At FESPA 2018, visitors to Esko (www.esko.com) Stands 3.2-C48 and 5.2-D30 during the 15 to 18 May event in Berlin, will be invited to “Take the Fastlane” for their businesses by collecting their suitcases on the Esko stand to begin an exciting journey to improved productivity. In addition to Automation Engine QuickStart for Sign and WebCenter QuickStart for Corrugated converters, the company will be introducing a brand-new Flip-Side Camera for Kongsberg cutting tables equipped with a Feeder and Stacker. This truly unique solution saves the 20 to 30 minutes of manual set-up time typically required to ensure accurate cutting of corrugated board for in-store displays as well as other applications. When using the Kongsberg Feeder and Stacker, the camera scans the underside of the sheet to locate registration marks, barcodes containing set-up instructions, and the corner of the sheet. It is then able to cut and crease accurately by calculating where the registration marks are in reference to the corner, with limited or no operator intervention.

Dublin, Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa Group (LSE:SKG) - Europe's leading corrugated packaging company - is partnering with Silicon Valley printing technology company Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (Nasdaq:EFII) to establish an efficient, robust digital corrugated packaging production offering with the installation of an EFI™ Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED inkjet corrugated packaging press.

Twice as good: OneVision, the German manufacturer of automation software for prepress, is showing its solutions for the printing industry not only on the booth of its technology partner Canon Deutschland, but also on its own booth. The Wide Format Automation Suite in particular will be the focus of attention at the trade fair for large format printing in Berlin from 15 to 18 May 2018.

Pioneering software firm, PrintFactory, will explore ‘the power of possibility’ at FESPA Global Print Expo (Stand 1.1-C38) by demonstrating the profitability boosting potential of true and total automation for large format print businesses.

Caldera is set to join forces with a raft of leading names in the print industry to create a new production concept for the floor of FESPA 2018, which takes place in Berlin from 15 to 18 May. MS Printing Solutions, JK Group, Monti Antonio and Zund will also be involved in the new initiative. The innovative 250 m2 SportsFactory booth will demonstrate a full production workflow for the creation of customized football jerseys. Visitors to the booth, sponsored by Dover Digital Printing, will be able to experience the entire production process from the initial design of a new shirt through to printing, cutting and sewing to make it ready for delivery. The production area will be complemented by a Sports Bar, designed and decorated using digital printing technologies, and a pop-up store showcasing digitally printed football jerseys and graphics.

Onyx Graphics, Inc. has announced they will unveil their next major release exclusively at FESPA 2018. Following the successful sneak preview which impressed visitors at ISA Orlando, USA last month, visitors to the Onyx Graphics stand at FESPA (Hall 3.2, stand C51) will see the full product which promises a new colour experience with next level power and reliability making print production easy.

At FESPA Berlin, taking place from 15th-18th May in Berlin in hall 1.1-A.40, ColorGATE presents its comprehensive solution portfolio for digital print automation, color standardization along the entire process chain in the age of Industry 4.0 with Workflow, RIP and Color Management Solutions for Commercial and Industrial Printing. In cooperation with Metis Systems srl, the global leader for high quality scanners, ColorGATE presents a brand new 3D capturing and digital reproduction solution.

Esko has announced a major new release of its packaging management solution, WebCenter. WebCenter 18 streamlines and speeds up the packaging development workflow by delivering extra features that give brand owners and converters more control and visibility over their packaging preproduction specification, approval and project life cycle.

Automation enables us to realize revenue at every opportunity by streamlining process inefficiencies. A recent report from The McKinsey Global Institute recognised that at a microeconomic level, automation enables businesses to gain a competitive advantage through reductions in labor costs as well as performance improvements such as increased throughput, higher quality outputs and less downtime. As such, automated workflow technologies can take large format print (LFP) businesses to unprecedented levels of profitability.

The Bernard Group of Chanhassen, Minnesota, has achieved “painless” growth and unprecedented ROI thanks to tilia Phoenix planning and imposition software from Tilia Labs, a leading developer of planning, imposition, and automation solutions for the graphic arts industries. The installation has facilitated fast, efficient production across a diverse range of print and finishing platforms, according to The Bernard Group.

Wide-format print operations can now enjoy unrivalled brand and reputation protection thanks to a series of colour management and quality assurance enhancements made to the PrintFactory software suite. The new features, which have been introduced in the PrintFactory Version 6 update, have been driven by customer demand and the company’s desire to be the industry frontrunner in delivering fully automated workflows.

"Not only have we increased the number of jobs per day – we've also improved our profit margins." Together with our technology partner Canon Deutschland, a perfect interplay between Canon highspeed printing presses and OneVision's Wide Format Automation Suite was achieved for the joint customer. The result: a fully automated prepress workflow, optimum print data, and perfect printing results.

Belgium based high quality prepress specialist Athena Graphics adds Esko Equinox to its portfolio to complete their Advanced Prepress workflow, an innovative end-to-end solution for brand owners and packaging printers. Esko Equinox creates colour conversions for extended gamut printing and eliminates the need for spot colors, making production faster, more efficient, cost effective and reliable.

With GMG CoZone 2.2 you can easily approve content and images via the cloud. Integrated soft and hard proofing and an optimized workflow create a particularly powerful solution. Thanks to its ultra high resolution, users can now also review designs for large-format productions in detail.

Only 8% of North America’s commercial print sector currently invests in automated workflows.* With the prospect of huge productivity gains and minimal investment in resources, what arguments does the industry have for ignoring the automation revolution? And can operators be persuaded to reconsider?

New Home Media, a Lorton, Virginia-based signage printing business, will reach a new level of efficiency, productivity and quality following its significant investment in new technology from EFI, New Home Media purchased EFI™ VUTEk® LX3 Pro hybrid roll/flatbed and VUTEk 5r roll-to-roll LED inkjet superwide-format printers, along with a complete EFI Midmarket Print Suite developed specifically for superwide-format inkjet business and production workflow management.

Delegate conference passes are now available for the inaugural Gulf Print & Pack Summit. The most comprehensive event of its kind in the region for senior level print industry professionals, the two-day conference program and table-top exhibition will be held at Dubai’s Roda Al Bustan Hotel on 4-5 March 2018.

At the upcoming 2018 Color Conference, attendees will have many opportunities to learn from—and about—GMG. GMG Americas, the US-based office of GMG, headquartered in Tubingen, Germany and the leading developer and supplier of high-end colour management software solutions, announces they will be a platinum sponsor, offering two presentations about significant colour issues, as well as a presentation and literature table providing an overview of the company’s extensive colour management solutions. The Color Conference, hosted by Printing Industries America and SGIA, will be held January 13-16 at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina, San Diego.

In the sign and display graphics business, as in many other segments of the printing industry, shorter runs and reduced cycle times can stress even the most efficient wide format printing operations. By implementing a colour-managed RIP-to-roll (or RIP-to-rigid media) workflow, these operations can ensure that colour is right the first time and every time to help speed work through the shop and meet colour expectations.

X-Rite Incorporated, a global leader in color science and technology, and its subsidiary Pantone LLC, have announced a significant presence at the Color Conference 2018, hosted by Printing Industries of America, January 13 – 16, 2018 in San Diego. During the event, X-Rite thought leaders, including Adrian Fernandez, General Manager at Pantone, will share valuable insights on such topics as how to ensure specified colors can actually be achieved in production, the impact of the latest industry standards on printing outcomes, and going beyond color to managing appearance.

Installing an effective workflow does not have to be complicated. Within a week, Denver-based Blair Labeling, installed Esko Automation Engine QuickStart for Labels, and was able to reduce its manual prepress workload by more than 30%, feeding its five flexo presses and new digital press.