International Media Summit : The Buzz About IPEX

The Acuity Advance HS wide-format UV ink-jet printer will also be highlighted by Fujifilm. It features a modified print head, offering production speeds of 430 square feet per hour. With the addition of a new express mode, images can be viewed from greater distances, printing at 700 square feet per hour.

Ricoh will showcase two new color printers for the light production printing market: the Ricoh Pro C720 and Pro C720s. According to Graham Kennedy, product manager for Ricoh Europe, the printers are ideal for the quick turnaround of items printed on thick stocks, such as direct mail or point-of-purchase materials. Both printers can handle coated and uncoated paper up to 300 gsm at 72 ppm. They offer a maximum image resolution of 1,200x1,200 dpi, a paper capacity of 11,000 sheets and a stacking capacity of 13,000 sheets.

Innovation on Display

With the theme "Get back to growth," Océ is using IPEX to debut the Océ Arizona 550 GT display graphics printer. Designed as a true flatbed system, the device can print on a wide variety of rigid substrates up to 49.2x98.4˝ in area and up to 2˝ thick. A roll media option for printing onto flexible media up to 86.6˝ wide is offered. Capable of 431 square feet per hour printing, it uses UV curable inks and Océ Varia-Dot imaging technology.

Pitney Bowes will demonstrate its ability to "1ntegrate" print and mail with the IntelliJet Printing System. It can operate at 400 fpm in a 30˝-wide format and at 1,200x600 dpi color quality. The company also announced that a major company in the healthcare payment industry—and the first in the U.S. market—has already ordered three of the new production color printing systems.

Also unveiled by Pitney Bowes will be three new inserters, and the latest developments to two inserters—the Mailstream Productivity Series 26 (MPS 26) and FPST Split Drive Inserting System. Full details will be announced at the show.

New from Domino Printing Sciences will be the N600 digital label printing press, which offers a native resolution of 600 dpi operating at up to 246 fpm using durable UV inks. Capable of printing onto a range of paper and plastic label stocks, the N600 will be demonstrated in a reel-to-reel web configuration with a print width of 13.1˝.

The company will also unveil its K600 single-color piezo ink-jet system, which will be integrated on an AB Graphics rewinder. Able to run at speeds to 984 fpm, it is suitable both for narrow web, as well as wider-format sheet and web applications. The K600 is ideal for tickets, game cards, direct mail and forms, ID and security products.

Reinvigorating Print

C.P. Bourg will launch the new BCMe sheet preparation module that is designed for using in-line with high-volume color printers such as Xerox's iGen4 and with Bourg's new BSF near-line sheet feeder.

Likewise, UK-based company RedTie will highlight its two signature Web-to-print software systems—RedTie Template (RTT) and RedTie Quotation (RTQ)—for companies looking to expand their portfolios of services to include an online offering.

Crawford is optimistic that all of the new product offerings on display at IPEX will play a significant part in reinvigorating the industry. "We are extremely pleased with the event's progress and development, especially when you consider how the industry has consolidated in the last few years and the difficult economic climate affecting many regions of the world," he concludes.

"Many industry figures consider this IPEX to be the most important in its history. And, I am confident that, with everything on offer at IPEX, we will build on this success and play a significant part in reigniting the industry." PI

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