Printing & Copying

Hexis is a vinyl manufacturer which is based in France. They have now developed and released a brand new latex digital printing film. In addition to this there is a gloss laminate which has been designed specifically for vehicle wrapping.

The new film and laminate is PVC-free and they do not contain any solvents, heavy metals or plasticisers.

The new products by Hexis have been launched at the 2010 FESPA. The new vinyl was tested out on an electric US made TESLA car which was in line with the Hexis’ new green credentials.

The HXL300WG2 has been described by Hexis as being suitable for printing with solvent and also eco-solvent inks which make it very marketable. With this, it is also flexible enough to be used for car wraps and other such applications.

It is made out of an aqueous emulsion based plastic and has an outdoor exposure of 3 years. As an additional feature it comes with HEX-press PE-liner to allow the film to be repositioned to perfection during application.

For quality vehicle wrapping and signage solutions, Sussex Signs are able to assist and advise on the most appropriate signage solutions in order to meet customer requirements and provide top quality service along with the best signage solutions.

If you want to see the future of digital packaging printing in action, you need go no further than Tulsa, OK. That’s clear from my visit yesterday to Odyssey Digital Printing as part of Xeikon’s pre-Labelexpo Americas 2010 briefing. Odyssey, one of the few digital-only packaging printers and converters in the US, is the home of four Xeikon presses, one DI press and seven large-format inkjet systems. While its primary product is POP displays, it’s doing increasing business in packaging and labels, thanks to the Xeikon units.

Odyssey Digital Printing president John Roberds addresses attendees at the Xeikon briefing.

Odyssey has been on the cutting edge with Xeikon since late 2008 when it installed a Xeikon 3300. Now, the $7-million converter, which credits 60% of its sales to Xeikon-printed product, just installed the new Xeikon 3500 press two weeks ago. That system made its debut at last spring’s IPEX show. (See details on the 3500 below).

“Xeikon is state-of-the-art digital print,” says John Roberds, Odyssey founder and president. “The Xeikon 3500 sets the benchmark for industrial print. With a 20.3 in. width and true 1,200-dpi resolution, the press provides us with the best combination of productivity and imaging quality. Xeikon is a perfect fit for Odyssey’s custom packaging and label applications.”

Examples of Odyssey Digital Printing products.

Some of the customers taking advantage of Odyssey’s digital technology include Titleist (for extremely low runs of custom golfball sleeves), Yankee Candle Co. (for equally short runs of custom labeling), CVS Pharmacy (for shelf/product management strips) and QuikTrip convenience stores. “As much as possible, we’re digitally printing packaging to support other people’s products, not things that may be devalued by the Internet,” explains Roberds.

The Odyssey workflow
The Tulsa converter’s operation is far-reaching. PDFs are received via FTP site; orders via email. Files are preflighted to the Xeikon print templates, and press operators queue the jobs to run on the appropriate Xeikon press. Printed webs are rewound for downstream coating on a Xeikon UCoat and diecutting on either an MGE/Zund i-Cut system for the labels or a Preco 2024 die press for paperboard. Boxes are then run through a Universal folder/gluer and packaged for shipment. The company also provides kitting and fulfillment services.

Operators confer at the controls of Odyssey's new Xeikon 3500 digital press.

The average job at Odyssey is about 300-400 lineal ft by 20 in. wide. The presses run two shifts a day, five days a week. Five dedicated digital-press operators are employed; the least experienced has five years of such work to his credit already. Registration and color density are checked on-the-fly during digital printing, and Roberds says maintenance on the Xeikon systems totals only about 8 hours/week.

With the Xeikon 3500 in production, Odyssey managers feel even better positioned for the challenges ahead. But they’re not stopping now. Roberds and his team will attend Labelexpo Americas later this month to seek out some sophisticated finishing equipment. They’re looking for a web-fed, off-line system that can UV-coat, laminate, spot-coat, rotary die-cut and sheet their printed rolls. That’s a tall order. Any takers?

Xeikon strategy and product developments
A few years ago, when Xeikon saw the commoditization of digital printing appear, it decided to focus on niche and emerging markets, says Michael Ring, president of Xeikon North America. Namely, labels, packaging and POP displays, he explains. Its focus today is on high-volume applications for its equipment in the space between inkjet units and current digital presses, between the Xerox iGEN4 and HP Indigoes and the Kodak Prospers.

Yankee Candle p-s clear-on-clear labels are rewound after printing on the Xeikon 3500 digital press.

Xeikon’s reworked 3000 Series, launching at Labelexpo Americas 2010, reflects this strategy. Four models in the digital label-press line include the completely new Xeikon 3050 and an upgraded replacement for the original Xeikon 3000 called the Xeikon 3030. That entry-level 3030 will debut at the Labelexpo Technology Workshop. The Xeikon 3500 will also be demo’d for the first time in North America at Labelexpo. “Label applications are ideal to take advantage of the flexibility of our technology,” says Filip Weymans, business development mgr. for Labels & Packaging at Xeikon.

The 3000 Series lets converters go from a narrower-width, slower system (3030 with 13 in. at 31.5 fpm) to a highly productive, wider unit (3500 with 20.3 in. at 63 fpm). All models are 5-color with 1,200-dpi resolution. They all print on a wide range of substrates without pre-coating, such as p-s films, paperboards and foils. And all models can run Xeikon’s new QA-I toner, which is FDA-compliant for indirect food contact and direct contact for dry foods.

Xeikon isn’t forgetting prepress and workflow. The 3000 Series works with Xeikon’s X-800 digital front-end, which is equipped with a new Adobe PDF Print Engine. At Labelexpo, the supplier will also be demonstrating Web2Print applications and showing examples of how MIS data can drive both flexo and Xeikon presses while capturing real-time production data and sending it back to the converter’s MIS.

Isn’t it funny how many marketers flock to use the terms ‘antioxidant,’ ‘fat free’, and other, similar ubiquitous terms?  Or how so many companies rush to enlist in the latest ‘green’ organization just to put a certified logo on its products’ labels (since over 55% of consumers look for a product with a ‘green connotation’)?  This is especially curious since research has proven that more people are more influenced by the colors and design of packaging versus alleged product claims clearly spelled out on the label.  For instance, more people are influenced and apt to believe a claim based on an earthy design, versus a certifiable emblem.  This brings us to solution number one!

1) Be honest

Be sure not to mislead consumers.  The term ‘unscented’ is a major culprit of this, and often misleading; unscented does NOT always mean that fragrances or perfumes have not been added.   This is very crucial at this time when the government is definitely cracking down on label claims! 

 2)      Don’t clutter your label!

 Less really can be more.  If a company clutters its package with testimonials, reasons to purchase the product, the package looks like a pity plea and sometimes leaves customers running.  Simple equates to elegance.  A customer feels more comfortable in purchasing the product when he or she feels empowered to decide for himself or herself.  The average consumer only glances at your product for 2-3 seconds (and is more frequently enticed initially by the picturesque quality and texture versus the copy).  Make a statement with your design that will intrigue customers in this very short time span. 

 3)      Does your message accurately reflect your campaign? 

Does the tone of the message and product photo match?  All thematic elements of a company, product, slogan, and package graphics should work together harmoniously and be representative of each other. 

 4)      Use a specialty label to set you apart. 

•  With all of the current regulations surrounded required copy on labels, space is definitely limited.  For an exciting spin on putting advertising copy on your labels, try a QR Code that will link users to additional information! 
•  Label materials can also set you apart.  Film labels are clear, less expensive, thin substrates.  They are elegant looking and the “no label look” is very striking.  The substrates that Vibrant Graphics prints on are 100% recyclable, which is appealing to customers!  Another specific type of material that definitely sets products apart is the use of holographic material.      
•  If you have a clear glass or plastic container, two-sided labels look very classy, and are unique.  For example, on the opposite side of the product that the label is adhered to, it is possible to see through the container, and read the other (back) side of the label. 
• Different shapes of labels are also eye-catching, which is possible by die-cutting!   

 5)      Design with location in mind.

• It is the age of personalization, after all.  Since digital printing does not require expensive plates and is a web-to-print based printing solution, this is extremely cost efficient way to conduct test-market segmentation.  Digital printing offers increased personalization and allows the product distributor to include different messages on the product distributed in various regions.  This is extremely valuable when different locations require different messages or have different labeling requirements. 
• Another use of digital printing is when you would like to change the product label color, depending on region;  colors have different connotations in different regions (such as green being correlated with religion in Ireland).  Blue is currently considered the safest global color.

6)      Make the label interactive.

Does your product have a story behind it?  Tell it.  Lots of products have clever and funny quips on the side or even under the cap like Snapple has!  Think of a unique way to position your product or have your consumers interact with your product.  Wheat Thins has a remarkable strategy of tying the consumer to the product!

A Unique Approach to Business Transparency

I recently discovered a California-based printing company that has launched what they call “The Social Print Experiment”. Their intent is to take all the mystery out of starting a print shop by posting EVERYTHING about their business online for one year. When I say “everything” I mean all their expenses, income, processes, machinery, even going as far as posting videos of their meetings and sales strategies. At the end of the year if they have succeeded in turning a profit they will continue running the print shop. If they fail to make a profit the company will be dismantled and everything sold off.

Here’s the introduction they offer on their website….

The Social Print Experiment was an idea developed by Andrew Simmons as a way to chronicle the startup of a digital printing company using tools widely available now that are free or nearly free, tools like Outright for bookkeeping; or social marketing tools like Twitter, Facebook and Linked In. The pages herein detail the results of that experiment, with an interesting twist in that everything the company does, from best practices to the books of the company, are completely viewable. “Too often, we hear of companies that made their first million dollars in their first year, but how they got there is never detailed,” says Andrew Simmons. “We’re bringing focus to that, and with it, best practices for increasing sales in other printing companies.”

While the concept of financial transparency within companies isn’t new, it is rare. Typically when a company adopts an open policy it is to serve as motivation to their staff to meet targeted goals. The information isn’t shared with the public. The Social Print Experiment has taken a fresh approach to this concept by exposing every aspect of their business to the world via social networking sites and their website. I believe they are also relying 100% on social networks and word of mouth for their advertising.

Having just spent two years working in a small print shop I’m curious as to how they will approach each challenge. Even if they don’t turn a profit I believe this is a great way for anyone contemplating a career in printing to learn what to do – and what to avoid – when starting out.

So here’s a question: Do you believe that it benefits or harms a company to have financial transparency?

To find out more about the Social Print Experiment you can visit their website at www.socialprintexperiment.com

As most of you know, the AP Stylebook, the standard for journalists, has been available online for a number of years. In fact, most I know only use the online version today. The print version is still available, of course, but with 500 changes a year being posted online, how can a print publication possibly serve any more?!

In fact, at the IU School of Journalism at IUPUI we require our students to subscribe to AP Online rather than purchase a book. It not only is far more effective and timely, it turns out to be cheaper in the long run.

So today comes the speculation, probably correct, that the hoary Oxford Dictionary from Oxford University Press will likely go digital next year (2011). And it may not, unlike the AP Stylebook, be produced in print at all!

So it really begs the question, again, why anything is produced on paper. Or, as one colleague remarks, “dead tree material.” Clearly there is still room for selected print publications. They have a presence that online does not. However….

With the launching of the iPad and others coming available, it is certainly clear that “Dead tree” publications are a thing of the past. Barnes & Noble and Amazon are already selling more digital product than print. And this is going to happen quickly.

What do you think? How much longer will it take until everything is digital?

I’ll be offline Monday and Tuesday while I attend a special pre-Labelexpo Americas 2010 briefing in Tulsa, OK, by digital-pressmaker Xeikon. Along with revealing its strategy and plans for next month’s show in lovely Rosemont, IL, Xeikon will offer a visit to one of its premier customers, Odyssey Digital Printing. Odyssey has installed the new Xeikon 3500 digital press, which is helping that company grow its business and increase revenue.

We featured Odyssey Digital as the cover story of the February 2009 issue of CONVERTING Magazine. My associate editor at the time got the first onsite feature story of Odyssey’s Xeikon 3300 press. Sadly, that material is no longer available online. But watch for my report on the latest news from Xeikon and Odyssey Digital right here on Wednesday. Until then…

Essentially every thing in this modern day society at this moment depends on the power of the world wide web. It looks to be a community within our society. Essentially each and every point of existing we depend on the wonder of this technological progress. We have become accustomed to the word online.

Online health club, online dating and more, one of the soaring style . within such is what we label online digital photo printing. This is utilizing the world wide web to make purchases link with a photo printing company and own what you wish with just easy mouse clicks.

With this process you don’t need to go out of your home to have your pictures produced digitally. All you need to do is stay at your home, begin your personal computer and set your order. Following holding out you will acquire just what you wanted.

This is how easy it is with everything that is online. Put your orders and for as quick as 24 hours after your agreement everything that you want will be completed. When you carry out these things you will not only save a whole lot of time, but also in some instance funds.

Work as well will be unspent for you will make use of this for several essential things. Additionally if you are arranging with regard to a surprise, this one may be a great cover. No person in your family will see that you have produced a greeting card.

If your child for instance will remember his birthday, you will save a whole lot of issues going through and from places seeking for cards to be printed. Set your purchases on the internet on color brochure printing Los Angeles for instance and go set up other things.

If you want to remember a location where you and your husband or wife spent your vacation, you can boost it by putting it in flyer printing los angeles if you are in that place. Right after a few hours your fantastic taken memories will come along.

There are a lot more things which you can perform in this modern day world. Making use of the Web is one of the major strategies you can make use of to make things fast. Just don’t hold out things too much and you may benefit from almost all the features it may provide.

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If you’re printing a booklet, book, or really anything with more than one sheet of paper, you have to plan on how it’s all going to be put together.  The possibilities are endless and only stop where your imagination does.

Here are a few of the most common ways you can bind your collateral:

Three Ring Binders

These binders can be custom vinyl or paper turned edge and are great for training manuals, equipment specifications and presentations.. They require large margins since they take up a lot of room at the bind edge, but can be a good option for some types of manuals where page revisions may need to be inserted.

Wire-O and Spiral Binding

Wire-O is a series of parallel wire loops attached along a wire, while spiral binding is a metal or plastic continuous loop passing through the punched holes in a spiral from the top to the bottom of the book. Writing notebooks, notepads, steno pads, cookbooks, booklets, manuals, reference materials, workbooks, and calendars often utilize comb, coil, or double loop wire binding methods.

Saddle stitching

Securing pages by wire staples through the centre fold. In saddle-stitched work the printed sections are inserted one inside the other. Saddle stitching is common for small booklets, calendars, pocket-size address books, and some magazines.

Perfect Binding

Paperback novels are one example of perfect bound books. Booklets, telephone directories, and some magazines use perfect binding.

Case Binding

Case or edition binding is the most common type of binding for hardcover books.

Ultimately the type of binding you use depends on  the purpose of the document, your distribution methods and your budget. Make sure to discuss which method is right for you with your printer before you start.

At Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. we have invested in the right equipment, processes and materials to provide sustainable and environmentally-friendly printing solutions for our clientele.

With so much importance being put on the environmentally-friendly aspects of our CD and DVD packaging products, applying ourselves to the commercial printing market seemed like an obvious and natural progression.

Having in-house manufacturing and printing capabilities allows us to provide our clientele with a level of job control, quality and service that would not possible with an out-sourced product. With over 10,000 square feet of production facilities we have the ability to manufacture, print and package orders of virtually any size.

The promotional products we print includes (but is not limited to) the following:

• Bookmarks
• Brochures
• Business Cards
• Door Hangers
• Postcards
• Posters
• Presentation Folders
• Rack Cards
• Sales Sheets

Please contact with any questions you may have about any of our products or services!

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Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct CD DVD manufacturing and CD DVD duplication with a wide range of eco-friendly print and packaging solution. From our replication facility and offices in Surrey, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver) we ship daily to clients throughout Canada and the United States.

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