Kodak, Xeikon, Esko and X-Rite invited Brian Moore to Lisbon to outline their drupa plans
Kodak
Kodak is unveiling 10 new digital solutions and will more than 30 industry partners at drupa. As it continues to reinvent itself, Kodak says it will focus on three commercial digital growth areas: commercial inkjet, packaging and services & solutions. These focus areas will be complemented by Kodak’s continuing presence in the markets for offset plates, CTP, electrophotographic solutions, technical services and unified workflow solutions.
Kodak has announced the Kodak Prosper 6000XL inkjet press, expanding applications in commercial print and publishing markets. The company says the 6000XL offers faster turnaround (300mpm), at a lower cost with ink savings and higher uptime. An inline paper treatment module brings substrate flexibility and cost savings, enabling the use of regular coated, uncoated and glossy stocks. Kodak claims savings of between 10 and 60 per cent on paper cost.
Meanwhile, Kodak will launch a fifth imaging unit for the Nexpress line, delivering colours and effects such as gold, pearlescent and neon pink to expand the existing range. An inline UV coating option is available whilst a long-sheet high capacity delivery tray increases productivity.
In prepress, Kodak will launch Sonora XP plates which it claims are process free. The new Prinergy Workflow 6, claims Kodak, is a best-in-class consolidated workflow solution, and the new Kodak Intelligent Prepress Manager 2.0 will enable print managers to gain critical insight to their prepress operations with intelligent monitoring and reporting, smart alerts, business continuity and mobile connectivity, bringing ‘anytime, anywhere control’ of prepress operations.
X-Rite / Pantone
X-Rite and its subsidiary, Pantone, will showcase their solutions for measuring and communicating colours in digital workflows for the prepress, print, publishing and converting industries.
X-Rite and Pantone have launched PantoneLive, a dynamic ecosystem that the company says delivers consistent colour across the entire packaging workflow – from design concept to retail store shelves.
Other highlights of the show include demonstrations of i1Pro 2 colour management solutions including the newly enhanced i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer that provides an even higher level of accuracy, versatility, ergonomics, functionality and value than i1 Pro. There is also a new spectrophotometer platform that incorporates the latest touch-and-swipe navigation technology and intuitive software to make colour measurements quick and easy for pressroom personnel, including ways to monitor and control colour the new and emerging ISO standards.
There will also be products from Pantone that expand its colour libraries, plus additional solutions from X-Rite specifically targeted for prepress, print, publishing and converting industries.
The new spectrophotometer platforms are equipped with the X-Rite Graphic Arts Standard (XRGA) to make it quicker and easier for companies and professionals involved in digital production printing to adhere to ISO standards and have confidence that data sent or received from all links in the supply chain is reliable and repeatable.
Xeikon
Visitors to the Xeikon booth at drupa will experience live demonstrations of the company’s new 8000 series of digital presses, driven by Xeikon’s latest workflow that utilises a new user interface, MyPress.
The Xeikon 8800 will run live print-runs of two high-end direct marketing pieces. The Xeikon 8800 will be set up in a roll-to-roll configuration with a Hunkeler inline perforation module DP6.
The Xeikon 8500, the entry-level model within the Xeikon 8000 Series, will offer visitors example of marketing where Xeikon will print a customised poster for each visitor. This poster will be a part of a full cross-media campaign moderated and monitored by Xeikon’s Aura partner, Inventive Designers.
They will also experience the new range of application-focused Suites for the label and packaging markets. In addition, they will see Xeikon’s new line-up of reliable, high quality Imagers for flexographic and letterpress markets. Users of conventional presses will see the next generation of basysPrint’s 4-Up, 8-Up and VLF UV-Setters for the digital exposure of UV-sensitive offset printing plates.
Xeikon will also launch what it claims is a new, breakthrough printing technology that avoids compromise between quality and speed and combines high quality for the document printing market, called Quantum.
Also unveiled at the show will be ThermoFlexX, Xeikon’s new product line of Imagers for digital imaging of flexographic and letterpress printing plates. With the launch of ThermoFlexX, Xeikon now offers its customers solutions for conventional flexo printing as well as digital printing (through the Xeikon 3000 Series of label & packaging presses.
On the stand basysPrint will introduce its next generation of 4-up and 8-up CtP UV platesetters for the digital exposure of UV-sensitive offset printing plates.
Esko
On its biggest-ever (900sqm) stand this drupa, with a campaign theme of Results that Make You Smile, Esko will showcase solutions for packaging artwork, management, design and prepress, colour management, workflow automation and process integration.
With the introduction of Suite 12, a major update release of Esko’s workflow software offering for the packaging, label, sign making and display industries, the focus is again on adding value for the user by introducing new productivity and efficiency benefits. This is done by close integration of all flagship tools and engines, by adding rich 3D functionality for a holistic experience and by enabling mobile collaboration and web-based packaging management workflows.
Meanwhile, Esko continues to innovate digital flexo by upgrading print quality and by streamlining all steps of the plate making process from prepress to mounting. The CDI Spark 2530 with digital Inline UV1 and the CDI Spark 4835 Auto with digital Inline UV2 will be on display next to the Digital Flexo Suite optimising the flexo plate making process. The CDI Spark 4835 Auto, equipped with a digital UV back-exposure is one of the highlights on the Esko booth. This innovative flexo plate imager integrates digital back exposure, automated loading, imaging, digital main exposure and off-loading to the processing unit.
Esko continues on its path of HD Flexo innovation with the introduction of HD Flexo Pixel+ technology. Pixel+ is an optical, electronic and screening enhancement for HD Flexo imaging to support flat top dots creation for different plate vendor flat top dots offerings like DigiCorr, DigiFlow, Lux and Next. It leads to a substantial increase in solid ink density.
