe was printed in two pieces on a Massivit 1800 3D
Printer in just under 24 hours. Once printed, the sports shoe was filled
with expandable foam and enhanced with a combination of self-adhesive
vinyl, textiles and paint.
