Akiyama
www.akiyama.com
Stand 7/C456
Akiyama, like Goss International, is part of the group of companies affiliated with Shanghai Electric. Head for hall 7 to find out the latest on its range of JPrint, eXtreme and Bestech B1 sheetfed presses.
Goss International
www.gossinternational.com
Stand 7/C456
Goss doesn't make sheetfed presses, so why is it featuring in the sheetfed section? Because its M-600 Folia press, which produces sheets at the rate of 30,000sph off the end of a 16pp web press, could well be of interest to anyone in the market for a long perfector.
Hans-Gronhi
www.printers-superstore.com
Stand 6/D542-E530
Printers curious to find out more about these highly affordable Chinese machines have the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at Ipex. On show will be a four-colour Sanxin model (Hans-Gronhi acquired Sanxin in 2008), along with four- and five-colour B3 presses from Hans-Gronhi including the GH525 recently featured in PrintWeek (see Star Product, p32). Also on display will be a two-colour press with numbering and perforating. The company has also hinted that some additional surprises could be in store too.
Heidelberg
www.heidelberg.com
Stand Hall 8
Heidelberg's presence may be diminished compared with previous Ipexs - it is taking up around half as much space as last time. Nevertheless that's almost 2,500m2 and still ranks among the biggest single exhibits at the show. The focus will be 'lean and green' production and the potential benefits customers can achieve through integrated production management. There will be a world-first on show with the premiere of its FoilStar cold-foiling module featuring indexing of the foil used to minimise waste - Heidelberg puts the potential savings at as much as €0.09 per sheet (see Star Product).
On the presses side, in one corner of the hall a 10-colour Speedmaster XL 105 with non-stop delivery will vie for attention with a Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor with high-pile delivery and a new coater. The DryStar Coating dryer, a unit aimed at applying protective coating for faster finishing, as well as all-over matt or gloss coatings, is also available on the standard SM 52 too.
In addition, Heidelberg will showcase the new UV printing variant of the SM 52 Anicolor, which is available for wet offset UV printing, waterless UV, or a combination of both. B2 specialists should head for the opposite end of Heidelberg's space where the new CleanStar air extraction unit will be in action on a Speedmaster XL 75 - up until now the system has only been available on the manufacturer's B1 machines. CleanStar is claimed to cut the levels of fine dust in the air by as much as 80%, and by reducing powder levels on the press also cuts the downtime needed for press cleaning. Adjacent to the XL is a five-colour SM 74 perfector.
There won't be a VLF press on show, instead, a console for the XL 162 will be on display so that visitors can see the scale of it. Worthy of investigation is a new sheet-transfer system that holds the sheet at each end, opening up the potential to print on lighter weight stocks, faster. Dual coating and UV configurations are also in the pipeline as Heidelberg fleshes out its VLF offering for packaging manufacturers.
KBA
www.kba-print.de
Stand 6-D560
Like many exhibitors KBA has reduced its footprint at Ipex compared with the last show. However, this time around it has opted to build a double-decker stand to make maximum use of its 777m2 of floor space. Four sheetfed presses will be on show, all of them with coaters. The waterless Genius 52 will be there in a five-colour UV with coating configuration, and KBA is expecting the press to appeal to digital printers looking for an economical way to handle the sort of run lengths that sit between digital and litho.
The 'value-engineered- Rapida 75, on public display for the first time in the UK, will be shown as a five-colour with coater along with some updates to the press technology (see Star Product, p35). For the B1 market, KBA has opted to bring two presses to demonstrate a range of options for press performance and automation: a Rapida 105 five-colour with coater, and a Rapida 106 six-colour with coater featuring the latest KBA technology for quick job changeovers and makeready times.
A new infra-red/hot-air drying technology that claims to halve energy consumption will also be launched. VariDryBLUE works by recirculating the air in the system, and is available for KBA's large-format presses with triple-delivery. It can also be retrofitted to existing machines. Under the banner of its 'champions in print' footballing theme, KBA will also focus on the benefits of workflow integration and the performance benefits of using approved consumables.
Komori
www.komori.com
Stand 6/B520
Komori will be unveiling full details of its Ipex plans a little closer to the show [see subsequent news story here], but we do know a few things of interest that will certainly feature on its stand – one being the live printing every day of the IpexDaily show newspaper, which is being written and produced by the PrintWeek team at the show.
The Daily will be printed on a Lithrone 840P at 10.15am and 1.15pm each day. It will also form part of an overall demonstration of JDF networking, as Komori will be linking all of its presses at the show with Tharstern's MIS. There will be a strong environmental aspect to the exhibit, and expect new products and technologies to be on display along with enhancements that can be retro-fitted to existing presses such as the firm's Print Quality Assurance systems. It's also the first UK showing for the highly automated 18,000sph Lithrone LSX640 B1 press launched at Drupa.
Manroland
www.manroland.com
Stand 17/F921
Limited details were available on what Manroland will be taking to Birmingham as the firm was poised to reveal details of its Ipex plans immediately after this article had gone to press. The firm is also part of the PrintCity alliance which has developed a theme for the show of 'Print: lean, green and seen'. This will involve a range of activities highlighting business growth and profitability opportunities for printers.
And as well as gleaming new bits of equipment, Manroland's Ipex exhibit will also celebrate some of its vintage models, as the show marks the culmination of its Printing Classics campaign to find the oldest working Roland press in the UK from its community of Rekord, Favorit, Parva, Ultra and 800 users.
Mitsubishi
www.mhi-mpp.com/e/
Stand 20/B630
Details of Mitsubishi's plans for the show were unavailable at the time of writing, but as well as promoting its range of presses to Ipex's international visitors the company will no doubt be using the show as an opportunity to elaborate on its future plans for the UK market following the demise of Litho Supplies/GAE, which left it without a UK distributor. The Mitsubishi Diamond V3000 B1 press will be on show.
Presstek
www.presstek.com
Stand 7-C480
A worldwide premiere for direct imaging specialist Presstek as it launches its move into the B2 arena with the new 75DI (see Star Product, p31). As well as a larger format, the new press will also feature a traditional tower configuration enabling users to specify additional units for fifth or sixth colours, as well as coating. Also on show for the first time in Europe is the 52DI-AC four-colour B3 machine with coater - the same model recently installed at Potts Printers in Northumberland. The third model completing Presstek's press line-up at the event is a 34DI-XI.
Ryobi/Apex Digital Graphics
www.apexdigital.co.uk
Stand 6/C560
Compact presses that pack a big punch will be the focus on the stand of Apex Digital Graphics, Ryobi's UK distributor. The show marks the official launch for the five-colour version of Ryobi's 780 B2 press, which, like its B3 stable-mate, has a small footprint. The 785E's press control system is built into the delivery end of the machine, resulting in a space requirement that Apex claims is around 40% less than a typical B2 press setup.
Two versions are available, the S has a maximum print area of 765x545mm, the larger XL goes up to 765x580mm, making it possible to upgrade to B2 production without needing larger premises. The B3 525GE, which was launched onto the UK market at the end of last year, will also be on show, and Apex reports that five colours is now its most popular configuration for customers looking at B3 and B2 machines. The show also marks a European first, as the innovative LED-UV curing system seen at Drupa on a B3 press is now available across Ryobi's range and will be shown on an 8-up press for the first time (see Star Product, p28). It will be fitted to a five-colour Ryobi 920 SRA1 machine, and it's also the first time this model has been exhibited in the UK.
Apex will be highlighting the potential savings in both space and consumables in adopting A1, compared to the higher outlay required for B1. It cites a savings figure of £20,000 per year on plates alone, so expect to see a few visitors with their calculators out at the show putting these sums to the test.
Sakurai
www.sakurai-gs.co.jp
Stand 6/C510
Head for Sakurai's booth to see what the company describes as a "well-dressed" five-colour Oliver 566SD A2 press. Also on show will be a Maestro rotary screen printing press with Natgraph UV drying line. Plans are afoot to produce a job involving eight or nine different screen effects on one sheet including special varnishes and glitter.
Shinohara
www3.shinohara.com
Stand 20/B620
Japanese manufacturer Shinohara is currently without a UK distribution partner, interested parties can expect to learn about its future plans at the show.
