After all these years, I finally attended a GraphExpo show! If you're a hardware geek like me, then you owe it to yourself to get to next years Graph Expo event. The information I collected will help me when compete and help me win new deals.
Away we go with my Top Fav Devices from Graph Expo:
Epson ColorWorks C7500G Color Label Printer
The Epson ColorWorks C7500G is an inkjet color label printer. Capable of printing @1200x600 dpi, uses a Wausatch RIP, and can print multiple full color labels with variable data up to 11.8" per second. The printer houses 4 color ink cartridges (Back, Cyan, Yellow and Magenta), comes in at 37 lbs, and has a foot print of 15.4x23.5x15.5 (WxDxH). Quality was great, highest quality on IJ (inkjet) label substrates, and is capable of using these media types: Roll-fed or fan-fold, die cut; single layer or adhesive labels on liner, plain paper, fine paper, PET Polyester) film, synthetic. What I liked best was the MSRP of $8,500. A 60 month lease would be about $170 per month and probably very easy to cost justify for small retail company.
Xerox Direct to Object Printer
For me, the most fascinating device at the show was the Xerox Object Color Inkjet Printer. I'm thinking it was a few months ago that I saw the first press release for this system, didn't think that much of it, since it's not in my day to day wheelhouse of products.
Walking up to the Xerox Object Printer made me think about a stand up tanning bed, in fact I commented that maybe in the future we'll see a walkup print booth for us humans. A print booth that will print temporary tattoo's that is. Ya, just a far out idea!
I was given a demonstration of the Xerox Object printer that was using Xerox Xmpie on the front end for variable data, and then inserting a blank aluminum beverage container in the printer. I thought the printer was a little slow at first, however after about 45 seconds we had printed a full color image on the beverage container! I was told that you could print onto almost any 3D object and Xerox would custom make you a template to hold the 3D object while the print heads did their magic. Cost of this over sized tanning bed will set you back one hundred and fifty grand. That's $3,000 on a lease and that means that you need to print a heck of a lot of 3D objects in order to make that lease payment.
Intec CP 3000
Years ago, many manufacturers would offer up an A3 Color Laser printer with the option of a Fiery for those accounts that needed color matching. Today, at least in the US market, I'm not sure if there is anything else but the Intec CP3000 (sister model is CP3000PRO which adds copy, fax, scan). Thus the reason I find the Intec CP3000 most interesting.
If you ask me, it looks like a Fuji-Xerox engine, however I was not able to clarify that. Here's what I liked:
- 1200x1200 dpi
- speed up to 50 pages per minute
- the ability to print 11x25.5 through the by-pass (which translates to a tri-fold brochure), folding not an option that size substrate
- print up to 400gsm substrate
- Fiery standard
Riso Concept Roll Printer
When I saw it, I was like what!! But there is was a concept roll printer from Riso.
Reading that it was a concept printer I was not expecting the system to be functional, however the system was quietly producing color ink prints on to a huge roll of paper.
When speaking to a few of the Riso reps, they were also surprised to see the system and did not have much information to share. The concept roll printer was using the same type of ink that is used in the current ComColor devices. There was no mention of what was driving the data to the printer and most of the Japanese Engineers were of no help because I was not fluent in Japanese and they had a hard time communicating in English. Not sure if this will ever come to market, but it tells me that Riso too sees the writing on the wall and the need to diversify.
Konica Minolta C71 Label Press
Can you tell? That I've have a love affair for Color Label Presses! Sizzle, sizzle and more sizzle, labels are not going away, in fact most reps that I spoke to agreed that the label presses and industrial print devices is growing!
The KonicaMinolta BizHub C71 Label Press impressed me because of the wide variety of substrates that the system is capable of printing onto. The system will print at 62 feet per minute in full color and also offer up 1200x1200 native DPI. I asked what the native meant, I got the explanation, however I missed writing it down. You can google it if needed.
The print engine is located in the middle, off to the left is the un-winder for the substrate and then off to the right is the re-winder for the substrate. I watched the system print perfect high color labels and did not see any issues with the un-winder or re-winder winding off-center.
The system has an MSRP of $299K, and I was told there was also and excel costing program that would measure the pixels of the image and give the end user a cost per label. I've never seen this type of program in excel. I'm hoping I did not mis-quote of mis-understand the rep.
Consumables are not included with a maintenance agreement. Label substrates are available from many different suppliers. I'm sure other manufacturers are going to follow KM's lead and bring their own devices to market in short order.
I enjoyed the show, for me it was like a kid in a candy store, thinking I could sell that, I could sell this, OMG I wish I could sell it ALL!
=Good Selling=-
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