Print Efficiently 2014 takes place at Apex Digital Graphics in Hemel Hempstead over six days in October.

In four years, Print Efficiently has secured for itself a place as one of the UK’s foremost annual technology showcases. It returns once more in 2014 at Apex Digital Graphics’ showroom facility in Hemel Hempstead, running over six days in October (7 to 9 and 21 to 23 October), bringing a full ‘concept-to-completion’ workflow that will allow visitors to explore the potential of a networked print room and see live jobs being produced.

There will be more than 40 machines at the show, covering the full extent of equipment used by the modern commercial printer.  Digital printing will of course be to the fore, with the event providing the first showroom demonstrations (by a UK dealer) of Konica Minolta’s new bizhub C1100 digital press. First seen at Ipex 2014, this colour SRA3 digital press produces ‘litho quality’ print at up to 5192 A4 pages per hour, on media weights from 55 to 350 gsm. 

There will also be wide format digital on view, through the presence of Colourbyte, which is showing Epson machines, namely a Stylus Pro 9900SS A0/44-inch 11-colour large format printer, and a SureColor SC-S70600 64-inch solvent printer.

Web to print partner Vpress and MIS partner Shuttleworth will be on hand, the former demonstrating its Coreprint solution, the latter showcasing its latest JDF/JMF capability. 

With IFS as a core partner to Print Efficiently, finishing will be high on the agenda, and the company is launching three new additions to its already comprehensive line up of Horizon finishing equipment. These are: the RD4055 Rotary Die Cutter, designed to meet the growing demand for short run die-cut products; the Horizon AF-406F, a JDF ready automated modular buckle folder; and the Horizon TBC-200L trimmer, which automatically trims the head and foot of magazines and catalogues.

Expect to see a good deal more finishing equipment – booklet production lines, perfect binders, creaser-folders, and laminators – from IFS. Additional finishing partners include Renz and PDC, with KAS Paper Systems on the mailroom side. Pressroom products from CyanX, and Ikeuchi’s AKIMist ‘E’ humidifier will also be at Print Efficiently.

On the litho printing side, Apex is presenting the first European showroom demonstrations of Ryobi’s LED-UV drying system, fitted to a state-of-the-art Ryobi 755G B2 five colour press, while the Mitsubishi VDP chemistry-free B2/B3 CTP system will be working also. 

For those that like to mix a little education in with technology scouting, a seminar programme offering ‘practical, unbiased business advice from independent speakers’ has been put together in association with the IPIA. There will be one session every day at 11.30 a.m. The programme is as follows:

 

Tuesday 7 October

Successful online advertising

John McEldborough, Inbound 360

This seminar will provide actionable tips and strategies for making the most of the new opportunities available to advertisers. It will look at various channels for online advertising including paid search, display advertising and social media advertising on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

 

Wednesday 8 October

How to avoid selling on price

Matthew Parker, Print and Procurement

Matthew Parker will share his experience of over 1400 approaches by printing companies when he was a buyer, showing how to create a sales message that engages buyers and moves the conversation away from price.

Thursday 9 October

Consumer perceptions of print

Jonathan Tame, Print Power/Two Sides

Consumers are still often misled by ‘greenwash’ and perceive print and paper as having a negative impact on the environment. Print Power/Two Sides is successfully challenging these perceptions.

 

Tuesday 21 October

Pitching to win: Developing better presentations

Julie Biddle, training consultant

This presentation will provide you with a series of useful tips help you create a presentation that will enthuse customers and stimulate them to buy from you.

 

Wednesday 22 October

Creative and responsive direct mail

Andrew Pearce, IPIA

A look at the most creative and responsive direct mail campaigns from the last 12 months to show how DM can generate cost-effective responses and how creativity can uplift response rates.

 

Thursday 23 October

The insider’s guide to successful tender responses

Clive Gotch, Consultants In Print

An overview of how to obtain new contracted business within the private and public sector, this presentation will cover where to look for contract opportunities, the different types of tenders, useful questions to ask, how to qualify opportunities, and what information is available.