Smithers Forecasts Future of Industrial and Decorative Printing to 2029

Printing-equipment manufacturers offer specialized inks and systems for purposes other than than signs, displays, marketing collateral, published information, and packaging. For example, some printing equipment is specifically designed for decorating materials used in flooring, furniture, upholstery, windows, doors, and wall panels. Some industrial printing equipment uses conductive inks to make functioning electronic circuitry on flexible … Read more

Agfa UV-LED Inkjet Printers Sport New Identities and Efficiency-Boosting Features

UV-LED printing technology has become so versatile that UV-inkjet printers are now available in a remarkable range of roll-to-roll, flatbed, and hybrid models for sign and display graphics, packaging, and industrial applications. At the 2024 FESPA Global Print Expo in March, Agfa unveiled its enhanced, rebranded portfolio of mid-market and high-end hybrid, flatbed, and roll-to-roll … Read more

iLearning+ Print-Industry Training for Newcomers and Experienced Pros

Continuous training is essential to print-industry employees who want to thrive as printing technologies, applications, and markets continue to evolve. One convenient source of print-industry training is the iLEARNING+ e-learning platform. Launched in 2022 by the PRINTING United Alliance, the platform offers relevant introductory, intermediate, and advanced-level courses to industry professionals, students, and educators worldwide. … Read more

Excelitas Expands Phoseon Nexus ONE UV-LED Curing Platform for Flexography

Advances in UV-LED curing have helped improve the energy efficiency of curing the durable inks and coatings used in many analog and digital printing processes. For the flexographic printing process (used for mass-produced labels, shrink sleeves, and flexible packages), Excelitas Technologies® Corp. has expanded its Phoseon® Nexus ONE™ UV LED curing platform. UV LED curing … Read more

Roland EU-1000MF UV-LED Flatbed Offers Higher-Volume Printing at Attractive Price

The robust Roland EU-1000MF high-volume UV-LED flatbed printer can output vibrant, detailed graphics directly onto rigid and flexible substrates, including sheet sizes up to 48 x 96 in. and thicknesses up to 3.74 in. The EU-1000MF is ideal for printing signs, displays, interior décor, and specialty products. It was engineered to provide outstanding image quality … Read more

Mimaki Adds Larger Flatbed Inkjet Printer for Signs, Decor, and Building Materials

Mimaki has added a second model to its JFX600 series of UV-LED flatbed inkjet printers. Whereas the the entry-level model (JFX600-2513) has a 4 x 8 ft. bed, the new JFX600-2531 has an 8 x 10 ft. bed. The bigger size means the JFX600-2513 can accommodate two full 4 x 8 ft. sheets of signage … Read more

Mutoh Receives Patent for UV Local Dimming Technology for UV-LED Inkjets

MUTOH has been granted a patent for its groundbreaking UV Local Dimming Control (LDC) Technology. The technology enables the precise application of CMYK, White, and Clear Varnish in a single pass on Mutoh UV-LED inkjet printers. This cutting-edge feature is made possible by a UV-LED ink-curing lamp that has six different sections. Each section can … Read more

PrintSmart Summit Provides Deep Dive into Artificial Intelligence

Print-business leaders who want to learn more the implications of AI for the print industry may be interested in the line-up of presentations planned for the PrintSmart Summit 2024 on Tuesday, May 7 at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland. The PrintSmart Summit is being held in conjunction with two other events: Americas Print Show … Read more

2024 Drupa Preview: 11-Day Global Trade Fair for Print Technologies Starts May 28

The printing industry is alive and changing. Commercial print-service providers have used digital printing technologies to forge new business models and develop new products and services to replace the declining demand for high volumes of printed magazines, newspapers, catalogs, and marketing collateral. Some printing firms are bringing new interactive-print capabilities to omnichannel marketing or getting … Read more

Nine Macrotrends Affecting Printing Businesses in 2024

Print-business macro trends 2024

In a keynote presentation at the 2023 Printing United Expo, Lisa Cross, Principal Analyst at NAPCO Research, discussed 9 printing-industry macrotrends culled from recent NAPCO surveys of commercial print businesses, sign and display graphic companies, and print buyers and influencers. Some of the trends Cross highlighted included: Below is a quick summary of key points. … Read more