PrintWeekMENA

Konica Minolta Expands Presence in Saudi Arabia with New Re…

Konica Minolta, a global leader in imaging products, business solutions, and digital transformation services, is pleased to announce the opening of its new Regional Headquarters (RHQ) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This strategic move underscores the company’s strategic initiative on significant market expansion and opportunities ahead and its ambition to better serve customers across the region. Located in Riyadh, the new RHQ will serve as the central hub for Konica Minolta’s operations in KSA, facilitating stronger collaboration with local businesses, government entities, and customers. A Commitment to Saudi Vision 2030 Konica Minolta’s investment in KSA is closely aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and foster innovation across various sectors. As part of its dedication to the country’s economic development, Konica Minolta plans to grow in the Saudi Arabian market focusing on expanding its market reach and broadening its partner portfolio, ensuring a robust presence in this transformative strategic management. “We are excited to establish our new regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, a country that is undergoing rapid transformation and presents significant opportunities for innovation,” said Osamu Miyauchi, CEO/Managing Director of Konica Minolta Arabia. “Our commitment to the Kingdom is strong, and this new RHQ allows us to engage more closely with local businesses and government partners to support Saudi Arabia‘s businesses in the Print Industry Landscape to its journey of transformation.” Focus on Innovation and Sustainability The new headquarters will also serve as a focal point for Konica Minolta’s efforts to bring next-generation technologies and sustainable solutions to the Saudi market. The company’s diverse portfolio includes cutting-edge products and services and sustainable business practices, with a strong emphasis on reducing environmental impact. Konica Minolta’s dedication to sustainability is reflected in its global initiatives, and the Saudi Arabian RHQ will serve as a springboard for developing new programs that support the Kingdom’s sustainability goals and initiatives related to energy efficiency, waste reduction, and environmental stewardship. Looking Ahead Konica Minolta's digital printing solutions have become an essential part of the Middle East's evolving print industry, offering advanced technologies and versatile solutions for a wide range of businesses and sectors. As the region continues to develop its infrastructure and embrace technological advancements, Konica Minolta’s digital printing products cater to the growing demand for high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable printing solutions. Konica Minolta provides cutting-edge digital printing technology, especially for commercial printers and print service providers in the Middle East. These printers offer high-speed, high-quality printing, enabling businesses to produce a variety of print materials, such as marketing collateral, brochures, catalogs, business cards etc. Konica Minolta's AccurioPress series and AccurioPrint range are among the leading digital printing solutions designed to meet the needs of high-volume and commercial printers. Its digital printing solutions are used across a broad spectrum of applications in the Middle East including commercial printers, packaging, digital labels and embellishment, books and publishing etc. Through advanced technology, personalized print services, sustainability efforts, and comprehensive customer support, Konica Minolta is helping businesses in the region stay competitive while meeting the evolving demands of the market. The company’s ability to deliver high-quality, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly digital printing solutions makes it a preferred choice for a wide range of industries in the Middle East.

Konica Minolta Expands Presence in Saudi Arabia with New Re…

Walki Jatne, Poland standardizes printing production process with KOD…

Faster job set-ups, lower energy costs and reduced substrate and consumables wastage top the list of benefits that Walki Jatne, Poland has enjoyed since standardizing its flexo printing process around KODAK FLEXCEL NX Technology in 2016. Walki Poland is part of the Finnish Walki Group, a leading producer of protective packaging materials and technical laminates. Based in Jatne, 40km south-east of Warsaw, the plant specializes in printed ream wrapping for A4 and A3 cut-size paper, and printed materials for the food industry. Developing more sustainable alternatives to materials is central to Walki Group’s business philosophy — the group defines its mission as “to accelerate the world’s transformation to a circular, resource-efficient, low-carbon future”. For Walki Poland, this translates into converting brand owners to more recyclable packaging solutions, and flexo as a process that is not only more sustainable than gravure but also capable of matching gravure for quality. Variety of substrates are major production challenge Before switching to FLEXCEL NX Plates, the wide variety of alternative, more sustainable substrates posed a major production challenge for Walki Poland’s Prepress and Printing Manager, Pawel Chustecki. "Materials range from film, through papers extruded with PE, to rougher, uncoated kraft stocks. Each substrate required a different plate and anilox, and new press settings. With some production runs as short as 3000 meters, it’s not unusual to have ten or more set-ups per day on each of our ten-color presses. Complicating matters were the water-based inks we print with and set-ups and changeovers were giving us a real production headache.” For Pawel and his team, the remedy was clear — “We had to standardize our processes” — but the solution was frustratingly elusive. After various trials to find more simplified plate solutions failed, it fell to the company’s technology department to suggest FLEXCEL NX Technology with its advanced plate surface patterning. Dramatic and swift changes The results were both dramatic and swift, Pawel recalls. “Almost immediately we could see how the superior ink transfer of FLEXCEL NX Plates with advanced plate surface patterning achieved stable, repeatable results across all substrates and across the full width of the web — even on the rougher materials where you need high pressures to get good coverage. And because FLEXCEL NX Plates deliver the highest densities with low dot gain we could achieve a very wide color gamut — often exceeding the ISO coated V2 color profile. As an example of the ‘before and after’ transformation enabled by FLEXCEL NX Technology, Pawel cites a job printed on an older, geared, wide web press. “The design comprised a logo and a lot of small text, the impression was one meter long and over one meter wide, and our previous plate couldn’t handle it. On one side there was excessive pressure, and on the other there were areas that just didn’t print. We switched to the FLEXCEL NX Plate and everything was perfect. This was an important experiment, because it immediately convinced our operators that FLEXCEL NX Plates were up to the most challenging jobs.” Improved ‘proof-to-print’ The stable results achieved with FLEXCEL NX Plates have also simplified and streamlined proofing. Pawel comments: “In the past, the lack of consistency and stability on press’ could make matching proof and print tricky, but now it’s rare for agencies or clients to raise any queries. This is because we can achieve the same ISO coated V2 color profile to which the agencies produce their proofs.” Exploring ECG With FLEXCEL NX Plates having proven their ability to deliver consistently on a wide variety of substrates, operators benefit from having to learn only one plate type, faster proof to print and less inventory to manage. Walki’s successful process stabilization project has laid the foundation for further technologies that open new frontiers in sustainability and efficiency. These include ECG (Extended Color Gamut) printing: “Moving into ECG has been on our radar for some years, because of the efficiency and sustainability the technology makes possible — printing two or more jobs simultaneously cuts set-up time and reduces waste significantly. But you can’t print ECG unless you have stable, repeatable plates, and we didn’t have those until we found FLEXCEL NX Technology. With the stable process we now have ECG is a very real possibility in the future.”

How to implement automation in printing operations

It is becoming necessary in printing operations to automate as much as possible to gain efficiencies. But before you begin your planning processes, look at your current state to ensure that you understand how works happen today. Kodak, a global technology company focused on print and advanced materials and chemicals, explains the vital role of automation in printing operations and how to do it properly. Read on. Single system of record that reliably gathers data from business and production systems If you have that system of record, you are in the perfect state to take on end-to-end automation. If you have multiple points of data collection that have never been integrated, there is still a path to automation. Still, your planning may take longer to accommodate identifying the required data and the processes that use them. Standard processes for order taking, job specification, and order management When there are standard processes, planning for automation can leverage them to speed implementation. When the procedures to take orders are different for every sales channel, it is hard to standardize order intake. When the process of capturing job specifications varies by sales team member and orders are managed without a strategic view into machine usage and job deadlines, some work will be required before automating and making those processes more efficient. How many spreadsheets are used to track jobs, components, or processes? Every business has some ad hoc processes tracked on spreadsheets, whiteboards, and notepads to keep mission-critical items front of mind. There is nothing wrong with them, but when they become the sole source of truth about a job or a process, they add risk to production. Some organisations justify using spreadsheets by putting them onto shared-access servers so that all authorized constituents can easily access them. It sounds like a great idea, but over time you may find that copies are sitting on individual desktops, and the shared copy is no longer the reliable source of information. Knowing what you have as you plan for automation will help you size the effort. Moving to that automated environment creates a single system of record that is reliable and can be integrated into adjacent business and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Planning for automation You could find some processes that appear easy to automate, add some new tools, and call that your automation plan, but there is a better path. It starts with knowing what is possible. New options in cloud-based workflows bring the same powerful options to smaller shops as the largest shops enjoy. With minimal investments and immediate implementation, shops with a single digital press can build an efficient workflow that will scale using the same technology as a mid-size shop with a mix of offset and digital devices. And these modern cloud-based production workflow solutions can help in any segment, whether the work you produce is graphically-rich static content or uses data-driven processes to execute variable content targeted to a specific recipient. Today’s automated production workflows are built to integrate MIS and ERP tools, Web-to-Print solutions, and e-commerce options. This approach should be high on your list as you consider automation options because it brings a robust IT infrastructure to the table. Automating individual processes glued together with manual interventions isn’t the accomplishment that brings the most benefit. Considering automation requires a dive into every action involved, from the point of estimation and sale to the final delivery to the customer. Planning is the active event designed to identify the touchpoints and the best approach to reviewing each step, the people involved, and the current tools used. Start by articulating your strategic goals for 2022. You may be looking to expand into a new industry or print segments. Your current workload may require more capacity. You may want to acquire more capabilities, either through buying more equipment, optimising workflows, or buying a company. As you consider your strategic plan, itemize the candidate processes for automation to move you toward those goals. Don’t be surprised if you identify current manual processes as critical roadblocks. Strategic goals are long-term and inform the way the business runs. There will be some work to do to build the bridge from strategy to implementation, and that is where tactical planning becomes essential. Tactical goals are more than solving today’s bottleneck. They work within the strategy to consider implementing new software and processes while keeping production moving. Think of it as changing the tires on a car while it’s in motion. There will be practical concerns as current processes are replaced by automation, including how and when to move off tools that are no longer providing value. Tactics should support the strategic goals and solve the business' specific challenges without adding more hurdles to creating an automated environment. Build the strategic plan for automation to consider the practical implication of automating the current processes, including goals for gaining buy-in from the team members in each department, who may be asked to change how they do their jobs or change positions to accommodate the planned process modifications. Look for onramps to the fully automated business environment for every element in the tactical plan that enables lower cost and higher margins. A part of tactical planning includes your approach to daily operations. To create an efficient environment in 2022, consider a standalone Operational Plan to document the expectations for each department, interface points between departments, and the key performance metrics that will help everyone stay on the strategic course. Automation does not eliminate the need to understand the production touchpoints. The best practice is to document what should happen if you lose access to the automation, too. The last step in planning for automation is to build the appropriate contingency plans. Cloud-based automated workflows protect you from onsite server disruptions and mitigate much of the risk associated with onsite installations when paired with a disciplined backup strategy. What to do next If you plan to automate your print workflow in 2022, look for scalable and easy platforms to integrate with your core business systems. Ensure that your chosen technology partner lets you automate each task within prepress and production and then map those automated tasks together to ensure that each type of job takes the correct journey through each process. Learn your options, and then create a plan that works for you.

admin in News July 22, 2022

Estimable estimators

If they were lucky, the human estimators had an adding machine or desktop calculator to help with the figures. A busy medium-sized printer might have 10 or more full time estimators. Finding and keeping that many specialised estimators could be tricky, as the work was exacting but hardly exciting. Computers were an obvious solution, but the knowledge of how to program for such specialised calculations wasn’t. One of the first UK companies to crack it was what was to become Imprint Business Systems, which is still going strong after 42 years. Today its customers in print and packaging run into the hundreds and many of them have used Imprint systems for at least 25 years. Like most of the early MIS developers, Imprint grew out of the needs of a particular print company, which then used the experience gained to sell to a wider circle or printing and packaging companies. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a lot of computer estimating start-ups, often with printing company roots. Some of Imprint’s original UK competitors from 40-odd years ago have also survived and prospered independently, such as Optimus (originally Optichrome Computer Systems Ltd, or OCSL), DDS (Accura) and Tharstern, while others were taken over by the ever-expanding EFI empire (such as Prism, Radius, Shuttleworth and Technique). A few others have either merged, or closed, or both. Imprint itself was founded in 1978 by Glennys Bourne and Jonathan Richards. Originally the pair had worked together at the art book printer Shenval Press in Harlow. Richards was general manager, later a director of Shenval, but had learned programming skills at college. Bourne went on to run the nearby Caterpillar Press. Bourne says that the reason for writing the original computer estimating program was a shortage of the trained human variety. “You could not get estimators for love nor money,” she says. So the first estimating program was written to suit the needs of Shenval Press and Caterpillar Press. Bourne saw the potential for Imprint beyond the needs of Shenval and Caterpillar, so the latter was sold to concentrate on the new business. “The Imprint name describes the company well and has stood us well over the years,” says Richards. “As for why the name was chosen, it just seemed a good fit at the time.” Both are still very much involved today. Bourne is CEO, while Jonathan Richards says he’s “allowed to be chairman on high days and holidays”. However, time marches on and their children Will Richards and Nick Bourne have also joined Imprint – the latter now being MD. Today Imprint is based in High Easter, in the countryside between Chelmsford and Bishop’s Stortford, handily close to the M11 and Stansted airport. It employs 16 people in an often overlapping mix of management, programming and customer services roles.

admin in News July 22, 2022

Agfa Avinci CX3200

Avinci CX3200 is 3.2 m wide dye sub textile printer capable of printing on polyester-based textiles What is it? Agfa’s Avinci CX3200 is a highly reliable and convenient soft signage printer that can print directly to fabrics and onto transfer paper. It uses an off-line calendar unit to ensure perfect fixation. Agfa’s dedicated dye sublimation roll-to-roll printer will enable you to create vibrant, high-quality prints on polyester-based fabrics up to 3.2 m wide, including a broad range of in- and outdoor soft signage applications, as well as interior decoration. The Avinci CX3200 boasts a rich color gamut and delivers deep black, perfect solids, accurate spot color mapping and smooth tonal rendering that is particularly noticeable in skin tones. The Avinci inks are characterised by their flexibility, image longevity and outdoor resistance. They offer stable jetting performance and deliver the same high-quality results, batch after batch. An off-line calender unit fixes the color deeply into the structure of the polyester-based fabrics while evaporating the carrier fluid. When was it launched at what are the target markets? It was launched on June 22, 2021, and aimed at soft signage industry, sports wear, fashion industry and home décor. Avinic CX3200 is a 3.2 m wide Dye Sub Textile printer capable of printing on polyester based textiles. Does it replace an earlier product? It replaces the earlier model of DX3200. The Avinci CX3200 is driven by Agfa’s Asanti wide-format workflow software. Color accuracy is provided by the easy-to-use color management. Using their Calibrated Print Mode feature, new media can be calibrated and profiled in less than 15 minutes, after which the new profiles can be used to guarantee print quality. Asanti controls and automates the entire printing process from file intake to finishing, maximising productivity. Its comprehensive integration of file handling, color management and preflighting guarantees smooth and error-free jobs. The web-based Asanti Production Dashboard offers a view on your running production. It summarizes the jobs produced and reports on quantity printed, media usage, ink volumes enabling you to control your production and to manage your print shop optimally. What is the USP? It allows you to print directly on textiles and capable of print on transfer paper media as well. Single person media loading and low inks consumptions are another features. High productivity and a robust design for reliable printing at all times, vibrant prints and a wide color gamut; fine detail rendering; extensive applications scope; low ink consumption; convenient operations and a fast changeover between jobs are another features. Avinci produces good results with a minimum of jetted ink. This low ink consumption is based on Agfa’s renowned Thin Ink Layer technology: a smart combination of particular ink characteristics and our Asanti workflow software algorithms that tune the ink quantities perfectly to the required image quality mode. What training and support are available? Full in house training and support available from Agfa UAE and Belgium. Complete and integrated solution are available for printer, inks, workflow software, worldwide service and applications support. How productive is it? It prints at speed of 250 Sqm per hr on express mode. Being able to print directly to fabric is easy and ideal for fast handling and for special applications such as flags, where print-though is needed. Transfer paper allows for super sharp prints, eliminates any set-off, and limits media waste to a minimum. In addition, it extends the application scope to sportswear and fashion garments, as well as home décor prints on non-coated polyester fabrics. What does it cost? How is it sold? The recommended retail price (RRP) is approximately $220k stand alone printer and requires a separate calendaring unit. How many are in use? Currently, the latest CX3200 are around 11 units around the world. Specifications 3.2m Dye sublimation Printer Kyocera print heads 4 colour printer CYMK Direct to garment capable to print on transfer paper Max speed of 250 sqm Stand alone printer Resolution up to 600 x 1800 dpi Media types: Polyester-based fabrics, or transfer paper used to create banners, indoor wall graphics, shop decoration, outdoor advertising, light boxes, trade show displays, flags and high polyester-based blends “Agfa Avinci CX3200 was launched in June 2021.”

Aug. 2, 2022

Epson – SureColor SC V7000 Flatbed Printer

Epson's first UV large format printer offers exceptional image quality, Shihab Zubair What is it? The SureColor SC-V7000 is Epson's first UV large format printer, offering exceptional image quality. The V7000 is ideal for printing eye-catching retail and outdoor signage, window displays, hoarding panels, packaging, promotional goods, and décor products. It includes Epson’s Micro Piezo printhead with ten newly developed original inks, for accurate colour reproduction for spot and corporate colours. It allows businesses the flexibility to print on a range of media up to 80mm thick including acrylics, polycarbonates, PVC, glass, aluminium, metal, polyester, foam board, styrene, wood and stone. The printhead layout enables simultaneous high-speed printing and, with the 4-zone vacuum system, it offers real flexibility for production environments. When was it launched at what are the target markets? The Epson SureColor SC-V7000 was launched in April 2021 within the Middle East region, building on the success of Epson’s award-winning range of SureColor S Series signage printers. The V7000 allows sign and display makers to expand their portfolio of products, to deliver high quality, fast and reliable results on a variety of different media. Does it replace an earlier product? The SureColor SC-V7000 proudly marks Epson’s entry into the UV flatbed signage print market. As Epson’s first UV large format printer, it provides unique features to differentiate and enhance our offering to the signage market. Every feature of the Epson SureColor SC-V7000 has been designed with the customer in mind. This is a robust and affordable UV LED flatbed signage printer capable of fast and quality printing on a wide range of media – any type of surface, despite the size, thickness, or weight. This is in addition to Epson’s successful product solutions such as the Epson SureColor SC Series of eco-solvent and resin ink printers. For instance, for environmentally friendly organisations, Epson’s SureColor SC-R5010 Series has the capacity to include a resin ink solution, offering print service providers and creative design agencies the ability to produce a wide range of signage in a more sustainable way, without compromising on the results. For a larger ink capacity, Epson offers the SureColor SC-R5010L. What is the USP? The Epson SureColor SC-V7000 provides exceptional image quality, productivity, usability, and safety. With the unique Epson Micro Piezo printhead, the printer has ten newly developed original inks and 3-layer high-speed printing. It helps print with ease and safety with automatic measurement of media thickness, a multi-zone vacuum, and a printhead crash prevent function, Epson Edge Print, proximity sensors. What training and support is available? Epson manufactures all the components for the SureColor SC-V7000, including printheads, inks and software, in order to reach the consistent quality levels that our customers expect. The Epson Cloud Solution PORT is a cloud-based system from where you will be able to monitor equipment across several sites, or several printers across one site, from the production floor or remotely, and assist the control of production. This enables efficient production planning, increased uptime and enhanced support. Epson Production Monitor is part of the Epson Cloud Solution PORT suite of apps and allows you to examine the production status in real-time. If an issue occurs, it can be corrected efficiently with minimal disruption to the print run. How productive is it? The SureColor SC-V7000 enables businesses to print at high speed with a maximum print area of 2.5 metres by 1.25 metres. The printhead layout enables simultaneous high-speed printing, with white ink and varnish, without losing productivity. What does it cost? How is it sold? The recommended retail price (RRP) is around AED 330,563 (US $90,000) and it is sold through authorised partners in the Middle East. How many are in use? Currently two printers have been installed in the UAE, and we are scheduled to install a few more in December and further into 2022. Specifications UltraChrome UV 10-colour inkset Printing resolution of 720 x 1,440 DPI Outstanding print quality High-speed simultaneous printing even when using white, colour and varnish Printheads, ink, firmware and software with an ink tank capacity of 1,000 ml Price from AED 330,563 “Epson SureColor SC-V7000 was launched in April 2021.”

Aug. 2, 2022

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