Peeking Behind the Curtain

Numerous vendors converged in late January at a press conference held at the Messe Düsseldorf fairgrounds in Germany to provide a sneak peek for what Drupa 2004 attendees could expect to see in two months.

Following is an overview of new products, prototypes, and next-generation solutions to be on display.

Artwork Systems will introduce an asset management solution called Mnemo, which, based on a MySQL database, keeps track of prepress production files and their contents. The company also plans to unveil additional features for its Odystar workflow environment, including true system scalability, multi-document support, and elaborate use of JDF. Finally, Artwork Systems will show Version 2 of WebWay, its Web-based project management platform.

Baldwin Technology Company, Inc. will introduce its new Prepac P3 and P3 UHC (UV, hybrid, and conventional ink) cleaning cartridges for web and sheetfed press blankets, as well as its modular Tower Clean system for single-width newspaper and coldset semi-commercial printing. Other introductions: the LithoSpray Maxima dampening system, and the Digital Double-Doser fluid management system, which affords the independent use of an alcohol substitute and fountain solution to enable alcohol-free printing.

Baldwin also will introduce the S-18 WebCatcher web press protection system, designed to perform at speeds up to 18 meters per second, which incorporates new dual DSA sensor technology, ensuring that a broken web can be sensed from the operator or gear side, say Baldwin officials.

Canon Inc., in addition to showing its recently launched CLC 5100 and CLC 4000 digital copier/printer systems, will show its new W6200P, a six-color 24" pigment ink large-format printer, which features full-bleed printing, improved color precision, greater depth, and finer tone diffusion. The lightweight and compact machine is 18% smaller than similar devices, says Canon.

Canon also will show Print Job Manager, its Web-based application service provider (ASP) job submission and order management system.

Dotrix N.V., acquired by Agfa in January, will show enhanced configurations of its single-pass digital ink-jet press, the.factory (pronounced "the dot factory"). Built for high-speed industrial print applications in the packaging, display/signage, and decorative realms, the machine is capable of printing on paper, paperboard, vinyl, aluminum, and PVC up to 63 cm wide at output speeds of up to 907 square meters per hour.

the.factory's print heads provide 300-dpi resolution with three-bit grayscale or eight levels of gray per spot, resulting in an apparent resolution of 900 dpi. These different intensities, combined with stochastic screening, result in a high level of print quality, says Dotrix.

In addition to the existing stand-alone roll-to-roll version of the.factory, Dotrix will show the press integrated with a jumbo unwinder and sheet cutter. Also, a new UV curing unit for the press will be shown, while new software developments to be demonstrated include Pantone matching capability as well as extended portfolios of substrates and UV-curable inks.

EFI, Inc. plans to show its fastest Fiery color server, the QX9000, driving a 2,000-page-per-minute color variable-data printer within the Kodak Versamark family. Other new Fiery servers to be on display are the S300 and S500 models for mid-range and high-volume production print engines, and the Q4500 for color production-class engines and digital presses.

EFI also will show various connected workflows with Heidelberg, Screen, and other partners, as well as the latest version of its OneFlow prepress software connecting to EFI Balance job distribution software and Fiery servers. EFI's MicroPress black-and-white production software will be connected to a Fiery server as well.

The company's Hagen OA and PrintSmith MIS systems will be shown connected to EFI's digital workflow systems, as will JDF-connected workflows that include Hagen, proofing technology from Best, OneFlow, Balance, Fiery, Internet solutions, and digital and offset presses.

Encad, Inc., an Eastman Kodak Company subsidiary, will show its newly released NovaJet 1000i wide-format ink-jet device, the first printer developed jointly by Kodak and Encad. Featuring three times the productivity of its nearest competitor, says Encad, the machine can print at up to 150 square feet per hour in productivity mode, and 220 square feet in high-speed mode.

With output resolutions up to 1,200 dpi, the NovaJet 1000i is compatible with both Quantum Ink pigment and dye inks, also introduced by Encad. Each of the NovaJet 1000i's 640-nozzle print heads has a 2.1-liter average ink throughput, and each head is warranted for 700-ml throughput with Quantum Ink. Ink refill can be handled on the fly, even between dye and pigment inks, say company officials.

Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. will launch the latest addition to its B2 violet photopolymer CTP family, the Luxel V-6CTP, in manual and automatic configurations. Able to output up to 35 B2-size plates per hour, the automatic version's cassette can hold up to 120 plates. A new single-cassette version of the Luxel V-9600 and Vx-9600 B1 platesetters will be shown as well.

In consumables for commercial printing, Fujifilm will debut a positive thermal CTP plate, the Brillia LH-PJ. Launched in Asia, the new plate can be used with 10-micron FM screening; Fujifilm says it offers better scratch resistance, UV ink printing, chemical resistance without post-baking, and wider ink and water balance.

Two new plates will be shown for the newspaper market: the Brillia LH-NN thermal plate and Brillia LP-NNV violet photopolymer plate.

Fujifilm, which plans to show a processless plate currently in development, also will demonstrate its next-generation JDF-compliant Celebra Extreme PDF, digital printing, digital proofing, and CTP workflow systems, as well as its new POD RIP DFE designed for on-demand printing with Xerox DocuColor machines.

Inca Digital Printers, an offshoot of Cambridge Consultants, will show the Spyder 150 flatbed printer for point-of-sale print jobs. With a 60×40" print area, the Spyder 150 outputs photographic-quality print using a new set of UV inks from its screen ink manufacturing partner Sericol, says Inca. Using Spectra ink-jet heads, the printer offers three modes of output to produce resolutions from 400 to 1,000 dpi, and has a maximum output rating of 50 square meters an hour.

Inca also plans to launch in the PrintCity display in Hall 6 a prototype of an ink-jet system that enables full-color, high-quality printing in a single pass over the substrate, says the company, adding that it has formed a partnership with Sun Chemical to commercialize the technology in the sheetfed corrugated packaging market. This 300-dpi machine will incorporate an array of stationary ink-jet heads enabling a print width of 520 mm on substrates up to 700 mm wide and 7 mm thick. The print heads used in this device will have over 4,000 nozzles per color.

Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG) will launch its first processless plate, the KPG Thermal Direct Non Process Plate, suitable for imaging on standard thermal CTP devices. KPG officials say that the Thermal Direct Plate is capable of holding 1% to 98% dots on 200-line screens, and is suitable for use with 20-micron FM screening. The plate is compatible with a wide range of inks and fountain solutions, including alcohol and most popular alcohol substitutes, and can produce up to 75,000 impressions under optimal press conditions. KPG also will show the new Sword Ultra Positive-Processing Thermal Plate.

In addition, KPG will launch its new modular KPG Color Fidelity System for color management, as well as the second generation of its SWOP-certified Matchprint Virtual Proofing System. The Matchprint Virtual Press Side Proofing System enables all parties involved with a print job to connect via the Web to approve or electronically mark for correction the same proofs within minutes, says KPG.

Finally, KPG will introduce a new and as yet unnamed entry-level CTP system comprising a Screen PlateRite 4100 thermal platesetter and a RIP-once, output-many workflow.

Within its Future Technology Zone at Drupa, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. will show its shaftless Diamond 16 Max-V web offset press with variable cutoff. Says Mitsubishi, until now, the circumference of the plate cylinder has basically defined web offset press signature cutoffs, but the new press changes this definition, varying the cutoff from 546 mm to 625 mm. Here, different diameter plate and blanket sleeves fit over cylinders in a relatively quick and easy operation, says the company, adding that folder changeover from one signature cutoff to another is fully automated.

The company plans to exhibit its Rewritable Plate System (RPS), an off-line plate erasing and writing device. Here, an aluminum plate serves as a bed on which a special polymer coating film is applied, onto which the image to be printed is applied via direct digital imaging. After printing, the film is washed from the plate and a new film coating is applied, thereby enabling one plate to be used repeatedly–-up to 20 times per plate, says Mitsubishi, at up to 100,000 impressions per job. Mitsubishi hopes to release the machine commercially within two years.

In its New Technology Zone, Mitsubishi will show its Diamond 3000TP Tandem Perfector, which enables one-pass perfecting and aqueous coating/IR drying on both sides of the sheet, and the Diamond 3000LX sheetfed press, which prints on various stocks ranging in thickness from 0.04 mm to 1.0 mm.

QuadTech, Inc., a division of printer Quad/Graphics, will show its Color Control System (CCS) for commercial web offset printing migrated onto its new Icon platform, which allows multiple QuadTech products to integrate seamlessly and be controlled from a single operator console. Added features include set-up of the next job while the current job is running, faster and finer control by allowing adjustments during closed-loop operation, and enhanced support for special colors.

QuadTech also will debut its Data Central software for commercial web offset and newspaper printers, which overlays the control provided by current QuadTech press controls, providing automatic configuration as well as sophisticated statistics and reports on press performance and optimization.

For rotogravure printers of publication and packaging products, QuadTech will show its new Heliostat electrostatic assist system, based on technology developed by PressTech Controls, which QuadTech acquired in 2002. An enhanced PressTech Autotron 2600 register system for packaging applications also will be shown.

Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Screen) will launch its TruePress 344 automated, four-color A3+ digital offset press, which is slated to replace the company's TruePress 544 when production begins later this year. Says Screen, the offset machine, which can output 7,000 four-color A3+ sheets per hour, features the latest in high-speed digital imaging technology, and uses processless plate material.

Screen also will launch what it says is the industry's fastest 16-page thermal platesetter, the PlateRite Ultima 16000, which can image 23 45×57" plates per hour. In addition, the company will debut a 30-mW version of its B3 violet PlateRite Micra CTP device, and will introduce the dual-imaging PlateRite Ultima 32000Z, a 32-page thermal platesetter.

Screen also will show its second-generation FM screening product called Randot X, which is based on Harlequin HDS screening and includes 10-, 15-, and 20-micron screening capability, as well as numerous new production modules for its Trueflownet JDF-based workflow environment.

X-Rite will show seven new products under its Streamlined Color Management umbrella at Drupa. First, says the company, for color creation professionals, X-Rite will unveil an affordable, all-in-one spectrophotometer-based color management solution, and the new Monaco XR monitor.

For the prepress arena, the company will unveil a one-button, X-Y AutoScan spectrophotometer that affords three-minute throughput, a solution that's seven times faster than competitive products, says X-Rite. A digital proofing product also will be unveiled, as will the company's Monaco QC Color Web-based remote proofing system.

Finally, X-Rite will show its DTP32 Series II densitometer for the on-demand realm, as well as an integrated QA product.