Judge and be judged
Competitions are a bit like Marmite – you either love them or you hate them. But, as I discussed in an earlier blog, they are unique in that they give companies a great opportunity to show off their talents in front of a panel of impartial and independent people. As digital print becomes more adventurous, so its producers rightly deserve a platform on which their products can be acknowledged. And so it was, at the end of March, I found myself back in Tel Aviv, this time as a judge for HP’s Print Excellence Awards. With tracks covering...
read moreIt’s not all ink-jet
We are all pretty well conditioned to thinking that, in order for a technology to be tagged with the moniker of wide-format, then it has to be ink-jet. Its versatility is unmatched in many areas of the display arena but, nonetheless, there are still production sectors where alternative technologies might be better suited and, indeed, more economical. Digital print is not all ink-jet. In the commercial and packaging sectors there are options that have been well accepted during the transition to shorter runs and greater versatility. Generally...
read moreHP at the NEC
When does a new technology become established? Well, in the case of HP’s latex printing technologies, I’d hazard a guess that it earns that title once the rivals start knocking on the door.Ronen Zioni and I covered the competition in my interview at FESPA Digital, now on Output‘s YouTube stream, and now it’s the UK’s turn as Sign and Digital UK sees the Designjet 1.54m L26500 and 2.64m L28500 lining themselves up as top attractions at the show. I remember back at Sign and Digital 2008 spending time on the HP...
read moreSign and Digital UK
It’s that time of year again when the NEC opens its doors to the industry for Sign and Digital UK, the only UK opportunity where all that’s new is put on display along with tempting deals to lure visitors into investing. FESPA Digital has already been responsible this year for a number of product launches, including the new machines from Mutoh, Mimaki, Agfa, Epson and Fujifilm, and these are now set to make their first UK appearance. Other manufacturers, such as Roland, might not have anything new to demonstrate and for these...
read moreThe drupa effect
Why do people really visit drupa? How many are trotting out to Düsseldorf having established, first, that their pockets are deep and their financial advisers friendly? Or are most planning to attend the show to keep up with the Joneses by viewing the latest revelations? Exhibitions in the trade sector differ from their consumer equivalents. Those with the motto of ‘pile ‘em high, and sell ‘em cheap’ work well in a market-stall atmosphere. But, generally, we can’t apply the same principles at printing shows for...
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