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iLearning+ Print-Industry Training for Newcomers and Experienced Pros

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Print-Industry Research Suggests Economic Slowdown Is Likely to Continue in 2024

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The economic slowdown that the printing industry experienced in 2023 is likely continue to well into 2024. That is one of the key findings from the PRINTING United Alliance’s midyear 2023 State of the Industry/Economic Outlook reports. At a keynote presentation at the 2023 PRINTING United Expo, Chief Economist for the PRINTING United Alliance Andrew … Read more

What Is a DTF Printing System?

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Direct-to-Film (DTF) printing is an apparel-decorating process that uses a professional-grade inkjet printer, thermal-transfer pigment inks, inkjet-printable transfer films, a hot-melt adhesive powder, and a controllable heating mechanism. After the hot-melt adhesive power is applied to printed graphic on the film, the film is heat pressed in a manner in which the graphic fully transfers … Read more