Is Graphic Arts the ‘Holy Grail’ of Production Inkjet?

What is in store for inkjet printing as the now triennial drupa 2016 tradeshow is set to open less than 11 months from now? Progressive, forward-thinking commercial printers are better off setting their sights on drupa 2025, advised Marco Boer, VP of industry research firm I.T. Strategies. That’s because production inkjet is coming to the graphic arts space, Boer insists.

It is not a matter of if but rather how soon, he told 150 attendees at HP’s inaugural Jetcomm production inkjet web press user community conference this past March. The graphic arts segment is “the big theme for the next 10 years,” said Boer, who served as one of Jetcomm’s moderators.

Twenty-seven percent annual growth is expected on the digital print side of the graphic arts segment, according to I.T. Strategies’ projections. “This is the ‘Holy Grail,’” Boer continued, “and it will happen.” The ability to print on coated offset substrates, for example, simply is a matter of time, he said, as is heavier ink coverage on inkjet output. “And there are continuing increases in print quality and productivity, to the point where the offset quality level will be matched equally by inkjet,” he contends.

For HP alone, inkjet web printing volume has grown to some 90 billion pages over the past seven years, reported Boer.“There are now 10 different platforms from HP, and they are not sitting still,” he said, adding that, industry-wide, more than $1 billion was invested last year in non-consumer inkjet research and development. “The technology is getting wider and faster, with improved quality levels. It stated at 200 feet per minute [fpm] and will get to 3,000 fpm!”

Aurelio Maruggi proclaimed emphatically, “This is the best time to be a printer.” Maruggi, who led the Inkjet High-Speed Production Solutions (IHPS) division for eight years as VP and general manager before moving on to a role within HP’s new Office and Versatility division, also noted: “Our customers now are adding approximately 4 billion pages every month, which means totals are effectively doubling every 18 months.”

Looking at the overall digital printscape, InfoTrends’ 2013-2018 Global Production Printing & Copying Market Forecast reported that US and Western European digital production color volumes totaled about 265 billion impressions in 2013 and will surpass 500 billion by 2018. Also by 2018, production color inkjet volume will exceed that produced by toner. In 2012 production color inkjet accounted for 31 percent of the total production digital color volume, which is all the more impressive when you consider that there was barely any production color inkjet volume prior to 2008. By 2018, InfoTrends believes that production color inkjet will account for 59 percent—and this is happening while color toner also is growing at a healthy rate.

Highly variable direct mail

Kodak sees a trend toward highly variable direct mail in North America “above and beyond the ‘pleasing color’ associated with transactional printing,” said inkjet guru Will Mansfield. The OEM’s internal reorganization is proof of inkjet’s growth, according to Mansfield, who now directs worldwide sales and marketing of strictly presses for Kodak’s Enterprise Inkjet Systems Division. “We’ve also restructured how regions report,” he explained. “There is now complete vertical integration, for speed and flexibility, for the design, buildng, marketing, sales, and repair of these devices.”

Look how far we have come, Mansfield said: “In 2008 it was known as the ‘inkjet drupa,’ you’ll recall.” Kodak showed a technical demonstration of its Stream technology in Dusseldorf seven years ago. Since then, inkjet has been driven by two major factors, he believes:

1. Over the past six years, transaction printing has shifted from the electrophotographic (EP) imprinting of offset shells on toner devices to achieving acceptable color in a single pass through an inkjet press: white paper in, color document out. “This still represents the lion’s share of pages produced on inkjet systems,” Mansfield said, “but bills and statements are decreasing, as we know.” (In fact, cost-cutting measures overseas among insurance and credit card clients have resulted in a decrease in color transaction work, in Kodak’s experience,)
2. For the past two to three years, growth has come from commercial print applications for direct mail, as more marketers embrace “Big Data to sell stuff,” he added.

To his second point, Mansfield pointed out that commercial print firms are “competing against data centers that have expertise in data and experience in inkjet. But what the printers have are relationships with the customers,” adding that they can learn variable-data print (VDP) knowledge and get up to speed on the inkjet learning curve. “The real challenge is to be trustworthy and competent in managing data.” Some progressive print firms, including NJ-based Sandy Alexander, are beginning to take customer data and security very seriously.

Mansfield is bullish on future inkjet applications beyond book, transpromo, and direct mail printing. He foresees variable-data/image catalogs and cover wraps on the horizon for commercial printers, “and not only B-to-B catalogs. Low quantities are being done on EP devices,” he said. He also envisions more in the way of hybrid printing with inkjet heads mounted on offset presses: personalized applications such as coupons, geocoded maps, and unique offers.

Commercial print relevance

Dustin Graupman, VP and GM of Xerox’s continuous-feed inkjet business, goes even further, suggesting that personalized posters and brochures, including hybrids with toner-printed covers and inkjet-printed interior pages, also may emerge in the not-so-distant future as inkjet technology continues to be leveraged. “We are on the verge of seeing more and more substrates come to market and, hence, new inkjet products will inevitably follow.” Substrate latitude is one component of the technology’s evolution, he added.

Every type of printing technology has its “enabling applications that justify [the print providers’] investment,” Graupman continued. In inkjet’s case, these enabling apps are the aforementioned trio of book, transactional, and direct mail printing. “Early on, the image quality was ‘good enough,’ and these core applications drove a lot of inkjet [press] installations,” the Xerox executive noted. But this next stage of inkjet’s maturation and evolution is where it really will become fun for print service providers, he explained. “They get to creatively use the technology, and their end customers need to add data to make it more powerful.”

Graupman went on to say that Xerox’s new Rialto 900 narrow-web inkjet press, unveiled in February, features an integrated roll in/cut-sheet out design. The device “allows commercial printers to get into inkjet at a lower acquisition cost,” he said. The Rialto is designed for print providers who produce 1.5 to 5 million impressions per month. It has the smallest footprint of any inkjet press on the market – 11.9 x 5.1 feet  (including the press tower) – a cost-effective option for various production environments. To help lower the entry point into production inkjet technology, the Rialto 900 prints duplex jobs, one-up on the smallest, narrow web (9.84 inches) on the market today.

In terms of inkjet system quality, Kodak’s Mansfield contends that a combination of paper, ink, and machine optimization all work in tandem. The manufacturer rolled out its latest generation Prosper 6000C inkjet web press in mid-2014; the “C” stands for Commercial as the press is ideally suited for commercial print applications requiring high ink laydowns. “The 6000C features our Stream inkjet technology and an inter-station drying approach that ‘freezes’ the ink immediately after printing, providing [for] more contrast,” he continued. It also is the industry’s fastest full-color inkjet press.

Mansfield reported that the Prosper 6000 has run at 650 feet per minute (fpm) with high ink coverage on heavier glossy and silk stock. “Plus, it can run at 1,000 fpm on coated stock with moderate coverage,” he added, “with [an] exceptional non-show-through” end result due to the aforementioned drying technique. “It’s not wet on wet, so the water doesn’t show through.” Duty cycle is 90 million A4 top quality pages per month.

Paper and ink

Furthermore, Kodak is working closely with Kruger Inc., a Canadian paper mill, to create a line of lightweight coated paper for its Prosper line of presses, Mansfield revealed. “We started trials on our ‘Kruger LWC’ in early 2015 in Asia, Europe, and North America,” he noted, “and expect to be running live work soon.”

At HP’s first Jetcomm user group meeting, a panel of three paper people from Appleton Coated, International Paper, and Mitsubishi Paper discussed inkjet substrates, admitting that high-gloss coated papers have been challenging for the technology. Ink coverage ultimately is what dictates whether an uncoated, inkjet-coated, or optimized sheet should be used on a given print job. Generally, 15 percent coverage or less can be run on an untreated sheet. One of Appleton’s most popular products is a matte finished stock, which has become the standard for books printed on inkjet presses.

While inkjet still only represents between 5 percent and 15 percent of overall mill volumes, they agreed that the price of coated inkjet paper has and will continue to come down. If volumes are high enough, paper can be treated inline at the mill, which is a highly cost-effective method. Most economical, of course, is printing on coated offset stocks; while this scenario still is futuristic, it may not be that far off, they said.

In Eau Claire, WI, Documation president and COO Martin Aalsma is using ink management technology to prevent paper curl on the personalized. high-coverage direct mail pieces that the firm produces on its two HP T230 Inkjet Web Presses. “We had drying issues,” Aalsma explained to the Jetcomm attendees. “Water and ink wetting agents were absorbing too fast and pigments were not adhering properly, causing ink ruboff, offsetting problems, and tackiness,” not to mention paper cockling from excessive moisture. Documation’s solution uses Alwan’s color optimizer to identify variables and save up to 30 percent on ink cost and usage. Aalsma and his team also work with paper vendors and manufacturers, including International Paper, Midland Paper, Mondi, and Mitsubishi Paper, to test different surface treatments and profile stocks. They’ve found that varying the press speeds can improve performance in some cases.

Inkjet installs

During his Jetcomm presentation, Boer stressed that inkjet now is a proven technology. “The print head technology is reliable. This was a fear early on, but that argument is closed,” he asserted. HP’s Maruggi literally applauded inkjet web early adopters in attendance, including print/marketing firms such as ANRO Inc. and Hudson Printing. “This was an unproven technology at the time, and these partners shared our vision,” he praised, retrospectively.

Diversified offset and digital print firm ANRO specializes in mass-volume direct mail. Situated in West Chester, PA, near Philadelphia, the company had annual sales of $32 million in 2014 and employs 130 people. It has been an HP Indigo Digital Press user since 1997 (it now owns three Indigo 7000 models) and installed a T300 Color Inkjet Web Press in mid-2012.

The T300 delivers a combination of productivity, print quality, cost, and flexibility. The company has also upgraded their finishing operations to accommodate additional capacity and unique production requirements of the T300, as well as enhanced their existing mailing operations and database programming expertise. ANRO can now deliver 100 percent variability on high-volume mailings, transactional print and publishing applications, all at reduced turnaround times and effective price points.

ANRO’s newest press presents an especially appealing opportunity for the firm’s direct mail clients. “In the past, a client with a large mailing was faced with a decision – either sort their mailing list geographically to optimize postage savings, or version the mailers for product-based targeting. Now with the T300, they can do both,” said COO Jim Spinelli. ANRO clients achieve the lowest possible postage on large mailings while increasing response rates and improving their ROI with the use of fully personalized direct mail pieces. “It’s the best of both worlds – higher relevance and lower postage costs,” Spinelli noted.

A key benefit of the T300 press is its speed.: a daily capacity of up to 1.5 million letter-size pieces. Additional features of the T300 include: 30-inch maximum width web roll, 1200 x 600 dpi resolution, thermal digital inkjet technology, and a range of substrates from 27-lb. offset up to coated cover stocks.

Another early inkjet-web adopter, Hudson Printing, Salt Lake City, UT, installed a modified version of the HP T300 press (called the T330) nearly two years ago. Water is the enemy of inkjet printing, Hudson innovation director Paul Gardner explained in an Inkjet’s Age piece last September. “Too much water is bad,” Gardner said. In the fall of 2013, the 200-employee commercial, heatset web-offset print firm for which he works took delivery of the world’s first (and so far only) HP T330 Color Inkjet Web Press featuring the drying capacity of the T350 model along with remoisturizing technology. Without adding moisture, paper can “bake crispy in non-coverage areas” on the direct mail pieces that Hudson prints, he continued. (Read the full article here: “Best Practices Help Inkjet to Soar Higher” www.MyPRINTResource.com/11598830.) This past March, Gardner told the Jetcomm audience that Hudson “does not own a sheetfed press.”

Thirteen months ago, commercial and direct-mail printer Japs-Olson installed the world’s first Kodak Prosper 6000C Press in its Minnesota facility. The venerable, 108-year-old firm is a big believer in reinvesting in its business, president Michael Murphy told attendees at the PIA Print Leadership Summit in May. “Wait and see is waiting to die,” he added. “We have reinvested 8 percent to 10 percent over the past 15 years.” Interestingly, Japs-Olson’s post-recession reinvestment percentages are on the higher end.

Also, “we are doing 50 percent more versioning since the Great Recession – at 20 percent less volume,” Murphy noted. When the new Prosper inkjet web was added in June 2014, he commented: “The only way to ensure long-term success in the printing industry is to provide the greatest quality to customers while being laser focused on productivity and efficiency. As we have become familiar with Prosper 6000C Press, we are certain that the future of printing will be tied to this leading innovative product family. The early indications of its production capability and stunning quality are a testament to what the next generation of digital printing can do today.” Japs-Olson has been a Kodak customer for 19 years.

Marketing firm Wilen Direct, Deerfield Beach, FL, also is expanding its high-volume, four-color imaging and personalization capabilities with the Prosper 6000C inkjet web press. Wilen expects its investment to satisfy increasing demand for quick turnaround and high-quality color, variable direct mail solutions across various formats and substrates. It also will provide clients with a more efficient page inventory and a wider array of size and substrate options at record speeds and at much higher quality. The installation is expected to be complete by summer’s end, according to Mansfield.

The Prosper 6000C Press can produce high-gloss targeted direct mail pieces for an average of 30 percent less than using electrophotographic (toner-based) systems, Kodak said. These economics deliver Wilen’s clients greater return on marketing investment as well as improved efficiencies in high-volume production runs of quality mail pieces. “Our clients live by mail and it’s our duty to provide them with the best solutions to help them compete,” said president Darrin Wilen.

In Freedom, PA, a Screen Truepress Jet520S color inkjet web  is helping direct-mail firm MSP make the toner transition. “We spent four years researching high-speed variable color inkjet printing before we bought this press,” recalled COO Douglas Wright. “We looked at different continuous-feed digital presses from many vendors. The Screen inkjet printing system was found to be the best application for us in terms of overall cost and maintenance. It offers high uptime, and it’s extremely user friendly. Screen didn’t over-engineer this press.”

The $65 million organization chose the Truepress Jet520S in a dual-engine duplex configuration. Its top printing speed of 420 feet per minute enables fast throughput and efficient production of high print volumes. The press went live in May 2014, ramping up to an average of eight to 10 million linear feet per month in no time. “With the flexibility to print full variable color on every form, we are seeing increased volume,” Wright said. “Ultimately, some of our mono laser printers will be archived here before too long.”

Now one of the most respected privately owned direct mail facilities in the country, MSP began life in 1953 as a modest letter shop called Mailing Services of Pittsburgh. Founders Richard E. Busheé Jr. and his father, Richard E. Busheé Sr. set up shop in the basement of their home. The company’s name later was abbreviated to reflect clients’ preference for the initials.

The family business (founded by Richard E. Busheé, Sr. and Jr. in 1953) now comprises four divisions. Collectively, MSP, Thorn Hill Printing, TrueSense Marketing and BlueSky ETO operate with 540 employees in a 151,000-square-foot plant outside Pittsburgh plus several offices in the states of Washington, Texas, New York, South Carolina and Connecticut. The four divisions provide digital and offset printing, mailing, sophisticated web-based marketing portals and database management. Mail capacity can exceed two million pieces a day.

Approximately 60 percent of MSP’s portfolio consists of forms printing for clients in the nonprofit sector, including the Salvation Army and Ronald McDonald House Charities. “The Salvation Army is our longest-standing client,” Wright noted. “Fifty-five percent of the Salvation Army’s domestic printing takes place at this location.”

Agility, speed and a high degree of automation from prepress to postpress enable MSP to meet clients’ crucial deadlines on solicitation letters, remittance documents and brochures. Seeking to replicate a fully automated conventional half-web press, the company outfitted the Truepress Jet520S with a KTI unwind splicing unit on the front end and an EMT dynamic perforating unit and GEC dual rewinder on the back end.

“The uptime has been outstanding,” Wright said. “The automation helps us with quicker turnarounds.”

Doing maintenance entirely in-house keeps costs down and the Truepress humming. “It’s an easy machine to maintain,” Wright continued. “Screen trained two of our employees at their demo center in Chicago to service the machine."

The Truepress’ efficient use of ink also reduces operating costs, a significant factor in MSP’s decision to acquire the press. “We made modifications to the ink sets to better hit colors for clients’ logos,” Wright explained. “The Truepress provides opportunity for variable color print, unlike conventional printing.”

Finishing touches

In the digital postpress department, “There are several dynamics in play that provide flexibility and creativity and will make inkjet more relevant to commercial printers,” Xerox’s Graupman said. One of those dynamics is third-party coating developments that bring inkjet output even closer to offset.

Another example of inkjet finishing versatility was shown at the annual Hunkeler Innovationdays winter gathering in Switzerland, where Horizon International demonstrated its new RD-4055 Rotary Die-Cutter. The machine can die-cut, crease, perforate, slit, hole punch, and round corner in one process for digital and offset printed sheets. Die-cutting and kiss-cutting can be performed at the same time to produce stickers and labels. And, a repeat register function allows multiple-up applications from a single-up die to minimize costs. The RD-4055 feeds, die-cuts, and separates waste in one pass at up to 6,000 cycles/hour and accepts sheet sizes up to 15.74 x 21.65 inches at a thickness up to .019 inch.

Conclusion

So what is I.T. Strategies’  advice to commercial printers, small, medium, and large? “Believe in print. But if you’re in the printing industry, you will need to adopt inkjet,” Boer concluded bluntly. “You will need to be there, or else get behind in the curve.”

The bottom line is this: “Almost everybody we have interviewed is making money with inkjet presses,” he said. “It really is a wonderful time to be in this industry.”

RELATED CONTENT:

From Inkjet’s Age quarterly last November, read editor Denise Gustavson’s comprehensive reportage: “2015 Production Inkjet Market Trends” www.MyPRINTResource.com/12014244