Rob van den Braak

PDF Aktuell 114: an overview like a kaleidoscope of what happened in digital pre-press in 2017

19 jan 2018
Categorie:

This month´s PDF Aktuell by Stephan Jaeggi is an overview of what happened in 2017 in digital pre-press. From the new PDFX online tools to PDF 2.0 show that the pre-press developments are not slowing down.

Read the complete PDF Aktuall via this link and you will be completely up-to-date.

Lees verder....

Laurel Brunner: What we can expect from our industry in 2018

17 jan 2018
Categorie:

In her first Verdigris blog of the new year Laurel Brunner is not very optimistic about the new technological developments or profitable business models. She expects that companies will increasingly make use of digital technology and the more effective use of big data.

Read her blog via this link about how this would work and why it is important to inform clients about the footprint of electronic media versus print. Which is perhaps the most positive resolution for 2018.

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Laurel Brunner: Wat we van 2018 in onze industrie mogen verwachten

17 jan 2018
Categorie:

In haar 1e Verdigris Blog van dit nieuwe jaar, is Laurel Brunner niet echt optimistisch over nieuwe technische ontwikkelingen of rendabele ondernemingsmodellen. Wat ze verwacht is, dat bedrijven meer gebruik gaan maken van digitale technieken en het effectiever inzetten van big data.

Lees in haar blog via deze link hoe dat zou kunnen werken, en waarom het nodig is om klanten voor te lichten over de voetprint van elektronische media ten opzichte van drukwerk. Wat misschien wel de meest positieve verwachting is voor 2018.

Lees verder....

Bell and Howell krijgt met de overname van Gunther International een nieuwe troefkaart voor production mail

16 jan 2018
Categorie:

Met de overname van Gunther International krijgt mailspecialist Bell and Howell een stevige voet in de snel groeiende production mail markt. Gunther International bouwt en ontwikkelt software voor het sturen van bulkmail voor verzekeringsmaatschappijen en banken. De productlijn sluit naadloos aan bij het al uitgebreide leveringspakket van Bell and Howell.

Lees meer over deze overname in onderstaand persbericht.
Bell and Howell acquires new trump card for production mail with Gunther International
With the acquisition of Gunther International mail specialist Bell and Howell will be getting a solid hold on teh fast growing production mail market. Gunther International builds and develops software for bulk mails for the insurance and banking industries.
The product line integrates seamlessly with the extensive product range Bell and Howell already have.

Read more about this acquisition in the press release below.

 

PRESS RELEASE

Bell and Howell Acquires Gunther International

Purchase demonstrates continued commitment and investment in production mail

DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 4, 2018 — Bell and Howell announced today that it has acquired the assets of Connecticut-based Gunther International Ltd to further expand its mail-inserting product portfolio and continue to build on its industry-leading service capabilities.

This acquisition follows the purchase of Sensible Technologies one year ago, and most recently, the introduction of CX Touchpoints℠, Bell and Howell’s innovative omnichannel communications platform. Each of these transactions has enabled the company to better focus its time, attention and resources to the needs of the production-mail space.

“Acquiring Gunther is another strategic move that strengthens Bell and Howell’s leadership position in an area that is fundamental to our success as a company,” said Bell and Howell CEO Ramesh Ratan, Ph.D. “We are committed to the production-mail space and are making substantial investments that will enable us to better serve our customers.”

Gunther International is a leading manufacturer of high-volume, intelligent-software-driven mailing systems to the insurance and banking industries. It leads the field in complex, high-page-count mail finishing via high-throughput machines, guaranteed integrity at every stage of the insertion process, and machines that can process both flat and folded mail. Its Champion™ software is a highly sophisticated and extremely flexible operating system in mail-finishing equipment control and management systems. Customers of both Bell and Howell and Gunther will benefit from an even greater service footprint, enhanced capabilities, and access to an expanded product portfolio.

“We are excited to add top technical talent to the Bell and Howell service team,” said Jim Feely, Bell and Howell’s senior vice president of global service solutions. “This is also a win for Gunther customers, who will benefit from an enhanced service offering from Bell and Howell’s high-tech service organization.”

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Pure Digital nearly sold out

16 jan 2018
Categorie:

According to the organisation only 3 stands are left for the Pure Digital fair which will be held between 17 and 19 April in Amsterdam. This is the first time the fair is organised and it is a co-production with Building Holland. According to the organisation there is increasingly more connection between print and construction. This thinking is the reason that and expected 15,000 visitors to Building Holland will also visit Pure Digital.

Pure Digital is a groundbreaking and unique event of which the goal is to inspire European creative industries by showing innovative digital printing. Contrary to traditional print based trade fairs, Pure Digital´s format, content and style has been designed to attract creative industries. Think of creative directors, architects, interior designers, graphic designers, fashion designers, marketers and entrepreneurs of (wide format) print companies. During this unique event in Europe, Pure Digital will present the best of the best in creative designing for digital printing.

Lees verder....

Bell and Howell acquires new trump card for production mail with Gunther International

15 jan 2018
Categorie: ,,

With the acquisition of Gunther International mail specialist Bell and Howell will be getting a solid hold on the fast growing production mail market. Gunther International builds and develops software for bulk mails for the insurance and banking industries.
The product line integrates seamlessly with the extensive product range Bell and Howell already have.

Read more about this acquisition in the press release below.

PRESS RELEASE

Bell and Howell Acquires Gunther International

Purchase demonstrates continued commitment and investment in production mail

DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 4, 2018 — Bell and Howell announced today that it has acquired the assets of Connecticut-based Gunther International Ltd, to further expand its mail-inserting product portfolio and continue to build on its industry-leading service capabilities.

This acquisition follows the purchase of Sensible Technologies one year ago, and most recently, the introduction of CX Touchpoints℠, Bell and Howell’s innovative omnichannel communications platform. Each of these transactions has enabled the company to better focus its time, attention and resources to the needs of the production-mail space.

“Acquiring Gunther is another strategic move that strengthens Bell and Howell’s leadership position in an area that is fundamental to our success as a company,” said Bell and Howell CEO Ramesh Ratan, Ph.D. “We are committed to the production-mail space and are making substantial investments that will enable us to better serve our customers.”

Gunther International is a leading manufacturer of high-volume, intelligent-software-driven mailing systems to the insurance and banking industries. It leads the field in complex, high-page-count mail finishing via high-throughput machines, guaranteed integrity at every stage of the insertion process, and machines that can process both flat and folded mail. Its Champion™ software is a highly sophisticated and extremely flexible operating system in mail-finishing equipment control and management systems. Customers of both Bell and Howell and Gunther will benefit from an even greater service footprint, enhanced capabilities, and access to an expanded product portfolio.

“We are excited to add top technical talent to the Bell and Howell service team,” said Jim Feely, Bell and Howell’s senior vice president of global service solutions. “This is also a win for Gunther customers, who will benefit from an enhanced service offering from Bell and Howell’s high-tech service organization.”

Lees verder....

In RGB drukken, het kan echt met een nieuwe techniek ontwikkeld door Merck, Saueressig, Siegwerk en Drukkerij Vrijdag

15 jan 2018
Categorie: ,

Elegant beautiful girl in a white wig, with the lips of rhinestones and festive manicure. Beauty face. Picture taken in the studio on a black background.

Voor verpakkingsdrukkers en andere toepassingen is er nu een techniek om in RGB te drukken. Het resultaat? Briljante kleuren en parelachtige structuren. Het is geen eenvoudige techniek en RGB drukken zal CMYK zeker niet gaan vervangen, maar voor luxe verpakkingen en andere speciale drukopdrachten is er zeker een vraag naar deze topkwaliteit afdrukken. Drukkerij Vrijdag uit Eindhoven heeft niet alleen meegewerkt aan dit nieuwe proces, maar is ook de eerste drukkerij die deze service aan kan bieden.

Lees meer over deze spectaculaire techniek in onderstaand persbericht.
PERSBERICHT

Germany, January 09, 2017. – As part of a joint development project, Merck, SAUERESSIG, Siegwerk and Vrijdag – all suppliers to the packaging industry – have worked together on a brand new innovation: a unique RGB printing process with pearlescent pigments. Back in 2015, the partners have already presented the first successful printed results at the European Coatings Show. Since then, the experts have continuously developed and refined the process and the printing inks. From January 31 to February 1, 2018, they will now present their new developments at the Packaging of Perfume, Cosmetics & Design (PCD) trade fair in Paris, Europe’s leading event for innovations and trends in the cosmetic packaging industry.

The CMYK ink build-up with the four process colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) – known from commercial printers – has been used for printing so far. If you print cyan, magenta and yellow together on a white or light background, a fully saturated black is the result. This is also known as a subtractive color mixing. The black color “K” is used in CMYK printing as a type of ultimate black that cannot be attained with the combination of the other three colors. The RGB ink build-up is known primarily from TV screens and computer monitors in which a deep black can become a diverse color spectrum with just a push of a button. For reproducing images, the colors red, green and blue are used on a black background. When combined, the result is white. This structure is also known as an additive color mixing. The idea was to develop an RGB technique for printing. For this purpose, however, an entirely new type of reproduction technology is needed in the prepress phase. After carrying out multiple technical tests, the experts succeeded in refining the patent-pending process in gravure printing, which was developed by Merck in collaboration with Lorenz Boegli from the Siebdruck [Silkscreen] Studio (in Switzerland). Siegwerk developed the highly-reflective pearlescent print colors with pigments from Merck, which are also suitable for sensitive packaging applications like hygiene and cosmetics packaging.

Until now, packaging printing was only done on a white or light background and black was created only as a combination of the CMYK colors. With the new RGB printing technology, it is now possible to print images directly on a black substrate. The full-tone color of red, green and blue complement to white, and – similar to the color “K” in the CMYK process – are enhanced with a silver white color that is used to create a more brilliant white that cannot be achieved by combining the RGB colors. In principle, the image reproduction can be applied by means of additive color mixing regardless of the printing process used. However, tests have demonstrated that gravure printing is the ideal process for transferring the pearlescent pigment. The volume of the cells can be precisely adjusted here to the ink used, which is the best prerequisite for a good printing quality as the effect pigments in RGB printing have a different volume than conventional inks.

“With RGB printing, you can create an enigmatic effect on substrates that can make the printed image shimmer or gleam. As a result, the process opens up entirely new opportunities for brand owners to differentiate their packaging from the masses,” says Oscar Bos, Sales Director at Vrijdag, about the benefits of the revolutionary printing technology. RGB printing offers packaging designers and printers a larger color space as well as a broader color range and higher color saturation. It also adds an unique surface gloss. The used pearlescent pigments give the print products interesting lighting and pearlescent effects, that increase the visual value and create an unusual brightness. “RGB printing will not replace CMYK. Instead, it offers an additional option for creating unique and effective printed materials,” adds Peter Clauter, Marketing Manager at Merck.

The packaging is a strategic instrument for brand management at the point of sale (POS), as about 70% of the purchasing decisions are just made directly at the store shelf. Therefore, the first impression is crucial for the product choice. Especially in the area of premium packaging for luxury and high-quality products, consumers can be strongly guided by external appearances. Innovative packaging designs created with unique shapes, effective print images, or special haptical characteristics are the goal of every packaging designer. RGB represents an additional attractive option for targeted differentiation. “We are proud to be part of this revolutionary development and look forward to working with our long-time partners in the future on other innovations for the packaging industry,” said Sarah Grafen, Head of Research and Development Business Unit Tobacco at Siegwerk, and Volker Hildering, Sales Manager at Saueressig. All four project partners are pursuing the overarching objective of supporting brand owners in their search for creative packaging ideas with innovative and high-quality solutions. The individual adjustment to the needs of every single customer is clearly the focus for all four companies.

With the motto “Lookxury. Joined Forces Bring Packaging to Life!” all four partners Merck, SAUERESSIG, Siegwerk, and Vrijdag will jointly exhibit at Booth 19 in Hall 1 at the PCD in Paris. From January 31 to February 1, 2018, visitors to the PCD can meet the experts from these companies in person and get a first-hand look at the effects of RGB printing technology.

Lees verder....

Advert only visible if you are pregnant

11 jan 2018
Categorie:

IKEA has placed and advert in a Swedish magazine for expecting mums where the special offer is only visible if the pregnant woman drips a few drops of her urine on it.

The advert for the Sundvik cot encourages the reader to urinate on a special strip glued onto the advert. If you are pregnant the price is lower.

The video shows how it works. Ikea has collaborated with Mercene labs in Sweden. The technology is the same as used for pregnancy tests. Other possibilities are for example strips to detect diabetes.

Lees verder....

Effective RGB printing for packaging: Merck, SAUERESSIG, Siegwerk and Vrijdag present innovative printing technology at PCD 2018

10 jan 2018
Categorie:

Elegant beautiful girl in a white wig, with the lips of rhinestones and festive manicure. Beauty face. Picture taken in the studio on a black background.

With the motto “Lookxury. Joined Forces Bring Packaging to Life!“ the experts from Merck, SAUERESSIG, Siegwerk and Vrijdag present their jointly developed printing innovation for additive color mixing at the Packaging of Perfume, Cosmetics & Design (PCD) trade fair in Paris.

Germany, January 09, 2017. – As part of a joint development project, Merck, SAUERESSIG, Siegwerk and Vrijdag – all suppliers to the packaging industry – have worked together on a brand new innovation: a unique RGB printing process with pearlescent pigments. Back in 2015, the partners have already presented the first successful printed results at the European Coatings Show. Since then, the experts have continuously developed and refined the process and the printing inks. From January 31 to February 1, 2018, they will now present their new developments at the Packaging of Perfume, Cosmetics & Design (PCD) trade fair in Paris, Europe’s leading event for innovations and trends in the cosmetic packaging industry.

The CMYK ink build-up with the four process colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) – known from commercial printers – has been used for printing so far. If you print cyan, magenta and yellow together on a white or light background, a fully saturated black is the result. This is also known as a subtractive color mixing. The black color “K” is used in CMYK printing as a type of ultimate black that cannot be attained with the combination of the other three colors. The RGB ink build-up is known primarily from TV screens and computer monitors in which a deep black can become a diverse color spectrum with just a push of a button. For reproducing images, the colors red, green and blue are used on a black background. When combined, the result is white. This structure is also known as an additive color mixing. The idea was to develop an RGB technique for printing. For this purpose, however, an entirely new type of reproduction technology is needed in the prepress phase. After carrying out multiple technical tests, the experts succeeded in refining the patent-pending process in gravure printing, which was developed by Merck in collaboration with Lorenz Bögli from the Siebdruck [Silkscreen] Studio (in Switzerland). Siegwerk developed the highly-reflective pearlescent print colors with pigments from Merck, which are also suitable for sensitive packaging applications like hygiene and cosmetics packaging.

Until now, packaging printing was only done on a white or light background and black was created only as a combination of the CMYK colors. With the new RGB printing technology, it is now possible to print images directly on a black substrate. The full-tone color of red, green and blue complement to white, and – similar to the color “K” in the CMYK process – are enhanced with a silver white color that is used to create a more brilliant white that cannot be achieved by combining the RGB colors. In principle, the image reproduction can be applied by means of additive color mixing regardless of the printing process used. However, tests have demonstrated that gravure printing is the ideal process for transferring the pearlescent pigment. The volume of the cells can be precisely adjusted here to the ink used, which is the best prerequisite for a good printing quality as the effect pigments in RGB printing have a different volume than conventional inks.

“With RGB printing, you can create an enigmatic effect on substrates that can make the printed image shimmer or gleam. As a result, the process opens up entirely new opportunities for brand owners to differentiate their packaging from the masses,” says Oscar Bos, Sales Director at Vrijdag, about the benefits of the revolutionary printing technology. RGB printing offers packaging designers and printers a larger color space as well as a broader color range and higher color saturation. It also adds an unique surface gloss. The used pearlescent pigments give the print products interesting lighting and pearlescent effects, that increase the visual value and create an unusual brightness. “RGB printing will not replace CMYK. Instead, it offers an additional option for creating unique and effective printed materials,” adds Peter Clauter, Marketing Manager at Merck.

The packaging is a strategic instrument for brand management at the point of sale (POS), as about 70% of the purchasing decisions are just made directly at the store shelf. Therefore, the first impression is crucial for the product choice. Especially in the area of premium packaging for luxury and high-quality products, consumers can be strongly guided by external appearances. Innovative packaging designs created with unique shapes, effective print images, or special haptical characteristics are the goal of every packaging designer. RGB represents an additional attractive option for targeted differentiation. “We are proud to be part of this revolutionary development and look forward to working with our long-time partners in the future on other innovations for the packaging industry,” said Sarah Grafen, Head of Research and Development Business Unit Tobacco at Siegwerk, and Volker Hildering, Sales Manager at Saueressig. All four project partners are pursuing the overarching objective of supporting brand owners in their search for creative packaging ideas with innovative and high-quality solutions. The individual adjustment to the needs of every single customer is clearly the focus for all four companies.

With the motto “Lookxury. Joined Forces Bring Packaging to Life!” all four partners Merck, SAUERESSIG, Siegwerk, and Vrijdag will jointly exhibit at Booth 19 in Hall 1 at the PCD in Paris. From January 31 to February 1, 2018, visitors to the PCD can meet the experts from these companies in person and get a first-hand look at the effects of RGB printing technology.

Lees verder....

Wild Format Series 3 .1 Laurel Brunner: Trends and technology in digital printing

10 jan 2018
Categorie: ,

In the new Wild Format series 3, Digital Dots gives us an overview of trends and technology in digital printing. In the first one Laurel Brunner gives an overview of what we can expect and the opportunities these developments offer for new and existing users of digital printing systems.

Read the first artikel in this new series of Wild Format via this link on our article page.

Lees verder....

Wild Format Series 3 – 1: Trends en Technieken in Digital Printing

10 jan 2018
Categorie: ,
In deze eerste aflevering van de 3e serie Wild Format publicaties, geeft Laurel Brunner een overzicht van wat ons op het gebied van digitaal printen te wachten staat, en welke kansen deze ontwikkelingen bieden voor nieuwe en bestaande gebruikers van digitaal printing-systemen.
Lees #1 van deze nieuwe serie via deze link op onze artikelenpagina, waar u ook de complete series 1 en 2 terug kunt vinden.
Lees verder....

Canon Europe toont tijdens ISE 2018 nieuwe projectiemogelijkheden

08 jan 2018
Categorie: ,
Canon Europe heeft bekendgemaakt dat krachtige nieuw ontworpen installatieprojectoren, met hoogwaardige laser- en lamptechnologie, zullen worden getoond tijdens ISE 2018 – ’s  werelds grootste beurs op het gebied van AV-systeemintegratie. Binnen de zeven zones van de stand zal Canon laten zien hoe de nieuwe toonaangevende projectoren, de ideale oplossing vormen voor installatie in uiteenlopende omgevingen – van ongelooflijk compacte ruimten tot grote auditoria.
Tijdens deze 2018-editie zullen systeemintegrators uit eerste hand ervaren hoe Canon-technologie de meeste flexibiliteit biedt bij het ontwerpen van projectiesystemen, zodat zij kunnen voldoen aan behoeften van klanten die anders onmogelijk zijn te vervullen. Een voorbeeld hiervan is Canon’s keystone-correctie in vier hoeken, die ervoor zorgt dat beelden een perfecte geometrische vorm behouden, zelfs wanneer de installatieprojector schuin of buiten de beeldas moet worden geplaatst, zoals bij installatie in simulatoren, winkels of kunstgaleries.
Canon zal worden bijgestaan door branchespecialist ShopperScreen, een bedrijf uit Finland dat is gespecialiseerd in het transformeren van onbenutte oppervlakken tot interactieve HD-projectieschermen. ShopperScreen zal laten zien hoe zij voor haar opdrachtgevers window-shopping tot leven brengt, door middel van hoogwaardige, heldere beeldprojectie.
Ook zal Gerriets – een wereldwijd theater- en showleverancier – op de stand aanwezig zijn, om te laten zien hoe Canon-technologie hen in staat heeft gesteld om projectie op transparant glas mogelijk te maken voor ‘virtual reality’. Ondanks de beperkte inbouwruimte was de INVISCREEN® oplossing ongelooflijk eenvoudig te installeren, dankzij de grote lensverschuivingsmogelijkheden van Canon. Binnen Canon’s toonaangevende bereik maakte een 75 procent lensverschuiving het mogelijk de projector op diverse locaties te plaatsen, en dankzij de korte projectie-afstand kon de projector met behoud van een groot beeld erg dicht bij het oppervlak worden geplaatst.
Andreas Herrnböck, European Business Development Manager, Visual Communications, Canon Europe, zegt: “Canon is al meer dan tien jaar aanwezig op ISE. De onderneming toont daar haar voortdurende inzet, om binnen de AV-sector superieure resultaten te bieden en ook de behoeften te overtreffen van zowel systeemintegrators als hun klanten. Elk jaar proberen we de lat hoger te leggen en zijn we continu bezig ons aanbod te verbeteren. Dit geldt voor zowel de technologie die we op de stand tonen, als voor de partnerschappen die we via de beurs ontwikkelen. Dit jaar vormt daarop geen uitzondering. Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat onze nieuwste producten en onze samenwerking met andere branchespecialisten, die bezoekers op de Canon-stand aantreffen, de solide basis vormen voor opnieuw een succesvolle beurs.”
 
ISE vindt van 6 – 9 februari 2018 plaats in Amsterdam en u treft Canon aan in Hal 1, stand F-90.
Lees verder....

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