Sign & Graphics | Bi Monthly Publication of Signage Industry in India

HVG announces partnership with Renolit

Halifax Vogel Group (HVG) has announced its new partnership with leading international manufacturer of plastic film, Renolit, which will see Renolit Seaflex polished PVC sheet reintroduced to the market. Being a product of choice for marine window and flexible glass applications all over the world, Renolit Seaflex is one of the ranges of new products that will be distributed by HVG as the exclusive channel partner for Renolit.

Produced to meet the increasing demands for long-term outdoor applications, Renolit Seaflex has a clear glass finish that would never shrink, crack or yellow in sunlight and can be welded, sewn and bonded to itself or other materials with ease.

HP announces first ever Print Excellence Awards

HP has called for entries for its HP Print Excellence Awards, a new worldwide competition honouring graphic arts printing produced on HP Designjet, Indigo, Inkjet Web Press and Scitex systems. An international panel of print experts will select winners in 16 different categories of commercial print, wide-format graphics and label & packaging applications. In addition to evaluating print quality, the HP Print Excellence Awards will also recognise innovative examples of environmentally responsible printing. Participants in the HP Print Excellence Awards are free to enter. And HP graphic arts customers can download entry details and forms at www.hp.com/go/printexcellenceawards. Last date to receive entries being March 15, 2012,the winners will be announced at a gala event during drupa 2012 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Sawgrass Technologies launches new site to stay informed

Consumer division of Sawgrass Technologies announces the launch of www.howtosublimate.com, which is designed with a mission to educate, inform and engage with the sublimation printing community with startup business insights, educational and industry events calendars, substrates and of course, sublimation ink, printers and transfer media. This new site is a great way to stay informed and up-to-date with everything Sawgrass delivers to support its customers.

FUJIFILM Dimatix focuses grayscale applications

A new milestone in the activities of FUJIFILM Dimatix, the company announces its supply of Q-Class inkjet printheads to a New Hampshire-based technology developer for what is believed to be the first implementation of grayscale technology used for grand format 3.2 meter wide graphics reproduction. The developer, Redwood Technologies of Moultonboro, specialises in the design, development and integration of hardware and software for the private label digital inkjet industry.

Redwood Technologies’ Nemesis logic board is able to drive inkjet printheads in grand-format printers in true grayscale mode, in addition to the purely ‘on-off’ binary operation characteristic of conventional grand-format printing. The company selects FUJIFILM Dimatix Q-Class printheads for their ability to deliver precision, speed and consistency. A critical component of that decision was Dimatix VersaDrop jetting technology, which makes it possible for them to apply all the Q-Class advantages to true grayscale printing.

FUJIFILM marks marathon of its Wunderbar framing system sales in UK

FUJIFILM has been receiving huge sales of its Wunderbars, a revolutionary framing system for canvas prints. Since the launch of this unique framing solution in 2009, Wunderbars have become a firm favourite for many sign shops including photographers who appreciate the unique self-tensioning corner blocks that ensure the canvas never sags and that the print always remains tight. This exclusive system also allows the frame to contract and expand according to a room’s temperature and humidity.

3M Commercial Graphics announces winner of ‘Wrap Battle: 1080’

More than 500 fans of 3M Commercial Graphics recently voted in Wrap Battle: 1080 – a contest to choose the next colour and finish for 3M Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080. By an overwhelming margin, voters selected Brushed Black Metallic from the nine color/finish contenders. The new film will be available in January 2012. The contest was held on the Facebook page of 3M Commercial Graphics (www.facebook.com/3MGraphics).

After fans voted on their preferred colour/finish combination, they were encouraged to share their choice with their Facebook friends, and then were entered in the sweepstakes to win a roll of the selected film. Brushed Black Metallic received more than twice the votes of the next nearest finisher. The breakdown of the 554 total votes in the contest was Brushed Black Metallic (38%), Gloss Red Metallic (15%), Carbon Fiber Blue (12%), Matte Pin (9%), Matte Blue (7%), Carbon Fiber Gold (6%), Matte Orange (5%), Carbon Fiber Red (5%) and Matte Red (3%).

In the US, Evan Chan of La Habra, California won a free roll while Craig Stratton of Mount Pearl in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador won the prize in Canada. Scotchprint wrap film series 1080 has been embraced by car enthusiasts for its variety of finishes, textures and colours.

InteliCoat extends sales channels with online purchasing options

InteliCoat Technologies, one of the eminent manufacturers of coated paper, film and specialty substrates, has recently announced that customers can now buy popular products from its Magic, Magiclée and Museo brands online through the company’s website (www.buyintelicoat.com) in addition to continuing sales of products through its valued network of dealers. This option, which previously extended only to Museo Fine Art products, aims to give InteliCoat customers greater freedom in choosing how to place and order.

Offering of such web-based store presents convenience to customers who wish to immediately purchase a product that they have found online at any time day or night. Though the e-commerce website improves end user access to InteliCoat products, it does not mean replacing the values offered by the company’s local distributor partners.

Grapo Technologies changes name to SigmaJet

Grapo Technologies, a leading Czech company of large-format printers, has changed its name to SigmaJet. The company boasts of its unrivaled product range that includes one of most popular and highly demanded digital flatbed printer GEMINI, which is equipped with award-winning XAAR 1001 inkjet printhead to deliver an outstanding resolution and tonal accuracy.

Being given a new lease on life after a recent acquisition by a group of private investors Grapo Technologies will significantly be able to strengthen its position in the European digital large-format print market.

Mimaki JV34-260 bags ‘Best Large Format Inkjet Printer’ award

In recognition of its newly introduced JV34-260 printer, Mimaki Engineering received the ‘Best Large Format Inkjet Printer’ award during the recent viscom Dusseldorf. This cutting-edge printer had been widely acclaimed at the show for its print speeds and quality. Having a width of 2.6 m, it enables excellent wide prints for billboard and truck branding and also compatible with dye-sublimation inks for textile.

Versatility of JV34 printer enables smaller sign shops to concentrate on just one printer. Another big advantage of the printer is the price-performance ratio. The printer has two newly developed printheads, which permit print speeds up to 30 sq m/h.

Forsstrom and Zund announce global co-operation

Swedish manufacturer of high-frequency welding equipment, Forsstrom has announced a global co-operation strategy with Zund to broaden their business knowledge and sales networks. The co-operation between the two industry giants will enable their customers to purchase a truly tailor-made solution for both digital cutting and high frequency welding.

Forsstrom welders are used in a wide variety of markets to produce a huge range of products including truck and boat covers, tarps, tents, structures, sunshades, pool liners, billboards, inflatable products, liquid tanks, stretch ceilings, valve membranes, etc.

XAAR sponsors PrintIT to attract youth

For the fourth year, XAAR sponsors PrintIT! programme engaging students in topical design projects using the latest print techniques to demonstrate how diverse and interesting the print industry can be. The project aims to educate audience all possible opportunities delivered by digital inkjet technology. Therefore, XAAR continues to support this initiative to promote the print industry within schools attracting fresh talent with fresh ideas.

Introduced in 2005, PrintIT! is an industry-wide educational initiative which aims to encourage young people to consider a career in print. PrintIT! programme has gone from strength to strength over recent years, with over 16,700 students from more than 350 schools registering to take part in 2011. As part of sponsorship, XAAR gave every school a copy of its book titled Industrial Inkjet for Dummies as an educational tool to enable them to learn more about industrial inkjet technology.

Three heavyweights join to form UV LED Curing Association

Thoseon Technology, Integration Technology and Lumen Dynamics join together to form the UV LED Curing Association, which is Eestablished to address a growing need within the market for current and potential researchers, suppliers, integrators and end-users to gain a better understanding about UV LED technology and the significant benefits it brings to numerous applications.

One of the goals of the association is to demonstrate how system developers around the world can effectively integrate UV LED technology into applications and achieve better efficiencies while saving costs. The three founders of the association will work together to help define and establish UV LED-based guidelines for UV LED curing applications.

Roland ink and printer win awards at SGIA

Roland’s new ECO-UV S ink and VersaUV LEJ-640 hybrid flatbed printer have bagged SGIA’s Product of the Year 2011 Awards in the categories of Digital ink and Poster Size UV inkjet printers under 96 inches. The SGIA awards reflect the strength of Roland VersaUV LED technology, which is truly a revolutionary platform to embrace businesses of different applications ranging from labels and packaging prototypes to signage, POP displays and even personalised gifts and electronics.

Roland VersaUV inkjets come in five models, ranging from 12 to 64 inches in width. Wide-format VersaUV models support the new, highly flexible ECO-UV S ink, which expands up to 220 percent. And ECO-UV S is offered in CMYK and white for the VersaUV LEJ-640 printer and LEC series printer/cutters.

EskoArtwork appoints new vice president Asia Pacific

A new facelift in EskoArtwork as the company has appointed Hoshi Deboo as its new vice president Asia Pacific. He will take over responsibilities for activities in Asia Pacific and Japan (excluding China) from Jean-Pierre De Moor, who is leaving the company after 22 years of service to pursue new opportunities. Deboo joins EskoArtwork from United Fiber Systems Ltd, where he worked in the capacity of acting CEO and executive director in-charge of restructuring the company and bringing in a major investor.

During the 1990s, Deboo was based in Singapore with RR Donnelley developing a US$273 million Asian publishing and print outsourcing services business extending from Japan to Australia with operations in seven countries. He speaks four Asian languages and has a wide network of the US and Asia Pacific contacts. Deboo mentioned that there is a huge opportunity for growth of this business in the Asian market and he is looking forward to transforming those growth opportunities into reality.

INX Digital and Avery tie up on ICS Performance Guarantee

INX Digital International and Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Solutions (GRS) have entered an agreement for the latter to offer their ICS Performance Guarantee to customers using Triangle inks for specific medias. The guarantee scheme involves Mimaki JV3, JV33 and JV5 printers with Triangle JVS or BVJ inks, Mutoh Valuejet 1614 series printers and the Roland Soljet and VersaCAMM series with Triangle’s MLD or EDX inks.

Similar agreements were signed earlier involving solvent inks and this deal covering the majority of INX Digital’s wide-format inks including EDX, the newest addition to the product roster.

GOGS Technologies opens new office in Okhla

Expanding its presence in the Indian subcontinent following the landmark opening of its office at Mulund (W) in Mumbai, Gulf Ocean Graphics Services (GOGS) Technologies has recently unveiled a new branch in Okhla Industrial Area, New Delhi. This Dubai-headquartered distributor of an array of quality industrial UV printers boasts of its GEMINI, SHARK, OCTOPUS and MANTA line of flatbed printers compatible with UV-based inks for long lasting prints with instant drying, photographic quality at affordable prices.

GOGS Technologies recently received two orders for its MANTA SLIM flatbed printer, which runs at the speed up to 430 sq ft/hr to churn out 720 x 720 dpi resolution and GEMINI flatbed & roll-to-roll printer capable to print in 1080 x 1080 dpi resolution at the speed up to 1000 sq ft/hr. For more details, view their website: www.gogs.org or contact: 09818333521, 09920329647, 09600433005.

Starflex changes its logo

Celebrating the final touch to its vertical ntegration, Starflex announces the change of its corporate identity with a brand new logo.This leading South Korean flex manufacture has communicated with all its clients and business partners across the globe concerning the company’s new registered trademark and logo accompanied by new website address. In the meantime, it has also been declared that the products marked with the previous logo with the blue STAR circled in red will remain in use and the products in circulation are fully covered by the Starflex standard warranties. Starflex announces that all its distributors to use the new logo exclusively. And both old and new logos of Starflex will remain sole property of the manufacturer and subject to the rules in use therefore.

Caldera and Alwan create ink saving module

In order to create an ink saving module for the latest edition of its RIP (v9), Caldera teams up with Alwan Color Expertise. The ink saving module named InkPerformer promises users the power to monitor and optimise their ink consumption, giving printers a significant environmental and economical advantages. Caldera InkPerformer harnesses Alwan’s award-winning profiling technology within the context of the adaptable and powerful Caldera RIP engine to provide an average 20 percent reduction in ink consumption across all types of wide-format production.

This ink saving module sits in the workflow before the file is RIPed and does not require the creation or adjustment of output profiles to implement cost savings. Also, a supplementary feature in InkPerformer allows the user, if desired, to RIP and then compare the original image with the adjusted, ink-saving image.

It is time to forget solvent: Sameer Patel

Presence of Arrow Digital Pvt Ltd at the recently concluded PAMEX ’11 in New Delhi had observed a new trend that the industry has ever witnessed. The company brought on stage its range of high-end printers designed for unique array of applications produced on high-speed industrial flatbed machines. “Now the digital inkjet printing has more to offer beyond what it developed at entry-level applications around a decade ago,” opined Sameer Patel, MD and CEO, Arrow Digital Pvt Ltd. He added that it is time to go for high-end applications, high-value assignments and one such field is ceramic printing involving flatbed high-speed industrial imaging wherein the company offers Jetrix UV Printer from InkTec, Korea.

Arrow Digital boasts of its high-end digital inkjet printers including the UV –enabled Jetrix and others. Besides its sensitivity in operation, need for skilled operator to print and a month-long preparation to install it, Jetrix educates operator and makes itself a printer ready to take on production in full stream. “But it is worth, in spite of making a large investment, the end product becomes equally worth in respect of unit price,” asserted Sameer. Though there is a competition in the market specifically from Oce, three features of Jetrix – getting primer, varnish and white ink – are quite unique when it comes to involving three layer printing. This printer can be termed as an entry-level industrial machine for high-class segment. Another special feature of the printer which PSPs could find innovativly useful would include the advantages to make applications in metal printing which is striking back after a good time of over two decades.

Arrow Digital has already installed a good number of such printers across the country. A tentative range of products for which the company is known for dealership in the digital large format printing and cutting markets include a portfolio comprising Virtu, Epson and Jetrix printers; Arrow and Ceramic inks, and others.