Based in Stoney Creek near Toronto, DTM Flexo Services began representing the Soma range of equipment in early 2021.

“I recently visited SOMA headquarters in the Czech Republic, had a close-up look at the equipment, and was very impressed with the company’s technology and manufacturing expertise,” notes David McBeth, DTM Flexo Services president.

“Soma is excited about the new focus DTM Flexo Services has placed on Soma S-Mount mounters, and the work we are accomplishing in Canada,” adds Garrett Taylor, Soma sales director, North America. “We are actively participating together on a number of opportunities. Most of these include presses and mounters.”

This development is in response to increasing customer request to give greater capability and flexibility to their UV flatbed investment. Although not an automated system, this capability allows Xante customers without UV roll systems to gain flexibility without the need for increased capital investment.

”Xante is continually trying to improve its designs. It’s truly our passion.” said Robert C. Ross Jr., president and CEO of Xante. ”By utilizing our existing designs and offering new and creative additions to them, Xante customers can only increase their ROI, become more efficient and serve creative new market trends.”

The five models in the range consist of two Luxel T-X (high speed) models and three Luxel T-S (standard) models.

Job and system management is performed through a PC interface via a fibre-optic cable. Plates can be loaded into multiple cassettes, aside from the cassette in use. Further, 8-mm clamps with an option for 6 mm on the T-X model ensure compatibility with a variety of web and sheetfed presses.

Sean Lane, product management and support manager, Offset Products, said, “We’re delighted to be able to bring this enhanced platesetter to market. With its compact size, easy operability, and imaging improvements, it’s designed to add value to offset print businesses and improve ROI. We’re proud to continue to support offset print businesses and help them to boost efficiencies in a challenging market.”

It is empowered with Xaar’s aQ Power Technology that has a redesigned internal architecture, new water compatible materials capable of coping with an extended working range of pH levels, and a drive system enabling optimum drop ejection.

Xaar Aquinox can achieve speeds of over 100m/min, a native resolution of 720dpi and firing frequency of up to 48kHz.

John Mills, CEO of Xaar, said, “The introduction of the Xaar Aquinox, powered by our ImagineX platform, is our most significant product launch in recent years. The Aquinox demonstrates our commitment to driving the future of inkjet into new and ever more sustainable applications, and we are proud of this revolutionary transformation in aqueous inkjet printing. From textiles to ceramics and packaging, we see the Xaar Aquinox breaking new ground, enabling new water-based print applications, many of which were previously not possible with inkjet.”

Designed for easy integration of inkjet printer technology into existing production equipment, the 12K Printbar System offers four-colour process printing in a compact form that requires only 21 in. of space in the print direction.

“We designed the 12K Printbar System to help customers overcome the common challenge of space constraints and to make it easy to integrate with existing processes, all while opening new possibilities for the addition of digital print to existing assets,” said Greg Balch, vice president and general manager of the Fujifilm Integrated Inkjet Solutions group. “Our experience is that customers are seeking a fast, flexible, and reliable solution that can both improve their current inkjet production efficiency and enable the addition of inkjet for new applications.”

“At Xeikon we take customer input seriously. Our solutions are cloud-connected, providing us with a lot of data on how the equipment is performing. This results in the ability to provide more automation in combining production runs to increase efficiency,” said Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s VP of Marketing, ”That is why, along with the presses, we develop fully digital converting and embellishing products such as the Xeikon LCU which can be configured into hybrid print and converting solutions.”

Xeikon hybrid solutions can hold both Xeikon’s Cheetah (dry-toner) as well as Panther (UV inkjet) technologies.

“Some of our customers call a hybrid solution the best of both worlds,” said Weymans, ”All developments at Xeikon fit into our mantra of digitizing label manufacturing with the purpose of enabling label converters to develop a profitable and sustainable future-proof business.”

Also, Xeikon announces its PantherCure LED series, a new family of inks for use with Panther technology. The PantherCure LED inks come with new waveforms, software and optimized screening.

“Today we already supply LED UV-inks to the Xeikon Jetrion base, therefore adding UV-LED inks was the next logical step for our Panther technology. Just last year we introduced a new generation of presses, the successors of the Xeikon PX2000 and Xeikon PX3000, affirming our commitment to the label market and UV inkjet label business,” said Weymans.

The new inks will be available on newly manufactured Xeikon PX3300 and Xeikon PX2200 from October 2022. Starting in 2023, current customers of prior models of the Panther Press, Xeikon PX3000 and PX2000 will be eligible for field upgrades.

The new hybrid printing solution, based on the Xeikon PX3300 (Panther), will be featured during Labelexpo Americas (September 13-15, Rosemont, Ill.). Join Xeikon in Hall F, Booth 5703, to see this and other technologies.

The Infinity 4K line scan camera is designed for tabletop rewinders that handle web widths of up to 520 mm. It features AI-based print inspection technology providing label checking capability similar to that of a human operator with decades of experience.

The system works with automatic setup software and capabilities such as PDF master check and rollmap with PDF proof report. It can inspect a wide variety of labels including pharma, wine, natural material such as wood, in addition to labels with random or holographic backgrounds and reflective surface material such as gold embossing.

Code reading and logging are also part of the system, which comes complete with reflex-free illumination, screen and CFK encoder roller. Designed for Rosas’ Cheetah 500 and Leopard tabletop rewinders, the Infinity 4K line scan camera can also be installed in other industry label converting and printing machines.

Gazelle II bidirectional rewinder

Rosas introduces the second-generation Gazelle high-speed bidirectional rewinder for imprinting a variety of label types. The company collaborated on the development with Graph-Tech USA,  which incorporated their EZ 202 DOD colour inkjet head based on Epson S3200 technology.

This inkjet head and complementary UV LED curing system enables the machine to deliver real-time database serialization at 1200 dpi in full colour at production rates of up to 50m/min.

The Gazelle II DOD Color is also designed with a pre-installed interface for the fully automatic 100 per cent inspection module, quick release of tension axles (for simple reel change installations and removals), and web tension on the curve (hard on the inside and soft on the outside).

These products will be featured at Labelexpo Americas.

“These new products reflect Rosas’ specialty in manufacturing a variety of customized machines and units with the latest technology, and partnering with other industry specialists in label converting,” said David Rosas Wolf, managing partner of Rosas Maschinenbau.

These new printing plates are optimized for UV-LED exposure systems, such as the Esko XPS Crystal, to make full use of these systems’ capabilities. The benefits of the plates include an optimized match between access time and plate performance without compromising print quality.

Previously, exposure settings on LED units often had to be adjusted for either higher quality or shorter access time. Cyrel Lightning plates challenge this, as they were formulated from the ground up with UV-LED exposure characteristics in mind.

“Cyrel Lightning plates use chemistries with tailored UV profiles to achieve tunability between surface- and through-cures. This innovation enables a balanced cure that can be tailored to the unique dynamics of a scanned LED exposure sequence. At the same time, it provides sufficient through-cure using a finely tuned UV absorption profile,” says Suniti Moudgil, global technology leader at DuPont.

Cyrel LSH is the first of a new range of photopolymers plates, and will be available in 045 and 067 gauges. It is solvent processable and comes with certified exposure recipes in the latest software of Esko XPS Crystal units.

Cyrel LSH is a hard durometer plate with smooth surface, suitable for advanced surface screenings and optimized for a broad range of substrates and clean press runs in flexible packaging, tag & label and paper printing applications.

The TH5241, Ricoh’s first SiMEMs thin film piezo printhead, enables high resolution and productivity in a compact, cost-effective package. Aimed primarily at entry level scanning applications including sign graphics, textiles and labels, the head features 1280 nozzles in four separate channels so that a single head can jet up to four colours.

Shipping now, Meteor’s HDC-R10 printhead drive electronics for the TH5241 are easily scalable to systems of any size and, coupled with Meteor’s software, OEMs can reduce the effort and risk associated with the design and delivery of industrial inkjet printers. Also available for the TH5241 are Meteor’s DropWatching System and printhead waveform development services, essential tools to accelerate time to market for new inkjet applications.

Jonathan Wilson, Meteor’s sales director, said, “Meteor electronics and software have been driving Ricoh printheads since 2011 and we are proud to add the TH5241 to our line-up. Meteor’s solutions provide the fastest and easiest way for OEMs to unlock the potential of these printheads.”

Richard Darling, Ricoh’s strategic business development manager added, “With Meteor electronics and software, the TH5241 can be integrated into any production environment whether a CMYK desktop machine for tee-shirts or countless other industrial applications. Ricoh is delighted that Meteor is supporting this new printhead and we continue to prepare for further new developments, including the next SiMEMs product on our roadmap, the TH6310F.”

The eight-colour flexo narrow web press is the first Gallus press for the label printer and converter.

Gallus, a subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), installed the narrow web production line in Elloflex’s Parana plant in December 2018. The Gallus Labelmaster includes eight flexo printing stations including cold-foil and a further unit for rotary screen. With a printing width of 440 mm, it’s the first Gallus press for Elloflex and thus, the second Gallus Labelmaster for the Brazilian label and flexible package printing market.

“We chose Gallus because it is a durable and stable running machine which guarantees reliable results which we can really achieve during daily production,” said Rafael Polessi Rampazzo, commercial director at Elloflex. “Now, more than one year after the installation, we can say that we increased the efficiency of sleeve production and were able to conquer new markets thanks to this investment.”

Applications produced on the Gallus Labelmaster are mainly sleeves for the flexible packaging market, but also the whole range of narrow web applications can be produced on the conventional label press.

Elloflex was established in 2007 and is now serving different markets segments with about 110 employees.

“The RICOH Pro C5300s and C5310s can help in-plants bring more work in-house and marketing agencies exceed quality expectations,” the company said in a statement. “Commercial printers can also leverage it as a proofing device to produce high-quality customer proofs without having to interrupt long-run jobs on higher-production presses.”

The models are said to be good options for franchise printers looking to deliver more standout applications with specialty stocks that command premium prices. “Precise registration and colour matching pair with support for a wide range of media – including specialty stocks, synthetics, envelopes and oversized sheet options – to empower design creativity while driving accuracy and reliability,” Ricoh said. “Finishing options take this versatility to the next level, helping users create professionally finished saddle-stitch booklets, course guides, marketing materials and presentations. Meanwhile, intuitive controls make this power even more accessible.”

“Technological innovation has pushed the sheet-fed market forward, first with incredible strides in accuracy, media versatility and image quality, and second, making those advancements accessible to more printers,” said Heather Poulin, vice president, marketing, Commercial Printing Business Group, Ricoh USA Inc. “The RICOH Pro C5300s and C5310s’ affordability and size bring some of the most eye-catching, productivity-enhancing features to an even broader customer base. These presses deliver best-in-class media support for specialty stocks, oversized sheets and heavier weights, a game changer for in-plants and marketing agencies looking to make print pop without breaking the bank.”

The RICOH Pro C5300s and C5310s provide high productivity with full-colour, 2400 by 4800 dpi at up to 80 pages per minute (ppm). Built-in sensors aid front-to-back registration, which has received vast compliments from users for duplexing, especially business cards. Also useful for premium applications, these presses maintain their impressive image quality on media up to 360 gsm.

The RICOH Pro C5300s/C5310s’ 10-inch Smart Operation Panel makes managing the many substrate options available significantly easier with an intuitive paper library that contains 1,000 preset or custom profiles. Additionally, trained customer replaceable units (TCRUs) empower users to execute routine maintenance on their schedule, helping to drive uptime, further contributing to the presses’ reliability.

Both the RICOH Pro C5300s and C5310s are ENERGY STAR certified and carry an EPEAT Gold rating.

Elite is a “drop-in” product to the existing Zahara CTP settings, and doesn’t require any adjustments in exposures. Like all Zahara products, the Zahara Elite is a 100% chemical-free process plate using simply water for cleanout. There are no hazardous chemicals or dyes to maintain or dispose of. Users simply expose, rinse and print.

Benefits of the new Verico Zahara Elite Waterless Plate include:

• Speed: Increased sensitivity in the CtP system enables higher throughput with wider exposure latitude.
• Durability: Extremely durable on any substrate with increased scratch resistance.
• Resolution: Reproduction of even finer screens with consistent durability.
• Ink transfer: Excellent solids and fast ink roll-up, excellent compatibility with UV Inks and increased solvent resistance.
• Measurability: Plate is video microscopically measurable.
• Drop-in: Uses your existing processing equipment.

As the remaining stock of Zahara XP products are depleted, Verico will automatically ship Zahara Elite Plates to fill customers’ orders. Customers will notice the new labeling on the package that will distinguish Zahara Elite plates. Immediate upgrades available on request.

Verico Technology’s Sales and Application experts are available to answer questions and give every necessary support.

UK-based linerless technology and x-ray inspection systems specialist Ravenwood Packaging has launched Nobac 5000, a new label applicator building on the core functionality of the company’s 500 range of machinery.

The new machine features several refinements for improved functionality and ease of operation. Its modular construction provides increased flexibility of use and machine configuration with the twin head option now being retrofittable. The machine also more space for printers allowing for further options, such as coding on labels and packs.

Improved guarding also allows easier access with better label control from a new upgraded brake system. In addition, the applicator’s electrical cabinet has also been repositioned, making for easy engineer access. And optional cardboard tray coding systems are now available, including motorized adjustment for product setup.

“The launch of the new 5000, in the current climate with the Covid-19 virus outbreak, will assist us in meeting extra demand from food manufacturing companies in the UK and all over the world, the likes of which we have never seen before,” said Paul Beamish, managing director of Ravenwood. “Orders are now increasing with the supply of new and refurbished machines to keep lines running at their optimum.”

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The company, with their facility in Dubai, has been using the Koenig & Bauer Cortina waterless offset press with 12 towers – four which are heatset – and is using the Toray IMPRIMA WA waterless offset plates. The Toray equipment has allowed Gulf News to increase press utilization by adding commercial work serving the retail and magazine markets, including its own flagship weekly magazine, The Friday.

It also converted from tabloid to Berliner format in conjunction with the installation of the new press, a format that is increasingly popular in the international newspaper industry. The company’s state-of-the-art printing plant, located about 40 km from the city center, was opened in 2012 and employs about 100 production staff. Overall corporate employment, including editorial staff, is at 800.

“We are very proud of our highly automated, state-of-the-art plant here in Dubai,” said Robert Renyold, production manager. “Not only is the facility completely climate controlled, but automation is everywhere, from our print room to paper storage and reel handling, mostly done with robots. Being located in the desert, water is a scarce resource, and implementing waterless offset printing in our new facility was an important decision, for us and for the planet.”

Other decision criteria were the reduced waste, lower emissions, and overall lower environmental footprint achieved with Cortina waterless offset printing using Toray IMPRIMA plates, Renyold added.

Quality was another important factor. “This configuration gives us a very high level of quality,” Renyold said. “With the Toray IMPRIMA plates, we are able to produce a very fine dot, and dot gain is very low. We also use a 150-line screen. Together, that delivers exceptional quality.”

According to Renyold, this elevated quality level has enabled the company to become more profitable through ability to produce very high-quality commercial work, which he says they were not able to do before.

“We also value our relationship with Toray,” Renyold said. “We had the task of converting from conventional offset to waterless offset, while at the same time adding commercial applications. So, a fair amount of change was required. Toray worked very closely with us during the implementation process from the inception, helping us produce the best possible quality plates on our Kodak Generation plate setter and marks-3Zet waterless plate processor. It was an extremely smooth implementation with their help, and the fact that our climate requires us to have a completely climate-controlled facility also made implement much easier, with very consistent humidity levels in our paper stock. To achieve the high quality we aimed at with our new waterless offset platform, we needed the consumables – including plates, inks and paper – to be very stable and work well together. Toray worked with us to ensure we achieved that.”

“When we saw the AGFA 10 feet hybrid option, with all the versatility, print quality and speed of this machine…it was for us the best value for our money,” said Champion Imaging’s production manager Pat Perrotta.

Established in 1975, Champion Imaging started as a photo lab and today is one of Canada’s leading producers of larger format colour graphics for the advertising, retail, display, and signage industries. In addition, the company offers high resolution scans, design, and graphics, and a full mounting and laminating department.

The AGFA Anapurna H3200i LED is a UV LED Hybrid printer that can print rigid and flexible materials up to 10 ‘wide with average print speeds of 500 square feet per hour. The machine is a valuable addition to Champion Imaging’s already extensive collection of printing equipment, including the company’s two full-size Lambda printers.

Pictured from left to right: Jared Cotterill of Surrey Digital Printing, Janice Goldring, Jason Sham, Victor Torres, and Surinder Dhiman of Konica Minolta Canada.

In a bid to expand its service offerings, Surrey, B.C.-based Surrey Digital Printing has become the first printer in the province to acquire an AccurioWide 200 wide-format printer from Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd.

“We knew we wanted to start bringing large format projects in-house for our customers, and we went with Konica Minolta due to the exceptional quality of service and support we were already receiving with our three small format Konica Minolta printers,” said Surrey Digital’s vice president Jared Cotterill. “Our AccurioWide 200 has been exceptional so far, allowing us to print high-quality projects for our customers on almost every substrate possible, including foamcore, aluminum, wood, and glass.” Surrey Digital is a printing firm with strong roots in reprographics that has evolved to include specialty wide format along with small format solutions.

Since the installation of the AccurioWide 200 in December 2019, Surrey Digital – which was founded in 2006 – has already grown its product offering and client base, and expects to double its wide format revenue in 2020. According to Konica Minolta, wide-format printing has applications in every industry, from engineering, construction, and architecture to education and real estate.

The AccurioWide 200 from Konica Minolta.

“We are so excited that Surrey Digital has expanded their Konica Minolta portfolio to become the first in B.C. to install the AccurioWide 200,” Mike Wildbore, Konica Minolta’s director of business development, wide-format printing. “They have already put out some fantastic wide-format work with the new technology, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next. We look forward to helping them continue to grow and reach new markets.”

Konica Minolta’s AccurioWide 200 is equipped with UV LED lamps that enable it to print on a wider range of substrates, the company said, and up to a width of 2.0 metres. The device is equipped with Konica Minolta 1024i print heads with UV ink technology to incorporate more colour pigment per droplet, enabling what Konica Minolta calls “stunning image quality” up to 1440 dpi while reducing ink consumption per square foot compared to other printers on the market.

Within the new facility, the company is expanding its capabilities by adding new equipment to support its local, regional and national clients.

The new equipment includes:

• EFI Vutek D5r – This new printer line was chosen for its performance capabilities to meet growing demand for high-end signage, décor, outdoor graphics and various other applications. Its efficiency and quality are top of the line.
• Océ Colorado 1650 – 64” roll-to-roll printer is excellent for both indoor and outdoor display graphics applications. It delivers a large color gamut, similar to solvent inks, but combines this with the environmental benefits and safety profile of latex and UV-cured printing systems.

Also, Thomas Printworks has implemented an advanced management software solution that offers real-time information on each job in the production facility. The goal is to ensure the company is running at maximum efficiency and offers the best customer service possible. In addition, with the latest print automation technology, Thomas Printworks will offer faster turnaround, improved consistency, and reliability.

Founded in 1956, Thomas Printworks has 600 employees working from 28 locations in the U.S.

But what sets this manufacturer apart from its competitors is its ability to focus on customer service – new or existing – each and every day.

“Our customers demand short turnaround,” said Cathie Ellis, president, who oversees the business along with her brother Dave among three facilities. “To provide that level of quality service, we’ve invested nearly $15 million in new equipment. Most recently, we added our fourth high-speed Koenig & Bauer-Iberica die cutter here at our Pickering, Ont. facility. Since the installation, we’ve seen our net output, which factors in press speed, make-ready times, and down time, improve by an impressive 25-30 per cent. Due to the significant improvement in our productivity, we’ve seen a major increase in the amount of savings because we’re not running the die cutters in overtime.”

The post-press department at Ellis is critical to its success. Since nearly 70 per cent of Ellis’s operation is sheet-fed production, it requires an efficient die-cutting department that is productive and reliable so that it can quickly process orders and move those jobs along into gluing in short lead times. Customer lead time requirements are continuously getting more demanding, Ellis said, and having efficient, reliable equipment in all its operating areas is critical to the firm’s success.

According to Ellis, the Optima 106 fulfills all of those requirements. Its operator friendly controls provide ease of handling for the Ellis team. Her operators find the controls to be easier to understand and find all of the functions to handle the machine. “Our operators love it,” she said. “Make-ready times have improved due to click lock and other automation.”

The Optima 106 K’s impressive features contribute to reduced make-ready times and lower operating costs. Some of Ellis’s products require very efficient setup times to be cost effective, she explains, and the slick pneumatically actuated quick lock system for locking up dies helps to reduce make-ready times. In turn, she says, the die cutter helps to keep costs low on short run work. Conversely, Ellis has other customers and product formats where vendor managed inventory is part of its value proposition, and subsequently, those run quantities tend to be much longer where speed and press uptime is critical.

Investing in the Koenig & Bauer-Iberica die cutter was an easy decision for the team at Ellis. For more than two decades Iberica die cutters have made major contributions to the growth at Ellis. Replacing an existing Iberica die cutter presented minimal learning curve to the staff. This fourth die cutter follows three new Koenig & Bauer-Iberica Optima 106 K 40-inch die cutters, two for Ellis Paper Box and one for Ellis Packaging. In fact, Ellis Mississauga was the first Iberica-Koenig & Bauer installation.

The new Koenig & Bauer-Iberica die cutter is only the latest in a string of developments at Ellis Packaging. Recently, Cathie Ellis was recognized for her leadership and named Printing Leader of the Year at the 14th annual Canadian Printing Awards, organized by PrintAction and its parent company Annex Business Media. She has worked for the family business dating back to its early days in the 1980s. Over the past 30 years, she has performed many jobs throughout the operation and rose through the company, officially taking the reins from her father Bill in 2010 as president. At the helm of Ellis Packaging today, she continues to direct the company with the same passion, core values, investment and integrity passed down by her predecessor, mentor and father.

“It was truly an honour and quite remarkable to be the first woman to receive the award,” she said. “I feel that pursuit of excellence starts with a vision and is executed by quite an amazing team. My father Bill was the best mentor I could have asked for and I have continued to follow his core values and beliefs – invest in your equipment and people and the rest will take care of itself.”

Founded in 1946 in Ontario, the Ellis Group is comprised of over 250 employees at Ellis Packaging, Ellis Paper Box, and Ellis Packaging West servicing and specializing in the food, confectionary, pharmaceutical, neutraceutical and beverage industries. Its customers are comprised of some of North America’s largest brand name companies.

Colour printing technology provider Onyx Graphics Inc. has named Matt Crawford as its new director of product marketing.

“Matt’s industry experience and expertise with Onyx has had a tremendous impact on the way we position Onyx software solutions globally,” Onyx president and CEO Kevin Murphy said in a statement. “In his new position, Matt will drive the vision and growth of our product portfolio for our worldwide customer base as well Onyx brand affinity.”

Crawford’s previous position at Salt Lake City, Utah-based Onyx was as region general manager, Americas; before that, he held the position of Onyx territory sales manager, Central North America. Prior to joining Onyx in 2002, he worked with several leading graphics art organizations.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in visual communications from Northern Illinois University.

Crawford will be based at the company’s Salt Lake City headquarters.

Georgina Daniel, aged 20, is helping to shift the gender balance in the male-dominated manufacturing sector after becoming the first ever female die-maker at Arden Dies Ltd., in Stockport, Cheshire.

Arden Dies, which was established in 1964, manufactures dies and tooling for the packaging sector from its purpose-built factory site in Marple, but Georgina admits she knew little about the industry before she joined the company in 2017.

“When I first joined Arden, I hadn’t even heard of die-making,” she said. “At the time I’d been working as a customer service apprentice in a warehouse, but I wasn’t enjoying it and needed a change. I always knew that I wanted to do a physical job and work with my hands. Growing up, I actually wanted to be in the military, but I had asthma, so it didn’t work out. Manufacturing and engineering really appealed to me and I wanted to learn a skilled trade. I just knew I didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day.”

Georgina, from Marple in Stockport, joined Arden in the Rubbering Department, but eager to advance her career has recently begun her training as a die-maker on the shop floor.

Die-making is a highly-skilled craft, and involves the construction of precision tools, or dies, which at Arden will be used to cut out boxes and cartons for packaging.

“To be a die-maker, you need to be technically minded, physically fit as it involves swinging a hammer all day, and have good hand eye co-ordination, but women can have these skills too,” Daniel said. “I’m really proud to be Arden’s first female die-maker. It’s a great title to have and I’m really enjoying the role. The best bit about it is the feeling of satisfaction you get when you finish a job.”

Currently, women make up just 8% of the workforce of people working in skilled trades roles and less than 15% of people working in the STEM industries, (science, technology, engineering and maths) but Georgina says she’d encourage more women to consider a career in these male-dominated sectors.

“It’d be great to see more women in these sorts of roles and it’s not as daunting as they may perhaps think. I don’t feel like the odd one out, I just feel like one of the lads – we have a good laugh,” Daniel said. “As a woman, I had struggled to get a job learning a skilled trade, but times are changing and employers are recognising that women have got the right sorts of skills too, so I’d urge anyone who is considering this career path to just keep trying and not give up.”

Before joining GMG, Macaluso spent his entire 31-year career at Kodak, most recently as the primary application specialist based in the Toronto area, serving the U.S. and Canada supporting the Kodak Approval, Matchprint Inkjet, Matchprint Virtual and Colorflow colour management systems and software, among other print systems. He was involved in pre- and post-sales support as well as installation, troubleshooting, and supporting sales reps. He had additional experience in general workflow and flexo platemaking systems.

“Michael is an experienced digital application specialist with a practical and theoretical background training customers and distribution channels,” Birgit Plautz, GMG’s manager of technical services for the Americas, said in a statement. “He has a breadth of experience in a wide range of hardware and software colour management systems, which will be of tremendous value to GMG’s community in Canada. He has also been deeply involved in dealer channel sales support, samples and events. We are looking forward to his contributions serving GMG customers and partners.”

This limits the distance between plates being processed and maximizes the throughput. An integrated plate shuttle will enable a single operator to easily handle large format plates, and a minimum gap between queues will increase the number of plates processed per shift.

Compared to other washers, the Catena-W operates in a sealed environment. Its efficient extractions ensure a minimum of solvent fumes reaching the workplace, Flint Group said, which benefits the health and safety of operators.

The system has already been given a thumbs-up from Miller-Graphics Group, a Huntsville, Ohio-based company that specializes in the design and production of vinyl graphics for flexible packaging, paper and foil, and corrugated and labels. “We’ve found the Catena-W pin-bar system to be very useful,” said Stefaan Herman, the company’s lead user and site manager. “This avoids the need for punching the plate by using an external spiked clamp system. Not only does this save a step, it also means there’s no polymer residue from the punch that can sometimes stick on a plate. Furthermore, the distance required for clamping is less and, thus, saves us some plate material.”

Rather than a drive chain that passes through the solvent, Herman added, Catena-W uses a leadscrew that’s outside the liquid, thereby saving maintenance. “For the environment in our plate room, we noticed that special covers limit the solvent evaporation with almost no smell discernable in the room,” Herman said. “The systems are noticeably quieter, too.”

Part of MYIRO – a new brand dedicated to producing colour management solutions for the printing industry – the MYIRO-1 is designed to offer superior connectivity and simplicity, and also to put an end to working around USB cables that are too short or lose connection whenever the operator moves.

The MYIRO-1 measures the measuring modes M0, M1, and M2 in a single pass, and automatically detects the scan direction to save time and cut errors during measurement of profiling targets.

The MYIROtools software combines the demands of colour management experts for flexibility with the need for ease of use for everyday print production. This contradiction is solved by building flexible individual tools into complete workflows, the company said.

Users can select individual functions for measuring, displaying, analyzing, profiling, and evaluating. In the production environment, an operator wizard with an integrated manual can be used to guide the user through all the necessary steps for common tasks, for example creating a printer profile.

Digital MCP is a hard durometer, round-top dot plate featuring MacDermid’s Clean Plate Technology. Digital MCP is the newest photopolymer plate for flexo printing to build off MacDermid’s digital plate chemistry. The combination of digital plate chemistry and clean plate technology is designed to print cleaner on press, reduce ink build-up in-between dots and reverses, and require fewer press stops for plate cleaning, according to the company. The reduction in physical cleaning requirements extends the plate life of Digital MCP, making it suitable for longer print runs.

Digital MCP is optimized for “superior processing” in MacDermid’s LAVA thermal system. As with other MacDermid digital plates, Digital MCP allows for processing in conventional solvent wash or thermal systems. When flat-top dots are desired, Digital MCP can be imaged via MacDermid’s LUX Lamination process to achieve flat-top dots.

“Our clean technology is proven to increase quality and consistency, enabling printers and converters to stay competitive with their print methods,” says Ryan Vest, Director of Innovation at MacDermid Graphics Solutions.

In addition, minimal waste from the system, in the form of dry cake and a highly concentrated liquid extract, can be incinerated, with the liquid contributing to the cooling of the incineration plant, Asahi explains, resulting in even more water savings. Existing Asahi platemaking systems can be retrofitted with the recycling unit.

“As we have done for the past 45 years, we continue to look for ways to make the flexo printing process more efficient and in harmony with the environment while also improving overall effectiveness,” said Dieter Niederstadt, Asahi Photoproducts’ Technical Marketing Manager. “This latest improvement pushes flexographic printing into an even more environmentally balanced position, preserving precious water resources while maintaining the quality and efficiency our customers have come to expect. It’s another important strategic element of Asahi’s CleanPrint technology.”

Asahi CleanPrint flexographic plates are also designed for fixed colour palette printing, a method that is increasingly being adopted to save time and money while still delivering the quality brands expect, according to the company.

Visitors to the Asahi stand at drupa 2020 will be able to get a first look at the new recycling unit to learn more about how it works, its environmental benefits, and how Asahi platemaking systems can be incorporated into flexographic workflows.

Visitors can expect to learn more about the latest pharma-conform solutions from EyeC through live demonstrations. The company explains the inspection systems are developed according to pharmaceutical guidelines and meet the latest requirements of data integrity and safety as well as audit trail, helping to increase process reliability. The presented Pharma Workflow, including a reviewer workflow, electronic signature and the EyeC Audit Trail Viewer, is designed to support the integration of the inspection systems into existing processes of pharmaceutical companies. Thanks to a secure database, Inspections based on the dual control principle can be carried out independent of time and place with the EyeC Review Station, according to the company. Inspection processes can be integrated into existing processes to ensure maximum safety and efficiency.

The EyeC Proofiler Content supports the revision of artwork files and the EyeC Proofiler Graphic is used for file checks at the prepress stage. In addition, the EyeC Proofiler 400 DT Enhanced is used for print sample tests up to 317 x 470 mm (12.5 x 18.5 inches) and the EyeC Proofiler 600 DT in 630 x 469 mm (24.8 x 18.4 inches) format.

Traditional plate processing uses water, energy, and chemicals to prepare plates for the press after imaging on the CTP device, Kodak explains, adding that the processing step also adds variability that impacts efficiency and costs in the pressroom. The Sonora Plate Savings Estimator provides a customized calculation of the savings a printer could see if they integrate Sonora plates into their operations.

To get started, the user enters information about their current plate volumes, type of plate processing used, plate price, and the location of their business. The Savings Estimator will then calculate the total estimated savings for several local currencies.

Forecast to reduce customer downtime by 50 percent, the new Remote Assistance Augmented Reality Program lets plant managers, technicians, and engineers share issues in real time from their facilities, allowing MHIA technical support staff to see and resolve machine issues and assist in troubleshooting. The program allows MHIA technical experts to draw and annotate on their device, text on the screen, and capture pictures or video for future reference.

“The industry’s best customer service just got better and we’re excited to share this latest service enhancement with our customers across North America. Our commitment to our customers continues full speed ahead,” said Darrold Phillips, Vice President Service, MHIA Corrugating Machinery Division. “Through our intuitive app, we can see what the customer is seeing and more quickly resolve their challenges, speeding up recovery time and, frequently, eliminating the need for a time-consuming, on-site visit.”

The Remote Assistance Augmented Reality Program was developed in conjunction with SCOPE AR, a developer of augmented reality solutions and products for industrial clients focused around field maintenance, manufacturing, and training.

At 103 mm in length, the new NPK 012 is said to be 30 percent shorter than other models in its performance class, and weighs 600 grams. According to KNF, the NPK 012 offers high levels of both vacuum and pressure performance. The vacuum version reaches 25.8 in.Hg (140 mbar abs), has a maximum flow rate of 13.5 L/min, and can deliver 15 psig continuously. The pressure version delivers up to 36 psig (2.5 bar) of continuous positive pressure, and up to 72 psig (5 bar) during intermittent operation. Both versions can start up against the full vacuum and pressure range, and the brushless DC motor boasts excellent custom-fit speed control with low energy consumption

The Proofiler DT Series of scanners can be used in quality checks on the output of multiple machines during printing, as well as during incoming quality control. EyeC explains the system detects all relevant printing defects and provides traceable results, which are documented in a comprehensive report. Complete print inspections are carried out in a single inspection process – texts, graphics and Braille as well as 1D and 2D codes or distance measurements are checked simultaneously at the same device. The optionally available Scan Station for the Proofiler DT series also increases the flexibility of individual quality control steps. Within the new user interface, the scan is now independent of the test and approval process regarding time and location, making it more adaptable to existing work processes, EyeC explains.

“With the Proofiler 900 DT, we provide printers and their customers with a fast, easy-to-use and cost-effective solution for the inspection of A1 printed sheets,” says Oliver Peitzner, Product Manager, EyeC Proofiler. “In addition, we are the only provider that allows Braille inspection, including ISO-height measurement, simultaneously with other inspections for all sample sizes from A4 size to large format. Quality control is safer, more efficient, and more flexible – and twice as fast as comparable print inspection solutions.”

These plates are also ideal for printers using UV curable inks as well as for sheetfed and on web presses that require production quality, such as density stability during the print run, the company explains. It also boasts excellent screening at 1 to 99 percent with 36 micron FM or hybrid screening, and 2 to 98 percent with AM screening at 175 lpi.

Since this is a water-washable plate, it requires no chemicals in the developing process, and it can be processed in most available waterless processors, Toray Graphics says, noting that it also doesn’t require post-baking.

Following this launch, Toray says it will introduce a new plate type ‘in the near term’ for other printing segments: the Imprima WJ high resolution and high durability water-washable plate.

The New Generation instrument boasts a unibody case machined from a single block of aluminum that is designed to maximize durability and reliability in harsh production environments. It is also equipped with a high-resolution anti-glare display and an improved user-interface. The SpectroPlate is the latest Techkon instrument to be added to its New Generation line and now includes: Inductive charging, micro USB port, charging on console and USB port, and a battery boasting up to 10X lifespan.