Article prepared by C. Clint Bolte, C. Clint Bolte & Associates, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. For additional information please call 717-263-5768, fax 717-263-8945, or e-mail to clint@clintbolte.com.

DRUPA 2004 - Part II: Technology Advancements Aimed at Printing Product Enhancements

The DRUPA 2004 - Part I highlighted the strongest global economic outlook this observer has detected from attending four previous DRUPAs, a myriad of innovations introduced by the leading sheetfed press manufacturers, the concerted emphasis upon JDF/CIP4 and proven connectivity by more than 220 suppliers, and an unusual robot that perhaps GATF can add to their repertory of leading printing technologies.

This article will review new digital printing including exciting postpress systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) print solutions, web printing, and large scale postpress introductions.

Digital Printing

So called independents, that appear to me to be paid advocates, continue to forecast growth curves for digital print that to date have consistently proven to be exaggerated. My articles have not quoted them or their projections for years. This preliminary statement is not meant to dampen but rather add sobriety to a technology that in my opinion will never be more than a niche printing application relative to conventional printing. The ultimate size of this niche will strongly depend upon free enterprise among manufacturers to drive the cost of these "razors" down and the continued quality advancements in inkjet technologies to drive down the cost of the expendable "razorblades." Both of these favorable factors continue with DRUPA being the key venue for new product announcements by many reputed vendors.

More manufacturers now offer models with speeds of 100 A4 (8.5" by 11") a minute, which is 6,000 an hour. General commercial printers with proven demand on hand at that level usually prefer to get a matched pair of 40-60 cpm machines as this provides the necessary mechanical back up with the same labor cost as the single faster unit. The nagging differing substrate capabilities and print quality results between the mid-range and high speed units of the same manufacturer may cause some client or product shift limitations.

The new Delphax CR2000 rollfed digital press tops the industry's speed charts at 450 feet or nearly 2,000 images per minute on an 18.24" imageable web width at full single color 600 X 600 dpi resolution. This electron beam imaging engine is 50% greater than its predecessor and is capable of producing 300 page books (6 by 9) at the rate of one every five seconds. Muller Martini showed this unit inline with both a stitcher and perfect binder. This co-branded system will be called the SigmaPress™.

The unique SigmaPress™ layout has the Delphax feeding inline at a "T" either the stitching or perfect binding line which takes up about 2,500 square feet with adequate material handling space for separate covers and take away of finished product. There also appears to be adequate clearance access to the large (1.5" thick) three knife trimmer should that capacity be needed for conventionally gathered and glued perfect bound jobs. On the other hand considering the expected SigmaPress™ investment to be $3.5-4.0 million including $900 thousand for the CR2000, the printer must obviously have enough contracted volume to run this system several shifts a day without being concerned about utilizing a little available trimmer time.

Anne Mulcahy, Xerox's CEO and President, announced at their press conference the roll out of seven new digital systems at DRUPA. "Fifty percent of Xerox's sales have come from products introduced less than two years ago," she asserted.

The monochrome DocuTech's replacement is the Nuvera line with the first two models being the 100 and 120 listed for $177,000 and $217,000. The print resolution is 4800 X 600 dpi, which Xerox reports to equate to 156 lines per inch screen ruling range. Xerox's high speed scanner, the FreeFlow 665 and priced at $25,000, is compatible with the Nuvera line but would reduce its possible quality as its upper scan resolution is 1200 by 1200 dpi. The Nuvera cost per click will vary with the monthly volume contracted. With the Nuvera having 50% fewer parts than the DocuTech 6135 and 40% fewer moving parts than existing digital production printers, the maintenance click costs are presumed to be less than half that of the DocuTech. It is not known what the expected maintenance charges will be.

A UV coating option will be available for the iGen3 after the first of the year and will cost $35,000 as well as an oversized paper option up to 14.33" by 22.5" (364 mm X 571 mm) for $60,000. ProfitQuick™ software, which contains modules for a business planner and workflow cost estimation and comparison, is provided free with the purchased of an iGen3. No decision about price level has been determined for this software tool if the printer prospect only has lesser Xerox digital production equipment in mind. ProfitQuick™ is part of Xerox's ProfitAccelerator™ Digital Business Resource collection. Additional information can be obtained from xerox.com/profitquick or xerox.com/driveprofit.

The initial review of the ProfitQuick™ pie charts and breakeven graphs would suggest that the initial job of this software is to help the prospect feel more comfortable about buying the equipment. This appears to serve a similar purpose as the Life Cycle Management concept and reports that are provided free by MAN Roland and all other press manufacturers under differing names for prospects considering any press in their product line. This exceptional service was described in my DRUPA 2004-Part I report.

The book, Pantone™ Digital Chips, has been developed by Xerox and Pantone to be used by designers printing on a DocuColor 6060 with a DocuSP front end. It is expected to be available on the iGen3 before long.

The Xerox DocuPrint 1050 roll fed printer is aimed at publishing and transaction applications with speeds up 244 feet per minute at 600 dpi resolution. Though this expected speed is half that of the Delphax CR2000, the list price is the same at $900,000. Click charges are reported to be $.0032/foot of the 19.5" wide web, $.0017 expected for consumable, and then the paper costs.

Xerox Then and Now

Before leaving the Xerox discussion, it is noteworthy to contrast the difference between their DRUPA 2000 and 2004 presence. Two of their memorable press announcements in 2000 were that they were going to overtake Heidelberg in sales and they were going to establish an elite program limited to their largest clients. The first goal was perceived as a joke as no one outside Xerox cared how those two suppliers sales ranked relative to one another. The second goal created an outcry among printers who owned Xerox equipment as the old XBS was perceived to have taken much of its business from these same loyal Xerox printer clients. Reeling from that embarrassment, Xerox wisely announced their shutting down of the XBS to assure that there would be no further conflict of interest with their general commercial printer clients.

Deciding they wanted to market to the printing industry after all major Messe space was leased in 2000, Xerox paid an untold bundle to convert an old warehouse nearby in Düsseldorf and provided bus transportation over to their "Hall." The only problem was that the bus logistics broke down for many attendees in trying to get back to the main Messe. Overall these Xerox miscues overshadowed decent product announcements and created unnecessary embarrassment to long time Xerox observers four years ago.

What a turn around at DRUPA 2004! In addition to being much more "client profitability" focused (instead of Wall Street and Xerox profitability focused), their hall was comprised of a plethora of vendors whose digital finishing capabilities would mesh nicely with Xerox's various digital production presses. Collaboration and cooperation among complementary digital production vendors seemed to be an underlying positive theme as attendees toured Hall 13 at DRUPA 2004.

EFI highlighted its Fiery QX9000 server capable of driving print engines at speeds as high as 2,000 color variable data pages per minute, which is well above the upper limit of any engines to date. It will be driving the new Kodak Versamark VX5000 inkjet printer.

The printCafe brand has been dropped from EFI's marketing of their array of MIS packages. Each of the systems, i.e., Hagen, PSI, Logic, etc. is expected to offer a fulfillment module that is under development. This module will be an extension of the basic MIS job costing, finished goods package with an expected licensing cost of about $4,500 a year. For Logic this will be release V 20.1. According to Logic Fulfillment Product Manager Maureen Sullivan, more beta sites are being sought with a targeted marketing roll out for the fulfillment module to correspond with Graph Expo this fall in Chicago.

RFID

It seems that every logistics or IT publication picked up has an article concerning radio frequency identification (RFID). Without getting into a treatise of what RFID is (go to rfid.org), let me briefly state why it is of paramount importance to printers. The pharmaceutical industry, as a prime example, is fraught with combating counterfeit drugs. That industry feels that one of the quickest way to detect and thwart this fraud is by having the most secure and unimpeachable packaging and labels on their authentic products. In other words the printing surrounding the product will differentiate the good from the fake. Some sort of unique traceable, tag embedded branding in or on the packages appears to be the immediate answer.

While there are and will be state of the art conferences held worldwide on RFID, it is amazing what breadth and depth of printer solutions were shown at DRUPA 2004. Several exhibitors have equipment ready to ship while many others discussed their research and development concepts, which will give the industry the heads up on what to expect.

Bielomatik (bielomatik.de or bielomatik-at-drupa.com) introduced their reel-to-reel T-100 at DRUPA 2000. Their entry level TTL-100V currently produces laminated smart labels, tags, and tickets on a 4" wide web at speeds up to 200 fpm. Future plans include up to a 26" wide web capability. This single track system for HF and UHF transponder processing is modular allowing for custom finishing operations such as diecutting or fanfolding. This entry level unit costs 500,000 euros and can produce credit card size RFID product for only a few pennies each if operated on three shifts.

A separate finishing machine is used for 100% inspection and qualifying of each label plus the personalized data encoding into each chip or smart card. This stand alone TCT-100 unit is claimed by Bielomatik to be the fastest on the market at 295 fpm and costs 450,000 euros (about $540,000).

Melzer is another German manufacturer who first introduced their smart label production line at DRUPA 2000. Today their M4 system is comprised of two types of machines, five modules, and nine tools to cover a range of combination of products. Melzer has delivered their first machine to America to be used in the production of RFID-luggage tags at airports. These tags will be supplied with UHF transponders. Among the special features of these machines is the in-line selection of transponders, which ensures that only 100% tested transponders are processed for data encoding. Their product line costs between $350-600 thousand and produces UHF product that costs around fifty cents. Melzer has patents pending on their various processes.

MAN Roland announced laboratory experiments on a webfed device running in one of their German factories printing the requisite RFID antennae and then conductive polymers.

Creo announced a proprietary security technology called "Traceless" which can add invisible labels to printed pieces. The marks consist of a powder mixed with inks, toners, or other materials that can only be detected with the help of a compatible Creo reader. Individual patterns can mark cards and packages invisibly and uniquely. The name 'traceless' means that the markings are undetectable visually or chemically.

Flint Ink is developing proprietary tracking systems and x-ray fluorescent and taggants ink technologies to help counter the growing reality of product theft and counterfeiting. Precisia LLC, a Flint subsidiary, develops advanced and conductive inks for RFID antennas as well as active and interactive packaging applications. By establishing alliances with retailers and suppliers in the coatings, data, and microchip industries, Precisia is able to meet the need for the latest in conductive inks and anti-static coatings.

One of the costly limitations to the early adopters of RFID technologies, as so many in the printing industry have learned from being burned with early digital technologies, is the lack of universally accepted standards during the early product engagements. It is anticipated that one of the key organizations driving universal standards in the RFID arena will be EPC (electronic product code) Global (epcglobal.com). This is because Walmart and other global retailers and stakeholders comprise its membership. Surely print, packaging, and label standards will be a subset of this group's activities.

Web Presses

The universal trend for both web offset and rotogravure presses is more pages around the cylinder via wider presses. Despite the proliferation of the 16 page offset web press, single webs throwing off 24, 32, and 48 page signatures is now available from several vendors. The first 64-page press was prior to Drupa 2000 when a MAN Roland Lithoman V went into Austria followed in 2003 by a 72-pager into Germany. Gravure still leads the way with a 128 pages, two colors, being printed in one pass.

With the new web offset press trend moving to more pages for about the same labor complement this means the output or productivity could be 2-4 times as great as the 16-page web with only modest incremental costs. The full automated features on these larger presses are also making them just as cost effective at lower runs with faster make readies and lower start up spoilage. The point being made is that the medium sized web printer, who can't afford the eight figure investment for these automated, larger webs, must look for other ways to remain competitive and provide value perception.

KBA presented a study showing a 7% expected savings from their Cortina newspaper web running waterless. While plates and inks are a little more expensive, the faster make readies show significant labor and paper waste savings. There still exists some skepticism as to the long term practicality of waterless printing on a web press.

For the last twenty years there has been small incremental product enhancements in the overall state of the art in blankets but no real advancement in blanket technology. Under its Stabil-X technology France's MacDermid Solutions (macdermid.com) introduced their STX 107 blanket. Its new proprietary high toughness polymers, elimination of cotton canvas, and five stage construction is expected to double the life of the blanket, reduce the wash cycle and ink consumption, and provide faster ink/water balance.

The Tail Wagging the Dog - Postpress

While postpress highlights are concluding this article, their importance or interest expressed at DRUPA 2004 were a long way from the last story as the SigmaPress™ books-on-demand system by Muller Martini and Delphax, the RFID sophisticated finishing systems, and the Cito in-line diecutting on an SM 52 press attest.

The book cooling towers by AmbaFlex have been around since 1993. However, as perfect binding speeds climb these cooling towers become more important and their 40-60 thousand euro investment justified.

The material handling, take-away and finishing requirements for the wider, faster web publication presses are much more practical due to the proven abilities of Ferag's Unidrum and Muller's PrintRoll technologies which were introduced in the early 1990s.

There is little doubt in my mind that the best designed major booth at DRUPA or any other show for that matter was Muller Martini's. Instead of trying to schedule the demo times for major pieces of equipment, which every vendor does and show attendees scramble frustratingly to attend, Muller had a circular theater located in the middle of their booth. Revolving around, the theater brought every major piece of equipment to come into view for live running demonstrations. This slick live presentation did not even need pop corn to keep everyone's attention.

DRUPA - more than a trade show

After my sixth fourteen-hour day on my feet at DRUPA I ran into a client, who had just arrived in Düsseldorf, who asked me, "Did you find anything new that I should check out?" Considering how tired I felt late that day, I surprised myself at how enthused I babbled on about not only what was new but also what I thought it might mean to him. Much of the data concerning equipment and technology contained in this article can be obtained from other publications, probably even in a more articulate fashion. I have tried to add a perspective, opinionated nonetheless, of how certain trends will impact the small to medium sized printers. This group makes up the heart and soul of the North American printing industry.

My final editorial comment is directed toward those aspiring middle managers that have ink-in-their-veins and want more from the printing industry than merely a job, maybe a sense of passion or career calling. You simply have got to experience a DRUPA while you still have fire-in-your-belly.

Early in my printing career, during my corporate days, I had responsibility of strategic technology planning. I had DRUPA trips in my budget only to be talked out of them by my boss who did not want to incur the several thousand dollars travel expenses. "Read the articles. Invite the suppliers in," was his frugal and shortsighted advice. If I had it to do over, I would have used my own money to travel to DRUPA…time and again. It's that worthwhile!

The sights, smells, tastes (Altbier ain't like Bud Lite), and perspectives will truly add a new dimension to your career and your value to your company. You don't need to scour every single Hall as I do, but it costs nothing more to do so and might spark one more product development possibility.

Article prepared by C. Clint Bolte, C. Clint Bolte & Associates, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. For additional information please call 717-263-5768, fax 717-263-8945, or e-mail to clint@clintbolte.com.