Backing Brum

What’s Sign and Digital UK 2014 going to be like when the more international crowd pulling Fespa Digital is just around the corner - well, in terms of date that is. The focus of the 2013 Birmingham-based show was very much on signage, though many of the products being exhibited had a wider appeal than that. Event director Rudi Blackett says this year’s event will be 20% bigger in terms of floorspace, and have more exhibitors.

At the time of going to press he was talking 150 -170, a good selection of which will be showing products relevant to the wide-format print producer. And of course there’s a range of seminars, workshops and trails. The timetables for these can be found online so there’s no point listing them all here, but below is an overview.

Business theatre

There will be a stream of seminars and workshops over the three days with the aim of identifying new revenue opportunities. HP workshops will explore new digital solutions for wall decoration via the HP WallArt suite. Vicki Hughes, PR consultant and founder of Fugu Public Relations, will look at how public relations can help small business owners get ahead. In a ‘Direct to Garment Printing’ session, Colin Marsh from Resolute DTG will look at processes and new opportunities. And the British Sign and Graphics Association will also run two workshops each day of the show to help small business owners get to grips with changing industry legislation.

Adobe and Corel theatres

Daily workshops and product demonstrations will focus on practical tips and advice for mastering their software packages.

SignLab theatre

In the SignLab Theatre wide-format design and production software specialist CADlink Technology will present a series of seminars focusing on best practice print and cut, sign and display design and production workflows.

Signmakers’ workshop

Presented by expert sign-maker Paul Hughes, this is a practical feature for anyone in the sign making industry. Each session is designed to help business owners get to grips with some of the industry’s most in-demand skills and services.

Trails

The New Business Trail and The Green Trail again return to the show. Details of which exhibitors will be included in each were not available at the time of going to press but will be found online when confirmed.

On the stands

To help you hone in on the newest offerings, here’s a selection of those launching or showing upgraded products for the wide-format printer – the show website holds the full exhibitor listing.

Colorific
Stand J30

On the Colorific/Selectech stand you’ll be able to see the new UV640PC 1.6m (64in) printer introduced by Colorific a bit earlier this year. The unit is based on the Roland VS640i chassis but Colorific’s UV Light inks are the star turn in this new engine, which it says offers the vivid colours expected from solvent with the resistance and durability associated with UV-curable options. As outgassing is eliminated output is immediately dry and ready for application. The UV640PC incorporates Epson’s latest printhead technology, the DX7, to reach up to 1,440dpi in high- quality mode. Production mode is quoted at 21m2/hr.

Colourgen
Stand G80

Colourgen is showing the Mutoh ValueJet 1638X for the first time at a UK trade show. Alongside it will be the recently launched Seiko II ColorPainter M-Series and Seiko’s Neon Inkset running on a ColorPainter W-64s. A dye-sublimation solution area will be demonstrating soft signage in live production. The area includes a Mutoh VJ-1624W, VJ-1638XW, Mutoh ValueCut and a Kala DS67 laminator. Experts will be available to go through the processes with you and also show the strengths and capabilities of this solution.

Hybrid Services
Stand F10

Sign and Digital UK will be the UK launchpad for the Mimaki UJV500, a 1.6m wide LED curing roll-to-roll UV printer aimed at the wallcoverings, vehicle wrap and display graphics markets. It will also be the first UK show for the Mimaki SUV printer. Both will be exhibited by Hybrid Services, Mimaki's exclusive UK and Irish distributor, which will also be showing other products from Mimaki’s range, including flatbed UV printers, outdoor durable print and cut machines, latex and textile printers.

i-Sub
Stand E10

I-Sub Digital's sister company in the textile printing sector, i-Sub Ltd, will be showing the Epson SureColor F6000, Mimaki JV33 and Dgen Teleios Black dye- sublimation printer – the latter making its first appearance at Sign and Digital UK.

Pride of place on the i-Sub Digital stand will be the Digi-Foil digital hot-foiling system aimed at those handling work for the display market, packaging and awards sectors - it is said to produce colour accurate mock-ups and hot-foiling effects in minutes.

Also part of i-Sub Digital's line-up will be the high-speed UV-curable Agfa Anapurna M2050 and a Zünd M1200 cutting table to demonstrate end-to-end print production. The company will also demonstrate the Agfa Asanti Rip, colour management and workflow software.

printMax
Stand H30

printMax will be introducing its new Metamark media offerng and showcasing the new MetaWrap range.

Ricoh
Stand J10

Ricoh UK will use the show to unveil its Pro L4100 Series latex large-format printer, which is commercially available as of this month (April).

The Pro L4100 is a roll-to-roll machine available as the 130cm (53in) Pro L4130 and the 160cm (63in) Pro L4160. It supports up to seven colours in various configurations including CMYK, orange, green and white ink. The printers use Ricoh’s own piezo electric printheads and run Ricoh Pro L4100’s latex ink. The aqueous ink contains a low level of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), is odourless and has a curing temperature of 60°C.

Gareth Parker, strategic marketing manager, Ricoh UK, says: “The public debut in the UK of the first commercially available model of the L4100 Series is a very exciting development in the evolution of Ricoh as an emerging leader in the digital print sector. With this product, we now have strong, competitive portfolio spanning the cut-sheet and wide-format graphics and CAD sectors.

“Having the Ricoh Pro C751EX on the stand too will also give us the opportunity to demonstrate to printers and sign makers how the combination of these machines and a SaaS-based marketing asset management (MAM) solution like MarcomCentral can provide a complete workflow and output solution that could radically transform the way they do business, increasing profitability, mining for new revenue streams and getting production efficiencies.”

Soyang
Stand D4

Soyang Europe will introduce AlumiGraphics, an aluminium foil base material that conforms and holds to the texture of any surface that it’s applied to. Available in smooth or high-grip surface finishes the media can be printed on large-format UV curable, latex and solvent inkjet printers. Demonstrations of the media, said to be resistant to heavy pedestrian and rolling vehicle traffic use, as well as all types of weather conditions, will take place at the show.

Also new is G-Floor for customised flooring projects. The media is based on a high-density clear, flexible PVC substrate, capable of being printed to the underside using either UV curable or solvent inks on a grand- format printer. Because the image is printed beneath the media, the thick wear-layer protects the integrity of the graphic. G-Floor repositionable and is said to have sound absorbing characteristics. It’s available in widths up to 3m and thicknesses to suit most flatbed, roll-to- roll or hybrid large-format printer.

ATS makes a stir
Stand G20

Atlantic Tech Services (ATS) has been appointed sole UK distributor for the AEG, OEM range of UV printers, solvent and UV inks and media products. The move means ATS will show the AEG Voyger Pro 2050 UV printer, Ensemble solvent inks (formulated for compatibility with Mimaki, Mutoh and Roland printers) and a range of AEG media products for the first time in the UK at Sign and Digital 2014.

The AEG Voyger UV printer series comprises eight models; four in the entry-level Voyger range (from 1650mm to 2200mm widths) and four in the Voyger Pro range (from 2050mm to 3.2m widths) – all of which boast a patented dual media transport system for a firm grip on the smoothest media. The printers use Xaar variable drop technology printheads, with the largest

machine printing at speeds up to 90m2/hr onto a wide range of roll-to-roll and rigid media.

Atlantic will also be demonstrating the full range of AEG solvent and UV display media including banner, backlit films, poster, vinyl and board media.

All AEG products come with a warranty with engineering support provided by ATS.

At a glance:

Where: NEC, Birmingham. When: 29 April – 1 May

Times: 10am – 5pm, 29/30 April

10am – 4.30pm, 1 May

Cost: Free, but pre-register at http://www.signuk.com

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