Ventilation/Exhaust: This method usually comes in the form of either running duct work outside of the room, exhausting directly out of the building, or a ceiling hanging filtration unit. It is the most widely recognizable method, although probably the least effective at VOC removal. VOCs are typically heavier than air and therefore hard for moving air to carry around.
All air filtration systems have a capture zone—a radius around the unit—within which contaminants will get sucked into the system and removed from the environment. These systems will have some effect on the overall air quality; unfortunately, very few VOCs will drift into the capture zone and be removed from the environment, thus creating a higher-than-allowable exposure limit environment. These systems can be costly and bothersome to maintain, and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) does not want these harmful contaminants exhausted out into the environment. These systems also often require special electrical hookups and building permits for installation—both make this method of VOC removal burdensome. Furthermore, fixed systems can limit your ability to rearrange your shop space or add more equipment as your needs change.
Source Capture System: these systems usually come as a box with hoses that attach directly to the printer and draw off VOCs, thus preventing them from escaping into the room. This proactive method is more effective than exhaust methods, but has several drawbacks as well. While it does keep a large percentage of VOCs from getting into the air, it cannot capture 100% of the VOCs produced by the printer, as VOCs off-gas from many points on the printer. Likewise, as the prints are rolling off of the printer they continue to off-gas, and will continue to off-gas when placed on drying racks.
Once the VOCs are out into the ambient air these systems are not able to remove them. Furthermore, once the printer is shut off, so is the source capture system, so any VOCs not already through the system will escape into the ambient air. In a test of a leading brand of source capture system on a popular brand of solvent based printer conducted by the California State Certified air testing company, the allowable exposure limit was exceeded with in as little as 30 minutes of printer operation, so while it did keep the level in the room considerably lower than with no filtration, it did not seem to be able to remove enough of the VOCs to keep the room below the allowable exposure limits.
Often companies must provide additional ambient air filtration when using a source capture system. Other downsides include expensive consumables and the size and bulk of the unit taking up floor space in the shop, as well as special electrical requirements.
Ambient Air Filtration: these systems are usually free standing units that draw air in through a filtration system and return the clean air back into the room through an exhaust outlet. The key to these units working effectively is that they must have enough air movement to circulate all of the air in the room, thus ensuring all VOCs in the ambient air are given a chance to pass through the filters of the unit. A small device may not move enough air to get all of the VOCs into its filtration system.
The drawback of this system is that it takes up floor space, much like the source capture system; however, in contrast to the source capture system, it can be easily moved around for more fluid movement of product and employees.
Another drawback is that this method is a reactive approach to removing VOCs. 100% of the VOCs get into the air before the device can remove them. However, if an adequately-sized ambient air filtration device is employed properly it can keep the exposure limits in a print room below the allowable limits.
Furthermore, this type of unit can be left running 24 hours a day and will continue to remove all VOCs produced from off-gassing created during drying times. On the ambient air filtration unit tested, the consumable levels were considerably lower than those of the source capture system, and standard 110v electrical power was required. This method has proven to be more effective than either ventilation/exhaust systems or source capture systems alone.
Source Capture & Ambient Air Filtration: this type of system acts as a dual purpose unit, and is the most effective of all the options available. It hooks up to the printer to remove VOCs directly—as with a source capture system—but will also circulate and remove VOCs from the ambient air in the room.
This hybrid device appears to be the best way to keep VOC levels well below the allowable exposure limits. By acting in a proactive manner to remove VOCs directly off of the printer the concentration of VOCs allowed to escape into the ambient air will be considerably lower than if you were just using an ambient air filtration system. And by reactively circulating and cleaning all of the ambient air in the room, any VOCs not removed by the source capture action or caused during off-gassing and drying will be removed in a short time frame, ensuring your shop remains OSHA compliant. Testing by the California State Certified testing company concluded that with this dual purpose air filtration system in place, the VOC levels in the room measured well below allowable exposure limits (see figures 3 and 4).
It is important to recognize that not all printers are able to support a source capture system. While most manufacturers recognize the need to provide exhaust ports on their printers, many printers are still freestanding units with no means of hook-up available. For those systems without pre-existing exhaust ports, utilizing an adequately sized ambient air filtration system would be the most effective method of VOC removal for ensuring OSHA compliance.
There are many factors that will determine the level of filtration required, such as room size, printer type, printer running speed, media size, color gamut utilized, printer running time, built in filtration/ventilation (HVAC), and type of inks used. It is the ultimate responsibility of the shop owner to ensure that adequate VOC removal is provided. The shop owner should be able to rely his or her equipment dealers to acquire the knowledge and expertise to make the best decision on what type of air filtration to install.
Solvent-based printers can be a very effective tool for any sized printing operation to expand the products and services they can offer, and to increase their business success. There are risks associated with solvent printer use, but these risks are not to be feared, they can and should be recognized and neutralized so that operators can function in a healthy and safe environment.
Larry Miller
Vice President
Island Clean Air, Inc.
Despite being squeezed out of the long end of the short-run market, however, digital printers are uniquely able to excel in variable data printing. Indeed, it is perhaps the single most important long-term differentiator, the true “killer app.” By being able to print each page and, by extension unique sets (often known as electronic collation), for each individual customer or prospect, the power and impact of any marketing campaign increases exponentially. You can communicate the right information at the right time to diverse audiences.
Despite all the discussions about one to one marketing, however, there are precious few examples. Indeed, Frank Romano, professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, claims less than 10% of all digital print is variable.
The fact of the matter is variable data marketing is hard. The technology for print-based personalized direct marketing has been available for decades and has been capable of much more than the marketers have used it for. Frankly, most businesses don’t even think about using a “one to one” approach, or, if they do think about it, they haven’t the time or ability to develop distinct messages.
Nevertheless, many Canadian businesses are making sophisticated use of their customer and other data to tailor their messages and offerings. They are increasingly both assisted and prodded by their print service providers, many of whom either started as or morphed into direct marketing companies.
Richard Bassett founded Bassett Direct as a full service provider of direct marketing services. Today, Bassett Direct, located in Markham, Ontario, is a $10 million firm. Owner Rich Bassett said “We are focused on providing complete services in the direct mail business. We offer total service around printing and direct mail. An important part of our work is managing databases, forms set up, Lettershop services and fulfillment. Naturally, everything has to be personalized. As a result, we are heavily involved in variable colour.”
The company has only digital equipment, including a Xeikon 5000, Xerox 8000, and Xerox iGen3 for colour, and four monochrome systems. They work with third parties for large quantities of offset, if the colour image is static. Bassett notes that he is seeing a significant rise around variable colour. The key for Bassett is database-driven projects, with a growing emphasis on 1:1 marketing.
Bassett feels it is important to start out simple, varying things such as gender or region. The key is using relevant information. Pictures are often effective, as they can be used to bring in lifestyle or other interests in a subtle way. “It’s not a lot of work to bring in appropriate images and messages. That’s where the creative process can combine with limited database knowledge and bring in unique, relevant offerings.” Bassett continues, “The beauty of variable colour imaging is that each piece can be unique to the individual.” For example, Bassett is currently doing a project with 2500 images being brought into a mail piece from a data file. “In traditional print, you couldn’t make that many plate changes.”
Another example of a successful campaign was done for a large financial institution. They wanted to contact customers over the age of 55 who held Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), to get them to convert to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), which by law seniors must do by age 69. The switch requires new investment strategies and a good understanding of Canada’s tax laws. The client wanted the letter to help customers better understand their financial situation. The marketing team decided that simply sending the relevant information via a standard form letter, even if personalized, would not be enough. So they included a photo of the local personal investment manager, along with other information and signatures, in each letter.
The project entailed 300,000 letters, in two languages, customized for each customer with the right photo, information, and specific branch. “The combinations and the variations were probably the most complex part of it, because there were a variety of different variable text messages and photos tied into specific investment managers,” Bassett said.
The campaign paid off, leading to the customer’s RRIF business growing four times faster than the market.
Bassett sees industry volumes of variable printing increasing, the price point going down, and the cross-over point rising. “We just finished a 1.5 million piece project. Technology is one thing, but managing client data and the forms set up is another. Eventually the two will merge together. Vendors are flogging variable, but what they don’t say is you need to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to build a data department and a forms creation department. Iron won’t do that for you. Twenty-five hundred images into a direct mail piece requires a lot of skill, regardless of equipment.”
Dave Reeve founded digital printer Distributech in 1992 and has grown it to a $15 million company with locations in Brantford and Toronto, Ontario. Reeve says about 60% of their businesses is fulfillment and on-demand printing, with the balance divided between transaction printing (which, by its nature, is of course completely variable) and direct marketing.
Reeve emphasizes that no one model is appropriate for every service provider. Distributech use their own client-facing technology (called DOX), which combines digital asset management tools, storefronts, and Web-to-Print. Distributech has no offset, partnering with commercial printers as appropriate to complement their HP Indigo colour and three Xerox Nuvera monochrome production printers.
Reeve notes that variable campaigns are often no more expensive than static direct mail campaigns. He says “Even ignoring the dramatic increase in ROI‚ĶVDP can be similar in cost to traditional direct mail programs.” Nevertheless, Reeve notes that designing for digital is difficult, and companies, designers, and agencies have to be educated on the possibilities of variable data, particularly the opportunity of variable graphics. Even though he deals with large and sophisticated multinationals, Reeve says they are just beginning to see the potential. “We’re having some exciting conversations with big players who have never done true variable data. Most VDP projects in the past have been risks taken by entrepreneurial customers.”
To really understand the benefits of true variable, Reeve says it is critical to document and track results. For marketers today, ROI is the biggest issue. “The most important advantage of VDP is the ability to dramatically improve ROI through timely, personalized, relevant communications.”
Many clients are concerned their databases are inadequate. While that is often the case, Reeve would agree with Rich Bassett that something as straightforward as using gender-driven images or segmenting by industry or geography can be very effective.
While both Distributech and Bassett Direct specialize in direct marketing and digital printing, many general commercial printers also have found growth through offering variable printing. Avant Imaging and Information Management (AIIM), has a rich heritage in commercial offset lithography, including a 10-colour MAN Roland and associated services in post-press, creative, and graphic design. Since the late 1990s, the Aurora, Ontario firm has implemented a digital smart factory. The business expanded in the last few years to include digital printing—produced on Xerox 2060, Xerox iGen3, and an HP Indigo 5000—data analytics, and direct mail management.
Serge Grichmanoff, Vice President, New Technologies is a leading authority in the application of integrated modeling techniques for multi-channel digital solutions and has long been involved in predictive modeling of responses. Under his guidance, AIIM has further evolved what he calls the “digital circumstance”, leveraging customer information. Grichmanoff emphasizes the importance of centralizing the data, not only for variable printing, but all digital objects, whether for static or variable, printed offset or digitally. The key is to use the same images and theme across various media to build on the 1:1 experience.
As many companies have, AIIM started simply, initially using a simple web to print application with a limited ability to tailor content for static pieces, printed either digitally or on offset. Over the last few years, Grichmanoff has been augmenting customer data with external databases, such as census data, to help craft the language and communications more effectively. Adding analysis of responses and customer buying patterns enables AIIM to begin to craft the offer, tailoring price points and the language used. The key, according to Grichmanoff, is doing it consistently. “In order to do that, [you need to have] a longitudinal mentality, to create an operational system to collect data across various touch points to understand the customer’s needs, wants, and desires, so that you can create an offer that makes sense.”
Grichmanoff says customers are amenable to variable data imaging. He sees clients moving to smart statements and highly complex campaigns. “There are some remarkable programs that work‚Ķ They are on a road of discovery.” But, he cautions, it will take two years or more to implement—the first to clean up processes, and another year to migrate and make it an effective program. Grichmanoff says it is important to be in a position to help customers manage their customers. Having a data infrastructure is critical to being able to service customers.
“The key thing is helping [them to] manage data, do the analytics, normalize the offering, all in one place. It streamlines the output and the data management process.” Perhaps most important, it “enables them to calculate ROI.”
Grichmanoff sees emerging electronic technologies as complementary to print, and an additional opportunity. “When I design anything, the targeting mechanisms, whether for email, a dynamic web page, PDA, or print, the philosophy, approach or technology is the same. I’m doing the math, everything else. I may have a flag based on delivery mechanism, but it’s a canvas. I’m going to modify the content depending on the framework of the canvas, and develop magic around. It might be colour if it’s print, something else if it’s a web page or cell phone. But the approach, knowledge, logic, whatever, is going to be there regardless. But with print I am going to something that’s more creative to capture the eye.”
While all this may seem daunting for most commercial printers, variable information is of increasing interest to smaller printers as well. For example, Shawn Mackenzie, co-owner of Kwik Kopy of PEI, a 25-employee commercial printer located in Canada’s smallest province, does some variable now, particularly for his growing direct mail business. They also do monochrome variable with colour offset shells. “We’d like to do more variable data‚ĶPEI is as good a market as any‚ĶPeople are interested in it. They’ve heard of it. Some of our customers work with larger agencies. HP and Xerox have done a good job of marketing it, raising awareness. It will be very useful for some applications. I wouldn’t buy a machine just for variable.”
Andrew Hrywnak, president of PrintThree, one of Canada’s largest printing networks with more than 60 locations across Canada, also is a big believer in variable data as a revenue source. Hrywnak says “It’s important to concentrate on giving customers a better return on their investments.” A leader in digital printing and Web-to-Print, Print Three’s franchisees serve a diverse customer base, from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
Print Three recently signed an agreement with Xerox to incorporate dynamic publishing software from XMPie into their ePower Online portal. The deal will allow Print Three to offer its customer base the ability to create custom digital printing, from personalized letters and brochures to complete marketing campaigns.
“Variable is a natural fit for us,” says Hrywnak. “With Xerox’s assistance, we can better help clients develop and execute marketing campaigns more relevant to their individual customers, regardless of the scope of the project.” “Xerox provided us with a solution that met the challenge of delivering custom printing services to two distinct customer groups, our national accounts and our small- and medium-sized business customers.”
Amato De Civita, vice president, Graphic Communications at Xerox Canada, comments that “In today’s competitive print environment, it is necessary for Canadian printers to deliver added value to their customers by differentiating themselves in the marketplace.”
Although some Print Three franchisees are as large as $2.5 million, the average size is $600,000, much closer to the typical small commercial printer. Print Three is implementing the program on two fronts, allowing local franchisees working independently to produce unique variable print campaigns for local clients, or working with and through the corporate office for larger or more sophisticated campaigns. Print Three will take on the management of the databases and assist in making the sales and marketing presentations on behalf of the franchisees.
Hrywnak says that it is critical for franchisees to educate their customers. In words that echo those of Rich Bassett from Bassett Direct, Hrywnak suggests starting with a small pilot campaign of 5000 or 10,000 pieces and monitoring and comparing the results.
An example of a recent effective campaign conducted by Print Three and some franchisees was done for a major tour and travel operator that wants to drive traffic to their resorts. They’re running a campaign that includes print ads with a web address. The information entered there can be combined with existing resort information databases to drive an ongoing variable campaign based on special events, interests, and past behaviour. Instead of sending out a simple generic catalog, they are targeting specific interests and activities.
It is clear that even smaller printers are excited about variable data printing’s potential, with high customer interest. The response to Print Three’s initiatives has been enthusiastic. “No one will say they don’t want to try it. They all have heard about it‚Ķ Our customers want to hear more about variable, the results, how to put a program together.” Lunchtime seminars in the GTA have generated “lots of work for the stores‚Ķ They learned another lesson. Some people [who attended] the event hadn’t been seen for years‚ĶThe appetite is tremendous. It’s virgin territory. There are not enough people going out and doing this.”
John Zarwan is an independent consultant living in Prince Edward Island. He has been involved with digital printing for twenty-five years. He can be reached through his website,
www.johnzarwan.com.
The variety of aqueous, solvent, and UV curable inkjet printers that are available today from different manufacturers is incredible, and they have in turn given the end user a large range of media to print on, such as metals, papers, canvas, vinyl, fabric, glass, and wood. We expect that media choices will continue to expand, especially as additional types of UV-curable inkjet inks enter the market.
In this month’s column, various industry leaders speak out on the state of the wide format printing market and their role in this rapidly developing market.
Agfa Graphics Steve Cutler, Inkjet Competency Manager, Agfa Graphics
Agfa entered the inkjet market believing that its versatility brings great potential for growth in the digital printing marketplace.
When investing in a UV printer, one has to consider that this investment involves more than just the purchase of the printer. Agfa has taken the opportunity to assess what is truly needed in order for digital printers to maximize their potential, and the result is a strategy we have named C¬≥—Complete Integration, Complete Service, and Complete Benefits.
After all, it is not just about manufacturing a printer. It’s about the integration of the complete system: the print engines, inks, print heads, and software, plus servicing and supporting your customers before, during, and after their purchase. By focusing on these three key elements, we have produced a model for what is necessary for digital printers to be successful.
To succeed, vendors and suppliers must help ease their customers’ transition into digital technology, as well as assist their clients in maximizing their own customers’ potential. Those vendors offering a complete package of Integration, Service and Benefits will find themselves in the strongest position in the competitive and ever–changing inkjet market.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. Rich Reamer, senior manager, product marketing, large format group
Large format printing is becoming a more commonly used technology. Large format printing software mimics the familiar office software applications people use every day to easily create and print larger pieces in general office environments. Businesses are investing in large format printers and creating posters and presentation materials in-house at considerable savings.
There is also an increase in large format photography for consumers. The creation of posters and large photo prints by retail outlets, super-stores, and print-for-pay companies is growing as retailers are exploring new ways to capitalize on the digital photo age. With consumers having the ability to print at home, by offering the ability to create posters or large format photographs, retail outlets are able to bring customers back into their stores with memory cards in hand.
Due to the ease of use of large format printing and layout software, more and more businesses are incorporating large format printers into their offices. Presentation materials, in-house informational posters, and office signage are all able to be produced in-house at a fraction of the cost of outsourcing such materials.
Canon is differentiating itself in the marketplace by acknowledging the difference in large format print applications and providing two specialized lines to the market—a graphics line of pigment-based imagePROGRAF inkjet printers and a corporate/CAD line of dye-based imagePROGRAF inkjet printers.
Dupont Craig Reid, Director New Business Development
Large format inkjet continues to show significant growth, especially in the industrial areas of UV curable and direct to textile fabrics digital print applications. The biggest driver continues to be simple ability of UV cure inkjet and new special function textile inks to print directly to such a wide range of substrates without the need for expensive pre-coating.
Other trends include environmental concerns, operational safety, and colour fidelity. With new rules and restrictions coming from some countries that are cracking down on VOCs and requiring proper disposal of PVC media, more and more people are looking to soft signage applications printed via UV cure or direct-to-textile aqueous based ink sets.
UV ink sets, such as the DuPont‚–¢ Cromaprint¬Æ UV, provide very affordable alternatives to solvent on vinyl, by being direct printable to a growing number of synthetic, high strength, light weight, indoor/outdoor durable banner, flag, and signage media.
More customers are taking a closer look at safety and environmental considerations as they invest in LFP inkjet. Fortunately, a number of manufacturers are also now paying attention and are making systems safer to operate, with proper ventilation and protection for the UV lamps. Some early UV-curable inkjet systems lacked a number of safety considerations, such as direct ventilation, UV lamp light protection, and other operational safeguards. Naturally, all DuPont systems are already built with the highest safety standards.
“Good-enough” colour is quickly being replaced with expectations for highly predictable colour and the need for better and better colour on more and more substrates. DuPont continues to improve our gamut enhanced ink sets, Cromaprint¬Æ UV and Artistri‚–¢ to help customers print colour any way they want it.
Leggett & Platt Richard Codos, Executive Director, North American Development
Digital printing has shown considerable growth over the past couple years, with more digital printers targeted to the industry’s specific requirements for expanded capacities, just-in-time printing, and mass customization. However, we don’t believe conventional printers have totally embraced digital printing even with its lower cost factors, faster speeds, and improved quality. Digital clearly has further room to penetrate within these and other segments including commercial printers, large screen printers, textile manufacturers, and industrial/product markets.
Until recently digital textile printing has not been cost effective, but DirectUV + Dye direct-to-textile systems print superior quality images—bolder, vibrant colours with greater colour saturation and detail—at a substantially lower cost per square foot. New 130” wide superwide/grande format printers print at super fast speeds, and the elimination of transfer paper, ability to print on uncoated textiles, and substantially reduced ink/dye costs make digital now more cost effective than analog‚Ķjust pennies a square foot.
We see substantial improvements in quality on the digital printing horizon for both rigid and roll to roll applications, as well as the cost per square foot dropping due to lower ink costs and higher production speeds. Leggett & Platt will continue to lead the industry in revolutionary technology, providing a full range of industrial quality super wide and grande format printers for a variety of conventional and unconventional applications including those targeted for high production in specific industries.
Peter Dulis
Wide Format Printing Specialist
T: 647.895.3315
E: pdulis@iprimus.ca
At times the above perspective is stretched when a company or plant is part of a larger organization. In such cases the smart manager recognizes that individuals in the larger organization have control over the local group and as a result should be appropriately managed.
Trying to learn from “head office” types may be seen as being counter cultural and may be met with disdain or disgust from co-managers or workers. However, such disdain is a parochial view that in the long run will prove to be a career-limiting attitude.
Managing the Outside Organization
Although little thought is given to the concept of “managing” head office, even less attention is given to trying to manage outside organizations, whether they be customers or suppliers.
Every manager having relations with an external organization must consider as to how he or she can most effectively conduct business with the other entity.
What is necessary to manage outside the organization?
Understanding the important issues of the other organization’s business is a good starting point. Set out below are the type of questions that need answering.
Does the other organization value quality standards?
Does output dominate at the expense of all other matters?
Is cost so important that quality, dependability, and service are virtually ignored?
Does having correct documentation govern everything and when it is not properly completed, does process come to a grinding halt?
Until one understands the issues most important to a customer, it is impossible to be sure you as a manager are taking the right approach in your dealings with the external organization.
Equally important when managing external relations is to gain an understanding of the other organization’s culture.
Let’s look at a few examples:
i) In a bureaucratic organization, one can expect that everything has to be done in a prescribed manner. If your organization is more of a “seat of the pants” -style company dedicated to getting a first-class product delivered on time and doesn’t pay a lot of attention to “crossing t’s and dotting i’s” you may find that your culture and that of the outside organization are in conflict.
As a manager, it is your job to recognize the culture of the other group and adapt your way of doing things to that of the customer.
ii) If the external organization that you are dealing with is driven by the achievement of formal objectives while your organization’s mantra is to do a good job without formalized objectives, misunderstandings may occur.
Persons in the other organization may have a significant amount of their compensation based on achieving objectives. If your performance impacts on whether or not they are successful it will have an important bearing on your relations with the other group.
To be successful in your relationship you have to manage the situation so that you and or your company are not having a negative effect on the external group or its managers’ compensation.
iii) Managers often find it very frustrating when they can’t get a quick decision from the outside organization that they are dealing with. They know that if they were faced with the same issue in their organization they could make the decision themselves or could get a decision within a few hours.
In such instances their boss may believe that they are stalling in giving bad news since she knows how quickly that decision is made in your company.
If a manager realizes that the organization he/she is dealing with has a lengthy and slow decision making process then they will be better prepared to communicate the resulting delays in achieving their own internal objectives.
Summary
Today, business is too complex and integrated for managers to limit their management responsibilities to what happens within the four walls of their own establishment. They need to manage outside relationships.
However, even if you as a manager understand the need to manage externally, your challenge doesn’t stop there. You must also ensure that your employees manage external relationships well. All your efforts may go to waste if one of your employees manages an external contact with an abusive or insensitive attitude.
Fred Pamenter
PPBDconsulting@aol.com
Graph Expo 2007 (a sold-out show, I might add) was larger than last year’s show and was of course full of fabulous events and informative booths. But for most of the major players, the theme seemed to be “wait and see.” With drupa coming up in the first half of 2008, it only makes sense to delay major announcements for another 8 months in order to get the worldwide coverage that drupa will afford.
But even without big announcements by the big players, this year’s Graph Expo showcased many items sure to amuse and excite printers, particularly those interested in digital print or workflow systems. The following pages contain a sampling of the highlights, as well as some pictures for those who didn’t make it out to the show.
JDF-compatible? Really now?
“Automated workflow,” “Lights-out automation,” “JDF-compliant/compatible,” and other such workflow-related phrases permeated the show like ink spilled on uncoated paper. For those of you still hesitant to implement an automated workflow system, companies from Avanti to Xerox (and nearly every letter in between) are promising a solution tailored to your business. If you’re shopping for a workflow solution (or even just a workflow please-make-it-a-bit-simpler), find out what service you get with your purchase. Service is important with any purchase, but with workflow automation, it can make the difference between a smooth-running, well-integrated company and one where each department still doesn’t know the names of the others’ software.
Proofing me softly...
Coincident with the emphasis on workflow is the emergence of soft proofs as a viable form of proofing, especially in the early proof stages, when clients are looking for accuracy and placement rather than specific colours and margins. Proof-it online (distributed by xpedx—see the screenshot accompanying this article) offers a JDF workflow-compatible proofing solution with an easy-to-use (even for non-techies!) dashboard that is entirely web-hosted—meaning neither you nor your client need install any software. You purchase a per-proof subscription, and the program time and date stamps each proof as it’s read by your client, so you no longer need to worry whether a proof got there, or was read, or which version is the most current one.
FFEI was also showing RealVue 3D at the show—an excellent proofing tool which simulates the format (complete with page-turning) of the final product. This product would be excellent for designers in particular, as you can present your concept to a client without having to print a physical proof of the idea.
The fastiron district
Big iron is still big in the industry, and MAN Roland, Heidelberg, and Komori all made their presence known at the show with machines that cut makeready times and drive up the digital/offset breakeven point. MAN Roland chose Graph Expo to premiere its new 700-series Direct Drive and Hi-Print in North America (check out our archives—specifically our April issue—for more on these two presses), and Heidelberg’s booth was by far the biggest (and certainly one of the busiest) at the show. Heidelberg also promised some major announcements coming up at drupa—watch these pages for a possible preview next spring.
Environomics
Everyone’s talking about the environment, but not everyone is doing something about it. Digital printer manufacturers are touting their lower waste (if you’re not making plates, that’s a lot of material saved right there!), but solvent-based printers emit VOCs at high rates, diminishing the environmental benefit of no plates. (For more on VOCs, see the second half of Larry Miller’s article on Solvent Printers and Air Quality in this issue.) Environmental initiatives exist at most major companies, but none has so far emerged as the one true “green” choice for printers looking for a consistently eco-concious supplier.
Digital World
Variable print is of course on everyone’s lips, but—at both the Executive Outlook the day before the show and in my conversations at the show—most vendors acknowledge that few business are equipped to take full advantage of variable possibilities. It takes more than a spreadsheet with names and addresses to do true 1:1 print, so if you’re in the market for variable, find a supplier who will work with you in creating a usable database. It’s a lot of work—just ask Fuji and Terminal VanGogh, our partners on this month’s variable cover!
DI presses also got coverage at this year’s Expo, with HP premiering their Indigo 3500 and 5500 in North America.
What am I adding again?
In addition to the buzz about workflow, there was of course the ubiquitous discussion of Value-Add and the transition from printing to nebulous-sounding businesses such as “media consulting.” It is important for printers to realize the business potential of actively reaching out to current and potential clients to craft a media campaign of which print is a part rather than merely providing a print product to clients who seek you out. Unfortunately, such a transition is overwhelming, and printers are often not equipped to expand their business, with the result that many are squeezed when other industries—such as advertising and graphic design—use the low upfront cost of a digital printer to hone in on the print market. The show winners in my mind are those businesses that offer their clients tangible help rather than merely platitudes. For example, HP offers business consultants, Logo Works (an online business profiling tool), and, to certain accounts, “Premier Account Management”, both of which help clients to succeed in what HP terms “Print 2.0”. Xerox offers their Profit Accelerator pricing tools and Business Planning tools, as well as the analysts to get such packages up and running. And both companies offer usergroups—Dscoop for HP and Premier Partners for Xerox—to exchange best practices on their flagship products.
The Marketplace
Print growth in developed markets (ie North America and Europe) is expected just to keep pace with economic growth, while the so-called “BRIC” countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and other developing countries) are forecast to experience phenomenal growth in almost all print spheres in the next five to ten years. The Executive Outlook the day before the show provided a summary—complete with new studies by PIRA International—of printing trends, and Evan Cambray of Spicer’s talked specifically about the Canadian print market at the Pan-America breakfast on the 10th. Packaging is forecast to be one of the biggest growth areas in all markets—print may be squeezed by digital media in advertising and other domains, but you still need a box for your cereal!
In summary, Graph Expo 2007 was a show of many little innovations, with companies both big and small introducing small improvements to existing devices or new products that strove to integrate seamlessly into an established workflow. It was certainly not a bang, but perhaps not a whimper either; it was a show of small innovations presaging (we hope!) bigger ones.
Accenta #3200
Accenta manufactures a complete line of portable display systems. Our product line ranges from “quick-set-up” backdrops such as the FabricWall to rectractable and non-retractable banner stands including the Roll-It-Up 4 and ImageStands, to versatile podium systems such as the RoundUp. Accenta also offers a complete range of “quick-change” framing systems such as the innovative InFrame and the QuikFrame, as well as various other Hanging Poster Systems made of aluminum. Accenta’s mission is to bring to market leading-edge products with superb function and creati2">3L DISPLAY INC. #2312
Lo
There are so many different ideas about what will happen to print markets in the future. 5 or 10 year trend forecasts tend to be fairly accurate, but let’s look beyond 2017 and hazard a guess (a wild guess in some cases) at what the printing industry will be like in 2040.
The technology of 2040 will likely be similar to today’s. There are a few major innovations, for the most part we have simply improved existing technology to make it faster and less expensive. However, in the future raw materials will be rarer and thus more valuable than they are today, and so I see print prices being comparable to those of today.
Newspapers, magazine, flyers, legal forms, and even many books will not be printed in the future. I have seen too many people receiving copies of magazines and papers to their laptops and enjoying them, to believe that these print markets will continue to flourish. I am certain that printed options will still be available, but the majority of the content will be distributed electronically, rather than physically. The printed book market will be much smaller than it is, but this will be the one market that does not go digital quickly or quietly.
The products that continue to use paper are business cards (could you imagine handing out little chips, screens or anything else?), contracts (ink on paper is still more believable than an electronic signature), signs (you can’t put up screens everywhere), and packaging (you have to put cereal into something). Much of the paper makeup has changed to the point where almost all papers are 90% recycled—primarily because we cannot get enough trees in a year to produce our paper needs any other way.
The number of printers dwindled, shrunk, and in 2040 are down to about 5, internationally. An analogy would be to the gas companies of today. Each printer would have about 5 larger plants with smaller regional locations across the globe. Larger jobs go to the main offices, but for the most part each branch can handle smaller jobs on their own. At this point each of the 5 have been doing this for so long that they all know each other’s prices, so each location sells the same products for roughly the same price. Oh sure, you could save a few pennies if you shopped it around long enough, but chances are the reward program you’ve selected is enough to get you to overlook any savings you’d achieve elsewhere.
But who is buying all this print? All companies must continue to buy business cards for their employees, and lawyers and other legal entities are purchasing larger volumes of contracts around the world. Signs are being done for many temporary sites, like a building under construction. Packaging is still being purchased by those who need boxes or bags to put their products in.
Only time will tell how accurate these predictions are, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. What do you think 2040 will be like for printers, if there are any left? I know it’s a long way off, but for anyone planning on being a part of the industry in 30 years it is definitely worth thinking about.
Any questions or comments should be emailed to johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com
Johnathon Anderson
johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com
The original idea for our variable cover came from our editorial board member George Mezzaferro, of RP Graphics Group. I had a meeting with Tony Karg from Fujifilm, and he suggested that we do a variable cover rather than write about variable printing, to show the industry what can be done.
I would like to thank all of our partners who made this happen: Xerox, Fuji Film, Terminal Van Gogh, (especially Ben Passmore for all the hours he put in on the data side), Alive Pro Studios.com, RP Graphics Group, Data Business Solutions, and last but not least RB Trade Plus Printing Ltd. John Zarwan informed me that this is the first time a variable cover with ads has been printed for a magazine.
In the midst of all this variable planning, we also found time for a trip to Graph Expo—see Catherine Wiebe’s article on page 26.
In one of the sessions at Graph Expo’s Executive Outlook, they gave a ranking of the percentage of the worldwide print market for different countries, and Canada came in at number 8 in 2006, slipping to number 10 in their projections for 2011. They estimated we would have 10% growth between 2006 and 2011, and projected 60% growth for China and 73% growth for India.
All in all Graph Expo was a good event. The PIXI Awards were again a great night and our Canadian Printers came home with many awards. Blitzprint from Calgary in the Digital Books and Manual catalog came second worldwide. Best use of Xerox supplies went to Imprimerie L’Empreinte of St. Laurent Quebec. An honorable mention went to T & M Graphics and Printing Inc. from London Ontario and Rich Bassett from Bassett Direct in Markham Ontario also received an honorable mention. Congratulations to all the Canadian winners—you made us proud.
Graphics Canada is being held from November 8 through 10 at the International Centre in Toronto. Graphic Arts Magazine will be at booth 2011 at the entrance to Hall 2. Come down and examine our variable cover and take the opportunity to win our grand prize—more information will be available in the show issue.
As always stay positive and stay focused.
Joe Mulcahy
The number one obstacle to successfully implementing a follow-up plan is the quality of the leads. Often exhibitors come home from a trade show with a handful of business cards or a box filled with ballots and diligently begin their follow-up. It doesn’t take long to realize that the business cards contain very little useful information. Beyond name, title, and address, there is not much you know about the prospect. Each follow-up conversation now starts from the beginning. It’s as if you and the prospect were complete strangers.
The exhibit industry and its experts continuously advocate proper lead collecting tools and techniques and yet exhibitors seem reluctant to embrace these new technologies. Companies understand the value of obtaining good contact information, but often the boothers on the front line feel awkward asking the pertinent questions necessary for good information gathering.
Here are some tips to help you get better quality information at your next show:
Use lead retrieval systems intelligently
There are dozens of electronic lead-collecting systems on the market today. Most of them do the job well but often have limitations. Before you sign up, make sure the system gives you the information you want, when you want it. Although many systems claim to be customizable, make sure that the customized features allow you access to information that is pertinent to your specific situation.
Develop the key questions you need in advance
You need to know how closely a show visitor fits into your customer profile. Questions such as buying authority, budget, need and past experience are more important that a simple list of products and services they are looking for.
Have a manual lead recording system as back up
If the electronic lead retrieval system falls short or if there is no system available at a show, then a manual lead collecting system will help. Keep the form you use small and the amount of information you are collecting brief and to the point.
Be consistent throughout all your shows
Gathering good information at some shows and not others is a waste of valuable resources. Contact information is valid whether your exhibiting objective is to ultimately make sales or support a branding initiative. In both cases you need good information to ensure that you are accomplishing what you set out to do.
Train your staff
Working at a trade show is difficult. It can be a hostile and unfriendly environment. Many of your staff simply might not be comfortable working at a booth. Those who have booth experience often fall into bad habits that only training can fix. Your staff needs specialized training, which should focus on the techniques for gathering lead information. It’s the part of their job that will take up the greatest amount of time so helping them gain the confidence to do the job correctly is crucial.
Reward those who do it right
Being there and getting leads is often not enough. Sales people for example, earn their salary making sales—not getting leads. Support staff often lack the vision to see the big picture, so, for them, spending time at the booth lacks purpose. A system of rewarding excellent performance is important. It might include cash prizes, trips, spousal invitations to travel, dinner and theatre tickets, or special recognition in company publications.
Consider these few steps next time you are participating in a show and see what a difference they will make. If you only rely on business cards dropped into a draw box or scattered bits of information to evaluate your show results, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Barry Siskind is North America’s foremost trade and consumer show expert. He is author of Powerful Exhibit Marketing. Visit siskindtraining.com and learn how you can dramatically improve the bottom line at your next show
A. It may be a system font issue. The “Apple” applications use System Fonts in OS X. Fonts are normally cached by the system for easy retrieval. Problems occur because the caches can become corrupt.
If you’re running Mac OS X Tiger (10.4+) you can start with the “Shift” key to clear caches. For older systems (10.2, 10.3) you need “FontFinagler”. (Available at http://homepage.mac.com/mdouma46/fontfinagler/ ) FontFinagler will delete the font caches that become corrupt.
You could also download a copy of Firefox if Safari keeps crashing. I always recommend that you have two web browsers and two email programs, just in case one gets corrupted. After running FontFinagler to remove the caches, reboot your Mac and the system will create new font caches.
Another routine maintenance you should habitually perform is “Repair Permissions” with Disk Utility. Applications on Mac OS X rely on system permissions due to the underlying UNIX operating system. During Software Updates or application installs, these permissions can get changed. Running “Repair Permissions” returns the permissions back to the settings that Apple recommends.
By the way, never try to remove any fonts from System, Library, or any other folders using Font Book...You can seriously mess up the Apple applications and possibly the operating system.
Q. I need to buy a network switch and I’m not sure if I should buy a managed or unmanaged switch. Will the unmanaged hub automatically switch and keep all the 1000-speed items at full speed?
A. First of all, there is a difference between a hub and a switch. A hub acts as a centralized connector between all devices. A switch is also a central connector, but is more advanced than a hub. A switch controls each separate port and creates a segregated connection between two devices. It is much like a railroad switch, as network traffic is routed or “switched”.
The speed of network devices has increased from 10BaseT through 100BaseT and now to 1000BaseT—using unshielded twisted pair wire, UTP, loosely referred to as “Ethernet”. Inside current Ethernet cables, eight wires are twisted in pairs. The wires wrapping around each other cancel any electromagnetic interference that would affect their performance.
Early devices ran at 10BaseT, or 10 megabits per second using 4 of the available wires. Using the unused 4 wires for error correction greater speeds are achievable. Today’s network speeds are 100BaseT, at 100 megabits per sec and 1000 megabits per second—the latter referred to as Gigabit Ethernet.
In answer to the first part of your question, the answer depends on what you want to do. If you ask a networking guru, he or she will tell you to buy a managed switch. With a managed switch you can configure each port’s speed, enable ports, and create VLANs to separate traffic. For homes and small companies this much power may be overkill.
In answer to the second part, when two devices connect though a switch they will communicate at the lowest speed. Two 1000BaseT devices will connect at 1000 Mbs. If a 10BaseT device connects to a 1000BaseT device they will run at the lower speed—10MBs. But even while the latter two run slower, the first two will continue to run at 1000Mbs. Such is the beauty of a switch.
Q. I was watching some Flash video on the Internet and all of a sudden I have no sound on my Mac. It plays mp3s with iTunes and the alerts work, but no sound on the video. How do I fix it?
A. You should test whether the problem is restricted to Flash video. Try to run some Quicktime video by visiting Apple’s Quicktime site http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ and some Flash video at youtube.com. Many of the Flash videos are encoded with audio at 96Hz and for some reason it messes up the audio settings on your Mac.
The way to fix this is to go to Applications > Utilities > Apple Midi Setup. You will find that you can adjust the output setting back to the standard 44 KHz for Audio Devices. This setting should correct the audio setting for Flash video.
Timothy Mitra
IT specialist (IT Guy)
Do you have a question you would like answered by the IT Guy?
tim@it-guy.com
416.278.8609
There’s something different about this issue’s cover. Did you notice it? Anything unusual? How about the ads? Take a closer look.
It’s obvious that the cover you are holding is about variable data printing. And it should be equally obvious there are a number of clearly variable elements—your name and an image of the address label.
But variable is about more than address labels, as you well know. The cover—front, back, and inside—is noteworthy for many reasons. First, it represents a partnership between Fujifilm Canada and Xerox Canada—joint sponsors of this issue’s cover, which shows the possibilities of variable imaging—and their production partners, including Terminal Van Gogh, RP Graphics, and Data Business Solutions. It is one of the first—if not the first—variable magazine covers to go out with variable advertising, in which the cover and the ads are directed to the individual subscriber.
First, the cover itself is customized. It all started with the subscriber data you supplied Graphic Arts Magazine when you signed up for your subscription. Your cover was based on a number of facts, including who you are and the size and business sector of your company. Customized covers, while still unusual, are nothing new. Magazines have printed versioned covers for decades. Late last year, the American trade publication Graphic Arts Monthly printed subscribers’ names on the cover, and the tech magazine Wired recently printed individual subscribers’ photos in a limited run. The production of the covers for this issue of Graphic Arts Magazine, however, was more complex. Relying on a variety of criteria, demographic factors, and profiles, the cover is unique to each individual subscriber.
This level of customization goes beyond simple name and address. The message is also customized, based on the subscriber’s position or title. But, as they say in the late night infomercials, “Wait! There’s more!” Your type of business or sector determines the theme of your cover; moreover, if more than one person at a company subscribes to the magazine, each receives a different themed cover.
Each front cover also has ads, which are variable as well. For example, the Fuji ad features a Fuji account representative—your representative, which required us to overlay your subscriber information with Fujifilm’s customer information. The text depends on whether you are a current Fuji customer, so it combines geography (sales territory) with customer status. Combining this information with the various cover versions increases the cover’s complexity—and its effectiveness. The ad from Graphics Canada is also variable, based on sector or type of business.
Turning the page to the inside front, the ad you see alerts you to its variable nature with a number of variable elements. The subject links to this month’s feature on variable data printing, has an invitation to Graphics Canada, and provides some hints as to how the campaign was developed. (Check the map, it points to your region).
The inside back cover supports and restates the message. The product featured depends on your company’s characteristics, including size, type of business, and other factors, and is echoed in the text. The team that’s pictured is the team that you would have as a Fujifilm customer, including the sales rep—the same as on the front cover—installation, service, training, tech support, administration, etc. The purpose is to build or reinforce your relationship with the account team from Fujifilm because you actually see your Fujifilm Account Manager’s information in three places: front cover, inside front cover and inside back cover. Multiple marketing exposures creates higher reader recognition.
Finally, the back cover contains two ads from companies that were involved in the production, RP Graphics and Data Business Solutions, and each ad is personalized with your name and that of your company.
This cover was obviously a complex undertaking. How did we do it? Fujifilm initiated the project, bringing industry experts Terminal Van Gogh (TVG)—specialists in 1:1 marketing and databases—on board for both creative and production. After the creative was finished, the first step was to get a good database. The magazine provided TVG with their subscription list and information, supplemented by purchased third-party information. TVG refined the data, extracting the key demographic information. They then overlaid the combined database with Fujifilm’s own customer database.
To generate the most relevant cover theme, messages, images, and ads, TVG built a 1 to 1 campaign to leverage the following key data about each subscriber:
Business sector
Size of business
Position/title
Geography/location
Fujifilm customer
Product featured
Fujifilm sales representative
In addition, TVG created logic for a message regarding Graphics Canada. Finally, Fujifilm and TVG developed rules regarding how to handle missing data, such as name, title or size of business.
TVG’s approach is truly 1:1, combining all of the unique elements for each recipient. To give you an idea of how truly personalized each issue is, there are theoretically more than 428,000 different covers and combinations—not including the name and address! TVG’s CEO David Murdoch says, “You no longer have to fit a square peg into a round hole‚ĶA 1:1 piece is always relevant. It throws out everything that’s extraneous.”
TVG identified the key attributes for each subscriber and provided a print-ready VPS file to Xerox, which supplied access to the equipment, personnel, toner, and substrate needed to print the covers on an iGen3 at its Nexus research facility in Oakville. The covers were printed in the same sequence as they were to be mailed.
The body of the magazine was printed by RB Trade in Mississauga. The book is normally saddle stitched, but because the cover was being printed and bound separately, they provided untrimmed signatures with a holding stitch to RP Graphics, also in Mississauga. RP Graphics combined the supplied signatures with the cover. It is key to keep all the finished books in proper order; when each finished magazine comes off the stitcher, it needed to be put back in the same sequence so that the labels would be applied in the same order. As RP has two iGen3 printers, they would be able to reprint particular covers if required. The finished books then went to RP’s sister company, Data Business Solutions, for distribution.
This project involved a number of the ingredients of an effective variable data driven job, starting with the vision of what could be done with variable printing. From there the steps included creative, obtaining and cleaning databases, developing the variable elements and providing the files, printing the ‘static’ magazine, printing the variable piece, binding and mailing, and, probably the most important from a production perspective, coordinating production among at least six service providers. It may not be clear exactly what about your cover is “personalized” but it is clear that it’s personal, effective, and directed specifically to you.
Enjoy!
John Zarwan
InDesign CS3 includes 21 sample scripts in both Applescript and Javascript (and Visual Basic on the PC). You can test these on your own by opening the scripts palette—Window-> Automation-> Scripts—and double clicking on the script you want to test. Adobe provides information in the readme about each script. Here are some of my favorites with some tips for using them:
AddGuides
Adds Guides around a selected object. Great for creating templates from existing files. The Guides go on their own layer. Try it on a select group too.
AddPoints
Adds points to a selected object. This is a quick way to create shapes and change runarounds and wraps.
AdjustLayout
This script adjusts Right and Left pages by a specified distance. Good for fixing a file when someone forgot about 3-hole drilling.
AlignToPage
This script aligns selected objects to a specified position on a page. Use this one for adjusting single pages when creating a 6-page brochure.
CreateCharacterStyle
When creating a new character style it is nice to have everything filled in for you. Just select your text and run the script.
ImageCatalog and LabelGraphics
These are great and they can be used together. Create a catalog of images and then bring in the information and properties you have in the files (XMP data).
PlaceMultipagePDF
Choose a PDF and it adds a new page as it goes along and places each PDF page starting at the top left. I have been using the PlaceMultipagePDF Applescript and have discovered some easy variations on it. If you have a folder of TIF pages or a folder of JPG pages, just combine them into one PDF using Acrobat. You can put them in order before saving the PDF, then just use the script to create your document in Indesign.
You can add pages to an existing document as well: the script asks what page you want to start on and places the pages from there. You may never type “Command D” again.
If you are interested in modifying these for your own workflow or just wanting to see how they work, Creative Suites 3 ships with a program called ExtendScript ToolKit. This allows you to open both Javascripts and Applescripts to view and test. Applescripts also open in the Script Editor that comes with Mac OSX. If you choose edit script from the Palette Menu one will open for you. All scripts are available in both Javascript and Applescript so you can compare the scripting methods and decide which one you would like to work with.
Adobe has information on their website to help you get your feet wet in designing your own custom scripts: http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/products/indesign/scripting/pdfs/indesign_cs3_scripting_tutorial.pdf. It is an excellent tutorial for Creative Suites users wanting to learn more about scripting.
Andrea Mahoney writes custom scripts for Creative Suite and other Mac applications using Applescript and Javascript.
Fred Wiersema, in his book “The Discipline of Market Leaders” found that leading companies dominate their markets by focusing on one of three areas: Product Innovation (leading technology), Operational Efficiency (low costs) and Customer Intimacy (personalized service). It seems that, in a hyper competitive printing services market that’s obsessed with price, the natural focus for many companies is to get closer to their customers by offering more services and becoming a one stop solution for all their print management needs.
The challenge that many companies have faced is how to become a one stop shop that’s cost competitive across a broad range of services and requires minimal administration time. Thanks to ePrintOne, a new low cost, web browser based business management and order fulfilment system, you now have the tools that will allow you to gain a greater share of your customer’s spending and ultimately more and higher profits.
ePrintOne is a comprehensive business management and order fulfilment system specifically designed to help independent printers, quick copy shops, print brokers and other graphics and marketing professionals take advantage of a wide range of services that give them the edge they need to be successful. The system consists of an easy-to-use web based business management system (integrating estimating, design, order processing, shipping and payment / collections) combined with a vast range of quality services through a network of specially selected printing suppliers. The system allows you to be customer focused so you can fulfill all of your customer’s requirements.
Printers can use the system as a low cost business management system to run their business more efficiently while adding a vast array of additional printing services at nominal cost. ePrintOne is very flexible allowing printers to direct print jobs to their own production or other specialized printers in the network. The customizable web portal can be easily tailored to look and function like it’s a part of your business.
Copy shops benefit by bringing a wide range of services to their walk-in customers. Imagine the convenience of providing your entire customer’s printing requirements at a competitive price with minimal administration. ePrintOne will do everything with ease - process the order, collect payment and even drop ship to your customer.
Print brokers can increase sales to each existing client while, at the same time, reducing their administration time dramatically. The vast array of new cost competitive services, coupled with reduced administration time, will allow a broker to go after more clients.
Graphics and marketing professionals can focus more on design and customer service while still providing a wide range of services in an integrated and secure system that brings the benefits of a large company infrastructure to a small firm or individual. Imagine being able to tell your large multinational clients that you will have the ability to integrate with their ERP system. Why would a client go to a larger competitor when they can get similar pricing from you but with the added advantage of your personalized service.
As you can see ePrintOne can help you become more customer focused and in the end it’s the business that provides the most value to the client that ultimately gets the most business.
If you would like more information about this unique business management and order fulfilment system please visit www.ePrintOne.com for more information. ePrintOne will also be at the 2007 Graphics Canada in Toronto on November 8-10.
Jim Pappas
Marketing Strategist
Alive ProStudios Inc.
Is a spectrophotometer really necessary? Or is it just a fanciful new feature being put into some new high-end printers? After all, when I need some heavy-duty profiling I call in a consultant to reprofile my large format printer.
If colour accuracy and consistency in printing is important to you, a spectrophotometer is vital. Spectrophotometers integrated into some large format printers is probably the most significant advance in printing technology in many years. They bring the power of accurate colour calibration technology into the hands of every user. Even someone without an advanced degree in colour theory can use the on-board spectrophotometer to create ICC profiles within three mouse clicks.
ICC Profile stands for International Color Consortium Profile, a de-facto standard specification used by colour management products. An ICC Profile is a file created (by the printer in this case) to translate the colour requests the computer sends to the printer.
But why doesn’t the printer know what red is? Fortunately, many advanced printers will understand specific colour requests like those represented on Pantone charts. But ink responds to each type of media differently. There are thousands of combinations of media types, materials, textures, shades and finishes that can impact the final result of a print, and what shade of red ultimately gets printed.
All printers come with factory calibrated settings for a few typical media types. These settings are the profiles for the printer. Naturally, these are standard papers and media types branded and tested by the printer manufacturer. Reputable manufacturers will have spent time testing the media with the printer to ensure high quality results both in performance through the printer, and in clarity and accuracy of colours in the final print.
Even with rigorous testing, the printout quality on the manufacturer’s own tested media may drift with time as a result of the printer aging, room temperature shifts, humidity changes, media changes with age, and even media characteristics changing if a new media vendor was chosen. A user may also want to use special paper or media untested by the manufacturer. How can the user be assured that the colours printed will be true to the colours he expects—without spending hours tweaking the colour printing variables?
All reputable printer manufacturers will ensure each printer is tested and calibrated. But while the printer might be fine to use when newly opened, all quality instruments need recalibration and retesting with time. Until now, professionals needing colour accuracy and quality have either learned to do this manual process themselves or relied on qualified colour management experts. From speaking to several such consultants, a typical calibration and media profiling could take between one to two hours, depending on the individual’s skill level. Incidentally, that is one to two hours for a profile creation for each media you use on your printer. With typical users needing four to eight media profiles, each at $150-$175 per hour, $1000 is not unreasonable for a proper recalibration and fresh set of ICC profiles.
Weighing the costs, you can quickly understand how a built-in spectrophotometer can save you time and money, since users can create media profiles themselves. It is also nice to know that you are easily able to recalibrate the printer and create media profiles. The process on HP’s Z-series printers, for example, takes a total of three mouse clicks and 20 minutes. The best part is that it is an automated process. The printer starts the calibration cycle, prints a test swath on the chosen media, lets the inks dry and stabilize, then reads the entire test print colour set and intelligently makes adjustments where needed. This process ensures the colours will print true to the user’s intent on that particular media.
As long as a media is properly coated to receive and retain pigmented thermal ink, an unsophisticated user can easily profile the media to ensure true colours. With such a powerful tool at your fingertips, it means that—even at 3:00 a.m. on a deadline—you can confidently print your project on non-standard media, knowing that you profiled it at 2:40 a.m.
As colour management tools become more and more automated, colour accuracy and consistency will become the norm. Today a built-in spectrophotometer puts you at the cutting edge of technology, placing your prints ahead of the rest. Is a built-in spectrophotometer a necessity? For anyone who really cares about their work, the answer is yes.
Charles Dimov, Business Marketing Manager, Graphic Arts,
HP Canada