PRINTING United Expo

The Sourcing Group (TSG) embraced a more advanced level of technology integration about three years ago, when it adopted EFI MarketDirect StoreFront Web-to-print/ecommerce software to better service a new customer.

Consumers have more choices than ever. Boutique brands, regional providers, and craft products fill shelves and generate demand for packaging. Print providers eyeing this market face unique challenges, including food safety.

In more than 30 years as a signmaker, Jeffrey Chudoff, owner of FASTSIGNS of Maple Shade, N.J., has witnessed the transformation of vehicle graphics printing. He has been one of those who helped drive the evolution, and SAi Flexi was one of the enablers.

To gain a competitive market edge for their clients and provide extra creative impact to their offset and digital color print work, the Professional Printing Center of Chesapeake, Va., debuted its “TouchFoil 3D” digital print embellishment service, which utilize MGI JETvarnish 3D technology from Konica Minolta.

Direct Edge Media increased speed and throughput with its new Onset X3, a high-productivity UV flatbed printer distributed exclusively in North America by Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division.

In one month since installing the Rhin-O-Tuff Tornado Autopunch EX, AlphaGraphics #630 has experienced an immediate return on investment. Its savings include the elimination of overtime and second shift runs for large punch and bind jobs; 50% faster job turnaround time; and labor savings on 95% of jobs.

Tom Lamont is proud to be an instructor at one of the top 25 high schools in the U.S., Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, Mass. Each year, more than 1,000 students apply for 320 spots. “The locals call it Valley Tech,” says Lamont, “Parents throw big parties when their kids get in.”

Reproline, founded in 1991, was an early adopter of digital applications. By 1998, it had invested in its first digital printing machine, and two years later established a digital photo studio. In 2003, Reproline Mediateam was formed, with Erich and Andreas Achter as managing directors.

FireSprint is a trade-only sign printer, creating signs and other graphics for the design, advertising, and printing industries. The company was challenged to meet its customer’s needs — which were low prices, fast delivery, and great quality — along with providing a wide range of products.

In the past decade, digital color printing technology has improved drastically on many fronts, not the least of which is the rise of five-color print, powered in part by the introduction of high-quality, affordable five-color presses that bring more print providers into the five-color fold.