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Fujifilm has seen education-related inkjet applications as well, including "short runs of college textbooks for a specific year and professor," says Peter Vanderlaan, marketing director for Commercial Graphics. Its new JPress 540 W (web) model—featuring a 21.3-inch print width, 328 fpm speeds, and soon-to-be 1200x1200 dpi resolution—can be seen at the PRINT 13 show in Chicago this September. "We'll have 11,000 square feet, the second booth in from the entrance," he notes. Vanderlaan reports that some 20 units of Fujifilm's half-size JPress 720 now are in production worldwide since its introduction at drupa 2008. Sensing inkjet's eminent growth, the OEM had bolstered its equipment offerings with three acquisitions: UK ink manufacturer Sericol Group in early 2005 and printhead manufacturer Dimatix in mid-2006. Also, Fujifilm Imaging Colorants was created when Avecia Inkjet, a spin-off from ICI in Scotland, was purchased in early 2006. Xerox, too, has been buying—early this year it gobbled up inkjet press manufacturer Impika to complement its CMYK CiPress piezo drop-ondemand, waterless solution. Xerox has been selling the French firm's aqueous systems in Europe for two years, so it is familiar with the technology for maintenance and support purposes. Impika's product line includes iPrint continuous-feed production printers that boast speeds up to 1,230 fpm and iPress high-quality systems, which can print at up to 2400x1200 dpi. But it was an acquisition 13 years ago that really set the inkjet table for Xerox, when it bought Tektronix's color printing and imaging division and its ColorStix solid ink inkjet technology. (Remember the Phaser?) At drupa last year, there was strong interest in the CiPress 500 with German printer CW Niemeyer Druck purchasing the system to produce individualized magazines, direct mail pieces, and catalogs. "Since the CiPress prints on the same substrates as our offset presses, we…no longer need to use expensive coated substrates," says the firm's director Joachim Glowalla. The digital press uses water-free ink based on a granular polymer resin, which is melted in the printhead and then applied in liquid form onto the paper. Through this technology, untreated, low-cost substrates can be printed, according to Xerox. "It allows us to put down a lot of ink on a page without distorting the sheet," explains Graupman, VP and GM of Xerox's inkjet business team. In 2013, CiPress 500 and 325 models became available as a single-engine duplex device. Opposites Compete With this spring's NBA Finals, looking at two inkjet web manufacturing giants on paper is like matching a pair of basketball powerhouses against each other. For fun, let's call our game the Hewlett-Packard Hornets vs. the Kodak Bears (Kodak, Kodiak: Get it?) and pretend that their head coaches have very diferent approaches. These teams' hardware stars are the HP T series and the Prosper series, respectively. "These presses and companies are practically opposite in every way," says scout/industry consultant Henry Freedman, who publishes the quarterly Technology Watch newsletter. Freedman, who spent more than 835 hours researching Kodak's Stream inkjet technology in 2012, pointed out some of the basic diferences: "The HP T presses are DoD (drop-on-demand) while the Kodak Prosper 5000XL is continuous inkjet," he writes. "The HP has a long paper path, while the Kodak has a short one. With HP, all inks remain wet until they dry together at the end of printing. Kodak dries between colors during HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press The HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press delivers speeds up to 600 fpm. printing." Freedman went on to scientifcally Advancements in HP's scalable printing technology, inks, and data pipeline discuss even more detailed diferences, combine in the T350 Color Inkjet Press to achieve a new level of productivity such as print head structure, jetting while maintaining excellent image quality. A comprehensive portfolio of partner fnishing solutions supports the productivity of the T350. With a speed that exceeds the HP T300's, the new HP T350 Color Inkjet paths, uniform dots versus random dots, low/high humectants, and digital front Web Press expands what users can do with digital, ofering a more produc- end design. To obtain a copy of the tive platform for streamlined, high-volume full color printing. The four-color, issue ($95), go to www.mytechnology- 30-inch-wide HP T350 also extends an up to 1200x600-dpi native resolution HP Inkjet Web Press product line that also includes the 30-inch-wide HP T300 and the 20.5-inch-wide, single-engine, duplex HP T200. MyPRINTResource.com/10177555 www.MyPRINTResource.com watch.com. (To subscribe to Technology Watch, email Freedman at h.freedman@ att.net.) AUGUST 2013 • INKJET'S AGE 15