• #Ink
• #Printing
• #Consumables
• #Paper

By: Jose D Morales

In: News

Published: 29 April 2023

Hits: 1424

The story of color is changing. An overenthusiastic use of loud, bright hues in recent years has, ironically, dulled their impact. Perhaps we’re all yearning for more mellow, calming

experiences, or perhaps we simply want a visual change. Whatever the actual reasons, design trends are shifting to a more muted, less vibrant color palette.

With that in mind, let’s consider how the printing process can affect color choices and see how to use color cost-effectively without reducing its visual appeal. Besides the amount of ink needed to print a brochure or a wine label, crucial elements such as the number of colors, and the paper or other substrates on which the images are printed, have a great effect.

Sometimes, though, a job needs an exact, special color. That’s when you specify a spot color. Spot colors come premixed from the ink manufacturer, based on industry standard color systems like the Pantone Matching System (PMS). A spot color may be necessary when you must adhere to strict brand identity requirements or when very high production values really matter. Printers may use a fifth color for specialty shades, like a fluorescent or neon, they cannot reproduce well with CMYK. Other finishing options, like spot varnishes, specialty inks, or metallic inks can also count as spot colors.

Ink manufacturers charge more for PMS color inks. But more significantly, adding spot colors requires imaging extra printing plates, which means more time and supplies for each spot color.

In offset printing, printers must make a plate for every color, so every job requires at least four printing plates. If you run two spot colors, printers must etch two more plates for the job.

You need plates for every imposition layout, also called a signature. Let’s say you’re producing a 32-page brochure, which the printer will run in four signatures of eight pages each. For CMYK, each signature needs four plates, a total of sixteen to print the job. If you add two spot colors to your project, the printer will charge for making eight more plates.

Costs can escalate in this scenario. If your project doesn’t require eye-popping treatments and loud colors, it’s highly likely you can execute your design vision using the standard four-color process and keep your costs down.

Paper

Paper is, by far, the costliest supply element of any print job. It can have a significant impact on the overall cost of a project or the way you design a project to produce desired colors.

Paper grades absorb ink differently, based on their weight and surface treatment. Fine printing paper will be coated or uncoated. Coated paper has a very smooth matte, glossy, or satin finish, while uncoated paper has a more unfinished texture and duller appearance. Any color, even one you choose from the Pantone book, will look different on each type of paper.

Coated paper reflects more light. This makes colors appear more intense and saturated. Light reflection differs, depending on the coating. Uncoated paper is less reflective, so colors have a more muted appearance.

Paper also comes in various shades of white, from warm to bluer, cooler, tones, and in different grades of brightness. Brightness is the volume of light reflected off the paper. Paper manufacturers measure brightness on a scale from one to one hundred. High-end papers are in the mid-90s. The brighter the sheet, the more light it reflects, and the brighter the colors will appear.

Uncoated paper is less expensive than coated paper, so if a muted palette is what you’re after, uncoated sheets will achieve the results you want at a lower price point. You may also want to consider the shade of white or choose a different colored paper altogether to keep colors in the desired gamut.

Color itself is compelling and evocative, and pretty wonderful. Color management can be fascinating, but highly complex. With forethought and planning about color, your printer can produce spectacular results at a reasonable cost.

Author: Gimbel & Associates

• #Digital_Printing
• #Photography
• #Printing
• #Print_Media

By: Jose D Morales

In: News

Published: 26 April 2023

Hits: 1493

Versatile Solution with Lightweight, Portable and Stackable Design Ideal for Photo, Event and Retail Environments

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., April 25, 2023 -- Epson is further supporting the event photography market with the introduction of the SureLab^® D570 professional minilab photo printer. Offering high-quality photo printing in a lightweight and compact design, the SureLab D570 provides a versatile solution for printing brilliant small-format photos on demand, making it ideal for event, hospitality, kiosk, and retail environments.

 

 

"It's such a special memory when event sites are able to offer a photo for consumers to take with them, and the new SureLab makes that easier than ever," said Aaron Brill, associate product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc. "Designed for portability without sacrificing quality, the SureLab D570 is the ideal affordable solution for low- to mid-volume, small-format photo printing for any on-site event, photo kiosk or tourist destination."

 

The SureLab D570 minilab has a small footprint and features the latest in professional imaging technology, coupling Epson's advanced MicroPiezo^® AMC^™ printhead with vivid UltraChrome^® D6r-S ink to consistently deliver crisp, vibrant pictures. With low power consumption, the printer is energy efficient enough to be powered by a user-provided portable battery, for easy event printing on-site. The SureLab D570 prints high-quality 4"x6" photos in seconds,¹ allowing businesses to provide customers with the photos they want on demand, at virtually any time.

Engineered to be lightweight and portable, the minilab printer is easy to carry to on-site events. In addition, with a stackable design, businesses can scale and add more printers to keep up with customer demand. For improved usability, the SureLab D570 features built-in wireless connectivity as well as simplified software for creating professional prints with either the minilab's redesigned printer driver or a smartphone.

Additional features include:

• Outstanding photographic quality – high-quality prints using Epson's MicroPiezo AMC printhead and AccuPhoto^™ image processing and screening technology
• Zero cartridge waste – UltraChrome D6r-S high-capacity 70 mL ink bottles (sold separately) deliver a wide color gamut and low operating costs; 6-color dye-based ink set for vibrant water-, smudge- and fade-resistant prints²
• Versatile connectivity – easily connect to and control one or multiple printers over Wi-Fi^®, Ethernet or USB
• Simplified software – create professional prints using the redesigned printer driver for Windows^® or Mac^®, or with your smartphone app
• Engineered for reliability – robust print engine is backed by Epson U.S.-based support team and limited warranty
• Epson^® Cloud Solution PORT³ – monitor the live status of an entire printer fleet regardless of location; view output production rates, printer status, errors, and more

Availability
The SureLab D570 is now available through Epson Authorized Professional Imaging Resellers. For more information, visit www.epson.com/proimaging.

 

 

 

 

Author:PRNewswire

• #PRINTING_INDUSTRY
• #Printing

By: Jose D Morales

In: News

Published: 27 April 2023

Hits: 1353

Founder & CEO Bob Titus reflects on 50 years in business

Minuteman Press International is proud to celebrate 50 years in business! The first Minuteman Press center opened in Plainview, New York, in 1973. Roy Titus, founder of Minuteman Press, along with his son Bob Titus, decided to open the shop after running a successful operation for Parent’s Magazine. While working with other printers for Parent’s Magazine, Roy realized that the printing industry was a huge market that had untapped potential.

In 1973, that first Plainview shop served as a quick printing operation that filled the need for one-color, short-run orders that needed to be done fast. From there, Roy tapped into the potential of the industry, creating the first one-stop Minuteman Press design, marketing, and printing center. Products and capabilities expanded, and over the past 50 years, Minuteman Press has continued to be at the forefront of the printing industry.

It all started with that first Plainview shop in 1973, where Roy, along with his son Bob and childhood friends Jim Galasso and Dave Scadin, laid the foundation for the worldwide franchisor that Minuteman Press International is today.

Bob Titus, who remains CEO today, shares his thoughts, experiences, and memories of what it was like laying the groundwork in 1973.

What was it like working in the Plainview shop in 1973?

BT: Jimmy Galasso and I ran the shop together, and a couple of months later, we brought in Dave Scadin. I have known both of them since I was six years old. I came home from college, and Jimmy was working at a sporting goods store. He came to our house, and when my dad offered him the job, he said yes. We needed someone else down the road, and that’s when Dave joined us after working for the Town of Oyster Bay.

Originally, Dave was making deliveries for us, but one day our press broke. Dave came into the shop and told us to get out of the way. He fixed the press, and from that point forward, he was our press operator.

Over the years, we’ve had 36 people from Oyster Bay High School and St. Dominic’s High School work with us. It all stemmed from us as childhood friends working together and then expanding from there. It’s been an incredible ride.

What was it like working with your dad Roy Titus? How did you get started running the shop?

BT: My dad and I didn’t work in the shop together, but he would come in and give us great ideas. He was really smart and did things like start our marketing program and add pickup and delivery as a service to our customers.

For me, this all started with my dad hiring an old-time printer named Tom, who taught me and Jimmy Galasso how to run the press and do bindery work. One day, a real estate customer came into the Plainview shop, and my dad happened to be there. They wanted flyers printed and delivered down the street to their office once the job was done. Tom said we don’t do delivery, and my dad stepped in and said that yes, we’ll deliver the job once it’s finished.

Tom said we wouldn’t want to get into delivery, and Roy disagreed. My dad saw this as a great service we could provide that would make it easy for customers to do business with us. He also decided that we don’t have to wait for customers to come in and that we can go to the customers ourselves.

At the time, the huge commercial printers were looking for home-run clients, and they were not going door to door. We started going door to door, starting in the retail area, and we were picking up business.

The two biggest things we did to really get the shop going strong were:

1. Marketing to the customers, going to them, and not waiting for them to come to us;
2. Adding pickup and delivery options at a time when others just weren’t doing that.

How did Minuteman Press originally grow from there into a franchise?

BT: First, our Plainview shop went from an AB Dick 1-color press to an older Multi-Graphic Press that really improved the quality of the work we were doing. When we opened the second Farmingdale store, we purchased a new Multi-Graphic Press along with our first 3M camera, which led to us implementing the franchise model for other shops.

We found that the 3M company invented the plastic plate camera, where the plastic plates would cost about the same as a paper platemaker. The plastic plates allowed for metal plate quality that wouldn’t stretch and allowed for 2-color printing. The salesman told us the camera could help us produce 2, 3, and 4-color printing with plastic plates that don’t stretch like paper plates, and he was right. The cameras did everything the salesman said they could do.

We first hired Mike Jutt as our press operator for the Farmingdale shop, where we first used the press with the 3M camera. He did a great job, and the Farmingdale center became the prototype for the Minuteman Press franchise. When we started franchising, we asked Mike to create a training program to teach the owners our system. He created and implemented the training program, and he’s done an absolutely fabulous job for 50 years. Mike ultimately became our executive VP & director of training and is still going strong today.

Storytime: Community involvement

I want to share one quick story from our Farmingdale shop. This speaks to the importance of being involved in the community and joining local clubs and organizations. At that time, Farmingdale merchants held their Hardscrabble Day. Families would come to the event, and one year, they needed to hire a clown at the last minute. My dad volunteered to pay for the clown, who would blow up balloons for the kids and put smiles on their faces. The families were happy, the merchants saw us as saviors for stepping in to help, and many of them started using us for their printing. That $50 investment and ‘saving the day’ lead to a lot of business.

Because the press and camera worked so well in Farmingdale, my dad ordered another one for our Plainview shop and then a third one. When the head honchos at 3M saw that we had purchased three cameras in six months, they paid us a visit to see what we were doing. On their end, they were having trouble selling the cameras because other printers were reluctant to change. They said we had a terrific idea for using these cameras and suggested we franchise.

3M really believed in our concept and our program, and so they offered financing to new owners. They allowed the owners to form a shell corporation so that they wouldn’t have personal liability. We then went to a franchise show at the New York Coliseum, just looking to put people into business in the Tri-State Area, and we would support those owners.

At that show, we had one prospect who wanted to open in Boston, and another one who wanted to open in Los Angeles. At first, we said no to going out of state, but they were persistent. At that point, my dad reached out to six quality people who had worked for him in the past, who had sons that were around my age. My dad felt this would be a great business for a father and son, and he was able to hire them.

He had them go to six different cities – Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles – and hire a press operator. They ran these Minuteman Press shops with the press and 3M cameras, and followed our business model. Then, they franchised and supported the new stores that opened around them while also working in their own shops.

As these cities expanded with more franchises, we could no longer run our own stores while supporting the new owners. That is when we made the decision to sell those original shops we owned and support the owners full-time. We had the press operator, the marketing person, and the regional vice president for those locations, and that’s how our local support teams were originally formed.

Ultimately, we sold hundreds of 3M cameras, and they also were able to sell the ancillary materials needed for those cameras. This really helped us get going as a franchise, and the company-owned stores became profitable very quickly because of the new marketing program we introduced. As we generated more and more business and sold those satellite stores, that’s how we created the support teams that laid the groundwork for our regional teams today.

What are some of the key ways that Minuteman Press has evolved over the years?

BT: One of the biggest changes we’ve ever made was when my dad introduced the royalty cap to our owners around 1977-78. The owners thought we were crazy, but what happened is that this really incentivized our owners to sell more and more. At the time, we saw owners who were making $15,000/month at the time start selling $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, and $50,000.

My dad sent them a letter and told them to act as if you’re paying the full royalties and use that money to reinvest and build the business. Many of our owners bought into this idea. They appreciated the royalty cap but also understood how important it was to hire that extra marketing person or add that piece of equipment, etc.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

BT: My dad was president of Minuteman Press for the first 20 years, and we were in pure growth mode in terms of opening new franchise locations. We expanded from the U.S. into Canada, and I even ran the Toronto office for two years.

For the next 25 years of our history, I was president of the company. We expanded even further internationally to the U.K., Australia, and South Africa. I felt that my job was to improve on existing services and add services that made the most sense for our owners. We would conduct studies and see what’s next, then implement new items to benefit our owners. In everything we did and still do, we always try to think of how we can best help them.

For over three years now, my son Nick has been president of the company. He took over for me just three months before the pandemic. Looking back on it now, this is one of the best decisions we made to elevate him to president when we did. There is no way I could have carried us through the way he did. Everything he did and everything our team did was just tremendous. There were daily communications, the Bounce Back program, and so much hard work and dedication. His vision helped all of us adapt. Even though I already knew this, it just assured me that everybody was in great hands.

Final remarks

Bob concludes, “Looking back, I think of the longtime owners that helped us build the company. And then I think of every owner out there who has since helped us build, whether they realize it or not. We are all like family, and we’re in this together.”

He adds, “Let me also say that what makes me feel so gratified is when the business is turned over from parents to their kids. It’s always such a great feeling to see a business that people worked really hard to build carry through to the next generation. I know that from experience as both a son and a dad. Over 50 years… it’s certainly been an incredible ride.”

 

Author: Graphics Pro

• #Flexible_packaging
• #Packaging

By: Jose D Morales

In: News

Published: 23 April 2023

Hits: 1506

The age of the pouch: the rise of flexible packaging.

Increased demand for a particular product or service represents both an opportunity (for increased revenue) and also a challenge (competition to meet the need is likely to increase, meaning that not everyone will benefit). Flexible packaging is a case in point – strong growth has been recorded in this sector, so how can converters exploit this?

Adopting digital printing presses is already emerging as a differentiator, with HP Indigo digital press customers growing their volumes much faster than their analogue-only competitors.

Generational shifts in consumer behaviour and priorities explain much of the explosive growth in flexible packaging. These trends were all in evidence prior to the pandemic, but have since become entrenched. Long runs are becoming shorter and the number of SKUs has increased substantially, all by brands looking to attract consumer engagement through the increase in online purchasing.

Flexible packaging has benefited from a general decline in trust of traditional brands and shopping experiences. Pouches and other flexible solutions are aligned with consumers abandoning larger brands in favour of artisanal and small-batch products, opting to shop from home instead of in malls and taking a more critical look at companies’ sustainability claims and credentials.

FMCG is by definition a dynamic sector, and the ability to be first to market in response to a pivot in priorities – and to be agile if not proactive in terms of meeting or anticipating changing demand – plays into the hands of flexible packaging solutions, and call for the minimal lead times and short run prowess of digital printing presses.

Reduced lead times also enable converters to help their customers meet brand requirements for personalisation and smart packaging. These enhancements offer enhanced experiences for consumers and strengthen and deepen brand loyalty.

Digital print also offers benefits to companies that produce small quantities of multiple SKUs or which change their product line-up regularly.

The ability of digital print to disrupt the packaging sector mirrors the way that consumer trends are disrupting established retail industry patterns.

When it comes to flexible packaging production, most converters still rely on analogue printing technology. However, the clear benefits of digital printing presses are starting to tip the scales in favour of newer technology.

Digital presses completely alter the economics of short runs and frequent design changes, making them profitable while still offering excellent value to customers. Being able to switch seamlessly between jobs means that converters can complete more jobs per day and offer shorter lead times to their customers.

Increases in productivity can be achieved at lower price points and without the need to hire additional staff. Digital also enables more sustainable packaging options – a key consumer concern as people look more closely at the ‘green’ promises made by brands.

In our always-online, hyper-connected world, digital printing makes smart packaging a reality. Immersive encounters with packaging can motivate purchase and repurchase decisions, contributing to sales and turning the curious into repeat buyers.

As a global leader in digital printing presses for flexible packaging, HP Indigo develops technology solutions that allow for the optimisation of many different kinds of flexible packaging. HP Indigo has been driving innovation in the sector since 2014 and customers can point to unprecedented volume increases.

The number of HP Indigo customers that subsequently order additional digital printing presses is a testament to the compelling business case for converters to switch to digital in order to take advantage of the rise of the pouch (and other forms of flexible packaging).

To learn more about Kemtek’s range of technology solutions, contact Carl Zerle on (+27) 083 632 3232 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Wendy McLoughlin on (+27) 082 417 7188 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit https://kemtek.co.za/prod_brand/hp/.

Gain more insights from Wendy and Nici here: PPM – February 2023 Magazine – Packaging And Print Media (packagingmag.co.za)

 

 

Author: itweb