Barney Cox, PrintWeek, 10 September 2010

It may cost a bit more than its light production rivals, but in the performance and reliability stakes, it’s hard to beat, finds Barney Cox

Ricoh’s C720 and C720S stand out from the rest of the light production crowd in one respect; they keep churning out pages at their rated speed of 72 A4 ppm regardless of the weight of the paper or whether it is coated or not. Most machines with the light production tag sprint along at rated speed on skinny stocks, but slow down to half, or even a third, of that as the paper gets thicker.

In fact, Ricoh’s professional printing solutions marketing manager Karen Lawrence is trying to coin a term to accurately position the product.

“We look at it as the high end of light production because no matter what you put through, all the way from 60 to 300gsm on coated and uncoated stock, it prints at 72 A4 ppm,” she says. “Comparing it to machines such as the Xerox 700, Canon ImageRunner Advance Pro 9070 and the Konica Minolta bizHub Pro 6501, isn’t comparing apples with apples.”

Those rivals would agree, maybe not for the reason Lawrence suggests, but rather down to price. The printer-only version, the C720, starts at £87,000, while the C720S with scanner starts at £95,000, which is more in line with rivals such as Canon’s ImagePress 6000 and Xerox’s DocuColor 7002 production machines.

However anyone chooses to define the C720 range, the machines round out Ricoh’s colour professional print offering with a lower-cost lighter-duty version of the bigger, and at £145,000 significantly pricier, C900. There are plenty of similarities between the two ranges. The core imaging technology, including the heavy-duty fuser, that ensures that consistent throughput, are the same, as is the pulverised toner and the tight (+/- 0.5mm) front-to-back registration, which Lawrence says is proving advantageous.

While other firms have introduced chemical toner, especially in light production machines, and are migrating it up their ranges, Ricoh has plumped for tried and tested technology. It has allowed the firm to get the machines on the market more quickly, while Lawrence says customers benefit from a wider colour gamut and one that exactly matches the C900.

That’s significant, as several of the 20 or so machines that have been installed in the UK since the launch in the spring have gone in alongside C900s. Lawrence says the bad old days when everyone bought two digital presses to ensure one was working at any moment are long gone, and the difference in monthly volumes and the price of the C720 and the C900, means for volume applications one C900 is a better bet than a pair of C720s. For firms that need additional capacity to support a C900, the C720 is proving popular.

The average monthly print volume (AMPV) of the C720 is 40,000 A4 pages, exactly half that of the C900′s 80,000. Of course, if you’re particularly busy, the duty cycle is 320,000, although the maximum recommended monthly amount to ensure the machine lasts its anticipated five-year, 115m-page life is 190,000.

Those page volumes put the machine squarely in the light production, rather than the production, space. Light production AMPVs range from 20,000-75,000 A4 pages per month with 35,000 being the most common figure for the rivals.

Downtime drop
Aside from pages per month Lawrence says that another important measure is pages between operator visits, either for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance. She claims that compared to a “typical” figure of 40,000 pages between visits in light production, the C720 staggeringly manages ten times that number, assuming the operator indulges in a little planned maintenance themselves in the meantime.

It’s easy to see why Ricoh wanted to get into this market; as Lawrence explains, it’s the fastest growing segment in professional print.

“We felt we needed to be in there,” she says. “And the economic climate has only increased the emphasis on the light production market.”

The split so far between CRDs and commercial printers opting for the C720 series is 65/35, and of the two models the scanner-equipped C720S predominates.

“Inplants in particular still have to deal with hard copy document input,” she says. “Customers need to be flexible in the way they accept jobs, so the scanner is part of providing a total workflow solution.”

Other workflow tools that are proving popular include NowPrint, Ricoh’s Software as a Service (SaaS) web-to-print platform, which was launched at Ipex.

“We’re being asked more and more to deliver more than just the hardware and to provide solutions that help customers to develop their businesses,” she says. “NowPrint is suitable for firms taking their first steps into web-to-print particularly as it is a low monthly fee rather than a £30,000-£40,000 upfront cost for software and hardware.”

She adds that for firms that outgrow NowPrint Ricoh offers EFI’s Digital StoreFront web-to-print package. Unlike the C900, the only digital front-end offered with the C720 is EFI’s Fiery. But it is supplied with the full graphic arts package including Command Workstation as standard.

“This sector has been telling us there’s no need for the Creo front-end as the EFI Fiery does everything it needs to and it’s likely to be the most familiar,” she says.

Strong finish
If you need to integrate the C720 with other machines, then EFI’s MicroPress job-splitting and load-balancing tool is an option, which she adds is popular in mixed monochrome and colour shops. Ricoh’s portfolio of variable-data software range spans a wide spectrum from mail merging up to full image personalisation and cross-media via DirectSmile. For C720 users though, Lawrence expects Objectif Lune’s PlanetPress and PrintShop Mail to be the preferred packages.
Inline finishing options include GBC’s stream punch for wire binding and the Plockmatic bookletmaker, which also has a squareback option.

“Inline finishing is important, especially for CRDs who need to reduce their spending on labour and training to operate offline finishing,” she says.

Except for ring binding and perfect binding, which are only available on the bigger machine, the rest of the Ricoh range of finishers and stackers are available, with a maximum stacking capacity of 13,000 sheets.

The paper feeds are also the same as the C900 with air-assistance and, through the combination of multiple units, capable of holding up to 11,000 sheets online. Likewise it will handle the same maximum size of sheet, SRA3.

With the C720 Ricoh has got itself a place at the light production table; it’s a fiercely fought market, with some strong competition and keen pricing, although headline price is only a part of the picture and the more personal volume-based discussions about the click could well be the clincher. While it’s specification is certainly competitive, the price looks to be a little too high. However for firms with a lot of work on heavier stocks the productivity may settle the matter for the heavyweight lightweight.

Specifications
Speed 72A4ppm on coated and uncoated at all weights supported
Max sheet size 330x488mm
Stock weight 60-300gsm
Resolution 1,200dpi
Monthly volumes AMPV: 40,000 Max: 320,000
Workflow EFI
Price C720: from £87,000
C720S: from £95,000
Contact Ricoh 020 8261 4000 www.ricoh.co.uk

ALTERNATIVES

Canon imagePress C6000
Canon’s entry-level machine may slow down to 41ppm for 221-300gsm stocks, but it handles higher volumes.
Speed 41.2-60 A4 ppm
Stock range 80-300gsm
Max sheet size 330x487mm
AMPV 150,000
Price £80,000
Contact Canon UK 01737 220000 www.canon.co.uk

Canon ImageRunner Advance C9070 PRO
The ImageRunner advance is fast on thinner stocks, but add weight or a coating and it finds the going tough. It’s also got a lower AMPV, but also a correspondingly lower price point.
Speed 21.6-70 A4 ppm
Max sheet size 330.2x488mm
AMPV 35,000
Price from £70,000
Contact Canon UK 01737 220000 www.canon.co.uk

Konica Minolta bizhub Pro C6501
The C6501 has plenty of power for the price. A choice of machines and 24 finishing options means a configuration for your applications is more than likely available.
Speed 65 A4 ppm
Max sheet size 330x488mm
Stock range 64–300gsm
AMPV not supplied
Price £71,614
Contact Konica Minolta 01908 200400
www.konicaminolta.co.uk

Océ CS665 Pro
This machine, which is based on Konica Minolta’s bizHub Pro C6501, is available with three different front-ends.
Speed 32-65 A4 ppm
Stock range 64-300gsm
AMPV 35,000-75,000
Price from £ 64,000
Contact Océ UK 0870 600 5544 www.oce.co.uk

Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press
The 700 is the most keenly priced competitor and has been a storming success since it was unveiled at Drupa.
Speed 35-70 A4 ppm
Max sheet size 330x488mm
AMPV 20,000-75,000
Price from £42,000
Contact Xerox UK 0870 873 4519 www.xerox.co.uk

Xerox DocuColor 7002 Digital Press
The 7002 is the latest press in the successful DocuColor range, which created and defined the production digital market.
Speed 70 A4 ppm
Max sheet size 320x488mm
AMPV 75,000-250,000
Price from £90,000
Contact Xerox UK 0870 873 4519 www.xerox.co.uk

Philip Chadwick, PrintWeek

Integrated Graphics director Adrian Hickey says the firm has boosted its turnover ‘dramatically’ since buying this press, finds Philip Chadwick

Describe your business
We are a digital print company in Barry, South Wales.

What does the machine do?
The Konica Minolta bizhub Pro C65hc is a digital press, which incorporates a High Chroma toner that simulates the colour palette of an RGB monitor through CMYK.

Why did you choose this particular machine?
It was all about the quality. We tried a few other machines, but this came out on top. We want to stand out from the crowd and the bizhub Pro has given us an edge in terms of quality. In the past, digital has not had the best quality, but this machine has changed our customers’ minds.

Did you look at any other similar machines?
We did look at similar digital presses from Canon, Xerox and Ricoh and did several tests before deciding to go with the Konica machine.

What features do you particularly like?
The RGB output system is very good indeed. The software is exceptional and the colour controls are very good. It enables us to do variable data work – we are doing a lot of personalised documents. The machine is also able to print on heavier boards.

Is there anything that you wish it had that it doesn’t?
We would like it to go faster, but every printer says that about every press. There isn’t anything additional it needs.

How fast is it?
We run it at 65 A4 pages per minute.

How reliable is it?
It performs well and is very robust.

How easy is it to use?
It is very user-friendly.

How much time or money has it saved?
We can turn work around very quickly and its price has meant that we have saved money.

Has it won you any new work?
It has increased our turnover dramatically. The machine has also enabled us to launch a new website and take orders online. However, this is still in its infancy.

Were there any difficulties experienced during the installation or after?
The installation was easy and took just one day. It was up and running the next day and in the first four days we ran around 10,000 prints.

What about the pre- and after-sale service?
Konica Minolta has really helped us with sales and we have got very good advice.

Who do you think the machine is right for?
The machine would be brilliant for anyone with print runs of up to 3,000 and just over. It would be a very good press for anyone who is in the litho market and is looking to get into digital.

Under what circumstances would you buy another?
We would consider buying another one in the future.

Conclusion
User’s verdict
Speed 4/5
Quality 5/5
Reliability 5/5
Value for money 5/5

Supplier’s response
Mike Hiscox, production print division sales specialist at Konica Minolta, says: Integrated Graphics has shown that the bizhub Pro C65 is not a machine that is simply for niche markets. The company has been able to sell it to the commercial market and its customers have been blown away by the quality. It is very durable and is an all-metal machine. It can run on litho stocks and is a complement to offset.

Jo Francis, printweek.com, 02 March 2010

Riso’s latest colour inkjet device, the ComColor, will have its European launch at Ipex in May.

With a printing speed of between 90-150 A4ppm, Riso has billed the machine as cost effective and the world’s fastest cut-sheet inkjet printer, pitching it at the gap between high-end production colour devices and multi-function office-type printers.

UK product manager Mike Murphy said units were already being field-tested in the UK. “We’ve had models out at selected customers since late last year and feedback has been extremely positive.”

Murphy described the ComColor as “an evolution” of the hugely-popular HC range that PrintWeek named as one of the surprise stars of Drupa 2004.

Although five models are available, the focus in the UK will be on the ComColor 3010 (90 A4ppm), 7050 (120ppm) and top-of-the-range 9050 (150ppm). They can handle a maximum sheet size of 340x550mm.

The top speed of up to 150ppm applies to both simplex and duplex printing, and it has a monthly duty cycle of 500,000. Other advances include handling heavier weight stocks of up to 210gsm.

The ballpark cost per full-colour A4 print is just under 2p, although Murphy stated “it could be lower than that, depending upon volume”.

Riso is also promoting its environmental advantages over toner-based printers due to the cold fusion process and absence of emissions. It uses a fixed array of piezo inkjet heads.

UK pricing for the range is currently being decided. In the US, the group launched the ComColor 9050 with a list price of $45,995 (circa £30,000).

Barney Cox, PrintWeek, 02 October 2009

The lack of a standard for colour in digital has been troubling printers, but moves are afoot to fix the problem, finds Barney Cox

Colour accuracy and consistency are becoming increasingly important. In the offset world, the move is towards print produced to the ISO 12647 colour standard.

The problem for anyone producing digital print is that there are no standards for digital colour – neither toner nor inkjet. The ISO 12647 specification is process-specific and, while the most common part of the standard, ISO 12647-2, refers to offset reproduction, there are other parts of the standard that relate to other production processes, including gravure and flexo. Digital production was never included within the specification, so there is no part of the standard designed to reflect the realities of digital print.

“There is no official requirement for day-to-day and job-by-job consistency,” says Andreas Kraushaar head of pre-press at Fogra, the German research body that also offers colour management and technology certification. “There is no standard, and there is no research to base that standard on.”

Fogra proposes to carry out a research project into the quality and consistency of digital print, which it hopes to get the go ahead for by the end of the year.

In the meantime, although there is no digital standard, the rise of digital print and its use alongside offset means it is becoming more and more important that the output matches and is consistent, especially as strides are made in the offset market with ISO 12647-2 to introduce greater consistency.

According to Bodoni Systems managing director Ian Reid, the target people are attempting to standardise on is ISO 12647-2 for paper types 1 or 2, which are coated gloss and matt and commonly represented by the Fogra 39L dataset.
Immediately, most digital presses hit a problem because, bar the HP Indigo, they can’t use those coated stocks.

“The problem is down to paper colour and ink, but primarily where digital devices fall down is on the solid ink colours,” says Reid. “If you print a solid on toner-based presses it looks out (compared to 12647-2).”

For offset production, there is an ISO standard for inks, ISO 2846, which specifies the colour for ink needed to print to ISO 12647, there’s no equivalent in digital, the pigments in the toners and digital inks aren’t necessarily a close match to those laid down by ISO 2846.

Stumbling block
With no standard for digital press colorants, achieving a match is hampered from the off.

HP Indigo is an exception, as its inks are a close match colorimetrically to the ISO 2846 specification. Printers using Indigo technology report that ISO conformance tools, such as Bodoni PressSign and Mellow Colour ISO litho, show the Indigo conforms pretty much out of the box, as long as you practice regular maintenance and calibration.

Today, proofs are mostly produced using inkjet, but due to the rise of toner for short-run production and its lower
cost per page, it is increasingly being seen as a technology for proofing.

“With digital, you can proof and do production on the same device,” says HP Indigo product manager, strategic marketing, Lior Lewin.

Within the ISO 12647 standard, there is a specification for contract proofing, ISO 12647-7. As a proofing specification, the tolerances are much tighter than for production. As previously explained by Bodoni’s Reid, that creates a problem for proofing on toner-based printers as their colours aren’t a close enough match to litho inks.

To get around this, Fogra developed what it termed FograCert Validation Printing certification. There has been much wrangling about whether to incorporate this within ISO 12647-7 or to implement it as a separate part of the standard as ISO 12647-8. This is due to concerns about its broader tolerances and the potential for confusion in the proofing market.

Filling the void
Despite the potential to confuse the market, Validation Printing certification has been leapt on by digital press manufacturers in the absence of a standard for digital colour as a guide for printers looking to invest in digital technology.
“Since there is no standard for digital, the vendors are appropriating Validation Printing,” says Kraushaar. “It’s not dedicated for production machines – it’s missing specification for consistency on the run and from job-to-job.”

So, it’s not a guarantee that what you print will hit the standard, but it is an indication that the system you buy (and it needs to be considered as a system – it’s particular to the workflow and substrates as well as the press) is able to get quite close to the ISO specification.

While some experts question the relevance of the scheme, vendors have got behind it. “Printers don’t have money to spend on equipment that can’t hit the target,” says Xerox Europe graphic art marketing manager Job Rombout. “So they need tools that show their equipment can hit the target. Products that have this certification meet that benchmark.”
Canon European marketing manager Mark Lawn adds: “There is an increasing demand for quality and the issue is how you measure quality. Validation Printing is one of those tools.”

Canon has got FograCert for its ImagePress C1+, 6000 and 7000 series production machines.

Xerox has 13 printer and front end configurations in the 40-70ppm space that have Validation Printing certification from Fogra and aims for all machines and workflows to be certified in due course. At the higher end, the iGen4, in combination with CGS Oris workflow, has the certification and Xerox marketing manager for iGen and DocuColor Kevin O’Donnell says: “Our aim is to get compliance across all machines and all workflows.” Its latest machines, the 7002 and 8002, are currently awaiting certification as they use a new toner.

Validation Printing certification is fine as far as it goes, but it’s only part of the solution.

“It’s fine for showing what the kit is capable of doing, but there is still the issue of day-to-day operation,” says O’Donnell. “It’s just like an offset press, if you want consistency, you have to put the work in.”

Data issues
Finding precise data from manufacturers about the stability of their machines is hard, although, according to research carried out at Xerox’s Smart Centre, typically the colour consistency of a digital press varies by a delta E of two-to-three. In the worst case, there are instances where machines can show variation in some colours of 12-13 delta E. As delta E is a measure only of noticeable colour difference, it is clear a delta E of 13 represents a glaringly visible deviation.

“One of the biggest issues is good paper husbandry,” says O’Donnell. “People say a job has changed from week to week and we find they’ve printed it on a stock with a different white point, or just on the same stock but with different humidity.”
In digital, you need to find different ways of working to provide stable colour.

“With litho, you’ve got a colour bar on every sheet and in a 5,000 run you’ve got the time and the materials to take a couple of hundred sheets to get to colour,” says Bodoni’s Reid. “With digital, there’s no time or budget to adjust colour.”

“We’re trying to automate it, hence the inline spectrophotometers on our latest machines,” O’Donnell says. “With them we can measure and control consistency over time.”

The digital vendors use Validation Printing Certification as a benchmark for their machines, but acknowledge it’s shortcomings for production print. EFI sales development manager Kerry Moloney says: “Validation Print was designed for proofing, not for production, so the rules aren’t quite right. That’s where future standards will need to come in.”

BEYOND ISO 12647
Last month, the TC 130 committee – the group of experts who cover print technology for the ISO – met in Beijing to discuss the future.

Fogra’s Andreas Kraushaar chairs working group three, the group within TC 130 that is looking at the area of developing a future print standard.

As for plans for a digital production standard – nobody knows today, he says. My expectation is to start an all new print standard with a new number and, unlike ISO 12647, it won’t be a process standard. With digital printing techniques, it is impossible to differentiate by technical results. There are no longer clear sub groups by technology. Different parts of the standard won’t refer to different technology, but for usage cases with agreed criteria. Customers don’t care about the process, but about the result.

He believes that the key consideration will be achievable colour gamut, but other issues including resolution and light fastness will also be important.

It’s very early days at the moment, which means there is an opportunity for the industry to provide its feedback on what it considers to be important for the next standard.

There is no draft, there are ideas and concepts and the plan in Beijing was to get agreement to start work to create an all-new document, says Kraushaar. We’re calling for people’s thoughts and ideas.

Philip Chadwick, PrintWeek, 04 December 2009

A decade ago, digital print was a niche product, but, as Philip Chadwick finds, it has grown into a mainstream offering, capable of competing with litho

It is traditional in December to look back at the past 12 months to pick out the numerous highs and lows. However, this year it is also the end of a decade, so there is reason to extend the nostalgia to the past 10 years. For print, this is a useful exercise as, since 2000, the landscape of the print industry has changed enormously as many of the big technological advances have come through one sector – digital.

Although digital technology may not have been brand spanking new at the start of the noughties, it was certainly a market that had yet to mature. In the 10 years since, engine speeds, print quality and workflow have all come on leaps and bounds and the print industry has taken the leap and invested in the technology. Today, it’s rare to find a commercial printer that hasn’t got a digital press. But how did digital get to where it is now and how did the market shift so that the technology is eating into part of the litho market?

Humble start
“At the time [10 years ago], we were an emerging technology in a non-existent market,” explains Alon Bar-Shany, HP’s vice- president and general manager of the Indigo division. “The business was limited. In terms of the number of digital pages printed, in around 1998 it was significantly below 1bn. This year, it’s 10bn.”

Bar-Shany has seen the sector grow since he was part of Indigo back in 1993. By 2000, digital presses were being bought by niche businesses and pre-press houses. Ricoh’s UK associate director for marketing, Chas Moloney, supports the view that the early adopters were much smaller than the commercial printers that invest in digital presses today.

“Machines were being sold to smaller printers more akin to the copy shop environment,” he recalls. “The number of manufacturers selling products was also small while the quality was not as good as litho.”

Prior to joining Ricoh, Moloney was with Canon. At the start of the decade, Ricoh and Canon manufactured smaller devices that weren’t really suited to the commercial print world. But by the mid-point of the noughties, they were developing presses that could go up against the more established players like Xerox, Kodak, Océ and HP.

Improved quality
By 2006, Canon signalled its intentions in the digital colour production market by unveiling the ImagePress C7000VP. It received an enthusiastic response at Ipex that year, with several orders throughout Europe, including the UK. A couple of years later, Ricoh unveiled the C900, its first production colour press, following the lead of fellow newcomers Konica Minolta and Screen.

“At the start, there were discussions about quality,” explains Andreas Nielen-Haberl, Kodak CGC product category manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “The question was: could digital achieve the same quality as offset. It took a while, but over the course of the years, those quality discussions have gone. It was the same for offset 50 years ago.”

Kevin O’Donnell, marketing manager for graphic communications at Xerox UK, explains that improvements in productivity and, crucially, colour have helped drive the market.

“It’s about colour consistency,” he says. “Our latest presses are capable of delivering consistent and high-quality colour. There have also been developments around substrates. Ten years ago, you had to coat the substrate or ask for a specific stock. Paper manufacturers have worked hard to change that.”

“The print quality of digital is not good – it’s excellent,” adds Steve Wilson, Océ UK business unit director for production print. “We have improved the speed, quality, workflow and finishing of digital. What’s been added to that over the past decade is a reduction in cost. Certain business models encroach on offset, but it depends on the application.”
With the ability to incorporate variable data, it’s no surprise that as the decade went on, digital manufacturers were
talking up the opportunity to do one-to-one direct mail. To help drive the market, the likes of HP, Xerox and Océ were pitching digital print not just at the printers, but also marketing agencies.

“Ten years ago, digital was just seen as a printing technology – now it’s seen as a marketing technology,” says O’Donnell. “Two of the greatest applications have derived from the UK. Back in 2003, DSI produced ticket booklets for Thompson Holidays. Inc Direct also produced a highly personalised campaign for the Carphone Warehouse. These are campaigns that have been recognised globally, but neither would have happened if we had not engaged the marketers.”

He explains that the nature of the customer has also changed. Back in 2000, clients didn’t know, or particularly care much about the printing technology – “print was a dark art” says O’Donnell. While some customers still don’t care and can’t tell the difference between digital and offset, some marketers have become more print savvy and understand that digital can represent the most cost-effective way to communicate to their customers on a one-to-one basis.

The rise of digital in the past 10 years has also meant that print companies themselves have shifted their focus, as well as understanding better how to sell digital print. There are still plenty of firms out there that continue to be common or garden “ink on paper” printers, but others have realised that they’ve needed to move away from thinking that print is a commodity.

Business focus
“It’s about business and the technology is simply the enabler,” explains Océ’s Wilson. “The most successful companies are the ones that are au fait with how to utilise the technology, the ones that have an entrepreneurial mindset.”

These print firms have not just embraced digital print technology, but other channels as well, such as the internet. They’ve become data handlers, not just printers. “More and more of our customers are becoming marketing service providers,” explains HP’s Bar-Shany.

Punch Graphix UK managing director Chris Matthews adds: “Those that have embraced this approach have moved a step forward. However, there are still some dyed-in-the-wool printers who will not change.”

Matthews’ words suggest that digital print hasn’t quite broken through into every market. While the digital print market is obviously more mature than it was 10 years ago, it is still maturing and Both O’Donnell and Bar-Shany agree that
digital has more potential.

“I still believe we are barely scraping the surface,” says Bar-Shany. “High-end printers are doing digital work, but the penetration rate is still relatively small.”

As the decade draws to a close, litho still dominates the long-run market and most in the digital sector acknowledge that it will remain the case for some time as digital has proved to be a complementary technology to litho. However, digital has made some significant inroads into the short-run litho market and the feeling is that if the application is right, then it’s almost a no-brainer not to run a job digitally.

Digital evolution
“B3 presses are hardly sold in the western world,” claims Bar-Shany. “Not too many printers will survive by being litho-only. There is certainly a need to evolve and there are several family-owned print companies that are now onto a second or third generation. They have to take the next step. Printing is not going away, but it’s evolving.”

“There will always be room for both litho and digital,” adds Matthews. “However, where customers in the past may have replaced a B2 litho with another one. Now, more are purchasing a digital press instead.”

The next stage in the evolution of digital is likely to throw in maturing inkjet technology, on-demand book printing and the powerful possibilities of web-to-print. It’s testament to how far digital has come that many commercial print firms now have a digital press sat in their factory. The next 10 years are likely to take digital on to an even higher level. If the experts are to be believed, in terms of new applications and market growth, the last decade was just the tip of the iceberg.

XEROX

Nu mi-am propus în acest articol să intru în detaliile tehnologiei tiparului digital. De fapt urmăresc să clarific doar câteva aspecte esențiale ale acestei tehnologii aflate în prag de maturitate.
Stricto senso, tipar digital înseamnă reproducerea unei imagini digitale pe un suport fizic. De aici și până la adevăratele semnificații ale termenului de tipar digital este cale lungă.
In extenso tipar digital înseamnă orice tipărire a unei imagini folosind tehnologii de imprimare cu cerneală sau toner, fără a fi necesară realizarea unei matrițe sau a unei plăci (ca în cazul tiparului offset).
Urmând calea bătătorită deja de fotografie, tiparul se apropie din ce în ce mai mult de tehnologia digitală.
Destinat în general tirajelor foarte mici și mici sau personalizării printurilor realizate prin tehnologiile clasice, tiparul digital câștigă teren nu atât datorită scăderii prețului echipamentelor cât reducerii costului per copie.
O utilizare des întâlnită a tiparului digital este tiparul la cerere (POD – Print on Demand), destinat în special pieței de carte cu tiraj redus, este o tehnologie în care cartea se tipărește numai după ce a fost comandată de utilizatorul final. POD mai este folosită pentru tipărirea «semnalului» editorial sau pentru comenzi reduse după epuizarea tirajului inițial.
Printul cu date variabile (VDP – Variable Data Print) este un caz particular de aplicare a tehnologiei POD în care fiecare exemplar tipărit este diferit atât de precedentul cât și de următorul. Practic există două secvențe de date, una comună întregului tiraj și o alta care diferă  de la exemplar la exemplar, aflată de regulă într-o bază de date. Imposibil de realizat cu tehnologiile clasice, tiparul cu date variabile ramâne prin excelență apanajul echipamentelor digitale.
Se remarcă câteva direcții esențiale în dezvoltarea acestei tehnologiilor de tipar digital:

• Tiparul destinat pieței de tiraje mici, pe suport de hârtie și carton;
• Tiparul pe suport de material plastic, destinat pieței de ambalaje și etichete în tiraje reduse (cosmetice, parfumerie etc.);
• Tiparul de format mare, pentru planșe, hărți afișe cu aplicare indoor sau outdoor;
• Tiparul cu date variabile (VDP);
• Tiparul la cerere (POD).

În această prim articol mi-am propus să abordez doar segmentul de tipar pe hârtie și carton.
Derivate inițial din imprimantele de mare capacitate, echipamentele de tipar digital au evoluat profitând de experiența producătorilor de copiatoare. Printre cele mai întâlnite echipamente destinate pieței “Digital press” regăsim:

• iGen de la XEROX
• Indigo de la HP
• NexPress de la Kodak
• VarioPrint de la Oce
• Xeicon de la Punch Graphics Int
• Meteor de la MGI

Fie că folosesc hârtie în coală sau bobină (cut sheet sau web) tehnologiile sunt asemănătoare și constau în realizarea unui strat subțire (thin layer) de cerneală sau toner la suprafața hârtiei, lucru ce constituie deosebirea esențială față de tiparul offset (cerneala tipografică se impregnează în substrat).
O altă tendință în industria de profil este mărirea capacității copiatoarelor, multifuncționalelor și a imprimantelor departamentale în așa fel încât o mare parte din ele au ajuns să fie folosite pentru producție tipografică în zona de tiraje mici și foarte mici.
De multă vreme, în România, echipamente de tipul BH C451 sau C550 de la Konica Minolta sau multifuncționalele din seria WorkCentre 7xxx sunt folosite în copyshop-uri sau în tipografii pentru producția de materiale tipărite cu dimensiune A3 sau SRA3.
Deși sunt limitate din punct de vedere tehnologic ele acoperă o plajă destul de largă de utilizări.
Printre problemele des întâlnite la echipamentele de tip multifuncțional sau imprimantă departamentală îmi permit să enumăr câteva:

• potrivirea față-verso mai mult decât aproximativă (adesea erorile sunt de ordinul a 1–1,5  sau chiar 2 mm);
• imposibilitatea de a reproduce degradeuri și suprafețe mari de culoare uniformă;
• calibrare greoaie sau chiar imposibilă în absența unui controler de tip Creo sau Fiery;
• instabilitatea în timp a culorilor;
• probleme numeroase cu transportul hârtiei datorate în special mecanismului de preluare cu rolă;
• dificultăți în lucrul cu hârtie subțire (sub 80gmp) sau groasă (peste 250‑280 gmp)
• necesitatea imperioasă de a lucra cu hârtia recomandată de producător lucru care cel mai adesea se traduce prin dublarea sau chiar triplarea prețului hârtiei folosite.

Am să încerc mai jos o trecere în revistă a echipamentelor existente pe piață în acest moment împreună cu câteva caracteristici tehnice mai importante.

Konica Minolta, bizhub series (BH)

(continuare)

Konica Minolta Delivers High Impact Color with bizhub PRO C65hc

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), announced the general availability of the bizhub PRO C65hc, which produces vivid color quality that surpasses other color production print systems on the market.

The bizhub PRO C65hc (“hc” stands for High Chroma) incorporates innovative new toner technology enabling it to produce a wider color gamut than the typical four-color device in the marketplace. The unprecedented spectrum of color caters to graphics professionals and print shops that require higher quality output. Advertising agencies, graphics arts firms, creative design studios, photography studios, direct mail organizations, and commercial printers all stand to benefit from using the bizhub PRO C65hc.

“Konica Minolta has spent the past two years developing the bizhub PRO C65hc and the new High Chroma toner technology in order to meet our customers’ most demanding color needs,” said Kevin Kern, Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. “Our customers rely on Konica Minolta for delivering great image quality, and the bizhub PRO C65hc delivers exceptional quality and produces images that practically jump off the page.

The bizhub PRO C65hc gives organizations a considerable advantage for cross media communication, unifying corporate and brand identity across different communication platforms. It produces brighter, more accurate color because it reproduces a larger portion of the sRGB color gamut than previously possible. A critical competitive advantage for Konica Minolta, this eye-catching output is closer to what is displayed on sRGB monitors versus traditional four-color devices.

The bizhub PRO C65hc builds upon the solid foundation of superb image stability and higher productivity featured in Konica Minolta’s flagship color production print system, the bizhub PRO C6501. Delivering 65 color prints per minute, the bizhub PRO C65hc ensures higher productivity with three input trays for a standard 1,500-sheet capacity, a 250-sheet bypass tray, and an optional high capacity paper feed unit for a total of a 7,500-sheet capacity.

With the introduction of the bizhub PRO C65hc Konica Minolta continues to deliver industry-leading and environmentally friendly toner to the marketplace. The proprietary Simitri® HC toner generates less waste and emits less CO2, NO2, and SO2. Additionally, the toner particles are consistently sized and smaller when compared to conventional toner size particles, thus give a smoother finish and sharper text.

The bizhub PRO C65hc features Konica Minolta’s proprietary advanced color processing technology – S.E.A.D. (Screen-Enhancing Active Digital Process) – and combines an array of technical innovations to guarantee truly exceptional color reproduction at top speed. To achieve such a high level of precision, Konica Minolta’s fastest color production print system is equipped with a dual-beam laser unit and HI-PER ASICs (High-Performance Image Processing – Application Specific Integrated Circuits). Additional quality features and technological innovations within S.E.A.D. technology are:

· Dot Position Control for superb image reproduction and fine lines and text
· Multi-bit screening for extremely natural reproduction of gradations
· ITbit technology for precise slim text, reversed text and outlines
· CRS technology to monitor and adjust engine conditions constantly for color stabilization of output quality Pricing and Availability
The bizhub PRO C65hc is available now through Konica Minolta’s North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is $65,000.

For more information, please visit http://www.konicaminolta.ro.

Konica Minolta C6500

PrintWeek, 20 February 2009

DP Direct managing director Nick Claxon has dipped a toe into digital colour print with this machine, chosen for its price and good image quality

What is it?
It’s a digital printer.

What does the machine do?
We use it to print all our colour digital work.

Why did you choose this particular machine?
There were three reasons why we opted for the C6500: economics, quality of images and paper stock range.

Did you look at any other similar machines?
We’d decided to dip our toe into digital colour print and the cost of HP Indigo presses was too great, so this machine provided a good low-risk option.

Why did you make the purchase?
It was down to a blend of providing back-up cover for our existing machines and getting into the digital colour market.

What features do you particularly like?
We like the large-capacity tray, the colour quality, the touchscreen and the SRA3 capability.

Is there anything that you dislike?
The capacity of the other paper drawers is too small.

Is there anything that you wish it had that it doesn’t?
A proper counter that gives actual counts as it prints.

How fast is it?
At top speed it can print 65 A4 pages per minute.

How reliable is it?
It’s no worse than our existing digital kit.

What’s the quality like?
We and our clients are extremely pleased with the quality.

How easy is it to use?
All our production staff find it easy to use.

How much time or money has it saved?
This is difficult to quantify. The gain has been in new customers and the ability to run paper stock that we would not have been able to run previously.

Has it won you any new work?
Yes. Take-up among existing clients has been good and we’ve acquired at least two new customers who continue to book in jobs on the machine.

Would you say that it offers value for money?
Yes.

Were there any difficulties experienced during the installation or after?
No.

What about the pre- and after-sale service?
The service has been very good throughout.

Who do you think the machine is right for?
We think that the machine is excellent for office use and small production runs.

Under what circumstances would you buy another?
When the opportunity arises, we’d be more likely to acquire the next model up in the Konica Minolta range.

CONCLUSION

User’s verdict
Speed    3/5
Quality    4/5
Reliability    4/5
Value for money    5/5

Supplier’s response
Gerry Mulvaney, managing director of Danwood’s graphics and production systems division, says: “DP Direct are very typical of the type of customer we have for the Konica Minolta C6500. They are first-time digital colour users with a wide range of jobs going through the device. The quality that their customers comment on is, in a large part, due to the unique toner technology that Konica Minolta has developed for this unit, which produces a much wider range of colours than other toner devices. It is very popular in corporate and public sector print rooms for the same reasons that Nick has identified: speed, productivity and cost effectiveness.”

Océ claims ‘world first’ as newspaper group upgrades to digital

Adam Hooker, printweek.com, 13 March 2009

A Spanish publishing group is to produce a range of local newspapers and magazines entirely on a digital press, described by Océ as the world’s first short-run production site for domestic titles in colour.

Imcodávila, a newspaper publisher based on the outskirts of Madrid and boasting 200 titles to its name, bought Océ’s Jetstream 2200 rather than make an investment in a new litho machine.

Up to 40 separate titles will be printed on the press – a mixture of dailies, weeklies and monthlies.

Daily print runs will begin at 6,000 80-page colour local newspapers, but the machine has the capacity to produce 24,000 a day.

Paul Krisson, the Océ’s development manager for digital document services, said that UK publishers could follow suit now that one company has made the jump.

He said: “This is a major breakthrough for us, and for the newspaper industry. I see digital working alongside litho. It makes financial sense to print a limited number of titles on a digital machine. We have seen in recent years a move away from the micro-zoning section in newspapers.

“You could print a regional title on a litho press and still run at 80,000 copies an hour, but ultra-local inserts could be printed on a digital machine. You maximise efficiency of offset and digital.

“And, if it is financially viable in Spain it is financially viable. I think publishers in the UK should be talking to digital press manufacturers about what digital can do for them and we are engaged in discussion with a number of publishers.”