Tech fest reigns at Print '05

The industry's technology-hungry reputation was only consolidated further at the McCormick Place exhibition hall last week. The biggest graphic arts event staged during 2005, the new products on display jostled with each other for the attention of an estimated 70,000 professionals in attendance.

As would be expected, the big boys in offset were well represented on the floor at Print '05. Heidelberg was showcasing its heavily hyped new Speedmaster press at the XL 105 Theatre, showing off its hybridised proficiency in both packaging and industrial print.

KBA North America fired up five different presses that performed over 40 different jobs at its colossal stand, while MAN Roland staked the claim for the biggest press on the floor with its 64-inch 900 XXL.

Following in the footsteps of companies like Agfa, Heidelberg took the focus off its new press for a moment with the release of its Saphira Chemfree Thermal Plate, developed with chemistry-free processing in mind. The negative working aluminum plates are to be offered alongside the Suprasetter, the latest CTP thermal platesetter from the German offset king.

Integrated workflows emerged as one of the major themes of Print '05, centring on the notion of delivering unified software that serves both the conventional and digital printing equipment of a printing business. Creo and Agfa both announced workflows to drive HP Indigo presses, while Kodak unveiled its Unified Workflow, a collection of best-of-breed program in the same style as Xerox's FreeFlow.

Leaving workflow behind to take a peek at the best there is to offer in digital imaging, EFI launched the next generation of its leading RIP. The Fiery System 7 software is optimised to deliver improved printing performance and image quality, with the Fiery Production Printing Package emphasised as one of its key features, a set of job management and submission tools that produce elaborate print jobs at maximum speed.

Print '05 was the first major tradeshow that presented the united colours of the re-branded Kodak, now taking in companies like NexPress, Creo and Encad. The launch of the Magnus 400 CTP family represented the event of greatest note for the company at the show: part of the next generation of 4-page devices, the product is promoted by Kodak as a swift and highly accurate solution that is ideal for smaller commercial printers.