Innovations in Pressroom Systems

Machines that print and image, along with accessories and supplies, comprise by far the largest product categories at Print 01, the international show to be held at McCormick Place September 6-13. Exhibits range from digital duplicators, toner-based variable-data printing devices, and direct-imaging sheetfeds to multicolor perfectors, coating units, and web presses.

In the show's converting section, exhibitors will show flexographic presses, diecutters, and processing machinery for folding cartons, corrugated, and flexible packaging.

A.B. Dick Company will be demonstrating its new QP25 and QP25II one- and two-color offset presses, both designed for short-run, multicolor work. Both offer the Constant Contact Register System, which company managers say combines the advantages of direct feed with a tight register system.

The presses feature a micro-set fountain set-up, which is calibrated to control ink density in specific coverage areas. The QP25II features a newly designed second-color head that produces four-color process, screens, and halftones of images up to 12.6x17.3" in size.

Allied Pressroom Chemistry will present its patented, dry-blended Enviro Powder Fount Series; dry Powder Plus alcohol replacement; and Systems Kleener, an easy-to-mix and -dispense cleaner in powder form.

BASF Corporation Printing Systems plans to show its new line of Ultraking UV-curable inks and Novabryte hybrid UV inks, plus its full range of fast-setting K+E inks for sheetfed printing.

Day International, Inc. is to introduce its unique dayGraphica 8300, an electrically conducive printing blanket that prevents static charge from imaging plates, thereby diminishing plate waste.

Epic Products will exhibit its Delta dampening system, known to eliminate hickeys, create smoother denser solids, and maintain color control and ink/water balance, plus the chamber-type CoatTech Anilox System, designed to apply spot and overall water-based, UV, in-line blister seal, metallic, pigmented, and other specialty coatings.

Essex Products Group (EPG) will present the new, economical KeyColor "E," called a highly affordable ink control system designed for use by small commercial printers. KeyColor "E" offers all of the standard KeyColor features. In addition, KeyColor ink desks combine with EPG's AutoSet and AutoKey technology to provide presetting of jobs from CIP3 files or plate scanners, and to close the loop with scanning densitometers and spectrophotometers.

Evtec Corporation will show its precision-cut sheeting systems, a line that includes the new ConverPro system.

Graphics Microsystems, Inc., will demonstrate its ColorQuick web press system integrated with its PrintQuick register control solution. With color and register controls integrated in one touch-screen, a single press operator can easily control color and register on two printing surfaces.

For sheetfed printers, Graphix North America will be highlighting its CoCure hybrid coating process with new improvements, including single-zone recirculation tanks for fountain solution control, plus water-cooled systems that can neutralize all the heat created by peripherals in the pressroom.

For web printers, Grafix North America will be displaying its Uniflow 4000, a new system that controls both single-zone temperature control and fountain solutions in one unit on the web press. The company says its CoCure process will be featured on equipment demonstrated by many press manufacturers, including Heidelberg, KBA North America, Komori, and Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses, both web and sheetfed.

Harris & Bruno International will display its LithoCoat conversion unit, a chambered doctor blade upgrade that can be fitted to an existing tower or in-line coating station on a sheetfed press. The existing roll-to-roll application method is converted to an anilox/chamber system, complete with coating circulator and enhanced wash-up. The unit is designed to apply a variety of dull, gloss, and spot coatings, including UV. Also, a variety of OEMs will show the LithoCoat unit operating on their equipment.

Heidelberg USA, in the single largest exhibit at the show (about 100,000 square feet), will be introducing new sheetfed and web presses and color and black-and-white production imaging systems, including the NexPress 2100 and Digimaster 9110, respectively.

Heidelberg will be launching its new Speedmaster 52-6-P+LX, a 20"-wide six-color perfecting press with coater and extended delivery.

Shown in operation will be the new Speedmaster CD 74-6+LX, a six-color 23 1/2x29 1/8" press, equipped with coater and extended delivery, designed for commercial and packaging printers. This press, formally introduced at the Drupa 2000 exposition in Germany last year, has been installed in five plants in the U.S., and over two dozen worldwide.

Also to be shown running will be the Speedmaster 102-12-P, a 12-color perfecting press equipped with Heidelberg's new CutStar roll-to-sheet device, which allows sheetfed printers to buy paper at roll prices (typically 10% to 15% under cut-sheet prices) to use in their sheetfed equipment. A big benefit of the new CutStar system, says Heidelberg, is its infinitely variable cutoff, fast press makeready, and paper cost savings of more than 1% in comparison with competing roll-to-sheet feeders.

To be demonstrated are the many components comprising the overall Prinect system.

Heidelberg Web Systems will show its Sunday 2000 press in full operation, demonstrating, the vendor says, high print quality, fast makeready features, and short-run capabilities.

The Sunday 2000 will be equipped with a new Ecocool dryer, the first device to combine chill units with the dryer. The Ecocool dryer, which debuted at Drupa 2000 and will be making its first North American appearance at Print 01, saves up to 12 feet on the length of the press line and eliminates condensation on the paper web. The press is to be equipped with a PCF-1 pinless combination folder.

Heidelberg Web also will display several static web units, including a single-unit Sunday 4000 web press, to be used to give Autoplate demonstrations to a niche group of customers interested in this 48-page press.

The Heidelberg booth will also be the site of the U.S. debut of the NexPress 2100 digital production color press from NexPress Solutions LLC, to be shown producing a range of ready-to-finish sets on a variety of media stocks and sizes. Visitors will see live, continuous demonstrations of dynamic printing applications (quick turnaround, short run, variable data) and obtain high-quality print samples.

In just four years, note company managers, NexPress Solutions has delivered on its promise to produce a true, digital production color printing system. The company plans to take orders at the show for the equipment.

The ElectroCard unit from Hurletron Inc. is a machine that can affix up to 80,000 pieces (envelopes, coupons, response cards, order forms, etc.) per hour to a moving web on high-speed rotogravure and offset presses. The machine places these pieces within one-eighth-inch accuracy on a designated page without disrupting the binding operation or adding off-line operations.

Indigo plans to stage live demonstrations of its sheetfed e-Print Pro+, TurboStream and UltraStream 2000 presses, which utilize the company's unique Digital Offset Color technology. Other products include the webfed Publisher 4000 and Publisher 8000 systems; the Omnius MultiStream for printing of specialty products; and the Omnius WebStream and WebStream 100 presses for label and flexible packaging printing.

INX International Ink Co. will introduce six new products: ColorTrac, for use on high-speed heatset webs; INXCure, for ultraviolet or electron beam curing; INXFlex UV, a flexographic product featuring pourable viscosity and high cure speed; fast-setting INXfresh, which allows immediate work-and-turn production, or overprinting or coating in two to three days; Lamiall, designed for use on such varied substrates as oriented polypropylene, metallized film, coextrusions, and polyester; and quickset Vision for sheetfed applications.

KBA North America will demonstrate a 41"-wide Rapida 105 six-color press equipped with a CoCure coating system, closed-loop spectrophotometry, and a specially designed transfer system for printing both commercial work and heavy board and plastics. After the show, this press is scheduled to be installed at Color Ink Inc., Sussex, Wis.

Also on display will be the show's largest sheetfed, a 47x64" Rapida 162A six-color with tower coater and extended delivery, plus the patented KBA multi-beam automated wash-up system for ink, blanket, and impression cylinders. This press is to be shipped to Gandalf Graphics, Ltd. Toronto.

Meanwhile, KBA's Digital Press Division will demonstrate its 74 Karat offset press—a four-color, compact, waterless, and keyless 20 1/2x29" machine with a four-up format—with major enhancements in ink handling, user interface functionality, and plate cleaning.

A single-unit Process King web press will be on display at the King Press booth. The Process King has several new enhancements, including motorized plate cylinder cocking, continuous inking, and oil cooling.

Kohl & Madden Printing Ink will offer its K&MBrite ink and coating system, which uses hybrid chemistry to permit printing and in-line UV coating without a primer and no glossback.

Komori America will stage two North American debuts—of its Lithrone 40SP, a straight perfector that can print both sides of the sheet in a single pass, and its 40"-wide Project D digital press. Komori, which will show its Lithrone 640, Lithrone 628 perfector, Lithrone 520, and Sprint GS presses in operation, also will demonstrate its Color Connection software suite, designed to streamline the workflow from design through print production.

In its 37,100-square-foot booth at Print 01, MAN Roland will be demonstrating for the first time in North America its DicoWeb press, which made its debut at Drupa 2000. The web offset press, which thermally images a fixed-image carrier on an erasable/ reusable metal cylinder sleeve, is designed to print on a 20"-wide roll of paper.

MAN Roland also will be demonstrating a new version of its 20" Roland 200 sheetfed press with expandable color units for both process and spot color, a Kama diecutter for the Roland 200, a 40" multicolor Roland 700 in operation, a 56" Roland 900 press in operation, and Wohlenberg perfect binders and Baumann paper cutters and joggers.

MAN Roland's advanced Pecom ServerNet will link all the presses.

Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses has renamed its press line the Diamond line. The first 28" Diamond 1000 six-color sheetfed press, equipped with a tower coater and extended delivery, will be on display. The Diamond 3000 is the new designation for the 40" sheetfed and the Diamond 16Z is the 16-page web model.

Océ Printing Systems USA, Inc. will present its new multifunctional DemandStream CX printer, which is designed to produce both transactional documents (such as variable-data statements) plus digital publishing materials (such as books). Océ will also showcase its high-speed, in-line DigiStitcher unit for trimmed print-on-demand applications.

The new Eclipse and Prisma bimetal plates will be shown by PDI (Printing Developments Inc.). The Eclipse thermal CTP plate is designed for both sheetfed and web use. Geared to medium-size and large printers, Eclipse offers a processing time of two minutes and up to 500,000 impressions.

The Prisma plate, available in both a 830-nm or 1,064-nm model, is designed for run lengths of more than two million impressions.

Perretta Graphics, which will be showing its Dynascan II closed-loop color system and closed-loop register control system, also will be exhibiting its new P2200 series remote ink control consoles featuring a Windows NT platform and touch-screen graphical user interface. In addition, Perretta will be displaying its Digital Preset Center for all CIP3 applications.

Polly USA will show its new Czech-made 74 series sheetfed press, which features double-diameter impression and transfer cylinders programmable touch-screen controls, and automatic blanket and roller washer, plus the latest version of its 66 press series.

QTI offers an array of web press auxiliary equipment, including its CCS Color Control System, now available with Instrument Flight from System Brunner; RCS 4000 Ribbon Control System using CCD cameras for folder makeready; high-speed RGS V Register Guidance System for color-to-color register control; and, for material handling, its high-speed, fully automatic Vertical Stacker Bundler (which can be combined with QTI's palletizers and signature loaders).

QTI also offers its FMS File Management System (for job and machine scheduling, and file maintenance) and FCS Finishing Control System, available as an entry-level FCS 500 ink-jet control solution for addressing and an advanced FCS 1000 system, for processing demographic or bulk books with or without ink-jet printing on finishing lines, capable of monitoring up to 64 pockets and controlling eight auxiliary demographic devices.

Riso Inc. has introduced the GR3770, said to be the first digital duplicator with 600-dpi imaging resolution, featuring improved print resolution and added screening and contrast controls. Riso recently introduced its high-speed RP3700 digital printer-duplicator (output speed range from 60 to 120 pages per minute), and RP3790 device, equipped with three paper trays that each accommodate 1,000 sheets of letter-, legal-, or ledger-sized paper.

Riso also recently showed its 10-bin, high-speed TC5100 collator, which can be operated as a standalone, off-line accessory at speeds up to 3,600 sets per hour, with three variable speed settings. The unit can be combined with a second tower, for a total of 20 bins.

Riso is expected to show a two-color V 8000 system at Print 01.

The Ryobi/xpedx Import Group will show seven Ryobi presses, two of which represent first-time showings in the U.S.: the Model 684P, a perfector version of its 20x27" four-color press, and the Model 524HE, an automated but economical version of its 14x20" series.

Sakurai USA plans to introduce its DI press series, which consists of a fully automatic, five-color hybrid direct imaging wet offset sheetfed press.

The complete system features fully automatic plate changers, fully automatic perfector changeover, Sakurai Auto-Set-Sheet preset device, automatic blanket and roller washers, touch-screen control with CIP integration, Sakurai color console, vacuum feedboard, platform feeder and delivery, and ink ductor ratio selection and roller declutching.

The DI series incorporates the Presstek ProFire laser imaging system. Sakurai claims to be the only press manufacturer that offers a 28", four-up press incorporating fully automatic plate changers to unload used plates and reload unexposed plate material.

Solna Web USA will display a unit of its new shaftless C800 web offset press, described as the company's platform for high-quality commercial printing on coated stocks using conventional heatset and alternative ink-curing energies such as electron beam and ultraviolet curing.

Noteworthy C800 features include the ability for horizontal printing units to be stacked in four-over-four configuration so that in multiweb situations the second web can enter directly into the upper dryer without passing over any air-turn bars or grater rollers.

Also, the C800 is manufactured in both left- and right-hand versions, which allow, for instance, two parallel press lines to easily cross associate with each other, having operator sides facing each other with a common control area or room.

Says Solna, it targets small to medium-size printers that require flexible production possibilities and have high quality demands.

Technotrans specializes in high-performance liquid technology products designed for specific practical applications in both sheetfed and web printing.

Products include its Alpha and Beta systems for dampening, ink roller temperature control, coating circulation, and combination dampening/ink roller temperature control; Beta Duo unit featuring separate pumps for running water-based and UV coatings from the same system; thermal drying systems for ink- and water-based coating applications; Ink.line cartridge-based ink dosing and control systems; Ink.line direct inking system switchable between cartridge- and drum-type ink supply; and Ecoclean washing agent recovery systems.

Also, Technotrans America, which can supply its system cabinets matched to OEM color schemes, provides complete UV and hybrid UV systems and support featuring IST Metz components.

Technotrans systems will be featured on Heidelberg, KBA, Komori, MAN Roland, and other OEM equipment at the show.

Therm-O-Type Corporation is to feature an NSF Foil Press with a high-capacity feeder, which can be preloaded while the press is running. The NSRF unit features an 8 1/2x11 3/8" image area, programmable foil draw, impression throw-off, heavy-duty construction, and a maximum speed of 6,000 impressions per hour.

Tower Products, Inc. offers a complete line of pressroom chemical products. For example, Tower fountain solutions are formatted to run in a wide latitude of water hardness, and have advanced buffering systems to prevent pH drift and sequestering agents to prevent calcium carbonate from causing problems in the lithographic printing process.

Van Son Holland Ink Corporation will feature its entire line of printing inks, digital inks, and pressroom supplies. Its ink-jet division is to feature the new Inkjet Photokit for Epson printers, including a color fade-resistant EasyPrint cartridge and 20 sheets of Olmec photo paper from ICI Imagedata; FR and CR series products in its Digi-Ink line for Risograph digital duplicators; and ArtColour Inkjet inks.

Web Printing Controls Co., Inc. will be demonstrating CLC Plus, an enhancement to its closed-loop control system for web presses that combines color measurement and adjustment with color register in one system.

Weko will show its RFDi dampening system, designed to reintroduce moisture into paper that has been imaged by electrophotographic toner and fixed with pressure and high heat. The standalone unit, which can be freely placed adjacent to the digital printing device, uses a series of spinning rotors to spray water onto both sides of the paper, thereby reducing static charges, curling, and handling problems in postpress operations.

Xeikon is to feature an array of high-speed digital color and black-and-white presses, including the entry-level sheetfed CSP 320 D color unit and the top-of-the-line DCP 500 D, equipped with Xeikon's new UCoat, called the first in-line UV coating system for digital printing.

Also on display: the Xeikon 7000 black-and-white digital press with an in-line finishing system, to be shown in a print-on-demand application.

Xerox Corporation plans to fill its 50,000-square-foot exhibit with an array of enhanced printers, copiers, multifunction devices, input scanners, and color and black-and-white production imaging systems. The company, which offers some products in conjunction with partner vendors, is staging a series of product rollouts in preparation for the show.

The exhibit's main attraction undoubtedly will be the U.S. debut of a versatile, high-speed, toner-based production system, known up to now as FutureColor, that Xerox is describing as representing the third generation in digital print technology. The 30-foot-long machine, which has a duty cycle of more than a million impressions per month, can produce up to 6,000 letter-size copies per hour, or 3,000 sheets printed on both sides. Testing in customer sites is to commence this year, with commercial launch to take place in 2002.

At Print 01, Xerox is to unveil new digital front ends and control and workflow software for its color systems. Meanwhile, its monochrome unit will introduce its DocuTech/DocuPrint 75 (75 pages per minute simplex, 37 ppm duplex), equipped with a DocuSP common controller, and show 6155 and 6180 systems with enhanced image resolution of 600x2,400 dpi.