InkJet Age

MAR 2014

Inkjet's Age, a print supplement to Quick Printing, is a business and technology brand dedicated to corporate and senior management and focusing on issues surrounding inkjet printing technology in all its forms. Inkjet's Age covers the industry news,

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www.MyPRINTResource.com MARCH 2014 • INKJET'S AGE 25 solved sooner than expected. The focus on applications will be: • Short-term: Remains transaction focused • Mid-term: Must come from direct mail and books • Long-term: general commercial print applications on broad range of substrates and PQ, with a heavy focus on variable data print value creation We should also not count on emerging markets to drive above market rate growth in this segment. There just is not enough print volume to support many of even the less productive sys- tems, and the OEM service/support costs in these often-distant locations from headquarters can make it less profitable than it initially appears. To outpace the forecast projections, I.T. Strategies believes the equipment suppliers will need to make a large investment in: • Substrate and ink technology development to open up broader application range beyond transaction, direct mail, books—which are mostly printed on uncoated papers • Large-scale development and accessibility of variable data sources to enable the production of high-value pages While the journey to be able to print on inexpensive offset coated papers is underway, and may take more resources and time than we'd all like, these issues will probably be solved. The large-scale development and accessibility of variable data is a more complicated challenge. It involves many more stakeholders, including the specifier who orders the print, the print provider, regulatory bodies, and ultimately the OEM equipment supplier in whose interest it is to have their customers print more page volumes, page volumes that are valuable. Both of these are good challenges to have, ones that the industry leaders will be working hard on to most efficiently and time effectively resolve. ✚ MARKET INTELLIGENCE (continued from page 26) A s more publishers have turned to digital print- ing to reduce inven- tories and manage supply chains, Webcrafters has seen digital page volumes rise. The Madison, WI print firm first installed a Kodak Prosper 5000XL Press three years ago, and it is now preparing for the installation of another in early 2014 to handle con- tinued growth. The company has seen steady growth in page vol- umes for digital printing across all the segments it serves, from educational and trade books to B2B catalogs and publications. The new press will give the company more flexibility for longer digital runs and fits into its strategy for growth and de- livering the best results for its customers. "The Prosper platform has continued to evolve since its introduction, and many of our customers are now installing additional devices to handle rising volumes or new rev- enue opportunities," reported Jerry Miller, Kodak VP and regional business manager of Digital Printing Solutions in the US and Canada. When talking about the decision to invest in a second Prosper Press, John Filsinger, senior VP of operations at Webcrafters, cited scalability, redundancy, and Webcraft- ers' relationship with Kodak. "Scalability is a very impor- tant factor for us, and the Prosper Press family gives us that capability," he said. "We continue to update our first press with all the new fea- tures, so the two presses will be virtually identical. We don't have to worry about these presses getting outdated. "Over the years, we have felt that Kodak understands our needs, and has always de- livered cutting-edge technol- ogy," he added. "We have re- lied on Kodak for film, plates, and digital printing technolo- gy from the beginning. Kodak has been and continues to be a good partner offering the right solutions to meet our business objectives." The Prosper 5000XLi Press offers full process color per- fecting with a print width of up to 24.5 inches at speeds up to 650 feet per minute with a duty cycle of 90 mil- lion A4 or US letter pages a month. The system is capable of print quality that rivals offset output—up to 175 lines per inch. It features the Intel- ligent Print System, which combines inline video moni- toring and advanced software controls to process thousands of press inputs that measure imaging performance, detect- ing variations and making adjustments as needed on the fly. Brad Koch, sales VP for Webcrafters, added, "We will be expanding our line of sup- ported substrates, which will open new markets for us. The Prosper Press is enabling us to serve our clients with new and enhanced offerings, and we are already seeing the benefits." A Case Study for Printing More Books FIGURE 2: Estimated Source of Page Volumes by Percent FIGURE 3: Estimated Source of Page Volumes by Billions of Pages QPsupp_25-28_0314 Market.indd 25 2/18/14 11:46 AM

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