Category Archive

When shopping for inkjet, take a look at the many ways OEMs are handling compatibility with offset gloss coated stocks. Also consider hybrid and DIY inkjet and, as always, don’t forget the software. Here’s what you need to know.

Many in-plants justified investment in inkjet platforms based on three criteria: reduced cost of running inkjet over older print devices, increased speed, throughput, and the elimination of pre-printed shells. However, newer inkjet technologies from several manufacturers have improved image quality and substrate flexibility opening up a range of new opportunities and continuing to drive efficiency improvements.

If you own an Inkjet press, part of your on-going process should include some experimentation. Experimentation with different substrates, different ink settings, and different profiles help the production team understand the opportunities your press enables. This episode covers experiments with speed and drying.

For the second in our series on Tradeshow Shopping, we are focusing on the biggest of the big – in terms of productivity. To be considered at “maximum productivity” in production inkjet today, a roll-fed device must deliver at least 2,000 US letter images per minute. While you may not see all of these devices “in person” at the shows, we have included OEMs who are exhibiting and bringing a segment of their inkjet portfolio for your tire-kicking pleasure.

Trade shows can be overwhelming, so we want to help you use your time wisely by providing an overview of trends and options in various aspects of the production inkjet market.In the first installment of the series, we’re talking about the trend toward making inkjet financially accessible to more companies.

Many printers practice ink management by limiting combined process inks (CMYK and +) through a color profiling process. TAC adjustment can help control ink costs, drying, curl and paper cockle by limiting the overall volume of ink printed. Let’s talk about how to find the the percentage value of a color at which we no longer gain any color value by adding ink.

Customization and personalization is now happening throughout the supply chain. Data on customer buying preferences – what, where and how they buy – is driving change in inventory management, distribution, product design and marketing.

Experimenting with your inkjet press is something that should be part of your monthly plan. Here is the second of three experiments to help you really get to know your press. The first experiment was about paper. Today we talk about ink volume.

In honor of back to school season, we’ve kicked off a new series with Pat McGrew on experimenting with your inkjet press that ties in nicely with tools available on Inkjet Insight. Experiment 1 discusses experimenting with paper to drive new opportunities.

The sheer number of factors that affect the color gamut in production inkjet can be overwhelming. Whether you are a Print Services Provider or a buyer of inkjet-printed products, these color gamut factors matter. IWCO Direct spends a lot of time answering these questions internally and for customers. Here are some of the things they’ve learned thus far.

Production inkjet solutions are proliferating. The quality of many of the solutions has finally reached that of offset, and the productivity has surpassed that of toner. There are also a lot more options and opportunities. Perhaps it is time to step back and take stock of where we are and where things could be going?

In-plant managers are challenged every day to meet the complex and evolving needs of their organizations. In-plants with stronger alignment with their internal customers have been able to justify new equipment like inkjet and expand their capabilitiesI recently spoke with print mail managers from three different in-plant organizations. My intent was to get their perspective on the challenges in providing relevance to their organizations.

You may already know that the TAPPI roll label is a very important item to review and retain, but did you know that the label on cut sheet reams and cartons holds the same valuable information?

Review a series of videos covering the production inkjet exhibitors at Hunkeler Innovation Days 2019. The print samples were stunning and, of course at Hunkeler, the finishing options were amazing. Watch this recap and you’ll feel like you were in Lucerne with us.

There are three things that will move the needle toward success with inkjet printing. Companies who are adopting production inkjet would do well to take stock of their current status across these vectors.

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?

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.