Digital Output - July 2008 - (Page 17)

Accelerating Growth Excelsus Solutions, LLC of Rochester, NY, was built on the strength of flatbed printing technology. A 25-year veteran of the printing business, company founder Mark Laniak saw the potential of flatbed technology to provide digital printing services to his offset clients. “I traveled the country seeing how it was implemented in other shops and I saw an opportunity,” he says. Three years ago, Laniak left his job with an offset firm and launched Excelsus with a single flatbed—the Nur Macroprinter Tempo. In the intervening years, the business grew to accommodate three flatbeds—a pair of Tempos and the HP Scitex TJ8500, which the company installed this past April, in addition to a Durst Lambda. Excelsus also expanded from a 7,000 square foot facility to 25,000 square feet. “We’re already running out of space,” he adds. “It’s been an exciting three years.” Coming from offset, Laniak says he was surprised that his clients accepted the quality of the images coming off a flatbed. “For the price, convenience, and timing they were more willing to accept the four color process.” Excelsus provides graphics on both a wholesale and retail basis. The lion’s share of the company’s output is from its flatbeds, and the rigid material also commands the highest margin. “We do a fair amount of flexible roll-to-roll, but it’s very competitive.” Flatbed printing is not for the faint of heart, Laniak says. “It’s a big investment. You’re definitely printing on more expensive substrates and your production liability is greater.” The company paired its flatbed with a Zünd cutter, complemented by Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering’s (MGE) i-cut system. “You absolutely need to invest in a cutter, I’m surprised by how many people don’t take finishing into consideration,” says Laniak. One niche that Laniak is quite enthusiastic about is lenticular, another demanding output that nonetheless has caught print buyers’ attention. “People are sometimes caught by the price of it, but once they see it, there’s a wow factor.” To date, lenticuExcelsus Solutions, LLC is home to three flatbeds—a pair of Nur Macroprinter Tempos and an HP Scitex TJ8500 shown here. lar represents about 30 percent of the company’s output, while direct to corrugated and other rigid materials for trade show and POP displays comprise the remainder. Because a flatbed prints on anything, “there’s not a tried and true process” for many of the materials, he says. In the firm’s early stages, “we found ourselves doing research and development with just a few hours to spare,” Laniak recalls. “It’s not a big desktop printer, you need to be willing to put in the time and do what it takes.” Despite the growing array of entry level flatbeds on the market, Laniak is confident that speed improvements will help firms like his retain a competitive advantage. “Realistically, I think this can stay high end for two to five years. What you’ll see is it eating into screenprinting,” he predicts. Where Flatbeds Fit The variety of printable substrates compatible with flatbeds opens up a diversity of markets, including, but not limited to, retail POP, indoor/outdoor advertising, trade and exhibit displays, banners, and billboards. The retail value of UV flatbed output is expected to reach $4.06 billion worldwide this year out of a total market for wide format graphics measured at $38.3 billion. While still a niche in the larger market, UV flatbeds will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 23 percent to settle at $9.02 billion in 2012—outpacing the growth in aqueous and solvent technologies due to its relative immaturity. For sign shops, the retail value of output is only one side of the equation. Cost savings is another. “Our flatbed simplified our production process,” says Ed Yang, owner, Fast Signs based in Sunnyvale, CA. Yang purchased the Océ Arizona 250 GT flatbed printer to, “give my customers better value.” He expected to save time and money on mounting and laminating, but was surprised by just how liberating the entire experience was. “Just placing the order, doing the receiving, and checking invoices is time consuming for a small business owner,” he says. “With the flatbed, you have the ink and the substrate, and you’re in business.” The flatbed market truly runs the gamut with entry level models starting in the $50,000 and under range. Most major wide and grand format printer manufacturers support the flatbed market with families of products capable of meeting a variety of end user needs. The following is a review of the most recent introductions to this rapidly growing market. Agfa introduced new UV flatbeds at drupa. The new :Anapurna XLS employs the company’s Universal Print Head (UPH) technology for 1,440 dpi resolution. It features borderless and dual board printing and accepts Agfa’s :Anapurna XLS ink. The company also debuted two iterations of the :Anapurna M flatbed with the Mv—which adds a spot of flood varnish capability, and the M4f, which is a rigid-only model with a roll-to-roll option. DuPont ramped up the speed on its Cromaprint 22UV with the new 22UV speed enhanced (se). The 22UVse clocks in at 47 percent faster than the original Cromaprint 22UV, the company shares. It contains most of the specifications of the original model, including a five zone vacuum bed. The system handles a very wide variety of media up to two inches thick. It uses DuPont Cromaprint UV ink in four liter containers. Existing Cromaprint 22UV customers can upgrade their unit. Durst Image Technology US, LLC attracts entry level customers with its Rho 600 Pictor, the newest edition to the Rho family. It uses the company’s Quadro Array printhead for delivering droplets between 30 and 55 picoliters on substrates up to 1.58 inches thick. It accepts the Rho ink flexible and ink rigid sets. The NanoJet UV True Flatbed digital printer prints on rigid substrates up to two inches thick and with a print area up to four by eight feet wide. www.digitaloutput.net EFI/VUTEk announced four and six color updates to the VUTEk QS2000 and VUTEk QS3200 flatbeds July 2008 Digital Output 17 http://www.digitaloutput.net http://www.digitaloutput.net

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Digital Output - July 2008

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