Show managers don't want to make any predictions about the number of people they expect to come, but they will confirm that they expect the numbers will be greater than those of 2004, when 38,000 people in total — visitors, vendors, exhibitors, staff, students and others — came through the gates.
Graph Expo 2006 will have more than 600 exhibiting companies filling 440,000 square feet of exhibit space. There will be more than 80 first-time exhibitors.
That's a lot of ground to cover in four days, especially considering there's more to see than booths and displays. Vendors are holding any number of press conferences, VIP demos, socials and other events. Plus, the Graph Expo show itself is holding a program of free seminars and workshops at the same time.
To help you make the most of your time at the show, Graphic Arts magazine has put together a list of some of the highlights that should be interesting to graphic arts professionals from Canada. This isn't intended to be a comprehensive guide; but from the rumours we've heard in advance of the big show itself, these are the exhibits, seminars and events we'd like most to see.
Education
Workshops and seminars organized by the Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC), the organizers of Graph Expo and Converting Expo, will be held in two special areas right on the show floor: the Mailing & Fulfillment Center, and the Wide Format Pavilion.
The Mailing & Fulfillment Center
Theatre will have sessions on:
• trends in mail processing
• cameras and matching systems
• selling mailing services
• how to make mail applications more secure
• profiting from discounted bulk mail postage rates
• how to make your business more profitable
• how to save on postage during rate increases
• generating profits from mailing centers
• mailing services: natural addition for printers
• building a solid address quality foundation
• taking personalized mailing to the next level
• protecting critical data
• how to decrease costs and increase accountability
• a common sense approach to building an adf
The Wide Format Pavilion presents 45-minute sessions on various creative uses of digital inkjet printing:
• digital die cutting on short-run graphics
• optimizing your RIP's efficiency
• digital tools for quality printing
• solvent printing and packaging proofing using UV inkjet
• finding the right RIP
• printing on 3-D surfaces
• collaborative work environment
• new markets and specialty applications for digital printing
• digital textiles
• color management for large format printing
• superwide printing
• wide format inkjet printing for the offset commercial printer
Of course, the main event of any show is the exhibit floor. Here are some things that a graphic arts professional shouldn't miss.
Prepress and workflow management
Agfa
Booth 4218
Agfa Graphics is going beyond hyping their own new products, and is presenting sessions on business development for Graph Expo visitors. Agfa's employees and customer experts will even offer business advice on subjects from colour management to networking and automated workflow.
Don't worry: Agfa is still showing its latest products and software, such as the Avalon family of thermal, violet chemistry-free thermal and chemistry-free violet platesetters, ApogeeX software for collaboration, and Delano workflow software.
"While we want visitors to see the latest advances in technology such as true enterprise-wide automation, we also want to help them move their businesses in the right direction. That requires expertise that goes way beyond which platesetter or proofer to choose," said Susan Wittner, Agfa's director of marketing, North America."
Artwork Systems/Enfocus Software
Booth 5229
Artwork Systems and Enfocus Software have united their companies and their Graph Expo displays. Artwork Systems will show their Concentric Screening halftone screening solutions; Nexus label and packaging workflow solution; Odystar 2.5 prepress workflow management software; Neo PDF editor; and WebWay 4.0 for collaboration over the Internet.
Enfocus will show PitStop Professional 7 PDF preflighter, auto-correction and editing tool; PitStop Automate output automation software.
Dalim Software
Booth 4811
Dalim will showcase its full line of production and workflow software for professional "premedia," printing, packaging and publishing operations. It's planning to show several new features, such as XML-driven workflows and JDF-driven preflighting.
DALiM TWiST software, which runs on Mac OS X, automates workflow and is fully compliant with JDF, all nine Ghent Workgroup PDF output and Pass4Press v6 specifications. DiALOGUE is a SWOP-certified soft-proofing system that enables remote and collaborative viewing of high-resolution files through the Internet. A new feature at the show is JDF-enabled soft-proofing that integrates with several third-party systems. Dalim MiSTRAL is a web-based production management program; new features include an interface for production assembly as well as tracking, correcting, approving and printing. Finally, PRiNTEMPO is a print production system that allows printers and clients to monitor production status through the Web, and to trigger actions like making plates or proofs. New features include print deadline management tools, greater integration with third-party digital asset management (DAM) and MIS systems.
ECRM
At Graph Expo, ECRM will emphasize platesetter solutions for the commercial printer, such as its MAKO 2, 4X and 8 models.
The Mako 8 can produce plates for two, four, six or eight-page signatures. With a maximum output speed of 19 eight-page plates per hour, the Mako 8 can accommodate any plate size between 824 mm x 1143 mm and 254 mm x 254 mm. Its integrated registration system uses the same registration notches as the press for better imaging-to-plate-to-press registration and faster make-ready during press start up; the integrated registration system can be adjusted in seconds to accommodate a range of presses. In addition, its straight-through plate path enhances productivity and quality while easing operation.
Electronics for Imaging
Booth 4212
EFI will show its full range of RIPs and printer controllers. Its newest integrated Fiery controller for the Sharp 36PPM AR-C360P digital colour printer. The controller is designed for high-volume output where colour fidelity is critical.
GMG
Booth 4663
Developer of colour management and proofing systems, GMG will show its software and proofing technology, including GMG ColorServer for automatic colour conversions; GMG DotProof for calibrating digital halftone contract proofs; and GMG FlexoProof for proofing packaging and label files for flexographic, offset and gravure package printing.
Also on display will be the GMG ProofControl system for monitoring digital proofing quality, and InkOptimizer to save ink in printing.
Heidelberg Prinect
Booth 1200
Heidelberg's Prinect Printready System is a JDF-based workflow system that manages print jobs from prepress to print finishing. It includes the Prinect MetaDimension RIP, which reduces file size for faster transfers and easier management. Printect Printready also monitors the whole process from one central location.
Kodak
Booth 400
Kodak will show version 4 of its Prinergy workflow system. New features include a digital print manager; a JDF Production Hub for centralized and automated production management; the Prinergy Dashboard customizable interface for monitoring job status; improvements to JDF and PDF workflows; rules-based automation and data management controls.
Kodak will also show a new version of its Profile Wizard 4.0 colour management software, with an improved colour engine for ICC profile-based colour management of all colour devices in a workflow.
Quite Software
Booth 5254
Quite Imposing and Quite Imposing Plus are plugs for Adobe Acrobat that do imposition, including step and repeat and booklet making. The software can also add page numbers; the Imposition by Example function is quite interesting.
Variable data printing
Jet Letter
Booth 2427
Calling itself an "industrial strength variable data printing software product," Jet Letter is designed for direct mail marketing firms. It manages the substitution of variable data, such as names, addresses and other information, into documents to be mailed.
Uses include "ask letters" for charities, statements for financial institutions, personalized booklets for insurance customers, collection letters, post cards, direct mail and invoices.
Jet Letter merges fields into individual documents at over 100,000 pages per minute. It can use up to six printers at one time, and supports PCL5e, HPGL2, PCL5c and PDF languages for a wide range of printers and digital presses.
PageFlex
Booth 4846
The Persona Cross Media Suite is a variable data printing system; it enables the user to personalize, with names, addresses, text and images, page layouts for direct mail and other applications.
Virtual Systems
Booth 2483
Virtual Systems will show two product lines: Mail-Shop business management mail information system for direct mail companies, and 3PF Manager fulfillment management software.
Mail-Shop includes contact management, estimate and order management, production management, inventory, equipment scheduling, capacity planning, job-cost analysis and invoicing functions and integrates with leading accounting software.
3PF Manager provides mail fulfillment through the Web.
XMPie
Booth 4661
XMPie produces software for variable-data publishing, providing control to authors, designers and document owners. Its uDirect is a desktop prouct that provides easy entry to variable data printing (VDP), while the PersonalEffect system is a server-based solution that integrates VDP, cross-media publishing and web-to-print solutions. Take a look.
Commercial offset presses
Akiyama
Booth 2637
The Bestech series of offset presses are designed for short runs and quality. Akiyama will show the Bestech 40, among other products. It features a piston-type pickup sucker and a unique impression cylinder and blanket cylinder configuration, which together allow the press to print on a very broad range of stocks. It also has a remote-controlled automatic ink roller wash-up system.
Akiyama is also stressing its Akiyama Inker System, with large diameter form rollers and a temperature-controlled inker; take a look at it.
Heidelberg
Booth 1200
Graph Expo 2006 will be the first North American showing of Heidelberg's Speedmaster SM 52 four-colour press with their new Anicolor inking system. The Anicolor system reduces waste because it gets the press "up to colour" in very few sheets. This makes shorter runs profitable for offset printers.
The "flagship" of the Heidelberg armada at Graph Expo will be an eight-colour Speedmaster XL 105 offset press with coater and extended delivery. The Heidelberg team plans to demonstrate fast makereadies and production speed of 18,000 impressions per hour.
The Speedmaster CD 74 six-colour press with coater and extended delivery will be worth a look, running at up to 18,000 impressions per hour with the new Peak Performance Package. Also on the booth will be the Speedmaster CD 102 in a six-colour configuration with coater and extended delivery.
The company is also showing the smaller Printmaster PM 52 two-colour perfecting press, with full remote register control.
Heidelberg will also show its Prinect Integration System, which centralizes printing and pressroom data and uses JDF to manage print jobs through prepress, printing and finishing. The Prinect Pressroom Manager automates workflow.
Komori
Booth 629
Komori will show the Lithrone 40, which features complete computer control from plate preparation to makeready to delivery. It features a new ink roller temperature control system, an automatic plate changing and washup system, and an automatic ink film adjustment system. Top speed is 16,000 sheets per hour.
The environmental considerations are interesting, such as a non-alcohol dampener, oilless bearings and a safer spray powder.
MAN Roland
Booth 3237
MAN Roland will show its Roland 700 41-inch press, which has a double-size impression cylinder and touchless sheet transfer for better quality, as well as the CIP3-compliant PECOM control console. MAN Roland will show its abilities in automatic settings, ink and roller blanket washup and remote control inking. PPL is standard and APL (automatic plate loading) is available. Also offered are automatic washup, sheet size and thickness changes, and straight-to-perfecting mode changeover in less than a minute. Speeds: 15,000 sph in straight production or 12,000 sph in perfecting mode.
Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses
Booth 2612
The 24×40-inch Diamond 3000LX sheetfed press and ist cellulose, carton stock and plastic printing abilities will occupy centre stage in Mitsubishi's exhibit.
The demonstration press will have six printing units, an inline tower coater, extended delivery and a new SimulChanger automatic plate changer. Other features include options for printing on plastic and synthetic paper, and a UV curing system. Top speed is 16,000 sheets per hour.
Sakurai
Booth 2417
The Oliver 258EII 22-inch, two-colour press has a top speed of 12,000 impressions per hour. Sakurai will also show the Sakurai 58 series, which can print a two-up 11×17 sheet as either a straight two-colour or a perfector. The presses also have an automatic plate changer, touch-panel display, continuous dampening system, remote control register adjustment, automatic roller wash-up and blanket cleaning.
Pressroom supplies
Flint Group
Both 3217
The Flint Group is the result of the merger of Flint Ink Corp. and XSYS Print Solution in 2005, and Graph Expo is a good opportunity for the industry to find out what that will mean.
As a result of the merger, Flint Group now offers K E premium sheetfed inks, in addition to its ArrowStar products.
Sun Chemical
Booth 2424
Sun Chemical is showing its XX-TREME sheetfed offset inks. Formulated for stochastic FM screening applications, where ink transfer, colour strength and dot fidelity are cr
ucial, these new inks deliver great brilliance and colour intensity.
Digital printing
Canon
Booth 1253
The new imagePRESS C7000VP and imagePRESS C1 digital colour presses will highlight Canon USA's booth.
Built for high-end digital printers, the two new models were previewed at Canon's EXPO 2005 in New York last year as "imagePRESS X and Y."
The C7000VP model runs at 70 pages per minute for monochrome A4 pages, ledger, 12-inch, 13-inch and 19.2-inch sheets, with a 1200 dpi resolution using a new fine-grained toner. In addition, an advanced fusing technology allows for "gloss optimization," matching the gloss of the toner to that of the paper.
The C1 model is designed for proofing, short-run and production colour printing; it has the same toner advances as the C7000VP, but runs at up to 14 ppm in colour and 60 ppm in black only, at 1200 dpi.
Epson
Booth 4815
Take a look at Epson's new UltraChrome K3 ink for inkjet printing. The new eight-colour set of inks include three levels of black.
HP Indigo
Booths 248 and 646
HP Indigo is showing its model 5000 digital press, designed specifically for mid- to large-size commercial printers. It's rated speed at 4,000 four-color A4 images per hour (two-up); 8,000 two-color images per hour (two-up); or 16,000 full monochrome A4 images per hour (two-up). Other features include electronic collation, automatic duplexing, seamless job changes and color personalization.
A new digital front end, HP Press Production Manager, provides a unified user interface for print job and workflow management and an on-board RIP.
KBA North America
Booth 2029
Koenig & Bauer's innovative Genius 52 UV 20-inch press is sure to be another draw at Graph Expo. Developed for the short-run colour market, it has a single impression cylinder for all colours. It also features fast automatic makeready with less than 10 sheets of waste. Take a close look at this one.
Also on the booth with be KBA's sheetfed offset presses like the Rapida.
Presstek
Booth 3822
Graph Expo 2006 will be the North American debut for the new 52DI direct imaging press from Presstek. The new press drew a lot of attention at its worldwide presentation at Ipex last spring.
The new press has a 52 cm landscape format and a top running speed of 10,000 sheets per hour, offering greater flexibility for printers competing in the 250 to 1000 copy run length. Presstek says that total job changeover, from the last sheet of one job to producing the first sellable sheet of the next job, is just over 10 minutes.
Presstek will also show its DirectPress 5634DI, a portrait format direct imaging press with a top speed of 7,000 sheets per hour.
Xeikon (Punch Graphix)
Booth 1245
The new Xeikon 6000 web-fed digital colour printer has a top speed of 160 A4 pages per minute and a duty cycle of almost 4,000,000 pages per month, making it the fastest digital colour press available.
The new press has a digital front end, the X-800, for workflow management. New Form Adapted (FA) toner enhances print quality. The press handles stocks from 40 to 350 gsm, as well as paperboard and other substrates.
Xerox
Booth 1217
The new DocuColor 5000 digital press makes a stroll past Xerox' booth more than worthwhile. This new digital colour press prints at up to 50 ppm in 2400 dpi on stocks up to 80 pound. The press integrates into the Xerox FreeFlow digital workflow series, with up to three colour servers. It has several options for feeding, finishing and scanning. A high-capacity stacker and a common stacker-stapler can be used individually or together.
Inkjet Printing
Gandinnovations
Booth 4878
The Jeti 5024 Solvent roll-to-roll super-wide format, flat-bed printer is always worth a look. At 5.1 metres, or 16.5 feet across, it has a resolution of 600 dpi (1200 apparent dpi) with six colours from 24 print heads. It can also print at 300 dpi in four colours for higher speed output, at 1650 square feet per hour.
Inca Digital Printers
Inca Digital Printers, manufacturers of the Eagle and the Spyder wide-format digital inkjet printers, will show its new Spyder 320 flatbed UV-light printers at the booth of Sericol, its U.S. and Canadian distributor. This flatbed printer comes in two versions: a six-colour with light magenta and light cyan in addition to CMYK, and the Spyder 320 white, which can lay down a layer of white ink either before or after the other colours are laid down. The six-colour model has a top print speed of 80 square metres per hour. The white model was the company's top draw at its booth at Ipex in Birmingham, UK in April.
Kodak
Booth 400
The new VERSAMARK DS5340 digital inkjet printing system will be running at speeds up to 1000 feet per minute. Designed for label printing for mailing houses and other users, the Versamark DS5340 has a print width of 1.07 inches and resolution of 240 dpi. It has an Ethernet port for universal connectivity and high data throughput. A usage tracking system tracks the cost of ink used in each job for charging back to the client.
Kodak will also show four-over-four colour label printing driven by its new Versamark CS600 system controller. Also, the Versamark VT3000 printing system will show Kodak's rugged Continuous Inkjet Technology for high-volume output at low cost per piece.
Print finishing
Heidelberg
Booth 1200
The new Stitchmaster ST 450 saddle stitcher will be a main feature of Heidelberg's print finishing display. With shaftless technology and a number of innovations in feeding, gathering, stitching and trimming, it can run at up to 14,000 cycles per hour.
MBO America
Booth 1229
The first "marbleless" folding machine should be a major draw at MBO's booth. This new feature has a single button setting system, as well as the Navigator electronic set-up system. It also has a CIP4-compliant electronic interface for JDF control.
Standard Finishing Systems
Booth 2446
Graph Expo will the launchpad for the new Standard Horizon SPF/FC-200A automated bookletmaker, which complements the Standard Horizon SpeedVAC 100 Collating System. The new booklet maker features automatic set-up through a colour touch-screen control console.
The software sets gap, fold, end stops and plates. Top speed is 4,500 booklets per hour.
This is a selection of some equipment, software and solutions. They're worth a look. See you at the show.•