If wide format printing and a whole range of related applications are of interest, then a visit to Sign & Digital UK in March could be the ideal way to kick-start or refine your plans.
‘Creating Business Connections’has been chosen as the theme for the 2015 staging of Sign & Digital UK (24 to 26 March 2015, the NEC, Birmingham), and for any Digital Printer readers considering extending their businesses in a wide variety of directions, this show could be a great place to start making those connections.
Traditionally a sign exhibition, things are moving along quickly now. This year, there are two new ‘show trails’ designed to help visitors gets their heads around potential new directions for their business. These are Retail Route (for those looking at solutions for display, POS/POP, pop-up retail units and interior décor), and Materials World (featuring the latest innovations in materials, media and substrates and the applications that they can help you make money with).
These additions come just a year after Sign & Digital included the Textile Trail for the first time. This returns for a second year, to inform visitors about starting and developing a business in textile print, soft signage, garment décor, interior display and many other sectors.
The trails will guide visitors around the show floor, highlighting relevant products and services, and indicating the seminars and workshops that most apply to these areas of focus.
On that last topic, Sign & Digital UK 2015 will have another comprehensive and free educational programme, with four theatres (Adobe, Corel, SignLab and Business, as described in the February issue of Digital Printer) running alongside the Signmakers’ Workshop. Between them they will deliver 35 daily seminars, demonstrations and workshops, with practical tips and new business ideas at the heart of the timetable.
A schedule for the Business Theatre is provided on p???. The Signmakers’ Workshop is run by expert sign maker Paul Hughes. His daily presentations cover the basics of applying vinyl graphics, an introduction to vehicle graphics, and the basics of making a signboard.
Show director Rudi Blackett commented on the burgeoning appeal of the event: ‘Wide format is a sector undergoing rapid growth, with increasing demand for products in the visual marketing and advertising arenas. This demand is now also making its mark in new markets, such as textiles, dye-sublimation and interior decor.
‘Thanks to rapid advancements in technology, wide format is becoming more accessible to a larger audience. With fast set up times, it is also an ideal career move for industry newcomers looking to hit the ground running. But for those already working in the print world, wide format also allows you to reach new markets and differentiate from your competitors.’
And Mr Blackett had a message specifically for those companies that are looking to expand from the commercial printing space into the wide format market, for whom, he said, Sign & Digital UK is the best place to conduct the necessary research before taking their first and subsequent steps.
‘For anyone looking to extend their commercial printing business, wide format is the ideal opportunity to diversify your service offering, discover new applications, deliver fast turnaround times and develop new revenues. Yet for business owners keen to make their mark in a competitive and growing sector, understanding the industry and getting to grips with the latest technology is crucial,’ he said.
‘Commercial printers are perfectly placed to take advantage of new wide format opportunities to build their revenue opportunities. Not only do they understand print, but they can also easily add this service to their existing business to gain impressive returns.’
Sign & Digital UK 2015 will feature more than 180 suppliers, covering every conceivable aspect of the sign & display market and the niche areas growing up around wide format printing. A selection of major exhibitors and their plans for Sign & Digital UK follows:
Agfa Graphics – Agfa will show its ‘super fast, super wide’ Anapurna M3200i RTR printer for the first time in the UK. The six-colour roll to roll UV device is 3.2 metres wide and can print at up to 123 square metres per hour. It will be shown with two additional options: a dual roll option (each with maximum width of 1.52 metres), and a mesh option to broaden the range of applications. Asanti workflow will be holding it all together.
Art Systems – Summa reseller Art Systems will be showcasing the F series flatbed cutter, DC5X, S-Class T series and XY Autotrim machines on stand. There will also be comprehensive media from such brands as Xativa, Neschen, JM Textiles and the HP Latex media range, as well as the launch of ClustaRack storage for 2 and 3 inch core size rolls of media.
Atech – there will be three UK firsts on the Atech stand: the Elitron Kombo SDC digital cutter; a range of its own-brand professional laminators; and the Alupanel edge finishing machine for Dufaylite and re-board, which is also available for aluminium composite edge finishing (ie DiBond).
Blackman & White – the ‘best of British’ will be showcased at the NEC, with the first UK exhibition appearance of the new Versa-Tech cutter. This has great tooling flexibility with crease, kiss cut, router, drag knife, oscillating knife and driven rotary knife all available on a single bed. They can be added one at a time to meet evolving needs. The Versa-Tech can cut standard widths and lengths up to 3.2 metres.
The Versa-Tech
Canon – Canon’s newly launched Océ ColorWave 500 and 700 systems will make their UK debut at Sign & Digital. The ColorWave 500 is designed to support CAD, GIS and production applications in the AEC industries, while the ColorWave 700 is suited to companies with higher print volumes, such as reprographics and sign & display print providers. Both use roll-based media.
City and West End Solutions (CWE) – the company says it is putting HP Latex ‘at the heart of complete design-to-finish solutions’ at Sign & Digital. Both the Latex 360 and 310 will be on display, backed up by software such as HP WallArt and the AVA RIP for decorative printing, the Expanse range of media (covering poster papers, vinyls, textiles and backlits), and a Summa wide format cutter.
Clarity Software – recent developments to Clarity’s MIS and CRM software include integrating ‘best fit’ nested layouts directly into the quoting process, enabling pricing at minimal wastage on rigid and flexible cluster jobs, and ‘dynamic’ new sales reporting in Clarity Go, allowing users to create inquisitive searches on quotes, orders, sales activity, invoice status and more.
Colourgen – Mutoh’s new ValueJet 426UF desktop flatbed LED UV printer will be the centrepiece of Colourgen’s stand. The A3+ printer allows direct printing onto a wide variety of solid materials, up to a thickness of 7 cm. This will be the system’s first UK public appearance. Also on the stand will be further Mutoh machines: the ValueJet 1638X, 1624 and 628, and the ValueCut 600 cutter. Also expect to see the Kala Mistral 1650 laminator.
D&K Europe – D&K will exhibit the 165 cm multi-function Atlas wide format laminator, linked to a newly-developed wide format cross-cutter which will produce sheets from the encapsulated web as it leaves the laminator. The cutter is also available as an x-y version. A sign market debut will be given to D&K’s compact Europa B2 fully automated laminator.
Fujifilm – the company will showcase a wide variety of creative applications that can be produced on its Acuity large format printers and euromedia roll media. In addition, the thermoforming UV-cured inkjet ink, Uvijet KV, will be demonstrated with light industrial applications. The Acuity Advance Select flatbed printer for POP and signage on rigid and roll materials, and the Acuity LED 1600, will print added value applications using white and clear inks.
The Acuity Advance Select flatbed printer
GPT – Graphic Printing Technologies will be showing the HP Latex range of printers in Birmingham, which it says it can add value to by pairing the systems with a Shiraz RIP. Also on the stand will be Mimaki’s JFX-200, the JV and CJV ranges, the UJF series of A3 and A2 UV-cure printers, and an Esko Kongsberg flatbed digital cutter.
Grafityp – the Tamworth-based company will have hardware from Roland and Mutoh alongside its ranges of Grafi- films. These include Graficast, Grafitack, GrafiPrint, and GrafiWrap. There are many options of sign making films within these ranges, including special effects and textures, print media and complementing laminates. Also Siser textile films and new transfer papers for inkjet and laser printing will be available.
Hybrid Services – a raft of new Mimaki wide format printers for the sign and graphics sectors will be launched. This includes the CJV150 range of printer/cutters (75 cm up to 1.6 metre widths), the JV150 solvent or dye sublimation printer and its ‘ultrafast’ sister machine, the JV300, and the top of the range CJV300 integrated printer/cutter. Also on show, having debuted last year, will be the flatbed JFX200.
IncTec/Jetrix – Sign & Digital will be the launch pad in Europe for the new Jetrix RX3200 3.2 metre UV roll printer, which IncTec says is designed on ‘rapid speeds and a high precision concept’. It comes in four or eight ink configurations (CMYK plus Light versions of each). The company sees it as taking it into the outdoor, high volume, on demand print space.
MTEX Technologies – UK firsts at Sign & Digital will be the newly launched MTEX Vision with direct disperse inks, and the MTEX PAD coating machine, together as a turnkey solution. The MTEX Vision is a 1.85 metre wide machine that offers direct printing onto fabric. It can print onto polyester, cotton and silk and will soon have a pigment ink for poly cotton and natural fibre fabrics.
Perfect Colours – making a UK debut will be the five colour UV-curable InkTec Jetrix KX6, a 2.4 x 1.2 metre flatbed which the company re-sells. On a busy stand, there will also be Durst’s Omega 2, a range of HP machines, including the Latex 360, the HP Designjet Z6800, and Epson’s SureColor F6000, which it says creates a viable entry point into dye-sublimation work.
printMAX – Roland and Mimaki dealer printMAX will have its biggest stand ever at its seventh Sign & Digital. It will be introducing its Mimaki offering for the first time, including the JFX200 flatbed printer and the high production roll-to-roll JV300. From Roland it will have the VersaCAMM VS-I series and XR-640, as well as the direct to object printer, the VersaUV LEF-20. A couple of customers will be on hand to provide ‘impartial’ advice.
Ricoh/Josero – Ricoh is to exhibit through its partner Josero at the show, following its debut in 2014. It will demonstrate the Pro L4100 latex large format printer series, a roll-to-roll system built around its own print heads, that comes in 53 and 63 inch widths. It has a seven colour configuration of CMYK with orange, green and white.
Roland DG – the company promises an ‘extraordinary range of products and applications to surprise, excite and capture the imagination’. There will be zones for print systems, print & cut, 3D printing, and personalisation, as well as a separate stand dedicated to soft signage and textile printing. Roland will also be giving away a £13,000 dye sublimation printer package to one lucky Sign & Digital attendee.
Shuttleworth – MIS supplier Shuttleworth will showing the latest developments to its integrated software. Particularly highlighted will be the Production Planning system with real-time shop floor feedback, its latest Production Management functionality, new ‘Milestones’ job tracking, the Production Scheduling module, new Mobile Stock app, and the integrated CRM package.
Signmaster – authorised Roland and Seiko dealer Signmaster says it will launch the next generation H Series Seiko ColorPainter, which has a maximum print width of 104 inches, and is ideal for a company with a high demand for roll-up/pop-up banners. A number of additional Seiko and Roland machines will be displayed, including Roland’s Versa UV range. It will be Signmaster’s biggest Sign & Digital stand.
Soyang Europe – media provider Soyang returns to Sign & Digital with an expanded range of wide format substrates for sign and graphics. It will showcase its own-brand ranges: SoFlex banner materials; SoStick One-way vision media; SoFlat banner material for frontlit, backlit and blockout applications; and the expanded SoMagic wallcoverings range.
Stanford Marsh Group Graphics (SMGG) – seller of HP Latex, Mimaki print/cut and flatbed systems, textile printers and 3D printers, SMGG will have a HP Latex 360 64-inch wide printer and a Mimaki CJV print and cut system on its stand. The Easy Rack storage system for wide format media will also be on display.
TheMagicTouch – new TMT/OKI LED desktop digital printers will be on show. These are full colour systems with a white toner option, allowing users to produce dark garments and product decoration with transfer papers. Heat presses and plotters will also be on the stand, along with MagiCut products for garment decoration.
Vivid Laminating Technologies – Vivid will be exhibiting the EM-1600 SH and EM-S1400H Sign wide format laminating systems from the Easymount range in Birmingham. The British-assembled Matrix MX-530P pneumatic system for SRA3 and B2 prints will make a Sign & Digital bow.
Your Print Specialists – the Mimaki, Epson, Canon and Epilog reseller also offers a broad range of media, along with software and laminating and cutting systems. At the NEC it will be demonstrating Mimaki’s CJV150 printer and UJF-3042 LED UV flatbed printer, and Epilog’s Laser Engraver.
Zünd – the digital cutting system manufacturer will be a guest on the stand of its distributors i-Sub Digital, Canon and CMYUK, and will showcase two variants of its G3 table and one of the S3. These, it says, will be demonstrated as part of typical wide format print workflows, with a full complement of tools and software.
