The Skeptic Goes to Graph Expo 2011
As an analyst, I cover the markets for desktop and office equipment along with the markets for the consumables these machines gobble up. I don’t follow the market for production devices very closely. I’ve always been interested in so-called Big Iron technology, however. In addition to satisfying my curiosity as a “printer geek,” watching the higher-end of the digital imaging market also provides new insights into where the overall industry is heading.
When I went to this year’s Graph Expo event in Chicago earlier this month, I was skeptical about the possibilities of seeing much new office equipment. The focus at Graph Expo is digital presses and production devices along with wide-format machines and printers for more industrial applications like for producing packaging. It turns out my low expectations were justified. While there was some office equipment tucked back in the corner of certain booths, I really didn’t find anything new. Still, I did learn a lot at the show.
One of the more interesting alliances announced at Graph Expo was news that the hardware manufacturer Xante will bring to market the first wide-format machine based on Memjet technology. Xante’s “Excelagraphix 4200 powered by Memjet” is a 42-inch wide device capable of printing on a range of substrates including foam board and corrugated cardboard as well as paper. Memjet provides the print heads and other technologies that deliver exceptionally high throughput speeds. Xante claims the Excelagraphix 4200 fires “3 billion drops of ink per second yielding print speeds up to 8 times faster than traditional inkjet technology.” The firm indicated its new machine can be used for a variety of applications ranging from printing packaging to signage to architectural and engineering drawings.
After a string of missed launched dates, Memjet appears to be making up for lost time. For more than a year now, the company has signed up a string of technology partners. Memjet’s client list now includes Lenovo and LG as well as Xante, and Memjet technology has been deployed in a variety of devices for label printing, desktop applications and, now, wide-format. Despite any skepticism on my part, it appears that Memjet technology is ready for primetime after all.
While inkjet technology has yet to make a big splash in the office, it is well established in the print-for-pay space. There was a lot of high-speed inkjet hardware at Graph Expo. Commercial printers are familiar with inkjet technology because it can be deployed in an inline configuration with traditional presses to add variable data to a static printed piece. Inkjet has also been a longtime favorite for “trans-promo” jobs. High-speed continuous inkjet machines have been around for years and are used for in-plant transactional-promotional applications such as printing bills, invoices and bank statements as well as direct mail and other promotional pieces.
Xerox had an interesting new inkjet device in its booth for trans-promo applications. The new CiPress 500 Production Inkjet System is a four-color, continuous-feed machine touted as being the “World’s only high-speed waterless inkjet system.” The machine represents the latest iteration of Xerox’s solid inkjet technology. I spoke with some of the machine operators in the booth, and while they declined to show me the stuff, they described the ink as being similar to the solid ink sticks used in Xerox’s ColorQube machines. The difference is the ink has been palletized for the higher-end device to support faster melting and printing. The new machine prints on a range of uncoated papers similar to those used by traditional wet-ink presses. Xerox says the solid inks employed by the CiPress 500 eliminates the need for driers to prevent papers from curling, so the machine has lower energy requirements than other inkjet production devices.
At Graph Expo, Canon demonstrated another high-end inkjet device. The DreamLabo 5000 was introduced earlier this year at the AIIM On Demand event in March. The machine is targeted at the retail photo processing and print-on-demand markets. It features a 12-inch wide print head based on Canon's FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology and is designed to offer an alternative to traditional silver halide photos. The DreamLabo 5000 employs a seven-color dye-based ink set that includes photo cyan, photo magenta and gray along with the traditional CMYK inks. Canon claims it can print a 20-page A4-size photo book in 72 seconds or 40 4-by-6-inch snapshots in one minute.
Canon also had a new production device at the show based on electrophotographic technology. The firm launched its imageRUNNER ADVANCE C9075S PRO and C9065S PRO color multifunction machines at Graph Expo. Canon says the new machines, which are one of the first fruits of the Océ acquisition, are similar to the imagePRESS C7010VPS but feature Océ's PRISMAsync controller technology. The new machines are expected to start shipping this month in North America through Canon Authorized Dealers, Canon Business Solutions and Océ North America.
One of the key reasons to go to a production event like Graph Expo — or Print 09, drupe, etc. — is to get a sense of what’s going on with distribution. This year OKI Data Americas announced details of a national distribution agreement with Agfa Graphics. The deal with Agfa should extend OKI’s reach into the print-for-pay and commercial print space and provide Oki with additional distribution for its pro510DW, which is part of the OKI proColor Series. While admittedly, this deal does not have the heft of the Canon-HP announcement in 2009, which gave HP access to Canon’s high-end copier portfolio, it is still important. Unlike certain segments of the office market, the production space is growing and it appears that Oki is serious about capturing some of the production market.
I wouldn’t expect much of the news from Graph Expo to have a huge impact on office equipment dealers and VARs, at least not in the short term. That said, it is prudent for those in the office channels to stay aware of the trends in the production space. The technology deployed in high-end devices has a tendency to migrate down market. Moreover, alliances that are established in the production space can be easily expanded to further penetrate the market for office devices.
Posted by Charlie Brewer on 09/26/2011