The event showcased digital print production from web-to-print through to the finished product
On 20-22 March, at Morgana’s UK showroom in Milton Keynes, Morgana and partners including Kodak, OKI, Vpress and Antalis showcased digital print production from web-to-print through to the finished product.
Around 80 people attended, representing some 40 companies, and orders were signed at the event, according to Morgana marketing manager Wendy Baker, who commented, ‘Everybody was delighted with the results. It was certainly worthwhile.’
Vpress gave visitors the chance to be part of the process from the moment they stepped through the door, taking photos and printing them onto personalised magnets in real time. The company’s current focus is bridging the gap between the printer and the print buyer, and taking advantage of the range of capabilities of web-to-print. ‘The UK is so far ahead on [this] technology,’ commented Kelvin Bell, sales director, Vpress.
Kodak was showing off its current generation NexPress, with long sheet feeder and 5-colour capacity that prints duplex as standard, measures for registration and can be tuned by operators as necessary, with spot gloss offering impressive tactile capabilities.
Morgana was celebrating its 40th anniversary, with the full range of its products on show such as the DigiFold Pro 385 and AutoCreaser Pro 385, demonstrating creasing and folding, foiling, binding and booklet makers.
OKI was showcasing the wide format capabilities of its ColorPainter E-64s, a 1.6m roll-fed printer from the company’s graphic arts division. The three-model range – two 1.6m models with different productivity and a 2.5m model – uses Seiko Epson printheads (OKI bought the Seiko Instruments Infotech business in 2015) with variable drop size at 960dpiGreenguard Gold certified eco-solvent inks in six- or eight-colour configurations, offering five year outdoor colourfastness, and up to eight years with specific 3M substrates. A built in spectrometer allows for accurate colour profiling, and OKI claims low ink usage compared to competing machines. Business development manager Bhupinder Bharat pointed out that the E-64s was suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications and was particularly enthusiastic about applications in personalised wallpapers.
Antalis was highlighting the possibilities of its NFC connected paper, Powercoat. Simply put your phone on the chipped paper and it links through to a website. Unlike QR codes, the link is flexible and can be updated to take customers through to different portals as required. It also offers options to personalise, by taking the user to a login page. The chips can be built into a range of paper types, including labels, and can be printed on HP Indigo, dry toner digital and inkjet without damage to the chip. NFC technology is supported natively on recent Android smartphones; iPhone users will need to download a free app.
