Scodix SENSE S Series Digital Press
No matter what side of the fence you sit on the digital or litho debate, print has to compete with the internet bombarding people with images and impressions. To counter this, a group of graphic arts industry veterans founded Scodix in 2007, to take the printed sheet and to digitally add dimension, depth, and special effects to create a lasting impression.
By adding depth and texture to print, studies have proven that the memory of the brand or event can be retained up to seven times better than without. Employing another sense creates a whole new focus and life to the printed sheet.
Scodix can add from one to 250 microns of depth in any area of the sheet, in one pass and in perfect register due to X and Y cameras it has as standard. Scodix was first to market with a digital enhancement press at Ipex 2010, and at drupa 2012 distributed a show record of 250,000 samples. The raised print has been a success and is continuing to grow at an exponential rate. Within a few years of its launch, Scodix had built a solid business platform and was shipping machines worldwide. It then became a question of what else it could do with the patented polymer process.
Further R&D was committed to take the base idea of adding a thick clear polymer to digitise other post-press labour intensive techniques. The company introduced the world’s first Digital Glittering system – the Scodix Rainbow station. Working with partners, Scodix also created a way of printing brilliant metallic from just standard CMYK ink. Furthermore, by adding texture into the metallic, the effect can accurately simulate foiling. With no tools, Scodix can emboss, metallize, foil and spot UV in just one pass, adding serious value to the producer and the end user. The icing on the cake is that, being digital, it is very cost effective for short runs.
The image shown highlights just how powerful the Scodix Metallic can be. With just one CMYK print Scodix can produce seven metallic colours with foil and embossing, giving the box a luxury touch. Best of all is the cost: it is a matter of pence per box.
Early adopters of the technology found that its success led to them needing speed to handle more jobs. To answer this, Scodix launched the Ultra version of its popular S75 press. The Ultra now produces more than 1200 B2 high build, embossed sheets per hour. Its entry into the world was announced at Print 13 in Chicago and within a few days Scodix had racked up multiple sales.
In recent times, representation of the Scodix technology has been taken on by Conversion UK, whose managing director Mark Nixon commented: ‘An increasing number of UK printing companies are turning to Scodix and realising the massive potential of this digital enhancement technology. Being able to print metallic effects from just CMYK is impressive enough, but the extra textures that can also be added cost effectively result in printed pieces that have serious impact and serious value.’
