By Ed Avis
PrintingUnited is a giant show packed with everything related to print, including an awful lot of things that probably don’t interest most reprographics shop owners. Nevertheless, there were enough large-format print-related exhibitors to make the event worthwhile. I walked the show on its first day last week, and made the following observations.
First, it was the best-attended post-Covid print show I’ve seen. The aisles were crowded and there seemed to be a good buzz throughout the show floor. Trade shows in general have been suffering since Covid – a lot of people got out of the habit of attending trade shows, I think – so it was good to see this event so crowded.
Second, it was great to see a handful of IRgA Vendor Members exhibiting there with crowded booths. For example:
Image Access was there with their biggest booth ever, according to owner Thomas Ingendoh. Naturally they exhibited their popular WideTEK document scanners and their WideTEK Art fine art scanner, but an interesting new scanner on display was the WideTEK 12 Spectrum. This flatbed scanner can use UV and infrared light to detect embedded UV and infrared security features on passports, currency, and other documents. It also has a backlit lid to capture watermarks, and 3D scanning capability for surface inspection applications. This is another example of the innovation that Ingendoh and his team apply to scanning. A reprographics firm would probably not need these features on a day-to-day basis, but if you had a specialized client with these kinds of needs, you could count on this scanner to handle the job.
Canon had a range of printers on display, ranging from the Arizona flatbed graphics printer to the newly refreshed ImagePROGRAF line. Brian Coombs, director of product planning for Canon’s Large Format Printing Systems Division, explained that the ImagePROGRAF TM, TX and TZ printers are most likely to be purchased by IRgA members. The letters correlate to volume increases, with TZ handling the highest volume. This line was designed for the AEC market, but Coombs explained that they use pigmented inks, which make them suitable for a lot of graphics applications as well. And the TM355 comes with color calibration now, which previously was only available in Canon’s PRO line. These printers also have auto media detection and they sense the amount of paper remaining on a roll, two features that make life easier for users. The ImagePROGRAF GP line was also exhibited, and a key improvement in that line is the addition of Fluorescent Pink ink, which can provide a neon-like look to images.
A side benefit of my visit to Canon’s booth was that I ran into Eric Steadham, owner of FotoZoomer, who was exhibiting his convenient walk-up graphics design/printing system inside Canon’s booth (since users of FotoZoomer print on Canon printers). Steadham has developed a web-based version of his software, which greatly increases the practicality of the system. Stay tuned for more details on that.
HP highlighted their latex printers in their booth. The newest is the HP Latex 2700 Series, which is so big – 126 inches – that only a repro shop with a major sign making operation would be interested. The machine cranks out 958 square feet per hour and uses fourth-generation HP Latex ink, which has UL ECOLOGO certification. Much more likely to be found in a repro shop is the HP Latex 630 Printer, which prints at 150 square feet per hour and is ideal for signage and décor projects. Because of the ECOLOGO certification, using this printer could help you with clients who have environmental requirements of their suppliers.
I was very pleasantly surprised to discover Tim Horn in the HP booth. Horn was the vp of sales for IRgA Vendor Member KIP for many years, and now he has joined the HP team as their new business development director for the large-format market in North America. Congratulations on the new position, Tim!
Naturally, I didn’t just visit IRgA member booths. Even though most companies exhibiting didn’t offer products for reprographics shops, I did see a few items that would definitely be useful in a repro shop.
For example, a Swedish company called Moditech was exhibiting an advanced work table with an electronically controlled pressurized roller for laminating; LED backlighting under the table so users can easily see the crop marks; a self-healing surface to facilitate cutting; and an ergonomic tilt up to 25 degrees. The table is called the Electronic Work Station and is distributed by DEX Imaging.
Another interesting product was the Dimensor SG, a system that adds decorative particles to large-format prints, including glitter, mica, gold, and silver. This technology from a company called Dimense is designed to add value to prints for advertising applications.
Dimense wasn’t the only company exhibiting technology to add dimension to prints. Another was COLOR-DEC, which offers a system that drops high volume clear coat on top of a printed image in specific spots to add the perception of depth. Very cool.
Of course this brief report just scratches the surface of what PrintingUnited offered this year. There were scores of other vendors offering large-format print equipment, media, software and supplies that I didn’t mention here, but I saw enough to realize that this event is a good place to visit if you’re in the market for new technology and want to see it first hand. Next year the event is in Las Vegas on September 10-12.