Investment has proven to be a big game changer.
Cloud 9, Managing Director, Peter Carroll with Roland SP-540i It has been just over a year since Dublin based, Cloud 9 Graphic Solutions, a traditional lithograph printer, made the decision to enter the wide format digital printing market. In November 2011, Cloud 9, purchased a Roland SP-540i from Sign+Digital and in the words of Peter Carroll, Owner and Managing Director at Cloud 9, the decision has been a complete ‘game changer’ for the business.
Specialising in short format print and graphic design, Cloud 9, like many small format printing companies, found they were outsourcing almost all of their wide format print work. With a lack of control over deadlines and print quality Peter identified the opportunity to improve his company’s customer offering by investing in a large format digital printer. When it came time to choosing which machine to invest in, Peter commented: “We looked at a lot of machines before deciding on the Roland SP-540i. One thing that stood out to me about the Roland technology was that it didn’t matter what size the project you were printing was, whether it be a poster, roll up or large banner, the quality of the print never varied and you could be guaranteed a consistent print every time.”
Peter added: “I was also very impressed by the Roland VersaWorks and its ease of use as well as the print and cut functionality of the SP-540i which I knew would be a big time saver for our production team.”
Sign+Digital market the Roland VersaCAMM SP-540i as an easy-to-use machine, producing superior print quality on a wide variety of applications. Available in both 30”and 54”models, it comes with a low initial investment and is sold as the ideal entry level model for graphics professionals and commercial printers.
Since installing the Roland SP-540i Cloud 9 has gone from strength to strength. With the recruitment of four new staff in the last year including a new Graphic Designer and Print Finisher, the company has almost doubled in size. Peter explained: “We have now moved our whole production unit in-house and are actually now selling more large format print than outsourced litho. In the past we had busy periods and quiet times like every business but now we find we are constantly busy throughout the year with ongoing projects.”
Sign+Digital logo Cloud 9 Graphic Solutions purchased the Roland SP-540i from Sign+Digital who are a Roland Authorised Dealer for all Roland large format digital printing equipment in Ireland. Their Creative Centre in Tallaght, Dublin has a purpose built Roland showroom where you can view a full demonstration on all Roland large format printers. The company also supply a wide range of sign supplies, digital media, tools and display products to the sign making and digital printing trade.
“When we were deciding where to purchase the SP-540i our decision didn’t come down to price, for us it was all about service and making sure we had the back up support that we needed,” said Peter. “We also had to be confident that our wide format printed materials matched with the quality of all our short format print, for Cloud 9 quality and consistency is everything. With Sign+Digital I always knew the back up support would be there. In a busy production unit you need to know you have the proper technical support and I haven’t been disappointed once. I have been so satisfied that I know the next machine we invest in will only be a Roland. “
Contact Sign+Digital
Tel: 00353 (0)1 427 5240
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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BEE SIGNS On The Move.
BEE SIGNS movingDublin based signage company BEE SIGNS has announced that it is moving into new premises effective from the 7th January 2013.
The company which was established by Martin Byrne and his wife Marie in 1991 celebrated its 21st anniversary last year and today is run by their daughter Darina Byrne Gaynor.
“In 2001 my father won ‘Tallaght Person of the Year’ in the business category,” said Darina. “In 2010 I won the same award, so something must have brushed off from father to daughter. We are all very excited about the move.”
BEE SIGNS are moving from Unit 8, Greenhills Business Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24 to the following address:
Unit 4 Cookstown Square,
Second Avenue,
Cookstown Industrial Estate,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24
The company’s phone numbers will remain the same:
Tel: 00353 (0) 1 4597221 and 00353 (0) 1 4623497
Mob - (Darina): 00353 (0) 86 2590266
Mob - (Dave):00353 (0) 85 8493057.
Darina has asked for all their customers and suppliers to bear with them as they make this transfer and to use mobiles if the landlines are unanswered.
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Award winning, motion controlled,
display technology for creating unique content.
Dublin based HORIZON are a leading producer of Outdoor Branding, Point of Sale, Retail and Digital solutions. They have been providing innovative print and digital solutions to clients for over 27 years and work with some of the worlds leading FMCG brands, Retailers and Advertising agencies.
In the summer of 2012, HORIZON announced its acquisition of the exclusive license for "Play Displays", an interactive, motion controlled technology. It has recently been launched and showcased to their client base and the technology is gaining a lot of attention in recent weeks.
This next generation interactive technology is controlled by the motions of a person's body. The acquisition means that they can offer clients unique opportunities for engaging digital displays, which can be combined with Point of Sale units, as well as being perfect for larger Retail and Outdoor environments.
Play displays can be designed as a motion controlled display, however they can also be designed to incorporate Augmented Reality elements. The technology itself is cost effective and versatile for creating unique content.
Users can also now download 2 new Play Displays iPhone Apps on the App Store - Bird Up! and SkyHunt - both available from Omni Motion Technology Games.
HORIZON Director Tony Gillen advised “Play Displays has already attracted the attention of a number of global FMCG and retail brands, who see it a as an excellent opportunity for showcasing their brand in an innovative way, while engaging consumers and creating an element of fun around their brand. We are delighted with the response so far and excited about the future possibilities Play Displays will bring”.
For more information or a free demo contact
HORIZON @ 00353 (0) 1 868 1257,
email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." mce_' + path + '\'' + prefix + ':' + addy36297 + '\'>'+addy_text36297+'<\/a>'; //--> or
visit www.horizonhouse.ie
Press release by Horizon Innovative Digital & Print Solutions
Back to back win
puts them on top in the
large format digital print category.
A delighted Tara Wilson-Black & Philip A. Black with their sixth Irish Print Award Dublin based Select Digital Print scooped a ‘back to back’ award at last nights Irish Print Awards 2012 which were held in the Clyde Court Hotel, Dublin 4 (29th November). The company was defending its 2011 win in the Large Format Digital Print Category and through to form, delivered the goods on the night.
This annual event is the print industry’s accolade to the best of Irish Print across all sectors and is highly coveted by those companies that win.
Tara Wilson-Black, Director of Select Digital Print said:
“Select Digital Print was awarded their sixth Irish Print Award last night at the Irish Print Awards ceremony which honours the best of Ireland's print industry. The company won the Large Format Digital Print category after receiving 4 nominations for the 2012 Awards.
“We are delighted to have won again and would like to thank the Reprocentre for sponsoring this year’s award for Large Format Digital Print. The digital print categories are expanding yearly with more print companies investing in digital print equipment in direct response to the downturn in the economy. Each year the entries for digital print are increasing and the fact that we continue to bring home an award in this sector reinforces the continuity of the quality of digital print we produce year after year.”
Black added;
“Select Digital has become the one to beat in the large format digital print category. When I set up the company almost 10 years ago my goal was not to be the biggest digital print house in Ireland, it was simply to be the best. It's safe to say Select Digital is now one of the leading digital print houses in Ireland producing quality digital print year after year after year. We would like to thank our customers and suppliers for their continued support over the last 10 years, without this we would not be able to produce the high quality of digital print that we output daily.”
Although all sections of print and design were honoured at the award ceremony the following will be of particular interest to our readers.
The winning entry Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Nominated Category Finalists
1/Commercial Vehicle Wraps
Indigo Signs, DP Imaging, Print & Display
Winner - DP Imaging
2/Large Format Digital Print
Select Digital Print, Horizon Innovative Digital & Print Solutions, The Printed Image, Smurfit Kappa Display
Winner - Select Digital Print
3/Digital Print
Select Digital Print, Plus Print, Horizon Innovative Digital & Print Solutions, The Printed Image
Winner - Plus Print
4/ Carton Packaging
Dakota Packaging, Anglo Printers, The Printed Image
Winner - The Printed Image
The other categories at the awards ceremony were –
- Sheetfed Colour Offset Printing,
- National Newspapers,
- Regional Newspapers,
- Magazines,
- Annual Reports,
- Books,
- Screen Printing,
- Self Adhesive Labels,
- Print Finishing,
- Graphic Design of Printed Material,
- Flexographic Print,
- Small Printer.
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Ricoh Equitrac office print management and
cost recovery solution provided by Kopikat.
L R Fiona Harrison sales manager Kopikat and Dave Curran IT manager ITBKopikat, a leading Irish provider of business and print equipment, has announced that it has implemented a new print system for the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB), based in Dublin. The company said that the new solution will see the third level college employ a campus-wide cashless print management system which is both sustainable and cost saving.
The institute currently has 3,000 full time students, 90 academic staff, and 85 administration and management staff. It is the most recent institute of technology in Ireland with a strong focus on innovation and technological advancement throughout its campus.
ITB had a concern about holding cash on campus and so it tendered for an integrated software solution to manage its print system and replace the old printing cards, with a new web-based payment system using smart card technology. Kopikat won the tender and provided a Ricoh Equitrac office print management and cost recovery solution. This is designed to facilitate the use of smart cards for the student population, in addition to helping the college meet sustainability objectives and reduce the costs associated with printing.
Students can now log-on to an online payment service where they can top up their smart cards using a credit or debit card.
This allows students to simply charge their print jobs to the smart card, removing the need for any cash to be held by the college for printing.
The new solution also offers a wide-ranging suite of reporting and audit tools which are helping the IT department to have greater visibility over all photocopies and print activities at the college.
One of the features of the new print system is the "Follow You" mechanism which allows students and academic staff to securely print documents at the device closest to them. Security was at the heart of the decision making process to implement this system, not only to remove cash from the college but also to ensure the confidentiality of documents. Now files cannot be released for printing until the individual swipes their card at a printer. ITB maintains that for academic staff this is particularly beneficial because it ensures the privacy of material such as exam papers or student grades.
The new solution is also helping the college reduce its carbon footprint, through reduced volumes of unwanted or unclaimed prints.
Documents that are abandoned in the print queue are automatically deleted after a certain amount of time. Quotas are also in place for colour copying and a focus on duplex only print settings further supports the college's sustainability goals which has reduced the colleges carbon footprint
A further point which ITB highlighted was that by using the Ricoh Equitrac system, students are also saving money as they are more aware of their printing usage and costs. Instead of printing entire documents, they are now only printing the sections they need which have an additional knock on effect on environmental waste. A bonus to students has been the elimination of long queues at printers during exam time.
According to Dave Curran, IT manager at IT Blanchardstown, "Since implementing the new system, we have seen immediate benefits through reduced cost of printing and a more streamlined management of our entire print network. Kopikat has proven itself to be an incredible partner and has provided us with excellent service.
"We are so pleased with the success of the new cashless print system that we are looking to extend the smart cards to include other services such estate management, the canteen, shop, and potentially time and attendance."
Fiona Harrison, sales manager, Kopikat said, "Third level students print an enormous amount of material for their classes and this can lead to very high costs for the students and the college. The new solution in place at ITB is having a significant effect on their bottom line and reducing the costs of the entire printing process. It is also saving valuable time for students, lecturers and staff, particularly during busy periods such as exams."
Institute of Technology Blanchardstown
For more information visit: www.kopikat.ie
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The scale of this event and the amount of print media was enormous.
Large Format V-Board Signage RDS Dublin based Select Digital Print Group was chosen to be the one main digital print media supplier for the Dublin Web Summit 2012, Europe's largest tech conference which was held in the RDS, Dublin this year.
Over 200 international speakers and 4,000 plus attendees from 50+ countries descended on the city for the event on October 17 and 18th.
The Web Summit attracted CEO’s from many multi-billion euro businesses and 300 start-up companies from all over the world exhibited in the Start-up Village. A significant number of international investors and media also descended on the capital for this spectacular occasion which was broadcast nationally and globally as well as via bloggers and social media.
Select Digital is an Irish-owned and operated printing house specialising in the design and printing of quality printed media at an ethical cost. It was established in 2003 by experienced print and design professional Tara Wilson-Black and to-day is recognised as one of Irelands leading digital print companies.
Philip A. Black, production director at Select Digital talked about the Dublin Web Summit and what role his company played in the proceedings.
“We were recommended to one of the main graphic designers for the Web Summit, Martin McKenna, who was responsible for sourcing all the print,” explained Black. “The event was started in 2010 as a small affair but this year it had been scaled up massively. The show is designed to exhibit and promote all kinds of online media from social media such as Facebook, Twitter to hundreds of companies who have developed different online ideas and businesses to showcase their services. This year in particular there was a large emphasis on start-up companies apart from well established businesses.
Black explained that the work his company produced did not just cover the two day event itself but all the peripheral activities such as luncheons and dinners in places like The Royal Hospital Kilmainham and Christchurch.
“Select Digital produced everything from business cards, menu’s, programmes for the events, signage for various different venues around the city which were hosting breakfast seminars and evening entertainment, “he said. “For the main show itself we produced logo boards for 300 start-up exibitors, the main directional signage which was all around the RDS even down to ID badges for everyone attending the summit.”
Other work involved banners, branding and directional signage throughout the exhibition itself.
“We had to produce 16- 4m x 1.5m double sided hanging banners which were hung around the different halls,” continued Black. “There were also 40 - 3m x 1.5m hanging signs as well which were printed on 6.5 millimetre Corriboard and hung from balconies, railings and other vantage points. The Dublin Web Summit logo was printed onto 3 millimetre Foamex in various different sizes and then die-cut into different shapes and placed around the halls. Outside there was three main 2.4 m2 V signs running along the front of the RDS as well as a nine meter long ‘welcome’ sign produced on Corriboard which was placed above the main entrance.”
All the large format work was produced on the company’s digital presses which comprise of a Mimaki JV3 and JV33 and a HP Designjet 5500PS.The small format element of the work was printed on a Konica Minolta Develop + 7000 digital press and a Xerox DocuColor 242.
“For the period of time that Select Digital produced all the work in, it would be one of the biggest jobs that we have produced to date directly for the end user,” added Black. “We sat down and worked out that the amount of print media which was run through our machines, measured end to end, was just over eight kilometres. One further point is that in the 9 years this company has been in existence we have never missed a deadline, no matter how big a job is. And that’s saying something!”
To get some idea of the project please go to:
Or to see a video on the project please go to https://vimeo.com/52321112
 DWS Main Board |  Hall and Attendees |
 Small format media cards |  Large Format 4m doubled sided banner |
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Exhibitors pleased with footfall
and interest shown by visitors.
SOYANG Europe CURVORAMA curved bannerThe Wide Format Ireland exhibition held at the at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel, Dublin on October 24th and 25th appears from all accounts to have been a success for the exhibiting companies.
DPNlive paid a short visit and spoke to a number of them about the products they had on display.
DBC Group
There was a range of products on the DBC Group’s stand but one or two in particular caught our eye.
Colm Paul from DBC introduced Tony Hills from Uchida their partner in the new Aerocut, auto card cutter and creaser for digital print finishing who gave us a brief overview of the product.
“The idea of the Aerocut is that it is designed to turn small format digital print jobs into finished work using just one process,” explained Hills. “Typically the type of work would be triangular menu holders, perfect binding covers with creases, business cards, any sort of finished job that ordinarily might have to go through three or four different processes can now go through just one machine.”
Hills pointed out that the Aerocut featured a ‘cut register mark detection sensor ‘which detects the position of the printed image on each sheet. This allows the machine to adjust itself automatically and produce a perfect cut every time.
The Aerocut also has an easy to use touch screen control panel with 78 pre-programmed job sizes. The operator can enter different cutting, slitting and creasing dimensions and there are 50 additional memories available to store customised jobs which have special settings and which may be needed at a later date.
With a maximum paper weight of up to 400 gsm the Aerocut can handle most small format printed work. Hills went on to say; “The machine is ideal for copy shops, in-plants, corporate where they have big print engines in-house, In fact anybody who is doing small format digital printing. It’s now the fastest selling all in one finishing machine on the market to-day.
Colm Paul from DBC with the new Aerocut auto card cutter and creaser for digital print finishing from UchidaAs recently appointed distributors for Epson, DBC also had the latest Epson 64” SC30600 Solvent based printer on show with Ultra-Chrome GS2 solvent-based ink technology. DPNlive spoke with Epson’s Irish account manager Daniel Rafferty about its latest offering.
“The machine is capable of printing 29 m2/hr in draft mode which is ideal for banner work, “he said. “However what we are doing with this machine is bringing the well known quality, speed and the Epson name to outdoor printing. The other important thing about the SC30600 is that it’s eco friendly, so there’s no smell, no ventilation required which means that it can be installed in an office environment or showroom and the operator will not suffer any after effects.”
Rafferty also confirmed that Epson S range of machines is marketed in Ireland through specialist resellers.
“They are distributed by The DBC Group; Infinity2 in Limerick, Roscommon based Irish Print Support, and Denis D Evans in Belfast,” explained Rafferty. “There are 3 models, the 30600, 50600 and 70600.”
L-R Chris Davies EPSON UK and Daniel Rafferty EPSON Ireland
Our next port of call was to Soyang Europe where we met Mark Masiter, MD of the company.
“Soyang Europe was founded seven years ago and it’s a partnership with Soyang Technologies based in China,” said Mashiter. “We are manufacturers of material for the digital market which we produce out in Asia for large and grand format printing, anything up to five metre wide. The grades are PVC banner, PVC backlit, PVC blockout, mesh banner, textiles, roll up banner stand material, all produced to European standards, including the flame retardant certifications required here. Soyang is a top end quality manufacturer and its products reflect this.”
Mashiter went on to point out that the majority of substrates can be printed eco-solvent, solvent, UV and latex and its polyester materials these be printed sublimitation as well.
Mark Mashiter, MD SOYANG Europe ltd“We deal directly with the printers in Ireland,” continued Mashiter. “In our view the market has matured and certainly evolved and the printers are coming as close to source as they possibly can to get the best deals and the best value for money. In the UK we stock about 1.1 million m2 of product to service the UK, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia and Germany. We hold stock in Blanchardstown in Dublin to service the local big printers around the city and we replenish that stock every week from Manchester.
When DPNlive asked Mashiter to identify his companies strengths in the marketplace he replied:
“Our main product range sellers certainly are the high quality banner grades,” he answered. “The billboard market, mesh building wrap and now internal graphics for display stands, that type of thing. Also some of the new material coming along is certainly towards soft signage sublimation which is gathering quite a lot of momentum now.”
The next company which we spoke to, Hybrid Services Ireland had one of the largest stands at the show. We managed to get a chance to talk to Duncan Jefferies, marketing manager about what his company had on display.
Mimaki JV33-160 1.6m wide outdoor durable printer“We brought a range of Mimaki kit with us from Dye Sublimation to outdoor durable solvent printers, printing cutters and a printing plotter as well, “ he said. “There are also samples of latex and UV inks as well on the stand so visitors can see pretty much all of Mimaki’s product range. What seems to have caught the eye of a lot of people is our CJV30 print & cut series because it offers print & cut in one small footprint, its fast, very high quality and we have been printing onto all sorts of different materials with it like wallpaper,banner,Soyang SoFlat and of course self adhesive vinyl as well. What appealed to visitors about this machine is that you have a number of ink options. There is the eco-solvent ink which includes a white and a metallic, ideal for producing high quality decals for example. The most popular however is Mimaki’s SS21 ink which is very durable, really very bright and vibrant. It’s fast, quick drying and adheres to a very broad range of products as well so a creative signmaker or graphics company could do a lot with it. The CJV30 series comes in four sizes, 60cm, 100cm, 130cm and 160cm.”
The Solent team demonstrating the latest technology in desktop banner welding with the Miller Weldmaster T3 hemming a banner at 10 meters a minuteJefferies went on to say that Hybrid was encouraged with the amount of people looking at new technologies.
“Commercial printers in particular who have come and looked at what they could do with products like the CJV30 now realise that they can produce their own POP Ups instead of buying them in or how they could start to offer short runs of labels to people. The savings are huge by doing this work in-house instead of purchasing it from a third part More importantly it means that these printers are in control in terms of quality and lead time. People are not just looking at saving their business these days but how to grow it.”
Jefferies finished off by saying that Hybrid was committed to the Irish market with staff employed here and a strong reseller network in both the Republic and the North of Ireland.
As usual business comes first and we were unable to grab a few minutes with Martin Morrissey from Solent Sewing & welding solutions who were demonstrating machines for welding fabrics, heatsealing for PVC,PE and other thermoplastics. He was busy with prospective customers, which was pleasing to see.
The final company we missed out on, i-Sub, again were busy, this time demonstrating the Mimaki TPC-1000, a 1m wide dye sub printer / cutter to potential clients. They are fully authorised to supply and support solutions from leading manufacturers including Mimaki.
WFI Exhibition Hall
Photos by Bob Tallent - The Synergy Group
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New entity set up to help folding carton businesses move from analogue to digital
L-R Nigel Tracey International Sales Director Highcon_ Mark Nixon Managing Director Conversion-UK and Chris Baker VP Sales and Business Development HighconIsrael based Highcon and Conversion-UK Ltd have announced that they have signed an agreement for Conversion-UK to market, sell, support and service the HighconTM Euclid digital cutting and creasing solution in the UK and Ireland. This new agreement follows a steady pattern of similar deals which Highcon have set across Europe recently.
What’s unusual here is that Highcon have picked a newly formed company in the case of Conversion-UK Ltd. The company is backed by extensive experience in the printing, converting and digital sectors with Mark Nixon, previously of Scitex, Creo and KBA UK heading up the new entity. His aim is to take digital converting and enhancement products to market in the UK and Ireland. His fellow director, Maria Machera has wide marketing experience in B2B and B2C sectors and has worked in marketing & PR for several technology vendors in the print industry.
Chris Baker, VP Sales and Business Development for Highcon stated, “I have known Mark for many years and admired his tenacity and success in helping customers understand the benefits of digital solutions. Combining this with his network in the UK printing and converting sectors, we were delighted when he decided to start this new company and represent Highcon. The UK represents an important market for Highcon and we already have companies planning to take the first machines early next year.”
Mark Nixon, Managing Director at Conversion-UK Ltd. said, “I am happy to have been given the opportunity to represent Highcon in the UK & Ireland. The Highcon Euclid is a truly revolutionary product which provides a huge opportunity for the folding carton businesses. I am looking forward to helping them make this transition from analogue to digital and extending their business in different areas.”
Highcon Euclid
With no requirement for a die, and job changeovers measured in minutes rather than hours, the Euclid is being marketed as a radical change to the business model for folding carton converters. The company state that this digital solution is an effective response to increasing customer demands for faster turnaround times and short run lengths as well as enabling additional and profitable work from both new and existing customers.
About Highcon
Founded in 2009 by Aviv Ratzman and Michael Zimmer, Highcon has developed an innovative Direct-to-Pack solution designed to transform the existing folding carton market by increasing speed to market. Highcon launched the Highcon Euclid, the world's first high speed digital converting machine utilizing its patent-pending technology at the Drupa exhibition May 2012.
About Conversion-UK Ltd
Conversion-UK Ltd was formed in 2012 by Mark Nixon with a view to help UK and Irish printing businesses make the transition from analogue and manual processes to digital. With a strong understanding of technology and how it can transform businesses by shortening turnaround times, reducing costs and enhancing the final print product, Conversion-UK is the authorised distributor for Highcon and Scodix, voted two of the "must-see" products at this year's Drupa.
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