Irish Printer - June 2014

Contents | IRISH PRINTER

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News » 4 A round up of some of the latest news from the Irish print industry.

Cover Story » 12 Ireland’s Biggest Print Finishers Celebrate 35 Years in Business.

Design » 15 David Smith of independent, multidisciplinary design studio Atelier David Smith talks to Maev Martin about his relationships with print companies and why he believes there are quality deficits in the pre-press and finishing side of the industry.

This issue’s cover, designed by Antoinette Sinclair, celebrates the 35 year anniversary of Printglaze Ltd. The print finishes on the cover include a high build spot UV, silver foil blocking, and soft touch lamination.

Awards Preview » 18 Irish Printer announces new categories and sponsors for the 37th Irish Print Awards and profiles some of the companies that are supporting this year’s event. Further profiles of award sponsors will feature in the July and August issues of Irish Printer.

Wide Format » 25 As exhibition fever draws to a close (for now!), Irish Printer reports on some of the technological innovations on display at at FESPA Digital in Munich (May 20th to 23rd) and at Sign & Digital in Birmingham (April 29th to May 1st).

25 Colour Management » 29 Digital Dots Managing Director Laurel Brunner explains why print firms should seriously consider becoming ISO colour certified if they want to make the grade with global brands.

Packaging » 33 • Steve

McAdam, Vice President, Creative Services, Leo Luxe, talks about how brand strategies for luxury products and package design have had to change and continue to adapt to remain competitive.

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•P roduct packaging design can be a complicated but rather hidden process that most people never realise is occurring within businesses around the world. Jonny Rowntree, of creative, digital and print service company Elanders, explains.

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IRISH PRINTER | Editor’s Letter

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ay was a sad month for the Irish printing industry. After a period of relative stability one of our most professional and high quality operations went out of business. Founded in 1981 and with a team of over 50 employees, Hudson Killeen was one of Ireland’s largest providers of full print service solutions. Their pre-press, printing, finishing, warehousing and distribution departments were major suppliers, either directly or indirectly, to a broad spectrum of clients, including state and semi-state bodies, corporate organisations, NGOs, and advertising, design and public relations consultancies. The name Hudson Killeen has been synonymous with print and service quality throughout its 33 years in business. That reputation for delivering consistently high quality output was reflected in the company’s success in the Irish Print Awards. No company has won more awards in the history of the event. Last year Hudson Killeen won the Sheetfed Colour Offset Printing category, bringing the company’s total tally of Irish Print Awards to 16. This includes winning the Irish Print of the Year Award four times (1991, 2004, 2008 and 2010) and winning the Sheetfed Colour Offset Printing category seven times. Other categories in which Hudson Killeen has won awards include Books, Book Finishing, Magazines and Annual Reports. They have also received an additional 28 nominations over the years. In early 2013, the company received the inaugural Print Irish Printer of the Year Award at the National Print Museum. This award recognises professionalism and excellence among Print Irish brand licence holders. This was followed by a nomination in the international Lucie Awards in New York for their work on Blow magazine. A previous issue of this publication won the Print of the Year award in the 2010 Irish Print Awards.

In a statement on behalf of the company Jim Hudson pointed to the adverse factors which have afflicted the Irish print industry since 2008 and cited the bursting of the property bubble, followed by the banking crisis and the subsequent economic collapse, as having set the scene for “the carnage” that followed. “This was subsequently exacerbated by the huge outflow of print work from this economy to the UK following the severe devaluation of Sterling against the Euro a few years ago and the policy of discounting print prices as loss leaders by some print management companies in order to attract more lucrative aspects of the customers’ business,” he said. The fact that a company of the calibre of Hudson Killeen ends up with no option other than to go into voluntary liquidation is a very serious reflection on the trading conditions that have been in existence in our industry since the economic collapse of 2008. Printers bidding below cost to secure contracts has had a chronic effect on those businesses that have been trading profitably. The companies that are trading insolvent go out of business - eventually - but not before they take out some of the more economically viable players with them. I don’t know what the solution to this problem is. What I do know is that the industry needs to re-discover the spirit that it had a few years ago when it came together and lobbied government for changes to public procurement regulations, the national apprenticeship scheme, and on the VAT issue.

The collapse of Hudson Killeen tells us that no business in our industry is too big to fail and that the production of consistently high quality printed material doesn’t make you immune to the precarious economic environment that still exists, despite the ‘positive’ government rhetoric. The industry must act, and act quickly, to ensure that there aren’t further casualties in the coming months.

Maev Martin Editor Email: maeve.martin@ashvillemediagroup.com Tel: (01) 432 2271

The team

Editor: Maev Martin Editorial Manager: Mary Connaughton

Cover Design: Antoinette Sinclair Cover Finish: Printglaze Ltd

Art Director: Jane Matthews Design & Layout: Alan McArthur/Seamus Neeson Advertising Designers: Jennifer Reid/Colm MacDermott Stock Photography & Illustrations: Thinkstock

This issue of Irish Printer is printed on LumiArt 170gsm paper supplied by PaperlinX Ireland.

Production Manager: Mary Connaughton Production: Jennifer Reid Printed by: Walsh Colour Print

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Contact: Irish Printer, Ashville Media Group, Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7 Tel: (01) 432 2200 Web: www.irishprinter.ie

All rights reserved. Every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is accurate. The publishers cannot, however, accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © Ashville Media Group 2014. All discounts, promotions and competitions contained in this magazine are run independently of Irish Printer. The promoter/advertiser is responsible for honouring the prize. ISSN 0790-2026

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IRISH PRINTER | News

Screen Printing Now!

manroland to Represent Friedheim in Ireland

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he FESPA UK Association and Sakurai Graphic Systems Ltd will host the ‘Screen Printing Now’ conference in London from September 30th to October 2nd. The conference will be the only dedicated screen printing conference to be held in the UK this year and aims to highlight the latest profit-enhancing developments in the world of screen print. As well as hearing from the industry’s opinionformers on their specialist subjects, delegates will also have the opportunity to see live printing demonstrations, meet industry suppliers, and participate in networking sessions. There will be speakers from NJ Screen Prints Ltd, DS Smith Multigraphics, Marabu UK Ltd, the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, Sakurai Japan, Natgraph Ltd, MacDermid Autotype, G Bopp and Co Ltd and CST GmbH, among others.

“We are constantly being told by our members and others in the industry that screen printing is far from a dying process and that it offers unique solutions,” says Martyn Hicks, Chairman of FESPA UK. “It is actually becoming increasingly important in certain sectors, so Screen Printing Now is not only a celebration of screen printing but also an opportunity for delegates to discover how the process is accelerating its development to serve future technologies. With each day dedicated to one of the three main sectors industrial, graphic, and textile - we are confident that the event will provide invaluable insights and information for anyone involved in screen printing.”

To register interest in the Screen Printing Now conference, visit: www.fespauk.com. For further information, contact Peter Kiddell – peter.kiddell@fespauk.com. Tel: 00 44 1226 321202 or Carol Swift – carol. swift@fespauk.com. Tel: 00 44 1226 321202.

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Martin Lockley (left) with Mark Bristow at IPEX 2014.

anroland Ireland and Friedheim International recently announced final details of an agreement brokered at Ipex 2014 regarding representation of the Friedheim stable of post-press products in the Republic of Ireland.

“The agreement we have signed with manroland Ireland allows us to have a more solid sales representation in Ireland,” says Mark Bristow, Managing Director of Friedheim International. “It means that we will have a sales resource on the ground each and every working day and if we need to further expand our agreement to cover technical service on specific products we can and will do so as the need arises.”

Friedheim International, which has the exclusive agency for over 20 finishing equipment manufacturers, had traditionally covered the Irish market with sales representatives visiting from the UK, along with a Scottish representative taking the main responsibility for generating sales leads.

“We have known Martin Lockley and his colleagues for some time: we meet relatively frequently as they already represent Wohlenberg in Ireland,” says Mark. “We know they are a competent and knowledgeable team who understand print in all of its many forms. The agreement that we have reached means that the manroland Ireland team will be in a position to proactively seek potential sales for our wide range of finishing products with both our existing customers and with new sites.”

Martin Lockley, Managing Director of manroland Ireland, says that customers will benefit from the local presence and support services that will be offered by manroland Ireland. “The agreement that we have signed means that our sales personnel have access to this significant portfolio of Friedheim International post-press products, which in turn means that we have something to offer almost any print-related business in Ireland. Our first task is to provide training for our team with regard to the capabilities of each piece of equipment and plans are already in place to accomplish this in the very near future. We see this opportunity as being the beginning of a successful long-term relationship between our two companies.”

News | IRISH PRINTER

Horizon Takes Home Gold at FESPA Awards

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orizon’s in-house Halloween Promotion and the Heineken Interactive Kick Game won joint gold for Best Integrated Print Campaign at the FESPA Awards 2014 in Munich last month.

Their creative Halloween direct mail campaign was designed to target creative and marketing agencies and to generate awareness of Horizon’s brand and marketing expertise, in addition to its top quality print production. The campaign was recently nominated in three categories and won Silver for Smartest Low-Volume Direct Mail at the An Post Smart Marketing Award 2014, competing against leading creative agencies like Target McConnells for Diageo and Javelin Direct for BT Ireland.

The Heineken Interactive Kick Game was specially developed using exclusively licensed motion controlled, augmented reality technology from Pure Communications. It was part of a multi-media campaign called ‘Get in the Game’, which was designed to bring the Heineken Cup experience from the pitch to fans’ mobile phones, computers and into pubs and homes throughout the four provinces of Ireland. A virtual Heineken stadium, featuring a large TV screen, synthetic pitch and crowd backdrop, was set up. Competitors took three place kicks of an ‘invisible’ ball from different locations within the virtual field of play. By kicking winning kicks they were then able to send tweets in support of their chosen teams.

Although Horizon won the award for the 2013 campaign, the game is still going strong this season and could be seen in many pubs leading up to the Heineken Cup Final 2014.

“FESPA is a global federation of 37 national associations and represents the best printers in the world,” says Horizon’s Marketing Manager Siobhan Sacker. “As well as being judged by worldwide experts, the coveted awards are also influenced by popular vote which makes it even more thrilling to win. We’d like to thank everyone who voted for us – it has really made our year! The last few months have

Horizon’s Managing Directors Ken Kavanagh and Derek Gillen with the winning trophy.

been extremely exciting for us. We won Best LargeFormat Digital Print of the Year at the Irish Print Awards 2013 and Smartest DirectMail Low-Volume in the An Post Smart Marketing Awards 2014.

Winning this now, and being internationally recognised as being at the top Horizon’s Halloween Promotion with edible marzipan fingers. of our game, is just incredible.”

“Advances in large format digital print Horizon’s are happening extremely rapidly at the Managing Directors Derek Gillen moment so going to FESPA is always and Ken Kavanagh had a great night an eye opener and it is great to bring meeting up with many of the top back this international expertise to the printers in the world and they raised a Irish market,” says Derek Gillen. few glasses of champers in honour of Horizon is a leading provider of print the voters! solutions, offering their clients point Apart from picking up the of sale, out of home and interactive prestigious international award, digital campaigns, as well as brand and Horizon was at the FESPA exhibition to marketing expertise. They employ over investigate the latest technology game 60 people in two custom-built premises changers in print and to decide on and are at the forefront of the latest the latest innovations that they could innovations in international print. bring back to their clients in Ireland.

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IRISH PRINTER | News

Choosing Right Paperboard Reduces Total Cost

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ary Peeling, CEO of family-owned printers Precision Printing in Barking, east London, recently discovered that choosing the right paperboard reduced the cost of his entire production.

“Not only that, if we’d taken the cheap route in choosing a material we couldn’t have done the job,” he says.

In the autumn of 2013 Gary was asked to do what must be the ultimate dream job for any digital printer.

American Express planned to do a direct mailing to 280,000 customers in the UK. ‘Think Big - Shop Small’ was the theme and the mail campaign aimed to persuade cardholders to make discounted purchases in small shops on a particular day. The date set was December 7th and the 280,000 mailings had to reach Amex’s customers well in advance.

The mailing was designed

by Ogilvy, London and involved several challenges.

It was in a concertina format and the background colour in the bleed area was also black, which can create considerable risk of cracking at the folds.

“If we’d used a standard

paperboard - any of them - we’d have been forced to laminate the paperboard at a cost of £14,000 to avoid cracks,” Gary explains. “By choosing Invercote Creato from Iggesund Paperboard we didn’t have to laminate because it doesn’t crack after you’ve creased it.”

The benefits didn’t stop there. Lamination would also have made it impossible to machine fold the mailings because there would have been a stronger crease rebound. The alternative would have been to hand fold and hand pack the 280,000 units. “Then we would simply not have finished the job in time,” says Gary. “Invercote Creato functioned perfectly in our process and increased our productivity in an impressive way. Such effects are rarely visible in small jobs but with a bigger print run the effects on both productivity and overall economy become very obvious.”

The question of why digital printing was chosen at all for a job with such a large edition size is itself interesting. Only a few years ago people said it was hardly worthwhile to digitally print editions over

Gary Peeling, CEO of Precision Printing, which digitally printed 280,000 copies of a mailing for an American Express campaign.

500. In this case, one cause of the improved productivity was that Precision Printing decided early on to invest in an HP Indigo 10000 with a larger sheet size than the digital standard. “Now we can get five A4 sheets from a print sheet instead of just two which, of course, reduces the total cost per unit,” says Gary. “That, combined with the ability to personalise in four colours instead of doing a laser printing, was the key

reason behind the decision to digitally print the edition.”

For more than a decade people have said that personalisation will become an important driver of digital printing’s development. Perhaps Precision Printing’s job for American Express proves that elegant personalisation can in fact be more important than constantly striving for the lowest unit cost.

Canon Retains the Lead for Digital Production Printing Canon Commercial Printing Group, formerly known as Oce Commercial Printing, has retained its market leading position as number one in monochrome continuous feed technology in Western Europe and the US for the 17th consecutive year, according to the latest findings of market research company Infotrends. The 2013 report findings place Canon’s Commercial Printing Group in the top spot, with a reported market reach in 2013 of 44% for production continuous inkjet printing in the transactional, direct mail and graphic arts sectors. “Two thirds of all inkjet decision makers in Europe have ranked Canon in the number one position after intense market analysis,” says Peter Wolff, Director, Commercial Printing Group, Canon Europe. “Our industry-leading portfolio of continuous feed technologies – including the Oce Colorstream, ImageStream, JetStream and VarioStream ranges – has continually led the way in high speed industrial digital printing.”

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News | IRISH PRINTER

Printer and MFP Market Growth Exceeds 7%

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he latest Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker from International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that the Western European printer and multifunction (MFP) markets grew 7.1% year-on-year in quarter one of 2014 - the fourth quarter of continuous growth in the region.

Shipments were 5.36 million units, which equates to growth of over 350,000 units compared with the same period in 2013. Market value also increased, to $2.66bn, representing year-on-year growth of 1.7%. This was fuelled by strong growth in the colour laser, colour inkjet, and high-speed inkjet segments. The market for MFPs continues to increase at the expense of the declining printer market. MFPs accounted for 78% of all shipments, with growth in inkjets and colour laser markets. The printer market was mixed, with inkjet shipments slightly higher but colour and monochrome laser markets contracting. Total inkjet markets increased 13.4% in the first quarter of 2014 from the first quarter of 2013. Business inkjets showed the most year-on-year growth at 23.6% but consumer markets also bounced back.

Overall printers declined 5.7% but there were pockets of growth such as highspeed inkjet production, and labels and packaging production. Serial impact dot matrix markets declined year-onyear by 7.9%.

The UK showed one of the strongest growth patterns in quarter one of 2014, with a recorded increase of 22.4%. The inkjet market increased very strongly with growth of 32.1% year-on-year, but the first quarter of 2013 was quite a poor quarter in contrast. Most growth was found in the consumer markets, while growth for business markets was more muted but still positive. Laser markets contracted by 1.4% as growth was only recorded in colour and monochrome MFP markets and therefore the UK followed other countries in seeing printer markets contract. The high-speed inkjet production market in the UK was particularly strong when compared with other countries, and the labels and packaging production market also doubled when compared with quarter one of 2013.

An Appreciation

Owen A. Curran

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he death was recently announced of Owen A. Curran, retired General Secretary of the Irish Print Group (SIPTU). Owen commenced his full time career in the trade union movement in 1975 when he was elected General Secretary of the Irish Graphical Society. Through his tenure as General Secretary, he oversaw the amalgamation of the Irish Bookbinders and Allied Trade Unions, The Electrotypers and Stereotypers Society and the Irish Graphical Society to form The Irish Print Union in 1984. In 1998 he successfully negotiated the Irish Print Union Transfer of Undertakings with SIPTU to form the Irish Print Group (SIPTU). He also served on the executive committee of the ICTU and served as the Irish print representative on the International Graphical Federation and the European Graphical Federation.

Following his retirement he was elected to the Senior Citizens Parliament.

To mark the bi-centenary of the Irish Print Group (SIPTU), in 2009, Owen was tasked with writing the history of the union “Two Hundred Years of Trade Unionism 1809-2009”, which traced the foundation of the union from its humble beginnings in 1809 to the present century. This pioneering and informative overview of Dublin’s print industry history and its attendant trade unionism serves as both an introduction for the general reader and as a synopsis for the specialist in Irish trade union history. Owen will be greatly missed by all the members in the printing industry and by a very wide circle of comrades and friends. Owen is survived by his wife Ita, daughter Margaret, and sons Kevin, Paul and Eugene.

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IRISH PRINTER | News

Trade Printing Giant Makes KBA Investment

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K trade printing phenomenon, Tradeprint.co.uk, is to expand its litho print offering with the addition of its first KBA press. The highly automated eight-colour longperfector B1 Rapida 106 - billed by KBA as the ‘world makeready champion’ following a string of productivity records at successive major international printing events - will be additional capacity for Tradeprint. co.uk and will run alongside its bank of Heidelberg presses.

Tradeprint.co.uk built its business on commercial jobbing products such as business cards, posters and leaflets, typically in runs of around 2,000.

Much of the growth has been driven by its early adoption of a web-to-print portal and the new press investment is an endorsement of the success of the business model it has pioneered.

“The principle of ganging work and the economies of scale are nothing new, but what we are doing is more than that,” says Managing Director Rod Scrimgeour. “Because of the size of our enterprise we are able to introduce the very latest technologies and the most sophisticated production systems into our automated workflows; this means ordinary printers, print buyers, agencies and brand managers right across the country, or even further afield, are able to benefit from cutting edge production regimes without any of the headaches, heartbreaks or financial risks that would normally be involved.

For many of our printer customers, we are becoming their pressrooms. They are able to sell their larger machines and not have to replace them. And now we are finding increasing numbers of design agencies, print buyers and brand managers are beginning to realise that we are a competitive and credible option for them.”

The impetus for extra press capacity at this time is an extension of the Tradeprint.co.uk W2P facility. “Until now our customers have tended to use our W2P service as a back office, clearing transactions as they go, or on an hourly basis,” says Rod Scrimgeour.

“Our new PrintGateway.co.uk will provide them with a complete print reseller web solution to interface

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direct with their customers.

They can bolt it onto their existing site and even rebrand it to merge seamlessly with their corporate style; it will cut out all the administration elements, freeing up time and room to build margins.”

In addition to its internet initiative, Tradeprint.co.uk is to expand its personal Tradeprint.co.uk’s Rod Scrimgeour (left) with Chris Scully, account handler Sales Director, Sheetfed Presses, KBA (UK) Ltd. telephone service. plate in right unit), DataMatrix-Select “Although, of course, we can take (automatic plate identification and orders by phone, the primary purpose uploading of job data via PlateIdent), of the account handlers is to offer 18000 sph maximum production advice, explain our processes and our speed, Ink Temp Control, Alcohol services and to help our customers to Free Printing, CleanTronic Multi choose the right solutions in much the (simultaneous washing of blanket & same way as they offer their expertise impression cylinders while changing to the end-customer,” says Rod. “The the plates), Wallscreen, QualiTronic landscape of print is changing and this Colour Control (production tool to is a model that combines the best of ensure consistency on the run) and the old with the best of the new.”

QualiTronic ‘reduced control strip The Tradeprint.co.uk RAPIDA 106 will height’. be supplied with SPC (Simultaneous The Tradeprint.co.uk RAPIDA 106 will Plate Changing), SIS (KBA Sidelay free also be configured with the option to Infeed System), PlateIdent (adjusts retrofit KBA’s Flying JobChange system. the plate for register, checks right

The highly automated eight-colour long-perfector B1 Rapida 106

News | IRISH PRINTER

Canon Gets Closer to Customers

Canon Europe got closer to its customers by engaging with over 2,600 printers at a two-week Canon for Business 2014 event at the company’s facility at Poing near Munich in Germany.

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aking advantage of the available floor space of 6,000 square metres, Canon took visiting customers on a virtual journey split into four stages - Insight, Inspiration, Delivery and Support. Starting with Insight, customers were given an overview of the key findings of the latest market research independently conducted on behalf of Canon. Entitled ‘Building Your Future with Print, the new research highlights the difference in perceptions between printers and print buyers, the opportunities for growth in multi-channel communications, and makes recommendations for the future success of print companies.

Inspiration was provided through a programme of seminars, business mentoring to address customers’ specific issues, and Canon’s Business & Information Scan, which offers an independent assessment of a customer’s current business capabilities and highlights opportunities for growth. At the Delivery and Support stages of the customer journey, Canon showcased the full portfolio of its professional print solutions, including wide format, cut-sheet and continuous feed devices and software, arranged by application.

New technologies launched at the event included the light production imagePress C800 Series, together with two new continuous feed presses, the Oce ImageStream 3500 and the Oce VarioStream 4000. The imagePress C800 Series comprises two models – the 70ppm imagePress C700 and the 80ppm imagePress C800 – and features a number of new and improved technologies including Consistently Vivid (CV) toner, Compact Registration Technology and Auto Correct Colour Tone. The imagePress 800 can run at maximum speed on heavy stock up to 220gsm. It can produce duplex print jobs on heavy weight media up to 300gsm and Canon claims that the Elastic Intermediate Transfer Belt on the press allows it to produce extensive applications on uneven media, such as textured or recycled media.

The Oce VarioStream 4000 has been developed for corporate data centres and commercial printing companies with mid to very high print volumes and it can be integrated into a print company’s production lines alongside other Canon continuous feed machines. Even print jobs that are normally produced on a digital colour press can be printed on VarioStream 4000 without pre-press modification. It can

The Canon Image Press C800.

also be used to proof prints or as a backup for Canon’s inkjet printers. The Oce ImageStream 3500 is Canon’s first full colour press from its Oce inkjet product range that can print on offset coated paper stocks. This enables printers to consistently produce the same quality output across both offset and digital production lines – removing the need for two different types of paper. The Oce ImageStream 3500 can run up to 160m/min (525ft/min) at 1200 x 600dpi and is ideal for high-end applications such as books, brochures, magazines and personalised catalogues. “With the development of the Oce ImageStream 3500, there has never been a more enticing and attractive proposition for commercial printers using offset technology to enter the digital printing market,” says Peter Wolff, Director, Commercial Printing Group, Canon Europe. “The Oce ImageStream rivals the speed and image quality of offset technologies, such as conventional B2 presses, while harnessing the capabilities of digital printing technology for shorter runs, print-on-demand and variable data for personalisation.”

Customers who were interested in Canon’s wide format solutions were transported to Fespa Digital 2014, 20 minutes away in Munich, to experience Canon’s full range of wide format solutions on the Canon stand (see Page 27).

The Oce Image Stream 3500.

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IRISH PRINTER | News

Drogheda Printer is First with EFI Technology

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irst Print Digital in Drogheda, Co Louth, has become the first print company in the country to install the EFI H652 UV hybrid printer.

The four-colour plus white press with integrated EFI fiery RIP software was installed at the end of April and supplied

by Neopost Ireland, who recently signed a distribution deal with EFI to distribute their wide format printers in Ireland.

The printer handles a wide range of flexible and rigid media, including foam board, PVC, styrene, corrugated plastics, plywood, MDO, paper, aluminium, aluminium plastic composite, cardboard, acrylic and glass, and is ideal for applications such as banners, display graphics, exhibition graphics, flags, indoor and outdoor signage, posters and point of purchase advertising. “The EFI H652 wide format press can handle flexible and rigid substrates up to 65 inches wide and 1.8 inches thick, it can take media up to 34kg in weight, and it

can print up to 42.27 square metres per hour,” says First Print Digital’s Managing Director Declan Haughey. “We installed the device for a number of reasons – it comes with more competitively priced inks, it is three times faster than the Roland device that we were operating (Declan has traded the Roland in against this new EFI model) and it gives First Print Digital great flexibility with its wide format printing operation. I can re-register with the EFI H652 so it is much easier to print back to back, and the printer is very user friendly. Up until recently if we were printing an 8 inch x 4 inch sign we would print it on a vinyl material, put a laminate on top of it and attach it to corri board or aluminium or whatever the substrate was. With the new EFI H652 I can now put my substrate directly onto the machine so it saves me time and money. The other big benefit is that it can print white so we can print on perspex glass and on other

clear substrates. In addition, First Digital Print is hoping to move into new, more specialised wide format applications with this new machine. I’m very happy with the service that we have received from Neopost Ireland. They are always very helpful and at the end of the phone when we have any queries. Everyone in the Irish print industry has similar machines so this new EFI H652 model means I can produce something that 90% of the other players in the market can’t produce.”

First Print Digital operate two other wide format printers – a 30-inch Roland VersaCamm and a 54-inch Roland Soljet Pro3. They also run a Datapress reel to reel machine for printing on rolls, and screen printing facilities.

“Despite the growing popularity of large format digital print, our screen printing operation hasn’t declined and, if anything, it is growing slightly,” he says.

Senior Appointments in Clondalkin’s UK Business

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londalkin Group has appointed Mark White as Managing Director and Peter Richardson as Sales Director of its UK carton and label business. The UK carton and label business consists of Clondalkin Group facilities in Northampton, Great Harwood, Hull and Kimbolton, and forms part of the Group’s specialist packaging division.

Mark White has been with the company for a number of years and held various senior management positions in the UK and Europe. Peter Richardson has 25 years experience of working in the packaging industry. Clondalkin Group’s Specialist Packaging Division has 24 production sites throughout North America and Europe and includes folding cartons, labels, leaflets, literature and inserts/outserts businesses, along with paper packaging and printing components.

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News | IRISH PRINTER

UK’s First Major Investment in LED-UV Offset

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otherham-based B&B Press Ltd recently ordered the UK’s first LEDUV offset presses from Sakurai Graphic Systems. This investment, which is well in excess of Stg£1m, will see the first of two presses, a Sakurai Oliver 480SD LED UV four colour offset press, installed in late June. This will be followed by a 580SD LED UV five colour offset press which will be installed in the third quarter of this year.

The purchase is the culmination of extensive research by B&B which began last summer and involved many site visits to various manufacturers. It also involved site visits to some of Sakurai’s existing LED customers in Japan and tests in the Sakurai showroom in Tokyo.

“Because the technology is so new, especially here in the UK, we needed to investigate it fully,” says B&B Press Managing Director Barry Liversidge.

“We are particularly pleased to be making this re-investment with Sakurai with whom we have had an excellent working relationship for more than 25

years.” Production Director Nigel Tolley says that, as a carbon neutral company, the new technology ‘fits perfectly’ with their production requirements in terms of power consumption, savings on coatings, no mercury lamps etc.

Sakurai UK’s Branch Manager David Ryan says that both he and Sakurai’s LED partners Baldwin Technology Company are delighted with the pioneering installation. “There has been no innovation in offset presses for many years but Sakurai has now introduced LED drying technology which is manufactured by US-based global manufacturer of printing press accessories and controls, Baldwin Technology Company,” he says. “This is huge for our respective companies and a great tribute to the longevity of our relationship which, in this case, endured some extremely tough competition. This is the first press with this technology that any company has sold in the UK and we were working on the project with our best customer in the UK. B&B

were looking to upgrade their offset presses so they decided to invest in our four colour B2 LED UV press, which is a conventional press converted to printing UV with this LED technology on the end of it. This new press provides printers with instant drying. The cost of running a conventional coater takes as much power as it does to run a press. If you are coating you are spending a lot on varnishing so this technology is a major cost saving for offset litho technology.

The Sakurai Oliver 480SD LED UV four colour offset press replaces B&B’s four colour B2 press with coater as well as their five colour B2 with coater. Sakurai is planning to further develop the hugely exciting opportunities that this new technology provides for the printing industry.

Now that we have secured the first UK LED UV order, we are in discussions with Baldwin about showcasing the technology in our own showroom where we have made a significant investment over the past 12 months.”

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Cover Story | IRISH PRINTER

Ireland’s Biggest Print Finishers Celebrate

35 Years in Business Printglaze is Ireland’s longest established print finishing company. It also boasts the widest array of print finishing services and equipment on the island, and its recent technological investment is set to give it the edge in the ultra competitive packaging sector. Maev Martin reports.

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rintglaze is celebrating 35 years in business this year, which is quite an achievement given the contraction that has occurred in the Irish print market, particularly over the last six years. The company has remained at the forefront of finishing throughout its trading career to date and currently employs 30 staff. Printglaze started its business life as a trade laminator in 1979.

The company’s founder, Fernon de Monge Snr, saw a gap in the market as there was no trade laminating house in Ireland at that time. “The company began trading with two staff and one machine in a small unit in Kilmainham but the business grew quickly to the point where it had established a large customer base and was producing print finishing for some of the biggest names in print,” says Fernon. “Sadly, not many of those companies are operating in the industry today. Most of the work produced by Printglaze in the early years was for the commercial market but we then moved into the computer manual sector, which experienced huge growth in the early 1980s. Following the further boost to our business from the growth of the computer manual sector, we decided to move again to a larger premises in 1985 and we gradually began adding other finishing

12

technologies to our service portfolio. This led to a period of sustained growth for Printglaze, with big contracts being secured with the likes of Hallmark Cards, which were supplying their product throughout Europe, and John Hinde which was supplying the North American market.” Printglaze moved to its current 35,000 square foot facility in Cherry Orchard Industrial Estate in Dublin in 1998. The factory operates 24 hours a day.

“Over the years we have seen print companies invest in finishing equipment because they have secured new business but that equipment often ends up being under utilised for long periods of time,”

Cover Story | IRISH PRINTER

says Fernon. “A lot of printing companies have chased the in-house dream but they don’t always benefit from it because they don’t have the necessary skills and resources to bring new finishing products to the market in a way that benefits them and their customers. Nine times out of ten the companies that have brought finishing processes in-house are the ones who have gone bust so there’s a lot to be said

The new Iberica JR-105 Varioplan flatbed die cutter.

for sticking to what they are really good at, which is their core printing operation.”

Cutting Edge Technology Printglaze has invested over €2m in new equipment over the past three years but their most recent investment programme has been driven by their desire to offer a more cost effective service to the packaging sector. The new Iberica JR-105 Varioplan flatbed die cutter with fully automated stripping was installed last August and Managing Director Fernon de Monge is amazed at the increase in productivity that the new machine has brought to the business.

“Our old machine could die cut 3,000 sheets an hour whereas the Iberica can die cut 8,000 sheets,” says Fernon. “This new die cutter has given us additional capacity, thanks to its high die cutting performance, high up-time and reduced handling, while at the same time delivering the excellent quality that our customers demand. Apart from the significant increase in productivity, we are delighted with its ease of operation, its quick make ready times, its ability to die cut and emboss in one pass, and its versatility the device can switch from paper carton or e-flute in a matter of minutes.”

The Duran Intro Pro 110 gluing line is the second new addition to Printglaze’s extensive array of finishing technology. Installed in April, the new €200,000 Duran gluing line replaces their old Jagenberg 924. “That machine served us well but this new machine is the most up-to-date technology available in the market,” says Fernon. “It can glue a straightline job of 50,000 cartons per hour, it features code readers, and it will automatically reject any contamination at high speed. With the Duran Intro Pro 110 gluing line we can now finish a wide range of folding cartons for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, and luxury confectionery industries. These include straightline, crashlock, four corner, conical, double wall and Z cartons. An additional code reader facility has been added to the gluing line and this detects any faulty product and ejects it at speed without disturbing the line speed. An increasing number of pharmaceutical companies are requiring trace capability and this technology responds to that need because the gluer can use barcode or pharma code black and white. Printglaze has always produced carton work so packaging isn’t a new sector for us. However, the speed of our equipment wasn’t sufficient to allow us to finish competitively for the carton packaging sector. The new Iberica JR105 Varioplan flatbed die cutter and the new Duran Intro Pro 110 gluing line will allow us to compete successfully for carton work and for other high end finishing that is required in the packaging sector. With these investments Printglaze is now fully kitted out for large run work, but also for the short run, quick turnaround market.”

Completing Printglaze’s line-up of recently installed equipment is the MBO T800 folding line which they purchased in March. This brings the total number of folding lines operated by the company to seven.

“They run mostly book work - 32pp and 16pp

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IRISH PRINTER | Cover Story

The Duran Intro Pro 110 gluing line.

sections,” says Fernon. “We have experienced a big increase in running speeds so this latest addition to our folding capability helps to keep our stitching, binding and sewing lines fed.”

And they aren’t finished installing the latest technology yet. A new Komann window patcher is on the way and a machine that will allow them to die cut inline on stitched and perfect bound booklets, down to miniature sizes, will also be installed later this year.

the largest and most modern foiling operations in the country, which is capable of turning around work faster than anyone else,” says Fernon. “We are able to foil from SRA3 to B1 size, from paper to board, at speeds of up to 5,000 sheets per hour. We are particularly proud of one special cover that required five different foil colours with fine registration. The final bound product formed one of the entries in the Irish Print Awards in 2009.”

Lamination

PUR/Perfect Binding

Printglaze’s extensive array of lamination services is among the most varied and largest in Ireland. “Lamination is the original, and still the ultimate, high impact finish that brings vibrancy to colours and monochrome alike,” says Fernon. “All of our films have their own unique look and feel to improve the appearance of any finished product. We offer a wide range of lamination options, including organic lamination or bioglaze, the environmentally-conscious alternative to traditional plastic film which is now available in gloss, matt, semitone and satin, Pearlescent from Reflections, an opaque laminate that delivers a pearlescent appearance to the final sheet, and our holographic range, which is the ultimate in decorative coatings.

These transparent films can be used over or underneath print to enhance a product and there are hundreds of designs and patterns to choose from. Soft Touch is a laminated finish that creates a high quality feel to the surface of any printed sheet.

The fact that it is a clear film that has the appearance of a rich matt finish makes it ideal for the packaging of luxury goods.”

The same process is employed for both PUR binding and perfect binding. However, perfect binding uses EVA adhesive or hot melts while PUR binding uses polyurethane reactive. “Numerous considerations, such as paper weight and type, number of pages, spine thickness, text grain direction, and the intended use and longevity of the product, must be discussed before planning and print,” says Fernon. “For example, PUR binding offers superior adhesion over EVA and has greater ability to lay flat without compromising the binding strength. This also offers better heat and cold resistance. However, perfect binding is a more economical type of binding than PUR. It is ideal for short-life books such as annual reports or magazines and it works well with lighter stocks and uncoated papers.”

UV Varnish UV varnishing is extremely popular in today’s print market.

Whether it is an overall coating or a spot effect, it is a visually stunning technology. “Our UV varnish is available in gloss, matt and silk finishes and is one of the best methods available to greatly enhance the appearance of a printed sheet,” says Fernon.

“Once a UV varnish is applied, the vibrancy of any underlying colour will have increased dramatically. It can also help protect the underlying print, preventing additional set off and marking.”

Foil Blocking Foil blocking is one of finishing’s most enduring and popular enhancements. The decorative finish never fails to elicit an instant customer reaction. “At Printglaze we are proud of having one of

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Stitch & Trim Printglaze’s main field of expertise is feed stitch and trim work.

They operate a Muller Martini 360 trimmer with a 355 stitcher, which comprises seven feeders and flat cover feeder. “We can do two-up or work with a gutter or a dead split,” says Fernon. “Our machines are also equipped with miniature stitching capabilities and four loop head stitching. We can endorse feed inline now to size 105mm x 80mm at speeds of up to 18,000 copies per hour.”

Thread Sewing When it comes to bookbinding, thread sewing is the ultimate finish. Printglaze has two Muller Martini gathering lines that work in tandem with two Aster thread sewing machines, which run 16 hours a day. “Thread sewing is ideal for school books and price catalogues, essentially any product that needs to have a long shelf life,” says Fernon. “Folded signatures are gathered and individually sewn together as a book block. When thread sewing is applied, books can be pushed flat, making them easier to read and lay flat.”

Design | IRISH PRINTER

Glenpark, 2009 Product: Event Announcement/Record Printer: Plus Print, Dublin

An Enviable Reputation for Quality David Smith of independent, multi-disciplinary design studio Atelier David Smith talks to Maev Martin about his relationships with print companies and why he believes there are quality deficits in the pre-press and finishing side of the industry.

Q

: Projects designed by Atelier David Smith have secured Irish Print of the Year awards and Small Printer of the Year awards in the Irish Print Awards. What print companies did you work with on these projects and how many times has your work featured as a winning project in the Irish Print Awards?

A: Our principal Irish print suppliers are Plus Print and Print Media Services and both have had success with submissions of our work to the Irish Print Awards. The first project acknowledged in the Irish Print Awards was a project called Home, a publication about Ballymun Pigeon Club, which was printed by Wood Printcraft in 2004 when Paddy Gallagher of Print Media Services was still with them. The title was also the first of our projects to receive an ICAD gold award for design. More recent projects include the identity and promotional collateral for IDEATE festival in Kilkenny, which was printed by Plus Print.

Q

: In your opinion, why have the print companies that you have worked with been so successful in the Irish Print Awards?

A: Much of the work that has received recognition is for cultural or public sector clients. These are typically projects with modest budgets assigned to them so to distinguish them we need to be clever or innovative in the print production. This requires us as designers to have a thorough understanding of the production processes and techniques available to us - within the available budget - and it also requires our supplier to be motivated and interested in testing and implementing different processes or techniques.

Q

: What are the key attributes that you look for in the print companies that you work with?

A: A very high level of quality is a given but we push both Paddy Gallagher of

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IRISH PRINTER | Design

Home Product: Event Announcement/Record Printer: Wood Printcraft, Dublin

Glenpark, 2009 Product: Event Announcement/Record Printer: Plus Print, Dublin

House Projects, 2008 Product: Collection of projects and exhibitions Printer: Drukkerij Rosbeek BV, Nuth

Ideate Festival, 2013 Product: Festival Programme Printer: Plus Print

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Print Media Services and John Kenny of Plus Print hard in respect of meeting our ambitions or testing the parameters of budgets and processes. They have to be as committed and motivated as we are to make new or different work and, to be fair to both, they have risen to many challenges and demanding requests over the years that we have worked together. If I’m honest neither company ‘need’ to work with us and they know that there are easier jobs and options available to them but on occasion the staff in both businesses have gone above and beyond the call of duty to meet our high standards and expectations. We don’t always achieve our goals but we’re all working long enough together to ensure that we minimise any likelihood of a mishap or error at any stage of the production.

Q

: You say that the most inventive and creative work that you produce isn’t printed in Ireland. Can you explain why you think this is the case? You also claim that the quality of pre-press work and of print finishing in Ireland is a ‘big issue’ for you. Can you elaborate on this?

A: Relative to other design practices we design and produce a lot of books.

Some are reasonably straightforward and others could be classified as inventive or innovative in their form or use of materials. I believe that the production of a book has little or no margin for error. The form of the book as it relates to the content; the material choices for cover and text, the binding and the sewing, and finally the presentation of the book as an object must integrate seamlessly so the reader is not distracted in any way from the

experience of reading and understanding the book’s content and intentions. To achieve this there are multiple inputs from experts and if there is one ‘weak link’ or less than expert input the result is diminished. It pains me to say that unfortunately the craft of print and of print finishing is just not sustained or nurtured enough here to allow us meet the high standards we promise our clients. That lack of confidence - born of experience - means that we entrust experts in the Netherlands and Germany with what may be classified as our most ‘inventive or creative’ work.

Equally, very specialist pre-press knowledge is absolutely critical to guaranteeing faithful and exacting reproductions of colour critical content across various papers and substrates.

The nuanced adjustments necessary to ensure consistency throughout a book that may use four or five different papers and stocks is just not on offer here and the pre-press expertise (and the pressmanship) to be able to identify in advance potential issues is rarely in evidence. This is possibly the consequence of the great technical advances and efficiencies achieved over the last 20 years - by embracing technology we’ve lost some of the core knowledge and expertise. For example, through PDF and digital workflow the real knowledge of how colour works on screen and on paper is being lost and the ability to interpret how and what may be effected under different press conditions is rarely considered.

Arguably, the same could be said about the print finishing craft and techniques.

We actually had a situation with a very ‘reputable’ Irish supplier that we had to engage with on the basis of a client’s request. We provided explicit

Design | IRISH PRINTER

Vernacular, 2013 Product: Exhibition Programme Printer: Print Media Services

direction and specifications on the preparation and printing of a job which the company chose to ignore. As a consequence the client refused the job and in having to reprint the job we found out that the knowledge necessary to implement and effect the directions from us was not available in what is a very large print company. The in-house pre-press facility was essentially a clearing house for PDFs. My colleague had to direct and manually adjust and create the right conditions on site in front of our client as the printer and pre-press staff looked on.

Q

: Could Irish print companies learn any lessons about specific aspects of the pre-press, press and finishing sides of the business from their overseas counterparts?

A: There is no question that they could. They could also learn it from themselves as it exists in pockets here but is simply not universally available or shared. Digital tools and efficiencies in work flow are great for both designers and printers. However, they may contribute to a great deficiency in knowledge as ‘operators’ are not crafts people and are not being trained to be expert in their discipline. This results in individuals having discrete knowledge sets but no understanding about how it effects or contributes to the overall process or outcome. You could say there is a lack of joined-up thinking.

Q

: Can you tell me about the projects for which Atelier David Smith has won National Design Awards?

A: For a small practice we’ve had great success over the years, having won over 50 national design awards. We are the only graphic design practice to have won ICAD Gold Awards for printed communications in the last ten years, having won four golds for Home (2004), Pallas Projects Book (2007), Glenpark Project Poster (2010), and the Firestation Artist Studio 10 book (2010).

Recent awards include a prestigious EYE Award from the IDI for the best overall brand identity for the IDEATE Festival at the National Craft Gallery, which was the same project that secured the Printer of the Year Award for Plus Print.

Pallas Heights, 2007 Product: Collection of projects and exhibitions Printer: Drukkerij Rosbeek BV, Nuth

Q

: Apart from the projects that you designed that have won Irish Print Awards, are there other projects that you have worked on that you believe are noteworthy in terms of either the design or the type of printing or print finishing involved?

A: I think this is difficult to answer as the ‘noteworthiness’ or distinction of a piece of work is all relative. There are so many variables - budget, time, audience, client ambitions and project opportunities - that shape and inform a piece of work. I may be of the opinion that a very modest piece of work is noteworthy because of the conditions under which it was produced but it may not be obviously noteworthy when placed against a more substantial and technically involved production. A good example would be the Glenpark Project poster, which was printed by Plus Print.

It has a distinct design but through over printing and recycling the basic poster was used for invitations and additional event communications.

Music for Me, 2012 Product: Report and Evaluation of Public Art Music Programme Printer: Print Media Services

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IRISH PRINTER | Awards

New Categories & Sponsors for

37th Irish Print Awards in association with ibs, a xerox company

The 37th Irish Print Awards will take place on Friday, November 28th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry, Dublin. Following on from last year’s extremely successful event, Irish Printer is delighted to announce the introduction of 10 new award categories and six new sponsors for 2014.

We are particularly excited about our new headline sponsor – IBS, a Xerox company.

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I

BS, a Xerox company, has been sponsoring the Print Manager of the Year category and Variable Data Print category for a number of years now and they will sponsor these categories once again in the 2014 awards.

Some of the 2014 award categories are completely new while others have been altered and sub-divided to reflect the changes that have been taking place in the Irish print industry in recent years. This year’s new categories are: Réalt Paper Events & Corporate Stationery Printer of the Year, Swan Paper Brochure Printer of the Year, Avery Dennison Self Adhesive Roll Labels Conventional Print, Avery Dennison Self Adhesive Roll Labels - Digital Print,

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IRISH PRINTER | Awards

Swan Paper Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year, Miller Graphics FMCG Packaging Printer of the Year, PaperlinX Ireland LED Sign Printer of the Year, HP Print Business Innovation Award, Antalis Print Integrated Marketing Campaign of the Year, and the Best Supplier Customer Service Team Voted by Printers. This category gives print companies the opportunity to recognise excellence in customer service and supply among the suppliers of equipment and consumables to the Irish printing industry.

Our new sponsors are some of the biggest and most well respected names in the print industry, not just in Ireland but globally. They include print finishing giant Friedheim International, topline digital printing and finishing supplier MGI, whose first year sponsoring a print award coincides with their entry into the Irish market, Sun Chemical, the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments and a leading provider of materials to packaging, publications, and other markets, Antalis, Europe’s leading distributor of paper, packaging solutions and visual communication products, Miller Graphics, multinational pre-press and brand management company, and HP, one of the biggest brands in the world and a pioneer and innovator in digital print technology. Premier Paper sponsored the Graphic Design of Printed Material category in last year’s awards.

They will be sponsoring the category again this year and the category has been renamed for 2014 as the Graphic Design & Print Excellence Award.

Swan Paper is Sponsoring the Following Categories:

sales, is the largest independent wholly Irish-owned paper merchant in the country today. “We are a full service graphic paper and packaging board stockist merchant providing a just-intime delivery service nationwide from our vast stock holdings at Baldoyle in Dublin,” says Managing Director Tony Swan. “We operate from an office and warehouse complex of 50,000 square feet in Baldoyle Industrial Estate, Dublin, and we are on call 24/7. Swan Paper have sponsored the Report & Accounts category for many years and we are delighted to do so again this year. We enjoy the largest market share in coated and uncoated folio sheets, substrates which are primarily printed on in this category, and our involvement in the Irish Print Awards helps support that position. We decided to sponsor the new Brochure Printer of the Year category because we believe that, going forward, promotional print, of which brochures will be a major part, will play an increasing role in the advertising/ promotional mix, along with the Internet and digital and social media. We are also very excited to be sponsoring another new category – Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year. Luxury print packaging is a growth market and over the last two years Swan Paper has become a major part of that growth as a stockist board merchant specialising in Solid Bleached Board, GCI and GC2 Folding Boxboard Grades, replicating the ex stock justin-time service that we operate on the paper side of our operation. The Irish Print Awards are important to us as the major print awards event on this island. They enable us to support the industry through award sponsorship and our paper substrates are profiled on many of the submitted and winning entries. The event itself is a lovely night of networking, good humour, bonhomie and ‘the craic’.”

Avery Dennison LPM Ireland are based in Fonthill Business Park, Dublin 22, and employ a total of 19 people in customer service, operations and sales.

Serviced by multiple European selfadhesive material manufacturing plants, Dublin is a slitting operation and distribution centre, offering next-day service to label printers in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“Our main market segments are beverage, pharmaceutical, food, home and personal care, logistics, durables and security,” says Sandra Tarr, Country Manager, Avery Dennison LPM Ireland.

“Through partnership, innovative products and solutions, and local service and sales support, we work closely with Irish label printers and push pressure sensitive labelling into new market sectors. Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials Ireland proudly sponsor the Self Adhesive Roll Labels categories in the Irish Print Awards as a recognition of the excellence and level of innovation achieved in the Irish label printing industry, serving both domestic and export-led markets. We have sponsored this category for a number of years now but we have decided to split the category for the 2014 awards to reflect some of the significant changes that have occurred in the self adhesive roll labels sector of the print market. The Self Adhesive Roll Label for Digital Print Technology category has been introduced because of the growing importance of digital in the label printing industry and this is evidenced by the fact that several of our customers have now invested in a digital printing capability. The Self Adhesive Roll Label for Conventional Print Technology category will recognise self adhesive roll labels that are printed flexo, offset, screen or letterpress.”

• Report & Accounts Printer of the Year • Brochure Printer of the Year • Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year Irish Printer is delighted that one of our longest-standing sponsors, Swan Paper, is once again sponsoring the Report & Accounts category in 2014 and is also sponsoring two of our new categories this year - Brochure Printer of the Year and Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year.

Swan Paper was founded in 1977 and, in terms of tonnage and revenue

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Avery Dennison is Sponsoring the Following Categories: • Self Adhesive Roll Label for Conventional Print Technology • Self Adhesive Roll Label for Digital Print Technology

The Sakurai Award for Screen Printing Sakurai UK is once again sponsoring the Screen Printing category in the Irish Print Awards. Sakurai Graphic Systems Corporation are one of Japan’s leading manufacturers of printing machinery and are unique in being the only manufacturer to produce both offset

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IRISH PRINTER | Awards

and screen presses in the same facility in Japan. Sakurai began manufacturing printing machines in 1946 and since then the company has gone on to produce and export in excess of a combined total of 17,000 litho and screen presses worldwide.

“We are delighted to have been invited to sponsor the Screen Print award at the Irish Print Awards for the second year in a row,” says Sakurai’s UK Branch Manager David Ryan. “It is particularly timely given that we are enjoying a resurgence in screen press sales, contrary to some of the misguided comments that we hear from the trade.

There are some misconceptions about screen printing and we have plans in place to raise the profile and image of screen printing over the next couple of years. And sponsoring this award again this year is a key part of our plans to improve screen printing’s profile and image in the industry. In addition, the Irish Print Awards are an annual highlight of the Irish print industry calendar

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because, with the exception of small regional shows run by co-operating suppliers, there is very little else going on where printers and suppliers get to meet. As a consequence the Irish Print Awards is probably the only event in the calendar that serves this purpose and the Awards become even more important with the declining popularity of trade shows and exhibitions.”

The Neopost Ireland Award for Print Finishing Neopost Ireland sponsored the Print Finishing category last year and we are delighted that they have come on board again for a second year. Neopost have been supporting business in Ireland since 1979. Based in Dublin, their core business is to provide the market with a wide range of mailing solutions. They also supply the Irish print and sign

market with finishing and wide format equipment from a host of well-known and high quality brands.

“With a nationwide network of engineers and account managers and our own financing service we are proud to offer the Irish market a host of products and services,” says Neopost Ireland Marketing Director Karen Kavanagh. “Whatever your mail room or printing requirements, Neopost has the solution for your business.

We decided to sponsor this category again in 2014 because we have been supplying the Irish print market for many years and the dynamics of print are ever changing, with demand for wide format printing soaring within the industry. However, print finishing still remains a very important part of the print cycle and a more difficult part of production. For this reason we are very proud to be sponsoring this category.

The Irish Print Awards are a great way of allowing businesses to network, and to share their ideas on the latest industry

Celebrating the 37th Irish Print Awards

in association with

call for entries Celebrating excellence in the Irish printing industry for over 30 years, nominations for the Irish Print Awards are now open. The ceremony will be held on the 28th of November in the Crowne Plaza Dublin – Northwood and promises to be an evening to remember, rewarding the creativity and craft of the print industry.

www.irishprinter.ie

For more information on the awards or if you have any queries, please contact: emma.nolan@ashvillemediagroup.com or call 01 432 2226.

IRISH PRINTER | Awards

“Our new sponsors are some of the biggest and most well respected names in the print industry, not just in Ireland but globally.”

trends within Ireland. Printers today are being set huge challenges, including ever-shortening production and delivery timescales and the requirement to consistently produce the most creative direct mail pieces designed by marketing professionals. It is hugely important that companies are recognised for the high quality of finish that they are bringing to a variety of printed materials and the Irish Print Awards are the only platform on the island where the exceptional quality of the printed piece is recognised and rewarded.”

The Reprocentre Group Award for Large Format Digital Print Reprocentre Group supply equipment and consumables to commercial and packaging printers, wide and superwide format digital printers and sign makers across the island of Ireland. “We have warehousing and distribution in both Dublin and Belfast, offering next day delivery nationwide, and we represent some of the leading manufacturers in the industry, including HP, Agfa, Esko, Mimaki, Canon, GMG, Morgana, and MACtac, to name but a few,” says Reprocentre Group Sales Director Eoin Honan. “We offer training on automatic workflows and RIPs, we provide an expert colour management and profiling service to help printers maximise their quality output, and we provide consistent colour output across multiple printing technologies.

All the aforementioned sectors of the printing industry that we serve are important to our business so it is hard to choose which category is the best fit when it comes to sponsoring

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the Irish Print Awards. We sponsored the Book Printing category for many years and we still supply many book printers. However, in more recent years we have seen our business in the wide format print area grow and continue to grow so we regard the Large Format Digital Print category as the best fit for our business in the current market.

The Irish Print Awards continue to be an important event in the Irish print industry calendar because they are the only awards of their kind in this country where printers can submit their work. At last year’s awards we saw an increase in the number of attendees but I would like to see 500 people at the event in the coming years! I know customers who attend year-on-year and they tell me how proud it makes them of their staff and of the company to take home an award. Reprocentre Group is delighted to be part of this event which support our customers’ efforts and the work of the wider industry.”

The manroland Ireland Award for National Newspapers manroland Ireland provides sales and service in Ireland for manroland sheetfed and web offset printing products and is the representative in Ireland for a comprehensive range of world class print finishing equipment. manroland Ireland also offers a portfolio of certified consumable products under its Printcom brand and is the only authorised dealer for Westland rollers and Trelleborg blankets in Ireland.

“We continue to sponsor the National Newspapers category in the Irish Print Awards because manroland is the leading supplier of newspaper presses in Ireland and approximately 70% of all Irish newspapers are printed on manroland presses,” says Martin Lockley,

Managing Director, manroland Ireland.

“It is therefore with great pleasure that we proudly sponsor the 2014 National Newspaper Award. The Irish Print Awards is the only platform where the gargantuan efforts of those involved in the Irish printing industry to produce a consistently high quality product are recognised in the presence of their peers. And manroland recognises the importance of seeking out and nurturing new and existing talent in order to maintain the exceptional standards which have become synonymous with the Irish print industry.”

The Friedheim International Award for Book Printing Friedheim International is a specialist supplier of highly efficient, productive and cost-effective finishing solutions for commercial print, digital print, binding, packaging and converting processes.

“Book Printing is only one of many award categories that Friedheim could have selected to sponsor but the company believes that the profile of the book printing sector needs to be maintained against ever increasing digitally downloaded competition,” says Neil Elliott, Marketing Manager, Friedheim International. “For this reason we are delighted to be supporting this sector of the industry and to be playing our part in promoting the importance of a sustainable book printing sector. The Irish Print Awards also deserve to be supported for highlighting excellence and recognising everything that is to be applauded about the Irish print and graphic arts industries.”

We will be featuring profiles of our other award sponsors and categories in the July and August issues of Irish Printer.

Wide Format | IRISH PRINTER

Anapurna M2050i: The i-range got a new, contemporary design, which will be the standard design outlook for all Anapurna i printers. The Anapurna M2050i will be fully commercially available in the third quarter of this year.

exploring the

bigger picture As exhibition fever draws to a close (for now!), Irish Printer reports on some of the technological innovations on display at FESPA Digital in Munich (May 20th to 23rd) and at Sign & Digital in Birmingham (April 29th to May 1st).

New Model Targets Outdoor and Sublimation Markets

M

imaki announced the availability of the JV300130/160 family of ecosolvent inkjet wide format printers on May 15th and the range was shown for the first time at Fespa Digital.

The Mimaki JV300-130/160 is compatible with solvent and water-based sublimation inks and is suitable for a wide range of applications, including outdoor signage, posters, interior dĂŠcor and vehicle wrapping. The printers produce output in 1.3 metre and 1.6 metre widths, at speeds of up to 105 square metres per hour, using new inks and print heads. The Mimaki JV300-

130/160 will begin shipping in June.

The printers will run with two different ink types that support a wide range of materials and applications, including SS21 eco-solvent ink in CMYK, light cyan, light magenta and white. Newly-developed inks are also available in orange and light black to extend the colour gamut and improve gradation performance. Mimaki says that high-density printing and fast drying time enable more throughput and shorter production cycles without blocking or bleeding. Alternatively, the Mimaki JV300 can run Sb53 water-based sublimation inks for printing on textiles.

The ideal print material is polyester, which is used for apparel fabric, sports uniforms, swimsuits and soft signage.

When using SS21 inks, the printer can lay down a denser layer of solvent white ink, which Mimaki claims produces excellent opacity and brilliant colours on either transparent or dark/opaque materials. The newly developed SS21 orange ink can be used as a process colour to closely match 92% of the Pantone colour chart. Thanks to a wider colour gamut with orange ink, Mimaki claims that corporate colours can be faithfully represented along with accurate replications of food and other natural products. The manufacturer also reports that smooth, non-grainy skin tones and greyscale gradation are highlights of this new printing capability. “The JV300-130/160 family of ecosolvent inkjet wide format printers is

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IRISH PRINTER | Wide Format

a very important range for Mimaki and we regard it as crucial to increasing our level of growth in the Irish market,” says Dave Rainsford, General Manager Ireland, Hybrid Services. “It also gives our current users the opportunity to upgrade to a next generation solvent printer.” Mike Horsten, General Manager Marketing EMEA for Mimaki Europe, says the new JV300 family makes “return on investment and the profitable development of new applications faster and easier than ever before for sign and display graphics businesses of all sizes”.

Mimaki is exclusively distributed in the UK and Ireland by Hybrid Services Ltd.

New Latex and Photo Production Printers from HP HP showcased the newly-launched HP Latex 300 Printer Series and HP Designjet Z6800 Photo Production Printer at FESPA Digital 2014.

The new printers operated alongside a wide range of HP large-format solutions for sign and display printers and corrugated packaging converters.

The HP stand also featured examples of flexible and rigid applications, including signage, banners, photo production, retail graphics, wall décor and corrugated displays.

The new Latex 300 Printer Series, which comprises the HP Latex 360, 330 and 310, helps sign shops, quick printers and small to medium sized printers expand their large format printing capabilities and offer customers new applications. The entrylevel, 54-inch HP Latex 310 printer is a compact model with front-media loading to maximise the production area. The 64-inch HP Latex 330 printer can handle larger, heavier rolls and can print up to 50 metres square per hour (538 square feet per hour). The higher volume, 64-inch HP Latex 360 printer prints up to 91 metres square per hour (978 square feet per hour) and increases application versatility with an ink collector for porous textiles.

The printer also features automatic front-to-back registration for printing double-sided banners.

The new HP Designjet Z6800 Printer increases productivity with print speeds up to 50% faster than previous HP devices. Additionally, HP says that this printer is designed to deliver high-value indoor applications and gallery-quality prints, with output that

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lasts up to 200 years. HP’s Designjet Z6800 printer has advanced colour management features, including an embedded spectrophotometer, as well as HP Chromatic Red Ink for a wider colour gamut and uniform gloss.

The HP Scitex 15000 Corrugated Press, announced in May, was also featured at Fespa and is expected to be available from November 1st.

With the new large-format digital press, converters and display makers can print direct to corrugated media, as well as add short-run and versioning capabilities to their existing flexographic or lithographic-lamination operations.

Dual Roll and Mesh Options from Agfa The mid to high-end wide format Anapurna M3200i RTR was shown at Fespa with a dual-roll and mesh option. Incorporating the latest generation of six-colour (CMYKLcLm), high resolution print heads, the 3.2 metre wide roll-to-roll UV-curable Anapurna M3200i RTR printer achieves up to 116 square metres per hour

HP Designjet Z6600

HP Latex 330

output in express print mode. At Fespa Digital, the Anapurna 3200Mi RTR - featuring a new design - was shown with two additional options the dual roll option, which makes it possible to simultaneously print jobs on two rolls of the same media type, each up to a maximum of 60 inches wide, and the mesh option, which makes it possible to print on mesh without liner, thanks to a special gutter underneath the printing area containing an ink absorbing medium.

This option broadens the system’s application scope.

Agfa Graphics also presented the Anapurna M2050i. Incorporating the latest generation of print heads, the Anapurna M2050i achieves a productivity increase of up to 75% compared to its predecessor. Agfa says that the new print heads guarantee printing of “good solids, fine text reproduction of up to 4 pt and an outstanding tonal rendering”. White printing is included too.

Agfa’s large gamut of UV-curable inks facilitates printing on a broad range of flexible materials, including banners,

Wide Format | IRISH PRINTER

self-adhesive vinyls, and front- and back-lit graphics. The manufacturer claims that these inks deliver the highest quality prints with the lowest ink consumption per square metre in the industry.

All Anapurnas come with Agfa Graphics’ Asanti workflow for the sign and display market, which adds colour management and automatic preflighting. Asanti is completed by the Asanti StoreFront cloud-based web-to-print system, which comes as an optional SaaS solution. The Anapurna M3200i is commercially available immediately.

Making the Case for Business Transformation Ricoh celebrated a strong showing at its first Sign & Digital UK exhibition, reporting significant interest in, and leads for, its Pro L4100 wide format latex printer series. A number of leads were also generated across the company’s suite of digital print and marketing services solutions, which were demonstrated on Ricoh’s stand. These included the Pro C751 digital production press and the company’s SaaS-based Marketing Asset Management (MAM) solution, MarcomCentral.

“The show was the first public outing in the UK for our Ricoh Pro L4100 latex wide format printer series and we were very pleased with the level of interest in the L4160 we had on the stand,” says Stephen Palmer, Head of Production Print, Ricoh UK & Ireland. “However, what we were also genuinely surprised about was the extent of the interest in

The Mimaki JV300-160

the Pro C751 digital production press that we also showcased on the stand.

As a dedicated wide format show, the cut-sheet Pro C751 digital press could have been seen as a bit of an anomaly by visitors. In fact, many sign makers were extremely keen to explore how they could speed up their business development by breaking into new markets and augmenting their wide format portfolio by investing in cut-sheet technology. What was clear from our conversations with sign makers is that there is a definite desire out there across the industry to diversify businesses to maximise profitability. With the launch of the Pro L4100 series and our rich heritage of cut-sheet print innovation we are in a prime position to give these customers the freedom to diversify their production portfolio and transform their business in the process.”

The new Ricoh Pro L4100 Series latex large format printer is a roll-toroll machine and comes in two models - the 130cm (53 inch) Pro L4130 and the 160cm (63 inch) Pro L4160.

It supports up to seven colours in various configurations, including CMYK, orange, green and white ink and can print at a resolution of 4800dpi. The Pro C751 can produce volumes of up to 180,000 per month - 75 ppm colour/ mono on stock up to 300gsm.

“The way brands procure and use print is changing rapidly and at Ricoh we are helping many customers respond to these changing dynamics by providing them with the technology, knowledge and consultative advice to help them make the transition from ‘printer’ to ‘marketing services

provider’,” says Stephen Palmer. “Sign & Digital UK gave us an excellent opportunity to introduce this concept to businesses in the sign and graphics sector and we look forward to continuing these discussions with customers and prospects over the coming months.”

Canon Pushes The Boundaries with Extended Line-Up Canon Europe showcased its array of large format printers, software and substrates at Fespa Digital 2014. The portfolio of wide format solutions exhibited on the Canon stand ranged from roll-fed inkjet and UV flatbed printers to workflow solutions and digital cutting tables, as well as the full range of Canon substrates. Technologies running live demonstrations on stand included the Oce Arizona 480GT, which has eight independent ink channels and can print a decorative varnish or white layer on a variety of substrates, including glass, laminated flooring and membrane switch overlays, the Oce ColorWave 900, which can operate at speeds of up to 1,000 square metres per hour, the Oce ColorWave 650 Poster Printer with its Oce CrystalPoint imaging technology for instantly dry poster prints on a wide range of media, the Oce ProCut digital flatbed cutter, an automated cutting system that can streamline wide format digital printer workflow from prepress to finishing, and the Canon imagePrograf iPF9400, which incorporates Lucia Ex, Canon’s 12-colour pigment inkjet system with imaging processing technology for production, photographic and fine art applications.

Application examples and case studies on-stand included bespoke wallpaper, printed laminate flooring, printed stained glass, lenticular printing, weather-resistant digital map printing and printing on wood for indoor decorative features. “The wide format market is one sector of the printing industry that is continuing to expand because of the growing number and variety of exciting applications that can be realised on wide format digital printers,” says Philip Brady, Head of Canon Ireland. “Canon is ideally positioned as an expert source to satisfy all indoor and outdoor graphic arts wide format demands and to support companies in the long-term

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IRISH PRINTER | Wide Format

Ricoh’s stand at Sign & Digital UK

growth of their businesses.�

The seven-colour Oce Arizona 6170 XTS, part of the new high volume Oce Arizona 6100 Series, made its debut appearance on the Canon stand. The new Series also comprises the sixcolour Oce Arizona 6160 XTS model.

These are aimed at sign and display customers who produce more than 30,000 square metres of printed rigid media per year. Designed as a dedicated flatbed system, the Series produces inkjet print output at speeds of up to 155 square metres per hour and features an extra large 2.5 metre x 3.05 metre vacuum table. According to Canon, the flatbed architecture supports a broad range of rigid media applications, including printing on oddshaped, heavy, smooth or pre-cut rigid media, the production of high value, multi-layer applications, doubled-sided prints in perfect register, large prints tiled over multiple boards with perfect geometry, and edge-to-edge printing without hassle or mess. The flatbed table has two independent printing zones, each with its own vacuum system, for simultaneous printing and media loading/unloading, so that one board can be always staged and ready while the other is being printed, enabling non-stop production.

Alternatively the two zones can be combined into one to enable 2.5 metre x 3.05 metre prints.

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Stephen Palmer, Head of Production Print, Ricoh UK & Ireland

Colour Management | IRISH PRINTER

Setting Standards Digital Dots Managing Director Laurel Brunner explains why print firms should seriously consider becoming ISO colour certified if they want to make the grade with global brands.

U

K print management firm Charterhouse’s recent announcement that it has achieved ISO 12647-2 accreditation for quality control should be a wakeup call to the print industry. This certification makes Charterhouse the first global print management company to receive formal recognition for its colour quality control procedures.

ISO 12627-2 specifies quality requirements for offset printing and has become the benchmark for print colour quality across the industry. Charterhouse still works with printers without the ISO standard. However, by working with an accredited printer they can ensure that the final work meets the stringent ISO colour standards and they can also offer their clients an ISO chain of custody if they require it.

Charterhouse provides print management and production services to global brands. The company buys a great deal of print worldwide, from commercial work to sign and display. The ISO 12647-2 certification it has gained confirms

that quality management is implemented throughout Charterhouse’s business. It provides a benchmark of quality assurance for Charterhouse clients - a benchmark that is maintained through regular in-house audits. Charterhouse has quality assurance procedures in place for all production, from digital artwork and file delivery, to colour management and the presses. The policy will impact Charterhouse’s supply chains and as Colin Osborne, Charterhouse’s Colour Management Expert, says “obviously we would like our suppliers to get on board with it”. Print service providers who want Charterhouse’s business should be seriously considering ISO 12647-2 compliance. Without it they may find themselves off the tender lists.

Charterhouse’s ISO 12647-2 certification confirms quality control in the company’s prepress operations and is based on the certification scheme developed in the UK for the British Printing Industry Federation. This ISO 12647-2 certification scheme is relevant for all markets and is endorsed by the

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IRISH PRINTER | Colour Management

“Quality assurance has become vitally important to print buyers who want common colour appearance across media, including digital media.”

UK government so it has international validity. To maintain the standard in the future, Charterhouse will continue to demonstrate product conformity through internal testing and rigorous annual independent audits.

Printers who want to make the Charterhouse tender lists have several options. The first is to do nothing, in which case they will never know what tenders they are missing out on and what business they are losing. Alternatively, printers can scramble to get some basic ISO 12647-2 compliance and hope to sell in their services. However, this approach isn’t likely to get them very far with Charterhouse, which has a solid understanding of ISO 12647-2 requirements. A far better approach for a print company is to put in place the colour management and quality control procedures that can lead to ISO 126472-2 certification and keep their business in the game.

This third option requires a printing company to go through a management process that ensures quality control in prepress and in the press hall. Printers who have their processes under control will find this simple enough to do.

However, it is always helpful to get an external set of eyes to evaluate and even audit the workflow. Print & Media

Visual Print Reference.

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About the Author Laurel Brunner has been in the graphic arts industry for over 30 years. Over the years she has worked exclusively in the prepress and publishing industries, with a particular specialisation in digital prepress, digital production and digital printing. She is Managing Director of Digital Dots, which provides international consulting and educational services. Laurel is involved with several ISO working groups and is the convenor of ISO’s Working Group 11, which develops standards relating to the environmental impact of graphics technology, including print media.

Certification can provide this service as part of the process towards certification.

The easiest approach to meet the requirements of ISO 12647-2 is to follow an industry scheme, such as the one that Charterhouse used for its accreditation. The UK scheme covers roughly the same ground as that of the Swedish Printers Federation, and both schemes are much more robust than the certification schemes of either Fogra in Germany or IDEAlliance in the US, because it is closely aligned to ISO 9001 requirements. The scheme a printing company chooses is likely to be the one that is most popular in their country.

However, the UK scheme is an easy bolt-on to an existing ISO 9001 certificate.

Whatever the scheme, achieving compliance requires an understanding of ISO 12647-2 and of quality management processes. Consultants and industry associations can provide useful support for the evaluation and implementation processes and there are some guides for implementing ISO 12647-2 on the market. In France, KEE Consultants, a division of Alwan Software, have put together a Printing Standards Implementation Guide (http://keeconsultants.eu/images/ KEE_Consultants_Flyer_Septembert2012_D1_V6_RGB150. pdf ) and consulting package for €1500. In the many markets IDEAlliance serves, local consultants offer hands-on services.

Digital Dots in the UK has developed a series of ISO 12647-2 implementation guides that are both inexpensive and simple to follow. The Digital Dots Standardised Print Production series covers ISO 12647-2 requirements for prepress, press, and quality management, with an executive summary. All parts are available as individual documents starting at €50 for the Executive Summary (http://www.digitaldots.org/standards/spp).

Charterhouse’s ISO 12647-2 certification confirms the importance of colour management and process control in print media supply chains. Quality assurance has become vitally important to print buyers who want common colour appearance across media, including digital media. Brand owners use ISO 12647-2 to confirm that printers can reliably and consistently produce work to a high standard. Ultimately, certification to ISO 12647-2 can help print firms to remain competitive and improve margins.

Packaging | IRISH PRINTER Cosmetic box – a folding rigid box that packs out flat and folds up into a rigid box with lid and white ribbon pull. The box is case-wrapped in a silver foil paper.

Unfolding the Luxury

Packaging Market Steve McAdam, Vice President, Creative Services, Leo Luxe, talks about how brand strategies for luxury products and package design have had to change and continue to adapt to remain competitive.

E

ven in tough economic times when value may dictate purchasing decisions, brands continue to seek new ways for consumers to experience luxury. However, luxury has no standard meaning. It means different things to ever-changing consumer demographics. In addition, luxury products have widespread appeal, whether they are part of a weekly shop or being bought as a one off treat or gift.

Therefore, brands need to ensure that the packaging for their products appeal to a diverse audience - whether that is a varied age range of 27 year olds to 74 year olds, for example, or products aimed at those from developing markets and established affluent markets. So how are brands meeting these challenges? Let’s discuss fragmentation, premiumisation and the generation game.

Fragmentation – The Overall Challenge The key trends that are driving change include the fragmentation of the luxury market; the extension of ‘luxury goods’ into affordable product ranges in a process known as premiumisation, and

demographic fluctuations in the West as the buying power for luxury goods changes generations. While it is possible to speak of these dynamics as distinct trends, they are, in reality, a part of the same evolutionary process that markets and brands are going through.

For the most part, when we talk about luxury brands, we are speaking of the established brands from mature markets - Europe, the US and Japan.

There are exceptions, but luxury brands from other markets are yet to have the impact on the traditional markets. The fact that this will inevitably change will further affect the trends in the process.

Understanding the market situation is crucial. The sometimes highly localised perceptions of the product category and nature of competitors in that market are all part of building a strategy that will ultimately lead to successful luxury packaging design.

The fragmentation of the luxury goods market is happening on two levels. It is happening because luxury goods are now being sold in areas of the world where they were not previously available - in Africa, India, the Far East

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IRISH PRINTER | Packaging

Steve McAdam, Vice President, Creative Services, Leo Luxe.

Beverage box with die-cut corner window – this folding rigid box packs out flat and folds up into a rigid box. It is case-wrapped in a printed foil paper with a special emboss to create a Brushed Metal effect. The logo is embossed gold hot stamped.

and in Eastern Europe. They are also being sold to distinct and different generations. Reaching these highly diverse audiences with the same products is not only a challenge for marketers but also for packaging designers who have to learn the imagery and rhetoric of the regions and generations to, first, attract consumers and secondly, create the experience of luxury.

Premiumisation: Extending the Concept of Luxury Brands are now adjusting the concept of luxury so that it is not only the superrich who can experience luxury. While there are still products that very few are able to afford, there are now versions of those goods and new products that have been developed to extend the experience to the higher incomes, and not just the highest ones. From a business standpoint, this bifurcation is a shrewd move. It fosters brand affinity with a market it hasn’t reached before and grows the whole market opportunity.

How this is achieved can vary. Elements of luxury may be found in more affordable versions. For example, some features of a luxury car may be found in a less expensive model. Or another level of premiumisation can be readily observed in FMCG goods.

Premiumisation is the creation of luxury class goods - goods with quality and specialness - in categories like food, healthcare products, chocolate and spirits. During the recession, economic uncertainty, or the genuine lack of money, caused consumers to down-trade from their traditional brand levels to less expensive ones. Now, with confidence returning, consumers are resuming their

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previous buying habits but now they are also being offered products in a luxury, premium category. One might be a familiar brand of chocolate but now you are being presented with a new level of cocoa content and in packaging featuring rich colours, embossed lettering and silver or gold foil. Or it may be a shampoo with a clear, stylishly-shaped bottle, no-labellook labelling, and a carton that speaks of elegance and beauty.

The most evident examples of premiumisation can be found in the alcoholic beverages market. As consumers shift from austerity thinking, they often want to treat themselves to something special and of greater quality. Rather than get the bottle of spirits they bought before the recession, they are now able to find a new one that offers a validation of their improved spending power and attitude.

The spirit categories where these are most obviously found are those that already had a cachet: daiquiris, Irish whiskey, Scottish single malt whisky and cognac - and all have packaging that embodies their status.

So, how does premiumisation work in developing markets? We can see it in regions where rising middle classes are seeking products that are different to their familiar brands and embody messages of success and affluence.

What is happening here is that these new ‘foreign’ luxury products in the market are changing the established hierarchies. Closely linked to this is the necessity of luxury brands to develop a real understanding of markets before launching in a new region. These new cultures and markets have unfamiliar symbolisms, different meanings to words,

A champagne box designed by Leo Luxe.

different colour languages and social touch-points. Understanding what these are and responding to them appropriately are crucial to a brand’s success. The simple replication of what has been successful elsewhere will not suffice.

At Leo Luxe, we visit markets around the world to see what consumers expect from products, to learn about the cultural and social values, and to determine how those factors impact their experience and expectations of luxury goods. This knowledge informs what we call the ‘Visioneering’ process where we work with brands and designers to construct the brand’s narrative in the visual and linguistic vernacular and develop the look and feel of luxury packaging that will elicit the desired responses in target regions.

Packaging | IRISH PRINTER

what goes on behind the scenes of product packaging?

Product packaging design can be a complicated but rather hidden process that most people never realise is occurring within businesses around the world. Jonny Rowntree, of creative, digital and print service company Elanders, explains.

D

esigners take products and spend their time trying to design the perfect packaging and print solution for what will ultimately go to the customer. The right packaging can complete a product and create a positive customer experience of the brand in question and enhance the product experience from the very first time that a consumer opens their package. Take Apple, for example - all of their product packaging is designed in a minimalistic yet very stylish and sleek manner. The way in which they design their packaging helps complement the product inside,

resulting in a positive customer experience. This start to finish immersion is the sort of extra effort that customers will remember when they are shopping for goods and services in the future.

When it comes to packaging, one of the most important factors that designers must keep in mind is how the product will feel to the consumer.

If the product feels cheap it can create a cognitive dissonance in the mind of the customer, which may result in them returning the product and feeling that they did not get their money’s worth.

This can be a terrible fate for retailers

because it not only reverses an original sale, it can cause a previously loyal customer to question whether or not they have made the right choice.

Making a product look expensive comes down to a few different factors, one of the most important being the actual textural feel of the packaging and product. Just because a certain type of product packaging may feel heavier and more expensive than another, it does not mean that it actually is. Take Apple and Samsung. for example. Apple uses plastic and cardboard while Samsung uses wooden boxes. Finding a packaging material that matches the quality of the product will help the customer feel good about their overall purchase.

Different logos and typography will also have a psychological effect on the customer while they are purchasing a product. Certain typefaces convey a much more sophisticated feeling than others. When choosing typography to use on a product it is best to make

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IRISH PRINTER | Packaging

sure that it matches the message that the product itself sends. For modern or tech products it can be a good choice to use a block type lettering in the printing process. For high end merchandise a calligraphic text would be more likely to send the message that customers want to see when making that type of purchase. The right typographic decision on the packaging of a product can enhance the experience for the user and increase customer satisfaction without much input on the business’s end.

The colour schemes which are included in both brand packaging and product design can help or hurt a product’s reception with customers. One company that has done their colour schemes well is Apple, who use silver, white and black for all of their products.

This is a good choice of colour scheme for Apple as their products aim to provide a sleek and sophisticated feel.

Silver, white, and black colour schemes help them convey that feeling to the customer, along with the design choices that they have made for the size and shape of their devices. Combined with product packaging which sends the same message, users are given a complete process which delivers a uniformity of message from the moment that they purchase a product until they have started to use it regularly.

Rebranding a brand’s packaging can be one of the more challenging tasks for any company. Once a brand has created an idea in the mind of a customer which they associate with the company it can be very difficult to change it. One of the best ways to take on this challenge and overcome it is to use a compelling brand story.

Customers are drawn to narratives.

They are easy to remember, to share, and they make an emotional connection with the customer, which helps customers make decisions while shopping for goods and services.

Creating packaging which tells a story that customers will enjoy is one of the easiest ways to rebrand a product or company. It can be helpful to walk customers through the shift in the company and the reason that they are looking to rebrand. Companies that are transparent with their customers are often perceived as more honest and have been known to retain customer loyalty more easily.

When building the plan for a product redesign it is important to meet two crucial benchmarks during the process.

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Jonny Rowntree.

The product’s redesign should meet both the expectations that a customer has for the product as well as differentiate itself from the competitors in the same category. If the business has a unique angle or approach to creating or distributing a product, then it can be very easy to differentiate while remaining within the general expectations for a product. For those that don’t have this solution available, it is important to use a narrative in order to help create the desired difference within the mind of the customer. It can be a good choice for many companies to play on the process that they use in order to produce the product. If a company uses any sort of environmentally-friendly process or materials it can help differentiate the product from those of its competitors.

Simply changing the labeling or product packaging is enough to create a positive effect on the environment. By creating labels using recycled paper, instead of glossy paper which can’t be recycled, you can create the differentiation that a product needs in the mind of the customer. Digital printing is an effective printing method that is sometimes used to create a product label on recycled paper. This not only helps the environment but also improves the look and feel of a specific product.

Regardless of how a company chooses to differentiate itself from its competitors, it is important to make sure that the printing on the label is done in a clear and precise manner so that customers can easily understand the message being sent and will be drawn to the aesthetically pleasing design of the product. This should be the most important factor for

customers who are interested in buying the product. If customers are unable to find the information that they are searching for they will quickly move on to a different product which has taken the time to streamline their printing.

This isn’t as big an issue when it comes to existing customers who have already purchased one of the company’s products in the past.

By taking a look behind the scenes of product packaging and the printing process businesses can get a better idea of how to create their own packaging and printing solutions for their products. A well-designed package can elevate a product to another level and draw in customers who otherwise may not have chosen to purchase it.

Following the simple guidelines laid out above can help any company to create a solid packaging and printing solution for their new or existing products.

Stafford Engineering Stafford Engineering provides a turnkey operation for all printers • We can now service and repair all printing and finishing machines • Rollers refurbished or replaced. Specialist coatings for Anilox and Chroming • Blade grinding, new blades and cutting sticks • Two print engineers available for onsite repair • 24 hour service, 7days a week.

Unit 12 Parkmore Industrial Estate, Long Mile Road, Dublin 12, Ireland Tel: +353 (0)1 460 0055 • Email: sales@staffordengineering.ie

Unit 214, Holy Road, Western Industrial Estate, Naas Road, Dublin 12 Tel: (01) 456 7924 / 456 7925 Fax: (01) 450 5548 Web: www.flexolabels.ie Email: sales@flexolabels.ie • accounts@flexolabels.ie • graphics@flexolabels.ie

If you want to hire the best staff Contact APB.ie

The print recruitment specialists Tel: 01 204 2800 • Email: mail@apb.ie Visit our website: www.apb.ie

If you wish to advertise in Irish Printer please call Fiona Larmon, Commercial Manager on: (01) 432 2223 / 086 821 0203 or email: fiona.larmon@ashvillemediagroup.com IRISH PRINTER is the only magazine dedicated to serving the communications needs of the Irish Printing and Graphic Arts Industry and its circulation covers the island of Ireland.

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