Pick up a Swiss Army knife and what do you have? A tool that will do just about anything you want. In addition to the main blade, you can get a smaller second blade, tweezers, a toothpick, a corkscrew, a can opener, a bottle opener, slotted/flat-head screwdriver(s), a Phillips-head screwdriver, a nail file, scissors, a saw, a file, a hook, a magnifying glass, a ballpoint pen, a fish scaler, a hex wrench with bits, pliers and a key chain. Recent additions include USB flash drives, a digital clock, a digital altimeter, an LED light, a laser pointer and an MP3 player. What else do you really need?
Now you can’t scale a fish or open a bottle with one of the wide-format printers on today’s list, but you can print just about anything anyone could dream up! Print one-inch square labels and decals or hundreds of square feet of building wrap, sometimes even on the same machine!
According to Patti Williams, I.T. Strategies, the retail value of printed output from wide-format graphics is expected to reach $17 billion by 2010. So, where’s all that growth coming from? Creative use of the technology is opening the door to decorative applications like fabrics, textiles and wallcoverings as well as environmental graphics and building materials such as carpet, doors and ceramic tile. Innovation and creativity are the keys to these new markets.r
Let’s hear from a couple of users of the technology, see a few exciting applications and take a look at some of the new equipment that was rolled out at Print 09 in Chicago, September 11-16, and at the SGIA Expo in New Orleans, October 7-9, 2009.
A New Mindset
It all comes back to the “Swiss Army knife” approach. A management mindset that says, “let’s try it!” makes it possible to offer customers new, different and unexpected services.
Brian Auty, RP Graphics, Mississauga, Ontario says “We pride ourselves on being able to make it happen for our clients and to keep them ahead of their competition. For our retail customers, we’ve been able to print direct to substrate and for dye sublimation. The combination allows us to make samples, mockups, prototypes and one-offs for presentation. While we haven’t tried putting a slab of concrete through the machine, we have printed on a laminate that adheres to outdoor concrete. We’re printing on fabric, rugs, mats, wood, stainless steel, acrylic – on anything that will lay flat!”
The versatility of today’s wide-format technology allows printers to produce just about any project they can imagine.
Scott Crosby, Holland and Crosby, Mississauga, Ontario says, “Digital technology allows you to print on a multitude of different substrates with a multitude of different thicknesses. With the Inca S20, we can print on something up to two-inches thick; we could print on doors, if a customer wanted. While we don’t do a lot of that kind of printing today, the possibility is there. On the flatbed, we can print up to 60” x 120” and our roll-to-roll can print 120” wide on any length roll. With that kind of range, we can print anything from postage stamps to billboards.
The biggest thing digital offers is the ability to react quickly. We can get the press up and running in minutes, not hours. We inventory our standard materials and we can have an order on press in 30 minutes. Projects are finished in hours instead of days.
In the past, it would take weeks for our customers to respond to market changes. With our turn time that fast, our customers can make last minute adjustments and react to immediate sales opportunities.
The advances in digital technology are very exciting: white ink, multiple gloss modes, fine resolution, as well as inks that are permanent and durable indoors and out. The technology is remarkable and it’s mind boggling where it’s come from and where it’s going!”
Jonathan Colley, PacBlue Printing, Vancouver, British Columbia, will make it happen: “In the past, we had a single-minded approach to what we could do…today, it’s changed to ‘what do you want to do?’ Anything’s possible. You tell us what you want and we’ll find a way to make it happen. Let’s do a bit of R&D together to see what we can do. We now work collaboratively with our customers. The benefit is that ‘failure is acceptable’ when you are testing and perfecting a product. In fact, it’s expected. We learn from our mistakes and make adjustments to come up with a process to make it work. That changes the entire landscape. We’re no longer a supplier, but we’ve become a partner.”
“The technology now allows us to do some really exciting things,” says Colley. “We have done two projects where we’ve printed on doors; over 600 for the first project and 88 more for the second. We printed directly on solid core doors with a full bleed. In the past, we could only print projects where we could cut to the bleed; now we can print right to the edge. We’ve recently finished a project where we printed directly on commercially available, off-the-shelf ceramic tiles. At first, we were concerned about the ink adhering to the tile, but it worked great! That’s where the R&D aspect comes in; if it hadn’t bonded as well as we had hoped, we could have used a bonding agent and added a coating if necessary. We no longer have to work within the old boundaries; we have the opportunity to be different.”
You Printed on What?
The wide range of products coming off wide-format digital printers reaches from display graphics such as POP signage, tradeshow graphics, banners and billboards to an assortment of niche applications primarily involving printing direct to substrate. Flatbed printers can now accept boards – from corrugated to wooden, up to two-inches thick – and roll-to-roll printers can print direct to man-made fibres as well as on natural fibres with no post-processing.
Because the digital inkjet printing process can produce a single image as easily as 1000 images, variable printing applications turn out custom printed fabric for apparel or home furnishings in any length, versioned posters and banners, or custom labels for anything from retail shelves to wine bottles.
The following are just a few examples of the creativity displayed by the printers and their customers who are willing to use the technology to its fullest:
POP and tradeshow graphics will never be the same! Here are lightweight, yet sturdy chairs printed using the Océ Arizona flatbed on Re-Board made with a corrugated core.
Shipping for tradeshow booths can drive the cost of events sky high. By using extremely light, simple-to-assemble, recyclable displays, exhibitors can save big dollars.
For a father who wanted custom printed fabric that he could laminate on his son’s prosthetic leg, Fabric on Demand printed on lycra, which that allowed for a smooth lamination of photos of the boy participating in a wide range of sports despite his disability.
Lycra – a fabric that takes well to dye sublimation – is the perfect fabric for an application that requires stretch to fit around an unusual shape.
Karma Kraft prints “direct to fabric” on natural fibres such as organic cotton, bamboo and organic cotton/bamboo blends for home decorating and apparel. Printed with dyes rather than pigments, these fabrics take on a deep, permanent colour.
By printing direct to substrate, PacBlue Printing produced “mini” house façades for a garden centre to merchandise floral plantings at the proper scale. Small plants in front of small houses give buyers the feeling for how they will appear when fully grown. This project was designed, printed, fabricated and installed in just a few weeks to give the retail garden centre an entire planting season to promote a wide variety of plant materials.
In 2008, Printed Space produced two large blinds measuring 78 inches wide and 117 inches tall for the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, UK. The blinds were printed and installed because light streamed in through the windows and distracted visitors viewing an exhibit.
Printed Space specializes in “interior” applications such as floor graphics (carpet or vinyl), window blinds and wallpaper.
Stella Color prints direct to substrate on plexiglas and corrugated, projects also roll off of an HP Designjet L65500 latex printer.
Printing for the gaming and entertainment industries, has given Stella Color the opportunity to print everything from theatrical curtains and stage sets to gaming table tops.
A raw wood panel for a retail display window is just one of the many kinds of projects Rainier Industries’ Scott Campbell turns out. Rainier has both an in-house wood shop and metal shop to build projects that range from POP displays to commercial and residential awnings. In most communities, graphics and awnings attached to the outside of a building are considered signage. Put that same installation inside the building and stringent sign regulations go away.
Looking for a way to present a beautiful image indoors and out, through the same window? Here are shades that screen out sunlight and UV rays and yet let shoppers see out. The view from the street is just as appealing. Here is an installation in a local food market; the view looks good from both sides of the glass. Not only can kids study the earth from outside, they can go inside this globe printed and fabricated by Banner Creations.
Together Banner Creations and Earth Adventure market 20-foot diameter inflatable globes of the earth. Earth Balloons are part of a series of educational programs that teach children about the earth and their environment from inside the globe.
Satellite images are applied to coated polyester satin and the segments are sewn into globes of various sizes. The 20-foot diameter is the most popular because it is an inflatable classroom that accommodates up to 30 students and the translucent quality of the fabric displays the image inside as well as outside.
Wide-Format – Roll-to-Roll, Flatbed and Hybrid
:Anapurna – three new versions from Agfa
The :Anapurna Mw adds a white ink option (single pass pre-white and multi-pass post-white) to extend printing on transparent material and backlit applications or for printing white as a spot colour.
The :Anapurna M2 offers six colours at 247 square feet per hour at up to 720 × 1440 dpi on a wide range of rigid and roll-to-roll media.
The :Anapurna M4f is a 63-inch, 4-colour UV flatbed printer with a roll-to-roll option and print resolutions up to 720 × 1440 dpi.
In May, Gandinnovations filed for bankruptcy protection. On November 16, Agfa Graphics announced it will acquire most of the assets of Gandi Innovations Holdings LLC’s North American operations and the shares of its principal foreign subsidiaries, subject to regulatory and court approval.
Acuity Advance by Fujifilm
The Acuity Advance is a 6-colour printer, with printing resolution up to 1440. At both Print 09 in September and Graphics Canada in November the Acuity Advance was running live at the Fujifilm booth.
Onset from Inca and Fujifilm Serocol
Inca Onset S20 delivers UV production and high-quality resolution with up to 156 print heads on substrates up to 5’ x 10’ and as thick as two inches. Onset S20 also offers multiple 6-colour configuration options including CMYK plus white, CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta and CMYK plus orange and violet.
Watch the installation of a very large Inca Onset here: http://bit.ly/8FPinl. There are two full-sized doors in the back of this machine!
AsterJet 1650 from Neolt
Soon to be available in Canada – negotiations are currently taking place with a distributor – the new large-format inkjet platform AsterJet 1650 uses UV-curable inks and comes in 4- and 6-colour versions.
Designjet – four new versions from HP
Between October 1 and October 15, HP launched four new Designjet products: the HP Designjet T1200, T770 and T620 printer series, which are perfect for print service providers offering both wide-format digital graphics and reprographics.
The HP Designjet L25500 printer is the latest in HP’s latex printer series.
Mimaki’s new UV LED printers
A new ballgame for wide-format inkjet printers – UV LED! Mimaki’s new printers print with “cool” UV light; lamps don’t need to warm up, and you can print on substrates that simply didn’t work on traditional UV arc lamps. Print on lenticular lenses, dark substrates that absorb heat, plastic film and even mirrors!
Mimaki JFX-1631 incorporates eight print heads with 16 nozzles for higher print speeds and improved image quality at resolutions up to 1200 × 1200. Print as fine as three-point text on substrates up to 63” x 122”.
Mimaki UJV-160 is a hybrid solution that converts from roll-to-roll printer to a flatbed printer with a standard feeder that handles rigid media up to 10mm thick.
Two new Jeti from Gandinnovations
Jeti 1224 NanoJet UV TRUE FLATBED prints up to 2-inch substrate with 6-colours on a print area measuring 4’ x 8’. With the “dual structure” roll-to-roll capability, users can print rolled materials up to eight feet wide.
Jeti 3324 Aquajet – Direct-to-fabric is a three-metre wide-format direct-to-fabric printer that uses specially in-house formulated water-based inks to achieve vibrant, brilliant colours that are fade and wash resistant. The Aquajet includes a built-in infrared heater that cures the ink and allows the colours to pop out.
Mutoh ValueJet 1600 Series Additions
This fall, Mutoh rolled out several extensions to the ValueJet 1600 series that include the ValueJet 1608-HA, ValueJet 1618-A and the ValueJet 1628T/2628T printers.
The ValueJet 1608-HA (hybrid) eliminates an external compressor by incorporating a medical grade air pump to drive the heated air nozzles. The air pump incorporates external filters that help reduce condensation and damage from foreign particles.
New print modes include a 1440 × 1440 dpi resolution at twice the speed.
VUTEk from EFI
The VUTEk GS3200 flatbed and roll-to-roll UV printer offers continuous board-to-board, board-to-sheet and roll-to-roll printing capabilities. The GS3200 provides a versatile machine with 8-colours, white, roll-to-roll, rigid substrate and dual roll capabilities in one printer. Print dual rolls up to 60-inches wide simultaneously!
Conclusion
Although we hear cries of “print is dead,” wide-format digital printing is long from its last gasp. In fact, the versatility of this equipment makes it possible to print just about anything and turn imagination into reality.
New technology has made it possible to print direct to just about any substrate: wood, glass, metal, stone, ceramic tile, carpet – you name it! Partner with your customers and be willing to “feel the fear, and do it anyway!”
Failure is an option when you’re testing new substrates, new inks and new applications. Who knows, you may come up with one of the most creative products of the year. And your customers will love you!
There is a huge variety of wide-format digital printers – extending from 48-inches to grand formats of five metres – so the problem is not choice; the challenge is finding exactly the right one for you.
Go. Print. Big.
Resources
Print Service Providers:
Banner Creations: www.bannercreations.com
Fabric on Demand: www.fabricondemand.com
Karma Kraft: www.karmakraft.com
PacBlue Printing: www.pacblueprinting.com
PrintedSpace: www.printedspace.com
Rainier Industries: www.rainier.com
Stella Color: www.stellacolor.com
Equipment Manufacturers:
Agfa: www.agfa.com/canada/en/
EFI: www.efi.com
Fujifilm Canada: www.fujifilm.ca/
Gandinnovations: www.gandinnovations.com
HP: www.hp.com/go/largeformat
Mimaki: www.mimakiusa.com
Mutoh America: www.mutoh.com
Océ: www.oceusa.com
