Fujifilm Energy Winter 2012

A magazine of new ideas, developments and solutions

VOL. 3, ISSUE 1

A NEW LEAF How printers are letting go of the past

In this Issue

Best practices

Building marketing strategies that work

Best ADVICE

Insights from thoughtful printers

vol. 3, Issue 1 • winter 2013

A New Leaf How printers are letting go of the past

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Best Practices

On the clock

Plates in the Pressroom

How you can build marketing strategies that really work

Why the New Year holds promise and opportunities for today’s printers

Report compares values and savings of various manufacturers’ plates

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The New Day

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Best Advice

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Product Spotlight

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Kristi Hubert Editor & Publisher > kristi@kmpr.com

A letter from Todd Zimmerman

Printers share the words of wisdom that help guide them in life and in business

Fujifilm’s Flexo inks

Welcome to the Family

ENERGY is published quarterly by Fujifilm North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division Copyright 2013 All rights reserved www.fujifilmgraphics.com

Fujifilm expands inkject offerings with web press

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Stock: 100# McCoy Silk Cover and 100# McCoy Silk Text Ink: Toyo Press: Komori LS 840 Plates: Fujifilm LH-PJ thermal plates Screening: Fujifilm Co-Res Screening Coatings: Coatings & Adhesives Spot Dull Varnish #9016, Gloss UV #5296, Dull Texture Varnish #9017, Raised UV Gloss #5262, Soft Touch #1512D

A letter from Todd Zimmerman

The New Day

W

ith a New Year comes new hope. With new hope comes new ideas; and with new ideas come prosperity. Fujifilm is proud to stand at the forefront of our industry’s continuing commitment to providing the next wave of innovative products and services. We believe our industry is on the verge of even greater developments.

As printers continue to think about change, our goal is to be the example of how to embrace it. From inkjet technology to our entry into the water-based flexo market, Fujifilm continues to embrace and drive change. Our commitment to our customer base is to take the lead on delivering the technology solutions our industry demands.

Our most vibrant clients are some of the most thoughtful people we know. They are no longer just thinking about process improvement and efficiency gain. They are investing in market research and branding strategies because they understand that strategy is rooted in market-based thinking, and in order to be successful, they must immerse themselves in the communities they serve.

It is important to utilize the equity we’ve all built in our names and businesses, and use it to empower us in a new climate.

As a proud partner to this industry, we want to encourage positive change and leverage some of the greatest habits and traditions of our industry.

On this level, Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division has a planning philosophy that’s parallel to our customer base, utilizing the equity we’ve all built in our names and businesses, and building our position to empower us in a new climate.

Our cover article, “A New Leaf,” speaks specifically to what we believe. We have seen numerous printers turn over new leaves and embrace the new marketplace. We thought it would be fun to get some expert opinions on what printers should be doing and how they should be thinking to successfully navigate their way forward.

We also thought it would be interesting to include a story about the printers that actually are making it happen. Marketing is the foundation for bringing the right solutions to the market. Our second feature, “Best Practices,” demonstrates how some of your peers are examples of superior, market-based thinking.

I hope you enjoy our first issue of the New Year.

Energy has been a great deal of fun for us. Our goal is to make it a resource you can count on for new ideas and concepts – a publication that gives you the energy you need to thrive in today’s ever-changing marketplace.

Happy New Year,

Todd Zimmerman Vice President and General Manager Fujifilm Graphics Systems Division

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Best advice

Best Advice

Insightful perspectives from some of today’s leading printers Energy reached out to our readers and asked them to share their best advice for success in both business and life. Following is some of their most thoughtful and inspiring feedback.

“Take care of people and the business will take care of itself.”

“Be humble; stay on track; tell a story.”

“No one is going to pick you, pick yourself.”

“Everyone has output, but few can impact outcome.”

Chip Chebuhar Vice President of Sales United Graphics Fort Worth, Texas

“ Prospecting, solving problems and giving praise – what salespeople should be doing everyday.”

“ It’s all about maintaining perspective and reminding yourself that you have choices – choices on how to respond to those proverbial fires you face every day. Don’t succumb to the negativity and frustration. If you can, let it go. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Remedy the situation. Is this a person or situation that is a repeat offender?

If so, fix it or distance yourself. It’s about choices. Don’t be a victim.”

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Jill Wangler Director of Marketing Fineline Printing Group Indianapolis, Indiana

“ Surround yourself with a strong team of experts who you can depend on, and will always be equipped to support your client’s needs. The Pazazz team I’ve assembled and suppliers like Fujifilm have helped me build my business without having to worry about certain details.”

“ My father, who was also a

Kevin B. Cassis President The Whitley Group Austin, Texas

John Shadden Owner & CEO Starkey Printing Co. Chattanooga, Tenn.

Brian Badillo President The Graphics Group Dallas, Texas

printer, told me that whenever someone is handing out free, printed collateral, you should take two to help the printer out.”

“ I think the personal touches are what really make a difference to your customers. Are you willing to go that extra mile to get the job done? When a customer calls you on a Wednesday before a holiday and asks if you can finish a job, you do it. Your word goes a long way to building and keeping relationships.”

“ Back in the days of phones and faxing, one of my customers told me that if you have any questions, pick up the phone and ask. He said he’d rather make sure he understood what we needed before there were any problems down the line. Fifteen years later, I still believe that a voice on the other end of the phone is much better than words on a screen.

From time to time, I’m tempted to send an email when the day is busy.

But in some cases, a voice on the other end of the line really helps.”

Warren Werbitt Founder Pazazz Montreal, Quebec

Mike Baarman Sales Holland Litho Printing Service Zeeland, Michigan

“ Regardless of the media channel used, remember that you are speaking to people. Talk to your customer as you would talk to your neighbor. And then listen to how they respond.”

“ I had a mentor that stressed starting your day early. He said that most salespeople don’t put in the extra effort needed to be successful. He also said you can get more done in those early hours than most do all day. That advice stemmed from something that was passed along to him: ‘Most of the money is gone by 10.’”

Joseph Castenando VP, Operations Rink Printing Company South Bend, Indiana

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A New 4

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Leaf

How printers are letting go of the past

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hat squirming you’re feeling – margins being shrunk, the room for error evaporating in an ever-changing, highly competitive market – it could end up being to your benefit, says Michelle Steward, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing, Wake Forest University.

“Frankly, I think some companies in years past did not maximize opportunities because they were comfortable,” she says. “Economic struggle provides an opportunity for companies to get uncomfortable – which is good. From this discomfort come opportunities to seek new ways to create legitimate value for customers.”

Companies must continually evaluate how their resources are being spent. Becoming insular means being surprised when the market changes, or when your competitor introduces a game-changer to the market.

But how do you go about evaluating your product offerings, and how often should you do evaluations? Energy magazine examines.

Eyes open Steward says the most successful companies adapting to changing markets are the ones that figure out what their customers’ problems are and solve those problems.

“Par t of the challenge is that some companies are so bogged down in putting out organizational brush fires that when a salesperson hears something that might be a great idea to grow business, there are so

“ Successful companies

are continually examining the risk/return of products and services in their portfolio, as well as the correlations among offerings in the portfolio.”

– Dr. Michelle Steward, Associate Professor of Marketing, Wake Forest University

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a new leaf

many obstacles in the way that it simply seems like it is not worth the effort for the salesperson to make it happen. Companies that excel are more effective at coordinating internally to create superior long-run value for customers.”

Menu category. This made it easier for consumers to quickly (part of McDonald’s value proposition is speed) locate items and make decisions. Then McDonald’s shifted more marketing dollars to the Dollar Menu relative to the Extra Value Menu.”

Onset series of UV flatbed inkjet presses – the technologies that have been developed

by Fujifilm make them possible,” he says.

“Without that foresight 10 years ago, it would not be possible to deliver some of the products that we have today.”

Steward says companies must monitor the subtle changes in customer purchasing patterns to stay in front of their needs. In the consumer market, she cites McDonald’s as an example.

The shift in focus addressed changes in the marketplace and the economic tradeoffs their consumers are faced with. “At the same time, they specifically added premium items with higher margins,” Steward adds.

“All along with these changes have been continual investment into their servicescape (upgrades to the physical space) that will continue well into the next five years.

To me, as B2B marketers, this continual scanning of the shifts of our customers, our

Customers are being asked to deliver more quickly and to have a higher degree of customization. For instance, a steakhouse chain may want its restaurants customized with varying meals and pricing by region.

A retail outlet like Home Depot may want materials for product specials that vary store to store. A clothing shop may want to do a direct mail campaign that hones in on its customers by their name and previous purchasing habits.

“If you look at McDonald’s product portfolio you will notice several points recently,” Steward says. “First, several products that were spread across the menu were collapsed into the Extra Value

“ The market is very dynamic at the moment.

Our customers are relying on new technologies and new ideas, and trying to keep ahead of the curve.”

– Chris Lomas, VP, Wide Format & Specialty Ink, Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division

customers’ customers and our competitors is essential.”

In the marketing solutions space, Fujifilm has made several forward-thinking investments in anticipating customer demands. Over the last decade, acquisitions of businesses invested in the digital inkjet space, such as Dimatix, Sericol Group Limited and Imaging Colorants, have allowed Fujifilm to design products and equipment that customers can use to develop their business to better compete in a fastchanging marketplace, says Chris Lomas, VP Sales, Wide Format & Specialty Ink at Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division.

“Basically, that foresight of developing products over time is now resulting in products that are changing the face of the market, with technology like the J Press 720 high-quality sheetfed inkjet press and the

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“In order to customize, you’ve got to be able to develop high-quality graphics, produce them cost-effectively and distribute them quickly,” says Lomas. “Inkjet printing solutions from Fujifilm enable that. Before that it wasn’t possible to do.”

Chart your course When assessing product offerings, Lomas says print solutions providers should weigh return on investment as a big factor in their decisions. “Long gone are the days where you could amortize a piece of equipment over ten years. Now, three to five years maximum is what everyone is looking at. You want a really good return on investment. Ensure that it meets the market need and potentially be adapted 12 to 24 months ahead so it can keep pace of some of the needs that will be there.”

Print solutions providers should buy for their current needs, but also be vigilant as customer demands shift. With the investment in innovative technology and expertise in everything from digital inkjet heads to ink types, Fujifilm is able to help its partners stay a couple steps ahead of consumer trends. “The market is very dynamic at the moment,” Lomas says. “Our customers are relying on new technologies and new ideas and trying to keep ahead of the curve. That’s always difficult to do.”

Tools for assessing your product portfolios Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Matrix: Developed in the late 1960s, the BCG matrix plots a scatter graph to rank business units on the basis of their relative market shares and growth rates so companies can place a priority on their product portfolios. There are four categories: • Cash cows (high market share in a slow-growing industry) • Dogs (low market share, probably break-even, in a slow-growing industry) • Question marks (contain rapid growth but consume large amounts of funds) • Stars (high market share in a fast-growing industry).

Growth Share Matrix Relative Market Share LOW

Stars

question marks

cash cows

dogs

HIGH

HIGH

Steward suggests using multiple approaches to assess a portfolio. “The reality of the BCG growth-matrix is that BCG never intended it to be used without thought into other core issues like:

LOW

(Cash Usage)

medium low

The McKinsey/General Electric Matrix: The McKinsey/GE Matrix is similar to the BCG matrix in that it helps evaluate business units within a company portfolio. However, it uses a nine-box matrix to offer a systematic approach to determine where best to invest cash, according to the McKinsey Quarterly. Rather than rely on each business unit’s projections of its future prospects, the company can judge a unit by two factors in order to determine whether it’s going to do well in the future: the attractiveness of the relevant industry and the unit’s competitive strength within that industry.

1) What are the costs involved with achieving a given market share?

2) Do our “dogs” help us in other areas that we might not immediately recognize from the 2x2?

3) What is the “market” in which we are really competing? Are there international considerations that we need to assess as well?

high

A description of the BCG matrix with free worksheet is available at www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_97.htm

Industry Attractiveness

Market Growth Rate

(Cash generation)

Strong

medium

low

Business Unit Strength A PDF of the McKinsey/GE Matrix is available at www.business-tools-templates.com.

Tutorials for both matrixes are available by Jim Riley at www.tutor2u.net.

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Best

Practices I

t should be simple. As much as everybody tries to overcomplicate the process, marketing really is a simple game. Just ask John Shadden, owner and CEO of Starkey Printing Co. One of his customers, a candy company in Brooklyn,

N.Y., partnered with the Chattanooga, Tenn., printer after receiving a candy bag header as part of a promotional campaign Starkey initiated several years ago. The two have been partners ever since.

The candy bag headers – those little cellophane bags filled with assorted candies and a custom header card printed in 4-color process – are simple. And for Starkey, an extremely effective campaign that netted several key clients. The campaign was simple. Starkey purchased a mailing list of 1,015 names (prospective customers) and blasted out the bags. “Keep it simple, that’s what we were trying to do,” Shadden recalls. “Simple, focused and unique.”

Starkey Printing Co., a longtime Fujifilm customer, is a full-service printing and finishing corporation that has evolved into an innovator in full-color printing, digital printing, bag-header printing, variable data printing, foil stamping and embossing. Like many of today’s printers, it continues to adapt and grow in the new print landscape.

When it comes to marketing, while Shadden says his company’s efforts may be tame compared to other printers, they are succinct and effective. The endgame is simple: in today’s ever-changing marketplace, make yourself different than the next guy. “We want to be known as more than just order takers. We want to be a company that sells solutions. We want to be a company that can

How you can build marketing strategies that really work

“R ecognize your

position in the business world and get good at it. Next, promote and talk about it every opportunity you get.”

– Joseph Castenando, VP, Operations, Rink Printing Co.

find the true needs of our clients. That starts with being able to sell yourself.”

For example, Shadden recalls a recent “Buy Print” campaign, in which Starkey aimed the initiative at advertising and PR agencies, reminding them that print is a viable marketing tool. “Nothing complicated, just a campaign that reminds people that what we do is important. Sometimes, there is no need to complicate the message.”

Other simple marketing strategies employed

by Starkey include open houses for clients and prospective clients, plant tours and customer focus groups. “Getting started is as easy as figuring out what you want and can do,” says Shadden, who also serves as past chairman of the Printing Association of the South. “I suggest sitting down with your team and brainstorming what your options are. We brought in an agency at one point, but then decided we could do it ourselves.”

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Best practices

Shadden says the key in any marketing campaign includes the following disciplines: be committed to your mission; be consistent and persistent with your messages; and find an area that makes you different from your competitors. “In this marketplace, it’s hard to be all things to all people. Find who you are and sell that.”

Trust your instincts Malenka Warner believes the key to success in the marketing game centers on being instinctive. Channeling the words of NHL great Wayne Gretzky, she says it’s about being able to “skate to where the puck will be, not where it has been.” As the VP of corporate strategy and marketing for Atlanta-based What’s Up Interactive, her client list includes the likes of CocaCola, AT&T, Chick-fil-a and Silverpop, to name a few.

“We want to be

known as more than just order takers. We want to be a company that sells solutions.

That starts with being able to sell yourself.”

term returns be? “In both cases, it completely depends on how much detail and definition there is around your goal,” Warner says. “Are you going for raw traffic to your website, responses to a mailing or email, more sales, better branding, lead acquisition, reputation management? You have to measure what matters most, so deciding on the business goals will effect the steps involved in achieving those goals.”

Know thyself Joseph Castenando believes that your initial marketing efforts must focus on who you are and what you can offer your customers.

“Customers will happily buy from you, when they want to,” says Castenando, VP of operations at Rink Printing Co., in South Bend, Ind. “The first step is to make sure all – John Shadden, Owner & CEO, prospects and customers understand what Starkey Printing Co. you can do, and then convince them that buying from you is a sound choice. Initial Whether the client is large or small, Warner brand promotion and marketing efforts says marketing instincts cannot be taught. will build a foundation of knowledge and “You have to have peripheral vision. You trust, upon which your customers will use have to have the same type of instinct that Gretzky had. Drive and focus, and an understanding of business later when they’re ready to buy.” strategy are key. It’s about having the entrepreneurial ability to Regardless of what marketing approach you take, it’s important to think ahead.” remember you are speaking to people, i.e., your customers. “Talk One of the areas that a lot of companies get caught up in when it to your customer as you would talk to your neighbor,” Castenando comes to marketing is ROI. What should the short-term and long- says. “And then listen to how they respond.”

Fujifilm’s

steps to marketing nirvana

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Step No.

Step No.

Think Differently

Define Yourself

The new economy demands a new type of thinking. No longer can you simply upgrade your offering or add more value. You will need to be somebody your clients know, trust and believe in. Being somebody starts with changing your mindset.

Most of us define ourselves by what we make.

That’s no longer enough to gain prosperity.

You must define yourself by different segments of the world. Rather than being a printer, you can be part of a community. Clients like to do business with people they identify with.

Rink, also a longtime Fujifilm customer, has used a number of different marketing approaches over the years, including direct mail and integrated marketing campaigns (print and landing pages), trade show booths and contest giveaways. Rink currently is designing an email marketing system, which Castenando promises will feature concise, meaningful messages.

“Our promotional marketing efforts are designed to sell us first and foremost as a solutions provider, not an order taker,” he says. “Our goal is to be included within our customers’ project planning processes as early as possible. We want to influence how they communicate to their customers, suggest which print and marketing products they use (and purchase from us), and offer them a roadmap for their success. When they begin to rely on us for this type of guidance, our sell price becomes a lesser issue.”

“Drive and

focus, and an understanding of business strategy are key. It’s about having the entrepreneurial ability to think ahead.”

means for your customer to have them,” Castenando says. “Recognize your position in the business world and get good at it.

It’s about building a brand that says who you are. Next, promote and talk about it every opportunity you get. And make sure your entire team is trained to mirror your message with words and actions.”

Today, one of the best ways to do that is online. John S. Rizzo and V. Michael Santoro, co-founders of Globe on Demand, an Inter net tech nolog y and digital marketing firm with offices in Charleston, S.C. and Tampa Bay, Fla., say the web holds the key to today’s brand building.

Take one of their clients, Bay front Convenient Care Clinics. Globe on Demand helped transform the clinics from – Malenka Warner, VP, Corporate Strategy & the “best-kept secret in town” to the place Marketing, What’s Up Interactive everybody had to be. “They established t hei r found at ion on li ne. A nd t hey continue to reinforce that presence every Castenando says the size of your marketing day by utilizing video, online directories campaign is not important. “Use the 80/20 and social media,” say Rizzo and Santoro, rule. Target your marketing message to the group that may respond the best. Instead of creating 200 identical who also co-authored “Niche Dominance: Creating Order Out postcards or messages, send 100 to a special group and another 100 of Your Digital Marketing Chaos.” “This content, in addition to their website, now has multiple, simultaneous Google Page One (with a different design or message) to another.” rankings for keyword phrase searches that were not coming up a The first step in the process: know thyself thoroughly. “Study the year ago. The web is one of the best marketing approaches you products and services you can provide and understand what it can use heading into 2013.”

Step No.

Step No.

Step No.

Name Drop

The Power is Within You

Let Go

Branding is critical regardless of the size of your business. People connect with brands.

So be sure to list some of the well-known clients you do business with on your website.

It is the first place people will look when they want to know more about you.

This is not a time to sit back and hope sales roll in. The landscape has changed. It is going to take some real guts to succeed. When it comes to motivating your team, penalties and rewards will only get you so far. True success is rooted in the people who are intrinsically motivated.

Let go of tradition. Let go of ego. Let go of yesterday’s breadwinners. You don’t have to cast them aside, but don’t cling to them either.

There are new opportunities out there, and when you let go of some of the things holding you back, the world will open up for you.

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product spotlight

The Flexo Factor Entering the water-based flexo segment further positions Fujifilm for growth

A

The Fujifilm UV portfolio offers a wide range of flexo and rotary screen inks and coatings, including in ks designed for max imum performance for shrink sleeve, lightfast, fluorescent, thermoforming and other specialty applications.

“High performance whites are key to flexo printing and SuperNova White is the industry’s leading flexo white product,” Fultz says. “It has a very broad adhesion range and provides the ultimate flexo opacity and smooth laydown. It can frequently replace rotary screen printing of whites, which is a significant cost- and timesaving benefit to printers, in addition to allowing print speeds up to three times faster than rotary screen.”

s part of the company’s global emphasis on the growing packaging market, Fujifilm is entering the water-based flexo segment, as well as rebranding its line of UV flexo inks to Fujifilm, a move that will further position Fujifilm as the single solution provider for flexo printers for everything from CTP equipment to plates, tapes and inks, not to mention new innovations in each of these product areas.

So, what should Fujifilm customers expect from the new water-based flexo inks?

“We have new products focused on the packaging market that we

“Adding water-based flexo inks to our portfolio of UV flexo and rotary screen inks provides us opportunities to meet more of the product needs of our current customers as well as prospective customers. We can now partner with more customers by providing one or more of the primary flexo products they need to grow their business.”

– Jon Fultz, Fujifilm North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division

will be launching soon,” says Jon Fultz, business development manager, packaging, Fujifilm Nor t h A mer ica Cor porat ion, Graphic Systems Division.

A quick look at today’s North American flexo market finds that it is either served by low value-add distributors or very segmented product-specific manufacturers across the market’s different primary products, including UV inks, water-based inks, plates and CTP equipment.

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“Adding water-based flexo inks to our portfolio of UV flexo and rotary screen inks provides customers the opportunity to meet more of their product needs directly from one supplier,” Fultz says.

From the UV ink perspective, rebranding the inks made in its Kansas City plant from Sericol UVivid to Fujifilm will reinforce the fact that Fujifilm has a broad range of products and solutions for the packaging and label markets.

Fultz says Fujifilm’s 700 series waterbased flexo inks require much less on-press maintenance than other water-based inks on the market today. This results in increased quality and consistency of the end product, less variability and less scrap of ink and substrate.

They are targeted to the narrow- to medium-web prime tag and label market and work well on both paper and film substrates. This “one-ink solution” is a significant benefit to

Nailed it FLEXO 2013 SourceBook shows Fujifilm UV flexo ink at work

printers as they do not have to switch inks, thereby reducing inventory costs.

The inks also provide printers with consistent high-quality results, while reducing labor and variability factors inherent with current water-based flexo inks.

These new inks, manufactured by Fujifilm’s Graphic Systems Division, feature a number of benefits critical for today’s printers, including: •P our-and-print – Since there is no need for additives prior to printing, labor and time are reduced and results are more consistent.

•M inimal “on-press” adjustments – I n compar i son to predecessor inks, there is a reduced need for monitor ing dur ing pr inting, so results are consistent from start to finish, job-to-job.

• L ow viscosity – Inks are easier to use and ink transfer is improved, delivering brighter and cleaner results.

•S trong color density – Ink mileage is increased and output is improved.

• World-class quality – Performance and color consistency are industryleading, batch-to-batch.

“There are many benefits for our customers,” Fultz says. “They have an opportunity to source their most significant flexo consumables and CTP devices from one provider. It provides oppor tunities for bundling their purchases and reducing the number of vendors they need to manage. In addition, buying direct from Fujifilm provides a more efficient and reliable supply chain in comparison to other suppliers. Customers can have confidence knowing they are partnering with a leading global supplier committed to innovation and serving the packaging market.”

For a look at Fujifilm’s flexo inks at work, check out the new FLEXO 2013 SourceBook. The front and back covers (inside and out) of the annual director y were printed using Fujifilm UV Flexo ink as part of a special project demonstrating the latest capabilities of flexo printing.

When the Flexo Trade Association (FTA), publishers of FLEXO magazine, wanted to demonstrate the high-quality print capabilities flexographic printing has achieved in recent years, they opted for flexo, instead of traditional offset, for the cover of the 2013 SourceBook.

To achieve the highest quality print for the publication, which is printed every December, the FTA created a partnership of industryleading printer, press, plate and substrate and ink providers to work on the project.

“Collaboration between our team and our ink, substrate, plate and prepress vendor partners in developing the project was fantastic,” says Gary Ingle, operations manager, Best Label Co., the Cerritos, Calif., printer that produced the 2013 SourceBook “Having so many vendors on-site with so much collective knowledge really helps take potential problems out of the process early on. We put primer on paper to make the ink lay down better and decided on a flood coat for the front. Getting things right ensures everything is clean.”

For the ink and coatings, they chose Fujifilm’s 800 Series UV flexo ink, along with SuperNova White and 800-HGV2 Hi Gloss Varnish. All the graphics were produced with 800 series intense 4-color process inks. The Specs: Printer: Best Label Co. Imaging: Esko FlexRip Line Screen: 175 lpi Resolution: 4000 Press setup: Nilpeter FB3300 12 station Servo, UV Substrate: Mactac Foil / uncoated paper Plate: DuPont DFQ HD

substrate was a unique double-sided product with a silver foil on the outside of the cover and back, and an uncoated paper on the other for the inside.

The SuperNova white provided an ultra-bright, clean, opaque white that allowed for flexo printing instead of a rotary screen white that’s commonly be used in this application. This allows for significant cost and time savings, as well as faster print speeds than rotary screen printing. A turn bar was used in the middle of the press to facilitate printing the opposite sides of the covers in a single pass. A primer was used to coat the paper surface prior to printing the 4-color process. Finally, the 800-HGV2 high-gloss varnish was applied.

“Ink was selected based on its high opacity and high curing properties,” says Rick Duarte, owner of Pro ColorFlex Ink Corp., a San Franciso distributor of Fujifilm inks. “It’s highly pigmented and guarantees heavy solids and process halftones.

Color is very bright. Coverage is heavy. Curing takes place at high speeds. Its versatility is evident via good adhesion to difficult substrates.”

For Fujifilm, the FLEXO cover project provided a unique opportunity to apply one Fujifilm ink and varnish set for multiple substrate types and to demonstrate the adaptability of the inks in an environment where multiple anilox technologies and sizes were required.

“Primary adhesion, laydown and opacity of the SuperNova White to the mylar cover was very good, along with 4-color process adhesion and intercoat adhesion,” says Fultz, “The white was applied with one hit using an APEX GTT medium roll. As density readings were taken according to FIRST principles on the initial runs, some adjustments were needed. As a result, inks were based back in some cases to bring the densities within FIRST specs.”

Tape: 3M 1915H Anilox: Harper and Apex Inks: Fujifilm 800 Series UV Varnish: Fujifilm 800 Series UV Print sequence: Outside covers (metallized foil): Process Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black, SuperNova White Inside (uncoated paper): Tie Coat, Process Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black, Hi Gloss varnish ENERGY

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Looking ahead

On the clock

Why the New Year holds promise and opportunities for today’s printers

S

o, what does 2013 really have in store for the print industry? What are the trends, challenges and opportunities that will define the marketplace? With an eye on new technologies and expanding services, printers continue to tackle the new landscape. Energy sat down with Jim Hamilton, group director, production group, for InfoTrends, to get his insights on what to expect in the New Year. InfoTrends is a leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry.

Jim Hamilton

From a print technology perspective, the influence of inkjet is overwhelming.

It has had a huge impact in the wide format arena.

Give us a snapshot of the marketing and printing marketplace in 2013.

It’s a market in the middle of some amazing changes driven by technology, the economy and a move to digital delivery of information. The impact on conventional print is sobering, as some kinds of documents move exclusively to electronic delivery, while others move to shorter runs. This puts conventional print under a lot of pressure, but also opens up opportunities for digital print and an expansion by service providers into exclusively digital domains.

What will be the biggest trends in these areas?

From a print technology perspective, the influence of inkjet is overwhelming.

It has had a huge impact in the wide format arena, where its high quality and large print widths have made it suitable for a range of different indoor and outdoor applications. For document printing, the dominant technology has been electrophotography. But since 2008 or so, a range of high-speed, continuousfeed color inkjet printers have had a lot of success in print applications like transaction, direct mail and books.

How do you think companies will approach these needs and why?

I’d like to address this question first from a vendor perspective, because I think Fujifilm is an excellent example of a company that has transformed

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itself, in large part, through the use of inkjet technologies. Fujifilm has leveraged inkjet to build up an interesting product portfolio across wide format, document printing and packaging applications. It also has a solid background in the graphic arts market, with a strong knowledge of end users, that allows it to offer workflow and other tools to help its customers use those technologies to the fullest.

The challenge for commercial printers in this environment is in expanding their services outside of the pressroom.

Digital printing helps in this process because of the logical ties to meeting customer needs more effectively, whether it’s through short runs, quick turnaround, personalization or ondemand fulfillment. Print’s important role in multi-channel advertising or marketing campaigns should not be overlooked. Marketers, therefore, will increasingly look to those who can help them execute multiple aspects of a campaign. And if they think you’re just a printer, you have some work to do to convince them otherwise.

What will be the biggest challenges in 2013?

Digital printing is great at short-run and quick-turnaround work, but in the coming years more digital print will come from two places: innovative print applications that take advantage of the best of digital (personalization, automation and process reinvention)

and a dedicated full frontal assault on conventional print applications based on productivity, running cost and application requirements (particularly substrates).

Note, I didn’t say quality. Quality is important, but the reason why highspeed continuous-feed inkjet printing systems have had so much success in transaction print applications is not because of their high quality.

These devices have the productivity and running cost to help users do something they’ve been dreaming about for a long time: going from white paper in to full-color document out without having to use pre-printed offset shells and a two-step process (first offset color, then monochrome digital for the variable data).

Similar revelations have happened with direct mail and books. Going into 2013, the real question will be how far production digital inkjet document printing can expand beyond those three applications into areas such as catalogs, high-volume commercial print, publications and packaging.

Digital printing of packaging is the Holy Grail for many printing system vendors. Why? Packaging is one print application that will never go electronic. Digital printing has had good success in labels, but very little, so far, in folding carton and corrugated packaging. I think it’ll come, but it’ll take some time. In the meantime, I think print service providers should focus on expanding their range of services by adding wide format printing (if they don’t have it already) and digital document printing services that help them leverage their customers’ marketing challenges with multi-channel communications.

plates

The following is an excerpt from a white paper written by John Zarwan of J Zarwan Partners, an independent consultancy specializing in the business development, market strategy and product planning and positioning for the graphic arts industry.

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o one would dispute that offset printing is a mature process. Integral to that process is having a high-quality, reliable plate. A high-quality plate not only provides a high-quality master, but it also allows the press to run efficiently.

These efficiencies show up in a number of areas, including makeready time, waste, consistency and reliability.

All plate suppliers claim superior operating results. The Fujifilm value proposition is that its plates offer substantial and demonstrable savings in the pressroom. This white paper tests that proposition with real, reliable and objective data.

We found that printers who have switched to Fujifilm LH-PJ plates achieved considerable pressroom savings and improved performance in a number of areas. Savings of 20 - 30% were typical, with some printers achieving a reduction of time and waste as high as 80% or more. Even more impressive is that the performance gains were significantly higher among those who had the most knowledge and were able to provide the best detail about their operations. An important take-away from this study is that printers need to make better use of their MIS systems to gather operating

data and, in these times of increasingly difficult conditions, they should mine the data for any incremental improvement that helps hone operating costs.

Even with a mature and stable process, savings of 15% or 25% is noteworthy. It shows that Fujifilm continues to work hard to serve the market.

J Zarwan Partners’ full report and white paper is available for free download at www.fujifilmdocs.com.

Or, simply scan this QR code, give us your information and we’ll email you the report.

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What’s new • j press 540 w

reduction in paper waste, often making inkjet web presses a more sustainable solution.

The second advantage is their ability to print short-run work more efficiently and handle variable data. Conventional web presses have evolved to be highly efficient for high-volume, high-speed printing, but are less effective for short-run work. By combining short-run and variable data capabilities, inkjet web presses are opening new opportunities for a growing number of print applications.

drupa 2012

Welcome to the family

A compact, fast, high-quality design The new Fujifilm inkjet web press – the J Press 540 W – is unique among web presses in that it enables duplex printing within a single tower design, resulting in an extremely compact footprint, while retaining a maximum printing speed of 417 ft./min.

The press uses Fujifilm’s new high-performance VIVIDIA™ ink, developed specifically to facilitate superb image quality. The VIVIDIA ink used in Fujifilm’s inkjet web press allows high-density images to be printed at high speed, with less ink transfer from sheet-to-sheet, with high-quality reproduction possible even on thin paper. A variety

Fujifilm adds digital web press to growing inkjet family

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ujifilm continues to lead the inkjet revolution with the introduction of an inkjet web press – the J Press 540 W. (provisional name) As with other areas of our industry, inkjet technology is greatly impacting the world of web offset printing. New inkjet technologies have caught up to the quality standards we demand and, in addition, offer increased flexibility that can bring efficiencies to the growing demand for short-run work.

There are two main advantages that inkjet web presses have over conventional web offset printing. With inkjet web presses, there is much more flexibility in the cutoff size of the paper, meaning they can accommodate a wider variety of jobs, while also remaining highly efficient for standard jobs which utilize the same paper size. They also can facilitate a

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Want the scoop on Fujifilm’s inkjet technology?

Fujifilm continues to lead the charge in today’s inkjet revolution and to invest in what the company believes is the future of commercial printing. Its R&D efforts have yielded a number of technologies and solutions that ensure both the quality and speed that today’s market demands. Visit www.jpress720.com or scan this QR code to download a free white p ap er from industry analysts at I.T. Strategies.

of ink types, including both pigment and dye-based inks, have been developed for use with this press which, when combined with the ultra-compact footprint, maximizes the application flexibility and versatility of the machine.

The press is designed to use uncoated and selected coated inkjet papers, and is targeted to accept a paper width between 6.2 inches (157 mm) and 21.4 inches (543 mm). It can be run at 600 x 600 dpi or 600 x 480 dpi, although the speed drops to 328 ft./min at the higher resolution.

It’s also possible to upgrade the machine to 1200 dpi, so, as with all Fujifilm equipment, the J Press 540 W is targeted at higher quality web applications.

www.fujifilmgraphics.com