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CONTENTS Volume 52, Number 9 Features

13 18

Automation Injection In Part II of New Directions in Sheetfed, press leaders for Heidelberg, KBA, Komori and manroland detail innovations for the near future of printing’s predominant production process

Tech Report: Short-run finishing The newest post-press systems for commercial work emulate modern print shops in which both toner and offset production reside and application flexibility reigns

AGFA GRAPHICS

:Anapurna M2540 FB

checks all the boxes

Print

6

NEWS Amazon’s Jeff Bezos moves to purchase The Washington Post, Pazazz acquires large-format printer Contact Image, and remembering Rod McGregor of the Yorkville Group

8

CALENDAR October 2013 SGIA Expo kicks off in Orlando, DIA hosts Canada Post on direct mail marketing, and China’s iPrint Expo caters to 500,000 print shops.

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SOFTWARE QuarkXPress 10 Looks to Enterprise This month sees the latest release of Quark’s venerable page layout program as the company refocuses to take on the needs of the corporate customer

Column

10

ZAC BOLAN Making Social Media Count Part III of Bolan’s in-depth look at social media addresses the vital process of applying analytics on your initiatives to determine the next steps toward success

Archive

26

September 1973 American Graffiti dominates the box office, printing is affected by worldwide newsprint shortages, and the 2-colour Miehle arrives at the Canadian Graphic Arts Show

Contact us at: 800 540-2432 x 858 0288 www.agfagraphics.com

Resources 17 Services to the Trade Cover photo: Clive Chan

25 Marketplace SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 3


PERSPECTIVE

Celebrating Print rinters and suppliers from across Canada will gather in Toronto on November 21 for the eighth annual Canadian PPrinting Awards gala, being held on the first night of Graphics Canada at the International Centre. The most significant change in this year’s Canadian Printing Awards program is the extension of five Quality Printing categories to better consider the printing processes used to produce the work. The Packaging category, formerly encompassing all Last year’s Best of Show went to Calgary’s Rhino Print processes, has been divided to consider flexible and rigid pro- Solutions for South Korea: duction (including folding carton) separately. The popular Memories of the Heart. Books category is now divided into offset and digital to account for the enormous growth in both toner and inkjet (digital) production. This same offset/digital division is applied to the Labels category. To account for the continuing use of web offset, as well as the noticeable evolution of quality produced by this printing process, we have divided both the Magazines and Catalogues categories into sheetfed offset and web offset. The Industry Achievement categories continue as a key platform of the awards program to recognize business leaders in Canadian printing. Last year’s winners included: George Kallas, Founder and Chairman, MET Fine Printers, who received the John A. Young Lifetime Achievement Award; Ward Griffin, President & CEO, The Lowe-Martin Group, who received Printing Leader of the Year; and Mike Meshkati, President, Sina Printing, who was named the Emerging Leader of the Year. The Environmental Printing categories, although unchanged, also continue to be a prime focus of the Canadian Printing Awards with five key categories. Entry guidelines are available at printaction.com/CPA. Industry Achievement Categories

• • • •

Printing Leader of the Year Emerging Leader of the Year (Under 35) John A. Young Lifetime Achievement Award Community Leader of the Year

Quality Printing Categories

• Best of Show (Determined by judging panel among all Quality Printing entries) • Self Promotion (Printing company) • Brochures & Booklets • Business & Annual Reports • Direct Mail • Magazines, sheetfed offset • Magazines, web offset • Catalogues, sheetfed offset • Catalogues, web offset • Books, offset • Books, digital

• • • • • • • •

Calendars Flexible Packaging Rigid Packaging (including folding carton) Labels, offset Labels, digital Stationery Display Graphics Finishing (All processes & applications)

Environmental Printing Categories

• Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Company • Most Environmentally Progressive Vendor • Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Technology • Most Environmentally Progressive Packaging Project (all processes) • Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Project (all processes)

Jon Robinson, Editor

Canada’s Graphic Communications Magazine. Proudly published for two generations. Editor Jon Robinson • 416.665.7333 ext. 30 • jon@printaction.com Associate Editor Clive Chan • 416.665.7333 ext. 25 • clive@printaction.com

November 21 - 23, 2013 The International Centre, Toronto, Canada

Contributing Writers Zac Bolan, Clint Bolte, Peter Ebner, Chris Fraser, Victoria Gaitskell, Nick Howard, Thad McIlroy, Gordon Pritchard, Nicole Rycroft, Trish Witkowski Publisher Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Associate Publisher Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Production Manager Anders Kohler • 416.665.7333 ext. 37 • anders@printaction.com Advertising Sales Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com PrintAction is published by Annex Business Media and is Canada’s only national monthly publication serving the graphic arts industry. ISSN 1481-9287. Annual Subscriptions: Canada: $39.99 ($35.39 + $4.60 HST); United States: CN$69.99; Other Foreign: CN$139.99

www.graphicscanada.com 4 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

Notice: PrintAction, Annex Business Media, their staff, officers, directors and shareholders (hence known as the “Publisher”) assume no liability, obligations, or responsibility for claims arising from advertised products. The Publisher also reserves the right to limit liability for editorial errors, omissions and oversights to a printed correction in a subsequent issue.

PrintAction is printed by Annex Printing on Supreme Gloss 80lb Text and 70lb Matte Text available from Spicers Canada. PrintAction Magazine 610 Alden Rd., Suite 100, Markham, ON L3R 9Z1 Tel: 416.665.7333 • Fax: 905.752.1441 www.printaction.com Publications Mail Agreement Number 40065710 • ISSN 1481-9287 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to subscriptions@printaction.com We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.


Visit Komori at booth #1251

K-NORTH SERVICES INC. has been appointed as the new KOMORI dealer for Ontario and the Western Provinces as of August 1st. I’m Steve Ranson and I’ve been selling new presses in Canada for the past 20 years, the last 10 years as Vice President of K-North Inc. where we revitalized the presence of KOMORI in the Canadian market. Going forward with the new company, K-NORTH SERVICES and my new position as President, we will continue to provide the same KOMORI factory-authorized parts and excellent service. Service is available to our customers 24/7, with factory-trained technicians and parts available in Ontario and across Western Canada. If you are travelling to Chicago to see Print 13, September 8-12, be sure to visit the KOMORI booth, where the new press to see is the Lithrone GLX40 carton press, as well as the new Lithrone GL presses for commercial printers. Exciting new partners to KOMORI will be announced at the show, for further machine enhancement and productivity. We look forward to greeting you on our booth and most of all we look forward to being your new KOMORI dealer! Give us a call; our new telephone numbers are below.

Tel: (905) 873-7070 Fax: (905) 873-7870 Website: www.k-northservices.ca 55 Sinclair Ave. Unit 9 Georgetown, ON L7G 4X4


PRINT NEWS

HEMLOCK PRINTERS’ Jeff Cooper, Press Supervisor, Jason Selvage, XL First Pressman, Chris Squires, XL First Pressman and Jeff Taylor, Sr. VP Manufacturing & Operations oversaw the installation of a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 press, equipped to run both conventional and UV inks. The company describes its new Speedmaster XL 106 as holding more potential for expanding its packaging work, because of its ability to print with UV inks. The press carries a maximum sheet size of 29.53 x 41.73 inches and reaches a top speed of 18,000 sheets per hour. The XL 106 press premiered at drupa 2012 in May and is manufactured by Heidelberg with a neutral carbon footprint.

HEIDELBERG reported its first quarter of financial year 2013/2014 (April 1 to June 30, 2013), which included group sales of €504 million, a three percent decrease when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year (€520 million). Heidelberg stated sales fell slightly in all three segments: Equipment, Services and Financial Services. Heidelberg’s net loss in the first quarter of 2013/2014 was halved from the previous year’s figure of -€76 million to -€38 million. Heidelberg says its outlook remains unchanged with the company aiming for a net profit in its 2013/2014 financial year. EBITDA, excluding special items (reported as €1 million), improved from -€47 million in the year-ago quarter to -€2 million in its current quarter.

GREAT SIGNS AND GRAPHICS of Welland, Ontario, installed a HP Scitex FB500 wideformat system, as celebrated by Brianne Robinson, Graphic Designer; Jordan Thin, Manager/Print Technician; Cheryl Rogers, Vice President/Accounts Manager; and Dennis Rogers, President. With the installation of the Scitex FB500, Great Signs states it plans to enter new markets like home décor, such as printing on doors and REPRODUX’ John Gentle and John Duke ceiling tiles, and the wedding services busioversaw the installation of a new Esko ness. The Scitex FB500 is capable of printKongsberg XN24 finishing table into the ing work of up to 163 centimeters wide and company’s main production facility in 5.08 cm thick on a range of rigid or flexible Toronto. Established in 1963, Reprodux medias. Since the installation, the company merged operations with Entire Imaging explains it has seen a 20 percent increase in Solutions in February 2013 and is now its overall business. one of Canada’s largest reprographers with locations across Southern Ontario. Reprodux is using the Kongsberg threekilowatt milling tool to cut 6-mm Sintra, 1-inch gator board and aluminum composite panels. They also use the tool to cut pieces for 3D modeling, in which models of buildings are printed on a flatbed printer and the odd shapes are cut with the Kongsberg XN24, capable of working with 66 x 126-inch sheets. ROD MCGREGOR, former President and CEO of the Yorkville Group of companies passed away in early August. He was 74. McGregor grew up in the Kingsway and attended Etobicoke Collegiate, Western Technical School and for a short time, Ryerson. During his time at Yorkville, he grew a small printing operation into one of the largest privately owned printing companies in Canada. In 1986, the organization was sold to Maclean-Hunter, but he continued to lead the printing division until he retired in 1991. The Yorkville plant was purchased by Transcontinental in 1995. 6 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

JOAN MATHESON and Ron Matheson, owners of Halton Commercial Printers, celebrate the installation of a new Rapid X1 label printer, with Brett Kisiloski of distributor PDS Pressdown. The Rapid X1 employs Memjet print-head technology, which allows the system to reach a top printing speed of 60 feet per minute, while producing a 1,600 x 1,600-dpi resolution. The 5-colour roll-to-roll device has an 8.5-inch printing width and a 12inch OD unwind and rewind capacity. It also includes an optical sensor for pre-cut and stripped labels.

STANPAC’s press crew in Smithville, Ontario, including Bill Prankie, Will Hill, Minh Ha, Jason Beckitt and Josh Mesbitt, celebrate the installation of a full UV Heidelberg Speedmaster XL106-6+L, described as a first-of-its-kind press in Canada. Replacing Stanpac’s older Speedmaster CD-102, the UVbased Speedmaster XL-106 is capable of curing in high gloss at 18,000 impressions per hour. Stanpac specializes in the cradle-to-grave production of ice-cream containers. The company also produces work for dairy, food and bottle packaging. Founded in 1949, Stanpac holds 350 employees across both its Smithville and Texas locations.

PEEL GRAPHICS, with locations in Brampton and Markham, Ontario, filed for bankruptcy on August 9 with total liabilities of approximately $6.6 million, of which around $4.8 million is owed to unsecured creditors. Nine paper suppliers are also among the unsecured creditors, collectively owed more than $371,000. Sixteen fellow printing operations, primarily located in the Greater Toronto Area, are owed at least $152,000 as unsecured creditors, while 12 finishing companies, who are owed at least $1,000, account for 12 of the unsecured creditors and a collective amount of approximately $127,500. Vaughan-based Advertek Printing subsequently announced it has made a purchase of some of Peel Graphics’ assets, including hiring Peel Graphics President Andrew Cook and General Manager Susan Nyilas.

VISTAPRINT published its fourth quarter results and reported 14 percent revenue growth for its complete fiscal year. Despite this, Robert Keane, President and CEO, stated, “Our total revenue performance was disappointing relative to our expectations 12 months ago. Though our revenue growth in North America was strong with good execution of our strategic and finanJEFF BEZOS, founder and CEO of Amazon, cial objectives, our growth in Europe and moved to purchase The Washington Post Australia was weaker than expected.” for US$250 million. The deal, which is by Vistaprint earned US$1.16 billion in revBezos and is unassociated with Amazon, enues in 2013, up from $1.02 billion in is expected to close within 60 days. The 2012. Operating income, however, was only Post had been owned by four generations $46.1 million, or four percent of revenue, a of the Graham family. The transaction 16 percent decrease. For the upcoming covers The Washington Post and other year, the company says it expects to grow publishing businesses, including the Ex- revenues between six and 10 percent. press newspaper, The Gazette Newspapers, Southern Maryland Newspapers, Fairfax EFI and dozens of other companies, County Times, El Tiempo Latino and including Apple, received good news after Greater Washington Publishing. The deal a U.S. Federal judge dismissed a patent does not cover properties such as Slate infringement lawsuit brought against magazine, TheRoot.com and Foreign Policy. them by Digitech Image Technologies. The Washington Post was founded in 1877 The disputed patent (6,128,415) is for and, as of 2009, is the fifth largest newspa- “Device profiles for use in a digital image per in the U.S. by circulation. processing system.” We are pleased that the court invalidated the patent, but it FASTSIGNS will open six more centres was clear this case should never have in Canada, including four in the Mar- been filed,” said EFI General Counsel itimes and one each in Toronto and Cal- Bryan Ko. “It is yet another illustration of gary, bringing its total Canadian how patent trolls are clogging the judicial franchises to 28 – 546 wordwide. As part system and wasting public resources. of the four-unit agreement, franchisee Until the system changes, however, EFI Philip Zakem and three partners will won’t be bullied into settling these abuopen their first FASTSIGNS centre in sive lawsuits.” Digitech was able to extract Halifax, NS, slated for the fourth quarter settlements from a number of parties, inof 2013. The partners are also converting cluding Panasonic, Sony, Acer and Motheir independent sign business, located torola, but EFI was among 35 that did not in Charlottetown, PEI, into a FAST- settle. Digitech is a subsidiary of Acacia SIGNS franchise in 2014. Their final two Research Corporation which generated FASTSIGNS centres will open in Saint $959 million in revenues through 250 patent portfolios. John and Moncton, NB.


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TORONTO STAR, Canada’s highest circulation newspaper controlled by Torstar, enacted a paywall in mid-August to provide online content access to subscribers. Readers will have to pay to access more than 10 articles a month. While an introductory offer will give online readers access starting at 99 cents, the full price will be $9.99 a month. As a part of the offer, Toronto-area readers can receive a print copy of the Saturday Star with home delivery. Current home subscribers will have free online access, as long as they are subscribed using an automated payment option. Canada’s two national newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the National Post rolled out their paywalls last year. The Globe and Mail charges $20 per month for unlimited online access and The National Post charges $9.95.

multiple small- and large-scale jobs simultaneously, while giving us the flexibility to add features as new customer needs arise,” stated Ali Esmalji, Operations Manager with Georgian Copy. “It’s also the only press that supports printing with white ink, and allows us the ability to print on multiple surfaces.” Georgian Copy plans to expand into photo books and heavier substrates, because of the new press, which is rated to produce over two million colour pages or five million WARREN WERBITT, CEO of Pazazz, monochrome pages per month. acquired large-format printer Contact Image, which was founded in 1972. Both CANADA POST was the subject of a recent companies are based in Montreal. In report by C.D. Howe Institute, conclud2007, Contact Image went through a ing the government organization should restructuring led by Aaron Fish and his consider “furthering contracting out appointed President, Jim Topolniski. some postal services, gradually reducing Normand Limoges took the helm of the scope of the government monopoly.” Contact Image in 2010. The company Domestic mail is forecast to decline by PAUL VANDERWEIDE becomes Operations provides large-format printing on a 27 percent through to 2020, according to Manager for Drytac Canada. He previ- variety of substrates, including fabrics, the report, with annual rural door-toously served as President of Macula Tech- backlit signage, and vinyl. Pazazz was door service costing $269 per address. nik Inc., a Canadian service provider of founded in 1992 and today provides off- C.D. Howe concludes individual parts of large-format-imaging equipment. In his set printing with UV and conventional the network, such as final delivery and new role, Vanderweide is responsible for inks up to 56 inches, toner production, collection of mail or operation of stores, the production and distribution of Drytac flexography and label printing, as well as can be privatized. Canadian Union of adhesive-coated products at the company’s offset packaging. Postal Workers has already expressed facilities in Concord and Brampton, Ondismay at the report, saying it only offers tario. With Drytac’s recent acquisition of GEORGIAN COPY AND PRINTERS installed “tired ideas for Canada Post that would Toronto-based adhesive coating company an HP Indigo 5600 press into its Barrie, result in service cutbacks.” An earlier Multi-Tac Inc., Vanderweide will liaise Ontario, facility, which also produces Conference Board of Canada study with customers and suppliers throughout offset litho work. “Our investment in the projects that Canada Post will lose North America and Europe. HP Indigo 5600 enables us to program $1 billion by 2020.

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SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 7


PRINT CALENDAR Zhuhai, China, is a city situated in Southeast China that is informally known as the Chinese Riviera, and borders the former Portuguese colony of Macau. The city, with its neighbour Shenzhen, is designated a special economic zone and is heavily involved in international trade. Zhuhai is also a substantial tourist destination, drawing over five million people both internationally and domestically. The city is twinned with Surrey, British Columbia.

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FESPA Eurasia, taking place in Istanbul, Turkey will present over 150 exhibitors involved in wide format, screen, garment and signage printing. The event will feature three days of seminars covering all aspects of wide format print.

The Digital Imaging Association has its regular meeting at the Spicers Vaughan, Ontario, facility. The topic presented is the direct mail marketing sector and includes a presentation by Canada Post.

One month from today, PrintAction presents the Canadian Printing Awards at the International Centre in Toronto. The event will feature the best in Canadian-produced print from coast to coast. More details at printaction.com/CPA/

8 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

The Canadian Marketing Association presents a course over eight sessions titled Developing the Marketing Plan in which students can learn to conceive, sell, and execute an effective strategy for promotion. $2,700

Serving the estimated 500,000 print shops in China, iPrint Expo in Zhuhai, China, is a three day show co-located with RemaxAsia Expo, a display printing show. This year’s event has a special focus on the emerging 3D printing market.

The PIA presents its Orientation to the Graphic Arts program, where, over four days, newcomers to the industry are introduced to key processes, industry lingo, concepts in printing, as well as emerging trends. $1,595

The Indian offshoot of the popular Chinese event, Printing & Packaging and Converting Expo, is held over three days in New Delhi. The conference is meant to meet the growth of 15 percent per annum in the country for the packaging sector.

Presenting itself as having the “full spectrum of technology,” this year’s SGIA Expo at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, will have seven educational zones, such as digital textile printing, colour management, and digital signage. $35


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QuarkXPress 10 Looks to Enterprise oughly five years after the end of the Quark versus InDesign war, Quark has had to differentiate itself as more than a page layout application. Starting with QuarkXPress 7 and leading up to its latest release of version 10 this month, the company has made a concerted effort in pursuing the corporate and electronic publishing markets to replace its lost desktop publishing user base. For the latest generation of workers emerging from design schools, QuarkXPress has largely been deemed archaic, if not irrelevant, due to the inclusion of Adobe InDesign as part of the industry standard Creative Suite. However, when asked if Quark is concerned of losing relevance on designers’ desktops, Gavin Drake, the company’s VP of Marketing, says, “If our strategy was to go head-tohead with InDesign and Creative Suite, then yes, we would have a strategy around that. But if I go to somebody like HSBC that is spending multiple millions of dollars in publishing and I can save them $2 million a year, I can guarantee that they don’t care what design tool they use to do that because their director of publishing operations is interested in that $2 million in publishing costs.” Drake has been with the company for close to a decade and witnessed these changes himself. He has also been witness to Quark’s change in direction from desktop to corporate, and also the acquisition of many smaller firms that pave the way for the company to make its shift. “The industry has changed hugely,” he says. “The big economic crash of 2008 drove much faster changes than people expected. Digital devices have accelerated the change in media consumption, as well. We’re glad we started to make big changes in terms of markets and directions that we address, because traditional publishing itself is clearly not a growth industry, nor is desktop publishing. We knew that there were big publishing challenges outside of the traditional publishing industry… companies in life sciences, in government, in finance, who do a huge amount of

R

publishing and who really felt we had the technology and expertise to help them solve their challenges.” According to Drake, QuarkXPress 10’s new Xenon Graphics Engine renders both pixel and vector some of its new enterprise graphics at much higher resolution versus QuarkXPress 9. users often had to parse hundreds of pages of data Graphics Engine which takes advantage Clouds and revenue streams manually through Microsoft Word files of the newer features of modern CPUs Whereas Adobe has been focusing of late or homegrown systems. By the time the and GPUs in rendering the display. In to take its applications onto the Cloud and files were finished, some numbers would 2008, Quark licensed the Global Graphics go with a subscription model, Quark is be outdated, setting off the process all Jaws PDF Library to render PDFs, but ac- staying with the perpetual license model over again. In the manufacturing sector, cording to Drake, that came with a for XPress 10. the creation of data sheets, of which there downside: “It meant that we didn’t have “There’s no question that the move toare hundreds of thousands (and can a very deep understanding of rendering wards Cloud-based pricing and software require multiple languages), the time PDFs on screen because we were reliant rental has upset some customers,” says involved can go from several hours per on the resolution previews we got back Drake. “Based on sales and online activity, sheet down to seconds once an automa- from the Jaws engine. we’ve seen an increase in interest in tion template is set up. “The new Xenon Graphics Engine un- QuarkXPress because some users princiA new engine under the hood

If there is a major theme to XPress 10, it would be revitalization. According to Quark, half a million lines of code were revised and more than 350,000 lines added. On Apple computers, the software is now completely Cocoa driven and ready for the next version of OSX, codenamed Mavericks, due this fall. The core major feature of QuarkXPress 10 is the completely new Xenon

derstands PDFs at a deep level to the point that we redraw the PDF on screen in a nanosecond. Rather than looking at a low-res preview on screen, it’s now real text that we’ve drawn. In terms of how things look with PDFs, Photoshop files or TIFF files, we’re now drawing them in real-time on screen with way better image quality.” The Xenon Graphics Engine is also beneficial for users who have Apple’s new Retina monitors that feature higher pixel density. The user interface has also been updated so that it is crisper on these new screens. On the PDF generation front, QuarkXPress 10 now has PDF passthrough transparency, which eliminates the need to pre-flatten files (though it remains an option). QuarkXPress objects can also now interact with placed PDFs and maintain the transparency throughout the workflow. It maintains layers through more of the workflow process and results in smaller file sizes. Other enhancements of interest to prepress departments include improved layer handling that remembers layers upon copy and paste, as well as the highlighting of missing fonts. XPress 10 also features a new Print Preview window that allows users to check output settings and correct before printing via thumnail page previews.

pally want to know they can make a purchase of software and use it as long as they need to, and if they go through a tough economic period, they can make a decision not to upgrade their software. When you pay by the month or by the year, you don’t have that option.” Beyond QuarkXPress, Quark has been promoting the benefits of cross-media publishing to printing firms as a new sales avenue for design and prepress departments. QuarkXPress integrates with the company’s App Studio (launched last fall) to generate electronic versions of publications. The offering, based on Quark’s acquisition of Mobile IQ and its PressRun system in May of 2012, uses industry-standard HTML5 to generate versions to be consumed on iPads, Kindles and other mobile devices. Pricing for single-issue publications start at $200 for a one time fee, or starting at $100 per month for multi-issue publications. Quark has also made its App Studio open to Adobe InDesign users. “Printing has become somewhat of a commodity business since I joined the industry,” says Drake. “I think digital publishing is an area where printers can add value. If you look back at the early days of desktop publishing, there was a big market for service providers. Apps and eBooks are still a complex area: App store submission [processes], different eBook formats and screen sizes are still very new for customers. If a printer knows those things, they can add value in that process for their clients.” – Clive Chan

SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 9


ZAC BOLAN

Bright Likes, Big Tweety Finding your way around the Social Media metropolis Part III – Making Social Media Count ou proudly stand on a soapbox in a crowded park asserting your Facebook, Twitter or blogging prowess for all to hear. You have finally found your voice in Social Media City – or have you? Is anyone really listening? You look at the blank faces surrounding you and wonder just how much is getting through to your target audience. Is your message getting lost in the gutters? Swirling down the storm drains of Social Media City? As with conventional marketing, social media provides little promotional punch if you do not find a way to measure your success. The good news is that metrics have never been more accessible, assuming you can navigate the oblique avenues of social media analytics.

Y

The corner of Metrics Street and Analytics Avenue

Social media metrics had humble beginnings as simple counters tucked away at the bottom of homepages populating the primeval World Wide Web. Early Webmasters delighted as their count clicked higher each day indicating more viewers had visited their modest sites and Weblogs. As the online world matured, more information about page visitors became available, including such details as visitor locale, traffic for specific pages and returning visitors. All of which could be harvested from a rapidly growing mountain of visitor data. Today, the gathering of social media metrics and ensuing analysis has evolved into a precise science, rivaling quantum physics in its befuddle-ability. Every social media interaction, Webpage click and

Google Analytics offers users the ability to build custom dashboards to display a befuddling array of social media analytics. Unfortunately those new to analytics can be quickly overwhelmed by metrics minutia.

tweet triggers an avalanche of observable data that accumulates in the annals of Social Media City. And while the average netizen may be vaguely aware of the digital trail created by their every move, few fathom the depth, breadth and quality of the information they leave behind. Fewer still know how to find and use it. Welcome to the fascinating and flummoxing neighbourhood of social media analytics.

Clicky.com puts a clean and logical interface on analytics, giving users with basic social media analytical needs just the right mix of information.

The majority of social media metrics fall into three categories: Reach, engagement and conversions. Reach represents the size of your potential audience – for example, the sum of your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn followers as well as visitors to your Website. As implied, reach is all about numbers and indicates nothing about the quality of the exchanges you might have with these people. For that you track engagement, the measurement of the interactions between you and your audience. For marketers, the desired outcome of engagement is a conversion: Persuading an engaged visitor to do something, such as becoming a customer. Gathering the right metrics in these three key areas provides fodder for analytics, enabling social media marketers to visualize trends and measure the effects of their work. One unfamiliar with analytics could be forgiven for thinking this arcane art sprang from the pages of a science fiction novel. In reality, analytics is nothing more than a fancy word for finding and demonstrating meaningful patterns in data, often favouring visualization, such as graphs, to illustrate these patterns. Analytics leverages the computing power of massive mainframes and is widely used in businesses that are rich in statistical and actuarial data like with the insurance, finance and retail sectors. This easily leveraged mainframe muscle makes analytics the ideal tool for astute marketers dealing with the daunting volume of metrics produced by social media. Continued on page 12

10 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013


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Bolan Continued from page 10

Google Analytics

Google was an early leader in putting powerful analytical tools into the hands of the common data miner. While at first glance Google Analytics can intimidate, a little research and instruction (courtesy of ample online tutorials) can help demystify Google’s default dashboard. Google Analytics capability can be added to any Website by simply visiting www.google.com/analytics and clicking the sign-up link. Google will walk you through the process of registering your site culminating with the generation of a bit of tracking code to be added to your Website. Going forward, users can log into Google Analytics and access dozens of active reports including real-time visitor data, detailed audience stats, traffic sources, content analysis and conversions. Each of these topics offers dozens of submenus allowing users to drill down to any specific data point they wish to analyze. For example in addition to an Overview, the content section provides an exquisitely detailed Behavior Flow report illustrating what visitors do while they wander through your site. However, the true power in Google Analytics is its customizability, enabling users to define dashboards displaying any mix of reports desired. Additionally, users can setup campaigns and measure the effectiveness of their Websites in extending reach, and engaging their audience. Under the Conversions heading, Google Analytics also provides the tools to monitor Ecommerce campaigns because any business engaging in social media marketing will have the goal of converting a visitor to a customer. Google Analytics enables users to set these goals, track progress and manage online campaigns. While Google’s ample online tutorial resources will get you started in the complex analytics game, those wanting to take a deeper dive will have to do some heavier reading. Fortunately there’s an abundance of excellent books on the market such as Web Analytics – An Hour A Day by Avinash Kaushik. Finding a friendly face

Most people cannot spare an hour of their day for something fun, let alone study the obscurities of analytics. There are ample online services, however, that put a friendly face on complex data, allowing users to get at the information they really want without a lot of hands-on intervention. Clicky Web Analytics provides just such a service with a clean interface and a scalable pricing structure starting with free basic services. Clicky supplies tracking plug-ins for most common Website and blogging platforms, such as Drupal, Wordpress and Joomla in addition to other lesser-known content management systems. Users can also manually install Clicky’s tracking code into their Website’s HTML. Once Clicky has started gathering metrics, users log into the Clicky Website or mobile app to track user visits and activity. With the free version of Clicky, users can track a single Website (up to 3,000 daily page views) and receive basic realtime data on a clean and easy-to-read dashboard. The data can include individ12 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

ual visitor tracking; their actions on your site; what content they are looking at; the searches that brought them to your site, as well as the referring Website. Pro accounts start at $80 annually and provide powerful goal and campaign management features, download tracking and multiple reports in addition to a gaggle of other features. At the Pro Plus level ($120 per year), users have access to Heatmaps – one of Clicky’s most intriguing features. Heatmaps allows Webmasters to see a visual representation of their Webpages with an overlay showing where visitors hover their cursors. The advantage of a Heatmap is that it clearly indicates where people are focusing their attention, regardless of whether they actually click any links. By placing key links in these locations (such as BUY NOW), you can increase the likelihood of converting the visitor. Facebook insights

Arguably the most visited social media site, Facebook has long struggled with the perception that it is a soft asset for business users. While that may have been true at one time, Facebook has sharpened its focus on the business market considerably in recent years by adding new administrative and analytical tools for business pages. One of the early advocates for putting a friendly face on analytics, Facebook has long given business users access to basic page data once they have accumulated more than 25 Likes. A recent overhaul of the Facebook Insights tool has put a clear and easily navigable interface on some pretty complex data. With Insights, users can assess the performance of their page and posts while analyzing their audience demographics. By determining which posts attract the most attention in the form of Likes, Comments or Shares, business users can tailor content to extend their reach. Aside from obvious stats such as Page Likes, other key metrics for Facebook business users include Fan Reach, Post Reach, and Engagement. Fan Reach represents the number of your page fans who have viewed your posts. If your posts are engaging enough, your fans will spread your content far beyond its initial circle of followers. This differs from Organic Reach, which includes the page views from all visitors (including non-fans) to your business page. Post Reach is a straightforward measurement of how many people actually saw an individual post. The Engagement metric reveals the number of visitors who have interacted with your content in one form or another, either through comments, re-posting or sharing your content. Perhaps the most interesting metric Facebook provides falls under the People tab on the Insights dashboard. Users can immediately see an anonymous age and gender breakdown of their fans, people reached and people engaged. This can be invaluable to marketers seeking to reach a specific demographic. Also under the People tab is a breakdown of geographic location of visitors, as well as default language settings. In addition to the data provided in the dashboard, more adventurous Facebook business page admins Continued on page 24


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Richard Armstrong

Michael Mugavero

Mike Hischar

Steve Ranson

Heidelberg Canada

manroland Sheetfed North America

KBA North America

K-North Services

New Directions in Sheefed – Part II

AUTOMATION INJECTION by Jon Robinson

In Part I of a two-part feature series called New Directions in Sheetfed, press leaders for Heidelberg,

KBA, Komori and manroland shared their business strategies – with an emphasis on the Canadian market – for reigniting offset investment. Part II of New Directions in Sheetfed now takes a look at new press technologies deployed to realize these business plans. Each press leader was asked what they consider to be the most-significant on-press technology currently provided by the company they represent. he attention paid to new sheetfed-offset innovations often pales in comparison to announcements made in the so-called digital printing space, regardless of whether this overused term relates to inkjet or electrophotography (or liquid versus dry toner). This was certainly the case at drupa 2012 where more than a dozen B2-size inkjet and toner prototype presses were shown. They hold enormous potential to alter signature printing, but few have yet to be commercialized as of late-2013 and the new digital systems driving sheetfed mechanics continue to find their way into leading pressrooms across North America.

T

KHS-AI, Inpress Control and DirectDrive

“What really stood out for our customers is the speed of the 106 and the new 145,” says Mark Hischar, CEO of KBA North America, discussing drupa 2012. At the massive quadrennial German trade show, KBA showcased its new Rapida 145 large-format press (41.34 x 57 inches) running at 17,000 sheets per hour (sph) in straight configuration and at 15,000 sph perfect-

ing, as well as the 41-inch Rapida 106’s new ability to reach 20,000 sph (18,000 sph in perfecting). No other offset press manufacturer today can claim such speeds. “It is a giant step forward,” continues Hischar. “Those speeds in conjunction with our technological approach to reducing make-ready time are really two key factors that I look at to say that we have made significant strides. They make a huge difference in our customers’ abilities to be productive and highly competitive in their marketplace.” KBA introduced both of its new machines, as well as the subsequent Rapida 164 (a 47 x 64.5-inch format, 15,000 sph press launched in February 2013), loaded with DriveTronic automation. This includes the company’s unique sidelay-free infeed called DriveTronic SIS and DriveTronic SPC for simultaneous plate changing. KBA also attributes its fast press speeds to a new generation of AirTronic delivery. DriveTronic SIS stands for Sensoric Infeed System that, aside from avoiding marking issues with sensitive substrates, is said to eliminate all need for operator intervention. When equipped with the dedicated unit drives of DriveTronic SPC, all plates can be changed in parallel within one to three minutes (depending on

Komori’s PQC-S console integrates KHS-AI software with PDCSX closed-loop XY spectrophotometer and KID information display. SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 13


the press model) regardless of the number of printing units. DriveTronic automation also allows a coating plate to be changed as the press is running the current job, for example, or for blankets and impression cylinders to be washed in preparation for the next run, which results in the ability to have non-stop operation for both the feeder and delivery of the press. “We are very big on logistics and processing of stock,” says Eric Frank, VP of Marketing at KBA North America. “When your presses run this fast, one of the bottlenecks could be getting the paper in and out of the press, so logistics systems also come into play as part of the DriveTronic family.” Komori lays claim to the origins of simultaneous make-ready for sheetfed through its Automatic Make-Ready (AMR) system, which was under development back in the 1980s. The company has now taken AMR a step further with KHS-AI, which Steve Ranson, President of K-North Services Inc., a distributor of Komori presses across Canada, describes as the Japanese press maker’s most significant technological development in recent years. “The newest technology on the GL with KHS-AI for ultra-quick, ultra-low-waste make-readies puts us in a completely different arena than everybody else,” he says. A 40-inch, six-colour Lithrone GL press (first launched in late-2011 with a top speed of 16,500 sph) with KHS-AI is rated to make-ready in around eight minutes. “What we are talking about now is actual efficiencies,” says Ranson. “The new word in the industry should be efficiency as a progression from make-ready. Make-ready is just a small portion of the customer’s job and at Komori we prefer to look at the overall efficiencies of each job being run.” In addition to simultaneous make-ready, driven by Komori’s Smart Sequence function for tasks like pre-inking, wash-ups, plate changing and start-up, KHS-AI is a self-learning system with a unique interface to interrupt vital press costs like waste and downtime – “It is all encompassing.” KHS-AI software can help a press achieve ink and register stability in as few as 20 sheets, which Ranson discovered as almost too lean for the pressroom. “You are going to need more waste sheets just to get the job through the rest of your printing plant,” he says, relating a recent conver-

sation with a Canadian commercial printer who typically wants around 250 sheets of waste on a 10,000-sheet job to set up for finishing on a stitcher, perfect binder, or cutter. The printer eventually agreed it would be better to prepare the production line with good copy if it meant holding such control over waste. To continue its focus on holistic pressroom performance, Komori is unveiling a new technological partnership between Axis MIS (Management Information System), which is further integrated with a PDQ estimating module, and Komori K-Station software. “There are new and much more cost-effective MIS systems coming out,” says Ranson. “It is going to blow people’s socks off.” Axis MIS utilizes data from PDQ’s production-route estimates. Once the job is completed, invoices are generated in Axis MIS and exported to accounting software. Axis MIS includes tools for purchasing of materials, tracking and logging emails and phone calls to customers, managing client proofing, as well as recording production data. Axis MIS also provides a dashboard and reports for business managers to view Key Performance Indicators like sales forecasts versus actual, estimate conversion rates, and production costs versus actual. “If you are not able to extract data back from the equipment, as well as send it, you are never going to truly understand all of your costs,” says Ranson. The integration between Axis MIS and Komori K-Station also provides visibility of press performance with job data on both press and operator performance. The system also uses barcodes to manage docket entry and tasks for each job. “manroland is going to continue concentrating on our existing customers and apply all available resources to increase their internal efficiencies,” says Michael Mugavero, Managing Director and CEO for manroland Sheetfed’s North American operation. “How do they stay profitable in a market that is more aggressive? How do they enter new markets that show promise or regain an edge in the segments they are in? “I love DirectDrive on a press. We can do make-readies in such incredible time and the press prints incredibly well,” says Mugavero, describing what he feels to be

manroland’s DirectDrive technology equips every printing unit with fully automatic plate changing, which the company explains can reduce make-ready time by as much as 60 percent.

manroland’s most significant on-press technology, which is now available with an 18,000 iph option. “There is simply no better make-ready machine than a manroland DirectDrive.” Mugavero also points to some of manroland’s more recent inline performance enhancements, including Inline Color Pilot, Inspection, Indexing Foiling and Inline Sorter. New manroland purchasers have the option to participate in the press maker’s Future Proof program prior to the press leaving the factory in Germany. Mugavero describes this program as a cost-effective way for customers to add inline tools or even low-energy UV curing at any point after the press is installed. manroland has also established the TOP Performance benchmarking program for sheetfed customers. Mugavero continues to say there is not only an overpopulation of 40-inch presses remaining in the market, which he estimates to be more than 5,000 in North America, but that many lack meaningful automation. “Make-readies are so critical to the productivity and lifeblood of a manufacturing segment,” says Mugavero, describing the DirectDrive installation at a long-perfector customer in Pennsylvania who moved from an average of five make-readies per shift to more than a dozen. “Adding a low-energy-cure UV system, which we

now have for DirectDrive, or to combine that with super large format, there is no question that we can bring significant internal efficiency and performance-enhancing solutions into a pressroom.” Mugavero also points to the new slitting capabilities on the company’s large-format presses, which allow printers to utilize much of their existing 40-inch post-press equipment and lower the barriers of entry into larger size work. Both large-format sheetfed and UVenabled presses have been major focuses of Heidelberg over the past several months. “This year we sold five UV presses in row, some in packaging and some in commercial,” says Richard Armstrong, President of Heidelberg Canada, “So I would have to say there is definitely a lot of interest in UV right now.” Armstrong equates much of the UV interest to printers looking for new applications, but these printers also revel in how instantcure aids manufacturing. To this end, Armstrong estimates around 85 percent of all 40-inch Heidelberg presses sold today include Inpress Control, an internal press system to measure colour and registration, which he feels to be the company’s most significant technological introduction over the past few years. “Inpress Control has been a piece of technology which really has revolutionized

KBA’s new Rapida 106 is capable of running at 20,000 sheets per hour, a speed the company attributes in large part to its new generation AirTronic delivery. 14 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013


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Heidelberg’s Prinect Inpress Control system is a popular option for both the company’s VLF line and 40-inch presses.

sheetfed offset printing from our perspective,” says Armstrong. “It turns sheetfed printing more toward a manufacturing process. You can set the colour tolerances you want to run to and the machine will get there. The operators will trust it rather than having to spend a lot of time making fine adjustments.” Heidelberg supports Inpress Control based on years of developing Prinect software, in addition to CTP imaging systems, which forms a bridge between prepress and the pressroom. “The biggest game changer of the make-ready process over the last 10 years has been Inpress Control, not automatic plate changing,” says Ray Fagan, Product Manager of Sheetfed Presses at Heidelberg Canada. “We are talking about saving a third or more of your make-ready time, plus cutting your waste sheets in half, by being able to control register and colour measurement right from the first sheet on the run.” Fagan relates this approach to the maturation of imaging standards, finding many of Heidelberg’s most-innovative customers are running to targets to drive out costs. “We haven’t sold a VLF press in Canada without Inpress Control technology,” says Fagan, noting how the packaging sector, for all of its consistent growth, lags behind commercial printing in terms of applying production standards to squeeze minutes from make-ready. “[Instead of taking] a 65-inch sheet that would have taken many, many minutes to evaluate, we have automated that process to put your faith in the numbers running to a standard.” Heidelberg’s move into VLF sheetfed is relatively new, based on its 2008 introduction of the Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162. Armstrong explains the company’s late arrival in the sector allowed it to develop VLF machines with a clean slate, focusing on what existing users were, and were not, happy with. “We designed a machine that operates like a smaller sheetfed press,” he explains, “With very quick make-ready and lots of automation, but producing at a very high speed and a large substrate range.” KBA, on the other hand, has been developing large-format press technology for over 90 years and continues to dominate the sector. Eric Frank describes 16 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

KBA as having an annual market share in large format at well over 50 percent in North America, predominantly in the packaging sector. “We also have some commercial printers who see value in producing larger sizes,” says Hischar. KBA’s new generation large-format machines, under development for at least five years to leverage DriveTronic from 40-inch lines and unique systems like quality inspection from KBA’s other worldleading position in currency presses, are more attuned for shorter run work. “The reason why so much attention is put on large format is because of the exceptional way in which a customer can grow their business,” says Mugavero. manroland also carries a long history in developing large-format sheetfed and actively seeks commercial applications for its big machines. He provides signage as a prime example because modern large-format presses like a size-6 (56-inch) require the same manpower as a 40-inch machine. “When you get up to a size-8 press, you actually have the capacity of four 25 x 38 inch sheets. With a perfector, you would turn it 4/4 and on a size-8, as an example, it would be the equivalent of eight 40-inch machines.” Fagan points out that just because a commercial printer has a press on the floor capable of running 32- or even 40-point board it does not mean they are ready to enter packaging. “With most packaging, finishing is equally or more important than the production in the offset department, because the printer’s concern is, ‘Why should I print at 15,000 an hour if I can only die-cut at 4,500.’” Fagan says he does see opportunity for printers in Western Canada to reach into short-run packaging of anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 sheets, because the region is not as concentrated with the large packaging companies found throughout Eastern North America. Packaging captures much of the printing world’s attention for potential business growth, even among smaller sized commercial printers, but it is difficult to break into the market without economies of scale or highly unique products. Signature printing, however, remains the domain of sheetfed offset and press makers continue to develop meaningful innovations even if they receive less fanfare than other processes. “I think some of the smaller guys who are on the bubble are caught between a rock and a hard place,” says Hischar. “The survivors are the ones who recognize they have to do things differently. That they have to focus on being the best in their marketplace and they are also the ones who realize technology will get them there.”


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TRADE PRINTING

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Short-run Finishing The newest systems to finish commercial work now cater to modern print shop environments in which both toner and offset production reside. They are often specifically engineered for short runs and greater application flexibility, which is evident in many of the following products.

Featured technologies • • • • • • • • • •

Autobond Mini 76 B&R Moll Premier 36 Bell + Howell Ascender 16 C.P. Bourg BB3002 PUR-C Challenge Machinery CMT 130 Duplo DC-646 Duplo 150C Booklet System Gateway Total Koil Binder Graphic Whizard PT370 IKF Graphic Whizard VividCoater XDC-530 Micro • Heidelberg Stahlfolder TX/KX

• Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 200 Compact • KAMA SBU • MBO M80 • MGI JETvarnish 3D Twin • Muller Martini High Speed Wire System • Muller Martini Presto II • Plockmatic Morgana DigiBook 150 • Scodix Rainbow • Standard Horizon BQ-280PUR • Standard Horizon SmartStacker • Technifold CreaseStream Mini Series • TRESU iCoat 30000

Duplo 150C Booklet System The new entry-level 150C Booklet System (debuted September 2013) incorporates the new DBM-150 Bookletmaker with Duplo’s existing DSC-10/20 suction collator. The system, handling sheet sizes up to 12 x 18 inches, includes an Isaberg Rapid Stapler within each mechanism and a 16-job memory. Optional features include a corner-and-side stapling kit as well as a sheet-by-sheet kit. The 150C Booklet System produces up to 2,400 booklets per hour.

Technifold CreaseStream Mini Series Duplo DC-646 Duplo’s new mid-range DC-646 Slitter/ Cutter/Creaser (debuted September 2013), engineered to succeed the DC-645, performs up to six slits, 25 cuts, and 20 creases in a single pass (compared to six slits, 15 cuts and 10 creases on the DC-645). The new system eliminates white borders and, according to Duplo, prevents toner cracking on fold lines up to 30 sheets per minute. The machine also has an optional rotary tool and cross-perforating modules. Users, among a series of applications, can create 24-up business cards, slit-score greeting cards, micro-perforated coupons. 18 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

The new CreaseStream Mini Series is designed to eliminate fibre cracking in toner printing and to provide what Technifold describes as letterpress-quality creasing. The machines, which also provide micro perforating, rely on Technifold’s patented Tri-Creaser technology to eliminate fibre cracking irrespective of grain direction. There are three models in the line referred to as Standard (manual), Quick-Feed (semi-automatic), and AutoFeed (fully automatic). With adjustable in-feed guides, the machines can crease 100 lb text up through 120 lb cover or 14 pt, as well as toner text stocks ranging from 60 lb to 100 lb, while working with a sheet sizes from 3 x 5.75 inches up to 20.4 x 20.4 inches.


Gateway Total Koil Binder

USED EQUIPMENT

The new Total Koil Binder is a compact machine with combined roller insertion for thinner books and spine-forming placement for thicker books up to 50 mm. Gateway explains with pre-punched thinner books the operator starts the coil into the first few punch holes which then makes contact with the roller inserter to drive the coil forward. A thicker book is placed on the spine formers, creating a curve to the binding edge. The operator then starts the coil into the first few holes and foot pedal operation drives the coil forward through the remaining holes. The positioning of the thicker book also enables the operator to open the book slightly to aid the insertion process. The Total Koil Binder is also designed to work with Gateway’s Total Cut & Bend dual-sided crimper that can simultaneously cut and crimp both ends of the coil – from 6 to 50 mm. Production speeds of the combined system work with up to 300 books per hour for a thinner project and 100 books with 35 to 50 mm coil diameters.

Graphic Whizard VividCoater XDC-530 Micro The recently introduced VividCoater XDC-Micro is an ultra violet cured coating system with a footprint smaller than 3 x 3 feet, while running a speed of up to 2,700 sheets per hour. Using a standard IR and wiper blade, and vacuum hold down, the system allows for variable coating thickness control, from 5 to 25.4 microns, and variable speed control. It holds a nine-pound coating capacity, which the company describes as handling over 5,000 sheets. The VividCoater XDC-Micro works with a stock range from 128 to 450 gsm.

Graphic Whizard PT370 IKF The new PT370 IKF knife folder, designed for finishing toner work, uses two knives to fold sheets up to 350 gsm. The PT370 IKF – working with sheet sizes of up to 14.5 x 33 inches – can be hand-fed or placed inline with creasing machines like the CreaseMaster or PT series. This includes the recently introduced PT370A creaser that works with a maximum sheet size of 14.5 x 25.5 inches (39 inches when hand-fed) and a minimum format of 4.75 x 3.25 inches. The PT370A can perform up to 16 creases per sheet and up to 50 jobs can be stored into long-term memory. The system has a rated speed of 3,250 sheets per hour, handling a stock weight of up to 16 point.

Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 200 Compact The Stitchmaster ST 200 Compact (introduced June 2013, commercially available around September) is designed for low-cost saddle-stitched work of up to A3 format, such as stitched brochures, processing end formats as large as 330 x 500 millimeters (12.99 x 19.69 inches). The machine operates at a speed of up to 11,000 cycles per hour. It can be equipped with up to four double feeders and a cover folder feeder. In addition to these feeders, all the other components like the stitching unit and trimmer are fully automatic via separate servo drives. New make-ready assistant software takes operators step by step through the set-up process. Like the Stitchmaster ST 500, the Stitchmaster ST 200 Compact can also be used as a gathering machine for adhesive binding. It can be integrated into workflow using Prinect Postpress Manager for production data and costing.

Heidelberg Stahlfolder TX/KX Heidelberg’s new generation of Stahlfolder TX/KX systems (available since April 2013) are described as providing special configurations for high-performance industrial signature folding. The key feature of these new systems is the PFX feeder, which translates as Pallet Feeder eXtended. It uses the same principle as a sheetfed press feeder with the possibility of processing a stream of shingled sheets in both the feeder and the folding unit. As a result, Heidelberg states the TX/KX’s productivity is 50 percent higher than in conventional production processes. The first model of this new family of folding machines is the Stahlfolder TX 82.

SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 19


LABELS

Challenge Machinery CMT 130 The recently introduced CMT 130 is a modular book-trimming system with a controller for data entry and storage of up to 99 jobs. Hydraulic clamping and cutting works with up to 2-inch thick books. It is designed to process up to 200 books per hour in single book mode or up to 500 books per hour with an optional multiple-book mode. The CMT 130 can be configured as a hand-fed off-line trimmer or for what Challenge describes as true in-line trimming by substituting the book pile feeder with an in-feed conveyor and cooling elevator. It can also be equipped with an optional highcapacity feeder that allows up to 36-inches (914 cm) of books to be stacked and automatically fed into the trimmer. The optional vertical stacker allows up to 24-inches (609 cm) of books to be delivered.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT

Standard Horizon BQ-280PUR

Standard Horizon SmartStacker

The Horizon BQ-280PUR (introduced February 2013) provides single-clamp PUR perfect binding, particularly aimed at finishing short-run toner production, such as books. The BQ-280PUR can be operated by a single person and includes a sensor-activated caliper system for book block measurement. The system includes what Standard describes as fully automated set-up (carriage clamp, milling, glue tank, nipping, and cover feeder), an elevator delivery system, and special processing for extended spine length up to 15.5 inches. The BQ280PUR reaches production speeds of up to 400 books per hour.

The Horizon SmartStacker (introduced May 2012) can convert – using JDF – a B2size toner sheet into up to 28 individually cut sheets. The system was developed in cooperation with HP and designed to run in-line with the B2-format HP Indigo 10000 press. The SmartStacker can also run near-line with sheet feeding capability up to 4,500 B2 sheets per hour. The SmartStacker edge trims and gutter cuts for up to seven sheets in one direction and four in the other for full-bleed trimming. It can deliver finished product such as posters or postcards, straight or offset stacked, individual sets or book blocks, or bypass to inline finishing for saddle-stitching, perfect binding, or folding.

MGI JETvarnish 3D Twin MGI introduced its JETvarnish 3D inkjet spot UV coater in mid-2012, but recently (September 2013) provided new options for the system, including JETvarnish 3D Twin: A second print engine increases 3D effects production speed up to 2,234 12 x 18-inch sheets per hour. Users also have the option to double coating thickness in one pass up to 200 microns, which can reach into new markets such as printing Braille for the visually impaired. The JETvarnish 3D can also now include iFoil to apply real foil (rather than coating over metallic film) inline on the system. The JETvarnish 3D can apply spot UV coating at speeds of up to 3,000 B2/20 x 29-inch sheets per hour and produce 3D raised effects up to 100 microns in thickness. The system also handles sheet sizes of up to 20.5 x 42 inches and variable data pages.

B&R Moll Premier 36 The Premier 36 system (introduced May 2012) is designed for larger format printing and what Moll Brothers describes as new media requirements in the folder gluer industry, such as multiple inserts, pharmaceutical information, and credit cards. The 36-inch-wide format system features an air pile feeder with dual suction air wheels to achieve a positive feed, as well as a buckle fold plate with removable ribs and an all stainless steel back plate to eliminate marking and static build-up. The Premier 36 comes standard with two tipper plates that have patented anti-marking rollers for use anywhere on an extended in-feed table. It also features segmented super-grip fold rollers to handle a range of stocks, optional bottom fold plate, all belt drive, dual pump system and the company’s Dial-A-Stack unit.

20 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013


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BROKER / ACCOUNT PROTECTED SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 21


DIGITAL PRINTING

TRESU iCoat 30000

Muller Martini Presto II

An adaption of the TRESU’s Digital Sheet Coater technology, the new iCoat 30000 is designed specifically to work inline with the new HP Indigo 30000 press, which itself is aimed at the folding carton market and scheduled for a late-2013 commercial launch. The coating system can be configured for use with UV-curable coatings or for hot air drying of water-based coatings. Flexo sleeve technology delivers flood, pattern or spot coating in a single pass.

The Presto II (introduced May 2012) is a small- to mid-size saddle-stitching system designed to integrate roll or flat sheet printed toner material with conventionally printed signatures. It can also be configured as a standard stitcher, with components added to make it suitable for toner work. The recently introduced Solit Three Knife Trimmer operates at 4,500 cycles per hour with an 85-mm trim thickness capacity. The Solit’s automation platform is designed to perform in both toner- and medium-run offset proKAMA SBU duction environments. It is modeled after The new KAMA SBU (introduced SeptemMuller’s Orbit platform. The Solit relies ber 2013) is a stripping and blanking unit on the company’s patented SmartPress (SBU) with programmable rollers to strip technology for trimming. waste and blank printed boxes, which according to the company does not require expensive tools or manual processes. The C.P. Bourg BB3002 PUR-C new system joins KAMA’s ProCut and DC The BB3002 PUR-C perfect binder (introdie cutting and foiling machines with cam- duced May 2012) is designed as a compact era-based automatic registration for what system with a top speed of 285 books per the company refers to as a complete finish- hour – when not applying PUR, which is ing solution. The system includes an delivered through a Nordson Compact AutoRegister feature to match each sheet to melt system with two to four kilogram glue a print mark. The KAMA ProCut and DC capacity. The binder automatically adapts die cutters with AutoRegister and SBU are to the thickness of each job, up to a maxiavailable for B3 and B2 format (21 and mum thickness of 2.36 inches. The BB3002 30 inches). Applications include hot-foil allows for up to 13 positive or negative stamping, blind embossing, die cutting and creases. The company also recently released creasing, which is then completed with its BB3202 perfect binder (May 2012) to stripping, blanking and shingled stream operate inline with a range of toner presses delivery on the SBU. and production finishing configurations. It allows for unattended operation when combined with the new Bourg BBL Book Muller Martini High Speed Loader option.

Wire System

The new High Speed Wire System (introduced in late-2012) consists of a container, called the EasyDrum, which holds 650 pounds of Muller-exclusive PerformancePlus Stitching Wire. The EasyDrum alone, according to Muller, can reduce the total cost of stitching by over 35 percent because its high capacity cuts change-out downtime. The PerformancePlus Stitching Wire works in both regular and loop stitching applications and, according to Muller, resists breaking because of its advanced bending and forming characteristics, while meeting Consumer Product Safety Standards for lead content. THERMOGRAPHY

Autobond Mini 76 Autobond’s Mini 76 thermal film laminator (North American debut September 2013) is equipped with an inline inkjet spot UV (SUV) machine and a high-speed flying knife cross cutter. The resulting configuration is described by the company as the Mini 76 x 105 TH-CC with a 52 SUV. It is comprised of a one-sided, thermal thin film, sheetfed laminator equipped with a Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 feed-head, flying knife cross-cutter and spot UV varnishing machine. It can also be ordered as an offline unit with a top loading suction drum hopper feeder or optional rising pile Heidelberg Speedmaster feed head. The flying knife cutter – available in widths of 30 or 41 inches – works with Polypropylene (OPP), Polyester (PET) and nylon applications. The cutter uses an arrowhead blade to physically cut the film along the under lap line at up to 200 feet per minute. It can also be adapted to run two-sided thick film applications, edge seal and flush cut, or for pressure-sensitive applications like floor and window graphics, magnet lamination and metalized film.

Scodix Rainbow Scodix Rainbow (introduced mid-2012) is described by the company as the world’s first in-house inkjet glittering station, which is designed for applications like photo-album covers, marketing materials, cosmetics and premium packaging, business cards, and wedding invitations. Scodix has also recently introduced addon modules like Inkjet-Braille to recreate standard raised Braille formats and the S Series, a VDP module using clear polymer or glittering, as well as a the Scodix Barcode System. 22 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013


PRINTING & EMBOSSING

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The Ascender 16 inserting system (introduced in May 2012) operates at speeds of up to 16,000 mail pieces per hour, driven by Bell + Howell’s Navigator operating system and Harmonix productivity software. It supports multiple applications and changes over from flats to letters in minutes, according to the company. The recently introduced Producer 16 inserting system for direct mail and commercial environments is described as a flexible machine, available with a range of feeding technologies, to work with up to 16,000 mail pieces per hour. The Producer 16 features JETVision Read & Print technology. The Producer 30 inserting system runs at speeds up to 30,000 envelopes per hour. It features Solix mail tray loaders with envelope offsetting capability and on-edge stacking for the capacity of up to five mail trays. With a single motion sweep, Bell + Howell states an operator can load a mail tray in less than five seconds.

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The Morgana DigiBook 150 (introduced May 2012) is a PUR binder designed for toner production and joins an existing line of DigiBook machines. The DigiBook 150 is capable of running at 150 cycles per hour and can bind publications with a spine thicknesses from 2 mm through to 50 mm. The DigiBook 300 (introduced in late-2011) can bind up to 300 books per hour and the line’s top machine, DigiBook 450, can run at up to 450 cycles per hour with automatic cover feeding. Morgana’s recently enhanced DigiCoater line is available in 33- and 50-cm formats. The DigiCoater 33 is an entry-level coater with three tanks and one coating roller that can change between gloss, matte and

Bell + Howell Ascender 16

SOFTWARE

Plockmatic Morgana DigiBook 150

textured finishes. The DigiCoater 50 works with larger sheets sizes up to 500 mm. It is available in two versions: One with four tanks and two coating rollers and the second version comes with six tanks and three coating rollers.

The new M80 (introduced May 2013) is a modular buckle-folding machine available with a range of interchangeable components that can be installed after the initial purchase. The machine features an in-feed width of 83 cm and production speed capability up to 230 metres per minute. The 30-inch format folder is driven by the new M1 control designed for easy use through an intuitive touch screen process.

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www.uvandbinder y.com SEPTEMBER 2013 • PRINTACTION • 23


PRESENTATION FOLDERS

NUMBERING MACHINES

Bolan Continued from page 12

PRESENTATION FOLDERS

can opt to download an Excel spreadsheet containing all available Facebook metrics. The unwieldy volume of the data provided in the spreadsheet, however, may override its value.

Prepress, print and finishing all in house. Four colour and PMS colour mixes proofed and printed accurately. We have in stock over 350 standard and custom sized folder dies. Fast turnaround - 3 days available.

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POS COMPONENTS

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Twitter will notify you if someone ReTweets your message, mentions you or follows you, but that is pretty much it for metrics. For such a ubiquitous social media asset, Twitter offers most users little useful information about the performance of their Tweets – that is, of course, unless you commit to buying Twitter Ads. As an advertiser, you gain access to a rudimentary metrics page showing how your posts perform as Faves, Retweets or Replies. The balance of Twitter users must resort to third-party solutions in order to analyze the reach of the 140 character musings. For example, if you include a link in your Tweet, URL shortening services such as Bit.ly will not only shorten the link to Tweet-friendly length for free, but also track the performance of the URL by providing detailed stats such as click quantity, date, location and referrers – information that can be quite useful when analyzing the reach and marketing value of your Tweet. Anyone wanting to manage an active business Twitter account would be wise to look at Hootsuite, an online service many consider to be the preeminent tool for overseeing multiple social media assets from a single dashboard. Aside from being able to manage multiple Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin accounts. Hootsuite’s strength lies in its ability to publish social media content on a user-defined schedule. This allows users to publish a steady flow of scheduled content rather than sporadic Tweets or updates. As with other online tools, Hootsuite offers a free entrylevel mode allowing new users to manage up to five social profiles while accessing basic analytics and message scheduling. The Pro level starts at $9 monthly and includes advanced scheduling features, message archiving as well as greater access to enhanced analytics reports. Linkedin Analytics

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Although LinkedIn has proven to be the dominant business-to-business asset in Social Media City, until recently the site provided surprisingly few analytical tools for businesses wanting to track visitors to their Company Page. LinkedIn rectified this shortcoming, fortunately, with the introduction of a robust set of analytical tools specifically for Company Pages. In addition to the Home, Products and Insights tabs visitors find on a Company Page, administrators will find a fourth – Analytics. This dedicated page is divided into two sections: Company Updates and Followers. The first section lists the latest company posts followed by a barrage of data including number of impressions, clicks, interactions, followers acquired and engagements. Additionally, users can break out detailed information about the reach of any selected post as well as the type of engagement graphed over time. The Follower section provides some very interesting audience demographics on the

relative seniority of your followers, breaking them into five categories (Entry, Senior, Manager, Owner and Director) in addition to graphing Follower Trends over time. This section also reveals the most telling statistic, How You Compare against other companies, including your competitors. LinkedIn’s Company Pages also offers overall Page Insights with specific analytics on Page Views, as well as Page Visitor Demographics like Seniority, Industry, Function, Region, Company Size and Employee. With this move, LinkedIn is clearly targeting brands while providing companies with more tools for managing and measuring their Company Page presence. Strategy? What Strategy?

Faced with the vast amount of data social media can provide, many get lost in the metrics and lose sight of some simple facts. When working with print, it is relatively easy for a marketer to assess the impact of a direct-mail campaign: Send out 1,000 flyers imprinted with a coupon. Ten coupons redeemed indicate a one percent response rate. Simple, right? Well, social media marketing works the same way, especially if you start on a small scale. Consider, for example, how a company new to social media might set a goal. Let us assume the fictitious XYZ Printing Company owns the domain Xyzprinting.com and would like to generate new leads for its print business. A simple search on a domain registry provider such as Godaddy.com might reveal several variations of their domain name are still available, such as xyzprinting.ca, xyzprinter.ca, xyzprint.com and so on. For about $10 per name, XYZ Printing could secure all these domains and point them to a unique Website landing page not available through any other link. One domain name could be posted to Facebook, another on LinkedIn, and yet another Tweeted out to the company’s followers. The special landing page could contain a special offer or other incentives designed to convert the visitor to a prospect or even better, a customer. Clicky.com would clearly monitor and report all of this page’s activity while Bit.ly would show the relative performance of each domain URL. If the landing page gets 100 visitors, with very little time or money invested, XYZ Printing will know where their visitors came from and what percentage of them converted to a prospect. That’s just one example of metrics and analytics in action on a manageable and cost effective scale. Searching “analytics” on Amazon.com yields more than 26,000 results offering advice, insight and tutelage in this esoteric social media art. Because of the seemingly limitless options available, there is no quick solution for those wanting to market their company in Social Media City. While social media can be a powerful asset for increasing a business’ profile, it is important to remember, that as with conventional marketing, results will directly correlate with your efforts. By its very nature, social media is not a static medium that can be turned on and off at will. Instead, a company hoping to use this valuable marketing channel should be prepared to commit the time on a daily basis necessary to build an online presence and credibility in Social Media City. Zac Bolan’s blog: blog.softcircus.com


TAGS & LABELS

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Lease a Xerox DC8002 and get a 5-COLOUR OFFSET DI PRESS FREE! Take over our lease on our Xerox DC8002 with 38 months remaining on a 66 month lease with NO MONEY DOWN and we will GIVE YOU our 5colour 19"x25" DI press! Xerox is under service and will transfer to new owner. Reason for sale: Merger means downsizing. Available to Canadian buyers only for service transfer. Location: Eastern Ontario. Email: donovanbruce@gmail.com ___________________________________

FOR SALE 2007 Fuji PTR8300E platesetter. Processed 5,337 plates 8 P/H. 8-up plates. In good working order. Asking $24,900 Contact Doug: (905) 829-8900 doug@digitaledgeservices.ca ___________________________________

MANUFACTURING SPECIALIST WANTED Manufacturing Specialist, Photobooks required for post print production of our full line up of photobooks. Responsibilities include finishing services for all digital press projects, including the safe operation of bindery equipment. 35 years experience required in post print production, preference given to individuals with previous photobook manufacturing experience. For additional details and to apply, visit www.fujifilm.ca and click on "Careers" ___________________________________ FOR SALE Time for early retirement, this Toronto offset printing company was established in 1983. All equipment & accessories stock & supply inventory and very loyal clientele are for sale. Annual sales 200k approx. Call Joe at (416) 766-8519 ___________________________________

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ARCHIVE

September 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series premieres on TV, American Graffiti maintains dominance at the box office, and Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien passes at 81.

World-wide shortages to continue into 1974 World-wide shortages of newsprint, especially in Britain and the United States, are expected to become more acute within the next two months, while the long term supply situation is hardly any better. The main factors are the continuing steady increase in demand this year because of the sharp rise in newspaper advertising in Europe and North America, coupled with the fact that producers in Scandinavia and Canada are short of machinery and are working at maximum capacity. This position has been made more serious in the past two months by strikes in Canada. The situation has also been affected by poor weather and wood supply difficulties. The United States, which consumed 10.3 million tons in 1972, compared with about 1.6 million tons in Britain, is also experiencing a tight supply situation and stocks are being conserved. Some regional papers are having to reduce the size of their editions, but the U.S. Newspaper Publishers Association says that so far no paper has had to shut because of the shortage.

What to see at the Canadian Graphic Arts Show With more than 200 suppliers showing $15 million worth of equipment (nearly $79 million in 2013 dollars), the following is a sampling of the equipment on hand at the show in the Coliseum complex at Exhibition Park in Toronto that October. Dexter Combi Folder

435 Electroset

Graphic Systems Typesetter and Computer with the Redactron dual cassette editing typewriter

26 • PRINTACTION • SEPTEMBER 2013

Miehle 25-inch 2-colour press


Our focus is local businesses servicing local customers. Delivering value. A leading distributor of printing paper, graphic arts supplies, sign and display media and packaging products, with 15 distribution centres strategically located across Canada. 877 790 2335

spicers.ca


Fit for o Packaging ag g

Muller Marrtini t VSOP Va ariable Sleeve Offffset Printing For every demand the right application The technology of VSOP web offset press provides the capability to take advantage of many market trends in packaging: flexible packaging, labels (shrink-sleeve, self-adhesive labels, wet glue labels, IML, wrap-around), folding carton and liquid packaging. Muller Martini VSOP runs up to 365m/ min (120 0fftt/min) and produce the complete size ranges (381-762mm/15-30� by using lightweight print sleeves. With its hybrid applications, along with offset printing technology, Muller Martini VSOP offers a range of other printing processes, including: flexo, screen, gravure and digital printing as well as finishing processes such as laminating. Muller Martini VSOP web offset press is available with electron beam, UV and hot air drying technologies which provide an optimum flexibility in the printing process.

Digital Solutions Saddle Stitc Stitching hing Book T Technologies e echnologies Mailroom Mailroom Systems Systems Web Web Presses Presses

Muller Martini Norrth t America 20 Caldari Rd. Concord, ON L4K 4N8 Tel e 905-660-9595 905-660 mullermartinicanada.com tinicanada.com


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