Score one for the home team!

MBA makes 5m spend to 'steal a march' in transpromo market @ printweek.com

Darryl Danielli, PrintWeek, 13 February 2009

MBA has defied the recession with a 5m-plus investment in continuous-feed full-colour digital kit, which centres around two 900ppm twin-engined Xerox X980s, the first in the UK."
. . .
Prior to the installation of the Xerox/Hunkeler lines the firm was producing 350m images annually and, according to Aintaoui, the new presses could potentially add over 2m A4 images per day. The 40m long lines also offer 'personalised' perforation for the production of coupons, vouchers, subs forms and other response mechanisms.

Aintaoui added that the firm, which already runs a number of Xerox iGen3s and a raft of web and sheetfed offset kit, looked at toner and inkjet technologies before opting for the flash-fusing Xerox kit.

"Inkjet is very fast, in some cases faster, but we have opted for toner technology for two reasons: firstly that it enables us to print with ease on matt coated stock without pre-treating; and secondly we believe it is more environmentally friendly."

Samsung: Still another player in MFP

read @ Multifunctional Copier Network:

Samsung Launches Fastest Ever A4 Digital Multi-function Printer:

"The MultiXpress CLX-8380ND produces vivid, professional prints at lightning-fast speeds. In fact, this MFP prints colour A4 pages as quickly as black-and-white – at speeds up to 38 pages-per-minute (PPM), ensuring that users do not have to wait for their prints. Equipped with laser technology, the MFP’s high-resolution prints (1,200 by 1,200 dpi effective output) are crisp and clear – ideal for printing important business documents. The MultiXpress CLX-8380ND provides for the entire range of business document needs by also supporting colour scanning and faxing. The MFP comes equipped with network-ready features to ensure that multiple people across a company’s network can simultaneously share the MFPs, saving businesses the cost of buying multiple machines, while the compact design and small footprint conserves valuable office space."

First inkjet newspaper printing operation goes live

from Beyond-Print -

"(February 12, 2009 – G. Alexander) London’s Daily Mail is now being printed in the US using inkjet technology. Alphagraphics is handling the production work, using a Screen Truepress Jet520 and Hunkeler finishing equipment.

The system is installed in northern New Jersey and serves the New York metropolitan area. It can produce hundreds of copies of a 24-page paper each hour. Initially, there will be excess capacity but, according to an article at Printweek.com, additional titles will be printed on the machine by the end of March."

Some of that "excess capacity" could be used to produce 24 page textPapers. Perhaps textPapers is a way to not use "textbooks" and also refer to newsPapers? It might be plausible that a newsPaper could use it's excess capacity to supply the content and make the sale.

Another oops! Memjet views on the economic downturn and opportunity

read and links @ Jim Lyons Observations;.

. . of an interview with Kim Beswick, Vice President of Memjet Home and Office, titled "Memjet Technology Steps Out Into the Spotlight".

I recommend the entire piece, but was particularly intrigued by Beswick's comments about the impact of today's negative economic environment, including some ideas that it might not be such a bad thing, at least for Memjet.

". . . . as customers explore new creative ways to save money or to increase the efficiency of their businesses, there is a natural tendency to explore new brands, new technologies, and new ways of achieving value. The last analyst call I was on predicted, for instance, that a greater number of customers would be considering and purchasing cheaper non-OEM supplies options."

As the price competition continues to heat up in toner, that's going to make life much more complicated. The principle that disruption leads to new opportunities apply to us, as much as it does to the K-12 Textbook Guild.

Oops! Someone should get in front of this one.

Jim Lyons Observations: Australian toner fears are back:

"So far the general and business press is slow to pick up on the story, with just a few mentions as of mid-afternoon US Time. ABC Australia's excellent 'Laser printer debate heats up' recaps the history of the story and has a current comment from HP (NYSE HPQ) press agency Burson-Marsteller, pointing out HP's interest in research the danger of ultra-fine particles (UFPs) in the office but also expressing skepticism towards a direct correlation between toner and paper and UFPs.

I have not gained access to the entire article as of yet, but here's an introductory quote from the abstract:

While current research has demonstrated that the operation of some laser printers results in emission of high concentrations of ultrafine particles, fundamental gaps in knowledge in relation to the emissions still remain. In particular, there have been no answers provided to questions such as the following: (1) What is the composition of the particles? (2) What are their formation mechanisms? (3) Why are some printers high emitters, while others are low? Considering the widespread use of printers and human exposure to these particles, understanding the process of particle formation is of critical importance. This study, using state-of-the-art instrumental methods, has addressed these three points."

Municipal Code Corporation Improves Productivity with Oce Products

@Digital Print 360:

"Municipal Code Corporation Improves Productivity with Oce Products
By Editor • on February 9, 2009

Oce, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, announced today that Municipal Code Corporation, one of the nation’s leading legal codification and government publishers, has installed three cutsheet Oce VarioPrint 6160 duplex printing systems, along with Oce PRISMAprepare™ document preparation software to upgrade its digital printing infrastructure in Tallahassee, Florida."

It's so close. I'm betting that the Oce folks in Florida already know the connection that has to be made to prototype textLetters. Plus Forida has already approved an open source reading curriculum. All that's left is to manage the business rules.

CDigital Invests In Xeikon Technology :: Digital Print 360

That's an infrastructure industrial application that is very neat. Go Xeikon! I always thought that banners for hallways in high schools to go along with the new textbooks would be very cool.

@Digital Print 360:

"CDigital was incorporated in 2001 to purchase and operate the first United States based all digital system to be used to decorate optical media - CD’s and DVD’s. The company is housed in a 35,000 square foot facility in Baltimore and, today, is the leader in providing digital print, as well as other production services, to the optical media industry.

In mid 2005, CDigital added significant technical expertise to its staff and began
adapting its process, trade-named “Grafixx”, for the general decoration industry.

In early 2006, CDigital acquired the patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,656,306) on its process and began providing Grafixx digital heat transfers to a broad range of productdecorating clients. Today, Grafixx decoration can be found on over 130 products.

Grafixx is a high quality, multicolor, and environmentally safe decorating technology
that is uniquely economical for short run projects. For more information, please visit
www.grafixx.com"

HP Expands Sustainability in On-Demand Printing with HP Indigo :: Digital Print 360

@ Digital Print 360: Feburary 11

"PALO ALTO, Calif. - HP today announced it has expanded its environmental sustainability efforts with HP Indigo digital presses to meet increased demand for solutions designed to reduce waste while enhancing productivity and profitability.

Building on HP’s commitment to customer success, the HP Graphics Solutions Business is now offering several tools and programs, including:

* a revised HP Indigo media guide that includes the growing number of recycled-content papers and papers that have earned third-party certification for sustainability initiatives
* a new take-back and recycling program for user-replaceable binary ink developer (BID) parts."

Sounds good. The paper guide should also be available on a website somewhere, with a search ability by grade, price and availibility.

Now the take-back and recycling program, that is very cool.

Kevin Joyce to Lead Digital Printing Sales and Marketing for Kodak

@ Digital Print 360: "By Editor • on February 13, 2009

Rochester, N.Y., — With a focus on delivering the best continuum of digital print solutions for customers’ current and future success, Kodak has appointed Kevin Joyce as Worldwide Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the new Digital Printing Solutions group. Joyce, who also serves as a Vice President of Eastman Kodak Company, most recently was CMO of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group."

Mr Joyce, you should consider the textbook business. A nice flow of work to your commercial print partners. Maybe customize each book with the students facebook page. Or maybe the Ofoto site. Maybe it's called MyScience Textbook. The kids will keep it for 11th grade, so they will remember some of what they learned in the 10th.

Now there's a textbook that could be a Kodak Moment.

Xerox introduces new technology - The Advocate

@ The Advocate:
"

Xerox introduces EverFlat Paper

Stamford-based Xerox Corp. has introduced EverFlat Paper, allowing photo and other books to lay completely flat, making them more appealing to consumers, company officials said.

Xerox said it also unveiled four other photo paper products that make it easy for digital print providers, minilabs and retail outlets to deliver nontraditional photo items such as school photos, little league baseball cards and restaurant table-top displays."

So how cool would it be for one of our providers to sell team cards for all the kids on the high school soccer team, with each kids picture on the back, a statement about what they want to be doing 10 years from today.