Postpress Innovations on Display in Press/Finishing/PackPrint/Photo Imaging Show Floor Section

GRAPH EXPO's Press/Finishing/PackPrint/Photo Imaging show floor sections feature a host of new postpress products—including product debuts and MUST SEE 'EMS winners. Now spanning the realm of print, online and mobile, this year's show will display the hottest new technologies in the market and create a 'must attend' event for graphic communications professionals.

GRAPH EXPO postpress product debuts

This year in Chicago, a number of exhibitors will take the opportunity offered by GRAPH EXPO to debut new postpress products on the show floor.

The JETvarnish 3D inkjet spot UV coater from MGI Digital Graphic Technology (Booth 3623) is making is US debut here at GRAPH EXPO. It pushes the limits of traditional spot UV coating with a new 3D effect that varies in thickness depending on application requirements, providing a unique advantage to finished documents not only in appearance but by its unique and tactile feel. With a dramatic increase in speed of up to 3,000 sheets per hour (52x105 cm/20x42"), the JETvarnish 3D can spot UV coat up to three times faster than the original JETvarnish, complementing both offset and digital presses and allowing commercial printers to increase their productivity while improving their margins and differentiating themselves from their peers.

The JETvarnish 3D handles formats ranging from A3/11.69x16.54" to 52x105 cm/20x42" and weights ranging from 135 to 500 g/m² and is completely variable data capable, paving the way for personalized UV coating applications.

Also making its US debut at GRAPH EXPO is Duplo's (Booth 2221) FKS PrintBind KB-4000 PUR Perfect Binder. The single-clamp KB-4000 combines heavy-duty milling and notching with the strong adhesiveness of both PUR and EVA hot melt side glues to produce high quality, perfect bound books up to 200 books per hour. Books are first applied with PUR along the spine then side-glued with the fast-drying EVA, enabling users to handle the book immediately. The KB-4000 also features a closed-tank system to prevent the emission of fumes. Other solutions on display will be the DB-280 and DPB-500 Perfect Binders.

MUST SEE 'EMS winners

Four winning products from the MUST SEE 'EMS fall into the "Postpress – Finishing Digital and Small-Format" and "Postpress Finishing – Wide-Format" categories and will be on display at GRAPH EXPO.

Xerox’s IntegratedPLUS Finishing Solution for Booklets (Booth 1200) offers the industry’s first complete in-line, off-line and dual-mode booklet automation, creating a streamlined, end-to-end booklet making solution and removing the usual bottlenecks that occur when producing, manuals, calendars and booklets manually.

Off-line and dual-mode automation is achieved with the Xerox Dual Mode Sheet Feeder, which allows an in-line finisher, traditionally dedicated to a single digital print system, to accept and handle printed output from multiple presses when operated in off-line mode.

EFI’s Integrated Layout Option for Fiery Wide Format Solutions (Booth 2000) enables users to increase productivity, reduce waste, save costs, and eliminate errors. The Layout Option makes it a lot easier to create a cutting path in Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. Specific tools allow users to create and clean up cutting contours based on the image shape, even on pixel data including JEPG, TIFF, PDF and Image-EPS file formats (Gray & CMYK).

Based on the quantity specified for every design, the Layout Option will optimize the sheet. Depending on the job, the Layout Option can create advanced nestings that are set up either for minimum waste or minimum layout. The minimum waste option optimizes substrate usage, whereas the minimum layout option tries to reduce the number of cut paths.

When working with irregular shapes, the Layout Option will optimize the sheet by nesting the designs based on their cut contour. When working with double-sided jobs, a reverse side will be generated automatically or you can choose a design for the back. This process can be automated if the front and back are available in a multi-page PDF file. The Layout Option offers automatic nesting, creation of reverse side layouts and synchronization of front and reverse sides.

The Esko (Booth 427) Kongsberg XN is the one of the highest performing finishing tables available in the mid-range market. Choice of four tool heads and a full assortment of insert tools guarantee unmatched versatility. Newly developed tools include a solid board v-notching insert, a corrugated paper-core board v-notching insert and a Braille tool insert. Options that increase productivity and quality for every application are available. Whether one needs software to help with registration, such as i-cut Vision Pro, tool heads and tool inserts to extend flexibility, productivity add-ons like a material conveyor, an AutoFeeder or a Roll-Off unit.

It can also be equipped with a more powerful milling spindle, called the MultiCUT- HP. With this head, the Kongsberg XN offers up to three times more milling productivity. Even when processing the most challenging materials, it keeps a productive, consistent speed. And thanks to the power-saving variable vacuum hold-down technology, it consumes less energy.

Other postpress highlights

Standard Finishing Systems (Booth 1244) will be showing its portfolio of postpress products at GRAPH EXPO. The new Horizon HT-1000V Variable Three-knife Trimmer operates in-line with Horizon perfect binders or off-line to deliver a wide range of input and output sizes for completely variable production. Setup and variable trimming are achieved automatically by reading a barcode printed on the cover sheet of each book at the entrance of the trimmer, with no operator input required. The system trims up to 1000 books of variable thickness and format size per hour and will accept a broad range of input sizes and deliver trimmed books from 5.7x4.05 inches up to 13.38x11.69 inches.

The Standard Horizon CRF-362 Creaser/Folder has been designed to handle the unique requirements of creasing and folding digital color output across a wide range of light and heavy weight stocks, coated or uncoated. The CRF-362 comes configured with seven selectable fold patterns and six selectable cover creasing patterns for perfect binding including spine, hinge, and flap creasing. The system can handle paper weights up to 400 gsm for creasing without folding (350 gsm with folding) and sheet sizes up to 14.33x34 inches.

In cooperation with HP (Booth 1227), Standard Horizon is demonstrating a new way to process your B2 print. The new Horizon SmartStacker converts a B2 size / 20x29-inch sheet into up to 28 individual cut sheets, with intelligent accumulation and stacking, and end-to-end JDF control. Designed to run in-line with the HP Indigo 10000 B2 Digital Press, the system can also be operated off-line. The SmartStacker performs up to seven double-slits in one direction and four in the other for full bleed trimming and can straight-stack, offset stack, or bypass to in-line finishing for saddlestitching, perfect binding, or folding.

Bell and Howell (Booth 2610) is unveiling enhancements to its Ascender series inserting systems. The Ascender 16 inserting system operates at speeds of up to 16,000 mailpieces per hour, supports multiple applications, changes over from flats to envelopes in minutes, and provides mailpiece integrity. The inserter also features Bell and Howell’s JETVision Navigator operating system and Harmonix productivity management software.