Ipex info blog

Ipex and its exhibitors will be issuing information regularly in the lead up to the big event, here is some of the latest info to hit the streets:


Mellow Colour

Agent Matchmaking

Vutek

Goss

JDF Pavilion

Flexible Packaging Zone


Mellow Colour showcases new products and offers Free Colour Health Checks at IPEX 2006

Mellow Colour will launch a new range of products at IPEX 2006, following the international success of the Mellow Colour ISOLithO System - a colour quality system developed for print professionals who insist on predictable and consistent print appearance.

Demonstrating fast colour measurement from printed sheets and intuitive trend analysis, Mellow Colour is offering printers the opportunity to put their prints to the test with a free ISOLithO colour health check on its stand. Prior to the show, visitors can log onto www.mellowcolour.com and download the free ISOLithO Strip. This can be printed along with a production job, via the printers normal workflow and brought along to the stand for an on the spot ISOLithO Health Check.

“IPEX provides the ideal platform for us to showcase an extended and enhanced range of products that improve efficiency for printers and ensure that customers receive accurate and consistent colour,” comments Alan Dresch, Founder, Mellow Colour. “The free ISOLithO colour health check facilitates the first step towards this and together with product demonstrations on our stand, organisations can take the first step to meet with the ISO 12647-2 standard.”

ISOLithO was developed to enable colour printers to comply with the ISO standard and achieve the tight targets and tolerances specified in the ISO 12647-2:2004 Specification for Offset Lithography. ISOLithO offers more than proof-to-press colour consistency; the software provides a more efficient workflow, reducing time, cost, waste and delivering improved customer satisfaction and has been updated with the targets and tolerances of the latest ISO specification.

“Williams Lea uses ISOLithO as part of a vendor audit program. The reports are easy to read and give a wealth of data to help our vendors align to the ISO 12647-2 standard. The technical support and training provided by Mellow Colour is first class,” said Andrew Horn, Senior Vendor Manager, Williams Lea UK.

When applied correctly ISOLithO assures consistent print appearance, job-to-job and device-to-device. In practice, the user simply chooses the appropriate ISO specified L*a*b* targets for paper type and ink colour, along with tonal value increase (dot gain) targets from pull down menus in the ISOLithO set-up dialogue. A spectrophotometer is used to quickly capture colour data from the print sample and a comprehensive colour report is generated, detailing colour appearance and comparing the measurements with the ISO 12647 Specification.

Around the globe colour professionals are recognising the benefits of ISOLithO. David Crowther, Director, Chromaticity Australia, has successfully installed the software with local printers. “It is a culture change for printers to adopt a more systematic approach to colour quality management,” said David. “However, with appropriate training and use of systems such as ISOLithO, I am confident printers will see the benefits and adopt this modern approach to manufacturing, already commonplace in other industries, without major outlay.

“Implementing ISO 12647 is more than process control, it is about changing the way that printers operate,” concludes Alan. “It is inevitable that print will follow customer pressure to implement printing standards internationally and now is the time to take the first step on that journey.”


Ipex helps build relationships through Agent Matchmaking

With Ipex 2006 set to be the ideal place to do business when it opens on 4th April, organisers IIR are supporting the event with a new online networking initiative - The Agent and Distributor Matchmaking Service.

The initiative will help put exhibitors in touch with distributors and agents from specific areas and countries, forging relationships between dealers and key industry players that may not otherwise have known about each other. This process will help ease the challenge of finding a potential partner in overseas territories and offer suppliers the opportunity to meet a number of distributors in one go.

An online registration form for interested agents and distributors is available at www.ipex.org/agent. The resulting database will be accessible to registered exhibitors ahead of the exhibition, allowing vendors to identify suitable dealers in key territories. Exhibitors and distributors can then communicate online prior to the show, as well as set up face-to-face meetings at a dedicated drinks reception on the evening of Monday 10th April, in the INNOV8 Theatre.

Sarah Harvey, Marketing Director, IIR says, "Research amongst Ipex 2006 exhibitors reveals that around 30 per cent do business solely through distributors in overseas markets. This highlights the importance of selecting the right distributor to work with. The new matchmaking initiative provides exhibitors with a comprehensive list of active dealers in specific locations and allows them to get in contact with agents that they wouldn't otherwise have known about.

The Ipex team has already received an unprecedented number of enquiries from distributors keen to sign up to the service, indicating the level of scope for business growth both domestically and overseas."

Tim Webb, Managing Director, Russell-Webb, says, "This is a great initiative offered by the organisers of IPEX 2006. It presents a real opportunity for exporters to grow their business through agents and distributors in countries where they are currently un-represented. The service helps guarantee that you will meet suitable distributors, not just hope that they walk onto your stand".

This new initiative adds another pull for dealers hoping to visit Ipex 2006, particularly for those looking to build new relationships and expand their business. You never know - you may just find your perfect match!

VUTEk Superwide Digital Inkjet Printers from EFI To Be Exhibited at IPEX 2006

VUTEk, a division of EFI, is exhibiting its industry-leading family of UV-curing flatbed printers at IPEX 2006, Birmingham, UK, April 4 - 11, 2006. EFI is the world leader in digital controllers, superwide format printers and print management solutions for commercial and enterprise printing.

On display at the show, the PressVu UV 200/600 UV-curing flatbed printer, starting at only $199,000, offers the highest image quality and greatest versatility available today in a UV-curing printer. It enables users to benefit from high-end image quality, greater productivity and improved profitability at an affordable price.

The PressVu UV 200/600 digital inkjet printer is loaded with features you would expect to find on more expensive models - like stunning four- or six-colour, 600 dpi capabilities that deliver photographic color reproduction and crisp text reproduction. Its virtually limitless versatility and industrial-strength construction allow operators to print on a variety of sheet-fed or roll-to-roll materials around the clock, enabling owners to expand their services and satisfy a nearly infinite variety of long-term outdoor and indoor applications - increasing value to customers and driving up profitability.

Starting at $299,000, the PressVu UV 320/400 UV-curing flatbed printer is the most productive in its class and is designed to help digital print providers increase profitability. It accommodates rigid substrates up to 126 inches (3.2 meters) wide, and offers productivity up to 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) per hour, equal to 20 - 4' x 8' (14 - 2 meter x 3 meter) sheets per hour. It also features roll-to-roll capability, giving customers the flexibility to offer a full range of services.

The PressVu UV 320/400 is available as a four-color model, and prints high-quality, 400 dpi resolution images on rigid substrates up to 1.75 inches (4.45 cm) thick. Ruggedly built for reliable, around-the-clock productivity, the PressVu UV 320/400 prints on a wide range of sheet-fed and roll-to-roll substrates. Set up is quick and easy, and can be done by one person in less than one minute, allowing customers to focus their time on producing, not preparing.

The two-printer-in-one capability of the PressVu UV 320/400 allows customers to print on both rigid and flexible materials, so customers can offer a more comprehensive range of applications, increasing their value to their customers while driving up profitability. The switch between flatbed and roll-to-roll can be completed in less than a minute, barely affecting the printer's overall productivity.

Goss International emphasizes web offset innovation at IPEX 06

IPEX will see Goss International move ever closer to its vision of a fully automated future for web offset.

Goss International will showcase a range of its latest press, finishing and workflow solutions, providing customers with technologies that push the boundaries of web offset production and add real value to print.

These technologies include the Goss Automatic Transfer system for non-stop production, Goss Autoplate automatic plate changing, the Goss Web Center workflow solution, as well as the innovative Goss Flexible Printing System taking newspaper production to new levels of productivity and flexibility.

Additionally, Goss International finishing solutions will further demonstrate the company's commitment to integrated, high-quality web offset production, from data input through printing to postpress.

“Goss is focused on continually improving the value proposition for customers,” says Eric Bell, European marketing manager at Goss International.

“At IPEX this is shown through products designed for increasing quality and flexibility, wider webs and faster speeds, achieving higher productivity and improving makereadies and paper waste. Our web offset focus and innovative technologies are keeping our customers and print at the center of the media market place.”

IPEX is to be held in Birmingham NEC on April 4-11th, 2006. Goss International welcomes its customers to join them in Hall 5, stand C70.

IPEX 2006 JDF Pavilion 75% sold

The Process Automation and JDF Pavilion at Ipex 2006 – one of the new product zones introduced to the show – is already 75 per cent reserved.

To date, 15 companies have confirmed their space, including Dalim Software, EFI, Screen, Heidelberg, ePrint Direct, Dr Lauterbach & Partner and Lithotechnics.

The 250sqm Process Automation and JDF Pavilion will be prominently positioned in Hall 20, and will highlight user solutions for improving production interoperability, productivity and profitability. Visitors will also be able to hear user case study presentations to be held in the theatre area within the Pavilion, including CIPPI (CIP4 International Print Production Innovation) Award winning case studies.

Flexible Packaging Zone at Ipex 2006 is 80 per cent sold

56 companies have already confirmed they will be exhibiting in the flexible packaging zone at Ipex 2006.

Launched only six months ago in response to flexible packaging's growing importance within the packaging market and the print industry as a whole, take up for space has been phenomenal. Almost 80 per cent of the floor space in Hall 1 has been sold so far – that's 1,400sqm. The zone has the potential to grow to over 2,000sqm by the time the show opens in April 2006 – bigger than some packaging shows in their own right!

Key companies exhibiting include Cerutti Group, Comexi Group, DCM Group, BHS, SOMA Engineering, CMR, Polywest Sleeve Systems, Kampf, AVT, JM Heaford and AV Flexologic.

Additionally, the Flexographic and Substrate Converting pocket guide will highlight relevant stands throughout the other halls.

The Flexible Packaging Centre of Excellence theatre in Hall 1 plays host to presentations from companies including IST, Luscher Flexo, Drent Goebel, Creo, Alphasonics, Agfa and GEW throughout Ipex.