Digital dominates at Visual Impact
The Visual Impact exhibition, staged last week at the Darling Harbour convention centre in Sydney, demonstrated the growing footprint of digital wide format in the graphic arts industry. While there was a range of traditional signage technology still on display, it was the hefty assortment of wide format and other digital machines that dominated the exhibition floor.
Peter Harper, general manager at Visual Impact, claimed the show received a great response from exhibitors and attendees alike. “From all reports, it was the best show staged so far. Attendance numbers clocked in at around the 4,000 mark, and floor space had been sold out six months prior so it was packed out with exhibitors.”
Harper agrees it was digital that had the biggest presence at this year's show. “As it was obvious to anyone in attendance, digital overpowered the signs side of things at Visual Impact this year,” he says. “While all the company's involved in the engraving and routing side of thing was represented, the sheer size of the digital machines meant they took up most of the space on the exhibitor's stands - not unlike what occurred at this year's PacPrint as well.”
Digital print specialists Cyrachrome had one of the largest stands at the show, showcasing again the famous Octopus X4 wide-format UV printer that made such a big splash at PacPrint. Capable of printing on an almost endless range of substrates, the machine on display was an updated version of the model with improved inking systems and carriage assembly.
Mat Barusel, technical sales representative at Cyrachrome (pictured above from left with Russell Robertson), also had some news on an upcoming new model of the Octopus from Czech manufacturer Grappo. “By the end of this year, Grappo is hoping to release their flatbed model of the Octopus, with even higher resolution capabilities.”
Roland DG also had a major presence at Visual Impact, receiving acclaim for the ECO-SOL MAX range of environmentally friendly inks that was launched at its stand (pictured right). John Wall, marketing manager for Roland DG Australia, hails the new inks as virtually odourless, containing no harmful VOCs and not requiring any special ventilation or environmental equipment.
“The ECO-SOL MAX inks were running on all of our printers at Visual Impact and it got a great response, not only from our own stand but also from the other authorised dealers who were showing them,” says Wall. “Beyond the environmental benefits, the new inks also boast a wider colour gamut, scratch resistance, faster drying time and broader support of uncoated media.”
Shifting away from all the wide-format machines that were showcased at Visual Impact, the ColoRite stand instead focussed on colour management, another area of critical importance to everyone in the signage industry. Well-known industry identity David Mulligan and colour management guru Trevor Canty (pictured right) were on hand to assist with visitors with all their colour inquiries, as well as to show off its comprehensive range of colour measurement tools from X-Rite.
Mulligan was adamant of the importance of colour management to the signage industry, an area he claims can often be overlooked. Likening recent advances in colour management to the transition from manual to automatic transmission in motor vehicles, Mulligan claims ColoRite has the tools to assist the signage industry with accurately measuring colour. “For those with the X-Rite tools in their hands, they've gone from requiring expertise to being an expert.”
The Visual Impact exhibition, staged last week at the Darling Harbour convention centre in Sydney, demonstrated the growing footprint of digital wide format in the graphic arts industry. While there was a range of traditional signage technology still on display, it was the hefty assortment of wide format and other digital machines that dominated the exhibition floor. 
Digital print specialists Cyrachrome had one of the largest stands at the show, showcasing again the famous Octopus X4 wide-format UV printer that made such a big splash at PacPrint. Capable of printing on an almost endless range of substrates, the machine on display was an updated version of the model with improved inking systems and carriage assembly.
Roland DG also had a major presence at Visual Impact, receiving acclaim for the ECO-SOL MAX range of environmentally friendly inks that was launched at its stand (pictured right). John Wall, marketing manager for Roland DG Australia, hails the new inks as virtually odourless, containing no harmful VOCs and not requiring any special ventilation or environmental equipment. 
Shifting away from all the wide-format machines that were showcased at Visual Impact, the ColoRite stand instead focussed on colour management, another area of critical importance to everyone in the signage industry. Well-known industry identity David Mulligan and colour management guru Trevor Canty (pictured right) were on hand to assist with visitors with all their colour inquiries, as well as to show off its comprehensive range of colour measurement tools from X-Rite.