The toppers at InterTech Technology Award - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

AMS Spectral UV’s XP Series LED-UV curing modules

LED-UV curing offers an alternative to IR drying and UV curing solutions for solidifying inks and coatings as part of the print production. XP Series LED-UV modules special chips create UV lights which can dry the inks the moment the light hits them, offering printers speed of production, and lower energy consumption. The system can be retrofitted into old as well as new presses. According to experts, the average life span of an LEDintegrated in a fixture is 25,000 to 30,000 hours. 

CGS Publishing Technologies International’s Oris Flex Pack - Web Visualizer

The Oris Flex Pack – Web Visualizer is a digital proofing, mock-up and proofing system for flexographically, offset, digital or gravure printed folding carton and flexible packaging. According to CGS, whether you have one press or one hundred presses worldwide, a packager or a designer for the brands, the Oris Flex Pack – Web Visualiser, the fully-integrated turnkey software and hardware solution provides significant cost savings and quality improvements for design, printing, and converting professionals.

ColorLogic’s ColorAnt 4.0

ColorAnt was first released in 2011 and since then three major versions have been released. The most recent being ColorAnt 4 in April 2017 incorporates spectral measurement data optimisation by using a range of factors, including addressing redundant patches, correcting measurement errors taking neighbouring colors into account and smoothing by applying sophisticated algorithms.

Esko XPS Crystal

Esko’s new, unique XPS Crystal, part of a complete automated platemaking system, is a digitally controlled LED UV exposure unit, providing nearly simultaneous main and back exposures and supports all photopolymer flexo plates. According to the judges, the XPS Crystal streamlines flexographic platemaking—by automatically moving plates from the imager to the exposure unit—and improves plate consistency with UV LEDs.

Gallus Labelfire 340

Launched as Gallus DCS 340 at Labelexpo Europe 2015, the kit became Gallus Labelfire 340 after the restructuring of Heidelberg digital printing portfolio. The UV inkjet press with a native resolution of 1,200dpi, a speed of 50 meters per minutes. The Labelfire 340 is fine-tuned to offer label printers everything they could hope for, be it the added value cold foil on the wrapper of the chewing guy or industrial barcoding data, and additional cold foil underlay, which has to be digitally printed, short characters, a full Pantone gamut with CMYK and green, orange and violet inks, an overprint varnish before the label is die-cut, plus more. 

Heidelberg Prinect Press Center XL 2 with Wallscreen XL and Intellistart 2

Prinect integrates Heidelberg’s offset and digital printing systems into one continuous workflow, and offers comprehensive functions for quality assurance and documentation as well as standardisation and production of repeat jobs. Navigated printing is made possible by Heidelberg’s patented Intellistart 2 software. Automatic processes are autonomously completed in parallel and in a logical sequence insofar as possible. Intellistart 2 automatically calculates the quickest sequence for the job change and reliably and safely navigates the operator through the makeready process.

HP PrintOS

The HP PrintOS, the new cloud-based production environment was part of HP’s Drupa portfolio. HP describes the PrintOS as “a print production operating system for print service providers” (PSPs) involving a suite of tools and a set of apps. It runs apps developed by HP and by third parties, and can also run applications developed by customers. In mixed production environments, it would also deliver jobs to non-HP digital devices and to analogue devices.

HP PageWide Web Press T490HD

HP new 762mm-wide (30in) PageWide Web Press is powered by the High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) technology, which enables higher quality and productivity – 2,400 native nozzles per inch, dual droplet and precision placement at a speed of 1,000 ft/minute in performance mode and at 500 ft/min in quality mode.

Just LED moduLight - Dual Illuminant D50/D65

The LED light sources are being used in general lighting, either as retrofits or in place of conventional light sources such as fluorescent, halogen or incandescent lamps. The challenge this presents is the spectral distribution of LEDs differs substantially from all other light sources and, as a result, the visual perception of colours viewed by them changes. This kit accurately simulates the LED viewing to standardise lighting throughout the value chain.

Komori Impremia IS29

Komori's "litho quality" sheetfed inkjet Impremia IS29 is a UV based digital press runs at a speed of 3,000sph simplex and prints at a resolution of 1,200x1,200dpi on a maximum sheet size of 585x750mm. He IS features instant drying, double-sided one-pass printing at a speed of 1,500sph and the ability to immediately start post-press processes. The IS29 is also seen as a complementary machine to the H-UV equipped Komori offset presses, both sheetfed and web. 

MGI Digital Technology’s AIS SmartScanner Intelligent Registration System

The AIS SmartScanner equipped on the MGI JetVarnish 3D and 3DS is an artificial intelligence registration technology. The JetVarnish is a technology solution for embellishing offset, flexo and digital printed jobs. The AIS SmartScanner individually makes adjustments and corrections for each printed sheet. It requires no registration marks and treats each sheet like a separate, unique job. The cost-savings are dramatic. It significantly reduces time-consuming, expensive setup processes and job monitoring work tasks. Increased operational productivity and improved quality of every piece produced are the result of MGI’s major innovation in print registration technology. The JetVarnish’s print speeds are up to 4,800 A3 sheets per hour in flat mode (2D) and up to 1,500 A3 sph in 3D mode.

Scodix Ultra Pro with Foil digital enhancement press

The Scodix Ultra digital press can produce 1,250 B2+ size sheets an hour. It can handle stock from 135 to 675gsm on thicknesses up to 700 microns. Replacing the conventional analogue method and eliminating the need for dies, plates, moulds and other expensive makeready costs, the result is a break-even point of around 9,000 sheets and a huge cost saving for short to medium runs. Scodix incorporates the patented RSP (Rotate Scale Position) based on 4 CCD cameras to deliver pinpoint accuracy, PolySense 500 polymer enables ultra-fine details, and “the highest level of gloss” attainable for print. The additional module Scodix Foil, running inline with the Scodix Ultra Pro digitally creates a brilliant foil effect simply, in-house with no waste or mess.

Screen Truepress Jet 520HD Continuous Feed Roll Inkjet Press

The Jet520HD is designed for high-quality colour direct mail, brochure and book printing. The modular twin-engine inkjet web press that can print up to four colours on a 520mm web. The heads boast a maximum resolution of 1,200dpi and support four droplet sizes down to 2pl. The press runs at 50m/min at maximum resolution, rising to 120m/min at 600dpi. It has a monthly duty cycle of up to 50m A4 pages. The Jet520HD is a four-colour inkjet printer, although the modular design allows for extra head units to be added in future

Technology Watch-Image Test Labs - Image Grader TM

Image Test LabsTM (ITL), a division of Technology Watch, and its Image Grader provides the print technical team with standardised measurement for interpreting specific output results for improving the quality of its offset or digital presses. As a neutral testing source, ITL validates via its Image Grader tests prints through a real condition report which identifies areas that may be out of specification.