Digital Printing-Wide Format - Roll to Roll

More coverage of Graph Expo product introductions . IT MAY be telling that the majority of presses in operation around the show floor of Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006 last month were of the digital variety. Offset units were conspicuous in their absence. Digital presses have become part of the commercial printing mainstream, rather than being a specialty product segment or market niche. To emphasize this, Hewlett-Packard shared results from an InfoTrends study that surveyed a sampling of digital color printing buyers and producers. The research firm found that the percentage of color printing jobs with a run length

Visitors to Graph Expo and Converting Expo in October can attend free seminars to learn about opportunities in wide-format printing and mailing/fulfillment. The Wide Format Pavilion will gather wide-format ink-jet technology and supplies into one area. The Wide Format Theater will offer in-depth seminars discussing what it takes to get started producing profitable wide-format imaging, how to configure a system, how to manage the production process, how to offer value-added services to increase income and how to find customers. The Mailing & Fulfillment Center will show in-plants the latest equipment and software in action. Managers can learn how to use mail and fulfillment to add print

THE DEMAND for high-quality color graphics in larger sizes has risen dramatically as the availability of larger ink-jet printers has increased. How do you decide what kind of ink-jet printer you should purchase? As with any business decision, you weigh your demand for the product against the cost of the equipment, materials and labor involved. If your customers are only interested in the capability of printing 13x19˝, then purchasing a 60˝ wide-format printer may not be a good choice. However, you should try to purchase above your current expectations so you can handle future growth or expand the services you currently offer.

In-plants that have installed wide-format ink-jet printers are finding many unique and unexpected uses for the devices. By Carol Brzozowski It was an odd request. A young man walked into the printing department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and asked the shop to print a life-size picture of himself, mount it on foam board and cut it out so it would stand by itself. Why? He planned to give it to his girlfriend as a summer break gift. "It was more of a reminder of him as much as it was a deterrent to any other boys, but it was funny,"

From posters to POP displays, from fine art to menus, there are a whole host of printed materials ripe for lamination these days. By Gretchen Peck Ranging from desktop to extra-wide-format models, laminators come in all shapes and sizes. Here's a guide to some of the new and notable solutions on the market. Banner American Products (www.banam.com) touts its ENTRY 4500 Laminating/Mounting machine as an ideal entry-level laminator for organizations producing large-format print. It's can laminate output from 36˝, 42˝ and 44˝ ink-jet printers. The ENTRY 4500 applies both top and bottom heat (courtesy of the 4,600-watt heater), operates at variable

Wide-format technology is advancing rapidly. Is it time for your in-plant to get on board? By Linda Formichelli You've probably heard Americans are getting bigger. But you may not have heard that our graphics are getting bigger, too. According to CK Associates, a consultancy, the aggregate growth rate in the market for ink-jet graphics greater than 45˝ wide will be 9 percent over the next few years. And according to Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa's senior marketing manager for color systems and workflow, the graphic applications for wide-format printers have a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent. In 2003, the engines, ink and media

Though many in-plants have purchased wide-format printers, many aren't using them to their full potential. Find out how some in-plants use new media to tackle new types of work. By Dan Halkyard In-plants that have purchased wide-format ink-jet printers to create signage and other graphics have learned an important lesson: having this equipment in-house saves money, affords greater control over final output and enhances the in-plant's overall value to the organization. The economics alone of owning a wide-format ink-jet printer present a compelling argument—a professional wide-format printer can be purchased for approximately $15,000, about the same amount as outsourcing the production of 100

If you want to keep your high-quality posters looking good, laminate them. Silicone Laminating Rollers Banner American's MightyLam 2700 laminates from .0015˝ to .010˝ gauge film and mounts materials up to 3⁄16˝ thick, easy-to-set heat controls, and a variable speed control for operating at speeds up to 10 feet per minute. It also features a safety shield, drop-down bottom idler for easy loading, silicone laminating rollers, reverse switch, adjustable slitters, forced air cooling, LCD readout, adjustable supply roll tension and variable speed control. Three Models Available CodaPro 44 laminators, from Coda, are available in three models. The CodaPro44 with double heated rollers will

Wide-format printers and laminators are on a lot of in-plant wish lists. Here's a look at what's out there for you. By MIKE LLEWELLYN Wide-format printers rank among the hottest items on in-plant managers' wish lists, with 17.2 percent planning to buy one this year, according to a recent IPG survey. Add in the 29 percent that already have a wide-format printer, and you can see how popular this equipment is becoming. This comes as no surprise to Amit Bagchi, director of marketing for Canon USA's Printer Division. "We have been a player for quite a while," he says. Bagchi recently helped unveil

In-plants that have wide-format ink-jet printers say the devices have quickly paid for themselves in increased business. by Caroline Miller According to Joe Goss, if there is one thing that has had an impact on the wide-format ink-jet printing market, it's the PowerPoint presentation. "We never realized the kind of demand there would be for charts and posters to accompany PowerPoint presentations," says Goss, director of university printing and materials management at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Ind. "The professors don't want to keep redoing the charts. They need something that is printed on a flexible material that they can roll up, place in a