Esko to Showcase Three Kongsberg Wide-Format Digital Finishing Systems, Software at ISA
GHENT, BELGIUM—April 3, 2015—In booth 4392 during ISA Sign Expo 2015, being held April 9-11, 2015, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, Esko will be showing a wide range of innovative and scalable, workflow and finishing solutions to empower sign and display companies to drive new business. Esko's solutions help operations of all sizes address today's complex production demands with an optimum investment strategy.
With more than 580 exhibitors and 21,000 sign industry professionals under one roof, ISA International Sign Expo 2015 connects visitors to the products, people and knowledge that make a positive impact on businesses.
"Driving Innovation" will be a consistent theme at the Esko booth, as the company uses its design, print and cut workflow to produce fun road signs, car magnets and stickers—and art that folds into 3D cars.
“Esko is driving innovation with both hardware and software solutions to help sign and display businesses succeed," remarked John Giardina, president, Esko Americas. "Our Kongsberg tables are well known for their robustness, flexibility, versatility and precision." Fifty years of expertise in developing finishing tables has allowed Esko to create the broadest product line of Kongsberg tables with options for all kinds of sign and display businesses, he said. So, it is no surprise that Kongsberg tables are taking a central place on Esko's booth. "However, we also bring powerful yet flexible software solutions that support all aspects of sign, display and wide-format production, from structural design to graphics and preproduction, to finishing—all offered with automation," he continued. "An integrated end-to-end solution that can also incorporate third-party elements from a supplier like Esko is the ideal approach for any business, small or large. That is exactly what attendees will see from Esko at ISA.”
A wide range of solutions to drive innovation
At ISA 2015, Esko will demonstrate a variety of hardware and software solutions that can be modularly combined to fit any sign, display and wide-format production workflow.
Esko will be showcasing three models of its Kongsberg family, the market’s most robust offering of digital finishing systems. The Kongsberg C64 is a state-of-the-art, super-wide (126x126") digital finisher that offers the highest possible performance. Precision and productivity over ten feet are guaranteed thanks to the carbon-composite traverse beam, which is unique to Esko. The Kongsberg C also is the only super-wide finisher with a 3kW continuous duty high-performance milling unit. The Kongsberg C64 will be shown with an automatic feeding system. The second table, the Kongsberg XN, is easily the most versatile digital finishing device ever introduced. Whether producing vinyls, boards or wood; the Kongsberg XN brings the best quality for any job or application. It comes with industry standard print to cut registration, a camera system for vision cutting among many other features. While the Kongsberg XN24 on the booth is 66x126", the XN product family is available in seven different sizes from 66x50” to 87x258”. The Kongsberg V for Sign and Display is the ideal solution for anyone looking to bring Kongsberg-quality finishing in-house, with accurate and high quality cutting for a wide range of applications.
The i-cut Production Console, a front-end operating system will be featured on the Kongsberg tables. It has been developed to be the new common platform for all Kongsberg digital finishing systems, combining the best elements of Esko’s market leading i-cut vision control system and well-known table guide software. The i-cut Production Console drives all functions found on Kongsberg tables, such as camera control, machine set up, tool recognition, calibration and tool adjustments—with a much more intuitive operating system for users.
Also on display will be Esko’s i-cut Suite, a collection of prepress and pre-production software solutions providing the tasks sign and display companies need, such as preflighting, file editing, cutting paths and nesting. It helps companies eliminate errors, save time and reduce waste. Adding Esko’s Automation Engine manages prepress workflow automation with dynamic workflows from design to the digital press and beyond to the finishing device that are easy to set up and operate. Automation Engine serves as the heart of any size prepress production operation and can also offer automated color management for consistent color. Esko ArtiosCAD and Studio software for 3D design of displays offer dedicated tools to streamline structural design, graphic development, virtual prototyping and manufacturing.
“Esko not only addresses current production requirements; we also deliver solutions that will be valuable assets for years to come," added Giardina. “We focus on offering sign & display businesses a wide selection of solutions, matching their requirements and making their investments easier to justify. At ISA 2015 we will inform visitors about the importance of end-to-end production, since even the most subtle workflow change can have a significant impact driving innovation for the entire operation.”
About Esko
Esko is a global supplier of integrated solutions for the packaging and labels, sign and display, commercial printing and publishing industries. Esko products and services drive profitability in the packaging and printing supply chain by reducing time-to-market and raising productivity. The Esko product portfolio supports and manages the packaging and print processes at brand owners, retailers, designers, packaging manufacturers and print service providers. For 9 out of 10 retail packages, Esko solutions are used in packaging management, artwork creation, structural design, prepress, 3D visualization, plate making, workflow automation, quality assurance, sample-making, palletization, supply chain collaboration and the production of signage and displays.
The Esko solutions consist of an extensive suite of software and two hardware product lines: CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers and Kongsberg digital cutting systems, complemented with professional services, training and consultancy. Enfocus, with its suite of automation solutions and PDF quality control tools for printers, publishers and graphic designers, is part of Esko. Esko employs around 1400 people worldwide. Its direct sales and service organization covers Europe, Middle East and Africa, the Americas and the Asia Pacific, Japan and China regions and is complemented by a network of distribution partners in more than 50 countries. Esko is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, and has R&D and manufacturing facilities in five European countries, the United States, China and India. Esko is a Danaher company.
Source: Esko.
