North Print & Pack 2013 in Harrogate throws open its doors on Tuesday May 14 for three days, with an extended focus that now, as the name suggests, includes packaging.
It is perhaps not a big stretch for organisersInforma to claim that North Print & Pack 2013 will have the event’s widest ever industry reach – there is quite a big clue in the show’s new title, which adds the Pack to what used to be called simply Northprint. This extension of the long established event demonstrates ‘how far the print sector is turning its attention to packaging as a strand in its success strategy’, according to the organisers.
Most areas of the commercial print and packaging industry will be represented at the Harrogate event, including digital print, inkjet, MIS, software,labels, mailing systems, post-press and consumables. Among the companies exhibiting are Ricoh, Konica Minolta, Xeikon, EFI, Imprint Business Systems, Tharstern, GMG Color, Crawford Technologies, Autobond, Bobst, Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), and Watkiss; on a more digital labels/packaging note, Domino, Nilpeter and Edale are also among the exhibitor list.
Visitors mix with exhibitors
There is a comprehensive free seminar programme to draw upon, collectively known as The Knowledge Centre, and with individual theatres dedicated to commercial print (Theatre 1: The New Printing Landscape – see programme on page 21), packaging (Theatre 2), and Nick Devine’s Printers Profit Zone workshops, running once again in Theatre 3. This last theatre will develop around a specific theme on each of the show’s three days, with web to print on May 14, cross media on May 15, and packaging on May 16.
Mary Buck, sales manager for North Print & Pack 2013, said: ‘Rapid changes in technology, set against a difficult economic backdrop, mean that UK printers need to be ahead of the game more than ever. It’s a difficult juggling act, for SME printers in particular, trying to manage all the day-to-day concerns of the business, satisfy customers and plan financially for major investments, all while keeping pace with new print technologies and understanding what customers expect from print in today’s multichannel world.
‘That’s a tall order, but we’ve set out to help printers quickly grasp the fundamental issues over the three days of North Print & Pack 2013. A few hours spent in The Knowledge Centre should boost printers’ confidence, and help them devise practical plans for their individual success.’
Also taking place in The Knowledge Centre for just 30 minutes (10.30 to 11 am) on the first day of North Print & Pack is a speed networking event (called S’print), again divided into commercial and packaging print, and with five minutes of time allowed to exchange details and expertise per contact. A further feature of the show is the Applications Showcase, which will be located close to the seminar theatres, encompassing wide format, cross media and packaging.
On the final day of the exhibition, as happened two years ago, will be the presentation of awards to the winners of the Proskills PrintIT! programme. Around 200 students, parents, teachers and award sponsors will gather at 2pm in Hall C on the main show floor for the ceremony – the eighth annual PrintIT! Awards.
The educational initiative is designed for students studying GCSE and A-Level Graphic Products, Product Design and Media Studies. Richard Moore, Print & Paper Industry Lead for Proskills, commented: ‘The programme really comes to life when schools twin with a local printer, because students can see the theory they’ve learnt being put into practice. There can be nowhere better to show students what a wonderful industry this is, than at an exhibition where they’ll be able to walk through a hall filled with the latest print technologies on display.’
Finishing on the floor
Visitors to North Print & Pack should not perhaps expect a blockbuster new printing press to be launched, but there are certainly some interesting developments in post-press that may catch the eye. Autobond, for example, has increased its stand space so that it can debut two new machines. These are the company’s entry level laminator with in-line digital inkjet spot UV – the Micro 52 SD TP and 52 SUV – and its ultra-short run laminator, now with a modular feeder – the Micro 52 MF.
The Micro 52 is a maximum B2 portrait thermal laminator, which was launched at drupa 2012. It is a heavy-duty commercial laminating machine, aimed at short run, multi-colour B2 and B3 markets, with quick make-ready and small footprint (2 x 1 metre). The machine can run at speeds of up to 35 metres per minute, and is fed by a continuous run Heidelberg-Stahl feeder, with a perfecting feature for two-sided lamination in one pass.
The Autobond Micro 52 SD TP laminator
The 52 SUV is Autobond’s B2 portrait inkjet spot UV machine, said to be ideal for shorter runs, and enabling the application of stunning gloss effects over matt film on short runs of business cards, book covers, and brochures. The Micro 52 MF is a manually fed 1 to 500 sheet run thermal laminator, with a maximum sheet size of 52 x 74 cm and speed of 15 metres per minute.
It has a modular design, allowing for the option of a full rising pile Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 feed head and/or an automatic sheet separator. A modular version of the Heidelberg feeder that can be added to either the Micro 52 laminator or the 52 spot UV machine, will also be on display. Watkiss is another manufacturer giving new products a debut at North Print & Pack, although only one of these is manufactured by Watkiss itself.
This is the PowerSquare P2T Trimmer, which is targeted at the colour digital print market. It connects to the firm’s PowerSquare 200 booklet maker, and trims the top and bottom edges of a booklet so that full-bleed jobs can be produced in a single pass, direct from the printer with no intermediary handling. Also on the Watkiss stand will be the first UK showing of the Mohr 66 NET guillotine – Mohr being the manufacturer of the Polar guillotines, known worldwide.
The Watkiss PowerSquare P2T Trimmer
The Mohr range includes guillotines in three different sizes (56, 66 and 80 cm), each of which is available in two different versions. All feature a wide range of programming options, easy knife changing, a machine frame with optimised stability to guarantee maximum cutting precision, and a Direct Positioning System for greatest cutting accuracy. Watkiss acquired the UK distribution rights to Polar Mohr guillotines in August 2012. Renz also says it will be showing a new guillotine from Mohr at North Print & Pack.
Additionally, Watkiss is the new UK distributor for the Tauler range of laminators, and it will show a Tauler SmartMatic automatic laminator on the stand. This is a 52 cm sheet-to-sheet thermal laminating machine that can operate at up to 20 metres per minute respectively, and is ideally suited to medium and small run applications, said Watkiss. Further new laminating technology comes from D & K Europe, though its two new laminators are refinements of current models. The Europa will now be available with an in-line embossing unit (which can be disengaged) for high end, short run digitalwork. The faster Jupiter B2 range now has a landscape option to help with issues of grain direction and laminating varnished prints.
Those looking for a new perfect binder may want to stop by the Terry Cooper Services (TCS) stand, where the CP Bourg BB3102 machine with BBL Book Loader will be premiering. This is a fully automated perfect binder aimed at short run and on demand production. A Bagel may also be in order by this point – not the bread product, but the laminators which TCS took on last year. The new Bagel B2 DigiFav will be showcased.
Perfect Bindery Solutions meanwhile will show a new layflat books binder, the Palamides Smartflat Binder, and will screen a video of the worldwide launch of the six metres per second MotionCutter laser system for intricate and personalised packaging and traditional print. IFS will be exhibiting Horizon’s latest booklet production line, the A4 landscape-capable SPF-FC200L, as well as Foliant laminators. Visitors with in-house mailing needs may wish to check out the AMS stand, where it will be launching its intelligent mailing applications, using software to ensure integrity of personalised document envelope enclosing streams.
Printers profit zone
There are not many paper companies set to exhibit at North Print & Pack, but one such with new things to show is Mondi. It will present its expanded range of digital papers, which includes the high-white and smooth DNS color print, launched last autumn, alongside Color Copy, Color Copy for HP Indigo, DNS for HP Indigo, recycled Nautilus grades and the off-white Bio Top 3.
And for digital printers thinking about a move into digital packaging, there could be an illuminating conversation to be had at the stand being shared by Screen, Scodix, Highcon, Conversion (the UK distributor for Scodix and Highcon), and Retford print company RCS, which is using a Screen Truepress JetSX B2 digital press and a Scodix B2 digital embossing press in its factory. RCS has been producing innovative digital packaging work with this technology and this will be showcased on the joint stand.
