drupa press round-up - LIA and GASAA events a success

'State of Origin' rivalry was played up by friendly rivals and digital printing presenters Brett Maishman, Fuji Xerox (left) and Phillip Rennell, Currie & Company at the second post-drupa night in Sydney.








The first event last week focused on prepress and JDF, which was the theme of the trade show, while keynote speaker Scot Telfer focused the second meeting on the presses, the heavy metal, of drupa. He opened his address by describing his response to JDF as that of a fan going to a Black Sabbath concert and discovering Burt Bacharach was performing.

(Your correspondent was in Melbourne for the prepress night at which Garry Muratore of Agfa took centre stage. According to organiser Warwick Roden, the speakers were energised, informative and dynamic. General consensus of those that were there is that the night was a great success.)

Scot Telfer's (pictured) comprehensive survey of the presses at drupa revealed that despite the turmoil of the industry over the past decade the press manufacturing sector has remained remarkable stable. Of the press names missing after ten years he only nominated Miller and Planeta.

He described this drupa as a show at which there was nothing radically new, no technology breakthroughs, comparing it to recent shows which saw the debut of such technologies as CTP (1995) and digital printing (2000). This time he speculated whether direct imaging presses were going to be the future of the industry, and surprisingly for an offset aficionado, he picked the Kodak Versamark inkjet press as the “complete standout” of the show.

As befits one who was responsible for bringing the first Heidelberg 10 and 12-colour presses into the country at Websdales, Telfer’s ‘alphabetical’ tour of the press complement at drupa was informed and insightful. Among his other observations he pointed out that:

AB Dick no longer confines itself to one and two-colour presses. He noted that its A3 press was a very technically advanced machine, now in landscape not portrait orientation.

Akiyama proved a surprise, with its new eXtreme 440 press having more than a passing resemblance to Heidelberg’s Speedmaster

Chinese press manufacturer Beiren was noted for its growing sophistication ever since its first showing in 1995. He predicted that the local industry would not only feel the impact of China in competition for print jobs, but that Chinese equipment manufacturers will become more active here.

Goss was his choice for “leading the charge in web offset,” although he made no mention of the company’s futuristic concept printing system. He did point out that there was no evidence of the impending Goss/Heidelberg merger.

Hamada was there in force with two and four-colour machines that bore an uncanny resemblance to the AB Dick presses. This rebadging feature is something press buyers should be aware of.

The new Heidelberg XL105 drew his admiration for its speed and many advanced features including the double-transfer system. He nominated Greg Grace, the local Heidelberg identity who helped demonstrate the XL105 in front of the international audience, as a star of the show, drawing a warm round of applause from the gathering.

MAN Roland’s omission of not having a 700 perfector on its stand was passed over in the face of his enthusiasm for the company’s DICOweb press. This he called the “technology boost” coming out of drupa and returned to its virtues in the question and answer session later in the evening where he speculated that it would eventually replace long perfecting presses, the current popular technology solution.

Mitsubishi’s Diamond 3000 with its two deck perfecting design was “a move into the future.” But in common with other new presses it was not yet available for sale.

The entire KBA complement of equipment drew his admiration. He singled out the large 162 sheetfed and the small compact Genius for special mention but was obviously impressed by the scope, technology level and overall design of the KBA range.

Similarly with the Komori press range where he praised the new 40-inch press, describing it as “technically very smart.”

He made brief mention of another Chinese press, the Jingde as well as the Orient from India, the Goss look alike that was in live demonstration.

Ryobi he described as “coming of age” and “very impressive” with its 520 and 750 models.

Another digital press , the Delphax struck him as “being the first digital press with industrial strength.” This B&W press was producing a bound 300 page book every five seconds.

Screen’s re-entry into direct imaging press production, the TruPress 344, was identified as a Hamada machine with Screen imaging. He speculated whether it was perhaps a bit late in its entry into the market.

”You could not help but be impressed by Shinohara,” he said. He compared its UNO press the KBA Genius.

Scott round off his survey with some expert observations on the development of feedboards, pointing out that some press makes were still using the same technology from 30 years ago, while others, notably KBA and Heidelberg had cleaned up the vital function making it operator friendly. The same was true for feeders with some presses still “full of spaghetti” with tubes going everywhere while others had simplified the controls.

His in-depth presentation was warmly received and much appreciated by the audience. He had obviously taken considerable pains to put together his review and made attendance at the LIA/GASAA event well worthwhile.

ANZPAC, digital presses and Andy McCourt

The jam-packed programme on the night continued with Bob Mercier (right) and Carlos Schwinidt of ANZPAC sharing with their experiences in upgrading the folding carton manufacturer’s press and die-cutting equipment. It proved to be an informative and revealing presentation on the process that led to Mercier and his team deciding on a 40 metre KBA Rapida 142 to replace an aging Lithrone 650.

It shows what happens when the budget is sufficient for pressmen to go out and examine the technology on it own basis, not confined by price. It’s not a situation many enjoy.

Carlos (left) made a valiant effort to fire the audience with his own enthusiasm for the technical advancements of die-cutting. This fairly esoteric presentation lacked nothing in the way of commitment from Carlos, but this writer was more impressed by the presenter’s obvious knowledge than by any of the details. Suffice to say die-cutting speeds have doubled in 30 years.

The night continued with a rematch of Phillip Rennell of Currie & Company with HP Indigo, and Brett Maishman of Fuji Xerox, professional rivals but firm friends presenting their companies’ different digital printing technologies. Making a play on the State of Origin on the night they appeared in Queensland and NSW jerseys. While the Maroons may have won the football on the night the two presenters played a draw.

Andy McCourt (pictured right)wrapped up the night with a suggestion that the audience should imagine how the industry would look in 2010. He nominated environmental concerns and the industry’s “social contract” as the two main areas of importance.

Print Month Australia, a nation-wide event, to promote the positive aspects of the industry to the wider community was announced for August 2005 and he urged all present to get behind it.

The LIA/GASAA nights over two weeks prove that the Sydney industry will turnout when the content of the presentations make it worthwhile. All concerned, especially Grant Churchill, president of the NSW LIA, Warwick Roden, and Angus Scott, national president LIA, should be congratulated as well as Gary Knespal of GASAA and Jim Hopwood, the new state manager of Printing Industries