Hotel Fira Palace, Barcelona, Spain
Download brochure pdf (590 KB)Ink jet printing continues to make technology advancements in product functionality, cost performance, print quality, and colour printing capabilities. Such improvements have made ink jet printing the leading digital printing technology and have enabled the development of new markets and applications. In addition to personal computer printing, applications such as wide format printing, photo quality printers, multifunction printers, digital presses, colour office printers, and industrial printing are providing market opportunities for ink jet printing technology, but in a very competitive environment.
This conference programme is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive assessment of technology and market development trends that will determine ink jet printing’s role in the overall printing marketplace. The formal sessions and informal networking sessions provide a unique, interactive environment for leading hardware, consumables, components, system integrator and user company representatives to network and develop an improved understanding of current developments and other forces that are shaping ink jet printing’s role in the evolving digital printing industry.
• Learn the latest advancements and developments in ink jet printing technologies that are advancing the product and application state-of-the-art
• Participate in interactive sessions and informal discussions relative to ink jet printing’s capabilities, features, advancements and requirements.
• Establish personal contacts with recognised leaders and innovators in ink jet printing technologies and their commercial applications
• Obtain insights into the issues critical to the continued success of ink jet printing in an increasingly competitive market environment
• Receive information on key issues influencing your company’s decisions and directions in the development, implementation and use of ink jet printing technology
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Conference Registration
2:00 p.m. Opening session
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Alvin G. Keene, President, Information Management Institute, Inc., Carrabassett Valley, Maine, USA & Director, IMI Europe, Cambridge, UK
SESSION 1:
THE EXPANDING INK JET INDUSTRY
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF INK JET
Mike Willis, Managing Director, Pivotal Resources, Cambridge, UK
• The rise of ink jet
• Evolution of the industry in 2005
• Future growth markets
- For graphics and commercial printing
- As a manufacturing process
• The components are all there, what are we waiting for?
BEHIND THE SCENES OF RECENT INK JET MANUFACTURER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Marco Boer, IT Strategies, Inc., Hanover, Massachusetts, USA
• Five year valuation history of M&A in digital printer industry
• Motivations for M&A
- Strategic versus financial
• Where are they now?
• What will the future hold for M&A in ink jet?
- Growth markets/applications
- Market access vs. technology development value
- Who will control the power?
• How do you position yourself as an ink jet ecosystem player to be more valuable?
THE CHANGING WORLD OF DIGITAL IMAGING - CAMERAS, PRINTERS & SALES CHANNELS
Steve Martinson, Global Product Manager - Photographic/Pre-press/Fine-Art, Nazdar Ltd, Stockport, UK
• UK home photo printing trends (inkjet)
• UK professional/studio photo printing
• Digital camera sales & technology changes
• Sales channels - Internet & retail outlets
• Paper revenue
• Cost savings (Continuous ink systems & bulk papers)
INK JET VERSUS LASER – WHO WINS?
Ed Crowley, Founding Partner, Photizo Group, Versailles, KY, USA
• The user perspective
- Technology pro’s and con’s – a comparison across applications
- The laser ‘bias’ factor – is it real?
- Perceptions versus reality – perception becomes reality
- The home versus business market – the ‘land grab’
• The vendor perspective
- The battle lines are drawn – vendor’s positions in ink jet versus laser
- The have’s and have not’s (who does and doesn’t have each technology)
- Why HP wants ink jet to win
• New ink jet technologies, could they change the game?
- Ricoh’s GelJet
- Other new technologies
• Technology trends
- Ink jet tries to move upstream
- Laser moves downstream
- Core technology limitations and advantages
• What the data says
- Volume trends
- Forecasts and projections
• Who wins and who loses
PRINT QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR INK-JET
Dr. Moshe Frenkel, perfecta jet Ltd, Jerusalem, Israel
• Ink Absorption
- Ink Jet paper
- Ink Jet coated media
• Substrate heating
- Enhancing ink viscosity
• Substrate modifications
- Special treatments
- Ink-substrate match
• Ink droplet ‘freezing’ via chemical reaction with substrate surface.
- HP, Epson & Kodak patents
- Aprion (now HP) water-based wide-format printer
- Perfecta Jet patents
- DigiFlex applications
DARE TO INNOVATE
Dr. Jim Taylor, Managing Director, ixPressia, Cambridge, UK
• New threats to traditional markets
- Graphic representation / Imaging markets
- New entrants; new agendas
- Downward pressure on prices
• Emergent applications need innovation
- Printed electronics
- Printed displays
- Textile market
- Biochemistry applications
- Rapid prototyping
• Software – the innovator’s secret weapon
- Consultancy versus component?
- The right route for you
• The industrial inkjet supermarket?
- What’s on the shopping list
- The right specification
- The key skills
- OEM components
7:00 p.m. Reception
Thursday October 26, 2006
9:00 a.m.
Session 2:
PRINTHEAD & PRINT ENGINE TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS
INKJET AS IT IS TODAY AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS FROM A HEAD MANUFACTURER’S PERSPECTIVE
James Gill, European Sales Director, Spectra Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
• Fujifilm’s acquisition of Dimatix and Spectra
- Dimatix organization outline
- Spectra product introductions for 2006–2007
• OEM market overview from a head manufacturer’s perspective
- Ink types
- The evolution of product specifications in the OEM market
- Future directions and needs of the OEM inkjet market
• Industrial Applications - Hurdles and Successes
- Partner attitude is everything
- Actually inks are everything
- Some examples
HIGH SPEED SINGLE-PASS UV PRINTING SYSTEM
John Corrall, Managing Director, Industrial Inkjet Ltd, Cambridge, UK
• KonicaMinolta 360/720 dpi Print-Bar
- Structure and technology
• Cationic UV ink and its curing system
• Specification of the single pass prototype
• Technical break through and challenges
• Applications
NEW WEB PRINTER WITH FIXED HEAD ARRAYS FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Yoshihiko Masakawa, Executive Officer, PS Business Division Manager, Olympus Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
• The Olympus new concept of inkjet printer engine design
- High reliability
- High performance
- Cost effective
- Compact
• Introducing prototype web printer with fixed head arrays
• Technical achievements in print engine design
- Improvements in dot placement accuracy with drum transfer
- Misfiring detection
• Opportunities and future inkjet printer development
INNOVATIONS WITH INDUSTRIAL INK JET TECHNOLOGY AND MARKET TRENDS
Mark Elsbernd, Vice President, Ricoh Printing Systems America, Simi Valley, California, USA
• Advancements in Industrial Applications
- Wide Format Products
- Flat Bed Products
- 3D Rapid Prototype
- Printable Electronics
MINIMIZING TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP IN INK JET PRINTING
Steve Liker, Business Manager, Trident Industrial Inkjet, Brookfield, Connecticut, USA
• Obvious and hidden costs of inkjet
- Printhead and consumables
- Don’t forget the cost of manpower
• Value of reducing printhead downtime
- Degassing
- Clog prevention
- Deprime prevention
- Auto maintenance
• Printhead life –
- Life determinants
- What is acceptable?
• Repairable printhead versus disposable – achieving fair printhead value
1:00 p.m. Lunch
2:30 p.m.
Session 3:
INKS – THE LIFE BLOOD OF THE INDUSTRY
THE FUTURE OF INKJET INKS - WHERE NEXT?
Peter Walshe, Business Development Manager, SunJet, Bath, UK
• How ink jet and ink have evolved together
• Current and future technology
- The return of hot melt?
- UV – Cationic versus free radical
• Evolution of partnerships
- The importance and future of ink jet partnerships
• Applications review – existing and new
- Mailing and addressing - a wide range of ink technologies
• Developments in DOD ink jet inks
COLOUR - IS IT REALLY A BLACK AND WHITE ISSUE?
Carole Noutary, Technical Manager, FujiFilm Sericol, Broadstairs, UK
• Traditional colour requirements
• Can inkjet satisfy these needs?
• What techniques are used today to optimise inkjet
• Future colour developments
INK JET INKS - MAJOR APPROACH AND DEVELOPMENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EUROPE AND JAPAN
Peter Beerten, General Manager, Toyo Ink Europe, Brussels, Belgium
• Toyo Ink - a well-kept secret in inkjet!
- Japanese different business model
- Steady expansion
• How we build our product range
- One-stop supplier of printing technologies
- Partnering in the development of ultra-printing products
- Specialty chemicals resulting from our core technologies
• Unique production approach
• Compliancy to existing industry rules
- Our attitude versus environmental regulations
- Our attitude versus patent infringement
• Unique attitude to inkjet industry
- Unique strict OEM policy
- Not linked to any printhead manufacturer
- Technology - the Magic Pentagon
DYNAMIC SURFACE TENSION FINGERPRINTS OF INK JET FORMULATIONS
Victor P. Janule, SensaDyne Instrument Division, Mesa, Arizona, USA
• Ink jet formulation requires good understanding of “wetting tension” – surface tension & surface energy
• Formulation controls
- Ink transfer, spreading & adhesion
• Differential bubble pressure technique generates unique dynamic fingerprint of any ink formulation
- Surface tension vs. surface age (print speed)
- Zero time to several minutes
• Allows characterisation of ink performance under all possible conditions before ink is used
• Use of multiple surfactants more complicated
- Fingerprint departs from ‘classical’ dynamic curve
- Different surfactants diffuse to the interface at different rates
- Therefore complex dynamic curve
- Lowest surface tension formula may not be best
ALTERNATIVE UV RADIOMETRY AND EXPOSURE VERIFICATION FOR UV INK JET PRINTING
R. W. Stowe, Director, Technical Communications, Fusion UV Systems, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
• Radiometry - a valuable tool for UV lamp performance verification
• Many printing processes present mechanical difficulties in the use of radiometer instruments;
- Ink Jet printing poses completely new problems as the printheads and lamp pass over the printed surface
- Electronic instruments will simply not pass through these systems without risk to the instrument or the machine
• Alternative methods of radiometric verification of UV exposure and process radiometry
- Key features & response of radiachromic films
- Adaptability for use in limited spaces
• Simple method using instruments
- Quantification of response of radiachromic films in terms of transmission or reflection densitometry
- Correlation to instrument radiometry
SUPPLIERS FORUM
5 minute presentations related to technology, capabilities, services, new product introductions, etc. The Supplier’s Forum is open to all registrants.
7:00 p.m. Reception
Friday October 27, 2006
9:00 a.m.
Session 4:
REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS FOR INK JET
PRINT QUALITY OF FASTJET(TM) PRINTING ON CORRUGATED BOARD
Stefan Slembrouck, Director Digital Print Solutions, Sun Chemical Digital, Niedernhausen, Germany
• FastJet single pass configuration
• Board - Ink interaction
• Methods of in-line primering
• Editing the RIP
• Assessment of print quality in comparison with conventional print
• Technologies and market requirements
• Understanding limits and opportunities for further improvement
DIGITAL VARNISH: A NOVEL INKJET APPLICATION
Mark Alexander, Group Marketing Manager, Xaar Technology, Cambridge, UK
• Background to UV coating & spot varnish
• Background to PAT Technology Systems Inc.
• Review of reasons for choosing Xaar Hybrid Side Shooter printheads
• Applications of digital coating
• Description of products
- Web & sheet fed finishing
- Machine specifications & performance
• Challenges overcome in development
• Future applications
Expanding printing capabilities with HP industrial thermal inkjet
Bruno Trouvé, EMEA Marketing & Sales Development Manager, Hewlett-Packard Specialty Printing Systems, Paris, France
• Printing technologies landscape
• The thermal inkjet principle description
• Thermal inkjet value proposition
• Technology platform review
• Ink portfolio review
• Total cost of ownership approach for industrial applications
• Applications for TIJ beyond the office
BROADENING THE HORIZONS OF UV CURE AND THERMAL INKJET FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Tracey Stephens, Sales & Marketing Director, Xennia Technology, Letchworth, UK
• The TIJ UV cure proposition
- High speed & resolution at low operating cost
• Technology developments
- UV cure ink chemistry technology
- TIJ printer platforms
• Integration challenges
- Requirements for industrial operation
- TIJ Plug and Play
- Stitching simplicity
- Managing limitations of ink chemistry with maintenance systems
- Comparison with complexity of piezo systems
- The cost of integration based on TIJ
• Market opportunities
- Key drivers , requirements and challenges
• Typical application targets
- Product decoration and packaging
Inkjet Printing of functional materials in the food industry
Fernando Varela, Mecánica de Fluidos e Ingeniería Térmica, Cemitec, Noain, Spain
• Brief outline of Cemitec’s activities
• Active packaging in the food industry
• Inkjet printing of antioxidizers and antimicrobial compounds
• Integration of inkjet technology in the production line
• Current developments and further activities
EUROPE PREMIERE OF A HIDDEN STAR – IP&I’S CUBE 260 UV
Gerd Schäfer, CEO, DigiDirect, Hamburg, Germany
• First installation in Europe
• The customer and the decision making process
• Who are the players in today’s market
• Categories of machines
- Roll to Roll
- Flatbed
- Hybrid
• Common head technology versus state-of-the-art
• Cube’s unique features
1:00 p.m. Adjournment