Bringing Print Back to Miami Beach

Maximizing Efficiencies through Automation

Steve Miller, Kodak

Friday, March 2, 2:00 - 3:15 pm

The challenges in today’s marketplace require true automation and integration to separate best-in-class print service providers from their competition. Whether you are a package printer or specialize in publishing or commercial print, success relies on investments being utilized to their fullest potential. By automating and integrating business production workflow systems, printers will drive costs out of their workflow systems through increased visibility, streamlined efficiencies, reduction of manual touch points, and minimizing human error.

Mutoh America, Inc. and Arlon Graphics (Booth 769) have teamed up for the fourth year to provide car wrap printing and application demonstrations. Visit the Mutoh/Arlon booth to see the new four color Eco-solvent ValueJet 1638-64" printer. With its staggered dual-head design, the VJ 1638 prints up to a 545 sqft, making it the perfect printer for a busy print shop printing car wraps, banners, and other roll-to-roll materials. Mutoh will also showcase the ValueJet 1324-54" Eco-solvent printer and Kona 1400 plotting cutter for onsite decal making.

Caldera (Booth 1102) will demonstrate the new edition of its RIP software, Caldera V9, which harnesses the latest version of the Adobe print engine, APPE 2.5, to deliver additional productivity features and refinements. Enhanced color options, improved transparency handling, and faster previewing join with practical additions to provide Caldera’s user base with the broadest functionality available in this market. Operators can now double-click a job within Spooler to reopen it within the Print window, allowing them to verify parameters or resubmit it with modified settings. LiveSpooler introduces a new XML exchange protocol which allows for the monitoring of offline devices within the print environment.

ImageOne Impact (Booth 685) will be presenting a several new products. Clear Grommets are now available for all digital printers and banner makers. Wrap Caps are wrappable hubcaps for vehicle wraps—your wheels turn but your hubcaps don’t. The LCT Liner Cutting tool cuts only the liner and not your media. Wall Mount Banner brackets are now available in black and are great for hanging banners from walls. Attendees can also pick up ImageOne Impact’s new 2012 catalog with 40+ pages of new products.

Color-Logic (Booth 1123) will show the versatility of its Process Metallic Color System by featuring actual printed samples produced using offset, flexography, digital, wide-format, and other processes. Process experts will be available to discuss the advantages of the system for brand managers, graphic designers, and their printers.

Esko (Booth 647) will show its design-to-print-to-cut workflows for sign and display shops. i-cut Suite pre-production tools streamline the workflow for narrow-format and large-format printers, from prepress to finished product. Components include i-cut Preflight, handling preflighting and editing of incoming PDF files. i-cut Layout builds and edits sheet layouts, ensuring jobs make the optimum substrate use through nesting and tiling. i-cut Vision Pro ensures that die-less cutting contours match printed images. i-cut Automate automates all these functions in a single workflow and can also be integrated with MIS, enabling automatic job creation.

Additionally, Esko will feature the Kongsberg i-XE10, a finishing solution for short-run production. It is specifically designed for finishing small-format, prototype, sample and short-run digital printed materials. The Kongsberg i-XE10 opens opportunities for creative, new applications with irregular shapes or finishing structures, handling a maximum sheet size of 35x47 inches.