Message from our CEO, Guy Gecht

At the start of what is certain to be an exciting new year and on behalf of everyone at EFI, thank you for your continued business and partnership. The entire EFI team is focused on bringing to market consistently state-of-the-art technology that exceeds your expectations and helps drive your business success in 2011 and beyond.

Our R&D investment supports the EFI team’s passion, which is delivering industry-leading technology innovation that helps you capitalize on the most promising growth areas of our industry (short run digital printing for documents, signage and packaging), including award-winning software that automates your business processes. Last year we reinvested 28% of our 2009 revenue in R&D, particularly significant considering that on average, software and Internet companies invest 11.4 % of their sales in R&D, and the average for hardware companies is 7.1%*. We will continue to emphasize R&D in 2011 because we believe innovation determines our industry’s future.

There are certainly myriad opportunities to see EFI technology innovation throughout the year, but we pull out all the stops for Connect, our annual users’ conference, and we hope to see you there. To be held April 26-29, 2011, at the Wynn Las Vegas, our 12th annual Connect will include more than 100 seminars and training sessions, and the opportunity to thoroughly explore our entire product line, with the talented EFI team members who create it right there to answer your questions.

We feel privileged to work with you and will continue to earn your loyalty and trust every day. Again, thank you for choosing EFI, and we wish you a happy, prosperous New Year. Enjoy this edition of MyVUTEk.

*Bloomberg Businessweek, July 26, 2010

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VUTEk GS5000r Output Now Covered as Component under 3M MCS Warranty

On October 6th, it was announced that the EFI® VUTEk® GS5000r will be the first five-metre, roll-to-roll UV printer that has its output covered by the coveted 3M™ MCS™ Warranty when you use EFI™ VUTEk® GSr 3M™ Premium Inks and print on 3M™ media. This coverage allows you to print the same applications you provide today, plus an extended range of applications offered by 3M's materials, including long-term signage and fleet graphics, as well as reflective applications. The new ink is currently scheduled for commercial release during Q1 2011.

The MCS™ Warranty covers defects in finished graphics' appearance for up to four years outdoors, including discoloration, fading, cracking, peeling, and other defects that make the graphics unsuitable for their intended purpose and up to five years for vehicle graphics. These inks also come with an extended shelf life of 15 months. The new inks match the high standards of EFI's current ink set in terms of adhesion and colour gamut, and are highly flexible with noticeably lower odour than other UV inks. For more information about EFI inks and the VUTEk GS5000r, visit http://w3.efi.com/vutek/Products/GS5000r.

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2-layer Colour Bumps and 2-layer Spot Colour Correction

Creating a bump plate is a useful method for adding density and “pop”, especially to spot colours. The MultiLayer capability can emulate this traditional technique digitally. This is a more selective method than printing in double-strike mode: any part of the image can be enhanced as needed (see illustration 1 & 1a).

When using a bump plate, however, sometimes the designated spot colour can become too dark or shift in hue. When this happens, print out a 2-layer Pantone chart.

If the spot colour is a Pantone designated colour, print the section of the chart that is on either side (see illustration 2). If the spot colour is a custom colour break, print the section of the chart that most closely matches the intended colour.

Once it is printed, you may compare the chart to the original spot colour and/or supplied sample. Once you’ve selected the best match, you can go back into the file and change the original spot colour. The new Pantone colour may be a lighter shade that looks completely different than the original colour designated in the file, but it will print correctly as a 2-layer file.

If a match is very close but the colour still requires slight tweaking—for example, a green that needs 20% more yellow—you may alter the spot colour by 10%, as the correction will double once the file is printed in 2-layer mode.

Create a Frosted Glass Look on Clear Material—No White Needed!

Window film applications are becoming more popular, especially in office environments. Creating a shape or area that appears “frosted” for privacy, simply use a CMYK colour break—5% C, 3% M, 3% Y, 2% K. This colour break produces a neutral pale grey that will print light enough to appear almost clear in colour, yet the print itself is translucent.

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Japan's Interlink Chooses the VUTEk QS3250r

Interlink views innovative technology as a critical part of its business strategy. Established in 1996 as ad agency, the company used only digital prints before the technology was trendy after purchasing its first electrostatic printer. Today Interlink specialises in creation, processing and construction of large-format and high-volume print products.

In 2010, Interlink wanted to replace its Mutoh 2.5 solvent printer. At PAGE 2010, Go Takenaga, son of the company’s president, stopped by the EFI® booth to check out its printers and became impressed with the high print quality of the VUTEk QS2000 on taupaulin material. Since the VUTEk® QS3250r was a better fit for Interlink’s business needs, it became a contender in the search for Interlink’s new printer.

The competition to win Interlink’s business was fierce. The VUTEk QS3250r was competing with printers that were offered to Interlink for less than 10 million yen (approx. 90.000 Euro) – a 1/4 of the price of VUTEk QS3250r.

Hajime Nishimura, EFI’s sales manager, visited Interlink several times to discuss the high return on investment and quick payoff of the VUTEk QS3250r in terms of business value (e.g., increased profits, productivity, efficiency and lower overhead costs) and technical superiority – faster speed, higher print quality and better colour consistency just to name a few things.

In the end, the VUTEk QS3250r beat out the competitive offerings due to the QS3250r’s superior print quality, which is critical to Interlink’s business, along with the ability to create profiles and meet short turnaround times at competitive costs.

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Being the Best
Large-format printer finds competitive advantage

"We don't want to be one of the biggest, we want to be one of the best." This aptly sums up the corporate philosophy of Thomas Ellmer, Managing Partner of Ellmer GmbH in Bad Salzuflen, Germany. The investment in an EFI Vutek GS5000r roll-to-roll UV printer marks an important step in the company's drive to translate the basic idea of high-quality digital printing into practice.

Mr. Ellmer, has the EFI Vutek GS5000r UV system lived up to your expectations?

Thomas Ellmer: As someone with considerable printing experience, I instantly recognised the enormous potential of the EFI UV system. Together with EFI's engineers, we have succeeded in leveraging this potential optimally in terms of quality, productivity and reliability in daily use.

What convinced you to purchase the Vutek GS5000r?

Thomas Ellmer: I always said that we had no intention of purchasing a UV system until the unpleasant odours had been reduced to a reasonably acceptable level and the durability of the ink significantly improved. That's why we decided to take a look around at Fespa 2009. It was there that we discovered two manufacturers – EFI and Durst – who have optimised these aspects of their systems. EFI also impressed us with the printer's manifold capabilities and 1000 dpi resolution, and it was this that ultimately tipped the scales in its favour.

Is 1000 dpi resolution really so important for large-format printing?

Thomas Ellmer: We obviously don't use that kind of resolution every time – in many cases, 600 dpi is perfectly adequate. At the same time, it's not our philosophy to be the biggest but to be one of the best, which is why the Vutek GS 5000r fits in optimally with the rest of our equipment. The system provides us with access to new business segments where the pressure of competition is not as high.

We don't go all out to produce high volumes with the Vutek UV printer regardless; our aim is to set ourselves apart from rival firms with specialised products. The Vutek GS5000r puts us right at the top of the quality tree if that's what the job demands. This is vital, in my opinion, because there's nothing worse than lagging behind the market with inferior quality. If we let that happen, price is the only argument we have left.

Could you give us an example of a typical application?

Thomas Ellmer: We use the printer to produce personalised, two inch-wide labels with a size 6 font, for instance. These jobs are printed on a special film with 1000 dpi resolution. I'm basically interested in any application that gets away from the mainstream.

Your company makes use of various digital printing technologies. What position does the Vutek UV system occupy in this context?

Thomas Ellmer: Every printer and every ink has its pros and cons. Nevertheless, the complete range of applications we produce today on the Vutek GS5000r would have been impossible, or at best only achievable with severe restrictions on a solvent printer. Latex also has its limitations because it heats up the materials excessively. We chose the UV system because it has enabled us to broaden our portfolio considerably. The maximum media width of 198 inches also opens up new opportunities into the high-end segment.

We worked with solvent printers for nine years and finally did away with them at the beginning of 2010 because we were unable to perceive any potential for further quality improvements.

How would you rate EFI's UV inks?

Thomas Ellmer: The ink lives up to its promise. I didn't expect it to be stretchable like a solvent ink. It all depends on what you plan to use the Vutek UV printer for. In all other respects, the UV ink is far superior to solvent types. The first time we printed on tarpaulin, the reaction of our postpress operators was "What on earth is this? The inks don't rub off any more!"

Another big advantage is that the UV inks are odourless. In particular, several materials with a reputation for developing an unpleasant odour in conjunction with UV inks hardly smell at all with the Vutek. This is especially important for indoor applications.

And what about the productivity and efficiency of the 198-inch model?

Thomas Ellmer: We produce virtually no waste at all today and the printer runs absolutely stably, even with problematic artwork covering the full surface. If the materials requested by the customer are only available in widths of sixty inches, we either produce on a single roll at reduced performance or run the equipment at full speed and print in parallel on two or three rolls. This strategy works very well in practice.

A certain volume is essential, of course, to make a printer worthwhile. Although we couldn't guarantee that at first, we were confident we'd be able to achieve it.

Which service package did you opt for to go with the Vutek GS5000r?

Thomas Ellmer: When the warranty runs out, we'll definitely sign a support contract. Having said that, Vutek systems have a relatively straightforward and robust design so we'll be able to carry out the majority of maintenance ourselves. That's an immense benefit for us because it means we're independent and gives us maximum uptime. With other manufacturers this isn't always the case: the technology is often extremely complex and without a service engineer there's not much we can do.

How would like to see the Vutek GS5000r improved even further?

Thomas Ellmer: It's hard to believe, but from today's point of view there really isn't anything at all. The system delivers the quality, productivity and reliability we need and that we were assured by EFI.

Ellmer Digital: Print/Medien – facts and figures

Location: Bad Salzuflen, Germany
Employees: 60
Production floor space: 3000 m2
Business fields: Digital printing in all large-format segments, computer-to-plate, data services, digital data processing
Internet: www.ellmer.de

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Demand for High Volume, High Quality On the Rise
France’s DAG Meets the Challenge

Based in Lille, France, DAG are not newcomers to the printing trade. They made a name for themselves as early as the mid-seventies, as a leading colour prepress house in the Lille area. They attracted an impressive customer list of mail order companies, large textile manufacturers and printers, all involved in the production of catalogues.

Understanding very early on that the revolution in printing technology would sharply impact the survival of the dedicated prepress shop, DAG's managing director Dominique Goossens gradually re-oriented the company's activities to large format digital printing. DAG made their first inroads into this new field in 1995 with a strategic move from colour prepress work to their new activities from 2000 onwards. Today, with 16 employees and over 3 million euros in annual revenue, DAG are one of Lille's leading large-format digital printing operations.

Customers include large retail chains in the automobile, fashion and food industries, as well as trade show organisers and interior decoration specialists. These companies turn to DAG for posters, POS material, shop decoration, signage and outdoor displays, which they produce on a variety of substrates, soft or rigid.

Market Savvy
Responding to market shifts is a skill that Goossens continues to hone. With an eye on the recent growth in large-format printing, DAG recently boosted their production arsenal with the addition of a VUTEk GS2000 printer. Now DAG are positioned to meet the increasing demand for high-volume, high-quality, large-format digital printing.

"An increasing number of our customers are now looking into large-format digital printing as a viable alternative to silk-screen printing for volume series", says Goossens.

DAG customers benefit from fast and reliable production of proofs, shorter make-ready times, reduced media wastage, higher printing quality and virtually no colour shift over the course of a job or in the case of a reprint. "Customers appreciate the colour reliability and consistency that comes with digital printing”, says Goossens. “Imagine an in-shop display made of three parts. If one of these parts gets damaged, for some reason or other, our customer may confidently ask for a reprint of this specific part with no risk of even a slight colour shift. Using traditional printing techniques, it would have been wiser to reprint the entire set, to make sure colour was consistent across all three boards".

If these advantages have long been appreciated for short to medium runs, they are now increasingly considered for longer runs. "Until now, we were in a position to undertake production runs of 400 to 800 square metres”, adds Goossens. But the numbers are growing. We currently have an order from one of our retail customers for 5000 m2 of PVC printing, with a two-week deadline. This type of order is clearly on the rise".

Technology Savvy
To better address such volumes, DAG upgraded its production capacities. Early 2010, Goossens started investigating large-format printers with an increased throughput. He chose the VUTEk GS2000. "We needed a machine that could double the throughput, in comparison to our current units, with no compromise on printing quality,” he says. The GS2000 offers the same print width as our existing VUTEk units, but prints twice as fast as the QS2000, itself twice as fast as the PV200. Over a period of five years, we have seen productivity multiply by four. The icing on the cake is the GS2000's print quality, which is even higher than on our existing units".

In addition to the VUTEk PV200, which Goosens purchased in 2005 DAG own a VUTEk QS2000, purchased in 2008. Both units print on a width of two metres, using UV inks.

Fast and Easy
DAG's new GS2000 printer was the first installation in France. Installation and setup took one week. DAG's operators were trained in the second week and the GS2000 started its trials the same week along with a number of production jobs.

"By week three, we were producing jobs at nominal speed, with a colour quality totally within the range of what our most demanding customers expect from us", says Goossens. “The rollout went smoothly, with no unexpected surprises. With now two months of production behind us, we are fully satisfied with our choice of the GS2000.

“With a real-life production speed of over 140 square metres per hour, the GS2000 delivers on its promise of doubling the output of previous models. Also, the level of quality delivered by the machine is outstanding and now allows us to fully leverage our colour expertise, accumulated over our 35 years of colour work. This helps us stand out from the competition quite remarkably".

With volume printing still on the rise, Goossens is now considering an investment in an additional unit to replace the company's earlier printers. "We expect to add another GS2000 or, possibly, a 3.2-metre wide GS3200 to our production line-up that, together with our current GS2000 and QS2000, will boost our production capacity to 350 square metres per hour".

Asked about his ongoing association with EFI, Goossens says he appreciates the company's drive toward innovation. "Beyond product specifications, selecting a supplier so strongly committed to constantly taking the technology further was an important aspect of our decision to go with VUTEk equipment. Large format printing is an area where technology is moving fast and where breakthrough innovations are still to be expected. Partnering with a forward-thinking supplier is important, as upgrading from one machine to another within one same product range is faster and a lot more effective than switching to another supplier. With EFI, however, we know we are on the right track".

Challenge:
“We currently have an order from one of our retail customers for 5000 m2 of PVC printing, with a two-week deadline. This type of order is clearly on the rise... We needed a machine that could double the throughput".

Solution:
“The GS2000 offers the same print width as our existing VUTEk units, but prints twice as fast as the QS2000...The icing on the cake is the GS2000's print quality, which is even higher than on our existing units".

Results:
“With a real-life production speed of over 140 square metres per hour, the GS2000 delivers on its promise...Also, the level of quality delivered by the machine is outstanding...This helps us stand out from the competition quite remarkably".

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Green Ambition.
EFI's Drive toward Sustainability.

The printing industry as a whole has had to grapple with environmental regulations for many generations. The fact that the industry has used so many potential “pollutants” is the exact reason why there are so many areas for improvement, and in some cases the ability to eliminate pollutants altogether. We’ve already come a long way. There is more we can do.

The first steps to sustainability are recycling, using resources that are renewable and avoiding pollutants. One of the easiest ways to keep unhealthy components out of the environment is to use fewer of them.

Saving Ink

Consider screen printing, for example. Just going from analogue to digital printing reduces ink waste significantly. Cleaning screens and changing ink colours wastes lots of ink, plus it requires using cleaning fluids. With digital printing you use only the ink needed for various substrates. The only ink that is ever wasted is what you lose when you need to purge ink nozzles. And that depends on the technology. Solvent inks need more, UV inks need very little, while Latex inks needs to have the heads wiped by a cleaning tissue every two to four sweeps.

EFI use “bag in a box” ink containers to prevent any contact with uncured UV ink. And our UV printers let you transfer all residual inks in the next ink bag to prevent waste. Nearly all our printers are closed so they connect with an extraction unit and a carbon filter, which eliminates pollution.

Controlling Ink

Going from solvent to UV inks means going from using 80% solvent components to .08%. Latex contains 20 to 30% solvent and can be absorbed by the media but may also be released into the atmosphere.

Latex inks also require s lot of power to dry the inks. The power consumption with UV inks is considerably lower and the fact that you can print on recyclable media is another plus.

Most fully cured UV inks are odourless; they are used for interior decoration all over the globe.

Hardware considerations

EFI printers are made out of metal, one of the most recyclable materials. They are painted with powder coat paints which use a near zero VOC process. In fact, recycling companies can disassemble the printers and recover 90%, by weight, of the printers’ components. And the more durable the hardware, the less impact it has on the environment. VUTEk printers are typically used for more than 10 years.

As LED technology improves and can keep pace with EFI’s high-speed printers, it will be the next area for improvement. It has the potential to further reduce energy consumption. Stay tuned.

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Angel Award for EFI Rastek

Editors of Image Reports Recognise Rastek T1000 among 2010 Most Innovative Introductions

In the recently announced Angel Awards, once again EFI has been represented, this time with an accolade for its Rastek T1000 true flatbed wide-format printer. Our entry-level and mid-range Rastek machines bring to the market a reliable family of platforms suitable for photographic quality display and highly accurate industrial applications.

Launched in October 2010, the Rastek T1000 provides users with high-quality output options using CMYK + white, with its specially formulated inks designed to provide maximum adhesion on rigid and flexible materials. The machine can print direct to a broad range of substrates, including acrylics, aluminium composites, cards and corrugateds, glass, wood and styrene as well as flexible materials such as paper, self-adhesive PVC and polyester based films.

This printer features a static, three-zoned vacuum table with a sturdy, moving gantry for ultimate stability across its 1.32 x 2.5 m bed. Able to handle materials up to 181.44 kg in weight, even difficult substrates can be held down consistently to avoid ink scuffing often found on irregular surfaces where there is insufficient vacuum power.

Ease of set up and high levels of accuracy and versatility were among the reasons the Rastek T1000 gained an Angel Award. In the highly competitive area for entry-level UV-curable flatbed printers, this machine also scored for the strength of its zoned vacuum areas, making it simple to work with single and multiple smaller sheets efficiently. Its two shuttered mercury arc UV lamps feature variable power settings for efficient curing of all surfaces and materials.

The Rastek T1000 has a maximum throughput speed of 44.5 square m/hour, with a choice of print modes for optimum productivity. At 600 x 300 and 600 x 600 dpi, the machine uses four levels of greyscale whilst, at 1200 x 900 dpi, it operates in binary mode for most efficient and high quality reproduction. The incorporation of white ink means that jobs can be over-printed, under-printed or have spot colour applied without compromising the overall throughput speed.

EFI Rastek’s flatbed printers are available through our extensive dealer network. Please contact us at adriana.puccio@efi.com for details.

“Having thoroughly inspected both the build quality and the high standards of output from the EFI Rastek T1000 when it was launched at FESPA Munich, I had no hesitation in recommending this sturdy yet modestly priced printer for an Angel Award,” comments Sophie Matthews-Paul, independent analyst and technology consultant at Image Reports. “It has enormous potential for display and industrial ink-jet production for businesses of all sizes who need the versatility offered by a UV-curable true flat-bed unit.”

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EFI MyVUTEk Editorial

Dominique Goossens, managing director of DAG told us that one of the reasons he purchased a VUTEk was EFI’s commitment to innovation. EFI is “strongly committed to constantly taking the technology further”, he said (see full story on page ?). Woven into that commitment is understanding the trends and shifts in growth markets. One area, for example, that we’ve been watching is the textile industry. According to a study by research firm, I.T. Strategies digital textile printing will nearly double by 2014 (see full story on page?). This opens the door to new opportunities. Textile printing offers the potential of a higher profit margin with a smaller environmental footprint.

Speaking of new markets, check out large-format printer Ellmer GmbH. They have found the solution for reaching out to untapped markets and setting the company apart from the competition (see full story on page?).

Like you, we are working hard to make “sustainability” work hand-in-hand with innovation. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, we’ve found ways of actually increasing quality with “green” initiatives (see full story on page?).

We’re pleased to see that our customers are innovative and forward-thinking. This is the reason they are thriving in a still sluggish economy. We’re proud to be part of that success. We’d love to hear about your unusual applications—whether it involves decorating a bridge or entering the textile market. Contact me with your story at adriana.puccio@efi.com.

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Emerging Print Markets

Europe to Lead the World in Digital Textile Printing

I.T. Strategies is a market research and consulting company that specialises in emerging digital print markets. A recent study they conducted reveals steady growth in digital textile printing, with Europe leading the world as the top producer.

The digital textile market is highly segmented between signage and non-signage applications, says I.T. Strategies. The signage sector is the largest and will continue to grow as shops see that printing on fabric offers them a high-margin, differentiated product with the additional advantage of being able to be marketed as a green solution.

Dye sublimation (transfer and direct) printing seems to be the preferred technology. That’s because with dye sub you can print on polyester fabrics without the need of washing required with reactive dyes.

The study reports that in 2009 textile printers worldwide produced 54,70 million m² of digitally printed textiles and this is expected to nearly double (90,95 million m²) by 2014, with Europe responsible for more than half of all digital textile production.

Interestingly, I.T. Strategies also says that China is showing an increasing interest in non-signage applications. This sparks a consideration that the two largest digital textile producers, Europe and North America, should target this sector. The researcher sees a possible shift from mass production to micro production (an on-demand model) for non-signage applications. This gives smaller, more nimble printers an edge in this market.

Printing companies, in particular sign producers, should consider investing in this market so they can take advantage of its growth opportunities.

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Save The Date for Connect 2011!

Connect Conference to Focus on Automation, Integration, and Revenue Generation.

EFI™ Connect 2011 offers our VUTEk users a first-class menu of business development opportunities:

• Demonstrations of the new VUTEk and Rastek products
• Value of Networking and the opportunity to learn from EFI and other industry experts
• Hands-on opportunities in the solution centre for premium-margin applications
• Peer-to-Peer discussions and sharing of ideas and best practices

Join us at the Wynn, Las Vegas, April 26th – 29th, 2011. Take advantage of the Super Early Bird pricing by registering now at www.efi.com/Connect.

Early Bird Registration Now Open

 

Join industry leaders as they test-drive the latest EFI software and digital printers while sharing ideas, insights, and best practices at Connect 2011, April 26-29, 2011, in Las Vegas. From industry-focused keynote sessions to over 100 learning opportunities, Connect is a must for advancing the process and profit potential of your business. Early-bird registration is now open at www.efi.com/Connect.

Enter the "Win with EFI" Connect 2011 Video Contest!

Why do top printing businesses win with EFI? You tell us!

Turn on your camera and let us know how your company uses or plans to use EFI products to help its business succeed! The winning video will be shown at EFI’s 12th Annual Connect Users’ Conference in Las Vegas. The winning company will receive conference registration for one attendee, three nights’ hotel accommodations at the Wynn Hotel during the conference for that attendee, and $5,000 in credit towards the future purchase of EFI products!*

* Restrictions apply. See official rules at www.efi.com/Connect/videocontest. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. A purchase of any kind will not increase your chances of winning.

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