AWARD WINNING PRINT SOLUTIONS

Vol 5 • Issue 3 • 2015

g r a p h i c s a d v e r t i s i n g p r i n t p a c k a g i n g

THE

AWARD WINNINGPRINT SOLUTIONS

COPYRIGHT © 2015-2016 SENTIENTPUBLISHING. all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form or transmitted to any other person without the prior written permission of Sentient Publishing. The copyright in this publication and the material herein (including without limitation the text, artwork, photographs and images) is owned by Sentient Publishing and its licencors. While the information contained in this publication has been presented with all due care, Sentient Publishing does not warrant or represent that the information is free from errors or omission. Sentient Publishing takes no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of any information included in the information provided by third parties or for the accuracy, currency reliability and correctness of links or references to information sources (including Internet sites) out of Sentient Publishing.

THE

PUBLISHER: Vikesh Roopchand, Cell: 082 576 [email protected]

EDITOR:Mark Norris N. Dip. Journ. (AIPSA) (MIPkg), Cell: 082 850 4929 [email protected]

SALES EXECUTIVES: David Wilsnagh, Tel: 011 475 5095Nigel Lingard, Tel: 011 475 5095

CONTRIBUTORS: Hennie Kruger Rob WalkerKeith SolomonLeon Minnie

OPERATIONS MANAGER:Sharvina Roopchand, Tel: 011 475 5095

DESIGN & LAYOUT BYSentient Publishing

COVER DESIGNED BYKonica Minolta South Africa

PAPER: Supplied by Bytes Document SolutionsTEXT: Snow Eagle Gloss – 128gsm COVER: Neo Star Gloss – 350gsmTel: 011 011 3900

PRINTING: Color Press (Pty) Ltd, Tel: 011 493 8622

PUBLISHED BY SENTIENT PUBLISHINGTel: 0861 111 987, Fax: 0866 832 156Email: [email protected]

Sentient House, 761 Tortoise Street,Weltevreden Park, 1709 Johannesburg.

P.O.Box 73410, Johannesburg, 2030

The GAPP circulation Certified byAudit Bureau of Circulation

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MAY/JUNE 2015

The directory of Suppliers to the Industry

The search for Excellence in Printing

Keeping the Industry up-to-date

The leading trade show of the Printing Industry

The latest Trends and Developments

If you can print on it or with it -we cover it.

The one brand thatkeeps getting

bigger and better

Dominic CakebreadJean Lloyd

thegapp.co.za

THE

PRINTEXPO2016

Does print have a future? ...................................................................... 4

Best devices + best toner = Konica Minolta ......................................... 6

Global folding cartons market be worth over $100 billion by 2020 ....................................................................................................... 24

Colourtech Holdings Protecting your prints .................................. 26

Midcomp’s passion The customer comes first ............................ 28

Global bioplastics for packaging consumption is projected to reach $5.9 billion by 2020 ...................................................................... 34

The trends in wide-format printing .............................................. 35

Streamlined colour management Colour measurement and control ....................................................................................................... 37

Addressing the need for large-format finishing ........................... 44

Soaring sales of adult colouring books are a windfall opportunity for colouring writing instruments ..............................................................12

Creating an impression with solid surfaces ....................................... 14

The big data opportunity for print service providers ........................... 16

Chemosol combines world-class systems for dye-sub printers .......... 18

Xerox, Bytes and UNISA Democratising Education ............................ 22

FinishingNewspaperBusinessSafetyInksCommunityDigitalPackagingPrint

2 I The GAPP magazinewww.thegapp.co.za

Consumables Training Screen Printing Advertising Design SignageLarge-Format Prepress

Kemtek scoops top FUJIFILM honours ................................................ 46

Sheetco The industrial solution ........................................................... 48

Looking good on paper and beyond ..................................................... 50

Productivity doubles thanks to voice picking ...................................... 52

The global signage market as seen in Cologne .................................. 54

Advanced Machinery at The GAPP Print Expo .................................... 58

Trophies for EDP 2015 winners ........................................................... 59

Wilro – 35 years old and still impressive ........................................... 62

Luxury packaging market forecast to grow by 4.4 percent to 2019 ... 64

Antalis appointments enhancing service offering ............................. 66

Innovating Packaging .................................................................. 72

What constitutes printing? ........................................................... 70

Konica Minolta South Africa sponsors The GAPP Awards .......... 71

Production open days at KBA in Würzburg ................................. 68

Kemtek’s new-age advancements at FESPA Africa ..................... 74

The GAPP Times ........................................................................... 75

The Classifieds ............................................................................. 96

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If you receive this magazine on a regular basis, then there is a very good chance that your revenue comes from printing, whether for packaging, signage, publishing or general commercial work. Over the past five years the printing industry has been in a state of complete turmoil. It seems that the industry is under threat from every quarter. It is not,

however, all bad news.

Consider that six years ago, industry research body Smithers Pira forecast that the global printing market would reach $760 billion by 2014 up from the 2009 figure of $740 billion. Well, the new forecast taking us to 2018 is now in and the global figure is expected to reach $980 billion. This figure takes into account all the various sectors. Another positive factor is that all the large conventional printing equipment manufacturers are in the process of finalising their restructuring programmes and are starting to see a turn around. These developments bode well for the local printing industry as well. Printers just have to be willing to take a long hard look at their businesses and see where they can make the best contribution.

This particular issue of the magazine concentrates quite strongly on signage, given that it comes just after the recent global Fespa show which took place in Cologne. We have opinion pieces on the state of the industry including trends and we have technology pieces. Packaging also features quite strongly.

Trends are playing a major role. In the large-format print arena there is a growing trends towards dye-sublimation with more printers seeing the opportunities in textiles and fabric printing. Another major trend is the search for more environmentally-friendly production with the use of LED curing, eco-solvents and water-based inks. There is also a growing trend among these companies to invest in finishing systems with the aim of reducing costs and improving productivity.

In packaging, which has become a hotly contested marketplace as more printers expand into this lucrative sector, many of the established companies are looking for more niche products such as luxury packaging items, in order to set themselves apart. This is not an easy arena to enter given the exclusive clientele and the high production costs, but for those companies which have the critical mass, it is a good market to be active in.

All of these factors show that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the dif ferent printing techniques and sectors. Remember that we have added our own incentive in the form of The GAPP Awards which will recognise excellence in all forms of print. Entries are now open and we have lif ted the restriction on the number of entries. More on The GAPP Awards in the next issue.

Until then, enjoy The Editor, Mark Norris

Does print have a future?Vol 5 Issue 2 • DOES PRINT HAVE A FUTURE?


NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIESwww.thegappawards.co.za

Giving recognition to the crème de la crème of the printing, packaging and signage sectors

Best devices + best toner = Konica Minolta

Vol 5 Issue 3 • BEST DEVICES + BEST TONER = KONICA MINOLTA

By Leon Minnie, product manager: production systems at Konica Minolta South Africa


Digital printing has helped print service providers better cope with a changing print market. Nowadays, printing technology users and providers expect rapid improvement of digital printing devices. The value of digital printing

lies especially in developing specific, high-value products and applications. Not just any high value products and applications, but those that are in demand in a constantly and rapidly changing marketplace.

New substrates, new inks, new finishing options and new ways of ensuring high-quality imagery are having an impact on what is being demanded by the market. At the same time, being able to profitably produce these applications is of paramount importance. Also digital

printing has made inroads in the packaging markets, where offset and flexography have been long dominant. However, the ‘sweet spot’ not only lies in having the right machine, but also the right toner. This winning combination is where Konica Minolta is forging new pathways.

Time to tone upTo build a business and open up opportunities, professional printers know that customers place a very high priority on receiving professional and dependable print products. Konica Minolta’s newly developed Simitri HD E polymerised toner helps to satisfy these needs. In 2000, the company developed its proprietary polymerised toner for customers who expected the best. For print providers in need of quick production on a daily basis, the Simitri HD E polymerised toner is guaranteed to attract a customer’s attention and loyalty over the short, medium and long term. Konica Minolta’s innovative strength and the leading role it plays in the production of polymerised toners add value to its customers’ products. The fourth toner generation, Simitri HD E, delivers consistently outstanding results to satisfy even the most stringent customer demands.

Green credentialsSimitri toners play a key role in the energy efficiency of Konica Minolta

equipment, as polymerisation greatly reduces environmental impact, generating as much as 40 percent less CO2 during production. In addition, Simitri HD E requires a lower fusing temperature. Both aspects contribute greatly to decreasing the amount of energy used and the related CO2 emission. At the same time, biomass, the plant-based resource used in Konica Minolta’s toner, is CO2-neutral during recycling and further reduces the carbon footprint.

The de-inking process, as practised during paper recycling, is especially effective in the case of Simitri HD E polymerised toner. This means it is very easy to produce good-quality recycled paper from this paper waste – another compelling aspect to help build your business.

Best image qualityThe extremely small size and uniform shape of the ultra-fine Simitri HD E toner particles assure the highest image quality, as well as the razor-sharp reproduction of text and line drawings. Simitri HD E ensures consistently excellent image output quality, on par with the quality of offset. The images produced have perfect edges and lines, outstandingly solid colours and brilliant half-tone and skin-tone quality. The secret behind the quality of the Simitri HD E toner is found in its design – it was engineered to follow the roughness of the paper surface with ease, to achieve an optimised and natural lustre for each type of paper – from glossy and matte coated paper, to non-coated paper and beyond.

bizhub PRESS C1060/C1070

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Impressive media flexibilitySimitri HD E toner fuses at a lower temperature, which brings several benefits for professional printers: it puts money in your pocket by saving electricity and it also increases the range of materials that can be handled by the printer engine. It allows the printing of labels, envelopes, glossy papers and heavyweight papers, at the same time as reducing paper curling. The printed output is more durable and does not peel away from the paper surface: paper can be folded without degrading the print quality, which is not to be underestimated when printing corporate brochures, which usually feature folded edges.

Stand out with unique offeringsSince Simitri HD E polymerised toner does not contain oil, it is possible to write on top of the output using various writing implements (ballpoint pens, felt tips, and so on). This increases flexibility as it means that printers can produce all kinds of documents, such as contracts and training materials, which can then be signed or marked.

100 percent light fastness, no whiteningWith degree ‘6’ in the Blue Wool Scale1, the Fogra Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V. acknowledged that the Simitri HD E toner from Konica Minolta – used in all

current production printing systems – has a very good light fastness. This result is completed by a renewed certification for food safety by TÜV Rhineland and for De-inkability score for adhesive applications by INGEDE.

Depending on whether a print product is exposed to daylight or artificial light in indoor rooms, the material used must be considered, so that significant colour changes through light exposition are avoided. Light fastness is an important quality criterion for graphic communication providers and in-house print rooms as it ensures that print products do not lose their quality by whitening.

Tested by Fogra, with Simitri HD E toner customers can rely longer on their product’s light fastness when printed on a Konica Minolta production printing system.

With its new Simitri HD E toner, Konica Minolta has developed the highest quality toner on the market, offering graphic communication providers and in-house print rooms the most flexible production printing systems and, with them, such fantastic opportunities. This is attested to by three independent reports by TÜV Rhineland AG, INGEDE e.V., and Fogra Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V.


Award winning devicesKonica Minolta’s bizhub PRESS devices once again swept the board at the Buyers Laboratory LLC’s (BLI) 2015 PRO Awards by scooping all three prizes. The bizhub PRESS C1100 was awarded Outstanding Colour Mid-Volume Production Device; whilst the bizhub PRESS 1052 and bizhub PRESS 2250P were awarded Outstanding Monochrome Light- to Mid-Volume Production Device and Outstanding Monochrome Mid- to High-Volume Production Device respectively. These awards acknowledge the best-in-class devices in BLI’s production field tests. Having generated tens of millions of impressions on production devices from the leading vendors over several years, BLI’s production tests reveal the attributes that distinguish the most outstanding performers in a challenging evaluation covering productivity, image quality, media handling, ease-of-use and more.

While each of the winning devices has particular strengths, all the models share some important characteristics that are welcome in high-volume production environments. For one, they all have excellent media handling, with very high maximum input and output paper capacities, support for heavy media up to 350gsm, dehumidifier and preheat features to assist with handling of offset media, a humidifier option to reduce rippling and paper curl, and a high-capacity

post-process inserter for workflows incorporating pre-printed colour covers, inserts and tabs. They are also productive (particularly with A3 and oversize SRA3 media), easy to use and offer a wider than average range of image quality settings to enable users to achieve optimum output.

Speaking of the 100-ppm Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C1100, which won the 2015 BLI PRO award for Outstanding Colour Mid-Volume Production Device, David Sweetnam, head of BLI’s European Research and Lab Services said, ‘Usually we see models that excel in one or two areas, but fall short in others. But with very high ratings across the board in every category, the bizhub PRESS C1100 will be a good fit in mid-volume production environments regardless of whether productivity, image quality, media handling or ease-of-use is the main concern.’

Particularly noteworthy is the unit’s colour consistency, which is among the best BLI has seen and earned the rarely awarded five-star rating for this important category. Text and fine lines also earned five-star ratings and the device produced smooth halftone curves across all four colours on both coated and uncoated paper. In addition, the unit achieved simplex and duplex throughput speeds at rated speed across the entire supported media range.

bizhub PRESS C1085 C1100 series

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Winner of the 2015 PRO award for Outstanding Monochrome Light- to Mid-Volume Production Device, the 105-ppm bizhub PRESS 1052 matched or surpassed its competitors in nearly all of close to 20 speed tests and earned BLI’s five-star rating for productivity. Notably, it ran at rated engine speed when producing jobs with multi-tray switching and coated inserts, outperforming all of its competitors – two of them by very large margins. It also handled heavy-grade stocks and jobs that involve switching between letter and ledger output more efficiently than many competing models. ‘Not only is the bizhub PRESS 1052 highly productive,’ said BLI director of Laboratory Testing, Pete Emory, ‘but its input and output paper capacities are so high that it can run for a full eight hours before requiring operator attention.’

Comprising two bizhub PRESS 1250P engines working in tandem and driven by a single Konica Minolta controller, the bizub PRESS 2250P is the PRO award winner for Outstanding Monochrome Mid- to High-Volume Production Device. In BLI’s evaluation, the unit delivered on its promise of 250 A4 ipm in duplex mode, cranking out more than 15000 images in a single hour of duplex A4 workflow. BLI analysts cited in particular its duplex performance on A3 and SRA3 media, where, over the course of an hour it delivered 8396 and 7886 impressions, respectively, equating to speeds of 279.87 and 262.87 A4 two-up impressions per minute, surpassing the performance of competing devices and approaching the performance of some devices with higher rated speeds.

‘Our results clearly show the bizhub PRESS 2250P to be an excellent and cost-effective choice for organisations entering the short-run book printing

market,’ said Sweetnam.

While alternative print controllers are available for some of the devices, BLI tested all the models with the Konica Minolta controller, which offers a wide range of image quality adjustments; extensive job-building and advanced page-level programming capabilities; highly featured drag-and-drop hot folder functionality; and Konica Minolta’s Tone Curve utility, which provides users with professional-grade custom grey programming capability.

The value of digital printing today lies not only in replicating offset work on a smaller scale or at a shorter run length, but it lies in developing unique, high-value products. Receiving the BLI PRO awards for the bizhub PRESS C1100, 1052 and 2250P from the ex-perts at Buyers Laboratory confirms the outstanding quality of Konica Minolta’s systems. Combine this with the com-pany’s Simitri HD E polymerised toner and you have a winning combination.

Minolco (Pty) Ltd trading as Konica Minolta South Africa: Leon Minnie, 0800 bizhub, [email protected]

Leon Minnie


bizhub PRESS 2250p


Perfect for large print volumes with reliability that can handle even the most demanding workloads, the bizhub PRESS C1100 o�ers outstanding performance, first-rated quality and unmatched productivity. With a constant printing speed of 100 ppm, from 55 to 350gsm paper as well as automatic duplex printing, improving e�ciency and prevents productivity loss, delivering on tight deadlines. Stable paper feeding is also guaranteed by numerous suction fed paper feed units further enhancing the reliability of printed output.

PRODUCTION PRINTING

Vol 5 Issue 3 • SOARING SALES OF ADULT COLOURING BOOKS ARE A WINDFALL OPPORTUNITY FOR COLOURING WRITING INSTRUMENTS

Analyst Insight by Rob Walker – Contributing Analyst Euromonitor

Manufacturers of colouring writing instruments have every reason to be upbeat at the moment. Almost out of nowhere, a new craze for adults’ colouring books has set the publishing industry alight. Books such as Secret

Garden, Stress Relieving Patterns and Art Therapy have all featured at the top of the Amazon books best seller list this year, and publishers are falling over one another to beef up their portfolios with similar types

of books, with illustrators rather than authors as the new stars.

Soaring sales of adult colouring books are a windfall opportunity for colouring

writing instruments


Colouring books for adults typically have more intricately drawn pictures than those for children. There are versions with sophisticated and ornate flora and fauna designs, for example. But, there are others with animals, much like children’s colouring books. Indeed, in essence, the concepts of

children’s and adults’ books are the same. The only difference is that children are now sneaking a turn at using their Mum and Dad’s colouring books, rather than the other way around.

The Secret Garden, illustrated by Johanna Basford, is the biggest seller of all the recently launched adult colouring books. It has already sold around 1.5 million copies worldwide, and its follow-up, Enchanted Forest, is shaping up to do equally well. The global retail market for colouring writing instruments was worth US$2.4 billion last year, according to the latest data from Euromonitor International. But, that value could start to climb steeply over the next five years if, as many in the publishing industry predict, the demand for adult colouring books continues to boom.

The craze for adult colouring books is set to have a big bearing on demand in the US and Western Europe

Legitimising a guilty secretIt is now quite widely held that many parents have, for years, been secretly enjoying using colouring books while their children are asleep. In effect, the marketing of adults’ colouring books, with its focus on anti-stress benefits and artistic creativity, has legitimised the practice. It has helped adults feel comfortable about buying colouring books, rather than childish.

So, which brands of colouring writing instruments have the most to gain from all

this? Crayola (owned by Hallmark Cards Inc) is the top-selling brand worldwide, with a retail value share of 17 percent in 2013, according to Euromonitor International. Crayola has long been dependent on the US market, which accounted for 73 percent of its retail sales in 2013. However, the brand now has a strong growth opportunity outside the US (especially in Western Europe) if it works at piggybacking the adults’ colouring book trend.

In Western Europe, Bic (Sté Bic), Faber Castell (Faber Castell AG) and Staedtler (Staedtler Mars) are the leading brands and, conversely, they have an opportunity to pick up some momentum in the US market, where demand for adults’ colouring books is surging. It is significant that on both sides of the Atlantic, most leading bookstores now give a high visibility profile to the genre. One obvious opportunity is for the leading brands of colouring writing instruments to negotiate retail shelf space in those stores too.

Colouring books for adults have a global reachThe market for colouring writing instruments is not all about the developed markets, though. Indeed, overall sales were bigger in Asia Pacific and Latin America than they were in North America and Western Europe last year (see chart above), measured at fixed US dollar exchange rates.

The adult colouring books phenomenon is not restricted to Western markets either. For example, the South Korean pop star Kim Ki-Bum is widely reported to be a big fan of colouring books for adults, and has posted images on Instagram for his millions of followers. Last year, sales of colouring writing instruments in South Korea totalled only US$11 million. But, on the back of Ki-Bum's endorsement, that value could grow markedly this year.

China, Brazil and Mexico are also identified as potentially strong growth markets over the next five years, as the popularity of colouring books for adults gathers global momentum. Last year, those three countries ranked, respectively, as the second, third and fifth biggest in the world for colouring writing instruments.

Parents in some of those markets will still be sneaking opportunities to do colouring using their children’s books, but not for much longer. The publishers of colouring books will have all the major emerging markets in their sights. Indeed, in the publishing world, colouring books for adults are now generating a buzz of the like not seen since Harry Potter. Unlike Harry Potter, though, even the smaller independent publishers have a chance to grab a piece of the action. As a result, adult colouring books look like a global trend that is here to stay.

(The GAPP Editorial comment: The phenomenon has already reached South Africa and surely an opportunity exists for local publishers and printers to get on the bandwagon.)

Colouring writing instruments: Sales by main region 2014

Western Europe

Retailvalue

North America

Middle East & Africa

Eastern Europe

Latin America

Asia Pacific

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

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Signage and display production equipment is very versatile and can be put to a number of different

uses, some of which may have nothing to do with signage, display or printing of any sort. In fact, many

of these pieces of equipment like CNC Router from Advanced Machinery were not developed for the

signage market but have their origins in other sectors, they have simply been adopted by this market.

Creating an impressionwith solid surfaces

Vol 5 Issue 3 • CREATING AN IMPRESSION WITH SOLID SURFACES


The use of cutters, whether laser or mechanical actually, began in the textile and garment industry for cutting large volumes of fabric quickly, efficiently and accurately to allow faster manufacture of clothing items. However, their flexibility meant that they were soon adopted for handling

the types of material associated with banner, billboard and poster printing. The next step was the use of these systems for other elements and materials within the signage market.

Now, suppliers who have established themselves within the signage market are starting to see interest from other sectors where other more traditional materials and items are being cut and routed on their devices. One such company is Advanced Machinery, which has been seeing success in some of the peripheral areas of the signage market with laser cutters, large-format printers, CNC cutters and routers. One of its more unusual customers is Mammoth Solid Surfaces, a company based in Anderbolt, Boksburg.

Mammoth Solid Surfaces is not a signage company but its products certainly make an impression and you have possibly seen them without even realising. Visit a Truworths store and you have possibly leant on one of the counters manufactured by Mammoth Solid Surfaces, or go to one of the newest Ster-Kinekor cinemas and you have possibly bought your tickets interactively from a computer-based system which is embedded in the counter top, which has been made by Mammoth Solid Surfaces.

These are just two of the many applications which this small but dynamic company is able to supply. But what are Solid Surfaces? To the touch, they have the appearance of stone, but in actual fact it is acrylic, formed, shaped, moulded and cut to provide a seamless, non-porous, solid work surface. The Rolls Royce of the acrylic materials is a DuPont product called Corian but other similar acrylic products are also available. They are available in a range of colours and sizes and can be formed and moulded using relatively low heat. They can be cut and joined to create completely seamless solid structures.

According to Valdo Hattingh, owner of Mammoth Solid Surfaces, Corian and the other makes of solid surface acrylics are lightweight, easy to handle and completely hygienic which makes them suitable to a range of different uses and applications from shop fronts to hospitals, from restaurants to aircraft fittings, from caravans to bathroom furniture.

Mammoth Solid Surfaces is an extension of Mammoth Granite, which specialises in handling of granite and other stone surfaces and run by Valdo’s father. The process of investigating the handling and processing of Corian and acrylic solid surface materials began eight years ago but the new company was only established a little over two years ago. This was due to the fact that little was

known about the product and how to work with it.

Handling these acrylic products require extensive training and lots of creativity. According to Valdo, one of the most attractive elements of the acrylic products was the fact that there are so few companies which are actually using it. He added, ‘I did not want to be just another counter maker supplying granite work surfaces and doing the same things as all the others. Solid surface materials allow me to do something which not many companies can do. There are only a handful of companies in South Africa working with this product and not many people know about it. That means that we have to go looking for clients and customers. We approach architects, shop fitters and interior designers to show them the product and how it can be made to work for their requirements.’

Another potential market and one which Valdo and his small team of six are looking to enter is the domestic market with products such as bathroom vanities, custom-built bars and kitchen counters. These products offer the greatest opportunity for customisation and personalisation. Using the combination of the solid surface materials with the precision cutting of the CNC Router from Advanced Machinery, custom designs can be cut into the acrylic and thereafter be polished or filled with coloured resin-based adhesives and then polished to create one-of-a-kind finishes according to individual tastes.

The cutter/router from Advanced Machinery offers Mammoth Solid Surfaces the speed, flexibility and accuracy of cutting to keep up with the rapidly expanding demand. Valdo commented, ‘We would not be able to handle the high volumes using manual cutters and, grinders are simply not accurate enough. The CNC Router from Advanced Machinery gives us the ability to handle more cuts, more accurately and with the precise angles required to achieve a seamless join.’

One of the most important elements of any business is to find something which makes your offering unique and sets you apart. By offering a service and product which is almost unknown Mammoth Solid Surfaces is able to create its own niche market which will allow it to make a distinct impression.

For more information on Corian and other solid surfaces contact Valdo on [email protected] or visit the Facebook page MSSDesigns.

For information on Advanced Machinery’s range of printers, vinyl cutters and CNC Routers contact 060 600 6000 or visit the website: http://am.co.za

Valdo Hattingh holding a Corian board and a heat reformed curved one

A man-sized dinosaur cut from Supawood on the Advanced Machinery CNC Router

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The big data opportunity for print service providers

We’ve always had data about our customers and prospects, but never before in history have we had so much data – so much, in fact, that it is often referred to as big data. In fact, many data experts report that 90 percent of the data existing today has been generated in just the last two years, largely due to

the exponential growth of mobile computing, social media and online shopping.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • THE BIG DATA OPPORTUNITY FOR PRINT SERVICE PROVIDERS

By Jean Lloyd, director of Production Print Solutions at Ricoh SA

But are we using this data effectively? Not always. These days, consumers are riding the buying cycle, and they are picky about what type of information they consume. Marketers no longer control the message in the old push model because consumers have lots of places to get information,

and they are only interested in information that is relevant to them personally, from a timing perspective, and in a medium that is convenient for them.

Print service providers (PSP) have a key role to play in the transformation of customer communications to better meet these objectives, as practical examples, independent research and expert experience demonstrate.

Right content, right timing, right mediumBonprix, a fashion retailer based in Germany that has more than 27 million customers in 26 countries and sales of about €1.3 billion (up 5.4 percent over the previous year), has altered the way it does catalogues to address this market shift, and with great results. Its printed product catalogues still play an important role in its marketing mix, contributing more than 30 percent of the company’s revenue. But the company wanted to better leverage its catalogues to increase direct response revenue and drive more traffic to both online and retail stores.

As a result of a precision marketing workshop conducted by Ricoh Europe, Bonprix used variable data technology to produce personalised front and back catalogue covers featuring targeted offers based on customer profiles. The criteria used to determine these next best offers, or the next most likely offer a recipient would act upon, included the recipients’ purchasing history; whether they were new, active or lapsed customers; and their preferred purchasing channel.

‘The personalisation of a selected subset of our catalogue covers and the resulting relevant customer communication has led to a significant increase in response rates and to increased awareness for our products,’ said Barthel Roitzsch, head of sales at Bonprix (a member of the German Otto group).

Bonprix also benefitted from higher customer satisfaction and better profiling of customers by taking advantage of Ricoh Precision Marketing expertise to ensure that its sales and marketing content is as relevant to each recipient as humanly possible.


Research backs the factsIn 2014, research firm InfoTrends conducted a study that included responses from hundreds of executives and decision makers from companies, with more than 100 employees, in France, Germany and the UK. The purpose of the research was to better understand marketing communications requirements in Western Europe. The outcome of the study supports Bonprix’ approach to more relevant customer communications, including continuing to use its printed catalogues.

Findings include:

• Print consumes the largest share of communications spending today (40 percent) and still will do so in two years’ time (36 percent);• Respondents believe that personalisation plus direct mail is a power combination;• Print or e-mail alone is less effective than when used with another channel. The research suggests that fewer channels (at least two) may be equally as effective as many channels. Print and another channel typically yield an 11 percent to 14 percent improvement in action rates that is, the customer actually purchasing something;• Respondents reported taking a targeted approach to customer communications and marketing efforts across multiple channels. Customer communications and marketing campaigns were relatively equally distributed across communications that were A) Personalised, B) Segmented and C) Mass communications; and• For those using personalisation in print, the majority were using high to medium complexity.

Also in 2014, Ricoh commissioned a study by I.T. Strategies to better understand the transformation that print-based direct marketing was undergoing in both Western Europe and North America. In both regions, respondents reported that nearly two-thirds of the direct mail they produce is targeted at customer retention and loyalty programmes. While the overall volumes of direct mail are declining, the share of mail that is segmented and or personalised is climbing, a significant trend in both regions.

A German marketing agency that participated in the study stated, ‘The role of printed communication is changing, not only is it becoming personalised for each recipient and only sent on request, but it is used for loyalty campaigns rather than acquisition for which e-mail is better suited and less costly.’

The trend in catalogues is also smaller, more targeted runs with lower page counts, making each edition more relevant to individual recipients.

But how do you make these communications relevant, yet still affordable?Today’s technologies, including full-colour digital printing (toner and inkjet); and data capture, collection and analytics techniques are making it easier than ever before to not only collect data but to act upon it in a proactive manner.

With 40 percent of European spending on marketing and other communications still going to print, print service providers are in a unique position to both educate marketers about the possibilities today’s technologies offer in delivering more relevant communications and to help them implement those communications – in both printed and digital form.

While the term big data can be intimidating, many smaller to mid-sized companies are already taking steps to grow and better manage their data, and they are reaping the results. Big data doesn’t always have to be big but to the extent available data is analysed and utilised to generate relevant communications and develop more intimate customer relationships, those communications and relationships will be longer lasting and more profitable. If the print service provider partner doesn’t jump into the mix with this type of offering, someone else will.

PSPs should keep in mind that as more digital natives enter the marketing and agency work force, there will be increasing pressure to move more communications to digital-only. That also means that PSPs must be able to clearly articulate how print fits into the new media mix and the specific value it adds. This challenge can be partially met by establishing stronger relationships with marketers and agencies and putting into place specific programmes to educate them on the value that print can add to their efforts and the new technologies that are changing the way print can be implemented.

But you don’t have to go it alonePSPs don’t need to go it alone as they begin to work with their clients to deliver data-related services. Choosing a partner with the right resources and skill sets is an important step in the implementation process of these types of initiatives. Let’s take a look at the process employed by Ricoh Europe as an example of how print service providers don’t need to go it alone.

The first step is a needs assessment workshop, such as the one conducted with Bonprix. It is designed to lead to a pilot exercise to test workshop outcomes. Ricoh professionals work hand in hand with print service providers in conducting this one-day workshop;

Within two to three weeks following the workshop, a jointly developed executive summary of the findings and a concrete project proposal for a pilot programme are presented to the customer; andWith the customer’s buy-in, Ricoh and print service provider personnel team design and execute the pilot programme with a goal of demonstrating results that justify a larger project.

The bottom line• Data drives relevance;• Relevant and personalised communications drive results; and• Loyal customers typically spend more than first-time customers or customers that are not treated as individuals.

Research and practical experience prove these truths to be self-evident. Take the next step: Bring these truths to your customers so they can reap the benefits and your business can continue to grow.

Jean Lloyd

I 17

Vol 5 Issue 3 • CHEMOSOL COMBINES WORLD-CLASS SYSTEMS FOR DYE-SUB PRINTERS

Chemosol combines world-classsystems for dye-sub printers

There are a lot of sayings in the English language that talk about the quality of the end result being dependent on the value of the individual elements. This is as true in the printing process as anywhere else and only by using quality

products, consumables and equipment can a quality result be consistently achieved.


Epson SureColor-SC-F9200

In the market of textile printing one technology in particular stands out for the production of a whole range of different items from curtains and table cloths to banners and backlit signage and apparel – namely dye-sublimation. Dye- sublimation is the primary printing method in the clothing industry with

specific benefits in the sports clothing sector for the production of swimming costumes, cycling gear, rugby and soccer jerseys as well as running gear. There are a number of companies which manufacture printers, paper, ink and textiles for which each element plays a key role in the creation of quality finished products.

In the local market, one company which stands out in the supply of leading international brands to the dye-sublimation industry is Chemosol (Pty) Ltd. Two main elements in particular ensure prints of the highest quality, the transfer paper and the printer with its associated inks. Chemosol represents Beaver Paper for its range of sublimation papers, protective tissue media and textiles

as well as Epson for its dedicated range of dye-sublimation printers and ink.

Beaver Paper and Graphic Media is the leading manufacturer of engineered paper and textiles for the dye-sublimation digital printing process. Dye-sublimation has taken over from silkscreening as the primary method of printing onto material and textiles. The company is situated in Atlanta Georgia and currently employs 80+ staff in its Head Quarters. It has additional offices, staff and warehousing facilities in Los Angeles and a European office in Zaandam, the Netherlands.

Beaver Paper is focused on dye-sublimation and its product line comprises more than a dozen products including its signature dye-sublimation transfer paper – TexPrint for a wide variety of applications. It also has a full line of graphic fabrics called TexStyles for applications including soft signage, backlit, banners and tradeshow exhibits. It also offers ProTex which is a thermal transfer tissue used to prevent outgassing in the dye-sublimation transfer process.

Three specific features set the Beaver Papers products apart, availability, consistency and variety. Beaver Paper has a large stock holding to ensure continuous supply to its growing customer footprint around the world. Chemosol carries a large variety of these lines, in stock to cater to the local industry. Advanced manufacturing processes ensure complete quality consistency from batch to batch. The wide product range ensure that Beaver Paper has a paper and product for every production requirement and for every application.

The Beaver Paper range represented by Chemosol comprises:• TexPrint UT – a utility textile grade sublimation paper for water-based inks. It is a 72gsm stock featuring light tack adhesive for production textile printing and high-speed fashion printers. Available is roll widths from 0.91m up to 3.2m in standard counter roll and mini jumbo’s.• TexPrint XPHR – a multi-purpose, high-release, quick-dry sublimation paper, available in A4 and A3 cut sheets for desk top units, as well as rolls from 0.91m to 2.6m for large -format dye-sub printer in 105gsm and good for use on both hard surfaces – such as tiles, mugs, glass and special metal and wooden surfaces, as well as soft substrates.• TexPrint XPHR Plus – a more robust version of the XPHR sublimation paper for water-based inks available in 140gsm. This product is suitable for a wide variety of printer for large-format to grand-format printers, available in rolls

from 0.91m to 2.6m wide. It is suitable for both hard and soft substrates and offers the ability to handle the heaviest ink loads.• TexPrint TT – is a Thermo Tack adhesive sublimation paper for apparel textile substrates and clam-shell heat presses. It is available in 100gsm. Available in rolls from 0.61m to 1.8m.• ProTex – is a high yield protective tissue for heat calendars which is designed to extend the life of the calendar belt by protecting it from surplus dye-sub gasses. It is completely recyclable and formaldehyde free. It is available in 19gsm in a full range of widths up to 3.2m. ProTex is engineered to be the thinnest product in the industry, resulting in the least amount of ghosting and blow through taking place during the transfer process.

The TexPrint papers are designed to respond in such a way as to prevent head strikes or image distortion. The paper is easy to handle and also has low static qualities which prevents the build-up of debris or contaminants on the print head, thereby improving print quality.

Chemosol has represented Beaver Papers for almost 10 years and has achieved a high level of success with these market-leading products. When combined with high-quality printers, Beaver Papers achieve prints of the highest calibre.

I 19

Texprint Rolls

Vol 5 Issue 3 • CHEMOSOL COMBINES WORLD-CLASS SYSTEMS FOR DYE-SUB PRINTERS

Epson has a full range of dye-sublimation printers to meet all requirements and applications. The Epson SureColor SC-F6000 is a productive and reliable choice for small format soft signage, banners, customised promotional items and gadgets printing, utilizing sublimation paper with a maximum width of 1118mm. It offers a low total-cost-of-ownership and is the first dye-sublimation printer in which every component has been designed and manufactured by Epson. This ensures that quality, performance and reliability are optimised for maximum productivity. The SureColor SC-F7100 is a durable roll-to-roll system aimed at the industrial level printer with high-volume production requirements.

Epson have applied their extensive experience in quality and robust hardware and print-head design and manufacture to the SureColor SC-F7100 to deliver unmatched reliability, performance and productivity.

This dye sublimation printer provides a high quality output of up to 720 x 1440dpi and prints at 16 – 57m2/hour (typically 22m2/hour in three-pass production mode) on 1626mm wide sublimation paper. An integral and easily refillable 1.5 litre ink system allows uninterrupted production with minimal maintenance.

At the recent Fespa show in Cologne, Germany, Epson launched a brand new dye-sublimation printer in the F-Series, the SureColor SC-F9200. This is a 1626mm wide machine which prints at resolutions up to 720 x 1440dpi at speeds ranging from 97m2/hour in draft mode to 27m2/hour in highest quality mode.

For those who want to enter the sublimation market by printing corporate gifts such as mugs, keyrings, plates, cell-phone covers and the like, Chemosol supplies

a complete Business-In-A-Box solution. This comprises the Epson L-range of refillable printers combined with either a vacuum heat press system or a combination of heat presses. This way you have a cost effective system allowing you to supply economical personalised items as well as small orders.

A major factor in the quality of dye-sublimation printing is the ink. Epson supplies the Ultrachrome DS inks specifically designed for these printers. The CMYK ink range produces bright, vibrant colours, sharp contours and smooth gradations to deliver the best quality images on the full range of dye-sub printable materials. All of the F-Series sublimation printer are supplied with professional market leading RIP’s as standard, you'll be producing and profitable from day one.

Another printer in the F-Series range represented by Chemosol is the SureColor SC-F2000 which is specifically designed for Direct-To-Garment printing, removing the need for transfer papers. This is all you need to start a business with real potential for profits, printing a single T-shirt in 27 seconds easily and reliably. The low ink consumption presents you with a great opportunity for a high Return On Investment (ROI), so it makes financial sense and gives customers exactly what they want.

Chemosol and Epson will be working together at the upcoming Fespa Africa show to demonstrate the full range and capabilities of the F-Series printers.

When it comes to producing quality prints, it is obvious that only by bringing together the very best products and solutions can the highest quality results be consistently achieved. Visit Chemosol at Fespa Africa and see how Beaver Papers, Epson printers and market-leading inks combined with in-depth knowledge can turn prints into works of art.

SureColor SC-F2000


In-house printing departments are really an unknown entity when considering the volumes of

pages handled by the global printing industry. Are the numbers of pages or impressions counted as

contributing to the global numbers or do you take them as something completely separate?

Xerox, Bytes and UNISADemocratising Education

Vol 5 Issue 3 • XEROX, BYTES AND UNISA DEMOCRATISING EDUCATION


The answer will really depend on how the information is to be used but it is fairly safe to say that in-house printing departments could be responsible for the production of a large percentage of the total numbers of pages produced each year. One organisation which is making huge contributions

to these numbers is UNISA, the largest distance learning university in the world. At any given time, UNISA has as many as 500 000 students registered around the world.

In every case and for every student numerous text books, setwork books, study guides, manuals and tutorials have to be printed and individually sent to the respective student. Very often there is a different set of books required for each year of every course. Courses range in length from short-courses spanning a few months to courses which require up to three or four years to complete. This all translates into many millions of pages in a year. Given the vast number of students and the huge variety of courses available, the only way to meet the requirement of printed material is using digital printing systems.

To meet this requirement, UNISA turned to a long-time supplier and supporter Bytes Document Solutions, the local distributor of Xerox digital printing solutions. The solution for UNISA’s requirements was four Xerox Nuvera 288 black-and-white perfecting printers. The devices have been installed at the Pretoria Campus of UNISA and are capable of producing 3 million pages per month individually.

At a function to celebrate this latest addition to the production capabilities at UNISA, management and staff from Bytes Document Solutions joined staff from

UNISA including Carl Pretorius, deputy director of UNISA and Patrick Doyle, production manager. The installation of these four digital presses brings the total number of these presses to 12, as used by UNISA at its Pretoria and Florida, Johannesburg campuses. This use of the same technology at both campuses ensures that all materials have the same appearance and print quality irrespective of where they are printed.

Lenard Labuschagne, Bytes Document Solutions regional manager for Gauteng North thanked the staff from UNISA for growing their production to Bytes Document Solutions and the Xerox presses. He congratulated UNISA’s staff dedication in achieving the quality and quantity of production which it handles each year ensuring that all of its registered students receive all the required materials on time.

Patrick Doyle, thanked Lenard and his team for their unwavering assistance in installing and commissioning the machines and in training the operators to run the machines efficiently. He also thanked Nor Paper, a Bytes company, for ensuring a consistent supply of paper to ensure that the presses are able to run.

The partnership between Bytes Document Solutions and UNISA’s printing department extends back to the 1970’s and part of the reason for this long-standing relationship is attributed to the level of service and support offered by Bytes to UNISA, ensuring that production is delivered irrespective of what problems may arise.

The staff of Bytes Document Solutions presented the operators at UNISA Pretoria with certificates

Carl Pretorius of UNISA with Lenard Labuschagne of BytesPatrick Doyle, production manager at UNISA

I 23

Global folding cartons market be worth over $100 billion by 2020

The global folding cartons market will be worth over $100 billion by 2020 and will consume almost 47 million tonnes, according to a new market study by Smithers Pira.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • GLOBAL FOLDING CARTONS MARKET BE WORTH OVER $100 BILLION BY 2020

The $87 billion market for folding cartons, already dominated by demand from the Asia-Pacific sector, is set to undergo more of a shift towards this region. It is expected to increase its share of the world market from 52 percent of the volume consumed in 2014, to more than 60 percent of the

forecast 2020 market. Key to this increasing dominance from this region is the growth in demand from China which will increase its share of the market from 31 percent in 2010 to 39 percent by 2020, assisted by growing consumption in the Indian sub-continent which will consume over 6 percent of the total in 2020.

A new study from Smithers Pira – The Future of Folding Cartons to 2020 link – http://www.smitherspira.com/products/market-reports/packaging/paper-and-board/the-future-of-folding-cartons-to-2020-(1) – shows that health care products are the single largest users of folding cartons, followed by tobacco, and it is these two industries that face the most significant challenges in folding carton usage. Other market influences include heightened demand in packaging for household care products. Global demand for small electrical appliances, including smart phones, is driving up consumption of mini-flute and folding carton packaging, while the recession has seen an increase in DIY and automotive parts. The popularity of dry foods especially in Asia is driving up demand for folding cartons, whilst conversely the gradual improvement in these distribution chains and the expansion of supermarkets in this region also stimulates folding carton consumption in frozen and chilled food applications.

Based on extensive primary research – The Future of Folding Cartons to 2020 – outlines that the whole supply chain in this market faces ever-growing pressure from its customer base to come up with innovative techniques, processes and designs to enable the sometimes fickle brand owners to differentiate their products on the highly competitive supermarket shelf. Consequently, converters and printers are facing a need for on-going investment in new printing technology offering more colours and more impactful finishing

techniques such as hot-foiling, embossing, spot varnishing and the like.

The end result of these many influences and trends is a growing market, with end use consumption of folding carton packaging expected to increase by nearly 5 percent in 2015, followed by a period of sustained growth of around 3.5 percent annually, worth $106 billion at constant 2014 prices.

The Future of Folding Cartons to 2020 is available now for £4,200. For more information, please contact Bill Allen +44(0)1372 802086, or visit www.smitherspira.com


Source: Smithers Pira

FIGURE E.3 Top ten end-use markets for folding carton, 2014, volume

39%

4%4% 4% 5%

6%

Health care

Tobacco

Household care

Hardware &electrical

Dry foods

Frozen food

Dairy products

Chilled food

Personal care

Confectionary

Others

6%

7%

8%

8%

10%

Alliance Machinery,

the exclusive and

official BW Systems

agent for South Africa

Alliance Machinery is a leading distributor of quality new and used Industrial Packaging Machinery throughout Sub Saharan and South Africa . Founded in 2012, Alliance strives to provide unsurpassed customer service levels while offering the Highest Quality Machinery in the industry. Bradley Bate, Director of Alliance Machinery brings many years of experience and expertise in the printing and converting business. “Our partnership with BW Papersystems will reinforce our presence in the Sub Saharan territories with the best paper/board converting machines portfolio available” says Bradley. BW Papersystems includes leading brands like SHM, Will- Pemco sheeters, Wrapmatic ream wrappers and Kugler- Womako book binding, passport/file lines and label cutting machines.Alliance Machinery is the exclusive representative of BW Papersystems product range including new machines, used equipment and spares parts. Please do not hesitate to contact Bradley for any further information or projects, he will be pleased to support you with all the necessary information. BW Papersystems is part of Barry-Wehmiller group with more than $2 Billion turnover and 8,000 employees through 65 facilities worldwide. BW Papersystems is a leading company in paper/board folio sheeters, cut-size sheeters, folio and cut-size wrappers, exercise book machines to book binding and passport lines

- Bradley Bate, Director of Alliance Machinery

Bradley Bate • Telephone: +27 (11) 433 4299 • Telefax: +27 (11) 433 1610 • Cell: +27 (0)82 827 8159 • Email: [email protected]

387 Devereux Avenue, Winchester Hills, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2091, South Africa

www.alliancemachinery.co.za

Welcome to BW Papersystems

Vol 5 Issue 3 • COLOURTECH HOLDINGS PROTECTING YOUR PRINTS

Sonja’s expertise was in the educational sector, having been an accounting lecturer. When she decided to write her own books for students and lecturers in accounting she knew that only the highest quality would do. What she found was that existing suppliers were

unable to meet her exact demands for quality as well as the print-on-demand requirement, she embarked on the learning curve of establishing a printing solution business.

It is those same exact standards which have seen Colourtech become one of the largest and most technologically advanced printers in the country and possibly on the entire continent. For Sonja, not only is Bapsfontein her home but it was also the ideal place to set up her business. The farm offered, and still does, plenty of room for unlimited growth and expansion and an opportunity to offer employment to local people wanting and willing to work.

Colourtech is now a thriving business employing over 100 employees with offices in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The business has allowed many of its staff development opportunities and particular focus was made to those who grew up on the farm and surrounding areas. Sonja’s team has worked closely with the local school in the area striving to make it one of the top schools in the Province. Colourtech has supported many of the learners and provided bursaries

to go onto study at colleges and universities in the country and many of these students are now employed at Colourtech and some hold senior positions within the organisation. Sonja commented, ‘We truly are a family here. There is a deep sense of ownership by our employees, they know the contribution they make to the company and the role the company plays in their lives and they work to make the company succeed because then they are successful.’

Colourtech is now housed in a massive print hall where all manner of educational and corporate printing is handled on a range of black-and-white and colour digital presses as well as lithographic presses. Printing for the corporate sector has rapidly expanded over the last few years where businesses can be supported by Sonja’s team of 6 graphic designers. The highest volumes of digital printing is in the area of educational printing where Colourtech prints over 100,000,000 copies per year. Colourtech prints study guides for 30,000 students per year registered at North-West University distance learning students alone, not to mention many other private colleges and higher education institutions all packages of which are dispatched and delivered door-to-door. Provision of text books to the students have also been made possible by the publishing agreements in place, so students nationally and internationally are provided not only with books printed on site, but also receives their prescribed text books in the same consignment.

Colourtech Holding is an impressive print facility set in the most unlikely location. Situated in Bapsfontein on the R50 and only 25 minutes from the airport or Pretoria. Colourtech was established 24 years ago by Sonja Groenewald. The company came about because of Sonja’s quest to find a printer who could produce the books she had written that met her needs of a print-on-demand solution. When the quest proved unsuccessful she opted, as you would expect,

for the next best alternative, to establish her own printing plant.

Colourtech Holdings (Consists of Colourtech Design & Printing, Seyfferdt Publishers,

Credo Books and Blue Rooster) Protecting your prints


The same applies to school and other tertiary facilities around the country and even distance learning students based in other parts of the world. There is a good chance that someone who you know has a text book which has been printed by Colourtech. Schools who subscribe to Colourtech’s online ordering system allows parents to order books online and have their consignments delivered to their doorstep or to the school. The schools will identify what books are required and these are listed by school on their Credo Books website. Parents literally select the school and the appropriate grade and a list of books appear and the parent can select what they need. Simple and smart. No more need for parents to go from one bookshop to the next looking for text books.

Due to the vast space available at Colourtech, Sonja was able to house printing machines in highly secure areas that is used for printing of corporate materials that are highly sensitive as well as examination papers that are distributed nationally. Over 200,000 examination papers are printed on site which is done in secure conditions that include camera surveillance with security guards on site. Secure containers are used to transport these documents and exam papers across the country.

While the majority of the printing that the company handles is black-and-white due to the nature of its composition, there is a growing demand for colour printing. Both forms of printing are showing year-on-year growth with black-and-white growing at a rate of around 30 percent and colour doubling in volume. While the greatest majority of the colour printing is for covers, there is a growing volume of colour being included in the pages of the text books the company prints.

Sonja commented, ‘The books we print for university students belong to the students but the books we print for schools have to be able to last for a few years. This means that we had to find a way of protecting the covers. We have tried laminating them and we have tried doing a flood varnish on our digital press. Both these solutions did not work. The laminating starts to peel after a per years of use and the flood varnish on the digital press is very expensive which increases the cost of printing. We did have an offline varnishing system but it was difficult to use and did not always give the best results.’

The solution to this problem first came to light at the Propak show in 2013 when Alliance Machinery demonstrated the Tec Lighting offline UV coater on its stand. Towards the end of last year, Alliance Machinery contacted Sonja to inform her that it now had a UV coater specifically designed for digital and litho markets that would work in her environment, allowing you to run the Tec Lighting in line with your digital printer or as an independently with a fully automated feeder. Having already had one bad experience, they decided to partner with Alliance Machinery and Tec lighting on a 2 month trial basis. The UV Coater was delivered and installed within a day and the machine was fully operational and in production within two days of being installed.

Sonja’s son, Ettiene Groenewald confirmed that ‘The machine was fully operational within a couple of days from being delivered, apart from some small issues along the way it has continued to operate perfectly ever since then. It is easy to operate, does not require extensive maintenance and

when it does, we can do it ourselves.’

Sonja and Ettiene were so impressed with the coater that they very soon made the placement permanent by buying it. Sonja commented, ‘We were very impressed with the service from Alliance Machinery and every time we have had a question it has been answered immediately. Also, the coater gives us the ability to coat our covers in a very cost-effective way and the result is amazing, the colours are far more vibrant once they are coated.’

Bradley Bate, managing director of Alliance Machinery commented, ‘The Tec Lighting UV Roller Coaters have been designed to handle all different types of printed material including litho and digital. In fact, they are specifically recommended for digital and have been specified as the preferred supplier for Konica Minolta and other digital press manufacturers in the United States. We are very happy that Colourtech has installed the Tec Lighting coater. The varied printing processes and the sheer volume of printed material mean that Colourtech will be able to achieve a great deal of benefit from the coater.’

The Tec Lighting coater is supplied with its own feeder based on similar principles to those used on a press feeder. However, the feeder can also be wheeled away from the coater allowing printed material to be taken directly from a digital printing press. This further improves the productivity of the machine and reduces operator intervention. It also uses low-odour coatings which reduces the potential harm to operators and pollution of the working environment.

UV coating provides a range of benefits, it protects the printed item from excessive wear caused by extensive use, it allows post-processing functions to be handled immediately, and it gives a superior print finish. The Tec Lighting coater adds another arrow to the quiver of Colourtech’s services. It is a single-source print and educational material supplier. It offers a full range of services from design through to delivery of printed books and electronic books. It also provides a CD and DVD copying and printing facility.

Colourtech is constantly looking for new services to offer its clients. This means that it is looking for new technology to supplement its already impressive array. The Tec Lighting coater from Alliance Machinery is just the latest. But it won’t be the last. While each new development is a learning curve, it seems that Colourtech is ahead of the class.

I 27

Vol 5 Issue 3 • MIDCOMP’S PASSION THE CUSTOMER COMES FIRST

Midcomp’s passionThe customer comes first

Every company claims to put its customers first, carrying the needs of the customer ahead of the needs of the company because a happy customer is a buying customer. However, when it comes to the crunch, there is

always a limit to which this philosophy can be pushed.

Midcomp appears to be the possible exception where customer satisfaction is paramount. Midcomp is the latest victim of a GAPP Invasion. This is where The GAPP Magazine visits a company to give you, the reader a better and closer look at the organisation, its

products and its people. You get to take an armchair tour of the company and to see what makes it tick and how it operates. We do not offer any guarantees that your experience will be the same as ours but, we try to tell it as we see it.

Midcomp is an equipment and consumables supplier in the large-format sector of the printing industry. It carries an extensive range of products for the signage, point-of-sale and packaging sectors of the market. Its range includes printers, cutters, inks, media and software and workflow solutions aimed at meeting the full gamut of customers’ requirements.

As with all other companies, Midcomp claims that customer satisfaction comes

first. However, unlike many other companies, it backs up its claims with verifiable and quantifiable facts and actions. But, before we go there, it is important to state that Midcomp recently underwent a major shake-up of its own making. The decision to add consumables to its product offering brought with it the need for a restructuring of the company. Originally a close corporation, the formation of a separate company under the umbrella of Midcomp required that the parent organisation be registered as a Limited Proprietary company.

In order to ensure that this was all done correctly, Midcomp sought the assistance of an external organisation which helped the shareholders and directors to correctly structure the company under the guidelines of propercorporate governance. This resulted in the relevant parties taking a long look at the company.


What is The GAPP Invasion?

You know your people, your company, what makes it tick and work but do your customers? Have you explained all the little things that make you different from

all the other companies in the same sector as you? What do your staff offer, professionally or personally, that makes them unique?

The GAPP Invasion is the opportunity for you to explain how you are different by allowing us to visit you as if a first-time customer and to see you warts and all. We will interview your key personnel and portray your company to the people

you want to talk to.

While the structure was correctly organised and a careful distinction drawn between shareholders, directors and the role of the various managers, the most important insight was that the company was built on a solid foundation of the right ideals and principals. Founder of the company Rob Makinson commented, ‘We always strive to put our customers first. In fact, throughout this re-organisation process we realised that this was often done to our own detriment and we are trying to learn that there are times when it is acceptable to occasionally say “No” to a client. It is not an easy concept for us to come to terms with but, it is something that we all need to learn.’

While a can-do attitude is good for customer confidence, a totally different approach is needed to keep staff happy and very often the two can be mutually exclusive. The desire to keep clients happy can often lead to internal conflict and resentment. Once again, Midcomp seems to have found a formula and management style which respects the rights of the client while at the same time valuing the contribution made by staff. This is borne out by the fact that the staff turnover is very low. Once again Rob commented, ‘We don’t have people resigning very often and when they do we usually ask what is wrong?’ The result is that staff happiness is equally important. This is evident from the high degree of team spirit and the fact that the entire staff is focused on ensuring that customers achieve maximum productivity.

So, what is it that makes Midcomp such a successful company? The answer lays in the combination of its vision and philosophy and a team of dedicated and loyal staff. The company has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town and a distributor in Durban. In Johannesburg it operates from two sets of premises at present. The

head office is situated in Randburg while its Innovation Hub is based in Strydom Park. The Innovation Hub is a multi-function facility which serves as a demo facility, training centre and disaster recovery centre – but more on this later.

Run by Sean Greer, the Innovation Hub stocks a broad range of equipment including HP printers, Zund cutters, Summa vinyl cutters, HP Scitex packaging printers, dye-sublimation printers, direct-to-fabric printers, laminators and eyeleting machines. This allows Midcomp to demonstrate a full range of systems to potential customers. Sean has been in the printing industry for 15 years having originally worked on the production side. His first experience with Midcomp was as an operator for a customer of the company. As with many of the staff who now work for the company, his experience of the service he received made him want to work for such a committed organisation.

He has worked in most of the sectors of the company including technical, engineering, sales and marketing and now he combines all of these aspects into running the Innovation Hub. In addition to providing a demonstration facility for potential customers, the ‘iHub’ also allows Midcomp to train customer production staff while newly ordered machines are being delivered. This ensures that staff members are proficient and able to start operating as soon as the machine has been installed and commissioned.

These are not the only uses for the iHub. Sean commented, ‘A facility of this nature would be nothing more than a cost centre if we were to use it simply for demonstrations and training. That would make it cost-prohibitive. To counter this, we offer it to our customers to help them when problems arise. There are a number of ways that we can help customers and this allows us to turn a cost-centre into a contributor.’

The iHub can be used as an over-run facility to allow customers with once-off longer runs to meet their production requirements. This is done as a short-term or stop-gap measure until such time as the particular job is complete. The aim is to help the customer to take on work outside their normal production capabilities in order to be able to grow.

Another service which the iHub provides is to allow new customers to start generating income between the process of ordering their machine and installation. Sean commented, ‘Very often our clients will have sourced customers but cannot start producing until the machine arrives and is installed. By allowing our clients to use our facility they receive the training and can start producing from the time they place the order. That way, when the machine does arrive they are already proficient and have started making money.’

Sean added, ‘There are other times when we offer our customers the ability to use our facility. One example of this happened recently when a big customer had a catastrophic fire at his premises. By using the machines at our iHub, he was able to continue with his production without affecting his customers at all.

Rob Makinson, Managing Director

Sean Greer, Marketing and Innovation Hub Manager

The Innovation Hub

I 29

‘In every situation we are able to offer our customers preferential production prices to allow them to make money while at the same time contributing to our operating overheads. There are four tiers of costing for these customers depending on the situation and we openly discuss these with clients.’

The iHub is a physical expression of the company’s promise which is to ‘Be a Catalyst for Growth’. Every effort and every action performed by the Innovation Hub is aimed at helping new and existing customers to progress from where they are to where they would like to be. The costing structures which are used at the iHub can be given to customers for implementation in their own businesses to allow them to accurately calculate their own production costs.

Growth within the company is also important. It is for this reason that staff are given opportunities and training to improve themselves. An example of this is Pretty Choshi at the Innovation Hub. Pretty started out as the general office cleaning lady and through a willingness to learn and the right opportunity, is now responsible for the front-of-house as well as demonstration and operation of some of the smaller machines at the iHub.

Midcomp is not a new company. Founded 24 years ago by Rob Makinson and Andrew Pink, the company has changed very little in its outlook and philosophy despite the fact that its staff complement now totals 43. Rob commented, ‘We have been forced, by our success, to adopt new procedures because managing this number of people needs more structure, but we have kept our unique approach to customers in terms of flexibility.’

The restructuring has not really changed the philosophy, it has only impacted the formal structure. There are now eight shareholders, four directors – two internal and two external. The company has enjoyed continuous growth since its inception. This has seen growth in terms of product range, staff numbers and revenue. Rob added, ‘HP forms the centre and basis of our product portfolio and our other products dovetail nicely. Over the years our relationship with HP has strengthened to the point where we are in the process of finalising an authorised service supplier agreement with HP, this is only the fourth such agreement in the world. HP and our other suppliers take us seriously as a reseller.’

Midcomp is proactive in ensuring customer satisfaction. This has resulted in the creation of a CRM database which, in turn, has improved customer relations. Every service, maintenance and repair call logged is used to enhance the database allowing full measurement of service levels, as well as ensuring that a full record of spare parts and training requirements is maintained to allow the most responsive service possible to be provided to clients.

Rob commented, ‘We realised the need to monitor and measure our own performance, as well as track and record our service and support response times. This gives us a platform for constant improvement. We are now in the process of working out how we can link our CRM system to HP in order

to further improve customer service.

In any company the size of Midcomp, managing the finances and overseeing the day-to-day running of the business is an important task. It requires someone who can balance not only the books, but the meeting of customer expectations. This role is filled by Sean da Silva, Financial Director. Sean has been with Midcomp for five years and joined the company after being at a large transport and logistics corporation. He was looking for an opportunity at a company with a more entrepreneurial outlook. ‘Midcomp gives me so much more than I thought possible. I was looking for a smaller company where I could make a difference,’ he said. ‘Here it is about so much more than the money. We are a family, very often in the real sense of the word, but also because we treat each other as family. Everyone works as part of a close-knit team working for the benefit of our customers.’

Sean da Silva and Rob are two of the directors of Midcomp Consumables, a separate company under the Midcomp umbrella. They are joined by Rakesh Rosen who comes to the company after more than 15 years in this sector of the industry. The formation of Midcomp Consumables gave the company something which it had never had before, the ability to source and supply leading brands of media. Such is the reputation that Midcomp has built, that it has been able to attract some of the leading media brands in the world, including an exclusive distributorship for ContraVision, the leading blockout brand in the world.

Midcomp Consumables is a new company and has not yet built up the infrastructure to be self-sufficient, it makes use of the logistics and infrastructure of the parent company and works closely with the sales and technical team. Rakesh commented, ‘The addition of consumables to the Midcomp product portfolio has been extremely well received by clients, many of whom said they were waiting for us to do this. The consumables build on the strengths of the equipment, workflow and service offerings of the parent company.


Pretty Choshi, front of house at the iHub

Sean da Silva, Financial Director

Rakesh Rosen, Director of Midcomp Consumables


‘Midcomp has such a strong and dependable reputation in the market that most customers are only too happy to deal with us for consumables as well. This is a close team with a strong ethic when it comes to its customers. We obviously don’t agree all the time but I knew, from the moment I arrived here, that I had found my home. I can see myself retiring from here as a very old man because this is where I belong.’

Another relatively new member of staff who joined the company a year-and-a-half ago is Warren Rother. Warren has many years of experience in the printing industry having worked for HP and Esko and is well-known and respected in the local market. Rob commented, ‘We were thrilled when Warren finally agreed to join us, we had been asking him for many years to come across and now he is here. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience which will allow us to meet the needs of our clients more effectively.’

Given his experience in the industry, Warren has been appointed as Sales Manager with responsibility for all the products in the equipment portfolio. He commented, ‘We have a leading range of products addressing all sectors of the large-format market from entry-level right through to the largest printers. Our products address every possible requirement of our clients. Not only that but we also provide our clients with access to additional services which will assist them in producing work of the highest quality. Midcomp provides a complete solution offering to meet all of their needs.’

The services Warren is referring to include Software RIPs, colour management and workflow solutions. This is an important part of ensuring that customers are

able to achieve the highest quality output from their devices with a minimum of waste of time and materials. This service falls under the portfolio of the expert colour management and workflow specialist Navin Jeewanlall.

While much of the expertise which Navin has obtained over the last 19 years in the wide-format digital print industry has come from practical experience and operation, he has augmented this with numerous training courses on colour management, digital print workflow and software packaging systems to meet the needs of the respective customer requirements. Midcomp supplies workflow systems including Onyx, Caldera, Wasatch, GMG and Barbieri measurement devices as well as packaging software. He has also received training from other hardware manufacturers including Oce, Zund, swissqprint and HP. Navin started out in the industry in 1996 working for Hirt and Carter in Durban in the wide-format printing department. There was a requirement to have the production from the wide-format printers match the colours achieved on litho and screen printing presses. This required that Navin learn about the processes associated with the quality of output on the workflow and digital front end systems.

He left Hirt and Carter in 2003 and moved to Johannesburg where he joined Omnigraphics. Once again he was responsible for high quality production output which included profiling the wide-format devices to create consistent and measurable colour results. In 2006 he left and joined Oce SA as a product manager with responsibility for the Arizona range of wide-format printers. He also assisted the engineers in meeting customer demands with regards to colour management. In 2008, he moved to Midcomp and took the representation for the Oce flatbed printers with him. Navin commented, ‘Having worked with Midcomp as a supplier during my time at Hirt & Carter and Omnigraphics, I knew Midcomp to be a company of the utmost integrity. When the time was right, I was very happy to move to a company which puts such store in customer satisfaction.’

Navin has now launched a divison within Midcomp called Colorflo. His portfolio now not only consists of training, support, colour management and workflow solutions for equipment that that Midcomp supplies but has also opened up his offering to all customers in the wide-format industry looking to improve the quality of their production from DTP to finishing.

Of all the divisions in the company, the one which focuses most specifically on customer satisfaction is the technical division. Under the guidance and management of technical services manager, Michael Wade, the technical division is responsible for handling all aspects from installation and commissioning right through to service, repairs and maintenance.

As with many of the staff at Midcomp, Michael has been with the company for a number of years having joined in 2001. He came from a computer-based background having worked on computers with his father in various places around South Africa. He eventually moved to Johannesburg and within a few days had

Navin Jeewanlall, Workflow and Colour Management Manager

Michael Wade, Technical Services Manager

Warren Rother, Sales Manager

I 31

joined the Midcomp team in the service department and has never looked back. He commented, ‘Midcomp is a small and personal team which offers good opportunities. One of the things I enjoyed was travelling around the country and being here I get to combine travel with a job I enjoy.’

Michael oversees the activities of seven field service engineers in Johannesburg, two in Cape Town and an independent consultant in Durban. All calls from customers are logged through a central call centre where a job number is created and an attempt is made to solve the problem on the telephone. In addition to this, all contact with the customer regarding the status of the call is handled from the call centre. This ensures a full log of all communication. If the problem cannot be resolved telephonically, it is sent through to the technical department where an engineer is allocated. From the time the engineer is despatched until the time the job is complete to the customer’s satisfaction, the clock is considered to be running. The aim is to achieve the fastest possible resolution of issues.

Michael stated, ‘Turnaround time on jobs is most important. Obviously every job is different and therefore, they take different lengths of time to complete but

if a problem arises that cannot be rectified by the original engineer they are all trained to request assistance from someone who may have more knowledge of a particular piece of equipment. If, however, the problem persists or is taking too long to resolve, we pass the problem onto the next link in the chain – Llewelyn Botha who is the Escalations Manager.’

Michael also ensures that all the field service engineers have received the necessary training to allow them to handle almost any query. He added, ‘The aim is to be able to provide complete cross-over between all the engineers but it is natural for people to be more comfortable with one machine than another.’

When problems cannot be solved or require specialist knowledge or input, Llewelyn is called into assist. It is his role to act as go between the engineers and the specific supplier overseas. This ensures that difficult problems are resolved as quickly possible.

Llewelyn joined Midcomp in 2003 having previously worked for Hirt and Carter in Durban. He started out as an engineer and has now held the position of Escalations Manager for three years. Commenting on the need for this position, Rob stated, ‘It is important that we resolve issues for our customers as quickly as possible and this is all part of the CRM system which we have in place. We want to handle all queries within a reasonable time frame and if we cannot then we need to have the ability to obtain specialist information and advice. Llewelyn works closely with the engineering team under Michael and also with our various suppliers.’

Llewelyn added, ‘Uptime is critical for our customers and therefore it is important for us as well. It sometimes results in long hours but if the engineers are working on a problem then it is the least I can do to try to help in finding the solution. Michael and I work closely to ensure that that every problem is resolved to ensure the customer’s satisfaction.’

This GAPP Invasion article may give the impression that Midcomp is the ideal supplier and also a great place to work. While we can only go on our impressions, with an admission that it has only been unable to satisfy the needs of two customers in 21 years and the fact that its head office provides a free lunch for staff Monday to Friday and that impression may just be right.

Contact Midcomp for more information on its range of products and services and see what else it has to offer.


Llewelyn Botha, Escalations Manager

The team at the iHub in front of the branded van


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Global bioplastics for packaging consumption is projected to reach 787 000 tonnes in 2015 and a market value of $2.4 billion, according to a new market study by Smithers Pira.

Global bioplastics for packaging consumption is projected to reach $5.9 billion by 2020

Global consumption is forecast to grow during the period 2015–20 at a CAGR of 21 percent to just over 2 million tonnes with a market value of almost $5.9 billion (2014 prices). The market for bioplastic packaging currently represents less than 1 percent of global plastic

packaging sales. Bioplastic packaging is, however, forecast to grow at a significantly higher rate than petro-based polymers during the five-year period to 2020.

Based on primary research and expert analysis, The Future of Bioplastics for Packaging to 2020 examines global market trends for bioplastic packaging for the period 2010–15. Market forecasts for the period 2015–20 are presented by bioplastic product, end use sector and geographic region.

There is an increased focus on sustainable packaging by brand owners and retail companies and this is driving market demand for bioplastic packaging, according to the study’s findings. Other market drivers include the availability of new capacities to boost supply and the development of ‘drop-in’ bio-based solutions. Furthermore, there is global increase in the implementation of plastic bag bans, which will benefit demand for biodegradable and compostable plastics. However, despite the advancements that have been made in bioplastics for packaging in recent years, there are still drawbacks that could prevent the wider commercialisation of bio-based polymers in many food and beverage packaging applications. These include the high relative cost of bioplastics compared with petro-plastics, availability of raw materials, as well as issues of performance, quality/consistency and density.

Europe is the largest regional market for bioplastic packaging, with close to one-third of world consumption in 2015. While North America trails behind in terms of bioplastic packaging consumption, government and consumer attitudes are changing: North America, Asia and South & Central America are forecast to show higher growth rates than Europe for bioplastic packaging over the forecast period, according to the report.

Figure 1 Global bioplastics for packaging consumption, projected percentage share by region, 2015


Smithers Pira predicts that Asia will expand its role as the major bioplastic production hub over the forecast period, as projects are being implemented in Thailand, India and China. Over three-quarters of bioplastics will be produced in Asia by 2020. In comparison, Europe is at the forefront of research and development but will account for less than 10% of bioplastic production capacity and a diminishing share of bioplastic packaging consumption by 2020.

The Future of Bioplastics for Packaging to 2020 – link - http://www.smither-spira.com/products/market-reports/packaging/innovations-and-tech-nologies/the-future-of-bioplastics-for-packaging-to-2020 is available now for £4,200. For more information, please contact Bill Allen at +44 (0)1372 802086, or via e-mail at [email protected].

6.5%

10.4%

11.2%

11.9%

27.4%

32.5%

Europe

North America

China

Rest of Asia

Rest of world

South & Central America

Vol 5 Issue 3 • GLOBAL BIOPLASTICS FOR PACKAGING CONSUMPTION IS PROJECTED TO REACH $5.9 BILLION BY 2020


I 35

The trends inwide-format printing

The end of May saw the staging of Fespa in Cologne, Germany, the largest show for the signage and graphics industry. As is to be expected from a show of this size and nature a number of trends became evident at the show. Trends which will not only set the direction for the design of new equipment, but

which will also see international production trends making their way to the local market.

Robert Franco, managing director of Graphix Supply World, the local distributor of products from Mimaki, Primera, Esko and AEG among others attended the show to experience these trends first hand.

He commented, ‘Possibly the most noticeable thing about Fespa was that there was a general trend among most equipment suppliers toward downsizing their show marketing space. Stands were smaller, there was less equipment being demonstrated and there was very little that was actually new. Mimaki is always launching new machines, inks and flatbed cutters (see the article on the EDP Awards).

‘In general there was an overall rationalisation by the companies who

were exhibiting. Not only is the economy in Europe playing a role, but there are also more local shows which are impacting the attendance figures and putting constraints on marketing budgets. The one show which is going to affect the show next year is Drupa and the general feeling was that the show next year will be considerably smaller.’

Both visitors to the show and the exhibitors at the show were interested in two specific production and technology trends. UV printing and textile printing dominated the majority of discussions at the show. The other major topic was finishing systems and equipment, with visitors realising that they need to invest in finishing equipment to improve productivity and reduce turnaround times.

Robert added, ‘Given the companies which we represent we were very fortunate that there were some innovations on show. As I mentioned new Mimaki printers were shown. Mimaki announced the July 2015 availability of the recently launched TS300P-1800 dedicated transfer paper inkjet printer. The printer is a 1.8m wide roll-to-roll sublimation inkjet printer offering new levels of quality and productivity in digital textile printing, 3.2 metre UV LED and SIJ 320.’ (More information regarding the SIJ320 can be found on the Mimaki website).

Fespa Cologne proved to be a successful show for Mimaki once again with sales leads increasing by 20 percent in addition to a number of sales directly from the stand. Mimaki celebrated the GreenGuard Gold accreditation for the use of inks in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities.

The highlight of the Fespa show each year is the Gala dinner where the EDP awards are presented. Once again Mimaki picked up an award. This year the award was presented for the Best Print and Cut solution for the Mimaki CJV150/CJV300 series of printers.

Robert commented, ‘The European Digital Press awards Gala Dinner is quite something to experience, it is on a totally different level to anything currently done elsewhere. There is a real sense of prestige associated with these awards.’

One of the most pervasive trends at Fespa was the move to textile printing with printers in the aqueous, latex, solvent and UV printer sectors. This is due to the fact that textiles can be printed more cost effectively, the offer environmental benefits, weigh less, are cheaper and easier to transport and have a different look and feel to the other popular substrates. According to Robert, this trend is already present in the local market.

He commented, ‘Wide-format printers in South Africa are looking for ways to reduce costs and, printing onto fabrics offers a very real opportunity to do that. Roll-to-roll materials have become expensive and flat rigid materials are difficult to handle and transport. There are a number of different methods of printing onto fabrics whether dye-sublimation, UV or Solvent. Also the UV and Solvent inks have become more affordable. All of these factors make printing on textiles more cost effective. An interesting development is the use of textiles for light boxes instead of PET and PVC.’

There are other trends which are driving the local market. Robert added, ‘Turnaround times are becoming increasingly important as printers are being put under more pressure from clients. The international trend for printers to handle their own finishing in order to reduce time frames is as prevalent in South Africa as it is overseas. Through our agreement with Esko we are able to assist our clients with the right solutions to meet these requirements. However, local printers are also finding that by improving their workflow solutions they can achieve faster turnaround

times as this aids with all aspects of the process from job ordering through to final production.’

Another means of reducing costs is by being flexible in the selection of materials. If jobs do not require the most expensive substrate, printers are opting for more cost-effective substrates which are suitable for short-run work or which have a shorter lifespan where longevity of the print is not as critical.

Robert concluded, ‘As far as trends go, South Africa is more or less on a par with the international markets. There are obviously regional factors which play a role but, in general, South Africa matches the rest of the world. Quality and productivity are at similar levels and the demands of customers are exactly the same. With the broad range of products we have from our various suppliers we are able to meet even the most demanding requirements.’

Trends are usually only an indicator of what can be expected to happen. Very often, the local market lags behind Europe but in this sector, it seems that South Africa is matching the rest of the world step-for-step. Graphix Supply World is helping to ensure that customers in the local market have access to the very latest information and technology in order to allow them to achieve production of the highest quality and with the fastest turnaround.


Vol 5 Issue 3 • THE TRENDS IN WIDE-FORMAT PRINTING

I 37

Streamlined colour managementColour measurement and control

Now that we’ve learned the fundamentals of colour and the different ways we can communicate colour data, let’s look at the ways we can collect this data. We’ve already touched on two instruments that

measure colour – spectrophotometers and colourimeters. First, we’ll take a more detailed look at these instruments, along with a third commonly used graphic arts instrument, the densitometer. Then, we’ll take

a look at different types of colour measurements and how they are used during specific phases of the digital imaging and graphic arts production workflow.

Part three of a three-part article by Keith Solomon from a booklet produced by X-Rite and reproduced with permission

Vol 5 Issue 3 • STREAMLINED COLOUR MANAGEMENT COLOUR MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL


InstrumentationWe have discussed many scales for communicating and describing colour – either by its primary colour attributes, its perceptual attributes, or its actual spectral data. These models provide us with units of measurement similar to ‘inches’ and ‘ounces’. All we need is a set of ‘rulers’ that can measure a colour in terms of numeric expressions such as CIE L*a*b*.

Gathering colour measurementsColour measurement instruments ‘receive’ colour the same way our eyes receive colour: by gathering and filtering the manipulated wavelengths of light that are reflected from an object. Earlier, we demonstrated how this combination of light, object, and viewer caused us to perceive a ‘red’ rose. When an instrument is the viewer, it ‘perceives’ the reflected wavelengths as a numeric value. The scope and accuracy of these values depend on the measuring instrument – they can be interpreted as a simple density value by a densitometer; a tristimulus value by a colourimeter; or as spectral data by a spectrophotometer.

Assigning numeric values to coloursEach type of colour measurement instrument does something that our eye cannot do: assign a specific value to the colour that can be consistently analysed in terms of numeric tolerances and control limits. Each instrument makes this conversion differently.

• Of these instruments, a densitometer is the most commonly used. A densitometer is a photo-electric device that simply measures and computes how much of a known amount of light is reflected from – or transmitted through – an object. It is a simple instrument used primarily in printing, prepress, and photographic applications to determine the strength of a measured colour.• A colourimeter also measures light, but it instead breaks the light down into its RGB components (in a manner similar to that of the human eye, a monitor, or a scanner). A colour’s numeric value is then determined using the CIE XYZ colour space or one of its derivatives, such as CIE L*a*b* or CIE L*u*v*. These measurements are visually interpreted in a colour space graph.• A spectrophotometer measures spectral data – the amount of light energy reflected from an object at several intervals along the visible spectrum. These measurements result in a complex data set of reflectance values which are visually interpreted in the form of a spectral curve.

Due to the fact that a spectrophotometer gathers such complete colour information, this information can be translated into colourimetric or densitometric data with just a few calculations. In short, a spectrophotometer is the most accurate, useful, and flexible instrument available.

Measurement applications in the graphic arts workflowDifferent types of colour measurement instruments are used in various stages of the graphic arts production workflow. A precise measurement program can ensure consistent colour results from initial ideas to the final printed piece – and all the exchanges from device-to-device in between. Different types of measurement are appropriate for specific production stages. For example, spectral data is the best measurement format for pinpoint colour specifications; while simple density measurements are more appropriate for monitoring press sheet colour bars over the course of a four-colour process press run.

First, we should re-emphasise this important point: the typical RGB colour space is much smaller than the range of colours that is visible to the human eye; and the CMYK printing process can achieve an even smaller gamut. Also, lighting conditions and materials such as colourants and substrates place additional limits on the gamut of reproducible colour. Scanning and display technology continues to improve colour bit depth and push the capabilities of RGB outward; and new printing technologies such as HiFi colour have widened the process printing gamut. However, variations will always exist between original natural colours, their reproduction via scanners and monitor display, and their reproduction via different printing processes.

Colour measurement allows us to achieve the best possible colour production results:• Minimal colour variation between devices and production stages;• these variations are predictable, and overall outputs are consistent; and• any problematic colour variations are quickly identified and corrected with little waste of time or materials.

Next, we’ll discuss how specific types of colour measurements can be applied to optimise colour consistency and quality in some key stages of the production workflow:

• Specification (by client and content creator)• Colour Management (by content creator and service provider)• Formulation (by ink supplier and printer)• Control (by printer)• Verification (by printer, client, and content creator)

Note that this workflow is a full circle – the key is to present a finished product that matches the client’s original colour specifications as closely as possible.

Colour specificationThe most complete way to define a colour is with spectral data. Now that technological advances have made spectrophotometers widely available, spectral data is the logical best solution for describing, specifying, or identifying colours. Spectral measurements are especially crucial for colours outside the traditional CMYK colour description – such as out-of-gamut spot colours and HiFi process colours. Spectral descriptions remain the same at any workflow stage because they are device-independent. In addition, RGB, CMYK, and custom ink formulations can be accurately derived from spectral data.

X-Rite’s ColourShop X software allows you to ‘point and click’ a hand-held spectrophotometer on a colour sample, then instantly view the colour on your computer monitor. The measured colour’s spectral data is stored as a digital colour. Beginning the colour production workflow with spectral descriptions means this precise, device-independent data can be utilised at other phases in the process – at your service provider, by your client, and by your printer.

Colour managementEarlier we noted that there are as many RGB colour spaces as there are monitors, and as many CMYK colour spaces as there are printers. This situation creates a great deal of ambiguity and guesswork for designers who create and proof colours on their desktop devices. Scanned colours don’t look the same when they are displayed on a monitor; on-screen colours do not match the printed proof; and the colours in image files display and output differently at each production site (design studio, service bureau, printer). Colour management systems (CMS) help solve these problems at the desktop level, and in turn provide solutions ‘downstream,’ as well.

A colour management system identifies the RGB and CMYK colour spaces that are crucial to your work – those belonging to your scanner, monitor, and printer. Descriptions of these devices are appropriately named profiles, or also referred to as characterisations. Operating systems now provide a built-in framework – called Apple ColourSync on Macintosh computers or ICM (Image Colour Management) on Windows computers – for implementing and handling these

device profiles. Colour measurement instruments are used in conjunction with the CMS and CMS-supported software to gather the important performance data that comprises the device profiles, and to periodically monitor and adjust the performance of the devices. Utilising your CMS, CMS-compatible software utilities and Plug-Ins, and colour measurement instrumentation, you can achieve desktop colour consistency in two major steps – device calibration and device characterisation.

Device calibrationDevice calibration is the first step in the desktop colour management process. Your monitor and output device performance capabilities can change over time – for instance changes in colourants media and room humidity can throw printer performance off course. Monitor and printer calibration procedures utilise different types of devices.

Monitor calibration is most accurately achieved using a colourimeter and compatible calibration software – such as MonacoOPTIXXR. For example, the colourimeter rests directly on the face of your monitor positioned over a colour target displayed on screen by the software. As the target area flashes a series of colours, the instrument measures each patch; then the software collects the measurement data. This data is analysed to determine where any performance drift has occurred.

Your monitor’s gamma, white and black point, and colour balance are adjusted and corrected accordingly. Finally, the software saves a monitor profile in the ColourSync Profiles (Mac) or Colour (Win) folder in your system folder.

In addition to calibration, you can do some other things to ensure reliable monitor viewing: choose a neutral grey pattern for your on-screen ‘desktop’ avoid locating brightly-coloured artwork adjacent to your monitor; avoid locating your workstation near windows or room lighting that is glaring or that changes frequently; and even shield your monitor on top and at the sides with a hood. You can set your brightness and contrast knobs at the desired levels before calibration.

I 39



Output device calibration is typically achieved using a densitometer (or, increasingly by using a colourimeter, spectrophotometer, or dot meter) and accompanying software. Calibration adjusts a device’s output including the colourant and the media to correlate with the values requested by the software. In the case of a colour printer, calibration ensures that the correct levels of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colourants are printed. A typical test image features rows of patches – one row for each colour the device can print. Each row’s patches represent different percentages, usually arranged in 5 percent or 10 percent increments from solid to zero coverage. In the case of CTP equipment, on the other hand, output values are verified for a single separation’s tone values.

These patches are measured to calculate the device’s linearity – its ability to properly image the percentages assigned from the calibration software. A plate meter such as the X-RiteDot makes these measurements fast and easy. The resulting measurements are communicated back to the software, where internal adjustments are made to the PostScript commands that control the colour values sent to the output device.

Device characterisation / profilingDevice characterisation is the second step in the colour management process, following device calibration. Characterisation is the process of actually creating device profiles for your scanner, monitor, and printer. While many device manufacturers ship factory-generated, generic profiles on disk with their products, custom profiles created with profiling software – such as Monaco-PROOF, or MonacoPROFILER – for your specific devices are more accurate and reliable, and therefore, will yield better colour results.

Scanner characterisation involves using a scanned test print or transparency such as an IT8 Target, and then running a scanner characterisation utility program, such as MonacoEZcolour, MonacoPROOF, or MonacoPROFILER. The IT8 test pattern consists of dozens of different colour patches that represent a uniform sampling of the CIE XYZ or L*a*b* colour space. The target comes with a data file containing the XYZ values for each patch. The utility compares these known values to the scanner’s device-dependent RGB representation of each colour. Any differences between the two values are calculated. From this data, the scanner’s colour space can be determined. This unique colour space information is saved as part of your scanner’s custom profile.

Monitor characterisation is accomplished using the same instrumentation (such as Monitor Optimizer or MonacoOPTIXXR) and on-screen target sequence that is used for calibration. For characterisation, the colourimetric data from the device is compared to the monitor’s ability to render these colours, so the software can calculate how the monitor’s colour space relates to the XYZ colour space. This unique information is the central component of the monitor’s custom profile.

Printer characterisation is similar to scanner characterisation in that a test pattern is measured to determine the device’s range of achievable colours. For printers, the test pattern is a uniform sampling of overprinted CMYK tints that are imaged using the output device.

The software for printer characterisation generates the test pattern with anywhere from 343 to 4982 coloured patches. This image is output to the printer.

The patches are then measured, and the resulting colourimetric data is calculated into colour space information for that specific printer, as it relates to the CIE XYZ or CIELAB colour space. This information becomes the central component in the printer’s custom profile. As characterisation is concerned with the printer’s ability to render a range of different process colours – not specific colourant densities – a colourimeter or spectrophotometer must be used to gather the measurements.

Proofing system and press characterisations can help clients and designers accurately predict the way colours will reproduce at later stages of the production process. Prepress and printing companies who utilise colour measurement and management systems can consider supplying clients with custom profiles of their output devices. Knowing the capabilities of all the output devices in the workflow can further enhance the ability to make important colour control decisions during the desktop design stage of production. Achieving colour control early in the process can save review cycle time and wasted materials downstream.

Anatomy of a device colour spaceA device colour space is ‘constructed’ based on its ability to scan, display, or render different points in the CIE xy chromaticity chart. Most target patches represent various hues at maximum saturation – the first two colour space dimensions (recall our discussion of hue, saturation, and lightness in the previous chapter). Various tints of black and the primary colours are also included to determine the device’s capabilities for rendering different levels of lightness, as well.

The characterisation software ‘knows’ the device-independent values of the target’s patches, which represent a device gamut. These known colour values are compared to the device’s actual, measured performance. The amount of difference at each point is determined, and the measured points are ‘mapped’ in relation to the known points. The resulting information provides the characterisation software with a detailed description of the device’s unique capabilities.

Profile-generating systems store device profiles in a specific location in your operating system software. Programs that utilise device profiles – such as the ColourShop X software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker, Macromedia FreeHand, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress – allow you to activate the desired device profiles from the storage location via menus within the program’s operating environment.

How colour management systems worksThe diagram showing smaller RGB and CMYK colour spaces ‘mapped’ inside the xy gamut demonstrates the process of gamut compression. This process happens frequently when we move colours through the production process: our original scene contains colours that are not captured on photographic film; some colours in the photograph are not within the scanner’s colour space, or gamut; and stillmore colours are lost or replaced when the scan is displayed in a monitor’s gamut. By the time our image is printed on proofing devices and on press, its original gamut has been compressed considerably. At each stage, out-of-gamut colours are replaced with the nearest approximate achievable colours.

For example, Apple ColourSync or Windows ICM helps you keep gamut compression predictable and under control. It utilises your peripherals’ profile information to calculate a ‘common ground’ colour space within the framework of CIE XYZ. When you use your profiled peripherals in conjunction with colour management, you work only with colours that are in the device colour space areas that ‘overlap’. Within this area, colour space information can be easily translated from one device colour space to the next. For example, you can more accurately predict your output colours based on what you see on your monitor.

Ink formulationCustom ink formulation for special spot colours is based on spectrophotometric measurements of various ink and paper combinations. This is typically done by the ink manufacturer. Now, technological advances in measurement instrumentation and software have brought ink formulation to the printing site, where the actual production paper can be calculated into a custom ink formula that will match the customer’s specifications. These affordable solutions, such as the X-RiteColour Master system, utilise supplied spectral data, specification from existing colour guides, or measurement of the actual sample or swatch.

Colour ControlColour control – or process control – is critical to achieving consistent, quality colour throughout an entire print job, across different shifts, between printing press operators, or between batches of materials. In any printing or imaging application, colour can vary on a single printed page, and from one page to the next. Measurement information can be used to control these colour variations.

For example, densitometers are used to read colour bars, which are basically small versions of test forms that are printed in unused areas of the printed page. Generally, colour bars provide sample patches (of solid inks, tints, overprints, and special patterns) to test critical print characteristics. Calculations such as density, dot area, dot gain, print contrast, and apparent trap allow press operators to troubleshoot on-press colour problems. Comparing colour barmeasurements between printed sheets clearly identifies any changes in printing characteristics.

These densitometric measurements indicate how the press is performing at that time. By comparing measurements of several press sheet colour bars at various intervals during the press run, the press operator can:• monitor overall press performance over time;• monitor the performance of the individual ink keys over time; and• document print quality for clients.Measurements are analysed in relation to control limits that have been established for the press. Any measurement data that is not within acceptable range of the control limits indicates a possible problem with the process or equipment. Having this information close at hand allows operators to quickly pinpoint problem areas and make fast, seamless adjustments to press settings with minimal waste of materials.

Today’s newest printing methods with 5 or 6 colours can often be monitored and controlled more effectively with colourimetric or spectral measurement. Printing applications that use more than CMYK, or custom touch-plate or bump colours are especially well-suited to process control using these tools, such as X-Rite’s model 939 hand-held spectrophotometer, or the ATS System. As the achievable gamut of colour printing expands, spectral data will play an increasing role in controlling expanded palette of achievable process colours.

Control limitsAs we mentioned earlier, any press run will vary in its colour output from sheet-to-sheet, from start to finish. Some variation is normal and acceptable. Control limits are established to ensure that the press run’s variation remains normal and acceptable. They are similar to the lines on either side of a street lane – some variation within the lines is acceptable, as drivers typically make subtle steering adjustments. Problems can occur, however, if the vehicle – or the press’ performance – suddenly veers beyond the lines.

Control limits are most commonly monitored using frequent densitometric measurements taken from press sheet colour bars. For example, the Auto Tracking Spectrophotometer system features an accompanying software package that displays the measurement data in graphical formats showing press performance trends over time. These linear graphs quickly identify any ink density measurements that are much stronger or weaker than acceptable.

Colour verificationAnother key benefit of colour measurement is the ability to monitor colour accuracy at each step of the reproduction workflow, and ultimately verify that customer specifications have been achieved as closely as possible.

Verifying that the actual ink colours are correct – especially non-process ink colours – requires the capabilities of a colourimeter or spectrophotometer (a densitometer can also be used on these special colours, but typically only to measure strength). As spectrophotometers can function as densitometers and colourimeters, they are the most logical and versatile method for controlling and verifying the quality of colour reproduction.

Colour tolerancesVerification between colour specifications and actual colour results is achieved by using tolerances that are based on numeric colour measurement data. Colour tolerancing involves comparing the measurements of several colour samples (the colour output) to the data of a known colour standard (the specification or input). Then, the ‘closeness’ of the samples to the standard is determined. If a sample’s measured data is not close enough to the desired standard values, it is unacceptable and adjustments to the process or equipment may be required.

(While control limits and colour tolerances are separate considerations, the production workflow and print job should be set up with both parameters in mind. In general, a project should never have customer specifications that cannot be achieved within the printer’s control limits.)

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The amount of ‘closeness’ between two colours can be calculated using a variety of colour tolerancing methods. These methods calculate the ‘distance’ between two sets of measurement co-ordinates within a three-dimensional colour space such as L*a*b*. The most common methods are CIELAB and CMC.

CIELAB tolerancing methodCIE LAB calculations are based on the L*a*b* colour space we examined earlier. Using CIELAB, the standard colour – or original specification – is pinpointed by its measurement data in the L*a*b* colour space. Then, a theoretical ‘tolerance sphere’ is plotted around the colour. This sphere represents the acceptable amount of difference between the standard and other measured samples (the colour output). Data that falls within the tolerance sphere represents an acceptable colour. Measurements that fall outside the tolerance sphere are unacceptable.

The size of the tolerance sphere is determined by customer’s specifications for acceptable colour difference, which is expressed in delta (∆) units such as ∆ E (delta error). A typical customer tolerance in the graphic arts industry usually lies between 2 and 6 ∆ E. This means, for example, that samples outside the tolerance box lie more than 6 ∆ units away from the standard. Tolerances of less than 2 ∆ units are typically unachievable given normal process variation, while a high tolerance could result in visible mismatches between specifications and results (highly dependent on the image). Differences between colours in an image that are within 4 ∆ units of each other often are not visible to most viewers.

Elliptical tolerancing methodsOur eyes accept colour matches inside elliptical regions, as opposed to the ‘spherical’ regions used in the CIELAB tolerancing method. For this reason, the CIELAB method can often provide misleading results. For example, an ‘acceptable’ colour that falls within a CIELAB tolerance might actually lie outside the elliptical region of acceptability.

The CMC, CIE94, and CIE2000 tolerancing methods directly addresses our ‘elliptical’ perception of colour difference, and therefore, is regarded in many industries as a more logical and accurate tolerancing system than CIELAB.A similar colour difference calculation called CIE94 is growing in popularity and also uses ellipsoids.

The CMC, CIE94, and CIE2000 are not new colour spaces – they are simply tolerancing systems that are based on the L*a*b* colour space. The calculations mathematically define an ellipsoid around a standard colour in the colour space. This ellipsoid consists of a semi-axis that corresponds to the attributes of hue, chroma, and lightness. It represents the area of acceptance in relation to the standard, the same way the CIELAB ‘sphere’ defines acceptable difference limits. As you see in the following illustration, the size of the ellipsoid varies depending on its position in the colour space – for example, in the orange region, ellipsoids are narrower, while in the green region, ellipsoids are wider. Also, ellipsoids in high-chroma regions are larger than those in low-chroma regions.

SummaryThis Colour Guide has introduced you to the subjects of colour communication, measurement, and control in a format that we hope has been clear and interesting. Behind each concept and process we briefly covered in this book, there is much additional information and technical data that can be added to your knowledge of colour production. However, the information you have learned will help you get started in the world of colour measurement and control, by providing a basic explanation of colour science and theory, the different tools used to measure colour, and the different stages of the production process where colour measurement is important.

The key point we want you to remember is this: If you can measure colour, you can control colour. Without measurement, describing and verifying colour can be ambiguous and unreliable. With numerical measurement data, however, colours can be described and verified with precision and confidence.



Addressing the Need for a Large-Format Finishing System

To be released at FESPA Africa 2015!

For more info call (+27) 031 701 4500Or see our website at SytechSupplies.com

The IECHO BK high precision Digital Cutting System’s capabilities include cutting, kiss cutting, milling, punch-ing, creasing and marking functions. It can be tted with both stacking and collecting tables for increased productivity. The BK system is suited to short run work such as sample making, as well as to longer production runs for signmaking, advertising, point-of-sale, point-of-purchase, printing and packaging applications.

High Speed Digital Cutting System

Addressing the needfor large-format finishing

If the recent Fespa exhibition brought anything to light, it was the fact that there is an international trend towards large-format printers wanting to bring finishing systems in-house to improve productivity, reduce

turnaround times and take greater control of all production processes.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR LARGE-FORMAT FINISHING

In order to answer this need, suppliers of large-format printing systems will be forced to add finishing systems to their product portfolio. Equipment like cutters, routers, milling systems, eyeletting machines, welding machines and various others will need to be included.

Durban-based Sytech Supplies is a full-solutions provider addressing all sectors of the signage and display industry. In order to keep up-to-date with the latest trends and to answer a need in the market, Sytech recently concluded an agreement with IECHO for the distribution of its range of large-format digital cutting systems. Sytech will be launching the range at the Fespa Africa show being held in Johannesburg at the end of July.

IECHO was founded in 1994 and is now a leading manufacturer of automatic cutting systems in the signage, graphics, packaging, garment, leather and composite industries. It has an international representation base.

The BK high precision Digital Cutting System’s capabilities include cutting, kiss cutting, milling, punching, creasing and marking functions. It can be fitted with both stacking and collecting tables for increased productivity. The BK system is suited to short run work such as sample making, as well as to longer production runs for signmaking, advertising, point-of-sale, point-of-purchase, printing and packaging applications.

The BK cutting system features a number of advantages for customers. The cutting speed is one metre per second allowing for high volume output and

dramatically improving productivity over manual cutting. It features a CCD camera to accurately register cutting operations to the work place, thereby eliminating problems associated with manual positioning.

Flexible tool-blade combinations can meet the cutting requirements of different materials and different processing modes. Operator safety is of prime importance and as such the BK system incorporates a safety sensor to prevent injury. An intelligent conveyor system co-ordinates feeding and collection operations for maximum efficiency, labour saving and enhanced productivity. Ergonomics are also taken into account with the BK system where a sound absorbing device is included to reduce sound levels from the vacuum pump by up to 70 percent.

TK-cutting


The BK system features a number of different cutting tools for a wide range of materials and material thicknesses depending on the job being undertaken. It also features specialist cutting blades and routing tools. The cutters can also be fitted with either one or two heads for ease of job changeover without the need to interrupt production.

The BK Cutting System series features cutters of different sizes, as well as custom sizes to meet the specific needs of customers. Standard models include the BK1311 with a cutting area of 1300 x 1100mm, the BK1713 for the size 1700 x 1300mm, the BK2011 for the size 2000 x 1100mm and the BK2516 for the size 2500 x 1600mm. Custom sizes can be built in sizes ranging from 1300mm up to 5 metres long and 1100mm up to 5 metres wide. The maximum cutting thickness of all models is 50mm.

Said Malcolm Groger, managing member of Sytech Supplies, ‘The BK Cutting Systems from IECHO dovetail nicely with the other products in our portfolio. These high-speed and high-precision cutters will be launched at Fespa Africa and we anticipate that they will attract a lot of attention from both new and

existing customers.’

For more information on the BK Cutters contact Sytech Supplies on 0861-SYTECH (798324) or visit www.SytechSupplies.com

IECHO-BK3-Cutting-head IECHO-BK3-Sheet-feeder

BK-3-Cutting-machine

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Kemtek scoops top FUJIFILM honours

Just seven months since the official launch of its partnership with FUJIFILM SA, Kemtek has swept the board at FUJIFILM’s DistributorAwards 2015 in Düsseldorf, Germany, winning

Best Performance in Sales for ZAC Processor, ZAC Plate, PRO-T3 and XR-1200F, and top prize, Best Performing Distributor of the Year.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • KEMTEK SCOOPS TOP FUJIFILM HONOURS

Gavin van Rensburg, Kemtek Group MD, said at the event in Germany, ‘We’re delighted to be recognised by FUJIFILM and honoured to achieve the Best Performing Distributor of the Year award. Our team’s performance has been exceptional and our sales statistics prove that

South Africa’s printing professionals recognise the reliabilty and durability of FUJIFILM’s advanced plates and processing systems.’

Coupled with Kemtek’s reputation for delivering only trustworthy, expert advice and assistance, Gavin’s confident that his dynamic and dedicated technical sales team will continue to grow the FUJIFILM SA brand in southern Africa and beyond.


AB

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National 0861 KEMTEK • Johannesburg +27 (0) 11 624 8000 • Pretoria +27 (0) 12 804 1410

Durban +27 (0) 31 700 9363 • Cape Town +27 (0) 21 521 9600 • Port Elizabeth +27 (0) 41 364 3690

Visit our website: www.kemtek.co.za

Vol 5 Issue 3 • SHEETCO THE INDUSTRIAL SOLUTION

SheetcoThe industrial solution

In any industry there are the companies which leave the fanfare alone, they avoid all the pomp and circumstance which goes with making a sale and rather concentrate on ensuring customer satisfaction.

One such company is Sheetco, a complete -sublimation print solutions provider.

But what is Sheetco, may be the next question? The name is not widely known in the signage and graphics market. This is quite surprising given that Sheetco has been active in the dye-sublimation market for ten years and has achieved significant sales of large-format dye-sublimation printers

and heat press installations around the country. This is because it is a niche in a niche market and not highly visible.

Owned and managed by Frikkie Booysen, Sheetco has branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, each of which provides the full range of service and

products including printers, heat presses, papers, inks, profiling and technical support and back up. According to Frikkie the focus is always on the customer and the philosophy of ‘Solving the Customer’s Problem’.

Frikkie commented, ‘When we set up Sheetco, dye-sublimation was not very well-known and we grew slowly but consistently. Our aim was always to provide a complete industrial solution aimed at companies with high-volume production requirements.

Frikkie Booysen with the prototype Sheetco direct-to-textile printer.


CONTACT :Frikkie [email protected]

+27 (0)83 451 4967

CUSTOM PRINT SYSTEMS

1900 - 3300mm Wide

We supply the complete sublimation solution

Our mainstay product Monti Antonio has given us great success and has installed more than 140 machines around the country in 10 years.

In 2009 Sheetco was awarded the market development award by Telpro for developing the sublimation market. This was mainly attributed to a great Roland product the RS640 printer.

The next major contributor to the company’s steadygrowth was the increasing demand for 3-metre wide machines in the dye-sub market. Sheetco had acted on the demand for this type of machine by designing and trademarking The Avanti Series. While the manufacturing is handled overseas, the design and specific function are influenced by Sheetco, making this a product tuned for the local market. The Avanti is a dedicated dye-sublimation machine for printing to paper.

Frikkie commented, ‘Perhaps the greatest feature of the Avanti machines is that they can be adjusted to meet the needs of customers, and if it is not available, we make it happen on the existing machines at very low cost.

Sheetco works closely with the ink manufacturer, the machine manufacturer and the printing head manufacturer to ensure that each element of the printing process is able to work in conjunction with each other to achieve the desired result for the customer. ‘This gives our customers complete peace-of-mind that everything is guaranteed to work together and will not result in problems during their production runs.’

The Avanti ink range currently comprises three OEM inks, the Avanti Rapido and Rapido plus dye-sublimation inks and the Avanti Stratos solvent inks.

Every machine designed and built for Sheetco is thoroughly tested prior to delivery to the customer. This ensures that it is problem-free and fully functional before if goes into full-scale industrial production.

Sheetco is now entering the next phase of product development with plans to launch a 3-metre wide direct-to-textile printer. The prototype of this machine is currently being tested at its facility in Johannesburg and will be ready for full launch later this year.

Frikkie commented, ‘We have seen a growing demand for a direct-to-textile machine and this printer will allow us to meet that requirement. We are currently looking at a few enhancements to improve productivity and then the machine will be ready.’

One aspect of the machines from Sheetco, which stands out, is the fact there is no clear branding on them. Frikkie explained, ‘These are industrial machines designed for a specific purpose. We do not worry about branding and advertising and this way we can reduce the cost. Our customers are not concerned about branding, they simply want a machine which meets their needs and delivers on our promise of lower cost with higher value. We will not sell a machine which does not offer the customer value for money.’

Frikkie is also adamant that although product performance is paramount, the technical backup and support is what makes the product sustainable for the customer. ‘We employ seven technicians aged from 22-71! A great team of talented individuals that share the companies vision and contribute greatly.’

Frikkie added that Sheetco has a passion for equipment and will continue to strive to bring the best value to the market.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • LOOKING GOOD ON PAPER AND BEYOND

Paper is critical to the printing process. It is after all, both the raw material and the end product. Nowhere is that more apparent than when transitioning to production inkjet printing, where paper selection has a

tremendous impact on the production quality and profitability of an inkjet solution. The same image printed on different ‘inkjet suitable’ papers will require different amounts of ink to produce similar output quality. As the ink density or total area coverage (TAC) increases, some papers may not perform well – leading to bleed

through or changes in the paper surface that could interfere with the proper operation of finishing equipment.

Paper also has a tremendous impact on the yield of a litre of ink. Even among papers tested for inkjet production, the difference in ink use for the same application and similar quality could vary by 50 percent or more. That extra ink usage can add up to hundreds of thousands of Rand within

a year or two in a high-volume shop. You may be thinking, ‘So why wouldn’t I just buy the paper that lets me use the least amount of ink?’ Good question. The challenge is that the papers that allow you to use less ink cost more money – often substantially more. In general, inkjet papers can cost nearly twice as much as offset papers. So, the challenge is to strike a balance between target quality, minimised ink use and paper cost.

Given the critical importance of selecting the right paper on the ROI, paper and inkjet manufacturers are stepping up to support customers with testing – and it’s not a small job. The first step is to test a paper’s suitability for inkjet printing in general, looking at issues like: • Colour density • Colour gamut (treated papers generally enable a larger colour gamut than standard uncoated papers and a pigmented paper surface will expand the gamut even further)• Line quality and colour to colour bleeding • Print uniformity (mottle, coalescence) • Ink drying behaviour • On-line abrasion • Water fastness • Light fastness

Based on its performance in these tests, a paper may be deemed suitable for inkjet use – but that’s not the end of the process by a longshot. Transaction printers and marketing fulfilment companies have very different paper needs – even running on the same press. Without knowing what the customer wants

to use the output for, it is impossible to say whether or not a certain paper is suitable.

This, in turn, calls into question the practice of ‘certifying’ papers for inkjet. There may be certified papers that are not suitable for all inkjet applications and non-certified papers that are perfectly appropriate. At Océ, we prefer to say that we evaluate papers for suitability for inkjet, and then help our clients to select the right paper for their particular needs. We have tested hundreds of papers and we work closely with the paper mills to give feedback on the performance of specific papers and to communicate the needs of our customers. There may be a broader choice of papers available than you think.

If you are going to tackle the paper testing process yourself, we would recommend a disciplined process including: • Development of a ‘test suite’ that is sensitive to the unique issues of different presses and representative of the applications to be printed in production, • Objective evaluation criteria that can be measured with a spectrophotometer, and • Subjective criteria to be evaluated by a pre-selected group of ‘judges’

Once you start comparing different papers, different measures, and different opinions, the identification of metrics and the approval criteria emerges. From here you will learn what is acceptable and what is not acceptable and then identify your upper and lower control limits.

Of course the press and paper combination does not tell the whole story. Once an acceptable paper is profiled, this information must be used properly and optimally throughout the whole colour workflow process from design to print. The right paper, profiled correctly, can still print badly because of bad design, colour space or improper PDF format. Remember, you get out of it what you put in – across the whole workflow. And in the case of paper, when you put the right effort into testing and selection, what you get is better colour with less ink.

Océ South Africa: Hennie Kruger, +27 (0)11 661 9555/9540, [email protected], www.oce.co.za

Looking good on paper and beyond

By Hennie Kruger, DDS product and marketing manager of Océ South Africa

Hennie Kruger


8030 - OCE BUTTERFLY FP AD - THE GAPP_PATH.indd 1 2015/06/24 12:15 PM

Cassis is a Belgian clothing retailer with shops in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and The Netherlands. In the last ten years, the business has more than doubled the number of branches in its store network. Not only did the brand expand to smaller shops and new shopping concepts, the e-commerce activity

also increased. This brought new challenges to the already complex logistics process with parameters such as ‘size’, ‘colour’, ‘folded’, ‘hanging’, ‘piece’ and ‘bulk’. In order to keep up with the increasing

number of orders and the growing diversity of these orders, Cassis optimised its processes in its distribution centre by integrating ZetesMedea Voice.

Productivity doubles thanks to voice picking

Vol 5 Issue 3 • PRODUCTIVITY DOUBLES THANKS TO VOICE PICKING

Thanks to the voice solution, the picking and cross-docking process, as well as restocking, are carried out much faster whilst making fewer mistakes. The same warehouse occupancy now supplies more than double the amount of shops, with up to 20 000 items of clothing being picked daily.

With a decreased total cost of ownership, the business is ready for further expansion using the new platform.

Logistics expansion in line with success Cassis’ store network currently consists of 130 branches, of which 100 are in Belgium. In The Netherlands, Cassis trades under a shop-in-shop concept in the Vroom&Dreesman department stores. All shops are supplied from the central distribution centre in Woutersbrakel (Belgium). Over the last ten years Cassis multiplied its store network from 60 to 130 sales outlets. This growth, together with the increasing e-commerce activity, puts significantly more pressure on the logistics centre.

Complex logistics process As is often the case in the clothing sector, order picking at Cassis is a complex process. In- and out-bound clothing items are determined by product characteristics such as ‘size’, ‘colour’, ‘folded’, ‘hanging’, ‘piece’ and ‘bulk’, whereby ‘folded’ and ‘hanging’ items are processed differently.

Due to the expansion of the store chain, the number of destinations has risen and therefore, the number of orders has risen. But also the complexity of orders

has increased: large stores, small stores, shop-in-shop and e-commerce all place different kinds of orders, varying in size and constitution (more or less piece goods or bulk) which have an impact on the procedures. Monique Courant, IT & Logistics Manager at Cassis, described the challenge, ‘The result is a complex logistical matrix that requires substantial efforts to correctly follow up all orders and maintain stock levels. The original system simply no longer sufficed.’

From RF scanning to voice picking Originally, Cassis’ orders were picked using mobile terminals. Courant continued, ‘Barcode scanning and screen communication on wearable terminals allowed us to perfectly process our orders on time. For a limited number of (larger) shops, that all placed the same type of order, orders would simply be processed one after the other. Due to the expansion of the number of sales outlets, the previous technology was no longer able to process orders fast enough. We needed a new model and a different technology in order to increase the profitability.’

After Courant saw the ZetesMedea Voice solution in action at an existing customer in the same industry, she immediately made the decision. ZetesMedea is Zetes’ logistics solution to efficiently manage all warehouse processes. The aim is to quickly and flexibly organise the processes, to reduce errors and lower the costs. ZetesMedea Voice focusses on the use of voice recognition technology and is used for order picking in warehouses amongst other things. Using the MCL Voice platform, ZetesMedea Voice offers the ‘next generation’ speaker an independent approach to speech recognition.

Fashion retailer Cassis successfully manages seasonal peaks and twice as many shops, thanks to ZetesMedea Voice.


Optimised processes using voice Cassis has applied the solution in different stages of its logistics process. At the start of the season, the new collection arrives at the distribution centre in Woutersbrakel. The majority of the clothing must be distributed as soon as possible so that all shops can build up their local stock for the season. This is done through cross-docking. The remaining clothing is stored in the distribution centre (put-away) and, throughout the season, distributed across the shops based on sales figures and availability on the shop floor (order picking).

The in- and outbound process of clothing items is organised around 4 important characteristics: ‘folded’ or hanging’ and ‘pre-packed’ (type of bulk packaging consisting of different sizes of 1 article) or ‘piece’ (1 article, 1 size). Each item requires different logistics processes. Since the ZetesMedea Voice implementation, operators carrying out these processes are guided by the voice system. They are equipped with WT4190 voice terminals from Zebra, one of Zetes’ leading hardware partners in the EMEA region. The terminal is connected with a ring scanner and a headset, and the system directs the operators to the right product and tells them which quantity is required. The operator will then confirm using a voice command and/or by scanning the product.

Efficient voice system Productivity Thanks to the ZetesMedea Voice solution, processes are carried out more quickly. Courant added, ‘In the past, every shop had to be processed individually using scanning before an operator could move on to a second order. The new voice system yields significant time savings. Operators are now working hands and eyes-free which enables them to, for example, carry out multi-client picking at a much faster pace. The system also optimises the rounds which further increases

efficiency. As a result, we are now able to process many more shops: today the same team of 11 employees handle over 20 000 clothing items for 130 sales outlets.’

Reduction in the number of errors Monique Courant describes the company’s journey with ZetesMedea Voice, ‘The flexibility of the system allowed us to adapt the processes to our needs, including the use of specific commands. Also the “multi-modal” approach, whereby voice can be used together with scanning and printing, is paying off. It has significantly reduced the error margin.’

Faster deployment for temporary workers Lastly, Cassis also benefits from the untrained, speaker-independent approach that ZetesMedea Voice has to offer. By using the MCL Voice platform, the solution offers a ‘next generation’ approach to voice recognition. Operators no longer have to register their voice profile before they can start work. This process could easily take half an hour. Unlike a ‘trained’, or speaker-dependent voice system, operators simply have to log in, register approximately five keywords and they can start work right away. ‘No longer losing valuable time on training and having to invest in configurations, makes a huge difference. ZetesMedea Voice allows me to effortlessly call in temporary workers, which for a seasonal business, is a key asset,’ said Courant.

Due to the expansion to 130 shops, a different approach to order picking was required in the distribution centre. With ZetesMedea Voice, the clothing retailer has opted for a sustainable platform which will not only be able to successfully manage the current volume of orders but also any future increase. ‘ZetesMedea Voice allows us to also logistically expand. To effortlessly meet this challenge, was key to us. We are ready for further expansion.’

The global signage marketas seen in Cologne

Fespa 2015 Global Expo in Cologne, Germany, attracted more than 23 000 visitors with delegates from 133 countries around the world making their way through the halls. Of this number the vast majority, 88 percent

were from Europe, five percent came from Asia, three percent came from the Americas and four percent came from the Middle East and Africa region.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • THE GLOBAL SIGNAGE MARKET AS SEEN IN COLOGNE


One of the local companies which had representation at the show was Antalis South Africa. Herbert Uren, business channel manager – Visual Communication at Antalis South Africa gives his impressions of the show, the technology and how South Africa keeps up with the rest of

the world.

According to Herbert, Fespa 2015 was a truly representative show with all the major manufacturers and brands represented. He added, ‘It was professionally organised, as you would expect, and the venue was more than adequate to handle the show and the volume of visitors at the Messe in Cologne.’

Tradeshows like Fespa often mirror the trends which are apparent in the industry as a whole and according to Herbert this event was no different. He commented, ‘Fespa 2015 definitely had a flavour of being more green with the advent of new technologies such as LED curing and more environmentally friendly inks being quite prevalent. Many of the substrates on display showcased the move towards using more sustainable substrates in applications without compromising print quality.’

Another company represented by Antalis South Africa is EFI which launched its new Vutek roll-to-roll printer in the 3.2metre wide market. The HSr Pro is the fastest roll-to-roll printer launched by EFI. The new printer prints in six colours plus white at speeds of 223sqm to 297sqm per hour and is aimed at the production of fleet graphics, banners and backlit displays. Also new at Fespa from EFI was the Vutek GO, a remote monitoring system for the HS Pro Series. It allows users to monitor machine status in real time and to receive push notifications.

Herbert added, ‘In addition to the new equipment launched, there were some important devices on display from various of our suppliers. From EFI there was the H1625 LED entry-level wide-format printer and Esko showcased its C60 cutting table. Devices from both of these manufacturers will be on display on our stand at the upcoming Fespa Africa show. We will also have the Epson SureColor S and T series. The theme of our stand will be showcasing a complete overview from entry level printing through to finishing of the product. We will also be showing the Coala range of substrates as well. The Coala range represents a balance between quality and cost effectiveness ensuring that our customers have access to a wide range of quality products.’

He continued, ‘Our aim at the Fespa Africa show will be to bring these products to those customers who were unable to attend the Global Fespa. It offers a snapshot overview of what they would have seen while at the same time featuring the type of equipment which is relevant to the local market, especially environmentally friendly solutions which I believe will start having a greater impact on our market. South Africa is on a par with the rest of the world. The market leaders in South Africa all have serious print power and use the very latest technologies, which is evident from the quality of the work produced.’

The signage and graphics market is still growing and new applications continue to give the players in this market the impetus to search for additional clients in different sectors.

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www.ricoh.co.za

Imagine high speed production printing with a 5th colour station that

gives you clear gloss and white toner, with print speeds of up to 90

pages per minute on 1200x4800 dpi on media up to 360gsm.

Imagine the opportunities that support for textured and transparent

media open up to you.

Then imagine the enhanced uptime that operator replaceable units,

toner bottles, waste toner and media changes gives you. All this and

more on a choice of print servers guaranteed to suit your needs, and

your budget. Go to www.ricoh.co.za. And let your imagination soar.The new Ricoh

Pro™ C7100x Series.

www.ricoh.co.za

Imagine high speed production printing with a 5th colour station that

gives you clear gloss and white toner, with print speeds of up to 90

pages per minute on 1200x4800 dpi on media up to 360gsm.

Imagine the opportunities that support for textured and transparent

media open up to you.

Then imagine the enhanced uptime that operator replaceable units,

toner bottles, waste toner and media changes gives you. All this and

more on a choice of print servers guaranteed to suit your needs, and

your budget. Go to www.ricoh.co.za. And let your imagination soar.The new Ricoh

Pro™ C7100x Series.

Advanced Machineryat The GAPP Print Expo

With less than a year to the Propak Series of shows including The GAPP Print Expo – a joint venture between Specialised Exhibitions and Sentient Publishing, the number of companies committing to exhibit at the

show is growing. The latest addition is Advanced Machinery a local supplier of large-format printing, cutting, CNC, routing, engraving and 3D printing solutions.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • ADVANCED MACHINERY AT THE GAPP PRINT EXPO

Advanced Machinery has selected a 50sqm stand in Hall 7 and will be showing a range of the systems and solutions which it supplies. The majority of the equipment from Advanced Machinery is aimed at the signage and graphics market and includes FastCOLOUR large-format

printers, V-smart vinyl cutters, CNC cutters and routers, laser engravers and cutters.

Said managing director Eric Yin, ‘The GAPP Print Expo offers us the ideal platform for showing the products which we have for the signage, graphics and display markets. We will have a number of products on our stand and we will be offering special show offers, as well as post-show special offers.’

Advanced Machinery is part of the AM.CO.ZA Group which includes AM Sets and Staging which not only builds and hires out sets and staging, it also provides training in the use all of the systems which are supplied by Advanced Machinery. Eric commented, ‘We will be using the routers, printers and cutters to produce

the graphics, display and parts of the stand construction for the show. This will give visitors to the stand the opportunity to see what can be done with the equipment.’

Also on show and being demonstrated will be the latest addition to the Advanced Machinery product range the PrintUp 3D printing system which will also be available with special show pricing.

The GAPP Print Expo, as part of the Propak Series of exhibitions will be taking place at NASREC from 15 to 18 March, 2016. For more information on how to exhibit at the show contact [email protected]

For more information on Advanced Machinery and its wide range of vinyl cutters, CNC routers and laser engravers call 072 222 2211 or visit the informative website http://am.co.za/


The winners of the 2015 EDP Awards are:Best special application solutionTrotec JobControl Vision

Best colour management solutionAgfa Asanti Color Management

Trophies for EDP 2015 winners

The Winners are… during Fespa in Cologne, the European Digital Press (EDP) Association celebrated the Winners of the 9th EDP Awards. With this Awards, EDP honours the best developments in print production tools, software developments, substrates, inks, materials and finishing systems. Out of more than 100 entries

finally 20 products were awarded with a best of Trophy in its category.

The EDP AssociationThe EDP Association was founded in 2006 by six trade magazines with main editorial focus on digital print and production. Now the EDP Association counts 20 member magazines all over Europe, covering 26 countries and reaching more than half a million of readers in Europe. One of the goals of EDP Association was the idea, to assist the technology-appliers in their task to find the right solution for his applications. Due to the fact that not every high tech product eventually meets the requirements in a demanding production environment. Since 2007 EDP has evaluated and honoured the best new developments in print production tools, software developments, substrates, inks, materials and finishing systems. Over the years more than 200 trophies were awarded to the best technologies and developments.

The judging processAs soon as a product is submitted, the evaluation process starts and the members of the Technical Committee investigate the products´ features and qualities – by consulting other experts as well. At the end of the submission period the Technical Committee nominates the best ones in a category for the final judging round. In a special EDP General Assembly (this year in Brixen/Italy) representatives of all the member magazines discussed the quality again – also under aspects such as value to the user, support and service and other arguments. They finally decided which product is worth of being awarded an EDP Trophy.

The next submission period for the EDP Awards 2015/2016 started on 1 April 2015 and will end for products officially introduced until 30 March 2016.

The EDP Awards 2015 winners

I 59

Vol 5 Issue 3 • INNOVATING POWER IN OUR INDUSTRY 20 TROPHIES FOR EDP 2015 WINNERS

Best print support toolGEW LW1

Best wide-format hybrid/flatbed UV printerCanon Océ Arizona 6100-Series

Best wide-format roll-to-roll up to 1,7 metreHP Latex 360

Best print and cut solutionMimaki CJV150/300 Series

Best wide-format roll to roll up to 3,3 metreAgfa Anapurna M3200i RTR

Best wide-format textile printer high productionDurst Rhotex HS

Best production cut-sheet printer light productionRicoh Pro C7100X

Best wide-format textile printer light productionRoland DG Texart RT-640


Best production cut-sheet printer high productionCanon Océ VarioPrint i300

Best multi-purpose object printerMutoh ValueJet 426UF

Best production printer web-fedRicoh Pro VC60000

Best sheet-fed offline finishing systemHighcon Euclid II+

Best special solutions printerLeonhard Kurz DM-Liner

Best textile substrateDHJ Decoprint Acqualight

Best labelling solutionXeikon Cheetah

Best environmental substrate3A Composites SMART-X natura

Best packaging solutionHP Indigo 20000 Digital Press

Best special application substrateKhora by James Cropper Paper

I 61

Vol 5 Issue 3 • WILRO – 35 YEARS OLD AND STILL IMPRESSIVE

Wilro – 35 years oldand still impressive

The Printing Industry has seen more than its fair share of hardship, especially in the past ten years. A number of factors have impacted the industry with the result that it is vastly different to the industry of its heyday. For

most companies the focus is on day-to-day survival and longevity is a secondary consideration.

For the Wilro Group of companies 2015 is a significant year marking 35 years in business. Founded by Robbie Boshoff in 1980 as Wilro Engineering, the company specialised in the sourcing, refurbishing, supply, repair and maintenance of quality used printing and allied equipment. It has developed

a strong reputation for quality, service and achieving customer satisfaction. In 1996 Robbie was joined by his current partner Rodney Prinsloo, who came to the company as an apprentice and eventually went on to become a shareholder.

Presses and other equipment handled by Wilro undergo an exhaustive reconditioning process, often being stripped down to their bare components for a thorough cleaning and replacement of worn items to ensure that the machine is brought back to optimal working condition and to offer the client complete peace-of-mind. The qualified and competent staff at Wilro

Engineering has the reconditioning of printing presses down to a fine art. The company sources and supplies all the major makes of printing presses and finishing equipment according to customers’ requirements and requests.

In 1986, Wilro Printing Machine Sales was founded with the express aim of selling quality used printing and allied equipment such as guillotines, folders and saddle stitchers. The formation of this company allowed for a more focused approach to customers allowing a clear distinction between the engineering and sales activities. Wilro Sales specialises in sourcing used Heidelberg, Roland, Fuji, Komori and Müller Martini presses and ancillary systems either locally or internationally. It also imports Thinkcut, a system which converts standard guillotines into fully programmable cutting systems allowing customers to increase productivity and reduce turnaround times.

Wilr

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ing


A third company, Wilro Graphics, joined the group in June 2000. Formed by Robbie and an associate with many years of experience, Wilro Graphics supplies a wide range of imported printing machine parts and consumables and is now run successfully by Verinia. This company is the agent for Crestline retrofit dampening systems, Superweb business forms presses, Sumbel all-surface gluers, Zacares numbering boxes and other retrofit systems. It also stocks BM Management chemistry for the printing process.

A major aspect of the supply and relocation of printing and allied equipment is the rigging and moving process. Very often this can incur huge costs through the use of an external company. In addition to the extra costs, these companies do not always understand the requirements of handling these types of machines with the result that they can be damaged. To overcome this problem, Wilro Engineering has its own rigging truck and is able to relocate anything from a safe to a full large-scale printing press.

It is this level of attention to detail which has earned the Wilro Group such a strong reputation with its loyal customers – many of whom have been customers from the very beginning. Among these are Montage Print in Johannesburg which is run by Grant Timms. Montage was founded in 1993 and has made use of Wilro’s services ever since with almost all the machines on the floor supplied by Wilro. Commenting on the service from Wilro, Grant said, ‘Dealing with Wilro is always straight forward, Robbie and his team give us service of the highest quality and machines we get from Wilro have been thoroughly checked, cleaned, serviced and repaired before they are installed.’

The changes in the printing industry have also resulted in changes to Wilro’s business. Robbie has noticed that there is greater demand for used presses in the markets surrounding South Africa. A lot of the demand for presses and finishing systems is coming from Mocambique, Zambia, Swaziland and Lesotho. He commented, ‘These markets seem to be experiencing growth in their printing sectors and they are looking to South Africa for machines. We have developed a strong customer base in some of these markets and those customers are always looking for quality refurbished machines.’

Wilro offers the printing and allied industries a competitive and professional service. It prides itself on providing its clients with the best service and top-quality machinery, both factors which have seen it grow over the past 35 years. Congratulations to Robbie and his team and may the Wilro Group see many more successful years.

The four-colour Komori Lithrone 28 at Montage Print supplied and serviced by the Wilro Group

A two-colour Heidelberg press being stripped, cleaned and refurbished at Wilro

Vol 5 Issue 3 • LUXURY PACKAGING MARKET FORECAST TO GROW BY 4.4 PERCENT TO 2019

By Dominic Cakebread

Globally, the luxury packaging market continues to grow, driven by exciting trends - the surge of personalised packaging, attention to sustainability issues,

economic and demographic drivers.

Luxury packaging market forecast to grow by 4.4

percent to 2019


The luxury packaging sector is growing by 4.4 percent per annum according to Smithers Pira, the worldwide authority on packaging industry supply chains. Luxury packaging is one of the most lucrative opportunities in the industry, with prestigious brands looking for new packaging innovations

to enable their products to shine in highly competitive shelf spaces.

When defining luxury packaging the product must be taken largely into account, as well as a combination of different factors; these include high quality materials, finishes, decoration and innovative shapes, in addition to primary and secondary packaging such as caps and closures. A definition of luxury packaging is given in a recent white paper (Link: http://www.smitherspira.com/services/consultancy/white-papers/white-paper-what-is-luxury-packaging) published by packaging expert Dominic Cakebread, which also examines the trends and technology developments that are influencing the shape of this market.

The luxury packaging industryGlobal luxury packaging was affected by the global recession and Eurozone crisis, but it grew in 2013 and reached a value of $13.6 billion, up 2.2 percent on 2012 levels, with volumes reaching 8.25 million tonnes, up 2.6 percent. It is an attractive market for packaging manufacturers, as it is a growing market and is potentially profitable. This is because luxury packaging margins tend to be higher than mass market packaging due to the higher added value that goes into the design and development and the higher cost of materials and processes used in production. Over the next five years the market is forecast to grow, on average, by 4.4 percent in value terms and by 3.1 percent in terms of volume.

The broad luxury goods industry, which includes cosmetics and fragrances, watches and jewellery, drinks, fashion, luggage and handbags, was valued at almost $300 billion in 2013; it is set to grow over the next five years, which will positively impact luxury packaging. There are a number of global luxury houses that own various brands across different luxury markets as a result of industry consolidation. Examples of such houses include Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Richemont, PPR and Kering; LVMH is the most valuable luxury goods group in the world.

Luxury marketsThe luxury markets (Link: http://www.smitherspira.com/products/market-reports/packaging/end-use-markets/luxury-packaging-trends) under review are cosmetics and fragrances; tobacco; confectionery; premium alcoholic drinks; gourmet food and drinks; and watches and jewellery. Cosmetics and fragrances is the largest luxury packaging market in value terms, accounting for a projected 43.3 percent share of luxury packaging market value in 2014. This is followed by premium alcoholic drinks and tobacco, which have market shares of 21.9 percent and 16.5 percent respectively. In terms of volume, the premium alcoholic drinks sector accounts for the largest share at 46.0 percent, followed by cosmetics and fragrances, which has a share of 31.0 percent.

FIGURE 1 Global luxury packaging sales by end-use sector, 2014 (percentage share by value)


Across the luxury markets under review, the cosmetics and fragrances sector and the watches and jewellery sector are forecast to be the fastest growing sectors for value and volume over the forecast period. This growth in both sectors is driven by increased demand in emerging markets. Demand from the tobacco industry is set to grow only slowly by comparison over the next five years, with

a decline in the developed regions of Western Europe and North America.

Luxury packaging materialsThe main materials used in luxury packaging are paperboard, glass, metal, plastic, textiles, leather and wood. Paperboard is the most popular material used in luxury packaging, accounting for a projected 41.9 percent share of luxury packaging market value in 2014. The second most used material in value terms is glass, followed by plastic, with market shares of 30.1 percent and 15.4 percent respectively. In terms of market volume, glass accounts for the largest share at 58.3 percent, followed by paperboard, which has a share of 25.9 percent. This discrepancy can be explained by the relatively lower cost of glass per tonne, compared to both luxury paperboard and plastic, as well as the higher unit weight and density of glass – particularly in the case of premium alcoholic drinks.

FIGURE 2 Global luxury packaging sales by material type, 2014 (percentage share by value)


Across luxury packaging materials, plastic and glass are forecast to show the highest growth rates in value terms during the period 2014-19, and plastic is also set to be the fastest growing material in terms of volume. Demand for both glass and plastic is being driven by the recovery and stronger growth evident in the main luxury markets, particularly cosmetics and fragrances. Glass remains popular among brand owners and consumers, due in part to its strong sustainability associations but more importantly for its high quality appearance. Meanwhile, rising demand for plastic packaging is being driven by its lower cost and lighter weight. Glass on the whole is losing share in packaging, but is more difficult to replace in luxury applications.

Leading luxury packaging manufacturersThe luxury packaging industry consists of a large number of diverse businesses in terms of their size, scope and product offerings. There are a number of multi-material companies that have a particular speciality in luxury packaging; for example, the Verpack Group is a leading European manufacturer, specialising in luxury packaging made from both cardboard and plastic. There are also a number of large international packaging groups that specialise in one particular material and supply to the luxury market. For example, specifically for luxury packaging, Mayr-Melnhof is one of the leading paperboard manufacturers, Ardagh Glass is one of the leading glass manufacturers and Crown Specialty Packaging is a leading metal packaging supplier. These manufacturers are only a small selection of the leading luxury packaging manufacturers.

A recent market study published by Smithers Pira – The Future of Luxury Packaging to 2019 – (Link: http://www.smitherspira.com/products/market-reports/packaging/end-use-markets/luxury-packaging-trends) presents an analysis of market trends in value and volume terms for luxury packaging during the period 2009–14 and market forecasts to 2019, including analysis by end-use sectors, material types and geographic markets. The study outlines the trends that drive the luxury packaging market and also explores exciting developments in technology that are predicted to shape the future of the industry, including developments in brand protection, digital printing and digital interaction with print. The report is available now for £3750. For more information, please contact Bill Allen at +44 (0)1372 802086, or via e-mail at [email protected], or visit www.smitherspira.com

PaperboardGlassMetalPlasticTextilesLeatherWood

42%

30%

4%

15%2%

6%

1%

Cosmetics & fragrancesConfectionaryPremium alcoholic drinksTobacoGourmet food & drinksWatches & jewellery

17%5% 4%

9%

43%

22%

I 65

The printing and packaging market is an ever-changing environment where constant innovation and rapidly advancing technologies present challenges to players of all sizes. Antalis South Africa

is addressing these challenges head-on with the appointment of dedicated personnel to meet the needs of its customers and to help them grow.

Ben Britz joined Antalis in April as the business channel manager for Plate and Press products. Following the promotion of the Trevor Guercio to the position of General Manager for the Western Cape, Ben was appointed to the position of product manager Plate and Press with the responsibility for

managing Antalis’ full product offering for this portfolio.

Ben brings with him many years of experience having first entered the printing industry in 1991. He completed his apprenticeship as a photolithographer and over the years gained experience in all forms of lithographic printing including heatset, coldset, sheetfed, and commercial printing. Having worked for a number of companies he gained experience in the use of a wide range and makes of printing plates from conventional right through to the very latest digital plates and learned first-hand how to identify problems and their causes.

In his years of working closely with the pressroom from a prepress background, Ben gained knowledge and experience on the uses and handling of printing plates and offset printing blankets. Antalis is the local distributor of the Kodak range of plates and the Vulcan range of blankets manufactured by Trelleborg. Vulcan blankets are widely regarded as one of the leading brands of printing blankets with a selection of blankets for all types of litho printing.

Ben commented, ‘There have been a number of developments in recent years in the printing and packaging markets. One of the most important has been the changes which have been seen in printing plates. Although Antalis has been a plate supplier for many years there are a number of different plate types on the market and the choice can leave customers uncertain of which is the best for their specific requirements. Our range covers all press types and applications. Due to cost saving and environmental awareness, we have seen more and more clients moving over to the Kodak Sonora Process-free plate.’

The Kodak Sonora plate is a major development offering customers a significant savings compared to current digital offset plates. It removes the need for a plate processing unit and combines savings of all the elements associated with processing plates. Ben added, ‘Customers can save money on chemistry, costs to discard used chemistry, water, electricity, manpower, physical space required for plate processor and all plate processor related maintenance costs.

He added, ‘Kodak was the first of the plate manufacturers to launch a commercially viable process-free plate to the market. Antalis has completed a number of successful installations of the Kodak Sonora plate in the local market in all sectors. This is proving to be a very successful plate for customers in both the Web offset and sheetfed market. This, coupled with our technical and after sales support, Makes Antalis a force to be reckoned with’

Packaging is an important market for Antalis and it is for this reason that it appointed Riaan Bester to the position of general manager Packaging with effect from 1 June. Riaan has many years of experience in the retail sector specifically associated with packaging handling, development and distribution. Having worked for many of the leading companies in the retail sector Riaan has a strong understanding of what is required from specific types of packaging and what packaging solutions will work in the different sectors.

His main focus will be on the expansion of the Antalis packaging portfolio in order to meet the needs of existing customers and thereafter to expand the customer base by finding or developing packaging solutions for new market sectors.

He commented, ‘Internationally Antalis has identified packaging as a growth market and it has a strong portfolio of packaging solutions which we will be bringing to the South African market place. Internationally there is a definite move from paper-based printing to packaging printing and production and Antalis South Africa will be at the forefront of this process.’

Commenting on the appointments, Nick Gillings, sales director at Antalis South Africa said, ‘We are pleased to have such knowledgeable people as Ben and Riaan driving these two prominent sectors of our business. Our customers need and deserve products which are tailor-made to meet their requirements and which are supported by experienced managers. Ben and Riaan will add a depth of knowledge which will offer customers complete peace of mind that they are in capable hands.’

The focus of these two appointments will see customers receiving dedicated service and specific solutions to meet their requirements.

Antalis appointmentsenhancing service offering

Vol 5 Issue 3 • ANTALIS APPOINTMENTS ENHANCING SERVICE OFFERING

Ben Britz Riaan Bester


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Koenig & Bauer’s main facility in Würzburg, Germany: Following substantial investment in new buildings (logistics centre, design centre, production hall, foundry) after the millennium, in recent months new cutting-edge machining centres for large parts were put into operation

Vol 5 Issue 3 • PRODUCTION OPEN DAYS AT KBA IN WUERZBURG

Production open days at KBA in Würzburg

The consumption of printed newspapers, magazines, catalogues and books has not been left unscathed by the advance of the internet into more and more aspects of our lives. Print media is forced to share readers and pieces of the advertising pie with a growing number of online channels. In addition, publishing houses

are on the hunt for sustainable business models and are therefore often reluctant to invest in print.


This affects press manufacturers in media and advertising-orientated markets. The global market for sheetfed offset presses has halved since 2007 and demand for web offset presses for larger runs has shrunk by over three quarters. Over 15 000 jobs have been lost alone at the three

biggest German manufacturers Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and manroland given the necessary adjustments to capacity.

Fit@All programme on the home straightKBA has now largely implemented its Fit@All programme for the realignment of the company in place since the beginning of 2014. The extensive package of measures includes the relocation of over 50 machine tools preventing parallel activities at the production sites. The plants in Ternitz and Trennfeld have been closed and sold. The cut of a total of 1 500 jobs announced in 2013 is virtually complete. Furthermore, on 21 May 2015 the majority of the KBA AGM approved the company realignment under company law proposed by the management board. This stipulates the conversion of the parent company, Koenig & Bauer AG, into a management holding following the spin-off of four operating subsidiaries for the business units digital & web (KBA-Digital & Web Solutions), sheetfed (KBA-Sheetfed Solutions), security printing (KBA-NotaSys) and production (KBA-Industrial Solutions). The four spun-off companies will have a German legal status of an AG & Co. KG (limited partnership) with the parent Koenig & Bauer AG as sole general partner. The holding company’s management board, which primarily will take over strategic and central tasks, is to be reduced to three members. After the entry of the new companies in the commercial register at the beginning of July, this new structure will be implemented from 1 January 2015 retrospectively. The management board expects the new structure to deliver more transparency in terms of costs and earnings as well as improved profitability through internal customer supply relationships.

New markets in focusExcluding apprentices, trainees and employees on phased retirement schemes at the end of March 2015 there were 4711 employees on group payroll. This was over 3 000 less than eight years ago. In 2007 group sales still stood at €1.7bn compared to €1.1bn in 2014. KBA’s previously core web offset press business has shrunk the most. Along with its main site in Würzburg, the factory in Trennfeld and the plant in Frankenthal/Palatinate were especially affected by this market slump. The missing sales volume could only partly be replaced with business opportunities in digital and packaging printing. KBA is therefore actively pushing forward with the expansion of its product portfolio and strengthening its market position in growth areas. In addition to its own new product developments, this strategy includes company takeovers, such as KBA-Flexotecnica and KBA-Kammann in 2013, and partnerships with other firms. For example, an inkjet press for corrugated packaging to be unveiled at the Würzburg site in November co-developed with American manufacturer Hewlett Packard (HP).

Print in all its diversity has a futureThe repercussions of the structural shift in the print and media arena are well publicised. At times the impression is given that print is only heading downhill, but this is not true. Stable and growing markets for printed matter exist, e.g. packaging and new industrial applications. The world’s oldest and second-largest press manufacturer continues to believe in print and a positive future for its main site in Würzburg despite necessary cutbacks in recent years. This is why the company invested €14m in 2011 in renovating its foundry and recently more than €7m in production facilities in Würzburg with the installation of five high-tech machining centres, as KBA CEO and president Claus Bolza-Schünemann reported during a tour of the site.

KBA-Industrial Solutions also for othersAlong with side frames, ink ducts, round drums and other components for KBA presses, the new business unit KBA-Industrial Solutions aims to cast and precision machine challenging large parts for external mechanical engineering and plant manufacturers. This has already taken place successfully for a raft of renowned companies. As well as producing various components made of casting, steel or metal, KBA-Industrial Solutions is also able to offer assembly, engineering and logistic services. It is thus an interesting partner for other machine manufacturers looking to outsource or in the event of capacity shortages. Accordingly, in addition to Würzburg KBA has also invested strongly in its plant in Radebeul, Saxony, including the latest coating units.

Commitment to traditional site in WürzburgCompared to other German machinery engineers, the cutting-edge production facilities at both KBA main plants are anything but the norm. Claus Bolza-Schünemann and his colleague Michael Kummert responsible for production view this as a commitment to the company’s traditional main site in Würzburg and proudly gave representatives from politics, business and government institutions as well as external manufacturing clients and journalists on a tour of the site on the first production open day on 12 June. Teachers and students from the region were also invited to the cradle of press engineering in order to find out more about the various training opportunities offered by the company and the KBA state-recognised in-house training school. With a training rate of 7 percent of the workforce Koenig & Bauer has an outstanding reputation when it comes to educating the next generation of young skilled staff.

In addition, on 13 June current and former KBA employees plus their families are invited to see what has changed as part of the realignment in the production and assembly halls on a second production open day as many do not see these activities on a regular basis.

An open day for the general public, like the one in September 1992 which attracted several thousand visitors, is planned for September 2017 in celebration of the company’s 200th jubilee.

I 69

A high-tech DMC 270 (DIXI) milling machine processes large parts with painstaking precision in an air-conditioned room

Large parts up to 5m long and 3m wide can be scanned for their accuracy in an air-conditioned measuring room. Deviations equal to

the thickness of a single hair are too big

What constitutes printing?

For hundreds of years printing was an art form, it took skill, knowledge, experience and dedication to become a printer. It was a revered and almost mystical profession to be a printer. In the time of its ascension and the fact that much of the printing capacity was used for the production of such things as bibles, the different chapters

of the unions became known as Chapels and the head of the union was known as the Father.

Despite the developments which took place over the ensuing centuries, printing remained elitist. Printing companies were long-established organisations handed down from father to son. To this day, the number of reputable printing press manufacturers is limited, far outnumbered by

those companies which have come and gone over the years with attempts to do it better.

The printing industry has developed a language and vocabulary all of its own. Names such as Monotype or Linotype are now all but relegated to the archives, while compositors, quoins, and founts have already made their way there. Typography was an art it its own right. Compositors had to be able to typeset strings of words in molten lead, without spelling mistakes and without errors in reverse and upside down, selecting letters or strings of letters called ‘slugs’ from huge printers trays containing various sizes and styles of founts – not fonts. Fount was the name used because the letters or slugs were formed from lead which was stored and heated to melting point in a fount or pot which poured down into the typesetter when the letters were typed. It also related back to the baptismal fount in churches.

All of this development along with the automation of printing presses and the gradual increases in speed were seen as the evolution of printing to be able to democratise access to printed materials. It was driven by the growing levels of literacy and the demand for reading material. The result was the heyday of the printing industry where all the major printing press manufacturers achieved true

industrial giant status. They employed tens of thousands of people. However, while the success they enjoyed bore magnificent fruits in terms of profits and market share, it also heralded the beginning of the decline.

The creation of technologies like desktop publishing and eventually computer-to-plate with all the intelligent automation and built-in functionality resulted in true democratisation of printing. Anyone who could afford a computer – with the right software – as well as a desktop printer could essentially become a printer. The result was that the need for large volumes of printed material dwindled and so began the decline of printing as an art form.

The most recent addition to the printing arena is 3D printing, the ability to create full three-dimensional images from a range of different materials. There is some question as to whether this is actually printing or whether it is a manufacturing processes. At present the jury is out because the ‘image’ is created by placing layers of the selected material one on top of each other – as is done in printing.

Printing is now so ubiquitous that the volume of pages printed on an annual basis is growing exponentially to the point where it is almost impossible to count. The only difference is that everyone is – or at least can be – a printer. In order to answer the original question, a number of other questions need to be asked and the time and space it would take to answer them all would be prohibitive. Suffice it to say, printing may have changed but it still has a very definite future and it will undoubtedly continue to change.


Vol 5 Issue 3 • WHAT CONSTITUTES PRINTING?

By Mark Norris

I 71

Konica Minolta South Africa sponsors

The GAPP Awards

Konica Minolta South Africa is the latest company to sign up as a platinum sponsor of The GAPP Awards – the awards event for the South African Printing Industry.

The GAPP Awards were launched by Sentient Publishing, publisher of The GAPP Magazine, at the end of March and are already attracting a lot of attention from printing companies and suppliers to the industry alike. The GAPP Awards are the most comprehensive and inclusive awards for

printers from all sectors of the signage, printing and packaging industry.

Commenting on the decision to sponsor the awards, Leon Minnie, product manager, production systems at Konica Minolta South Africa said, ‘There is a definite need for a competition of this nature which recognises the achievements of printers. Our decision to sponsor The GAPP Awards was based on the fact that there is currently no competition and that it offers us the opportunity to be part of the process of recognising quality print in all sectors of the printing industry.’

He continued, ‘This is an holistic competition which will address printers from every sector. It is not limited to any one type of printing technique which means that it is fully representative of the industry. It will allow our Konica Minolta customers to compete and hopefully win an award which is good for them but also for digital printing as a whole.’

Said Vikesh Roopchand, managing director of Sentient Publishing, ‘We are delighted to have Konica Minolta South Africa join us as a Platinum sponsor for The GAPP Awards. As a leading supplier of digital production presses, its support demonstrates the maturity of digital print technology. With sponsorship of this sort, the event promises to be of a world-class calibre.’

Entries for The GAPP Awards are currently open. The Awards Event will be held in October 2016. Companies are encouraged to start submitting their entries via the dedicated website www.thegappawards.co.za. Additional information on the awards, sponsorship opportunities and how to enter can also be found on the website. Alternately e-mail [email protected] for additional information or assistance.

Leon Minnie

The conference kicked off with Roy Campbell, Partner and Manufacturing Industry: Forestry, Paper & Packaging sector leader at Deloitte, talking about the likelihood of Africa becoming a high growth region for the packaging industry. He said that the International Monetary Fund

forecasts predict growth of 6.5 percent per annum over the next five years in East and West Africa, putting the two regions on par with the fastest growing regions of mainland China and emerging Asia.

‘Expectations for growth in South and Southern Africa are not as optimistic, with IMF forecasts putting GDP increases at around 2 percent in South Africa and 3 - 4 percent in Southern Africa over the same time frame. East Africa, however, is expected to have a GDP growth rate of 8.1 percent by 2016,’ he added.

He went on to explain that African growth will not be driven by commodities. This is due to the fact that eight of the fastest growing economies in Africa do not rely on natural resources. The IMF also expects 15 African countries to grow faster than China. One of the factors influencing this high growth rate is that they are coming off a generally small GDP rate and that Africa has youth on its side with 25 percent of the world’s under 18’s being found in Africa.

Serena Ramiah, brand manager of Appletiser, made attendees aware of how it is now possible to better engage with customers and further enhance their experience of your brand, through the use of packaging and augmented reality. Assisted by TBWA\ Hunt\ Lascaris in this project, Appletiser’s call to action was simple: purchase its product, download the app onto one’s mobile phone, lay one or two bottles of Appletiser on a flat surface (side-by-side, where two bottles are used), play the app and watch the magic unfold. The combination of the labelling on Appletiser bottles and the use of the app delivered a response and return on investment that exceeded its expectations.

South African consumers are steadily becoming part of the global shift in taking their path to purchase online. Marjie van der Walt of M&A Designs used a visual presentation to demonstrate that, with e-commerce being on the rise, a lot more thought needs to be placed on the packaging design of a product. With consumers making their decisions of which products to purchase, from behind their computer or mobile phone screens, there is a greater demand on packaging to have the ability to engage with and thus influence the consumer to make a purchase.

Please note that VDS Media will be holding its two-day African Label & Packaging Indaba in September.

Innovating PackagingVol 5 Issue 3 • INNOVATING PACKAGING

Innovations in flexible, glass, corrugated, labelling, direct-to-packaging digital printing and other packaging related technologies were among the key topics presented by 18 local and international

speakers at The Forum, Bryanston, where VDS Media held the Africa Innovations Conference over two days. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Packaging and Beyond.’


Send details to: [email protected] detailing position, company and

mailing address.

The GAPP is available on free subscription to qualified readers in the fields of Graphics, Advertising, Print and Packaging.

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Vol 4 • Issue 5 • 2014


THE

Fujifilm's advanced technologies create new opportunities in Africa

Vol 4 • Issue 6 • 2014


THE

2014 – the year to beat for Filmatic

Vol 5 • Issue 1 • 2015


THE

OCÉ GOES AROUND THE WORLD

7.2 TIMES AND COUNTING

Vol 5 • Issue 2 • 2015


THE

Sytech Supplies The full signage solution

Vol 5 • Issue 3 • 2015


THE

AWARD WINNINGPRINT SOLUTIONS

Highlights on the interactive 200m2 stand include demonstrations of the state-of-the-art Durst P10/160 industrial roll-to-roll wide-format UV digital printer, plus an Aristo TL1625 cutting table, perfect binders and PUR binders from world-renowned Duplo, and the latest Screen Equios

Universal Workflow software.

Making their début are 3D printing systems from Rapid 3D, including the Mcor

IRIS paper printer and Zortrax M200 and various samples from Rapid 3D’s printer range.

Kemtek staff and international principals will be at the stand offering visitors’ in-depth advice on all featured technologies and Kemtek’s complete range of printing solutions available in southern Africa.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • KEMTEK’S NEW-AGE ADVANCEMENTS AT FESPA AFRICA

Kemtek’s new-age advancements at Fespa Africa

AT Fespa Africa (taking place from, July 22 to 24, 2015 at Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg), Kemtek is showcasing a host of prepress, printing and finishing technologies

from leading global principals Durst, Aristo, Screen and Duplo.

Stephan Jourquin of Durst and Nigel Tretheway of Kemtek


graphics advertising print and packaging news

The

I 75

Tetra Pak South Africa will celebrate World Milk Day by educating around 400 people from the local community of Putfontein, Benoni

near Oliver’s Village, operated by Oliver’s House, a charity organisation that focuses on early childhood development, education, skills development and community development.

Tetra Pak previously assisted Oliver’s House to build a pre-school for 210 children and will now educate child-headed households and pensioners, who have little or no access to running water and electricity for fridges, about the safety of ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk.

This is the 15th World Milk Day after the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) initiated it in 2001. It aims to cele-brate milk consumption as a whole and highly nu-tritional food source. Participation has grown each successive year.

Tetra Pak has supported the initiative for a decade. The company has a tradition of promoting safely packaged UHT milk. It supports stakehold-

ers all over the world to develop and implement awareness campaigns about the nutritional values of milk, benefits of consuming packed milk, and haz-ards of consuming loose milk.

Penny Ntuli, communications director for Tetra Pak South Africa, said, ‘Tetra Pak focuses on high-lighting the importance of consuming safe packed milk, as opposed to loose or untreated milk. Milk is sensitive to contamination if not handled properly during collection and transportation.

‘Packed milk is tested before reception at the factories and only good quality milk is accepted. Raw milk is then exposed to the UHT process which eliminates all harmful bacteria and the six-layered Tetra Pak carton protects the packaged content from light and air, which ultimately makes UHT milk safe without the need for preservatives,’ she said.

Milk contains 18 of the 22 nutrients necessary for daily intake. It is rich in essential nutrients such as Vitamin A, D and B12, as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magne-sium and protein. Studies show that consuming too

little milk or milk-related products results in calcium deficiency that leads to osteoporosis.

World Milk Day highlights the benefits of milk that ultimately lead to healthy bones, healthy teeth, better hydration, improved vitamin intake, it con-tains vitamin D that helps our bodies absorb the calcium milk contains.

Milk benefits children’s development, particu-larly in their formative years, since it improves their ability to meet their full physical potential.

Global consumption of dairy, including milk, cheese and butter, is expected to rise 36 percent in many countries from 2014 to 2024 to reach a total 713 tonnes of liquid milk. There are three reasons for the increase: population growth, increasing prosperity, and urbanisation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In South Africa, UHT milk sales by volume garnered 53 percent of market share in 2013, outstripping demand for chilled milk for the first time in the country.

Tetra Pak collaborates with Oliver’s House to educate communities in recognition of World Milk Day

New Sidel service aims to lower costs with better spare parts management

Sidel, the leading global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging, has rolled out a new spare parts service that aims to lower costs for beverage pro-

ducers by encouraging them to take a more proactive ap-proach to parts inventory management.

Realising the need for timely provision of original spare parts, whether for emergencies or normal wear and tear, Sidel is aiming to encourage a more proactive approach to inventory management of its high-quality original parts among its customers. ‘This is because spare parts have always been – and still remain - a critical part of beverage bottling line management. By being proactive in the handling of spare parts, customers are equipped to avoid long-term stoppages and unnecessary downtime,’ commented Samuel Gobbe, Customer Services Director for Greater Middle East & Africa Zone at Sidel.

The new service is being offered by the company’s Spare Parts & Logistics team, part of the Sidel Services™ business unit. This unit is dedicated to providing a holistic approach to lowering total costs of ownership (TCO) and raising overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and productivity for the installed Sidel equipment of beverage producers worldwide.

‘When even a few minutes of lost production can have significant financial consequences, minimising downtime is very important to all our customers – big and small,’ continued Samuel. ‘High quality spare parts, along with the speed of supply and planned stock replen-ishment programmes, are fundamental to achieving this. We believe that proactively managing parts inventory is one relatively simple yet effective way for all beverage producers to eliminate unscheduled breaks in production.’

The new service is a combination of three new order types (Emergency, Stock Replenishment and Mainte-nance); four recommended lists of strategically critical parts (Emergencies, Maintenance, Overhaul and Uptime), tailored to fit different production conditions; and a com-prehensive portfolio of parts covering the company’s en-tire portfolio of equipment, past and present. Sidel is en-couraging beverage producers and bottlers, big and small, to plan ahead using the lists and order parts in advance. By doing so producers can reduce upfront costs, have the flexibility to better manage costs to meet demand, and avoid stoppages occurring without having critical replace-ment parts on site.

Having manufactured production equipment for over

165 years, Sidel knows what it takes to get parts to customers on time in order to keep production running. Almost 1000 orders are processed and shipped glob-ally every day, which is more than one order every two minutes, to an installed base of over 30000 machines in 191 countries. As well as the very latest parts – and bundles of parts – Sidel provides remanufactured parts and components that deliver same-as-new performance and reliability.

New Harlequin flexo screens give premium print quality

A new set of hybrid screens that improve print quality significantly for flexo work has been launched by Global Graphics Software.

The flexo screens address the issues of how to achieve high-quality in the highlight areas of images, such as tones close to white or skin tones, and how to print these areas with smooth gradations.

It’s a technical challenge that the Harlequin product team has solved using its Harlequin Cross Modulated screens as the basis for development.

‘It’s about giving the prepress operator the choice of the right tools for the job in hand,’ said Martin Bailey, CTO

Global Graphics. ‘To achieve premium quality you need to be able to select from a wide choice of screen resolutions, rulings and dot sizes so that different graphical objects can be produced as well as possible.

‘So we’ve expanded the number of screens avail-able with Harlequin and included a mechanism to auto select the calibration that goes with a particular screen. Prepress operators also now have the ability to bump up curves at the highlight end to compensate for flexo not being able to produce tones close to white clearly. The result is that you can achieve smooth gradations even in high-key images.

‘We’ve become increasingly involved in the conversa-tion about how to achieve high-quality at the premium end of the market,’ continued Bailey, ‘and due to our extensive partner network we’ve been able to take input from a variety of vendors to fine tune our plans.’

Harlequin Cross Modulated Flexo (HXMFlexo) works with the latest editions of the Harlequin RIP. Cross modu-lated screens give smooth, noise-free flat tints while retaining fine detail in highlights and shadows. They al-low you to print screens at a higher line ruling than would normally be reliable, produce pin-sharp images and help overcome common imperfections like rosettes and moiré.

Vol 5 Issue 3 • THE GAPP TIMES

Primera introduces LX2000e Color Label Printer

Primera Technology has announced its new LX2000e Color Label Printer. LX2000e is Primera’s fastest-ever desktop colour printer. It produces labels at speeds of

up to 152mm per second – about 25 percent faster than Primera’s best-selling LX900e Color Label Printer.

Large, separate ink cartridges for cyan, magenta, yel-low and black keep the cost per label low. Other features include pigment-based ink for stronger resistance to UV light, chemicals and water, built in ‘pizza-wheel’ cutter, colour display, viewing window to see label stock levels and wired Ethernet or USB 2.0 and wireless connection options.

‘LX2000e represents an entirely new product class in desktop label printing,’ said Mark D. Strobel, Primera’s vice president of sales and marketing. ‘With large ink tanks we can offer an extremely competitive cost per la-bel. We have pigment ink that has far more resistance to water, chemicals and UV light. Print quality is superb. Add to that our wired Ethernet or USB 2.0 or wireless connec-tion options, along with 210mm print width and you’ve got everything most companies would ever need. With LX2000e, there are only benefits and no compromises.’

Typical applications include product labels for coffee, wine, water, bakery, confectionary, meat, cheese and hundreds of other specialty and gourmet foods. LX2000e is also ideal for private labelling, test marketing, pre-press proofing and retail labelling.

For those who need a GHS compliant label solution, LX2000e is the perfect choice. With its pigment ink and Primera’s Tuffcoat Extreme PolyJet material, LX2000e has already passed Section 3, BS5609 testing. The testing in-cluded removal of print by adhesive tape, abrasion resist-ance and permanence of print evaluations under extreme conditions, including exposure to UV light and repeated salt spray and immersion. The material and printed im-ages from LX2000e passed in all three categories.

Printer drivers are included for Windows Vista/7/8, along with Bartender Ultralite Software and NiceLabel SE (for Windows) to format label designs, add barcodes, QR

codes, etc. Most other popular graphic design programs for Windows can be used to design and print labels.

Qualified substrates include many different inkjet label materials, including Primera’s exclusive Tuffcoat Extreme white and clear polyester and white BOPP, as well as the new Tuffcoat Extreme PolyJet. Paper labels are also available in high-gloss, semi-gloss and matte finishes.

It is available now from Primera’s authorized resellers and distributors worldwide.


8034 - PROPAK AFRICA 2016 SENTIENT A4 AD Paths.indd 1 2015/06/26 11:38 AM

Xeikon X-800 digital front-end qualifies for Adobe Mercury RIP Architecture

Xeikon has announced that the newest version of its X-800 digital front-end (DFE) incorporates the latest RIP technology available from Adobe and supports

the Adobe Mercury RIP Architecture. This enables digital printers, whatever their specialty and however complex their jobs, to process their print jobs in the fastest, most flexible and secure manner possible.

‘We are delighted that our collaboration with Adobe has resulted in the Xeikon X-800, version 4.0, now fully Adobe certified for the Mercury RIP Architecture,’ com-mented Jeroen Van Bauwel, director Product Manage-ment at Xeikon. ‘Passing the rigorous qualification pro-cess is an important achievement, and we are pleased with the recognition from Adobe that our workflow is tuned for optimal efficiency and performance. The Xeikon X-800 4.0 DFE will bring added value to a wide range of customers, from label and packaging converters to cus-

tomers with high-volume data throughput requirements, reducing the amount of job preparation time required for even the most complex work.’

The release of the Xeikon X-800 4.0 DFE offers spe-cial advantages for complex tasks such as those involv-ing multiple transparent print layers; high-level security and brand protection features that demand the highest-possible resolution; and sophisticated variable data work.

Mark Lewiecki, Adobe senior product manager, out-lined the benefits of the collaboration between Xeikon and Adobe. ‘The Mercury RIP Architecture will dramati-cally raise productivity levels for Xeikon customers run-ning high-volume Variable Data Printing (VDP) jobs,’ he said. ‘This will enhance the value of the PDF Print Engine, which is the number one imaging technology in the graphic arts. The Mercury RIP Architecture is a scalability platform which takes full advantage of multiple CPU cores in modern servers to accelerate overall job throughput in print production workflows.’

When the Adobe PDF Print Engine is configured in the Adobe Mercury RIP Architecture, a wide variety of print jobs on all of Xeikon’s digital presses – from documents to labels, folding cartons and other packaging applica-tions – will benefit from streamlined processing time in generating ready-for-print bitmaps. The processing of jobs, pages or complete signatures occurs in parallel, and can be load-balanced to ensure that no CPUs are idle while files are waiting to be rendered. Mercury can be configured to dynamically allocate some CPUs to a rush job, while other CPUs will continue to work on processing the routine work.

The advanced capabilities of the Mercury RIP Ar-chitecture complement Xeikon’s X-800 unique built-in

metadata module, which enables variable data jobs to be defined entirely on the press. To enable tracking of pro-duction from print to delivery or to prevent counterfeiting, the X-800 allows the dynamic addition of production data or other variable elements such as sequential numbers or barcodes to already RIPped documents. The X-800 also features automatic printer calibration, density control and registration adjustments for excellent color stability and consistent output quality, and even allows post-RIP color adjustment during printing, minimizing downtime while offering great flexibility in ensuring continuously consist-ent quality.

‘We value our long-standing partnership with Xeikon, which pioneered digital printing more than 20 years ago,’ Lewiecki added. ‘We welcome Xeikon’s continuing lead-ership, demonstrated by its early adoption of the Mercury RIP Architecture in version 4.0 of the Xeikon X-800 DFE.’

‘We are convinced this update will be very well-received by our customers,’ concluded Van Bauwel. ‘In today’s increasingly complex and highly demanding envi-ronment, printers and converters of all types are working with more complex jobs, a growing amount of variable data and the need to ensure the highest resolution for accurate production of security and brand protection fea-tures. With this release, and the Adobe certification, Xei-kon remains in the forefront of the digital printing world it pioneered, providing our customers with the latest technology to ensure optimum productivity, profitability and flexibility.’

The Xeikon X-800 version 4.0 update is now available to all current Xeikon press owners and will be incorpo-rated in all new press shipments.

Agfa Graphics has introduced the new high-speed platesetter for the high-volume news-paper market. The Advantage N TR VHS

(Trolley Load, Very High-Speed) produces up to 400 plates per hour, which is 50 plates faster than the Advantage N TR HS.

Thanks to the increased speed, the Advantage N TR VHS can allow newspaper publishers to deliver the latest news and last-minute offers to their daily readers with sharper production deadlines. It will also help newspaper publishers to replace multiple, slower CTP engines with faster, yet fewer units. This not only saves on new CTP investments but also on processing equipment or punch and bending machines. Fewer CTP engines also require less floor space while less processing equipment drastically reduces the labor cost for cleaning and refill.

‘With these new systems, Agfa Graphics again shows its commitment to the newspaper industry by offering state-of-the-art CtP technology that meets the requirements of the premium level seg-ment in the newspaper market,’ said Emiel Swee-vers, marketing manager for Newspaper Engines, Agfa Graphics. ‘Everyone in the industry is also looking for automation, improved production ef-ficiency and cost savings. This is not different in the high-volume segment is. We are dedicated to newspapers and can be an ideal partner for them. We offer the expertise in hardware, complete

workflow solutions and consumables, covering the entire pre-press production for print. Our goal is to continue developing solutions that enable our cus-tomers to effectively meet the current market chal-lenges head-on and win.’

The Advantage N TR VHS features a trolley to

transport plates from safelight environment to the platesetter. This gives operators the flexibility to load the plates in a separate yellow safelight envi-ronment more easily and efficiently, in case switch-ing to yellow safelight conditions is not possible in the room where the CTP device is installed.

Agfa Graphics launches the Advantage N TR VHS Platesetter



Mimaki fires the imagination at FESPA 2015

LasX Europe aims to spearhead a digital finishing revolution

Introduction to Packaging Technology

Mimaki found fashion and home textile solutions ignited unparalleled interest and a 20 percent increase in sales leads when it showcased its

latest collection of production solutions at FESPA 2015. ‘Just when you thought FESPA could not get any

better, it did!,’ stated Mike Horsten, general manager marketing EMEA at Mimaki Europe. ‘We enjoyed unprec-edented interest on our 270sqm booth, with visitors keen to see our mannequins adorned with eye-catching appli-cations and samples, demonstrating we print what we preach. We’re pleased to report no less than 20 percent sales lead increase and we even had sales straight off the booth thanks to the FESPA innovation infusion.’

At the show Mimaki announced the July 2015 avail-ability of the TS300P-1800 dedicated transfer paper inkjet printer: a 1,8m wide roll-to-roll sublimation inkjet printer offering new levels of quality and productivity in digital textile printing. Mimaki celebrated also the GREEN-GUARD GOLD accreditation for the use of its inks in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. In addition, they welcomed Adrian Wolf as Young Star Award winner. He is following up last year’s winner Eleni Bourazanis and receives 500 Euros and a six-week intern-ship at Mimaki.

And the cherry on the FESPA cake was receiving an EDP award for the whole Mimaki CJV150/CJV300 series

as the market’s Best Print and Cut solution.Horsten added, ‘The continuous and incessant popu-

larity of FESPA lies in the show’s ongoing commitment to improvement. The organisation and the expert team keep their finger on the pulse of what is currently shaping the market, enabling them to continuously identify future growth areas and opportunities, similar as to how Mimaki is exploring all options. This allows the show to attract new audiences, enabling us to have far broader conversa-tions on how Mimaki is expanding its product portfolio to accommodate both existing and emerging possibilities.’

LasX Europe has been set up in Hannover, Germany, to support the EMEA region with sales and support fa-cilities for the US parent company’s range of advanced

laser cutting and finishing systems. A network of agents is now being established throughout the region.

The public debut of LasX Europe was at DScoop Eu-rope, the HP Indigo user group’s meeting in Dublin on 3 - 5 June. A Spider STS-400 robotic stacker was demon-strated stacking cartons that had been pre-printed on an HP Indigo 30000 B2 digital carton press, and pre-cut by a LaserSharp B2 Motion cutter.

Dirk Stünkel is managing director of LasX Europe. ‘As short run and personalised printing becomes ever more attractive to clients, digital finishing has been the miss-ing link to make the whole workflow truly responsive,’ he said. ‘LasX has pioneered fully automatic laser cutters coupled with robotic materials handling, which uniquely can all be controlled by reading barcodes on the printed materials.’

LasX has manufactured high performance laser cut-ting systems in the USA since it was first set up in 1998. Its range of LaserSharp laser cutters have a wide choice of configurations, from roll feeding for narrow web labels and flexo finishing, though to sheet fed systems for com-

mercial printing and carton packaging from 50cm up to 2 metre widths. There are also LaserSharp systems dedi-cated to electronics and medical work.

There is a choice of laser power levels from 100W to 2500W, and multiple laser heads can be fitted to in-crease the cutting width. They can cut, crease, score, etch and ablate materials depending on the intensity setting, so almost any finishing process can be carried out. The transport belt runs at up to 60 metres per minute, with a vacuum that ensures that sheets and cut items remain firmly in place throughout the process.

‘We can run in-line with printing presses or nearline,’ said Stünkel. ‘We also work with partner companies to integrate with, for example, digitally addressed creasing systems that operate before the material reaches the la-ser unit.’

Its latest development is an optical recognition sys-tem that reads barcodes and positioning marks on the printed material and uses this to precisely align both the laser heads and the optional inline Spider STS-400 robotic stacker. The Spider can automatically pick up, sort, rotate, stack, shingle, and/or collate variable nested parts at high speed. For wider configurations two stackers can be fitted side by side.

The Hannover office incorporates a showroom for demonstrations of equipment and also has a parts ware-house for fast response to service calls. Installations and servicing will be handled by engineers based in Hannover, aided by remote diagnostics on every machine.

‘We have already appointed CMD Insight as our UK distributor and we are working to recruit more throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa,’ said Stünkel.

Contact: www.lasx.com

The Institute of Packaging (SA) is proud to announce that it has developed an Introduction to Packaging Technology certificate course, the pilot version of

which will initially be launched in Johannesburg in mid-2015.

The course is aimed at those persons who are new to the packaging field and allied industries, who have little or no previous knowledge of packaging. They would not typ-ically have had much, if any, technical schooling, packag-ing background or experience. Students would probably be working in a packaging environment where theoretical

and practical packaging knowledge would be beneficial to them and their employer (for example, trainee packag-ing technologist, machine operator, packaging line team leader, packaging material salesman, packaging material buyer, logistics controller / supervisor, or packaging mate-rial laboratory / QC assistant.)

The course is also suitable for persons very new to packaging – for example, school leavers interested in this field as a possible vocation, or perhaps newly recruited employees / first time workers. It is very practical and hands on in its approach.

This introductory course will complement, and provide a ‘stepping stone’ course to, the Institute’s long-running One Year Diploma Course in Packaging Technology, and the Advanced Packaging Technology course which builds on the latter. These three courses now offer a comprehen-sive packaging learning ‘ladder’.

Enrolments are now open. For further detail visit the Institute’s website www.ipsa.org.za or contact the National Education Officer at [email protected].

I 79

Bytes Document Solutions announces metallic colours for Xerox Colour PressesNew toners from Xerox will make the 1000i the first

xerographic production printer to offer either metal-lic gold or silver colours.

‘The Xerox Colour 1000i presses can help customers be more profitable than ever,’ said Paul Haglich, market-ing manager for production systems at Bytes Document Solutions, the world’s largest Xerox distributor. ‘With consistent, great image quality, it offers the productivity, improved profitability and high-quality application range to satisfy the most demanding, forward thinking custom-ers. And now Xerox has introduced another breakthrough in digital printing technology. New speciality dry ink ca-pabilities have expanded its clear dry ink range to include “metallic” silver and gold dry ink. These new colours open the door to new digital profit potential from both static and personalised communications.’

The Xerox Colour 1000i Press offers key benefits:• Xerox’s automation and availability, leading to more production time and profit• It maximises the number of sellable jobs a customer can produce each day• Print shops can migrate metallic jobs from offset/foil stamping to digital for applications like invitations, certifi-cates, business cards, photo applications, posters, direct mail campaigns, speciality applications, and brand man-aged colour applications.

The Xerox Colour 1000 (with optional fifth colour upgrade) and new Colour 1000i Press automate many of the time-consuming setup and maintenance procedures critical to short-run jobs. The presses also feature a fifth

speciality dry ink station that applies either spot or flood creative effects with clear dry ink, or enhances documents with metallic gold or silver dry inks.

The metallic gold and silver dry inks, a ‘Must See ‘Em’ award winner at Graph Expo 2014, offer many com-petitive advantages including a streamlined, inline digital workflow and fast turnaround time, even on variable per-sonalisation jobs.

‘This opens the door for new revenues by migrating lucrative foil stamping applications, such as invitations, certificates and business cards, to short-run, high-value digital production,’ said Haglich. ‘Multi-pass printing with

these speciality dry inks adds an extra textural/dimen-sional feel and “pop” to documents for attention grabbing effects on a wide range of applications.’

The presses also maximise productivity with full-width array automation technology and new features such as auto-sheet clearing and HyperRIP processing performance from Fiery.

More exciting news, said Haglich, is that the major-ity of existing Colour Press 1000 owners will be able to upgrade their presses with the additional fifth colour features while new presses ordered with the metallic op-tions will be designated as the Xerox Colour Press 1000i.

The Xerox Colour 800i/1000i Presses feature an optional fifth specialty dry ink station that lets printers create more high-value applications with metallic silver or gold inks

Revolutionising the environmental impact of the manufacturing industry

As much as three quarters of all carbon emissions are generated by corporations. This is according to the Business Environmental Leadership Coun-

cil (BELC) which was created in 1998 by the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions in the United States. The organisation recommends businesses consider adding a response to climate change as part of their core corporate strategy in an effort to reduce their environmental impact.

The call for companies to adopt ways to reduce their carbon footprint is certainly demanded by the public. However, with large business being the majority pro-ducer of greenhouse gases, it is the industries themselves which must be concerned with reducing their impact. The onus is on business itself to step up and revolutionise their industries in order to remain sustainable.

‘Disregarding the environmental effect of a business affects not only consumers, employees, and the surround-ing community, but also the entire industry itself, and in a worst case scenario, potentially renders it obsolete,’ said Christoff Botha, group executive: Heatset at Novus Hold-ings (previously known as the Paarl Media Group).

Although the print and paper industry is often per-ceived as having a negative environmental impact, the sector has begun to transform how it does business in an attempt to minimise this effect.

Through leading by example, the process of paper production has a few lessons to share in creating a more sustainable industry:

Bio-energy is derived from biomass which is a natu-rally occurring part of the carbon cycle. During this pro-cess, carbon is taken in by plants during photosynthesis and on decomposition or combustion it goes back into the air. This ensures that there is always give-and-take and a stable level of carbon in the atmosphere. However, the

burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil releases carbon that has not been present for millions of years, thus dis-rupting the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

‘Biomass energy has the potential to greatly decrease greenhouse gas emissions, it lessens the dependence on foreign oil, and decreases the demand on the earth's resources,’ said Botha. ‘Biomass can be used for fuels, power production, and products that would otherwise be made from fossil fuels. It does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed with fuel.’

Novus Holdings has utilised this principle with its newly acquired biomass boiler. This boiler works on the principle of combustion and is fuelled by sustainable bio-mass, and not the traditional fossil fuels or electricity, to generate the steam required in the production process. Burning wood chips produced from alien vegetation, such as Port Jackson and Black Wattle, creates steam. Neither species are indigenous to the Western Cape but both are extremely high consumers of water.

In addition to being a greener process, the new bio-mass boiler system stimulates the economy through the creation of much-needed jobs from the local community members who collect the natural material needed to fuel the boiler.

Keeping many processes in-house and sourcing ma-terials from local vendors decreases the need for exces-sive transportation, saving both time and money, and im-mediately reduces the carbon output of a business.

All industries produce waste of some type, but often it is the sheer volume of the unwanted materials that makes it difficult to contend with. An innovative process for dealing with the waste is to find alternatives to the disposal process which also breathes new life through

the creation of a new product with a new destination. In the case of the print industry, by applying their ex-

pert knowledge of the complex manufacturing process, Novus Holdings has discovered an innovative way to deal with ongoing paper waste. Through the recent acquisition of a tissue manufacturing plant in KwaZulu-Natal, Novus Holdings is able to transform potential of waste paper into the production of domestic tissue paper.

Novus Holdings’ commitment to redirecting print and paper into a sustainable industry is reflected in an investment of more than R100 million in environmentally responsible practices to reduce, re-use, and recycle to ensure the lowest possible impact on natural resources. Botha concluded, ‘This ultimately benefits all involved – customers, employees and the community and we chal-lenge more businesses to find ways of lowering their energy consumption and reducing energy costs with envi-ronmentally sustainable business practices.’



INNOVATION by the leader in Production Digital Press

technology CONTINUES with...

Every business is looking to do more. How you define “more” is unique to you.

But how you achieve it is consistent.

The Xerox® Versant 2100 is newly engineered from the ground up with all the newest and innovative technology to consistently let you do more. How? At the top of the list is more automation, designed to make your work effortless, accurate and efficient. With the market’s shifting emphasis toward short runs and quick turnarounds, success comes through processing many more jobs in a shift and in a day than in the past. The key to helping you do it efficiently is automation.

The Versant 2100 Press is designed to let you answer those increased challenges as your customers ask for more. Because that is another thing that is consistent – business pressure isn’t going away. It promises to get more demanding every day. With the Versant 2100 Press, you can respond with more confidence.

More performance. More quality. More flexibility. More results.

For more information visit: www.xerox.co.za or call: 0800 117 843

®The Xerox Versant™ 2100 Press.

Ongoing, collective efforts needed to reduce plastic litter in the oceans

According to John Kieser of Plastics SA, ‘South Af-rica has what it takes to become one of the world leaders in reducing the amount of litter that ends

up in our oceans. Not only do we possess some of the most beautiful, diverse and dramatic coastlines in the world – teeming with a wide variety of different marine animals – but we also have private individuals, compa-nies, research institutions and government departments who share a passion for protecting our oceans and coasts and are willing to share expertise and take each other’s hands in a concerted effort to protect our marine heritage for future generations.’

Speaking at the conclusion of the 2nd African Marine Debris Summit (AMDS) which took place at the SANBI Research Centre in Kirstenbosch, Cape Town recently, sustainability manager at Plastics SA and convener of the event, John Kieser, said that he was greatly encouraged by the outcomes of the discussions.

The aim of this year’s summit, hosted by Plastics SA in conjunction with UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme), the Department of Environmental Affairs and SANBI(S A National Biodiversity Institute), was to facilitate the formation of a Southern African Network on Marine Debris with the long-term goal of establishing an African network that ties into the global management of marine debris.

‘We acknowledge that plastics are the biggest chal-lenge in reducing the accumulation of marine debris along shorelines, floating on the sea surface and lying on the ocean floor. However, we are committed to turning the tide on marine debris through forming partnerships with the marine fraternity’s programme on quantifying and un-derstanding the drivers of marine litter through support for coastal clean-ups and various research initiatives.’

The event was officially opened by the Honourable Rejoice Mabudafhasi, Deputy Minister of Arts and Cul-ture and previously Deputy Minister of Environmental Af-fairs, who said that she greatly supported the Summit as this was where innovative solutions can be identified and promoted so that, over time, we could see less marine debris entering our scenic and much loved coastal areas.

‘Marine debris such as plastic items, fishing gear, food packages, glass, metals, medical waste and ciga-rette filters are an international concern, not only because it washes up on beaches and shorelines worldwide and looks unsightly, but also because debris can be trans-ferred from one country to another via ocean currents. In-ternational co-operation is therefore necessary to create public awareness, while developing ways to decrease the amount of debris in oceans around the globe,’ Mabudaf-hasi said.

Anton Hanekom, executive Director of Plastics SA agreed with this sentiment and highlighted the impor-tance of supporting platforms where different countries, industries and experts can share lessons learned, strate-gies and best practices to reduce and prevent the impact of marine debris. The exchange of innovative ideas on topics such as plastics recycling initiatives and commu-nications strategies contribute to scaling up successful approaches to reducing marine debris.

This year’s Summit attracted representatives from as far afield as Kenya, the Seychelles, Washington DC and Germany, not to mention more than 80 delegates from UNEP,the Department of Environmental Affairs, Seychelles Fishing Authority, Kenya Marine Fisheries Re-search Institute, the Whale Coast Conservation, Univer-sity of Stuttgart in Germany, UCT, North-West University, Rhodes University, Nature's Valley Trust, KZN Ezemvelo

Wildlife, Two Oceans Aquarium, Kelpak, SANBI, Olifants Estuary Management Forum, Centre for Conservation Education, Extended Public Works Programme, WWF SA, Seaworld, Spur Restaurants, SA Navy, Invasive Species Management, City of Cape Town, Sustainable Seas Trust, the Dyer Island Trust, Packaging SA, PETCO, POLYCO and Plastics SA.

‘As delegates and experts who are interested in the topic, you are meeting once again to continue to exchange ideas and seek appropriate solutions to the problem… in line with the theme for this year’s World Oceans Day which reads, “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet: Enabling Sustainable Ocean Economy Development”. Our efforts to rid our marine environment of marine debris will con-tribute towards the health of our oceans and our people who rely on it,’ Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi encouraged the audience.

‘The Second African Marine Debris Summit once again highlighted that most of the litter that reaches our marine environment originates from our actions on land. Plastics SA is a committed and key partner in efforts aimed at understanding the issues around marine debris within the South African context. The summit forms part of this growing partnership and it enables us to share and learn from our fellow African coastal countries. In conjunction with Packaging SA we support the aims of the PPIWMP to increase packaging recycling rates and promote the importance of discarding packaging waste in an environmentally responsible way. In conjunction with the Plastics Industry Global Action Team on Marine De-bris actions, Plastics SA remains committed to turning the tide on marine debris.


The SA Agulhas


Tetra Pak Middle East and Africa re-affirms its commitment to the environment on World Environment Day

Tetra Pak, the food processing and packaging solu-tions company, operates numerous projects and programmes in support of the environment, such

as environmental education programmes for children, increasing carton recycling rates, producing environmen-tally friendlier cartons, and maintaining Forest Steward-ship Council (FSC) certification.

The theme of this year’s United Nations (UN) World Environment Day (WED) on June 5 is: Seven billion dreams. One planet. Consume with care.

‘This year World Environment Day focuses on respon-sible management of the planet’s natural resources,’ said Penny Ntuli, communications director at Tetra Pak South Africa. ‘That’s a theme Tetra Pak is closely aligned to.

‘At Tetra Pak, we use environmental management systems to assess and manage the environmental im-pacts of our activities,’ said Ntuli. ‘Respecting the environ-ment has always been a hallmark of Tetra Pak therefore we work towards using the least amount of energy and reducing the amount of waste produced.’

The company’s vision towards the year 2020 is to provide fully sustainable packaging, using only renewable materials while leaving minimal environmental footprint and zero waste. Tetra Pak continuously works to reduce the amount of consumed energy, water and waste.

As it stands, Tetra Pak is committed to developing, designing and conducting the company’s operations with minimal environmental impacts, and a way that promotes the efficient use of resources.

Tetra Pak can supply FSC-labelled packages from anywhere in the world after receiving FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification for all of its converting plants and market companies. This serves Tetra Pak’s commit-ment towards using renewable resources rather than depleting natural resources. FSC is an international, non-governmental organisation that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. Its CoC certification allows wood fibres to be traced at every step through the supply chain which ensures that any product bearing the FSC logo supports forest management that adopts envi-ronmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economi-cally viable management practices.

The company is committed to reducing its environ-mental footprint across the value chain and to double its recycling rate of the post-consumer beverage cartons to 40 percent by the year 2020. Particularly for the Greater Middle East and Africa region, Tetra Pak’s strategy is to double the recycling rates by partnering with local recy-clers. The company’s current levels of recycling cartons in the region stand at 21.2 percent.

Additionally, Tetra Pak provides safe, innovative but most importantly environmentally sound products. The company has recently launched the world’s first fully renewable package, Tetra Rex, made entirely from plant-based, renewable packaging material. Tetra Pak was also behind the innovation of the world’s first bio-based cap for gable top packages.

The United Nations declared WED in 1972 as a vehi-

cle to help raise awareness on issues related to the envi-ronment and encourage worldwide action for the sake of the environment. WED is celebrated in over 100 countries and has grown into a global platform for stakeholders, as well as, individuals to have the opportunity of showcasing public outreach that would create positive impact on the planet.

Double European Digital Press recognition for Ricoh production presses

Ricoh Europe’s research and development has achieved a double endorsement from the European Digital Press Association (EDP).

Two of the global technology company’s newest pro-duction print solutions, the Ricoh Pro VC60000 and the Ricoh Pro C7100X, have respectively been awarded first place in the Best Production Printer Webfed category of the official EDP awards and the Best Production Cut-sheet Printer Light Production category.

‘The market is opening up to the possibilities that the VC60000 offers,” said Jean Lloyd, director of production print solutions at Ricoh SA. ‘Inkjet presses are replacing Web-fed offset presses and hybrid print production for di-rect mail, books and newspapers. Commercial print work volume is also growing. The inkjet presses offer better quality, flexibility and productivity and the judges of the award agreed.’

The modular Ricoh Pro VC60000 next-generation con-tinuous feed colour inkjet press uses Ricoh’s latest gen-

eration drop-on-demand print heads and high density pig-ment inks. These new long-lasting, high quality stainless steel print heads are capable of physical resolutions up to 1200 by 1200dpi. With the optional Undercoat unit, com-mercial printers can run a variety of offset coated stocks, achieving output quality comparable to what they expect from offset presses. An optional inline Protector Coating unit provides scratch and scuff resistance to protect criti-cal documents.

The Pro VC60000 is designed to excel in direct mail, commercial print and book printing, and has a rated speed of up to 120 metres per minute. Based on an open standard architecture, the Pro VC60000 uses a new Ricoh state-of-the-art Digital Front End that provides native sup-port for PDF, PDF/VT and AFP, together with JDF/JMF and advanced colour management support. This high perfor-mance DFE, optimised for complex data-driven graphic communications, includes an easy-to-use operator inter-face and advanced colour management capabilities.

The Ricoh Pro C7100X series of digital colour cut sheet presses delivers print speeds up to 90ppm and sup-ports media up to 360gsm. Optimum image quality up to 1200 x 4800dpi is achieved with Ricoh’s enhanced Verti-cal Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology. It is available with either the EFI Fiery E-43A or the faster and more powerful Fiery E-83A print server while Operator Replaceable Units (ORUs) enable trained operators to re-place more than a dozen parts key to reliability and image quality to help optimise uptime and performance.

‘The VC60000 is ideal for small to medium-sized graphic arts businesses, direct mailers, service bureaux, digital printers and centralised reprographic depart-ments,’ said Lloyd. ‘The Pro C7100X series also includes a fifth colour station that can be loaded with clear or white toner. The extra colour station can be used to spot or flood coat and the white toner enables very high quality printing on transparent and dark substrates, adding significantly to the range of applications this press can produce.’

Ricoh Pro VC60000

Penny Ntuli, communications director Tetra Pak South Africa

I 83

Nampak remains on target to benefit from strategy implementation

Nampak, Africa’s leading manufacturer of beverage, food and non-perishable packaging reported that strong results from the rest of the continent were

offset by headwinds faced by its South African operations in the six months ended 31 March 2015.

‘Trading profit from high-margin businesses in the rest of Africa have grown to contribute 38 percent to group trading profit, up from 27 percent in 2014,’ said chief ex-ecutive André de Ruyter. The company aims to increase this proportion to 50 percent as it increases production outside South Africa.

Nampak’s Bevcan division, notably in Nigeria and Angola, showed outstanding growth and was a major contributor to group profits. Bevcan Nigeria maintained volume growth while growth in demand for beverage cans in both beer and carbonated soft drinks continues. Bevcan Angola saw strong demand growth and sales volumes grew unabated. The operation commissioned its second aluminium line in May 2015 and is evaluating the installation of a third beverage can line in the next two to three years.

On the back of this, De Ruyter said good progress had been made in pursuit of fresh opportunities on the continent.

‘We are evaluating potential glass opportunities in Angola, Nigeria and Ethiopia.’

De Ruyter said local operations experienced pleasing volume growth with revenue up 11 percent while group revenue from continuing operations was up 16 percent. Margin pressure from major customers, coupled with high labour and energy costs, plus the disappointing loss made by Nampak Glass, put pressure on Nampak’s South

African businesses. This resulted in group operating profit down 9 percent and group headline earnings per share down 8 percent in the interim period.

‘The challenges experienced at Nampak Glass re-sulted from the commissioning of the newly installed third furnace and legacy issues from 2014. We have im-plemented a comprehensive plan targeted at overcoming production inefficiencies and operational constraints, and are seeing good results from these interventions. Furnace 3 is ramping up and the final phase of commissioning was concluded with the pre-heater commissioning, a first for the southern hemisphere. We expect to see full furnace energy saving benefits reflected in the 2016 financial year,’ said De Ruyter.

The company is unlocking close to R2 billion in cash for investment in high-yielding new potential opportu-nities in the rest of Africa, he said. This was achieved through a successful programme of active portfolio man-agement that saw the disposal of low-margin Corrugated and Tissue divisions for R1.6-billion with effect from April 1. Agreements were signed for the sale of Nampak Flexible for a maximum target price of R300 million and Nampak Recycling for R76 million. The sale of these divi-sions is expected to be finalised by year-end, subject to approval by the Competition Authorities.

Total capital expenditure for this period amounted to R1.2-billion, most of which was spent in South Africa, compared to R1-billion in the corresponding period in 2014. R430 million was spent on Nampak Bevcan’s con-version to aluminium, while R350 million went towards Bevcan Angola’s second beverage can line and a new warehouse. The balance was spent on other projects to

enhance competitiveness in South Africa.‘The South African business environment is expected

to remain challenging in 2015,’ said de Ruyter. ‘We will, however, continue to focus on unlocking value from our base businesses. We expect further efficiency gains from the aluminium conversion and the third glass furnace in Roodekop to contribute to earnings in the short term.

‘The group’s operations in the rest of Africa are ex-pected to continue generating growth in revenue and profit. Our strategy; which focuses on growing glass, metal and rigid plastics in key markets on the African continent, is supported by an exciting pipeline of potential expansion opportunities.’

Epson expands LFP range for CAD/GIS professionals

Epson has added 18 variables to its large-format printer range, expanding its SureColor T-Series range to offer easier and more cost-effective large-format printing

solutions in response to direct feedback from CAD/GIS professionals. Models include the SureColor SC-T3200, SC-T5200 and SC-T7200 series and variations thereof.

The new range SureColor SC-T Series includes three sizes for media of 610mm, 914mm and 1118mm wide. The printers accept board of up to 1.5mm thick and can print on canvas media too.

The range includes single roll units, double roll units, and a 914mm wide Epson scanner can be added to the AO and AO+ range. Users are also able to add an optional 320Gb Hard Disk Drive as a stand-alone version or with Adobe Post Script. The Adobe PostScript and HDD ver-sions both allow the processing and storage of different file versions, as well as network connectivity options for scan and print.

The new range SureColor SC-T Series has been de-signed to reliably produce sharp detail and vibrant colour output with minimal operator input. The range is ideal for applications where speed and economy are paramount, such as printing architectural plans, maps, presentations, posters and indoor signage. The printers take just 28 seconds to produce an A1 print in draft mode, and offer one of the fastest scan and print times in this class, at 39 seconds for an A1.

Vernon Mellors, large-format and pro-photo account manager at Epson South Africa, said, ‘When developing a new printer, we always ask our customers what they need. Our customers told us they wanted a printer that fits easily into their current production environment and assists in cost management.’

Epson has responded to the needs of their consumers as cost efficiency and streamlined printing are enhanced by the inclusion of the Epson PrecisionCore print head in

the SC-T series range. PrecisionCore is a permanent print head and eliminates the need to stock replacement print heads, removing the worry of any interruptions during a print run.

For further information on the new Epson CAD range of printers visit Epson.co.za

BOBST releases general K5000 vacuum metalliser video animation: Two processes, one machine

As industry leader in the field of vacuum metallizing, BOBST is known for its new product innovations. Now BOBST has applied this innovative flair to a

project intended to give people a unique insight into what happens inside of a vacuum metalliser. The result of this is the high quality animated video – ‘BOBST General K5000: Two Processes, One Machine’ which provides something a simple video cannot – a glimpse into the heart of the machine.

The animation provides a 360-degree view of the machine and clearly demonstrates how easily the BOBST General K5000 metalliser can be used for two processes

without compromise; for coating both aluminium and alu-minium oxide (AlOx) on to a wide range of substrates with high productivity. In addition to the robust BOBST Alu-minium evaporation source, production can be switched simply at the touch of a button to AlOx deposition for high barrier transparent films.

The BOBST General K5000 is specifically designed for the high output film manufacturers end market; a well-established machine in the polymer film industry it metal-lises at speeds up to 1000 meters/min utilising diameter rolls up to 1200mm and widths of up to 4850mm. The machine has several key features including:

• Large diameter coating drum• Pump down times of less than 10 minutes• Instant changeover from Al to AlOx• Unique winding system• Eco mode – energy saving system • Low production cost• Suitable for the wide web market

To find out more about the features and benefits of the BOBST General K5000, watch our animation – BOBST General K5000: Two Processes, One Machine (http://tinyurl.com/BOBSTK5000)

André de Ruyter, CEO



Printech – seeking opportunities

The Answer Series turns to Riso

According to George Bernard Shaw, “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circum-stances they want and if they can’t find them, they make them.’

We at Printech have taken the above quotation literarily. We understand that the ‘the good old days’ have gone and we have to find ways to continue to prosper. The market is constantly moving and we are sticking to our mission to be innovative with market changes and adapt ourselves to meet those changes.

We are extremely positive at this point in time. Recently we purchased bigger and more suitable premises in Midrand, to accommodate the growth in Gauteng at our Johannesburg operation. This amongst other things will allow us to operate more efficiently to meet our growth projections and control our costs.

In May our Durban operation moved to new, bigger premises in Maxmead, Pinetown. The move to bigger premises is crucial to the business and is in line with the growth we have experienced in the KwaZulu-Natal region.

Identifying the opportunity in the consumable market, we have employed a knowledgeable sales team, who has strong re-lationships with our customers. This has proven successful and we forecast good growth opportunities in this market. This has all come at a time where our competitors are either downscaling through retrenchment, or have a moratorium on employment.

We are constantly assessing ourselves to determine whether we are doing something incorrectly, or are our competitors doing something wrong. Our assessment is that there is opportunity, and the industry requires our skills. If we are able to manage our costs, relevant to the opportunities available, we will proper in business. Therefore, we shall continue to endeavour to become the preferred supplier to the industry.

Established in 1975, The Answer Series is a Cape Town-based publishing company specialising in study guides for high schools. It’s a business in which flexible, reliable and cost-effective printing solutions are vitally important. At the beginning of 2015, the company elected to add a Riso ComColor 2150 digital printer at its in-house printing facility. The Answer Series MD, David Eadie, said that while high-volume print runs use traditional offset litho printing, the company

needs a robust print-on-demand solution to print guides for which there is less demand, to supplement out-of-stock items in case of sudden demand, and to accommodate last-minute orders. ‘We already had three digital printers in service but our analysis showed that the downtime was excessive. Our print shop did some research and strongly motivated for the Riso product based on its reliability,’ Eadie said. ‘Downtime is extremely problematic for us because late ordering is a feature of the business. Provincial budgeting is often delayed, so there’s often a very short lead time to get the guides to the schools that use them all over the country – and we pride ourselves on our ability to turn orders around very fast.’

Printing manager Chad Gowar emphasised the importance of reliability in the printing shop. To give an idea of the volumes involved, he points out that the Riso printer had run off 1 million pages within the first two months of service. ‘The first four months of the year are definitely our busiest times because that’s when the school year is getting underway,’ he said.

Energy – its unreliability and increasing cost – has become a major factor in South African business, and particularly affects businesses running manufacturing/ production processes involving large numbers of staff. Eadie points to the energy-efficiency of the unit thanks to its cold printing technology. Aside from the need for less power, Riso’s cold printing technology also improves reliability and enables ultra-fast printing, making it most suitable for high-volume, quick-turnaround jobs.

David Fulton, Corporate Development Manager at Riso, comments that Riso’s pedigree in ink technology underlies its unique value proposition. The company’s founder began mixing inks at his kitchen sink after World War II, and ultimately developed an emulsion ink that does not require intense heat. ‘Our machines have always been noted for low energy consumption, making them attractive when power is constrained and ideal for use with green power,’ he added.

Inspired by Fortuna, Agfa Graphics’ design software for the high-security print market, Arziro Design can create very complex, security patterns in seconds for general-security print applications. Arziro Design is easy to use, running on a standard Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 system for Mac and Windows.

According to a European Commission report, nearly 7-10 percent of world trade is infected by counterfeit goods, costing brand owners approximately EUR 500 billion. The report calculates counterfeiting as being responsible for the loss of around 2.5 million jobs across the G20 countries.

‘The counterfeiting epidemic has caused many companies to rethink their manufacturing strategies and improve their technology so they can more effectively stay ahead of the pirates and prevent further financial losses,’ said Andy Grant, Global Head of Software, Agfa Graphics. ‘Inferior products in the marketplace create problems for re-spected brands and the economy. We developed Arziro Design in response to the growth of those threats.’

Arziro Design was created for general-security printers and designers in brand protection and those who feel the need for protection against counterfeiting and ‘digifeiting’. Arziro Design is ideal for companies involved in the de-sign and production of packaging and labels, tickets and coupons, tax stamps, post stamps, company access cards, bank cards, and general document security such as breeder documents, certificates or diplomas.

Thanks to the seamless integration with Adobe Illustrator, designers have access to a wide collection of design modules and tools in their known environment. Arziro Design helps create complex artwork that are true Adobe Illustrator elements in the end. It is even possible to ‘enrich’ existing creations with security design elements from Arziro or to modify the Arziro creations by altering the pre-defined design parameters in the plug-in. As such, Arziro offers an easy to use creative platform for designers in this specific market.

For more information visit www.agfagraphics.com/arziro

Arziro from Agfa Graphics for the general-security print market

Asahi Photoproducts AWP – where performance meets profit

Asahi Photoproducts recognises the need for fast paced packaging and label printing companies to deliver every higher levels of graphic print quality,

both consistently and profitably. AWP - DEF Pinning Top Dot (PTD) flexographic pho-

topolymer plate technology from Asahi ensures excep-tional print performance and enhanced press profitability.

Asahi AWP - DEF plates achieve a high quality print performance as a result of their engineered photopolymer chemistry design. With a very high plate resolution de-signed for fine text and minimum dots fading out to zero, the unique plate specification allows a larger total colour gamut to be achieved, particularly in any highlight areas, providing more design flexibility and graphic quality.

In terms of the plate production process, as the Asahi AWP - DEF plate making process is solvent-less, there is no need for high temperature processes and the result is a perfect, dimensionally-stable plate, which ensures high quality consistent print production without colour shift.

Branded Asahi AWP - DEF, Asahi’s digital water wash flexo plate also has a lighter printing impression which produce constant repeatability of the print quality during a run, ensuring improved graphic consistency and print performance.

Asahi AWP - DEF Pinning Top Dot plate technology

from Asahi is specifically engineered to transfer all re-maining ink to the print substrate. The science behind this beneficial property is simple; the Asahi

AWP - DEF plate has a lower surface energy than con-ventional solvent plates enabling improved ink transfer to the print surface.

Successful flexographic printing is not just about high quality print performance. In today’s competitive flexo world, profitable production is key and this is where Asahi AWP - DEF Pinning Top Dot plate technology ensures per-formance meets profit!

The Asahi engineered low surface energy plate de-sign facilitates low printing pressure, or ‘kiss touch’ print-ing as it’s known, which reduces dot gain and results in plates that last longer in the printing process. Less plate wear means reduced plate replacement costs for the printer. Reduced ink filling-in at the mid tone area during printing then also leads to fewer cleaning intervals and increased press production uptime.

As the Asahi AWP - DEF plate does not need to be cleaned as often as conventional digital solvent plates, the reduction of press cleaning creates a significant step in profitability for users, as a result of the improvement in overall equipment effectiveness.

Two key areas of inefficiency in the modern print shop

are also plate availability and time to press, which are also both resolved by the Asahi AWP - DEF PTD solution.

The solvent-free production of the Asahi AWP - DEF PTD plate does not require the incorporation of a drying process therefore, on average the plate can be delivered to press in approximately one-hour minimising the risk of press downtime. This speed to press also facilitates its application in combination printing, popular in label and flexible packaging printing applications.

In summary, the quality, register, availability, flexibility and reduced cleaning requirements of the Asahi AWP - DEF plate solution ensure high graphic performance and productivity is secured. Combine these benefits with the premium plate quality and the Asahi AWP - DEF is suit-able to be used in the ever more popular Fixed Colour Palette printing process.

A recent case study by the Asahi team indicated a 33 percent improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) compared with using a standard solvent plate in the same print production set up. Operational efficiency is in-creased and the profit follows – performance meets profit with the Asahi flexographic Pinning Top Dot plate range!

For more information on the Asahi Photoproducts range of digital flexographic printing plate solutions, please contact www.asahi-photoproducts.com.

Ricoh SA is again sponsoring the Pumas Wheel-chair Basketball team to compete in the Su-perSport Wheelchair Basketball Series, 2015.

Ricoh SA has sponsored the Pumas Wheelchair Basketball team since May 2008 when it signed an agreement to provide kit, branding, advertising and membership fees.

‘This year our sponsorship includes helping the team bring in fresh players from as far abroad as Morocco,’ said Esti Kilian, national head of Market-ing Services at Ricoh SA.

In 2012 the Pumas broke a twelve-year cham-pionship-losing streak in a nail-biting finale to win against the KZN Wings Wheelchair Basketball team in the SuperSport Wheelchair Basketball Se-ries. They have won every year since.

‘The players have a lot of international club experience where the competitive standard is extremely high,’ said Etienne Buys, Ricoh Pumas representative. ‘They have high shooting averages but this year the new players will need to focus on working together as a team. They have already made a good start, winning three of four games, and we are confident they will gather momentum over the next few weeks.

‘The team has been exceptionally committed

and dedicated as it tackles the new season,’ said Buys. ‘They have already won three out of four games, beating the Eagles 50-39, the Wings 65-39, team Mongoose 81-40 and losing only against the Blade Runners 57-70.’

Buys works with the team to identify its strong and weak points as well as those of rivals and pre-pare for each game accordingly.

Ricoh undertakes numerous corporate social investment (CSI) and corporate social responsibil-ity (CSR) programmes. In the past it has supported:• The Love of Christ Ministries (TLC)• Rhino relocation program assistance for veteri-nary wildlife services• Support of 17 Squadron, a South African Air Force (SAAF) squadron dedicated to humanitarian and peace support missions• Wildlife conservation fundraising• #pedal4change imagine change Challenge to raise funds for charity• Save the White-winged Flufftail birding cam-paign championed by Ricoh SA employee, Jacques van Wyk

‘Ricoh’s founder, Kiyoshi Ichimura, said that with outstanding corporate success comes great re-sponsibility,’ said Kilian. ‘Because of his vision we

established the Ricoh Social Charter in 2003 that integrates the company’s core values with the 10 principles defined in the UN Global Compact.’ The 10 principles are shared between human rights, la-bour, environment and anti-corruption.

Ricoh SA continues championship-winning Pumas wheelchair basketball sponsorship

Esti Kilian, national head of Marketing Services at Ricoh SA



Enfocus welcomes Aproove in an online proofing partnership

EFI and Bytes Document Solutions extend their partnership and printer range

EFI Launches next-generation of its industry-leading Fiery digital front end platform

Enfocus has announces its new Solution Partnership with ‘Aproove’, providing automated online collabo-rative approval of PDF and image files to customers

using Aproove Express and Enfocus Switch.Enfocus Switch customers can now easily provide on-

line approval services to their customers without the need to invest in additional on premise hardware and software. Aproove’s online soft proofing and collaboration service is 100 percent cloud-based and provided as a service to customers via subscription.

‘Aproove redesigned their approval solution spe-cifically to integrate smoothly with Switch,’ said Angelo Manno, global OEM & strategic account manager for Enfocus. ‘Customers simply subscribe to the approval service via the Aproove Express website, and once they receive their login credentials, they simply enter those in Switch in the Aproove developed configurator. From this moment on the online collaboration and approval can start as Switch will automatically upload files to Aproove

Express where they can be viewed as a flipbook or dy-namic flat plan. At the same time Switch will invite stake-holders such as the print buyer to the approval process, and receive the results on approved and rejected files.’

Users can submit jobs easily and securely from any-where in the world and invite print buyers instantly to any job or part of a job. Aproove Express provides immediate input, comments and approvals.

Further, the Aproove configurator in Switch instantly connects any Switch flow to a dedicated preconfigured Aproove Express Cloud Services. All decisions made in Aproove Express are immediately forwarded to Switch who moves the job further to the next appropriate process step in the flow. The quality of jobs is elevated as errors are avoided and files are correctly routed, depending on their approval status.

‘The solution is aimed at advertising agencies, print-ers, service bureaux, large accounts and photographers. Its benefits include a direct gain in performance and con-

trol for the customer,’ added Serge Lo Grasso, VP sales & marketing, Aproove. ‘This partnership fits perfectly with our strategy of developing SaaS online proofing solutions for the market of print production and it is a continuation of our Digital Content Collaboration range launched four years ago.”

Customers using Switch 12 can immediately take ad-vantage of this new online approval and collaboration ser-vice by retrieving the Aproove configurator using ‘Manage configurators’ in Switch, or by downloading the Aproove configurator from the Crossroads portal.

Low-cost printers with high-end quality are being in-troduced to Sub-Saharan Africa in a partnership be-tween Bytes Document Solutions and digital printing

expert EFI.The deal sees Bytes Document Solutions become a

strategic partner of EFI to sell, service and support two award-winning and innovative hybrid wide-format print-ers throughout South and Sub-Sahara Africa. Bytes will now offer the entry-level EFI H625 Wide-Format Hybrid Printer and the top flight EFI H1625 LED wide-format hy-brid printer.

The agreement makes Bytes Document Solutions the regional distribution partner for EFI InkJet Division, and Bytes will use its extensive network of concessionaires,

dealers, distributors and its own direct sales force to of-fer these new EFI printers to new and existing customers.

‘We are very excited about adding the EFI range to our portfolio because our wide range of customers in the graphic arts industry, including commercial printers, advertising agencies, screen printers and packaging com-panies, are all looking to grow their business capabilities,’ said Johan Basson, CEO of Bytes Document Solutions. ‘EFI’s high-productivity and unique LED printer solutions fit superbly with our range and we see this is a perfect combination to help them with their current and growth plans.’

The 1.6m H625 Hybrid engine is a low-cost entry model that still delivers high-end quality, while the indus-

try-leading H1625 roll-fed and flatbed engine is an entry point into a versatile and high-value application space. It incorporates EFI’s LED Curing Technology for printing onto a wide variety of rigid and flexible materials to meet any business need.

Paul Cripps, the vice president of EFI Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said EFI and Bytes had already worked together for many years in selling the Fiery Digital Print Servers that form part of the extensive range of Xerox equipment. ‘Bytes Document Solutions’ reputation in the market and with its exemplary sales, ser-vice and support network in Africa makes a very strategic fit as an EFI partner,’ he said.

EFI has launched the newest platform for its Fiery digi-tal front ends (DFE) for digital printing systems. The latest advancements included in the new EFI Fiery

FS200 Pro extend technical leadership advantage that makes Fiery the world’s most popular production DFE technology by giving users an extremely productive, intui-tive platform with expanded colour capability.

The DFE platform, which will be incorporated in sev-eral new digital presses from EFI partners starting next month, features innovative tools for higher-speed pro-cessing and expansion to CMYK+ colours. It also provides robust capabilities for shop automation and connectivity. As the industry’s only CIP4-certified JDF DFE, the Fiery platform can seamlessly connect with other JDF-based devices. Plus, users can establish fully automated, bi-di-rectional communication and integration with EFI’s MIS/ERP and web-to-print products.

‘Fiery is the gold standard for the class of digital front end technology needed to drive high-end, integrated graphic arts production printing environments, and we are excited to take our leading-edge technology to the next level with a platform that addresses users’ critical needs for faster processing, more-efficient printing and expand-ed colour gamuts,’ said Toby Weiss, senior vice president and general manager, EFI Fiery. ‘Many of the new capa-bilities included in this release are unique to Fiery and will

deliver a competitive advantage to print businesses look-ing to fuel their success with the unmatched performance this DFE platform offers.’

Fiery FS200 Pro also expands EFI’s breakthrough Fiery HyperRIP offering, which is powered by EFI’s proprietary ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) with RIPChip technology. As a result, Fiery DFEs can process print files significantly faster than alternative DFEs.

HyperRIP now has a mode optimised for multiple jobs, as well as the previous, single-job mode, boosting processing performance up to 55 percent compared to the performance without HyperRIP. Now, the Fiery FS200 Pro platform can RIP up to four jobs simultaneously, giving us-ers the ability to print more jobs in the shortest possible time.

The new Fiery platform also includes a Rush RIP mode that opens up a fifth RIP to process rush jobs when all four main parallel processors are busy. ‘Rush RIP allows printing operations to accommodate last-minute rush jobs without interrupting the on-going workflow or cancelling jobs that are already being processed. It also gives users the ability to preview jobs quickly while other jobs are pro-cessing, further speeding up the production process and increasing overall throughput,’ said Weiss.

‘With the new Fiery FS200 Pro platform, EFI has brought a new level of productivity to the market,’ accord-

ing to Kaspar Roos, director of analyst firm InfoTrends’ Production Workflow Service. ‘Improvements in ripping speed, colour management, and tighter integration of workflow components make this new Fiery platform a very attractive proposition.’

The EFI Fiery FS200 Pro system also takes colour man-agement to brand-new heights with the introduction of a CMYK+ feature set for incorporating expanded-gamut process-colour imaging beyond standard four-color im-aging. CMYK+ opens the door to a range of inkjet press technologies that may be capable of incorporating five-, six-, or eight-colour process imaging. Print businesses can more precisely match a wider range of brand colours on digital presses offering expanded toner imaging capabili-ties.

EFI has also released colour correction and process control improvements to the Fiery Graphic Arts Package, Premium Edition including:• new features in Fiery ImageViewer that offer greater consistency in the colour workflow, with automated col-our adjustment between similar jobs using custom colour curves• a WYSIWYG interface to edit control bars, offering us-ers more control over placement and content.

The first DFEs based on the Fiery FS200 Pro platform will be available in Q3.

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Mimaki has reported that it was honoured to be recognised at FESPA 2015 with a European Digi-tal Press Association (EDP) Award for Best Print

and Cut Solution. The Mimaki CJV150 Series brings si-multaneous print/cut operations to an entry-level printer at a print speed of up to 56.2 square meters per hour. The award was accepted by Mike Horsten, general manager marketing of Mimaki EMEA, at a special awards ceremo-ny held during the show.

‘We are extremely proud to be recognised once again by the EDP for our continuing efforts to bring innovative products to the digital printing market. We strive to de-velop solutions that open up new revenue opportunities for our customers and for the industry,’ said Horsten. ‘The CJV150 Series is the most versatile printer in our broad portfolio and reflects our ability to deliver market-tailored solutions that enhance the creativity of our customers and their ability to deliver exceptional results, allowing them to work effectively and profitably in demanding market sectors. The printer series joins one of the industry’s larg-est portfolios of sign and display graphics printers, bring-ing high performance capabilities to an entry-level printer that is affordable and compact enough to fit into even the

most space-constrained environments.’ The CJV150 Series was unveiled in the fall of 2014.

Its newly-developed staggered printhead delivers a wider print swath and ink drops ranging from 4pl to 35pl for beautiful, high-resolution printing. Continuous register mark detection enables the continuous cutting of an en-tire roll of media while simultaneously taking up unrolled media. Zero margin register marks reduce media con-sumption by eliminating the margins between register marks, for less waste of often costly media.

‘The judges, and indeed, our customer base, have also been impressed by the availability of both solvent and water-based sublimation inks and the ability to create a wide range of unique print applications with these print-ers, including indoor decorations, posters, shop or event decorations, and vehicle-wraps. Newly developed silver ink delivers a brightness 1.67 times greater than that of conventional silver inks for high value-added printing and mirror effect results that exceed expectations and enable the production of more than 648 colours in the metallic colour collection. Quick-drying SS21 orange and light black inks are also available for these printers, extending the range of compelling signs and displays that can be

created. This scope of capability is truly unprecedented in a printer in this class,’ Horsten concluded.

All the flatbed, solvent and textile printers shown at the Mimaki booth during FESPA 2015 have received an EDP award in the past. Mike Horsten concluded, ‘With 40 years of innovation, Mimaki is very proud to be able to show only award-winning products at FESPA.’

More details about Mimaki products, including its full range of printers and inks, can be found at www.mimakieurope.com.

Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic pho-topolymer plate development, is partnering with specialists in fixed palette colour printing to show-

case a plethora of technology advances at a customer open house.

Being held in Brussels on September 28, the day before LabelExpo, the event will focus on the enhanced quality and cost and time saving benefits that fixed pal-ette colour printing offers.

‘This is a great customer event dedicated for printers to demonstrate the sharp, vibrant and high quality results that are possible,’ said David Galton, sales director for Asahi Photoproducts, ‘The print quality achieved by com-

bining our plate technology with fixed colour palette print-ing techniques brings outstanding shelf appeal to packag-ing. Print consistency is crucial to brands’ ability to drive sales volumes by increasing visibility, reinforcing identity and ensuring volume turnover.”

He added, ‘Improved ink management also positively impacts production time and costs.’

Akihiro Kato, Asahi Photoproducts managing direc-tor and Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager will welcome attendees before they enjoy the specially-designed, packed agenda.

Aside from a detailed review of Asahi Photoproducts’ Fixed Colour Palette with AWP, a number of partners will

present technological advances being made in their sec-tors and how they could enhance production and profit-ability for Asahi Photoproducts’ print shop customers.

These include Esko and Apex Anilox highlighting the benefits of Equinox and Anilox, respectively, for fixed col-our palette printing while Xeikon will focus on the ben-efits of laser technology. Other presentations will be from Lohmann Tape and Arets Inks.

A plate demo and company tour will complete the day’s line-up of informative presentations and activities.

For more information about Asahi Photoproducts Eu-rope, visit www.asahi-photoproducts.com.

Entry-level versatility prevails at European Digital Press Association (EDP) Awards

Asahi Photoproducts – creating picture perfect colour results



Grow your business into rigid substrate digital printing with the new HP Scitex FB750 printer from Midcomp South Africa

The recently announced HP Scitex FB750 Printer, ena-bles PSPs to enter into rigid printing with a compact footprint and tabletop roll holder design for flexible

substrates. With high uptime and automatic mainte-nance, HP Scitex Printers are proven robust, easy-to-use workhorses printing on both rigid and flexible media with a single device. The HP Scitex FB750 now offer a new tabletop roll holder design for flexible substrates ena-bling easy, fast and efficient short-run printing, and new tapered wheels for easy and safe media loading, prevent-ing media edge damage.

The HP Scitex FB750 Printer also offer greater image quality and full bleed on max widths with the same ca-pability of printing on virtually any rigid or flexible media 63.5mm. The printers increase productivity by 12 percent in indoor signage print modes and deliver orders quickly by loading, printing and collecting media simultaneously. These printers help customers get into specialties with white ink, matte/gloss and textured effects, all while be-ing one of the most compact printers on the market.

• Print speed up to 85 m²/hr • Up to 2.5-m wide• White ink, double-sided prints, matte/gloss, and

full bleeds

• Tabletop roll holder for flexible substrates and short-run printing

• Multi-image, multi-size capability up to 6 sheets at the same time

• Load, print, and collect media simultaneouslyFor more information contact Midcomp; Tel: 011-789

1222; Email: [email protected]

WPO announces WorldStar winners 2015

On 19 May 2015, entrants of the WorldStar Awards gathered at IPACK-IMA for the ulti-mate packaging awards ceremony. The 2015

round of the WorldStars, the most important pack-aging award in the world, organised by WPO (World Packaging Organisation), brought in 264 entries from 37 countries. Judged in Colombo, Sri Lanka, there were 148 winners from 33 countries; 84 of those winners attended the ceremony to collect their awards.

Locked4KidsBV celebrated winning Gold in the President’s Award, one of the prestigious special awards. The winning pack, Locked4Kids Child Re-sistant Carton Box – by Ecobliss is the World’s first child resistant carton certified against both ISO/EN

8317 and US 16 CRF 1700.20 standard. GrandsMoulinsd’ Israel/Studio Batshi, won Gold

in the Marketing Award category for their Series of retro style flour packaging.In the Sustainability Award, the Del Valle Reserva in Tetra Prisma Asep-tic 10000 with bio-based packaging took the Gold Award – the packaging industry’s first in a carton.

Following the awards presentations, attend-ees continued the celebrations in a cocktail and networking reception. Tom Schneider, President of WPO, said, ‘When you win a WorldStar Award you become part of a bigger process and part of pushing the envelope of packaging and that’s what we need to make packaging more valuable to people. Better quality of life for more people through better pack-

aging is the World Packaging Organisation’s moto. The WorldStar Awards embody that concept.’

When asked about the standard of this year’s entrants, Schneider also said, ‘it seems that the quality and creativeness of the entries become more interesting and sophisticated every year.’

A complete list of the winners can be found at www.worldstar.org and the special award win-ners are listed here.

High resolution pictures of the winners as well as the ceremony can be downloaded at www.worldstar.org. The next WorldStar judging is due to take place in October in Mumbai, India. For further information on WorldStar contact Rachel Books at [email protected]

Heidelberg largely completed the Group’s strategic reorientation in financial year 2014/2015. The focus during this process was on realigning the Group’s

portfolio toward profitable areas of business and growth sectors. The corporate structures have also been adapted to dynamic changes in markets. This has had a further sig-nificant impact on sales and results and has provided the basis for profitable growth.

‘We’ve made Heidelberg fit for the future,’ said Gerold Linzbach, CEO of the company. ‘The re-orientation will en-able Heidelberg to enjoy sustained profitable growth in the future.

Future growth will be generated primarily in the services and digital sectors. Heidelberg continued to strengthen the services sector in the past financial year through acquisitions (BluePrint Products, Printing Systems Group, Fujifilm Sverige). The newly acquired companies are set to generate sales of over €100 million from the current financial year 2015/2016 onward and will help ensure sustainably profitable growth for Heidelberg fol-lowing complete integration. The Heidelberg Group’s position in the growth segment of digital printing was further strengthened with the complete takeover of Neo-7even and the Gallus Group and the launch of a digital label printing machine.

Another aim is to further improve the company’s prof-itability. The reorientation of unprofitable activities such as those in postpress, which was completed in financial year 2014/2015, will improve the result by approximately €30 million in the future. The structures for offset printing have also been adapted to the market environment, thus enabling Heidelberg to respond more flexibly to market fluctuations and achieve cost savings in the low double-digit million euro range.

‘From the current financial year onward, we expect to consistently achieve clearly positive net results,’ added Linzbach.

Sales in the 2014/2015 financial year were €2.33 billion, in line with expectations as adjusted at the half-year point. This decline of around 4 percent was due to portfolio optimisation, the associated sales of parts of the company, and the effects of the general slowdown in growth in China.

Despite the lower volume of sales, Heidelberg reached its target of achieving higher operating profitabil-ity than in the previous year. The operating margin was slightly up on the previous year on a comparable basis due to cost savings. Net special effects of around €50 million, largely from reorganizing the company pension scheme in Germany, led to an improvement in EBITDA excluding special items to €188 million in the year under review (previous year: €143 million). At €119 million, EBIT

excluding special items was thus also well above the fig-ure for the previous year (€72 million). There were special items of €-99 million for portfolio and restructuring meas-ures in the period under review.

Due to non-recurring expenses of around €25 million resulting from financing activities, the financial result was €-96 million. Pressure on the financial result will ease sig-nificantly in the future due to lower interest payments for the new financing instruments. The net result after taxes was negative at €-72 million.

Equity was €183 million at March 31, 2015. A key rea-son for this decline was the rise in pension provisions due to the significant lowering of the discount rate for pen-sions in Germany from 3.50 percent in the previous year to 1.70 percent on the balance sheet date. In the year under review, the decline in equity was partially compensated by the re-organisation of the company pension scheme in Germany, which was changed from a previously defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan. The medium-term goal is to increase the equity ratio again by returning to sustained profitability.

Free cash flow was €-17 million in the year under review. This included one-time payments for the Focus ef-ficiency program of around €45 million. Active asset and net working capital management led to stable net debt at a low level of €256 million. Leverage was further reduced due to the accompanying improvement in operating prof-itability. The ratio of net debt to EBITDA was below the target level of 2, if the non-recurring positive effects are included, the figure was 1.4.

‘Heidelberg has a stable financial footing. With three pillars, the financing structure is now well balanced and basic funding is assured until 2022,’ said Dirk Kaliebe, CFO at Heidelberg. ‘This long-term financing framework provides a solid foundation for a further strategic realign-ment of the company.’

During the year under review, the financing structure was optimized further. The financing portfolio consists of three pillars comprising corporate bonds, a syndicated credit line, and other instruments such as convertible bonds. The net debt of €256 million is covered by basic funding until 2022. Heidelberg currently has total credit facilities of around €750 million.

For the current 2015/2016 financial year and in the medium term, Heidelberg is striving for annual sales growth of 2 to 4 percent. As in the previous year, the share of sales is expected to be higher in the second half of the financial year than in the first half.

Assuming that the initiatives to increase margins and optimize the portfolio take effect in the current financial year, the company is anticipating an operating margin on EBITDA of at least 8 percent of sales in the 2015/2016

financial year. The Heidelberg Equipment segment is expected to contribute within a range of 4 - 6 percent to this result and the Heidelberg Services segment 9 -11 per-cent. In the Heidelberg Financial Services segment, the company will continue to primarily externalise customer financing. The segment should continue to provide a posi-tive EBITDA contribution.

The planned earnings improvements together with the measures aimed at the reduction and efficient utiliza-tion of the company’s capital commitment are intended to strengthen the capital structure and keep the net debt at a low level that sustainably does not exceed twice the result of operating activities before interest, taxes, depre-ciation and amortisation excluding special items (EBITDA) (leverage).

As at 31 March 2015, the Heidelberg Group had a global workforce of 11 951 plus 427 trainees.

Heidelberg committed to growth – company assumes new strategic alignment

Gerold Linzbach, CEO

Dirk Kaliebe, CFO

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New 0507 Folder Feeder for Müller Martini Saddle Stitchers

The new, retrofittable 0507 folder feeder from Müller Martini makes saddle stitching even more efficient and cost-effective thanks to its large range of for-

mats, quick replacement, feeding using stream feeders and the fact that a folding process is no longer necessary.

‘In terms of return on investment, it’s one of the most attractive investments that we’ve ever made.’ When Martin Vogel, head of production and Member of the Ex-ecutive Board of Zofinger Tagblatt AG, which is based in the Swiss canton of Aargau, was asked about his experi-ences of the 0507 folder feeder with which the BravoPlus saddle stitcher has been fitted, he soon gets talking about the figures, for example for the production of the weekly magazine Tierwelt, which has a circulation of around 80000 copies. Since the new folder feeder can now also be fed using stream feeders, and all stream feeders for the cover and content signatures can be operated by one and the same person, only one operator is needed for all the feeders instead of two. ‘With eight hours of produc-tion time multiplied by 52 issues a year, it pays off,’ said Vogel.

In addition to cover feeding using stream feeders,

the 0507 folder feeder with servo drive, which comes as standard with the new Primera generation and can be retrofitted on the Prima, Prima S, PrimaPlus, BravoPlus, Primera 130 and Primera 140 saddle stitchers, offers nu-merous other key benefits.• Kill two birds with one stone: With a maximum size of 482 x 635mm and a minimum one of 89 x 165mm, the 0507 folder feeder covers a large range of sizes, and replaces the 0353 and 0354 predecessor models (the for-mer being for smaller sizes and the latter for larger sizes) with a single feeder model that covers the whole product range.• Flexible installation: Thanks to its compact design, the 0507 folder feeder can be installed anywhere at the sad-dle stitcher in place of a flat pile feeder. Two flat pile feed-ers had to make way for the 0354 folder feeder.• Short setup times: The 0507 folder feeder has con-siderably shorter setup times than earlier models. That makes an impact with several job changeovers per shift.• Ideal for thin paper: The 0507 folder feeder is optimized for the processing of low paper grammages, which ad-ditionally extends the product range.

• No need for folding process: Since the 0507 folder feeder ensures clean scoring thanks to the tWinScore scoring wheel developed by Müller Martini, the folding process for the covers can be omitted. For saddle stitchers without a folder feeder to date, the use of the folder feed-er enables skipping an entire process, making production considerably more efficient.

At Zofinger Tagblatt AG, the Tierwelt cover that is printed in four-up, only needs to be trimmed to individual sheets. The earlier folding process in double production is no longer necessary, allowing around five hours of pro-duction time to be saved per week. In addition to greater cost-effectiveness. Martin Vogel also reports enhanced quality when using the new 0507 folder feeder’ ‘Previ-ously we occasionally had scratch marks, but that’s now a thing of the past.’

He is therefore, in no doubt that retrofitting has paid off for the company, ‘The new folder feeder is an attrac-tive and user-friendly solution for industrial production in particular – it’s just a shame that it wasn’t on the market even earlier ...’

Thunderbolt 011 657 7000

Xeikon Cheetah wins first industry accolade

The innovation delivered by the Xeikon Cheetah, the most important advancement for the digital label market in 15 years, has received its first industry rec-

ognition – the EDP Award for Best Label Printing Solution. The award was presented today at FESPA in Germany, and the EDP Association is the first industry body to recog-nise the qualities of Xeikon’s most productive digital label press, only months after installation at pilot sites around the world.

‘We are convinced the Xeikon Cheetah will have a very tangible impact on customers’ businesses through a number of production gains, all at high quality. We are de-lighted that the EDP Association recognizes this as well,’ stated Wim Maes, CEO of Xeikon.

‘The speed and quality of the Xeikon Cheetah will help our customers to win business while opening up new markets through improved cost efficiencies and increased productivity,’ added Filip Weymans, director of Segment Marketing, Labels and Packaging at Xeikon. ‘The new press will also enable traditional label printers to adjust their workflow strategy to both improve competitiveness and expand their offerings. We have already seen these kinds of results at our three pilot sites. Upon the commer-cial launch later this year, we are certain more customers will be able to take advantage of this ground-breaking

technology. We are delighted that the EDP judges agree that this press has a lot to offer to the industry, and to forward-thinking operations looking to stand out from the crowd by adding value and creativity to the print produc-tion mix.’

Xeikon Cheetah, a five-colour digital label press, runs at up to 30 metres per minute, making it 56 percent faster than any other member of the Xeikon digital label press family. Its print quality is enhanced by the unique Cheetah toner, specifically developed for high speeds and based on Xeikon’s proven ICE toner technology. It complies with FDA regulations for food contact and offers the ability to print opaque white toner in a single pass. In addition, the exceptionally low fusing temperature for this toner means that a wider range of substrates can be digitally printed at very high levels of quality. The availability of custom ton-ers also expands the colour gamut that can be achieved, especially when printing brand colors where a process match is difficult to achieve.

The EDP Awards were established by the EDP Associ-ation which was founded in October 2006 by the publish-ers of six trade magazines with a primary editorial focus on digital production. The EDP Awards acknowledge the value of R&D in the industry and recognize the best prod-ucts of the past year.

A few months ago Zofinger Tagblatt AG retrofitted its BravoPlus saddle stitcher (year of production 1996/7, feeders/stream feeders/Robusto

compensating stacker) with the new 0507 folder feeder.

The new 0507 folder feeder can be fed manually (pictured is Zofinger Tagblatt machine operator Vajo Krstic) or using stream feeders.



Billentis Report finds business could save 80 percent

This year’s Billentis Report has found that busi-nesses that use e-billing and invoicing will help achieve savings of up to 80 percent.

The report predicts that 42 billion e-bills and invoices will be issued globally in 2015 and by judi-ciously applying technology companies can be more efficient, agile, and profitable.

‘Digitisation is one of the top drivers for e-in-voicing,’ said Jacques van Wyk, COO of Ricoh SA. ‘It used to be a differentiator but today it’s increas-ingly a requirement to be competitive. Numerous South African companies are keenly interested in the efficiencies, savings, agility and preparation for the future of business these business process ser-vices (BPS) projects achieve. Interwaste and Kan-hym Estates are just two examples of local com-panies that cut large volumes of paper from their

billing and operations environments, became more efficient and productive as a result, and simultane-ously reduced costs.’

The Billentis Report is produced annually and is designed to help organisations become more informed on e-billing and invoicing by providing market data and analysis to help them understand current and future business impacts.

In a 2014 survey conducted by Coleman Parkes, sponsored by Ricoh Europe, 73 percent of busi-ness leaders said that achieving digital maturity would directly lead to an increase in profits, while 62 percent agreed that it would increase their or-ganisation’s appeal to potential investors and new owners. The same study also revealed how 50 per-cent of business leaders felt they could not achieve digital maturity without the support of an external

partner.However, digitalisation of invoices alone is not

enough for businesses to fully achieve automated invoicing. Many European businesses, for example, still experience extremely high exception handlings – personal interaction during the invoicing process. It is due to poor or inaccurate data in the invoices. Inaccurate information on B2B invoices is a major reason for payment delays – and e-invoicing direct-ly addresses that issue.

Download the report to find out more, or cal-culate the savings you could make by switching to electronic invoicing at www.ricoh-europe.com/invoicing.

FINAT’s Young Managers Club (YMC), a lively part of the European self-adhesive labelling association, re-ports on its successful second YMC Global Congress

that was held last month in Slovakia. The Congress lived up to its ‘Climb to the Top’ theme by bringing together label industry participants in the ‘under forties’ category to help them sharpen their business skills to meet the challenges of a changing world. The 2015 YMC Global Congress once again took a very hands-on approach, combining a company site visit, workshops and panel discussion sessions.

‘This year’s edition of the YMC Global Congress was yet again a great learning opportunity. Even for those be-yond the age of 40, it is never too late to change habits in order to become even more effective. The interactive, educational format of the YMC meetings, including the previous event in Poland, has set new standards and was one of the sources of inspiration behind the makeover of our primary event, which has now been redefined as the European Label Forum,’ commented Jules Lejeune, FINAT’s managing director.

‘It is always a pleasure to speak with people who are experiencing the same challenges as I, and to meet new young managers in our industry,’ added YMC president and congress chairman Dana Kilarska. ‘It is great to see people coming back to this event but, most importantly, it is great to see new young managers at these events, be-cause this means that YMC is a strong platform for young managers in the labelling industry. We climb to the TOP!’

A high point of the conference was the facility visit to the internationally-recognised Bratislava-based self-adhesive label converter Purgina, home Dana Kilarska. She and her brother, Radovan, are the second generation of young managers of a business founded by their parents in 1991. The company’s 80 employees offer a full-service design-to-print label capability to its customers, with a focus on labels for high-end wines and beers and spirits.

The formal Congress agenda opened with a highly-

effective workshop on core management principles: ‘Seven habits of highly-effective people’, given by Zoltan Demjan of leading global consultancy Franklin Covey. Mr. Demjan emphasised the fact that ‘we decide on our actions’, and showed how he had taken this concept to heart as a mountaineer, with major climbs and presi-dency of the Czechoslovak Mountaineering Association behind him. The Congress also featured an innovation workshop conducted by Dr. Jozef Kristak, Deputy Direc-tor of management consultancy IPA Slovakia. He defined a ‘thin’ company and the challenges achieving leanness involves – like experiencing the changes in customer re-quirements; attacks on costs, variability in order volumes and delivery times, etc., which complicate forecasting of customer needs and wants and require supplier flexibility.

The informal, yet highly educational approach of the YMC Congress is very much appreciated by the partici-pants, as evidenced by comments from Rodolfo Hagmaier of Hagmaier Etiketten & Druck, who stated, ‘As always, the YMC congress was a big success. I was able to take away many new ideas and impressions for our company. The conversations with YMC colleagues are very helpful for building up an overview of the market. It was great to go out with this wonderful group of young managers. And perhaps one of the most important things is that we all had a lot of fun!’

Hank Guijtens of SPGPrints agreed, saying, ‘It was a great event to meet colleagues from the label business and get trained at the same time. The experience and the different perspectives of the people created a profes-sional atmosphere and inspired new energy and ideas. I will definitely participate in this congress the next time.’

‘I was overwhelmed by the quality of the speaker list and of each individual presentation,’ commented Leo Becker of Avery Dennison. ‘This was the highest concen-tration I’ve experienced of knowledge and expertise on a range of leading-edge topics by people who really know their subjects. Most highly recommended!’

‘The FINAT YMC brings together a group of young managers with high prospects. This edition in the beauti-ful Slovakian capital Bratislava was an excellent choice of venue in which to experience the potential of new pos-sibilities on our business markets. I will be able to apply what we have seen and learned from these workshops in my day-to-day business. We should organise this event more than once a year!’ added Steven Minjauw of CERM Belgium.

Filip Weymans of Xeikon, said, ‘This YMC was truly a great edition. The programme was the right balance be-tween work and pleasure, allowing participants to get to know each other. The different workshops were focused upon personal development, perspectives of market de-velopment, and a hands-on exercise of practical day-to-day challenges in the production environment. As such, the event covered a broad spectrum, and that is exactly what a YMC Congress should do: expose people to the broad spectrum of business!’

FINAT was founded in the late 1950s, signalling the emergence of a new niche in the printing industry, which took off in the 1970s and resulted in the creation of many small label converting companies serving local markets. Today, those pioneers in self-adhesive label conversion are experiencing change in every aspect of their busi-nesses, including generational change in management structure. FINAT’s Young Managers Club, founded in 2009, was conceived to address the challenges that go beyond technology change and enhancement: geographi-cal market expansion and globalisation; brand owners’ needs and wants; environmental concerns; and govern-mental and legislative requirements.

Event sponsors of the YMC Global Congress 2015 in-cluded gold sponsors Avery Dennison, Tarsus Exhibitions & Publishing, Gallus Ferd. Rüesch, and silver sponsor Delfortgroup.

FINAT Young Managers Club fosters sharpened business skills

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Konica Minolta’s bizhub C3350 wins two BLI Pick Awards for outstanding achievements in energy efficiency and workgroup performance

Konica Minolta’s bizhub C3350 has collected two of the coveted BLI Winter Pick 2015 Awards – one for outstanding energy efficiency, along with another

award for its exceptional performance as an A4 colour MFP for mid-size workgroups. Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI), an independent company that evaluates office docu-ment equipment and applications based on an extensive list of different criteria, gives its Pick Awards twice a year to those products and solutions that outperform their con-tenders in BLI’s exhaustive lab tests.

'For a high-quality, low-cost colour solution in net-worked MFP environments, the bizhub C3350 colour mul-tifunctional laser printer is an ideal choice. The fact that Konica Minolta has implemented its A3 core technologies into this A4 device, was no doubt a key success factor for winning the BLI award for workgroup performance,' com-mented Andrew Griffith, product manager: office products at Konica Minolta South Africa. 'With its logical, intuitive menus, open architecture and flawless reliability, the bi-zhub C3350 is ideal for mid-sized workgroups. And we feel honoured that BLI has recognised this with its award.'

Konica Minolta’s 33-ppm colour laser MFP convinced the BLI jury with its high performance, intuitive design, strong feature set and the value it delivers, all of which make it a perfect choice for mid-size workgroups. 'One of the things that struck me was the very good colour print quality,' said BLI Senior Test Technician Tony Maceri. 'Col-ours in charts and graphs really popped off the page, and flesh tones in photos were natural-looking.'

The device also achieved better than average results in the majority of performance categories tested. In ad-dition to this, it positively outshone its competitors with a dramatically lower-than-average energy consumption, which earned it BLI’s commendation for Outstanding Achievement in Energy Efficiency.

'The Konica Minolta bizhub C3350 combines a lower-than-average annual energy consumption rate with a su-perb environmental feature set, complete with a variety of features designed to reduce energy use or consumable and paper waste,' said Lisa Reider, BLI’s Senior Product Editor for Environmental.

'For years, Konica Minolta has been putting a lot of effort into developing environmentally friendly materials and technologies along the entire product lifecycle,' Grif-fith continued. 'With the bizhub C3350 now being award-ed, it is clear that these efforts have been worthwhile, as they will lead to cost savings and a reduced environmen-tal impact for our customers.'

Last year already, the faster bizhub C3850 won the renowned Red Dot Award, which also commended the excellent performance of Konica Minolta’s innovative A4 product series. This, as well as the latest BLI awards, is impressive proof of the success of Konica Minolta’s on-going quest to meet different customers’ needs across diverse work environments. It also validates the com-pany’s commitment to the development of a wide range of products featuring advanced, user-friendly and green technology.

Xaar plc, the inkjet printing technology group headquartered in Cambridge, UK, has an-nounced the appointment of a non-executive

director.Following the retirement of David Cheesman

in May 2015, the company is pleased to announce that Margaret Rice-Jones will join the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 August 2015. Marga-ret has extensive experience of managing complex international technology businesses, with over 25 years in senior leadership positions, including CEO of a $100 million turnover business and responsibil-ity for a $1.25 billion turnover business as a Vice President at Motorola. Margaret has also had direct responsibility for operations and customer relation-ships in Asia, EMEA and North America and has led acquisitive growth strategies within multiple busi-nesses.

Margaret has held non-executive director roles with established PLCs and VC-backed e-commerce businesses since 2000, including Board positions on FTSE 100 and 250 companies. She is currently Chair of Skyscanner Ltd, where she also chairs the Remuneration and Audit committees, and is a non-executive director of Openet Telecom Ltd.

Phil Lawler, chairman commented, ‘Margaret brings a wealth of experience to the Board in both global business and leadership roles. We look for-ward to her help in guiding the Company at this important juncture.’

Doug Edwards, CEO commented, ‘I am pleased to welcome Margaret to Xaar. Her extensive in-ternational experience and M&A background will prove very useful as we seek to grow through exter-nal partnerships as well as internal developments.’

Margaret Rice-Jones commented, ‘I am incred-ibly excited to be joining Xaar at this important time in its 25 year history. Xaar is well positioned to take advantage of a number of growth opportunities in the digital print market in the coming years.’

X-Rite Incorporated has announced that the ISO TC130 committee that sets global standards for the Graphic Arts has adopted the X-Rite Color Ex-

change Format version 3 (CxF3) as the new standard for colour data exchange and verification. This standard (ISO 17972-1:2015) provides the graphic arts industry with an accurate, efficient way to communicate color informa-tion across any supply chain. X-Rite made its technology available to ISO without any restrictions to support and continue to contribute to the industry through this major technical development. X-Rite fully endorses ISO’s goal of harmonising technical specifications for products and services that make industries more efficient by communi-cating colour electronically in a global color supply chain.

The CxF3 format is defined in a completely open way so that all aspects of a colour can be communicated, even when the application and the colour communication fea-tures required are unknown. This means that every soft-ware vendor implementing and supporting CxF3 is able to easily and accurately extend the information throughout global workflows.

‘Physically correct and accurate color communica-tion is critical to an efficient workflow in the Graphic Arts,’ said Ray Cheydleur, Printing and Imaging product portfolio manager at X-Rite. ‘X-Rite’s CxF3, and now ISO CxF, ensures an accurate and efficient exchange of digital standards, measurements and metadata. The publication of this standard provides a framework for sharing colour data at all steps in the workflow – from brand owner through to production. Many companies and products have already benefited from CxF3, and now that it is an ISO standard, many more will benefit in the future.’

‘When a company invests in the effort required to define and deploy standards that profit the industry at large, it is a true indicator of market leadership,’ added Francis Lamy, chief technology officer at X-Rite. ‘CxF is a key enabler to more efficient workflows with less waste, faster turnaround times and streamlined communication of colour information in color critical workflows. We are proud to be able to make this contribution to the industry.’

X-Rite established the first version of CxF in 2000. Since then, the company has continued to invest in and improve the specification, using knowledge gained from serving a wide range of markets. X-Rite also established a website where the CxF3 specification and examples are publicly available for download (http://www.colorex-changeformat.com). This website has facilitated the wide distribution of CxF3 and provided strong support for the creation of the 17972 series and the publication of the earlier ISO standards.

‘Printing according to established ISO standards is a benefit for both the print producer and the media buyer,’ said Laurel Brunner, managing director of Digital Dots Limited. ‘With the adoption of ISO 17972-1:2015, a new dimension has now been added to standards compliance that will help everyone in the colour workflow more easily produce colour quality within expected tolerances and to make it easier to communicate colour. X-Rite has made a valuable contribution to of the industry by making this important specification available as an open standard.’

For more information about X-Rite solutions visit www.xrite.com

Margaret Rice-Jones joins Xaar as non-executive director

ISO Committee adopts X-Rite’s Color Data Exchange (CxF) format as industry standard

Margaret-Rice-Jones



FINAT’s seal of approval for Tesa tape

FINAT, the international association for the self-ad-hesive label industry announces its Test Methods Sub-committee has completed a successful analysis

of Tesa 7475 PV2. Seven different laboratories tested 22 different liners and produced 5544 release values to report that Tesa 7475 PV2 provides similar release values to the former Tesa 7475 version.

In 2013, the discontinuance of a primary raw material resulted in tesa needing to make modifications to their Tesa 7475 test tape which had been successfully used for decades in the self-adhesive market. As a result a new ver-sion of this test tape called Tesa 7475 PV2 was introduced in 2014. In order to thoroughly compare the former Tesa 7475 with the new version Tesa 7475 PV2, FINAT conduct-ed a ‘round-robin’ test program including many of the key users of this test tape.

The new tape was compared to the former Tesa 7475 version in the FINAT FTM 10 test that measures the re-lease characteristics of silicone coated liners. It helps de-termine the force required to separate an adhesive front strip from its anti-adhesive backing, or vice-versa, under specified test conditions.

FINAT concluded that Tesa 7475 PV2 provides similar release values to the former Tesa 7475version with most liners having a premium or medium release (where the FTM 10 peel values are < 50g/25mm). For release liners with a highly modified release (FTM 10 peel values > 50g/25mm), a conclusive outcome was not possible due to highly scattered individual release values and a small database of release values (only 2 of the 22 liners tested). In general, some release values indicated lower release forces when measuring with Tesa 7475 PV2 –though that still needs to be examined for each individual case.

‘Testing is an essential part of FINAT’s role and one of the cornerstones of the organisation,’ commented Hans Lautenschlager, chairman of the FINAT Sub-committee Test Methods. ‘We are able to draw on a broad range of industry experts and operations to ensure we are at the forefront of new developments. That knowledge is some-thing we pass on to our members. The freeflow of informa-tion and research enables us to support all elements of the industry in a highly informed, effective and accurate way. Specifications for silicone coated liners are often based on FTM 10 in combination with Tesa 7475. It is with this in mind that we recommend a review of the release data obtained with Tesa 7475 PV2 and, if necessary, an update on the release specifications.’

The FINAT Sub-committee Test Methods is part of the FINAT Technical Committee that exists to understand and promote the science and technology of self-adhesive la-belling. It utilises knowledge from a wide range of industry members’ interests to provide an informed body of profes-sional expertise focused on the processes and materials used in the manufacture of self-adhesive labelstock, and their conversion and subsequent application.’

Onyx Graphics has announced the appointment of Rigte Groenbroek to the position of Territory Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, in the

Onyx Graphics Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) Re-gion. In his new role, Rigte provides sales and business development to the Onyx Graphics channel in Benelux, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Russia.

Rigte brings to Onyx Graphics a long list of creden-tials as an account manager as well as extensive sales experience in large format and textile printing. He previ-ously served as a Hardware Sales Executive at Spandex Benelux where he had direct experience consulting with clients on popular solvent and UV printer models from leading manufacturers including HP® Mimaki, Mutoh and Summa. Rigte was also an Account Manager for Antalis, a leading distributor of paper, packaging solutions and visual communication products.

‘I am pleased to welcome Rigte to our team,’ said

Claes Jeppsson, EMEA General Manager for Onyx Graph-ics. ‘We recognised the need for a territory sales manager with his experience and dedication to the industry. I am confident he will only bring great things to Onyx Graphics.

Rigte graduated cum laude in desktop publishing from Graphic Lyceum in Eindhoven. He is based in the Neth-erlands.

EFI is marking the 10-year anniversary of its acquisi-tion of VUTEk, a pioneering developer of superwide-format industrial inkjet technologies. The landmark

deal, completed on 3 June 2005, moved EFI from focusing only on digital production and print MIS workflows into the industrial inkjet space – an industry segment that con-tinues to be one of the best-performing parts of the global graphic arts and printing market.

When EFI first announced its plans to acquire VUTEk, EFI CEO Guy Gecht praised the Meredith, New Hampshire company as ‘the best acquisition to enter the market,’ adding that ‘its UV applications bring interesting advan-tages to our customers.’

‘Ten years later, the significant success we have seen with our VUTEk, Jetrion and Cretaprint products definitely validates our decision to enter the industrial

inkjet market,’ Gecht said.‘I’m tremendously proud, looking at our accomplish-

ments over the past decade, of the innovation that EFI has brought to industrial inkjet and the success of our custom-ers across the world,’ said Scott Schinlever, who joined EFI as part of the VUTEk acquisition and is now senior vice president and general manager of EFI Inkjet Solutions. ‘Ten years later, when I look at the team, road map and market expectations, I can only conclude that the best is yet to come.’

Today, EFI’s robust inkjet portfolio has expanded be-yond VUTEk superwide-format printers to include Jetrion label and packaging printers, wide-format printers, inks and Cretaprint ceramic tile printers.

David W. Scheible, Chairman of Graphic Packaging Holding Company and Chief Executive Officer of Graphic Packaging, Inc. has been named the 2015

North American CEO of the Year by RISI, the leading in-formation provider for the global forest products industry. The award will be presented to Scheible at the 30th An-nual RISI North American Conference.

Scheible was nominated by a group of investment analysts and portfolio managers covering the North American and global pulp and paper industry. The criteria for nomination include leadership, vision and strategic ac-complishment.

Under Scheible’s leadership, Graphic Packaging has more than doubled its size, significantly improved its profit margins and reduced its leverage by half. In addition, GPI’s stock price has more than tripled as the company has sharpened its focus on core markets of food, beverage and consumer products. During his tenure, Scheible has fostered a well-managed company culture where more than 12500 global employees exemplify a commitment to corporate values, operational excellence, customer ser-

vice, sustainability and continuous improvement.Scheible was appointed chairman of the board of

Graphic Packaging Holding Company in May of 2013, af-ter serving as a Board Director, President and Chief Execu-tive Office of Graphic Packaging Corporation since 2007. He joined Graphic Packaging in 1999 after several years with Avery Dennison Corporation. Scheible serves on the Board of Directors of Benchmark Electronics, Inc.; Flint Group S.A.; and Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

One analyst commented, ‘Under Dave’s leadership, they’ve reduced leverage from 6X EBITDA to less than 3X, they have generated some growth in a mature market and they have created tremendous equity value.’

RISI’s North American Conference will be held in Chi-cago, IL from September 28-30, 2015. The conference will feature presentations from industry leaders and experts, along with RISI’s economists. RISI organises four regional CEO awards each year for Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America, with the winner presented at the re-gional RISI conferences.

Onyx Graphics appoints Rigte Groenbroek to sales manager in EMEA

EFI Celebrates 10 years of strong commitment to industrial inkjet providers

David W. Scheible named RISI North American CEO of the Year

Rigte Groenbroek sales-manager in EMEA

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Ricoh has used the Renewable Energy Certificate Sys-tem and covered the total power consumption of 1.8 million kWh at Ricoh Group companies in Japan and

other countries with green power generated by natural energy on 5 June, the United Nations World Environment Day.

Through the use of the Renewable Energy Certificate that Ricoh bought from Japan Natural Energy Company Limited, the electricity consumed is considered as being supplied by natural energy. Ricoh has been using this sys-tem since 2010 to provide electricity for the Ricoh Black Rams night games of the Japan Rugby Top League. Last year, the system was used to cover power consumption by Ricoh Group companies in Japan on the United Na-tions World Environment Day. This year marks the first time the system has been used globally.

The Ricoh Group positions June as: Ricoh Global Eco Action Month, and in line with this theme the company is conducting Ricoh Global Eco Action 2015, a special event to encourage Group company employees to think about the earth environment and take eco actions. The use of green power is such action. Ricoh will continue holding Ricoh Global Eco Action as a springboard for promoting global environmental conservation initiatives and eco-awareness activities all over the world.

The Renewable Energy Certificate System considers the electricity generated by natural energy to be a com-bination of the actual value of electricity and environmen-tal added value, such as energy conservation (reduced consumption of fossil fuels) and the suppression of CO2 emissions.

The certificate issuer sets the price for environmental

added value and sells it as a Renewable Energy Certifi-cate. The purchaser of the certificate can combine the Re-newable Energy Certificate with the electricity purchased. By doing so, the purchaser is considered to be using green power generated by natural energy.

The expense paid by the company or local govern-ments for the purchase of the Renewable Energy Cer-tificate is used for the maintenance and expansion of the power generation facility through the certificate is-suer. In this way, the purchaser of the certificate makes a contribution to the spread of natural energy equal to the amount of green power received from the certificate, even though the purchaser does not have a power gener-ation facility. Interest in the Renewable Energy Certificate System is growing because it is believed to help prevent global warming.

Konica Minolta South Africa, a division of Bidvest Office (Pty) Ltd, has announced that it has achieved carbon neutral status for the second year in a row.

Konica Minolta South Africa earned the distinction through the calculation of its carbon footprint, implemen-tation of company-wide energy efficiency initiatives and the subsequent offsetting of the remaining emissions. Konica Minolta South Africa offset its emissions through the country-wide planting of fruit and indigenous trees and bamboo. The planting was conducted through South Africa’s first environmental social enterprise, Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA).

This year the company has committed to planting 5 271 trees, which will take the total number of trees do-nated by the company across the country to over 23 500 since 2008. Last year the company were also involved in

the planting of 4 600 bamboo canes. ‘Achieving carbon neutral status for a second year

means we are delivering on our commitment to run our business as efficiently as possible and to protect the glob-al environment in which we operate,’ said Alan Griffith, managing director of Konica Minolta South Africa. ‘These programmes to mitigate our carbon impact and reduce our energy usage are key components of our responsibil-ity to the communities in which we operate.’

Companies usually offset only their direct greenhouse gas emissions - which are known as Scope 1 emissions - and include items such as fuel consumption. However, Konica Minolta South Africa has gone a step further by also offsetting its energy indirect (Scope 2) emissions, relating to electricity consumption. Konica Minolta South Africa’s carbon offsetting commitment for the 2013/2014

financial year, has offset greenhouse gas emissions esti-mated at 1945 metric tons of CO2.

To ensure the credibility of the carbon neutral claim, Konica Minolta South Africa submitted both its carbon footprint and offsetting reports to the Carbon Protocol’s Carbon Neutral Programme. This programme acts as an independent third party verifier and the use of a standard-ised carbon neutral logo is granted for a year.

‘As a leader in document imaging and management, we lead by example by running our business in an envi-ronmentally responsible manner, working to encourage collaborative responsibility among our branch and dealer community and beyond to highlight best practices and so-lutions related to sustainability,’ concluded Griffith.

Ricoh uses green power at sites around the world on World Environment Day

Konica Minolta South Africa marks second year as carbon neutral

Plastics SA clean-up crews help to keep Two Oceans Marathon the world’s Most Beautiful Race

The 2015 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon marked the ninth year that Plastics SA was in-volved in cleaning up the litter from the streets

and surrounding countryside left behind by the run-ners and spectators.

According to John Kieser, sustainability manag-er: Plastics SA and the co-ordinator of the clean-up teams, the primary goal of their involvement in ma-jor sporting events such as the recent Cape Argus cycle race and last week’s Two Oceans marathon, is to ensure that the waste generated by participants and their supporters is collected, removed and recycled as quickly as possible. ‘The race organis-ers have set certain goals that are in line with the overall goals of the environmental policy of the marathon. We use sporting events such as these to also raise the public’s awareness on the issue of littering and the need for recycling of waste,’ Kieser explained.

As with the Cape Argus cycle race, the mara-thon’s usual route had to be abandoned and plan-ning had to be changed for a route over Ou Kaapse Weg and the suburb of Constantia following the devastating fires that had ravaged the Southern Peninsula at the beginning of March.

‘The Plastics SA cleaning crew consisted of 180 workers from the Ocean View, Masipumelela and Joe Slovo settlements. They received in-depth

training beforehand on the do’s and don’ts of event greening, and did an excellent job of ensuring that every piece of waste was removed for recycling,’ Kieser said.

The teams were tasked with focussing their ef-forts on the waste that was generated at the start and finishing lines, the hospitality park at UCT, litter strewn on the course outside refreshment points and litter left behind in areas of high spectator con-centration.

The teams wore highly visible bibs that proudly sported the logo’s of Plastics SA and its various polymer associations, and were divided into three clean-up crews who began their activities on the 31 March with pre-event clean-ups, and ended on 6 April with a final, post-event clean-sweep of the route. 40 branded bins were also strategically placed at the hospitality/finish area at UCT, as well as provision of branded bibs for the workers. The clean-up teams had to work hard and fast to en-sure that the route was cleaned within the time constraints given to us by the Western Cape Traffic Department.

Once all the litter was collected, the crew was also tasked with the responsibility of sorting it into four different material streams, and ensure that bio material (kitchen waste etc.) was separated to streamline the recycling of packaging material by

Waste Plan at the Kraaifontein Material Recovery Facility. The majority of the waste (90 percent) was plastic waste (mainly Low Density Polyethylene) used for the energy drink sachets, 8 percent was paper (primarily cardboard), and 2 percent was metal.

Kieser concluded, ‘Plastics SA is proud to be partnering with the event organisers and to be called upon to assist at some of the biggest sport-ing events in South Africa. These events are an ideal platform to share the sustainability message, highlighting the responsible use and recycling of plastics. The plastics industry was seen as being proactive in not just cleaning the areas of litter, but also removing the waste for recycling and commu-nicating the message that plastics are too valuable to waste.’



Agfa Graphics wins two EDP Awards

The European Digital Press Association grants the EDP Awards to the best products of the year introduced in the European market. It re-

views quality, but also aspects such as value to the user, support and service.

Agfa Graphics is proud to have been rewarded with this quality and innovation mark for:• Asanti Color Management Best Colour Manage-ment Solution

Asanti is a complete and affordable automatic Sign & Display production hub, including PDF creation and preflighting. Asanti features the lat-est Adobe APPE technology, resulting in a reliable and predictable output on a wide range of Agfa Graphics’ and non-Agfa Graphics’ printers, Asanti integrates with Asanti Storefront web-to-print and connects to cutting and finishing equipment. Its built-in colour management is unique and easy to use. It guarantees consistent colour quality with

minimal effort.• Anapurna M3200i RTR Best wide-format roll-to-roll printer up to 3.3m

Anapurna M3200i RTR is a dedicated roll-to-roll UV-curable inkjet printer, which comes in a six-col-our version, a four-colour version, and a four-colour plus white version. It handles a broad scope of flex-ible media for indoor and outdoor applications. The four-colour plus white version made its debut at FESPA 2015 in Cologne and stands out by its abil-ity to print white in different modes to improve the opacity of the printed material as well as increase color contrast and readability. It thus transforms self-adhesive vinyl, PVC banners or backlit film into vibrant, multi-dimensional graphics that grab atten-tion.

The European Digital Press Association (EDP) acts as a recognised industry forum and groups publishers of leading European magazines who are

all devoted to digital printing and associated prod-ucts. They cover 14 European countries and address more than 1million professional readers.

The Association grants the EDP Awards to the best products of the year introduced in the Europe-an market to acknowledge the value of the research and development tasks of the industry. A technical committee made up by independent consultants, editors, engineers and other related professionals, have been assigned the task to check the products launched in Europe during the year.

Evaluation is based on innovation. The EDP Technical Committee judges the products on the value of the new technical abilities they offer. This can be innovation in the technology that improves speed, quality, usability and functionality or reduc-es environmental impact as well as cost to the user.

Screen launches ‘best-in-class’ roll-to-roll system for Truepress Jet W3200UV printer

Screen Graphic and Precision Solutions an-nounces the global launch of a 3.2m wide roll-to-roll system for its Truepress Jet W3200UV.

The new system integrates with the flatbed True-press Jet W3200UV to turn it into one of the in-dustry’s most versatile wide-format printers, pro-ducing high-quality UV print on both sheeted and roll-fed substrates at 150 sqm/hr. The Truepress Jet W3200UV with new dual flat/roll capability makes its global debut at FESPA 2015 (May 18-22 in Co-logne, Germany, Stand U20/Hall 6).

The Truepress Jet W3200UV flat/roll printer is a joint development between Screen and its subsidi-ary company Inca Digital. It unites Screen’s roll me-dia handling technology, developed for its success-ful high-end digital web presses, with Inca’s leading digital flatbed technology. Able to handle rolls from 0.75m up to 3.2m wide, the new system can be pur-chased with a new printer or can be easily retro-fitted in the field. Very easy to use, the operator can switch from a fast flatbed into a fast roll-fed printer in the time it takes to walk around the machine! Once the table is locked the printer effectively con-verts into roll mode. The 3.2m x 1.6m wide flatbed table is driven by magnetically encoded linear mo-tors to achieve precision movement. In addition, the printer includes features typically found on printers that come with much higher price tags, such as pop-up registration pins, auto-cleaning capability, intel-

ligent nozzle mapping and a head-crash detection system.

The Truepress Jet W3200UV features six col-ours plus two white-ink channels and different print modes which can be selected depending on the finished product. For example, Photo Quality and Fine Photo Quality modes can reproduce fine lines, serif fonts and detail in highlight areas, while the Production Mode is optimized for point-of-purchase materials. Text as small as 4-point and 6-point re-versed are sharp and legible in all modes. Like the flatbed machine, the new roll system features an advanced multilayer option enabling up to 8 layers to be merged.

As a result, this single all-round printer can pro-duce the widest range of both commodity and high-value products, such as everyday display graphics, hard/soft signage, wallcoverings, banners, lorry curtains, window film, quality POS, 1 to 8 multi-layers, backlit and day/night graphics and accurate 75lpi lenticulars.

“Retailers today want their print suppliers to be able to produce a wide variety of graphics and POS products using many different solid and flexible substrates, with a fast turnaround and at the best quality,” says Bui Burke, Vice-President, Screen Eu-rope. “The versatile Truepress Jet W3200UV’s abil-ity to print on both roll and flat materials at full 150 sq/m hr production speeds delivers the best of both

worlds. No other printer comes close to this level of flexibility.”

There are two models of the Truepress avail-able: the 85sqm/hr Truepress Jet W3200UV ST and the 150sqm/hr Truepress Jet W3200UV HS. Users can upgrade from the ST to the HS on-site as and when they wish.

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