Gilson Graphics Showcases Production Inkjet Innovations at Grand Rapids Event

Gilson Graphics hosted Fujifilm, industry innovators, and media at their Grand Rapids facility to learn more about production inkjet, and Fujifilm innovations.

Dave Gilson, president, Gilson Graphics proudly hailed his J Press 720 (half-size 28”) and J Press 540W (web press). In late 2011, Gilson installed the first J Press 720.

Founded as Gilson Press Inc. in 1948, Gilson Graphics operates across three facilities, including a state-of-the-art fulfillment and digital print facility, and serves clients throughout the U.S. Its services run the gamut and include design, composition, print production and management, literature fulfillment, kit building and assembly, point-of-sale production and implementation, and direct mail. The printer is known for its ongoing investments in the latest industry technologies. 

Fujifilm’s J Press 720 establishes an entirely new product category: the high-quality, sheetfed inkjet press. The J Press 720 offers a half-size solution for print runs of just one or thousands, where traditional offset and digital printing are failing to perform, and provides a superior solution for the fastest-growing segment of the market where the majority of print jobs reside and where the opportunities will be in the future.

The J Press 720 is revolutionizing the graphic communications industry. With a 29.5"x 20.8" sheet and an output of 2,700 sheets per hour, it's the perfect solution for printers looking for a product that has the quality and robustness of an offset press as well as the versatility to handle even the shortest of press runs.

The J Press 720 produces bleed free high-quality images at resolutions of up to 1,200 x 1,200 dpi with four levels of grayscale, achieving unmatched repeatability from sheet to sheet.

The device prints a 20x29-inch sheet in a single pass, resulting in production speeds of 2,700 sheets per hour, with printed sheets emerging dry to the touch. This moves the breakpoint for the cost effectiveness of inkjet printing further into the traditional litho area.

Fitting easily into a standard pressroom, the Fujifilm J Press 720 uses standard coated and uncoated stock instead of specialized digital paper. The standard stock, once imaged, can be treated like offset stock and simply dropped into existing finishing equipment.

The J Press 720 provides streamlined printing, with no plate production required and no need to run up to color; makeready times and the associated waste are a thing of the past.

Not only does the J Press 720 remove the need for a number of pressroom solutions used on a typical offset press, but we estimate that the carbon footprint of the J Press 720 - compared to an equivalent half-sized, sheetfed press - is significantly reduced.

The J Press 540W is an inkjet web press designed for fully variable content, capable of printing each page with different images and text, creating new value-added products and business opportunities. The J Press 540W enables duplex printing within a single tower design, resulting in an extremely compact footprint, while retaining a maximum printing speed of 417 ft./min. The single-pass duplex system means the customer can easily adjust registration of both front and back sides. The J Press 540W is a more sustainable solution, facilitating a reduction in paper waste, and able to print short-run work more efficiently and handle variable data by Fujifilm XMF Workflow.

The J Press 540W produces high quality output using Fujifilm’s FM-based screening technology, enabling smooth color tones and sharp text.  Fujifilm’s high performance VIVIDIA ink, developed specifically for the J Press 540W, delivers vivid color and allows high-density images to be printed at high speed.  Vividia inks result in less ink transfer from sheet to sheet, cost effectively enabling high quality reproduction even on thin substrate.

Gilson said since he acquired his J Press 540W, there are now able to assume more four-color coupon and booklet jobs, and still remain a strong presence in (black and white) book production.

"If I just look at the book blocks, the J Press 540W is at least 15 times faster than the way we were printing previously.  That is amazing," said Gilson. “It’s nearly 14 times faster than (traditional monocolor toner-based presses. I don’t think we’d be doing book work today if we didn’t have the 540W,” added Gilson.