Subscribe to our weekly Newsletter at http:www.printoolz.com

Best Digitally Printed Newspaper

Miller Newsprint Ltd Scoops Newspaper Award

KODAK VERSAMARK Printing Systems Used For Best Digitally Printed Newspaper
The quality of KODAK VERSAMARK Printing Systems was underlined at this year’s 2011 Newspaper Awards (May 24, London Hilton) when Miller Newsprint Ltd’s production of The Sunday Times won the title of best “Digitally Printed Newspaper of the Year”.

The Times printed by the Maltese KODAK VERSAMARK VL4200 Printing System customer was also commended while its production of The Sun was nominated in the Kodak sponsored category.

PBI Calls First Midwest Print and Media Conf. “A Hit”

The votes are in, and the first-ever PBI Midwest Conference was an unqualified success.

The one-day Conference, produced by Print Buyers International (PBI), was held on May 19th in Chicago for print buyers, production managers, creative directors, graphic designers, marketers and other people who work “at the intersection of print and digital media.” Featuring an all-star line-up of speakers and an unparalleled program of professional education, networking and growth, the Conference received high praise for the timeliness of the topics, the depth of information and the quality of the speakers

Newsmate Features Auto Page Pairing

ECRM RELEASES NEWSMATE SOFTWARE FEATURING
AUTOMATED PAGE PAIRING FOR NEWSPAPER PRODUCTION

ECRM Imaging Systems today released ECRM NewsMate. NewsMate includes ECRM RIPmate, their industry standard RIP, based on Harlequin technology, and an automated page-pairing feature for newspaper production. Using NewsMate, multi-page PDF sections are delivered to a “hot folder” where they are automatically paired in appropriate order for plate imaging. Individual pages can be quickly and efficiently ordered prior to automated pairing, saving substantial labor and

XMPie Users Group Launches New Website

The XMPie Users Group has launched a new website, making more content publicly available to increase online collaboration, as well as offering new and improved networking and education functionality to its members.

New tools and features include:
· Improved online communities with photo galleries, discussion forums, libraries, and wikis
· A Career Center to post and search for positions related to working with XMPie
· A dynamic member profile with the ability to share resumes, upload images, and pull and share content from personal LinkedIn, YouTube, Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter accounts
· An enhanced XMPie Users Group membership directory

Flexo Assoc Names Samworth

Mark Samworth

FTA names Mark Samworth to its Hall of Fame. EskoArtwork’s color expert is the 49th – and youngest – inductee.

The Flexographic Technical Association has named Mark Samworth, color consultant at EskoArtwork, the 49th –and youngest – inductee into Flexographic Technical Association’s esteemed Hall of Fame. The announcement was made Sunday, May 1, at FTA’s Annual Forum in Indianapolis.

A recognized innovator in the flexographic industry, Samworth’s expertise in color science and understanding of technology led to his developing ten issued patents, with more pending. Samworth’s inventions include FlexoCal, Hybrid Screening, Plate Cell Patterning, Concentric Screening, Equinox 7c process color, and

London B2B Publisher Switches to Quark9

Quark announced that business-to-business publisher Link Publishing has switched its production suite to QuarkXPress® 9 for all its publications.

Link Publishing is a leading publisher of trade titles for the printing and signage industries, and provides up-to-the-minute news, in-depth features, and commentary from industry experts through its two flagship titles: Print Monthly and SignLink. The company produces the annual Print Directory and Sign Directory, providing comprehensive listings from over 10,000 companies for every conceivable service required. Link Publishing also offers integrated and effective online marketing campaigns for customers within

Océ to Plant Trees to Offset Carbon Emissions

Océ, a Canon Group Company and an international leader in digital document management, today announced that Océ continues to enhance its environmental track record. One of the most recent achievements is the planting of thousands of trees on behalf of its customer, Jeppesen, to help offset carbon emissions.

The Océ Eco Start program is designed as a first step to help companies like Jeppesen achieve a reduction in the amount of carbon attributable to its production printing operations.  When a company purchases an Océ production system, Océ will purchase and have trees planted to help offset CO2 emissions attributable to the energy used in operating the production printer. This is based on the expected use

IMI Speaker on Ink Manufacturing for Emerging Digital Markets

Collins Ink President Lawrence Gamblin

Collins Ink President Lawrence Gamblin to Present on
Ink Manufacturing Perspective of Emerging Digital Print Markets

Collins Ink President Lawrence Gamblin will be giving a presentation on the ink manufacturer’s perspective of emerging digital print markets at IMI’s 4th Annual Digital Printing Presses – Road Map to 2020 Conference. The conference, being held at the Hollywood Beach Marriott in Hollywood (Ft. Lauderdale), Florida, USA, runs from June 20-22, 2011 and is sponsored by Information Management Institute (IMI). Complete conference details

GMG Launches Latin American Web Site

GMG, a leading developer and supplier of high-end color management software solutions, announces it has launched a website for its customers in Latin America, www.GMGColorLA.com.. The new site gives customers a direct link to information about GMG’s innovative technology, in a choice of two languages, Portuguese and Spanish. “The GMGColorLA.com site confirms our commitment to deliver comprehensive support to our customers in Latin America,

Gateway Printing Installs MGI Digital Press

GATEWAY PRINTING INSTALLS MGI METEOR DP60 PRO DIGITAL PRESS TO ADDRESS GROWING DEMAND FOR SHORT RUN COLOR PRINTING

MGI Digital Graphic Technology, the manufacturer of digital printing and finishing solutions, announced that Gateway Printing has installed a Meteor DP60 Pro® multi-substrate digital press.

Gateway Printing, a full service commercial printing company, was first established over 100 years ago as part of the local newspaper, making it one of the oldest printers in

DP Direct Boosts Efficiency with GMC Technology

GMC Software Technology announced that DP Direct has been able to accelerate client acquisition and boost the efficiency of their operations with GMC Software Technology. The GMC solution was implemented to streamline workflow and significantly increase print performance speeds, reducing the overall production time for DP Direct.

As one of the largest digital printing, fulfillment and mailing houses based in the London, UK area, DP Direct is a proactive partner to many successful direct marketing agencies and blue chip companies.

Finch Adds New Papers

Finch Paper will showcase popular offset and digital papers – including its line of high-performance inkjet papers – at the IPMA Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, June 5-9, 2011. Representing Finch at IPMA is Connie Sukeforth Harrison, recently appointed to the Finch management team. Harrison is stocking samples of Finch’s wide range of substrate solutions, for every type of offset and digital press, at the Finch exhibit table.

A focus on collaborative, solutions-oriented relationships; precise product fit; and fast delivery have made

FREE QuarkXPress 9 eSeminar Tuesday

FREE QuarkXPress 9 eSeminar on Creating long documents.
Smarter long documents with Callouts and Bullets & Numbers
In this session we’ll learn how to use the Callouts feature to automatically position boxes anywhere on a page, while still following the main text flow. Plus, use Bullet, Numbering, and

Enfocus Adds Reseller

Enfocus welcomed Straightline as one of the newest authorized resellers in North America. Straightline offers customers Enfocus’ powerful Switch automation technology, as well as the company’s popular flagship solution, PitStop Pro.

Enfocus Channel Manager Steve Hosford says that Straightline has been a valued partner for years, and is enthusiastic about the company’s new authorized reseller status. Says Hosford, “Straightline has extensive history working with production workflows, and understands

PIA Offers G7 Certification Training

This special G7 program, hosted by Printing Industries of America, will include a blend of lab instruction and hands-on training where you will learn how to apply the G7 method to achieve the highest quality color output on both offset and digital presses. Printing Industries of America’s world class facility contains a variety of both offset and digital equipment including: Komori NL6-28 Hybrid UV offset press Heidelberg Speedmaster Model 102-4P offset press Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000 digital press Ricoh Pro C901 digital press Xerox iGen3 digital press Don’t miss this unique opportunity—get trained in

First Kodak Versamark Systems installed in Mexico

 

KODAK VERSAMARK VL2000

Gráficas Corona installs two KODAK VERSAMARK VL2000 Printing Systems to print statements and direct mail. Kodak announced the installation of two VERSAMARK VL2000 Printing Systems at Gráficas Corona; the color inkjet systems are the first of their kind to be installed in Mexico.
The KODAK VERSAMARK VL2000 Printing System targets data centers with volumes of more than 1 million images per month of transactional, promotional and TransPromo documents, such as

Agfa adds MicroGREEN Eco Display Media

Agfa Graphics Adds MicroGREEN’s Eco-Friendly Display Media to its Portfolio for POP/POS displays that require a sustainable solution
Agfa Graphics, North America, today announced that the company has teamed up with MicroGREEN Polymers, Incto offer a new, alternative, eco-friendly media to commercial and display printers. MicroGREEN (www.microgreeninc.com) of Arlington, WA, manufactures InCycleTM, created with recycled PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) material to be used for signs and displays. It is available in sheets or rolls of varying thickness and flexural stiffness, with a bright white, highly printable surface, making InCycle ideal for

Asahi Flexo Plate Named Color-Logic Tech Partner

Asahi Flexo Plate—a leader in the development of photopolymer printing plates for use in the flexographic printing process—has been named a technology partner by Color-Logic. Announcing the partnership, Color-Logic Chief Technical Officer Richard Ainge commented: “Asahi Flexo Plates underwent extensive Color-Logic tests at the Clemson University Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design & Graphics, ensuring that the Color-Logic Process Metallic Color System can be successfully executed using Asahi printing plates on a variety of flexographic presses. Flexographic printers thus can be assured that they can successfully run metallic images

Roland Introduces VersaStudio BN-20 Metallic Printer/Cutter

Industry’s First 20-inch Eco-Solvent Inkjet Device Prints and Cuts Full-Color Graphics with Stunning Metallic Effects

Roland DGA Corp. has introduced the VersaStudio BN-20 20-inch metallic desktop eco-solvent printer/cutter.  A complete solution, including VersaWorks® professional RIP software, VersaStudio combines all the versatility and advanced features of Roland’s latest inkjet printing technologies into a compact, affordable device.

“Our engineers developed VersaStudio exclusively for small-lot production of custom-designed graphics,” said Andrew Oransky, director of marketing and product management for Roland. “VersaStudio sits right on the desktop, allowing professionals to quickly and easily produce full-color prints with metallic effects on demand. Integrated print/cut technology allows VersaStudio to contour cut graphics into virtually any shape without additional die cutting equipment.”

VersaStudio is well suited for applications ranging from apparel heat transfers, labels and decals to comps, POP and promotional signage.  With VersaStudio, users get all the benefits of award-winning Roland Eco-SOL MAX® ink, including exceptional image quality, fast dry times, three-year outdoor durability and support for both coated and uncoated media.

VersaStudio can be configured with Eco-SOL MAX in either CMYK only or with CMYK + metallic silver for brilliant metallic effects previously only possible through screen printing, offset printing or hot stamping technologies. Metallic Silver Eco-SOL MAX allows users to create their own custom metallic colors or choose from 512 spot colors offered in the Roland Metallic Color System Library that is part of VersaWorks.  A Metallic Texture System Library is also included in VersaWorks, making it easy to add patterns and textures to metallic effects.  For users focused on indoor applications, VersaStudio can also be configured with Roland FPG aqueous pigment ink in CMYK only.

VersaStudio is a complete solution including Roland R-Works design software and VersaWorks RIP software.  R-Works allows users to draw and edit circles and curves, add text, and import both stock photos and images taken with a digital camera in jpg and bmp file formats.  It also supports 12 ready-to-use metallic colors, so users can quickly and easily add metallic effects to posters, labels and decals.

VersaWorks is Roland’s own easy-to-use print management software, delivering professional results from the very first print. Based on the latest Adobe CPSI 3019 engine, VersaWorks features a variety of convenient layout functions, including scaling, cropping, rotating, tiling and more.  With variable data printing, users can produce a series of labels, name cards and stickers in which text and graphics change from one print to the next.  To accurately monitor production time and costs, VersaWorks estimates the ink usage and print time for each graphic. Support for up to four Roland devices makes it easy to expand the production environment as a business grows.  The Roland@NET auto update service comes free of charge, allowing users to receive automatic VersaWorks updates whenever a new version becomes available.

Priced at $7,995, VersaStudio is compatible with Windows® 7, Vista and XP, with support for 32 and 64-bit operating systems and popular design software, including Adobe® and CorelDRAW®.  Ink configuration must be determined at the time of purchase. For more information on VersaStudio, visit www.rolanddga.com/bn.

Roland DGA Corp.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Roland DGA Corp. serves as the U.S.-based marketing, distribution and sales arm of Roland DG Corp. in Hamamatsu, Japan. Celebrating 30 years of innovation, Roland provides business-critical solutions everyday to professionals across the sign, grand-format, sublimation, UV inkjet, digital graphics, vehicle graphics, fine art, dental, photography, packaging, label, engraving and 3D modeling industries. Roland DGA is ISO 9001:2008 certified, and Roland DG is ISO 9001:2000 and 14001:2004 certified.

For more information on Roland products, please call (800) 542-2307 or visit the Roland website at www.rolanddga.com.

Concentric Screening Allows 175dpi on Newsprint

Signature Offset, a leading cold web printer specializing in newsprint and uncoated tabloids, journals, and magazines, has improved print quality, reduced dot gain and ink consumption, and gained a competitive advantage by implementing EskoArtwork’s Concentric Screening(TM) technology.

“We’re now seeing a steady increase in the number of companies successfully running Concentric Screening. While Concentric Screening was introduced nearly five years ago, other facets of technology had to catch up to it; for example improvements in offset plate and plate imaging technologies,” observes Mark Samworth, color consultant at EskoArtwork. “We’re also finding that companies like Signature Offset who have an in-depth understanding of curves and color management are getting the most out of Concentric Screening. They’re saving money through reduced ink usage — also an extraordinary environmental benefit by diminishing the most volatile component to the environment — while offering higher quality work to their customers.”

Established in 1970, Signature Offset operates out of eight manufacturing sites in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Mississippi and, most recently, Florida. In May 2008, the company began in earnest to revamp its workflow, switching to an EskoArtwork PDF-based production workflow and creating a centralized department in Colorado that handles prepress for all company locations. The workflow has allowed the company to save thousands in labor costs while also ensuring standardization across all of Signature Offset’s facilities.

In October 2008, its new workflow in place and its quest for quality ongoing, Signature Offset installed EskoArtwork’s Concentric Screening for its Goss Community press in the Phoenix, Arizona facility. “I saw an EskoArtwork presentation highlighting the technology,” says Ty Tabat, Signature Offset’s Digital Services Director. “We had looked at stochastic and other kinds of FM screening technology, but we weren’t really satisfied with the overall quality of the dot, especially with halftones. The black-and-white halftones were really, really bad–they were very grainy.”

The large gamut of Signature Offset customers, and all the different stocks it runs, would also make stochastic a bad fit, notes Tabat. “It would be difficult to squeeze all the different variables into FM screening,” he says. “Running stochastic, we would end up putting more work on our pressroom.”

Once Tabat learned about Concentric Screening–and the fact that the halftone dot behaves like a traditional AM dot on press, while still promising increased line screens and reduced dot gain–he was ready to move forward. Concentric Screening divides the halftone dot into thin concentric rings that limit film thickness on the plate, increasing color saturation and line screen capability while reducing ink consumption and variations during the printing process.

“We had already pushed the limit on the AM dot, and couldn’t go any further,” says Tabat. “We were using a 120-line screen and had tested a 133-line screen on newsprint, but couldn’t get the necessary consistency, given the files we were getting from customers. We started talking with EskoArtwork–and they told us with Concentric Screening we could get line screens between 160 and 210. Being able to hit anything over 150 was pretty exciting. Once we saw what Concentric Screening could do, we were even more excited.”

The Phoenix implementation was successful from day one. “Since the day we installed Concentric Screening for our Goss Community press we have never taken it off,” says Tabat. “Our initial test showed there was a lot less graininess in halftones and four-color images than stochastic, plus it was more manageable on press.”

In 2010, Concentric Screening was rolled out to all of Signature Offset’s locations, and it is now on every Goss Community cold web press, and used on every job, except those run on a UV press in Colorado.

The technology has surpassed Tabat’s expectations. “Being able to go to 175 lpi was a big surprise,” says Tabat. ” Someone could sell you that you can do 175, but you’re thinking in the back of your head there’s no way you could do more than 150. We call Concentric Screening high-definition printing. The same way high-definition television looks better than regular television–that’s how we feel about Concentric Screening. Color looks brighter and photos can pop. The detail that we’re getting out of four color and halftones is pretty remarkable.”

Adds Tabat, “Where you used to see dots, you now see detail; you can actually see the tire rims in car dealership ads or shutters on the houses in real estate ads.”

Quality up; ink use down
Ink usage is also on the decline–as much as 18%, notes Tabat. “The press operators are turning the ink down a lot,” he explains. In fact, during the transition over to Concentric Screening, the biggest issue for the pressroom was the need to make ink adjustments, because the technology uses so much less ink. In general, ink setting is quicker, and it’s easier to consistently hold the press during the entire run.”

Initially, Concentric Screening did require Signature Offset to work with customers to maintain SNAP specifications and setting ink densities. “We found that good quality files looked fantastic using Concentric Screening, but the lower resolution files weren’t getting the full benefit of the higher line screen,” explains Tabat. “So we focused on fine tuning with our customers, showing them that with a little bit of adjustment their print quality could be fantastic.”

Tabat continues, “One of our customers, who had been printing with us for years, needed a sample from a few years ago. He had the old sample and a newer one, and seeing them side-by-side, you could really see the difference. He told us, ‘I thought you guys were doing a pretty good job before, but looking at old copies, I can’t believe the difference.’”

Concentric Screening is a natural fit with Signature Offset’ commitment to operating in a greener environment. “We have a huge green initiative at Signature,” says Tabat. “We are very conscious about what we are putting into the environment, such as reducing our VOCs. The benefit of running a cold web over heatset is that you don’t use an oven to dry your product. We have the environmental advantage, plus now we are using a higher line screen, which allows us to be more competitive with the heatset market. We are able to approach companies that were off-limits before. Yes, it is cold web, yes its uncoated, but it’s a 175-line screen.”

Concludes Tabat, “When I started out in this business printing a 65-line screen with cold web, the jump to 85 was big. A 100-line screen seemed unattainable. If you had told me 20 years ago I would be running 175 line on cold web newsprint, I would have thought you were crazy.”

About EskoArtwork (www.esko.com)
EskoArtwork is a global supplier of integrated solutions for packaging, sign and display finishing, commercial printing and professional publishing. Its products and services help customers raise productivity, reduce time-to-market, lower costs and expand business.

Portfolio
EskoArtwork is the worldwide market leader with software for artwork creation, pre-production, automation, quality assurance and collaboration targeted at brand owners, retailers, designers and packaging manufacturers.

The CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers, Kongsberg short-run converting and signage finishing systems complete the portfolio for the packaging, label, signage and display industries.

The company provides a range of workflow, automation and quality assurance solutions for the commercial printing and publishing market. For graphic designers and print production professionals there’s also the Enfocus suite of PDF tools.

Facts & numbers
EskoArtwork employs around 1050 people worldwide. Its global sales and support organization covers Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific and is completed by a network of distribution partners in more than 45 countries.
EskoArtwork is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, and has R&D and manufacturing facilities in five European countries, the United States, China and India. The consolidated full year financials ended for 2010 with revenue of EUR 184.1 million.
For more information, visit www.esko.com or contact: