The KBA RotaJET 76 also offers personalized production driven through the Adobe PDF Print Engine workflow. A powerful front-end is geared to the high data throughputs associated with industrial-scale print on demand applications. With even the largest data volumes, the press delivers full-color variable production at maximum speed, without stoppage and waiting times.

Still in R&D mode, the press shown at drupa is a prototype; pilot placement is expected in late 2012, about 12 months since first printed pages were produced last November. At drupa, the machine is linked to a Muller Martini Sigmaline to produce variable content saddle-stitched products. An automatic reel stand with integration into automated paper logistics will be a future option to further boost productivity, KBA said. A dispersion coater also is planned as a future option for further quality enhancement. Internal communication is compliant with the JDF standard, as is the integration with third party systems—another feature which helps to optimize processes and lower costs.

Fujifilm also launched a digital inkjet web press at drupa 2012 as a technology showcase. It enables duplex printing within a single tower design, resulting in a compact footprint, while retaining a maximum printing speed of 417 fpm.

The press uses Fujifilm’s new high performance VIVIDIA ink, developed specifically to facilitate superb image quality. This ink allows high-density images to be printed at high speed, with less ink transfer from sheet to sheet, with high-quality reproduction possible, even on thin paper. A variety of ink types, including both pigment and dye-based inks, has been developed for use with this press which, when combined with the ultra-compact footprint, maximizes the application flexibility and versatility of the machine.

With conventional web offset presses, printing sizes are limited by the size of the plate cylinder. With digital web presses that enable direct data printing, however, there is more flexibility in the cut-off size of the paper. Digital web presses can accommodate a wider variety of jobs, said Fujifilm, while remaining highly efficient for standard jobs that utilize the same paper size. They also can facilitate a reduction in paper waste, often making digital web presses a more sustainable solution.

Fujifilm’s digital inkjet web press ran live at drupa 2012 and will become commercially available in late 2012, the firm said.

Meanwhile, HP introduced no fewer than 10 digital printing systems in Germany, including a trio of higher-speed, wide-web inkjet presses. For more details on the equipment it, Kodak, INX, Océ (Canon), and Timson demonstrated, please read “Inkjet Web Innovations” at www.myprintresource.com/article/10682515 or "Ink's Jet Age" at www.myprintresource.com/10705725.