Countdown to drupa 2016

As the clock ticks off the days until the drupa 2016 printing pilgrimage in Düsseldorf, Germany, a number of technology providers banded together in Bruges, Belgium, in March to demonstrate the value of their solutions. The event also proved that the country of Belgium has more to offer than just chocolate and beer ... though that is certainly a good start.

Xeikon Trillium

The pre-drupa press event featured a collection of wares to be demonstrated at the exhibition, which runs from May 31 to June 10. Esko, X-Rite Pantone, Enfocus and others provided presentations on the first day. On day two, the conference hit the road for Lier, where Xeikon unveiled its long-awaited Trillium One continuous-feed liquid toner press. The bus tour then steered over to nearby Mortsel, where Agfa showcased a host of products, highlighted by wide-format inkjet printers.

More than 60 journalists from 27 countries converged on Belgium for the pre-drupa conference, dubbed “Press On to the Future.” There was a lot of buzz surrounding Xeikon, which was acquired by ink manufacturer Flint Group only last December. Trillium technology actually debuted in 2012, just prior to the last drupa event, and Xeikon has finally gotten around to naming its baby just in time for drupa 2016. Xeikon will be taking orders for the press, with initial installations set for the second quarter of 2017.

“Our strategy is not changing. It’s the same people, same approach,” said Wim Maes, president of digital printing solutions at Xeikon. “We try every day to be a customer-oriented company.”

Reporters openly speculated that Kodak — which revealed it was searching for a buyer to take the helm of its Prosper inkjet platform — was in talks with Flint Group. But while Flint Group officials acknowledged their intent to look at other opportunities outside of Xeikon to grow their digital platform, the attention remained firmly on Trillium One’s coming-out party.

Trillium is a joint development project between Xeikon and Miyakoshi. It combines Miyakoshi’s mechanical proficiency in press production with Xeikon’s pioneering approach to digital imaging, high-speed electronics, high-resolution LED technology, and workflow and toner technology.

The four-color press, designed for direct marketing materials and catalogs, operates at 200 fpm at 1,200-dpi resolution, with a print width of 19.7˝. Trillium One uses Xeikon’s own Tonnik, a liquid toner that carries all the benefits of a dry toner.

“Part of the value proposition is in the operating costs as opposed to inkjet technology,” observed Lode Deprez, VP of R&D, consumables and process group, at Xeikon.

On to Antwerp

Agfa Graphics and its president, Stefaan Vanhooren, welcomed the press contingent to the company’s plant on the fringe of Antwerp. The ubiquitous provider of analog and digital imaging systems and IT solutions for the printing industry carried a “We Embody Print” theme as company officials rolled out a laundry list of solutions.

The company has a stated goal of being a top three player in wide-format inkjet printing for the sign and display market, as well as a leading player in the industrial inkjet printing and mobile publishing spaces. Agfa also touts itself as the partner of choice for prepress solutions in offset printing.

One of the talking points for Agfa is Eco3, which stands for eco-friendly, economic and extremely convenient. It fits in nicely with its chemistry-free prepress platform and aims to continue improving conventional systems. New offerings include Azura TU VLF chemistry-free plates for very large-format offset applications, in combination with the new Azura CX150 clean-out unit, and the Azura TE direct-on-press plates, which feature image contrast as well as daylight stability and fast roll-up.

Other drupa debuts will include the Avalon N8-90 thermal computer-to-plate system and the Energy Elite Eco printing plate.

On the wide-format solution side, Agfa will boast a trio of offerings: Anapurna roll-to-roll and hybrid solutions, the Jeti Mira (with dockable roll-to-roll option) and the Jeti Tauro (with new automatic board feeder and unloading unit).

“Users get the most out of our wide-format systems thanks to the tight integration with the Asanti workflow,” noted Dominiek Arnout, VP of inkjet. “Now, with the automation features added, the entire printing process is fully streamlined to deliver maximum productivity.”