Print + Innovation: further challenge to the printing industry

IGAS ’15 getting ready for the solution

The market environment in printing industry is going through rapid changes. The print volume in the developed countries is decreasing while that in the developing countries is rapidly expanding. With the growth of the Internet, the role and value of print media is being changed. These global environmental changes have a big impact on the printing industry. The innovation by proactive thinking and action is a crucial aspect of the printing industry in the 21st century. What are these innovations and how to adapt those changes, were the few questions addressed at the recently concluded IGAS 2015 Media Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Here, Varsha Verma of Print & Publishing brings a report.Under the theme of “Print + Innovation – Further challenge to the print technology”, IGAS 2015, aiming at innovation in the printing and communication industry, is all set to showcase the latest technology, solutions, and innovation potentiality for the future of printing industry, from September 11-16, 2015 at Tokyo Big Sight, Japan.

IGAS 2015 Media Conference was recently held at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, where select media from countries like India, China, Australia, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan had gathered alongwith media from Japan, to know more about IGAS. The conference started with the IGAS 2015 Outlook, wherein Takeshi Hirotsune, secretary general of Japan Graphic Arts Suppliers Committee (JGASC) declared that as of date the number of exhibitors is 323, using 2065 units of booth space.

These would include wide range of exhibitors from the prepress, print, and post press fields while from the digital print field, there will be significant number of companies. “The general theme of IGAS 2015 is print + innovation, further challenge to the print technology. We will make IGAS 2015 an exhibition which provides problem solving solutions and opportunities for communication for print by involving not only the print related companies but also the print buyers and the brand owners,” he said.

Salient features...

It was also declared that IGAS will switch to a cycle of three years now onwards. The main events at IGAS will include +Session where over 100 special lectures, panel discussions, and seminars will be held to attract key visitors such as managers who make purchasing decisions. Topics directly related to business, such as the latest printing technologies, marketing, business style innovation and new business model will be discussed. While, +Tour will feature professionally guided tours with total 5,000 participants capacity. This will be the perfect chance for exhibitors to promote the products, technologies and services offered by their companies. A special tour allowing visitors from abroad will also be offered.

Another important feature would be + Live Studio, where industry specialists will summarise the exhibits, speak and discuss topics, highlights and industry trends. This also will throw the spotlight on the normally overlooked small-scale exhibits and exhibits in new categories. A talk show will be presented and timely information will be offered to enhance visitor satisfaction.

An exhibition area for new technology and new business fields ‘+Future’ would showcase cutting-edge/next-generation technology, future marketing/business models including 3D printers, printed electronics, next generation inkjet system and nanotechnology, etc. Further, business-matching corner for exhibitors and visitors from abroad will be featured in + International. Here, exhibitor information by multi lingual presentaions including English, Chinese, Korean and some other languages will be provided. Also, business matching services by professional coordinators will be prepared.

Exhibitors preview...

Prominent exhibitors like Komori Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd, Horizon International Inc, Screen Graphic and Precision Solutions Co Ltd, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Japan Co Ltd, Ricoh Company Ltd, Miyakoshi Printing Machinery Co Ltd, Sakurai Graphic Systems Corp, Morisawa Inc, Fujifilm Global Graphic Systems Co Ltd, Canon Inc and Taiyo Kikai Ltd previewed their showcasing solutions at the exhibition to be held in the month of September this year.

Komori Corporation is aiming at elimination of all bottlenecks in printing companies – production cost, education, colour, use of IT, secure the volume of work, expansion of the business area and human resources. The IGAS exhibits would include core products – offset printing systems + digital printing system including Lithrone GX, Lithrone G40, Lithrone A37, Impremia IS29 and KStation 4 and K-ColorSimulator 2. While, their PESP (Printing Engineering Service Provider) portfolio will include Impremia C Series, Apressia series, K Supply and Komori Kare.

Natsohiko Yamada from Horizon International informed that they will have a 1000 sq m booth at IGAS, under the theme ‘The world loves books.’ They will focus on post press as it is the key to production efficiency. The booth would be divided into distinct zones – die-cut, binding, stitching, folding, crease & perforate and smart finishing solution.

IGAS 2015 stand at the Print China 2015

Lisa Watson from HP Indigo & Inkjet Web Press Solutions, Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, explained their theme for IGAS – Innovation wins. She explained that innovation is multi-dimensional through partnerships, synergy and acceleration. She gave interesting case study of Coke using personalisation in their ad campaigns. She told that at IGAS, they will showcase full HP Graphics Solutions portfolio, including end-to-end complement of solution partners. They will also highlight customer and brand applications focus in commercial printing, photo, labels & packaging, publishing, design and direct mail.

Yoshinori Tsuruya from Screen focussed on how to diversify business in printing industry. At IGAS, Screen will showcase TruePress Jet520HD, TruePress Jet L350UV, Jet Converter L350 and Motioncutter.

Junichi Arai from Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Japan explained their products portfolio in office business products, production print, healthcare, optical products & systems and functional materials. Their theme for IGAS 2015 is Advanced synergy of offset and digital.

The showcase would include electrophotography digital products – bizhub Press C1100, bizhub Press C1070 and bizhub Press C70hc; monochrome digital press – bizhub Press 2250/1250; workflow solutions; proof and CMS solutions; spectrophotometer and softwares. They will focus on new business like packaging printing, and label printing, by announcing new products in these categories. Kaname Miyazaki from Ricoh Co Ltd informed that they will showcase Pro C9100, Pro C7100S, VC6000 and workflow solutions. He also focused on the transition from print service providers (PSP) to marketing service providers (MSP). Miyakoshi Printing Machinery will display MHL18A rotary sleeve-offset press and MJP20MX full-colour waterbased inkjet printer.

Sakurai Graphic System Corp will display direct servo drive cylinder type roll to roll screen printing line MSDR60, B2 wide 5 colour sheetfed offset press with LED-UV system Oliver-580SDC. Akihiko Morisawa from Morisawa Inc explained their proposed display profile – advanced type font solution for embedding, embedding font for CE devices, C catalogue + ebook, webfonts, etc.

Hirotsugo Hosono from Fujifilm Global Graphic Systems told that Fujifilm will focus on digital press solutions, offset printing and package printing at IGAS. They will showcase Superia CtP system, Flenex water-based flexographic plate making system and xmf workflow solutions. Jun Ozawa from Canon Inc Tokyo explained their broad portfolio in the production printing arena. He highlighted their dry toner and inkjet technology for DPS, newspaper and commercial print while liquid toner for package printing. He said that Canon is new in packaging printing and will offer digital printing packaging solutions also at IGAS. Taiyo Kikai Ltd will offer STF- 340 mid-range flexo printing press, STF-370 C low-end flexo printing press and TFX-350 highend flexo printing press.

Besides, Junichiro Yamashita from Brighter Later discussed on Printing Market in Japan: Now and Future – How IGAS will drive the innovation. He explained the concept of MarTech— Marketing Technology which integrates two worlds of marketing and technology.

“You imagine, we print; we create, we print”

–says Timmy Dang of Impression Creative Agency, Ludhiana, in conversation with Varsha Verma. 

We are a small company, with big ideas, says Timmy Dang (Sukhwinder Singh) of Impression Creative Agency, the winners of HP Digital Print Excellence Award 2015 in the decoration category of sign & display. “We started our operations in printing in 1998, by printing carry bags. I am basically a graphic designer and art director, my passion being design,” he shares. Impression Creative Agency offers designing services like logos, brand management, packaging, etc. “We also offer decoration solutions for offices, restaurants and residence,” shared Timmy.

“We also offer full turnkey solution, right from design to printing and fabrication. For our offset printing needs, we have a set of high-quality printers on our panel. Also, we have installed HP Latex 2260 printing machine. Our award-winning Belfrance Chocolates & Bakeries project uses myriad capabilities of the latex printer,” he shares.

For Belfrance, they created the logo, pattern and theme of the showroom, which included wall papers, glass printing, ceilings, floor tiles, furniture (leatherette printing), murals, etc. The effect is scintillating, with each element of the store in sync with the theme. The whole project took four months to complete and with the help of Hp latex printer, Timmy was able to deliver excellent prints on varied substrates.

“My vision is that design is everything. I look forward to design textiles, shoes, lamp shades, interior designing, etc. I feel India has huge capability but limited exposure. My motto is simple – you imagine, we print; we create, we print,” concludes Timmy.

“Indian market is proactive rather than reactive now”

said Jeff de Klejin, director and general manager, graphic solutions business – sign & display, printing and personal systems group, HP APJ, in an interview with Varsha Verma. 

HP has recently unveiled the HP Latex 3500 and 3100 printers, expanding its proven HP Latex Technology portfolio, and grew its digital corrugated offering with the HP Scitex 17000 Corrugated Press. These new solutions help sign and display print service providers (PSPs) and corrugated converters increase productivity and workflow efficiency. Jeff de Klejin, director and general manager, graphic solutions business – sign & display, printing and personal systems group, HP APJ, shared, “We are looking at newer applications like decorative wall paper, flooring furniture for both residential as well as commercial purposes. We are also looking at printing with cheaper and recyclable materials like polypropylene, besides offering multiple possibilities on paper and textiles.”

To remain competitive, high-volume PSPs are constantly challenged to deliver short turnaround times across varied applications, while maintaining top-of-the-line quality. HP is addressing these challenges to better meet the various production needs of sign and display PSPs with the new 3.2-meter (126-inch) HP Latex 3500 and 3100 printers, which build on the success of its more than 26,000 HP Latex printers installed worldwide. “There is a market of 380 billion sq ft prints, which is growing at 48 percent year on year,” added Tomas Martin, business manager, HP sign & sisplay, graphic solutions business, printing and personal system, Asia Pacific and Japan.

“PSPs are increasingly faced with complex jobs and shorter lead times, stretching existing equipment to meet client demand and digital is the only solution,” said Jeff. Talking about the Indian market, he shared, “India is top five in the APJ segment and is fast in adopting new technologies and HP Latex is making strong inroads here. Indian market is innovative and PSPs are coming up with very creative solutions for their customers.”

“There has been an overall transformation of Indian market, which was earlier more reactive, but now it is more proactive. We are extremely optimistic about this market as the macroeconomic environment is also conducive. PSPs are brave enough to do something different, be successful at it and have followers later on,” added Jeff.

Talking about the packaging segment, Jeff said, the new HP Scitex 17000 and 15500 Corrugated Press help converters address market demand for shorter runs and faster turnaround times. The new press features the recently introduced HP Scitex Corrugated Grip and HP HDR230 Scitex Inks and prints at speeds of up to 1,000 sq m/hr (10,764 sq f/hr) for economical, high-volume production of industrial-grade corrugated boards.

On a concluding note, Jeff said, “HP is your partner to grow and expand and have the broadest portfolio to serve all kind of needs.”

Helping people preserve and cherish their memories!

Photobooks is an ever-growing segment of digital printing in India. More and more people are opting for digital solutions, rather than silver halide solution to create and preserve their memories. Here, two top-of-line photobook printers in India, who recently won the HP Digital Print Excellence Awards 2015 - Asia Pacific and Japan, share more about it, in conversation with Varsha Verma.
Weddings in India offer numerous business opportunities…wedding albums being one of the must-have items on the list. These wedding albums have now come of age, becoming a style statement and lot of effort goes in designing them. Value-added features like innovative boxes, UV printing, lamination, etc make them striking. Here, Varsha Verma talks to Klick Photobook and Canvera Digital to know more about this business of digital printing.

Dr Dhiraj Kacker of Canvera Digital

Klick Photobook – Sweet and Slim, Surat: With their tag line ‘Sweet and Slim,’ Klick Photobook is one of the leading names in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, in photobook segment. “We were a photo lab since 1993 but we started this digital printing business in 2009, with the installation of HP Indigo 5500 and later HP Indigo 5600. In 2014, we also installed Scodix S75, the first machine in western India, to offer ‘touch and feel’ effect to our prints,” told Bhavinbhai Navapara of Klick Photobook.

“The HP Indigo machine offers better quality than silver halide as there is lot of picture depth as well,” he shared. They produce 150-200 albums in a day, with each album having an average number of 70-80 pages. With a 10,000 sq ft facility, they have a staff strength of 100, with 45 people engaged in just binding.

On asking about his reaction on getting the HP Digital Print Excellence Award 2015, he shared that he feels good on being rewarded for his work as it also brings future benefit in terms of marketing support.

Bhavin Bhai is so impressed with the HP machine that he might go for a second machine like HP Indigo 6000/6600P and HP Indigo 10000 and targets to produce 300 albums everyday.

Canvera Digital – Preserving Memories, Bangalore: With their tagline ‘Preserving Memories,’ Canvera Digital is utilising the capabilities of digital printing to do just that. Dr Dhiraj Kacker, founder & managing director, Canvera Digital, shared, “We are a seven-and-half year old company and our focus is only Indian market. We create photobooks, of which 70-80 percent are wedding albums.”

“We are photographer-centric and have a database of 10,000 photographers on our web hosting platform. We offer design and printing services,” he told. For this, they have three HP Indigo 3550 installed in Bangalore. They have 15 regional offices and 450 sales people in 200 cities.

What’s more? Each photobook printed at Canvera Digital comes with a mobile app, which is a digital version of the book and can be shared on all social media platforms. “We wish to help people not just preserve memories, but also share them,” he shared.

On asking about winning the HP Digital Print Excellence Award 2015, Dr Dhiraj replied that they have been a regular winner at these awards, which is a recognition to their work.

“It’s a happy business and it is ever-evolving,” concluded Dr Dhiraj.

A visit to HP Graphics Solutions Centre of Excellence and New Ink Plant in Singapore!

HP has created a new facility to help printing companies and brands in Asia Pacific and Japan to bring their ideas to life. A group of media professionals from Asia were recently invited to look into this centre of excellence. Here, Varsha Verma of Print & Publishing brings a report.
HP’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Singapore aims to educate and inspire printing companies and their customers - including brands, agencies and print buyers - in Asia Pacific and Japan about new opportunities made possible by HP digital printing solutions. Spread over an area of 21,000 sq m, the facility provides customers with one-stop access to HP’s broad digital printing portfolio and solutions, as well as a space to connect with experts and share creative and technical best practices.

The facility further supports worldwide Indigo ink volume production by expanding local capabilities from the current ink series to the fast-growing new generation of inks for the HP Indigo 10000, 20000 and 30000 Digital Presses.

“Brand owners are facing increased competition as consumer choice and expectations have exploded. As a result, they’ve moved into the digital world to connect more powerfully with their customers,” said Gido van Praag, vice president, Graphics Solutions Business, HP Asia Pacific and Japan. “The HP Centre of Excellence aims to give them the tools to compete, helping brands identify new ways to combine their unique skills with the industry’s broadest portfolio of innovative digital printing solutions, and its unparalleled application capabilities.”

“We believe in the ecosystem of innovation, which includes print buyer/brand owner innovation, print service provider innovation and go-to-market innovation,” Gido said. He mentioned the innovative use of digital prints at Belfrance Bakers & Chocolate (India), Forbidden City, Coco-cola, Durex personalised campaign, Shanghai Natural History Museum, etc.

He also mentioned about digital going from short-runs to long runs. “Digital prints accounts for 38 percent of $50.6 billion graphics hardware and ink value,” told Gido. “Also, HP’s digital value proposition for labels and packaging is increasing. Digital has an exciting time today and the future is even more exciting,” he said.

HP Graphics Solutions Centre of Excellence unlocks the full power of digital printing 

The complete graphics portfolio and partner solutions along with an extensive gallery of applications – from stamps to building wraps - can be seen in the new facility to make it easier for customers to unlock the full power of digital printing.

Printing companies can benchmark and conduct end-to-end application testing of their HP digital printing equipment. Inspirational ideas and pilot projects in a real-world production environment, can be easily seen here. The applications are displayed in well demarcated zones – living room showcase (HP latex technologies), supermarket showcase – labels & packaging, bookstore showcase – publishing, general commercial printing, art gallery, etc.

Fully operational HP Indigo Digital Presses, HP Scitex Industrial Presses, HP Latex and HP Designjet Printers can be seen here.

Also displayed was the newly launched HP PageWide printer, which is specially focused to take on the blue print market segment in India, besides churning out very good quality full-colour prints.

HP Ink Manufacturing Facility 

The increase in ink manufacturing capabilities supports the growing demand of Indigo next-generation presses, which are reaching 150 installations worldwide. These installations are in addition to more than 6,000 HP Indigo Presses now in 120 countries.

The 10,000 sq m expansion to the ink manufacturing plant supports global production of specialized HP Indigo ElectroInks for the new generation of HP Indigo 10000, 20000 and 30000 Digital Presses. The Indigo 10000, the first B2-format digital press with offset quality, enables print service providers, photo specialty shops and book printers to provide high value, high productivity applications. The Indigo 20000 and the Indigo 30000 Digital Presses are the first digital presses designed to meet the needs of label & flexible packaging and folding carton converters.

To allow HP Indigo customers in the region to order and receive more than 3,000 specially mixed ink colours within short lead times, the plant also manufactures Pantone-licensed spot colour inks. Substrate testing and certification capabilities are built into the plant to enable substrate manufacturers, suppliers and HP Indigo press owners from Asia Pacific and Japan and Europe, the Middle East and Africa to evaluate substrate compatibility with HP Indigo Digital Presses.

“Short run will become a thing of the future”

says Gido van Praag, vice president and general manager, HP Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, in conversation with Varsha Verma. 

There are amazing opportunities in India. The photo market in India is very strong and PSPs in India are making best use of the HP Indigo technology. Infact, all categories of printing are doing well in India. We are also focusing on the publishing market and are talking to leading publishers and educating them on the digital switch advantage as it has tremendous opportunity in the supply chain estimation. Short-run will become a thing of the future. Inkjet web presses were launched by HP four years back and have been accepted in China, Australia, Japan and are now been introduced in India. The market is still naïve and we hope to soon see a installation of HP web press, said Gido van Praag, vice president and general manager, HP Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

“HP is leading in large format production and we see tremendous opportunity in the labels and packaging segment. Our HP Scitex machines are already being used in corrugated segment. While, the latex printers are increasingly being used in the decorative or wall paper sector,” he added.

On asking about the efforts HP is making to educate the masses, Gido replied, “We organize lot of conferences and events and do face-to-face interactions with brand owners or brand agencies. Infact, we have been innovation leaders in brands. We have a special channel for labels and packaging in tier 2 cities.”

Replying to a question on the issue on high click charges, Gido replied, “As we grow, we will benefit our customers as well. We will share economies of scale but it will be evolutionary, not revolutionary. Besides, click charge is not an issue if the PSPs do different jobs and add more value to their offerings.”