Knowledge Base

David Zwang cites Mercury printing as one of the most interesting and exciting printing companies he has seen. And they have made it a practice to leverage new technologies throughout the life of the company to revolutionize their business. Read coverage on their investment and integration of technology from Landa, Xerox and Manroland Goss.

Editor’s Note: Last month we published an article by David Zwang on Landa’s first S10P duplex press beta site, Mercury Printing in Rochester, N.Y titled “Landa: And They’re Off!” With

Can inkjet-printed work be enhanced with foil, varnish and added-on spot colors, especially now that inkjet print quality is capturing more commercial work? The answer is an enthusiastic… perhaps! Learn about the opportunities and costs of print enhancement and inkjet.

Companies evaluating paper for suitability for their inkjet environment have different expectations. What is most important to you and your customers: gamut, show-through, small text clarity, mottle, coalescence, edge clarity, or are they all important? Do you get the data you need to see how a paper performs in these areas on your press?

Tom Leibrandt, Product Marketing Manager with Canon Solutions America  shows off some major upgrades to the Océ ProStream 1000 that expand its capabilities to a wider array of media while making print quality more consistent.

While every workflow should be unique to the service provider, thinking of the workflow solution as unique to a particular application segment can limit a company in terms of their workflow design and potential for page growth on their inkjet device(s). Designing reusable components within your workflow, and “stubbing in” steps for other types of work you may do in the future, will make your workflow system more flexible, extensible and auditable.

Does your customer want their web presence in synch with your CMYK print design?

This 5th post in the inkjet maintenance series looks at OEM apps for smartphones and tablets, and the questions to ask about the availability of advanced maintenance capabilities using augmented or virtual reality.

With the evolution and variety of inkjet options now available, smaller volume print operations like small and medium size in-plants are now considering inkjet adoption. The justification and cost analysis for inkjet is not as straight forward as the cost of acquiring previous new printers. In evaluating the cost of inkjet adoption there are many considerations beyond the cost of acquiring the printer. While there are varying opinions and models for comparing total cost of ownership (TCO), a detailed cost analysis should compare total cost of finished pieces leaving the facility and the opportunity for impacting the results of printed communications.

Whether you are currently using production inkjet or considering investing in your first press, you will want to understand how inkjet can help you enter new markets, or do more for the customers you have now. Not every market will be a fit but we will help you understand how to evaluate options at our free webinar on July 17.

Elizabeth Gooding spoke to John Hume, President of Hume Media, about their decision to be the first customer for the Xerox Baltoro HF Inkjet press and their expectation for ramping up production and transitioning volume from other devices.

Benny Landa first introduced the concept of “Nanography” at drupa 2012. There was a reaffirmation of the introduction at drupa 2016, and since then, lots of quiet. It turns out the quiet was self-imposed, and in the interim Landa has been very busy building an organization and shipping presses.

A fully trained operator is central to a maintenance protocol that ensures the machine will perform its best in your environment.  If you spend the necessary time and consumables during ramp up, you will reap the rewards of efficiency and fearlessness as new types of jobs come into the shop.

Inkjet Tip of the Week: Some inkjet devices come with valuable cost-saving features. Here are a few to look out for:

Alex Joos of Group Joos, located in Belgium, joins us for a deeper dive into their use of inkjet across multiple operations. Group Joos provides transaction printing and direct mail services to a very diverse market using inkjet across all areas.

Xerox has announced the availability of the Baltoro High Fusion Inkjet Press. This is a press announcement, but Xerox was consistent in positioning the Baltoro as a “platform” in the model of the Trivor, iGen and DocuTech series of devices.

Inkjet Tip of the Week – Use Ink Wisely. Using a standard, default profile could be costing you money. When creating custom profiles, be sure to print profiling patch charts with different TAC settings such as 260, 240 and 220,  for high, medium and low ink usage options. Print efficiently and economically based on the customer’s needs, not default settings.

Augmented Reality has a significant potential to reinforce your position as a though leader and open up nontraditional revenue streams that will not disrupt your existing inkjet operations. The market for Mixed Reality (Print + AR) services is projected to reach $162 billion by 2020. Let’s talk about making Inkjet Insight members part of that market.

In the third installment of her series on inkjet maintenance, Pat McGrew talks about maintenance considerations as you add work or shifts to your press. Like Motorcycle Maintenance, your mileage may vary.

Robert Clark, manager of digital operations for IWCO Direct provides an overview of one of the inkjet educational tools he uses extensively – and why it matters. He’s referring to the Glossary of the 2nd edition of the Designer’s Guide to Inkjet. Wow – we have a fan. Thanks Robert.