The Key Point Blog
Mimaki’s Mantras at Virtual FESPA Press Launch: Bigger is Better, Collaboration is Key, and Flexibility is Favourable
In light of the postponement of FESPA 2020, Mimaki Europeresponded quickly by announcing its planned product launches via a webinar. Ronald van den Broek (General Sales Manager, EMEA) provided an overview of the product announcements, Bert Benckhuysen (Senior Product Manager, EMEA) went into more detail on the products, and Danna Drion (Senior Marketing Manager) outlined Mimaki’s upcoming series of virtual meetings and customer/press communications as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s strategic objectives for this year include continued investments in innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness for all business units. The actual FESPA event, which is now scheduled for October 2020, is expected to bring further announcements. The primary sign & graphics and textile printing announcements from the webinar are outlined below.
ReadCanon Launches varioPRINT iX-Series of Sheetfed Presses
On April 1, 2020, Canon announced the latest update to its varioPRINT series of digital printers. Designed with commercial printers in mind, the varioPRINT iX-Series offers a wide variety of capabilities to improve automation, productivity, and media handling. Following on the success of the original varioPRINT platform that was introduced in 2015, this announcement demonstrates Canon’s continued efforts to combine digital capabilities with the quality and productivity of offset.
ReadHP Unveils Extensive Updates and Introductions for drupa 2020
In anticipation of the drupa event that is scheduled to take place in Dusseldorf, Germany this June, HP kicked off its media event with a raft of announcements. These announcements include new additions to HP’s portfolio of commercial digital printing and labels & packaging solutions. With this newest range of updates, HP is clearly focusing on increasing overall productivity with significant improvements to the entire ecosystem, including inks and chemistry, substrates, workflow, finishing, and industry partnerships. These improvements will enable printers to meet current and future customer demands while also bringing value to their customers’ supply chains.
ReadFuji Xerox Announces New Adhesive Toner
On January 27th Fuji Xerox announced a newly developed adhesive toner for use with their family of printers and MFPs. This news comes shortly after the announcement that the company’s longstanding business relationship with Xerox would be ending, and during a time when Fuji Xerox seeks to differentiate itself from this partnership and Xerox’s own product lineup.
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HP Indigo, the Israeli maker of production-level EP printers for flexible packaging, recently announced an order for 24 units of the HP Indigo 20000, the company’s 30” EP web for that application. The deal is the biggest to date for the 20000 and, same as last year, the buyer is the Israeli company’s best customer for the printer, ePac Flexible Packaging (Middleton, WI); ePac set the previous record by ordering 20 units in 2018. ePac currently operates 28 of the 20000s at 12 locations and expects to operate 52 at 20 locations after all the latest batch are installed next year. In money terms, the deal is also big: Pricing for one HP Indigo 20000 is unpublished but, even assuming a discount for buying 24, this latest purchase will likely total well over $20 million just for hardware; spending over time for toner, parts, and service will add substantially to that.
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We’ve been talking for several years about the “appification” of document imaging software: The emergence of MFP-resident apps that use the device’s underlying (and increasingly powerful) embedded software platform to deliver enhanced functionality and, in some instances, eliminate the need for traditional “middleware” workflow solutions. And while HP had its share of on-board tools and connectors developed for it OXP embedded software architecture, it lagged competitors such as Xerox (with is App Gallery) and Konica Minolta (with its bizhub Marketplace, now just called Marketplace) when it came to an app portal where apps reside for resellers and/or customers to download to compatible MFPs. Which made us wonder: What exactly was HP’s plan for the Printing App Center and Smart UX Center infrastructure HP snagged in its acquisition of Samsung’s printing business? We now have our answer. Late in October, HP officially unveiled a complete ecosystem for the development, deployment, management, and monetization of apps that can run on select HP MFPs. Here’s a quick look at the various pieces and how the puzzle seems to be coming together.
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PHOTOPLUS Expo (PPE), the East Coast’s largest photo and video trade event that draws attendees including professionals, amateurs, enthusiasts, cinematographers, students and educators, is being held October 24-26th in NYC. The showfloor was filled with exhibits from over 130 vendors. PPE showcased a series of new initiatives planned to enhance the attendee experience, including interactive photo, video and education spaces.
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Finland-based head-mounted display (HMD) developer Varjo today announced its new virtual reality (VR) headsets, the VR-2 and VR-2 Pro. For those unfamiliar with the company, Varjo operates primarily in the enterprise-level VR hardware market, providing solutions for many companies in the automotive and aviation industries. Prior to this announcement, its primary piece of hardware was the VR-1, a VR headset released last April.
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The beginning of Fall saw new flagship phones from Apple & Huawaei, but what many might not have noticed is that Microsoft announced its own plans to get back into the phone game.
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