Fujifilm North America Corporation’s Graphic Systems Division recently hosted a Production Inkjet Summit at its Chicago Technology Center, showcasing innovative inkjet technology solutions to invited attendees. The two-day event, part of an on-going series, included hands-on demonstrations of Fujifilm’s J Press 720S, the world’s most widely adopted B2 sheetfed production inkjet press.
The J Press 720S is designed for print runs of one to thousands, where traditional offset and other digital printing solutions fail to meet expectations. With a 29.5-inch x 20.9-inch sheet and an output of 2,700 sheets per hour, the 720S incorporates Fujifilm Inkjet Technology, including Fujifilm Dimatix Samba printheads, Fujifilm Vividia aqueous inks, and Fujifilm image optimization.
Quickly gaining market acceptance, the J Press 720S has become the ideal solution for printers looking for a digital inkjet solution that delivers the quality of offset prints with the versatility to handle even the shortest of press runs, said the OEM.
As a collaborative information exchange, the summit featured industry-relevant presentations, including a session on Colour Management as well as Inkjet and the B2 market, presented by Jim Hamilton, Group Director of On-Demand Printing and Publishing at InfoTrends. Hamilton is responsible for InfoTrends’ production print and digital media research, forecasts and analysis.
His discussion focused on market trends, the growth of inkjet in production digital printing, the B2 format and the commercial print market. Hamilton encouraged attendees to use inkjet to add new applications and transform their business model to provide solutions that inkjet delivers. “Digital print competes most effectively when it accomplishes what offset cannot do,” Hamilton said. “I’ve seen a number of applications printed on the J Press sheetfed press and I’m impressed with the print quality.” Hamilton went on to explain that the J Press sits between the cut-sheet colour toner and the roll-fed inkjet products in a class of products that support paper sizes of B2 or larger, and added, “in the inkjet marketplace for B2 sized presses, the J Press is the most successful one in the market.”
“Fujifilm continues to set the standard with the J Press 720S,” said Ed Pierce, Product Marketing Manager at Fujifilm North America’s Graphic Systems Division. “J Press 720S owners are telling us that the print quality and colour consistency is better than any other digital device, and they’re winning new business as a result.”
The summit also featured a customer user panel session where actual J Press 720S owners shared their real-life experiences. The panel included Jeff Hernandez of Chicago-based Classic, Rick Riegger with The Bernard Group in Minnesota, and Tony Bielecki with Gilson Graphics of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Attendees also posed questions on print quality and colour consistency, and were especially interested in comparisons to other digital toner equipment.
