Graph Expo 2011 Review September 30, 2011 09:21 by Chris Rails
Last week, between September 11th and 14th, all the major printer ink manufacturers descended on McCormick Place South, Chicago, for the 2011 Graph Expo tradeshow to unveil, display and showcase some of the latest innovations for business and home printer users.
Here is a whistle stop tour of what was on offer and could soon be used in offices around the world.
Faster Print Productions with HP
HP opened their booth at the tradeshow announcing that it has made a number of adjustments to improve printing speeds on its machines.
The company displayed its new HP C500 Colour Print Module and HP M500 Monochrome Print Modules at the event, designed for high-speed and variable printing at affordable prices.
On top of this, the firm showcased a new high-productivity upgrade for its HP T200 Colour Inkjet Web Press, which is scheduled to come out early next year, that doubles throughput on full-colour print jobs.
Jan Riecher, vice president and general manager, Graphics Solutions Business at HP, said: "As the graphics market shifts from analogue to digital printing, we are helping print service providers grow their businesses with new capabilities, enabling them to expand into new application areas and improve delivery times for high-volume digital printing."
Konica Minolta use Kodak Colour Servers
At another booth, Kodak highlighted to visitors at the event that its latest innovations can deliver supreme document production facilities not only in its own devices, but in other brands as well.
The firm's newest version of the CREO Colour Servers, the IC-307 Print Controller, was created for Konica Minolta's bizhub PRESS C7000/C7000P and C6000 Colour Digital Presses at the event to showcase its diversity.
Based on Kodak's principles to provide printer ink users with the highest level of professional standards the controllers have been developed to increase production capabilities, provide quick and reliable rendering and ensure perfect colours with every print.
Vice president in marketing at Konica Minolta Kevin Kern added: "Featuring easy operation, built-in connectivity and workflow support, the CREO Colour Servers enable our production print customers of all sizes to better drive efficiencies within their print environments and continue to count on Konica Minolta for the best in image quality."
Chris O'Connor from Kodak’s Print On-demand Solutions Group also noted that consumers could streamline their workflow systems with the technology that is now available on the market.
Xerox CiPress 500 Cutting Edge
Finally, on this quick wander round the 2011 tradeshow, Xerox debuted its high-speed waterless inkjet device, the CiPress 500 Production Inkjet System.
According to the company, its twin-engine machine can produce up to 2,180 full-colour pages per minute making it perfect for business users with large scale document production operations.
On top of this, the CiPress 500 also produces low-cost jobs that does not let printer ink soak through to other sheets and also saves companies money on wasted pages every day of the month.
Eric Armour, president, Graphic Communications Business Group, Xerox, said: "As the demand for colour pages continues to grow, inkjet devices such as the Xerox CiPress 500 become a strategic installation – positioning printers to capture more profitable jobs and produce them in the most productive, economical way."
These were just some of the products that got showcased at the 2011 Graph Expo with many more innovations and inventions on display. However, what was noticeable at the event is that printer ink firms are tailoring their machines to suit their clients' needs more specifically.
One thing is for sure that in the next 12 months before Graph Expo 2012 there will be even more additions to this growing market sector.
