lat
“We have taken the
right decisions here.
They were not easy to
take, but they will
stabilise the company
and allow us to remain
successful”
Heidelberg chief executive Rainer
Hundsdörfer on the firm’s decision
to cease production of the
Primefire B1 digital press and VLF
litho presses, and cut up to 2,000
jobs to restore profitability
by depositing nano-scale metallic
flakes over a trigger image, doing
away with the need for conventional
foil and associated waste.
The silver pigment flakes can
be overprinted to create other
metallic colour combinations
including gold. EcoLeaf will
become commercially available
this summer.
.m
The cost of the Bobst Master
DM5, a hybrid narrow web
press that combines flexo
and inkjet printing, page 55
April & May 2020 Printweek
%
The percentage the OptiKnife
knife changing system can
increase productivity
by, claims Polar page 50
Edwardthompson, based in
Sunderland, was founded 150
years ago and was reliant on
the bingo market page 52
Canon unveiled the B3 format
VarioPrint i300, one of the
first high-performance sheetfed
inkjet presses, page 48
Prices for ethanol and
n-propanol have risen by
up to 350%. There are greater
concerns that supplies will dry
up completely in future.”
British Coatings Federation chief executive Tom Bowtell in a letter to the
government raising concerns about the availability of packaging inks
hot-folder based server product
will contain “a long list” of new
features and improvements.
Intamac adds mask-maker
Intamac Packaging Systems, a
sister company of Engelmann &
Buckham, is bringing a new
machine for producing medical
masks to the UK market. The new
mask-making machine – the IPS
KZ N95 – came about because a
Chinese manufacturing partner
and maker of packaging systems
found itself unable to source sufficient
masks for its workforce and
decided to make its own system.
The IPS KZ N95 can make 2,700
N95 surgical respirator masks per
hour, as well as non-surgical
masks suitable for daily use.
HP enhances Latex Rs
HP has rolled out a raft of
improvements across its Latex R
series of hybrid printers to enable
customers to benefit from higher
productivity and efficiency.
Software productivity advancements
across the portfolio –
which now consists of the
2.5m-wide HP Latex R2000 Plus,
the 1.64m-wide HP Latex R1000
Plus, and the new 1.64m-wide
entry-level Latex R1000 2020
edition – include expanded queue
management capability and automated
updates. More efficient
multi-sheet media loading and
handling, meanwhile, has been
added to help users to significantly
boost their output.
Roland’s new interiors system
Roland DG has launched its
EJ-640 Deco interior decor system
to meet the demands of an
expanding market. First shown at
Fespa 2019, the 1.6m-wide waterbased
machine became commercially
available in March. It is
designed to offer durable and
long-lasting prints with rub resistance
and is suitable for booth and
store constructors, web-to-print
suppliers for personalised wallpaper
and commercial decorators
in hotels, schools or offices.
Duplo introduces its new DC-618
Duplo adds new multifinisher
Duplo has enhanced its slitter/
cutter/creaser range with a new
entry-level all-in-one production
device. The DC-618 replaces the
DC-616 and offers some of the
same features of its high-end
siblings including the new PC
module for EFI Fiery workflow
integration. The sheetfed multifinisher
has an increased media
range, supporting substrates up to
400gsm, and can carry out six slits,
30 cuts and 20 creases and cross
perfs per pass, which, according
to Martyn Train, Duplo UK managing
director, means “applications
are only limited by your
imagination – real value add”.
SAI launches SideKick
SAI has launched its new organisation
tool SideKick, aimed at
assisting with end-to-end production
management for signage and
large-format printers. Available
on a subscription basis at monthly
rates starting from circa £46, the
SideKick programme comes preloaded
with a database of predefined
products and finishing
options, along with average industry
costs, to rapidly configure pricing
for commissions. It spans the
full process, from quoting through
to invoicing, and allows users to
send clients personalised PDF
quotes within minutes.
Enfocus releases PitStop 2020
Enfocus will launch the latest version
of its PitStop pre-flight, editing
and correction software this
month. The Belgian developer
said its PitStop Pro Adobe Acrobat
plug-in and PitStop Server 2020
Roland launches decor system
The
VarioPrint
iX-series is
an evolution
of the VarioPrint
i-series (see Me & My,
p48), Canon’s single pass
inkjet sheetfed production press,
commercially launched in 2016.
“The step forward from the
i-series to the iX-series is in
three areas: quality, media range
and inkload, and therefore
application versatility,” said
Peter Wolff, vice-president,
Production Printing Products
(PPP), EMEA Commercial Printing,
Canon Europe.
The new iX platform features
two base models, the 320 A4ipm
(9,000 SRA3iph) iX-3200 and the
210 A4ipm iX-2100, which is field
upgradable to the iX-3200 specs.
Both models feature Canon’s latest
iQuarius technology centred
on higher resolution 1,200dpi
heads, jointly developed with
Kyocera and a new quality and
nozzle control system, which
includes inline scanning and
auto compensation.
Commercial availability of the
iX-series, which will be sold
alongside the i-series, is slated
for July this year. Pricing is
dependent on configuration and
local markets, but starts at
around €750,000 to €900,000
for the two models.