coloring inside the gamut colorful wide-format workflows

Coloring Inside the Gamut

Colorful Wide-Format Workflows

Going Wide with 3D

The Journal of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association | 2019, Volume 23, Issue 2, March/April

BOOTH #7016

V i s i t S G I A a t S G I A . o r g S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 | 1

The Journal of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association2019, Volume 23, March/April

A Letter from the President

Ford Bowers, President & CEO, SGIA

The SGIA Journal (ISSN: 1546-4431) is published bimonthly by the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, 10015 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia 22031.3489 USA. Periodicals postage at Fairfax, Virginia and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the SGIA Journal, 10015 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia 22031.3489 USA. Phone: 703.385.1335. Fax: 703.273.0456. Email: [email protected]. Web: SGIA.org. SGIA membership investment includes $50 annual subscription rate for the SGIA Journal.

In October 2017, SGIA and NAPCO Media announced a new partnership to produce PRINTING United, building on the foundation of the SGIA Expo (retiring the name only) and adding suppliers and attendees from across the printing industry. Fast forward 18 months, and here we are: Registration for PRINTING United (Dallas, October 23 - 25, 2019) is about to open.

I’ve been asked many times why we made the change, and my answer is this: “Just OK” (to borrow a phrase from the recent AT&T commercials) isn’t an option. Holding still isn’t viable. How can we, when the industry itself is changing dramatically? When we’re in a world where “convergence” is the word of the year, how can we “pick a lane” and stay there? The answer is, you can’t, so we haven’t.

In that vein, I encourage you to visit PRINTINGUnited.com and make your plans to attend now.

Plenty of events focus on a specific industry niche. And while there is value in this approach, PRINTING United will flip that model, with exhibitors, attendees and educational sessions representing all areas of the printing industry, including garment decorating, commercial printing, graphics and sign, graphics installation, functional printing and in-plant printing, to better reflect the forces shaping the larger printing community. With that diversity comes opportunities and new ideas that can be the impetus for your future growth.

See you in Dallas!

Supporting the Wide-Format Community Contents 2019, Volume 23, March/April

Case Studies

33 Sustainable Success Stories Heather Nortz, SGIA

41 3D Printing Complements Wide-Format

Kim Haimovic, Massivit 3D

Columns

17 A Collaborative Discussion on All Things Textile

Kerry King, Spoonflower

49 A First Time for Everything Mike Wagner, Butler Technologies

53 Sell Your Sales Reps Bill Farquharson, Aspire For

First to Know

45 Understand Record-Keeping Rules

Gary Jones, SGIA

Member Resources & News

56 SGIA News

58 SGIA Calendar

61 New Products

Departments

5 A Graphic Installation Wrap-Up

Lauren Searson, SGIA

11 Wowing the Exposition

Bill Stein, Industry Author

21 Optimizing Wide-Format Workflows

Erik Strik, PrintFactory

27 Print Gamut Ins and Outs

Steve Upton, CHROMiX

37 The Future of 3D Printing

Nigel Heywood, KIWO Inc.

Features

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11

Or Perhaps…

Or Perhaps…

27

5

37

It’s a wide, colorful world out there, if you get color right. This issue of the Journal takes a deep dive into wide format and color management, with tips for making it work in your workflow.

On the Cover

Published by the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association10015 Main Street • Fairfax VA 22031-3489 USA Phone: 703-385-1335 • Fax: 703-273-0456 • [email protected] • SGIA.org © Copyright 2019 Specialty Graphic Imaging Association. All rights reserved.

Article Submissions Welcome: The SGIA Journal serves as an essential source of information for the specialty imaging industry. Feature articles are written by industry experts, covering topics including new technology, business management and industry trends. Submitting an article for the SGIA Journal is an excellent opportunity for industry exposure. SGIA welcomes informative, non-commercial articles from member companies. To propose a topic or to submit a completed article, contact Kate Achelpohl at [email protected] or 703-359-1364.

Dear Readers,

Cover illustration by Les Lien, SGIA

Editor-in-ChiefKate Achelpohl

Managing EditorLauren Searson

Art DirectorLes Lien

Graphic DesignerCarrie Cassinelli

Contributing WritersBill FarquharsonKim HaimovicNigel HeywoodGary JonesKerry KingHeather Nortz

Lauren SearsonBill SteinErik StrikSteve UptonMike Wagner

Printing and MailingLane Press

About the Editorial


This issue of the SGIA Journal focuses on wide-format printing from a variety of perspectives, including color management.

Color management feeds into everything in your workflow, from prepress to the finished product and client satisfaction, so you’ll get some good advice about color management workflows from Erik Strik of PrintFactory (page 21), and an overview of color gamuts from Steve Upton of CHROMiX (page 27).

Color management goes far beyond the pages of the Journal. With Color Management Boot Camps throughout the year and our Digital Color Professional certification program taking off, SGIA provides practical tools members need to hone their skills and profess their prowess in the wide-format world of color.

Most recently, though, we took another step, bringing together a working group of printers, manufacturers, software designers and color experts to define color targets specifically for wide-format digital inkjet. The Sonoco Institute at Clemson University will provide measurement data and SGIA Chief Economist Andy Paparozzi will crunch the numbers. It’s an industry-wide effort for an industry-wide issue, and SGIA is taking the lead.

Kate Achelpohl Editor-in-Chief, SGIA Journal

Advertising SalesJohn Woodstock, [email protected], 703-359-1332 Mike McGowan, [email protected], 703-359-1362

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Vehicle wrapping has established a foothold in the advertising industry, and more print shops are getting involved as the demand grows.

By Lauren Searson, Managing Editor, SGIA

The graphic installation and vehicle wrap market continues to evolve and grow as brands and customers seek new advertising avenues and more personalization. The Journal spoke with a panel of expert installers from SGIA’s Installer Committee to discuss the market, their expectations and some of their favorite projects from 2018.

How would you describe the vehicle wrap business today? Is it going strong? Changing? How so?

K e n B u r n s , A x i s G r a p h i c Installations: It is going strong, and I like the direction it is going in. I feel like the industry is finally back to sourcing quality craftsmanship vs. cheap labor, after many years of mediocre to unskilled installers being awarded projects because of their low prices.

Kim Magraw, Vivid Sign and Design: The wrap business has grown tremendously. The auto detailing business is the largest growth area, with full wrap color change. Then there is the growth from printers that

used to be offset, etc., as the industry has evolved to make the cost of entry lower.

Jim Miller, Miller Decals LLC: Vehicle wrapping has established a foothold in the advertising industry, and more print shops are getting involved as the demand grows. The “entrepreneur” millennial generation is pushing this growth to support their ever-changing desire to make a name for themselves. I feel that this generation will take over the baby boomers’ wealth and create more content in social media, which will in turn drive our industry further upwards. Most of the baby boomers with businesses have an established fleet will be rebranded as the new generation takes hold. Also, the hype in the advertising market to brand is so much aligned with our industry, there is no stopping where this may take us.

J o h n C a r t h e y, C o r p o r a t e Installations: It’s going strong and is more specialized.

Ritchie Daize, Arlon Graphics LLC: I think the vehicle wrap industry is still growing and continues to change. There was a time when digital print presses were

A Graphic Installation Wrap-UpPDAA experts weigh in on today’s installation trends.

feature

Image courtesy of Bennett International Group LLC/Miller Decals LLC.


very expensive, and few had them. During that time, materials were difficult to install and not specifically designed to handle the rigors of fully wrapping modern vehicles.

Today’s average sign shop has a digital printer capable of printing on vinyl specifically designed to be installed around the challenging corners found on most vehicles with ease. This has caused prices to drop as small companies with low overheads can compete at a local level and be successful.

Matt Richart, Digital EFX Wraps: It’s wonderful. It can always be busier, but it’s very strong. More companies are investing in mobile advertising, and commercial car sales have gone up over the past year.

Ron Gizzo, Visual Marking Systems Inc.: Growing. It is going strong and changing, though it is surprising how many people have yet to take advantage of this amazing advertising opportunity. Clients have become less brand-specific and are looking for alternative solutions. The attitude has changed with regard to the best product for the application.

What’s trending in vehicle wraps? Is there a particular type of material? A style of wrap? Why do you think it’s popular?

Daize: Vinyl manufacturers are making reflective media easier to print and install. This gives their wraps 24-hour viewing, which offers their customers a much richer return on investment (ROI).

Richart: Color change is still very popular, but we’re just seeing more printed commercial graphics. We’re also seeing more reflective printing leaving our shop. I think people are doing more evening driving and companies like pest control, road crews and even basic commercial companies want exposure at night as well.

Burns: High-end, custom color changes/modifications and paint protection are on the rise. I believe the individuality of owning a vehicle that is truly one-of-a-kind is why it’s become so popular.

Magraw: The trend is still color change; the wrap business has been strong for over 21 years. Remember in 1990, 3M introduced the Scotchprint and the full wrap bus market started. Then it became affordable for every business.

The biggest growth is still the art of one vehicle — how to get set up, design, install and print from one to two vehicles. Big fleets are very competitive with many companies able to commit to bidding similar products and warranties. This has been the same for 10-plus years.

What surprised you about the vehicle wrap market in 2018?

Gizzo: The growth. We continue to see it year after year.

Richart: Being a trainer in the wrap industry, we saw a huge increase in new companies wanting to expand or get into the vehicle wrap market. The economy has played a large part in this.

Carthey: There’s really no slow down or end in sight.

Daize: Vehicle wrapping has made its way into some major OEMs, which include factory wrap kits for ATVs, UTVs, water crafts and RVs!

Burns: As previously mentioned, it was surprising to see the industry really turn back to quality versus making those extra few dollars by delivering a less-than-perfect product. And, to see so many people willing to spend the money that these custom color changes/modifications warrant.

What trends do you expect to see in 2019?

Miller: I feel that more developers of temporary campaigns will drive the amount of vehicle advertisement in metropolitan areas. We will also see the continued rise of car clubs individualizing their makes and models to brand the club as well as the uniqueness of their vehicle — much like Harley Davidson did for their motorcycles.

Gizzo: I expect to see more short-term advertising campaigns.

Burns: I’m thinking we will see quite a few commercial vehicle wrap installers learning and incorporating custom color changes into their skill sets. The appeal of commercial wraps is quantity. You can turn out one or more vehicles with a two-person team per day. Custom color changes take a week or more per vehicle. But now that the custom color change/modification market is warranting the high pricing that it rightfully deserves, I think we will see some commercial wrap installers wanting to slow down their pace and put out a final product that they can be extremely proud of.

Richart: I think you will see more commercial wraps and even more color change and laminates come out in 2019.

Magraw: I expect more companies making different vinyl products. We are seeing performance calendared, but why not just use cast? The market is cost-driven,

Ken Burns, President/CEO, Axis Graphic Installations

John Carthey, President, Corporate Installations

Ritchie Daize, Technical Solutions Manager, Arlon Graphics LLC

Ron Gizzo, Chief Operating Officer, Visual Marking Systems Inc.

Kim Magraw, Owner, Vivid Sign and Design

Jim Miller, Owner, Miller Decals LLC

Matt Richart, Owner, Digital EFX Wraps

The panel of SGIA Installer Committee experts includes:


and we will continue to see lower-cost materials made with lower-cost products. I like the other films for more retail-driven projects.

Daize: As a vinyl manufacturer, I expect to see the continuation of a new generation of wrap films emerge over the next few years that will help installers wrap with more speed, accuracy and profitability!

Carthey: More people trying to get into the wrap business and bring down profits.

What do your clients want their vehicle wraps to achieve? How has that changed over the past five years?

Richart: They want an ROI on the vehicle wrap more than ever. As designers, we see clients wanting clean and crisp design/market ing campaigns (i.e., cleaner wraps that are effective with less photographs).

Gizzo: Clients have always had the expectation for clear messaging and brand awareness.

Magraw: They always want a lower price. And, they really want that phone call. They do not always know that design is so critical. We try to charge the rate of $90 per hour for design, but the market still is growing more in a “give it away” mode. I see more poor designs done for free when the market still has room for great designs and great pricing.

Carthey: They want more personaliza-tion and to stand out. Personal wraps are starting to equate to commercial wraps.

Miller: Miller Decals has a very broad spectrum of clients. A vehicle wrap client could be a local guy that wants unique accents to embellish his car and express his personality; it could also be a fleet that wants their brand’s chosen color or logo to stand out in a parking lot. The intentions of any client wrapping their vehicle from the start of my career has been to raise brand awareness. Wraps are the cheapest form of advertisement per impression.

In the past five years, the material has improved; the classes to train installers have grown exponentially; certifications and groups that support the skill are expanding vastly; and the amount of designers and printers being asked to develop this product has grown due to inflated demand. The past five years has been phenomenal in growth for the vinyl industry and has allowed more clients to have better opportunities to receive a quality product with a trained technician Images courtesy of Axis Graphic Installations.

Image courtesy of Visual Marking Systems Inc.


to bring their brand awareness to the market.

Did you have a favorite job in 2018? Please describe it — and tell us why you liked it so well.

Gizzo: Our local police department has a program during the holidays to take underprivileged children on a shopping spree, called “Shop with a Cop.” We volunteered to wrap the Swat Truck. We designed and installed a Grinch themed wrap. It was a huge success. The greatest reward is seeing children so happy on what is probably a very disappointing time of the year.

Burns: We completely refurbished over 100 Bank of Americas last year. This was so enjoyable because there was no self-adhesive vinyl whatsoever. In an industry where vehicle wraps, fleet wraps, wall and window murals are the majority of what we install, it was nice to take a break from the vinyl, perform some demolition, get our hands on some power tools and create a brand-new look with 3D, modular, cleated and stand-off mounted signage. It’s exciting to know PDAA will soon be incorporating these types of sign installations into their educational and certification programs.

Magraw: The best was a simple single van for the HVAC Physician, where the creative was the key to the sale. To see our design team create great, award-winning designs from scratch speaks highly of the people I get to work with.

Miller: Our Wreaths Across America project touched me because these trucks are bringing awareness of honoring people we know — and those we do not — over many generations. The installation of that graphic was one of many that I am sure made someone thankful for our military that fights for us to have the opportunities we have here in America.

I feel blessed to have been a part of their mission as we have many family and friends who have and continue to serve our great nation. My wife’s uncle, who went to the United States Military Academy (West Point), recently passed away and will be a direct recipient of a wreath on December 14, 2019, at West Point Cemetery.

Carthey: Our Alamo Museum Epic Art project involved completely wrapping walls with large graphics to teach the public history and give one the feeling they’ve traveled back 200 years. We also enjoyed wrapping buildings, storage tanks, sports stadiums, etc.

Richart: We wrapped two trailers and matching pickup trucks for a local Image courtesy of Vivid Sign and Design.

Image courtesy of Axis Graphic Installations.

fishing tournament company. It was cool to see two matching trailers/trucks that are visible in the fishing industry.

What advantages have you found with a PDAA Master Certification?

Burns: Being Master Certified has brought our company at least half of its ongoing sales. When a national company needs installation work in a part of the country they’ve never done work in before, PDAA is their best resource for quality installers that are well versed with all material types. This is very important as different producers prefer different film manufacturers and types.

Miller: A Master Certification has many advantages — the number one being one of the few people who have placed themselves in the position and passed the criteria to become part of this unique group of individuals. This provides me with a network of like-minded people I can turn to for questions about my career. It adds value to my service to be able to say that I have dedicated my time to become skilled

and passed testing by my peers on many levels.

Richart: It has allowed us to meet new people, tap into the installer network and adds another badge of certification to our company.

Magraw: Our company has prided itself on being a PDAA member since 1984. I have been involved with three different companies, but always get right back to being part of PDAA. The best part has been the members, meeting installers, talking about projects, installs, travel — all of it. It’s a place where camaraderie can be shared.

Gizzo: We have consistency across applications and have formed many strategic partnerships nationwide. We have confidence that the job is done right, sharing the same ethical approach we have at VMS.

Lauren Searson has been the Managing Editor for SGIA since November 2017 and has worked in publications for more than 10 years.

FASTENATION OL SGIA 1/2 PG 2018.indd 1 1/9/18 12:23 PMBOOTH #4212

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V i s i t S G I A a t S G I A . o r g S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 | 1 1

A dazzling exhibit that engages visitors — and goes a long way toward turning a prospective buyer into an actual customer — doesn’t happen overnight.

By Bill Stein, Industry Author

Wowing the ExpositionTrends behind today’s standout exhibits

A trade show represents one of the more significant marketing investments a company makes, an opportunity for a company to make a big, yet intimate, splash with prospective customers. When designed and constructed properly, a booth can capture attention, create an interactive experience that immerses a visitor, produce memories that last beyond the show, and create new business.

At any given trade show, chances are a few exhibits stand out. Perhaps the look and feel of a particular booth is a cut above the rest, or maybe there’s an interactive display or demonstration that keeps attendees talking long after they return home. “Wowing” the exposition, inspiring more interest in the exhibitor’s product or service is the goal of any trade show booth.

Planning is Key A dazzling exhibit that engages visitors

— and goes a long way toward turning a

prospective buyer into an actual customer — doesn’t happen overnight. It can take many months of planning, theming and construction to conceive and build a booth that hits the mark.

The first priority is making sure a trade show booth meets essential goals. “An exhibit should communicate a few simple things: who the company is, the services they offer and the solution that they can provide,” said Natalie Whited, Vice President of Marketing, Orbus Exhibit and Display Group.

Budget is another critical factor in determining what can be done with a booth. “Our clients may have high expectations for what they want to do, but unless there’s a significant budget, you can’t get top-shelf work,” said Nathaniel Grant, President, GAM Graphics and Marketing.

If the budget is tight, experts suggest prioritizing design over construction. “I recommend allocating a greater percentage

feature

This Ricoh exhibit’s conference room featured 3M IJ-35c 3-millimeter vinyl graphics printed on the Ricoh Pro L4160. (Image courtesy of GAM Graphics and Marketing.)

1 2 | S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 V i s i t S G I A a t S G I A . o r g

of the budget to the design component over construction because you can value-engineer good design to create a better customer experience,” said Brian Hite, President, Image Options.

And, as with any other marketing initiative, the basic fundamentals of “know your audience” should be observed in the development of a trade show booth. A thorough discovery process should be completed — including a focus on the audience characteristics, determination of potential benefits to attendees and creation of key messaging.

The Importance of Good Design Once planning has been finalized, the

critical design phase can begin. Good design can make the difference between attendees staying in the booth long enough to have a meaningful, substantial interaction or simply walking by. The following outlines some key characteristics of good design.

Visual Appeal Visual appeal is critical. “Studies show

that you have two to three seconds to capture someone’s attention on the show floor,” said Whited. “That means that your graphics need to be very captivating and very well designed.”

Visual appeal can be created through a variety of tactics. Using bright colors is a good way to draw people from the far

reaches of the show floor. A mixture of interesting graphics, substrates and shapes can be effective in catching the eye of a casually strolling attendee. Even seemingly minor details, such as using round tables in a square space, can be provocative.

“There is so much that goes into establishing the look and feel of a booth,” said Whited. “Whether it’s an open concept, closed concept, symmetrical, or whether it uses hanging structures, towers, fabric-based back walls and special lighting … all of this is a part of the design process that can make a booth successful.”

Attention to Traffic Flow The booth should be set up to encourage

flow to the areas where it’s most desired. If space allows, a seating area can be helpful for attendees who have been on their feet all day long.

Creating an Immersive Environment Given that the goal of participating in

a trade show is to sell a product or service, keeping a client in the booth as long as possible is important. “You want to look at ways to keep attendees entertained and to get them immersed in your world and make them feel like they’re not at a trade show being sold something,” said Conrad Coe, Production & Fabrication Engineer — Large Format, GAM Graphics and Marketing.

“We’re seeing a lot more use of digital

Ricoh’s Real-World Booth Features Functional Pop-Up Retail Shops

One of the more popular and eye-catching exhibits at the 2018 SGIA Expo was Ricoh USA Inc.’s booth. The booth was transformed into a fully functional pair of pop-up retail shops that showcased real-world applications and demonstrated print capabilities. The booth also created an interactive augmented reality experience through Ricoh’s Clickable PaperTM, which allowed attendees to use an app on their phone to point, shoot and click at different “hot spots” and be connected to digital content.

Ricoh created an immersive and interactive experience that focused on practical applications of print in many forms. To accomplish this, the pop-up shops’ floors, walls, apparel and more were printed by Ricoh devices, highlighting the diverse applications print service providers can create to broaden revenue streams.

The project, the brainchild of Square Root Creative, Ricoh’s design agency, was a year in the making. “We wanted to create an environment for the customer that reflected the type of work that our customers’ customers could do,” said Dan Johansen, Senior Marketing Manager, Ricoh USA Inc. “The booth allowed us to achieve our goals, which were to showcase our new technology and present it in a format that started with an interactive and immersive experience and then lead to the products.”

The technologies used to create everything in the booth — including graphics, banner stands, backlit signage, wall graphics, T-shirts and brochures — were all part of Ricoh’s product portfolio. This included wide-format printers, flatbed printers and hybrid printers.

“Historically, companies like us have a habit of just showing off our machines and talking about how quickly they can print,” said Johansen. “That can be good to an extent, but it’s dull, is an approach that everyone’s doing, and doesn’t allow a business owner to be inspired by what can be done with this technology.”

This 50-by-50-foot island exhibit for RTP included bold graphics and unique hanging structures that reinforced brand identity, along with a reception counter, private conference rooms and designated conversation areas. (Image courtesy of Orbus Exhibit & Display Group®.)

screens, where clients are building walls out of LED tiles to display live video, graphics or animation,” said Hite. Devoting private or semi-private space for presentations, demonstrations or small group consultations can provide a place for relationship building and ultimately convert a prospect into a client. The use of real-world examples to show what machines can do can also create a “wow” factor that inspires potential customers. (See sidebar on Ricoh exhibit.)

In some ways, the exhibit experience can be extended beyond the show. “We’re seeing more instances where cutouts of a face are used to encourage people to take selfies and post them on Facebook or other social media, so their friends are seeing it as well,” said Grant. “This gives them more bang for the dollar.”

Fabric’s Rising Popularity One of the biggest trends in trade show

exhibits is the increasing use of illuminated fabric graphics in SEG frames and hanging structures. Fabric offers a number of advantages for trade show exhibitors.

Fabric can produce vibrant colors and create a large presence on a show floor because large walls can be built out of fabric and little bit of extrusion. Fabric can create an impressive appearance since it can cover a lot of space without a lot of weight, meaning a significant reduction in transportation costs.

There are many fabric options for printing, with different types of coated fabrics producing dif ferent results.

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This Nimlok 20-by-20-foot island exhibit incorporated a distinctive central ground structure with impactful backlit graphics and vertical brand accents. TV mounts and a backlit modular counter added modern touches. (Image courtesy of Orbus Exhibit & Display Group®.)


“When you get into coated fabrics that are print-receptive, light-diffusing and have fire retardant, there’s a lot of coating to penetrate,” said Michael Compton, Product Marketing Manager, Top Value Fabrics. “To ensure you get the colors you want and to produce graphics that are free of defects, it’s important to be precise in the printing process, including the use of RGB profiles.”

Today’s newer knit fabrics offer advantages over woven fabrics. Knit fabrics are more stable, offer better stretch qualities and are less likely to fray. They are also more forgiving when folded, less likely to show creases, wrinkles and other irregularities with the ink.

Technological Features Technology can be used in various ways

to increase traffic and attendee interaction. Video monitors with digital messaging can introduce a brand or product being promoted at the show. Touch screen and RFID technology can be used to engage prospects while they’re in a booth. Touch screen displays and tablets can be used to produce interactive product demonstrations and individualized presentations.

RFID technology can also allow exhibitors to obtain metrics about what works well in the design of their booths. For example, different areas of the booth could be geofenced to determine how much time attendees spent at an actual printer, in front of a special video or looking at certain substrates. The information could also be tied to lead generation if attendee badges are scanned. “I think the technology side of what’s possible is going to drive the future of the industry,” said Hite.

A trade show booth provides a unique opportunity to showcase products and capabilities and engage face-to-face with prospects. With technological advancements in printers, fabrics and substrates, today’s capabilities have never been better. With proper planning, thoughtful and attention-getting design, the ability to create an immersive and interactive experience, and some good old-fashioned creativity, you can create a booth that can wow the audience, become the talk of the show and, ultimately, generate more customers.

Bill Stein is a freelance writer and communications consultant. He’s written on a variety of topics for industries ranging from healthcare to imaging to finance and insurance. Backlit graphics utilizing fabrics such as Top Value Fabrics’ Microlux 240 are an

increasing trend in exhibitions. (Images courtesy of Top Value Fabrics.)

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S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 | 1 7

By Kerry King, Director of Research and Development, Spoonflower

As featured on the SGIA Printing Press blog on SGIA.org.

This past December, AATCC and SGIA joined forces for the third consecutive year to co-produce Digital Textile Printing Conference 3.0. The event — held in Durham, N.C., December 5 - 6, 2018 — drew a mixture of suppliers, print service providers, brands, manufacturers and educators.

Tagging the conference as “a forum for collaboration ... the conversation continues,” those of us participating on the steering committee aimed to build on the previous two programs by delving into topics including digital design and workflow, color management challenges, technology advances and implementation of digital printing within the sewn product manufacturing setting.

The program kicked off with Mark Hanley, IT Strategies, delivering an overview of digital textile printing markets, which then launched into a series of design-themed presentations addressing creative opportunities and challenges, workflow and product customization.

Among the event’s highlights was a set of panel discussions, the first of which was led by Charlotte Havle, Target Corporation, and Andrew Fraser, InMocean Group, and also included Duncan Ross, AVA CAD CAM Group, and Mike Scrutton, Adobe. Havle and Fraser spoke to the challenges for digital sampling and production in the context of a product mix that typically includes prints and coordinating solid shades that are sometimes difficult to match. Havle emphasized that today’s supply chain continues to rely on screen methods for volume production and that it’s important to improve color alignment between digital sampling and conventional production methods.

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A Collaborative Discussion on AllThings Textile

Also speaking to color challenges, Fraser mentioned that in his experience, ink sets for digital sometimes don’t meet the specific colorfastness requirements of a given product type, such as swimwear. The sharing of such challenges was intended to spark dialogue between technology developers, suppliers, service providers and brands, and this session provided a short, yet robust, exchange.

The next group of speakers focused on the technology and ink theme that carried over into day two. They touched on advances in printhead technology, pigment ink, fabric pretreatments and digital carpet printing. Much of the second day was spent examining the topic of digital manufacturing and integration with sewn product design and finished goods manufacturing.

The second panel session provided an opportunity to discuss the “micro-factory” theme, bringing together Kristin Ritter, Gerber Technology; Sharon Donovich, Kornit Digital; Bill Grier, AM4U; Will Duncan, SEAMS; and Flint Davis, WeaveUp. While sharing obstacles and opportunities for domestic cut and sew production, the group touched on workforce needs: creating sewing environments that are appealing to potential workers and thinking creatively about where to find candidates. Duncan emphasized the importance of supporting staff with training and growth. Cut and sew is clearly a challenge and the chance to brainstorm seemed well received, keeping the audience engaged until the close of the program.

Between these interactive discussions and the many other connections I witnessed over the two days, I left Digital Textile Printing Conference 3.0 thinking that this “forum” is just getting started, and I look forward to seeing the conversation continue!

Kerry King is currently the Director of Research and Development at Spoonflower, an internet-based company that enables individuals to purchase custom printed fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap. A recognized speaker and author in the digital textile printing area, Kerry has professional experience in sewn product development, apparel fit and sizing, and emerging technologies for the apparel industry, including 3D technology for apparel design.

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Most print shops rely on the technology that comes with their printer — and as a result, multiple platforms could be inadvertently creating inefficiencies by default.

By Erik Strik, CEO, PrintFactory

As the wide-format print industry adopts fully automated workflows more widely, color management software has a key role to play in guaranteeing color consistency across devices and enabling print shops to fully reap the efficiency benefits of Industry 4.0, also known as the “internet of things.” This article will address often hidden obstacles to optimizing wide-format workflows and how forward-thinking print service providers (PSPs) can overcome these common issues in pursuit of a smarter way of working.

All print shops understand the value of color management for ensuring consistency, quality and print buyer satisfaction. Yet very few operators actually rely on their RIP software of choice — or even a single platform — to ensure output consistency across devices. This is because most print shops rely on the technology that comes with their printer, and as a result, multiple platforms could be inadvertently creating inefficiencies by default.

PrintFactory, a software provider, did some rudimentary research about how acceptance of the status quo could be impacting the entire workflow. Although limited, the research sample gave some indication of the most common problems that seem to be stalling the potential for greater productivity and profitability gains across the digital print sector in general and wide-format in particular.

Setup Inconsistency Impacting Output

The research revealed 63% of large-format printers (LFPs) are running two or more RIPs in their shops. Most run off PCs (60%), a few rely solely on Macs (3%), and a significant portion are working with both operating systems (37%). It also showed that color management remains the most challenging workflow bottleneck for 21% of LFPs.

So how could these inconsistencies across print shop setups be interfering

Optimizing Wide-Format WorkflowsIdentifying and overcoming hidden production obstacles.

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with production schedules and damaging the bottom line? And what steps can PSPs take to break through the bottleneck and ensure maximum productivity through rich, consistent color reproduction across all manner of substrates and devices?

The Color Management Challenge With so many factors contributing to

taking a color from screen to substrate, it’s not difficult to understand why print operators struggle with consistency and accuracy. For example: • Not all printers are created equal.

Each machine comes with its own color profile and gamut, which can cause complications for print shops aiming to produce a single job across different machines.

• Using multiple types of RIP software can exacerbate these issues, leading to inefficiencies through added testing and troubleshooting on each device.

• Different substrates have their own unique properties, such as variable white points and coatings.

• Canned ICC profiles do not account for these wide-ranging variables, creating more of a challenge for PSPs. Furthermore, as there is no common standard, there is no like-for-like comparison between ICCs. So, while they’re intended to be generic, there really is no such thing.

• E n v i r on m e nt a l f a c t or s c a n c o m p r o m i s e a c c u r a t e c o l o r reproduction. Lighting conditions a f fect color percept ion in the pressroom, while dust, humidity and degrading printheads all impact device performance. A job reproduced with the same profile six months later may not match the original.

These points only touch the surface of the many parameters that play a part in color management. Taking a more practical view, the focus is instead on supporting LFPs in rethinking workflow and stripping out some of the unnecessary — and sometimes overlooked — layers that could be compounding the inconsistency problem.

For instance, the PrintFactory survey shows that while 75% of respondents would invest in new software as one of their first options for resolving workflow issues, 51% would also consider buying a new printer as a solution. The problem is, that while committing significant investment in a new machine may solve problems in the short term, long-term inefficiencies caused by inconsistencies in either the RIP and/or workflow — meaning profiling and conversion issues — will still remain.

The following are five key considerations for wide-format printers seeking to fully optimize the workflow process, starting by “going back to basics” and re-evaluating their existing setup.

1. Mac vs. PC To ensure consistency in the workflow

and retain the flexibility of changing ways of working in print, we must ask the age-old question: Mac or PC?

Although the gap between Windows and macOS usage has been closing over the last few years, there are still workflow technologies that do not run efficiently across the two operating systems. But the problem doesn’t just come down to technological preference — it also stems from the traditional print shop setup.

The simple truth is that operating teams do not have all the tools on-hand they need at each stage of the workflow. This is

because the production tools are part of the RIP and inaccessible from a job preparation desk, away from the shop floor. Problems typically circle back to differences in: • Platform: The prepress teams tend

to work with Adobe Suite and prefer Macs. The production tools, however, are ‘bolted’ onto the RIP, which predominantly run off Windows or Linux.

• Location: You’ll usually find prepress in the office while all production takes place on the shop floor.

In this day and age, purchasing a new computer to support workflow software is no longer necessary. A workflow solution should support a print shop’s preferred operating system, rather than vice versa, all the while providing identical functionality that ensures smooth running across both operating systems.

2. An Integrated RIP Rather than wasting time switching

between R IPs and rev isit ing job preparation, a single, cloud-managed RIP supports printers and cutters “out of the box.” Using a centralized RIP moves all the tools away from different stations and gives operators the freedom to work from any location.

A centralized RIP should also integrate with the same PDF engine as the prepress application. This gives both the prepress department and operators a true “what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG)” view of the job, presenting a clear picture of the output that will be produced on the press and highlighting any errors before a job goes to print.

3. An End-to-End Solution Once a single RIP is integrated into the

workflow, it’s time to streamline the rest of the workflow to reduce errors in setting up jobs and increase consistency across devices.

Where print shops have moved toward maximizing their productivity and profitability by deploying cloud-based tools, there is a tendency to ‘cherry pick’ the processes they entrust to the cloud.

Management information systems (MIS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) modules don’t always integrate with RIPs or sit seamlessly alongside workflow technologies. This can actually create greater inefficiencies through disjointed file processing and delivery.

The most sophisticated systems now offer powerful linking tools to integrate

How many types of RIP software do you run in your print shop?

Courtesy of PrintFactory.


MIS, ERPs and RIPs into the workflow system, delivering end-to-end f ile processing and serving up real-time production data to ensure maximum efficiency from MIS to print.

4. Breaking Color Convention There is little doubt that the greatest

contributor to inefficiency by default in print shops is color management.

While ICC profiles are the accepted standard across the printing industry, they come with a number of inherent issues, and can lead to additional bottlenecks and complexities in the workflow due to: • Indiscriminate gamut compression • Limited control over conversion of

the black channel • Regularly regenerating profiles to

account for environmental changes • ICC not taking into account the

gamut rendering intents of a job — whether it is stand-alone or a reproduction — and rather focusing on the properties of the printer during the profiling process

One way PSPs could revolutionize their workf low to achieve clean conversions, consistent color, ink savings and accurate recalibration across devices is to embrace the switch from traditional ICC to ICC DeviceLink profiling.

5. Embracing a New Approach Simply put, DeviceLink profiles

allow for standardized printing (ISO, GraCOL), or creating a custom common appearance, by directly converting from

one color space to another. This bypasses the need for an interim color space, where many conversion issues occur and files are most at risk of “breaking.”

By normalizing to one common appearance and converting directly from CMYK to CMYK, DeviceLink adjusts all devices to fit the same color space and improve color production and reproduction — no matter which printer is used.

Once a DeviceLink profile is created, the result is “frozen” in what is called a “golden state,” so tuneups will not affect future color conversions. This process allows print operations to produce the same quality across multiple printers, saving time and resources while ensuring optimal color quality.

While DeviceLink technology lies at the heart of the most advanced color engines, it’s important to remember that resolving color management issues and eliminating bottlenecks is not so much an issue of staying ahead of the printing technology curve, but rather having the foresight to question the norm.

Setting a New Status Quo for Wide-Format?

Effective color management is the foundation to achieving the best possible output the first time, every time. But the first step to achieving high-quality color that meets brand standards and secures repeat business is ensuring that the right systems and processes are in place from the print shop floor up.

As long as PSPs continue to rely on conventional color management systems,

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it remains difficult for these print businesses to reap the full benefits of automation. Without a solid foundation of consistent color across devices, any efficiencies created by an automated workflow are lost through time spent tweaking color issues on jobs.

Color Management No Longer Has to Be a Dark Art

The technology to eliminate bottlenecks and deliver identical output across devices already exists. LFPs need only take a small leap of faith to embrace new advances in color technology that optimize their

workflow for maximum productivity and profitability — all the while paving the transition to print Industry 4.0 territory.

After many years working with some of the industry’s leading print pioneers, Erik Strik is committed to solving one of wide-format’s biggest problems: inconsistency. Today, Erik is achieving his ambition as Founder and CEO of software company PrintFactory, having completely re-engineered the wide-format workflow to equip PSPs with an intuitive and future-proofed platform that readies them for the industry 4.0 era.

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Gamuts are very much a 3D phenomenon, and effective gamut evaluation and comparison should always be done in three dimensions.

Or Perhaps…Or

Perhaps…

By Steve Upton, President, CHROMiX

Print gamut is typically def ined as the total colors that can be printed using a particular printing system. This is sometimes depicted as a 2D gamut blob.

Ignoring the third dimension — lightness — is a big mistake, as the brightness of the paper and the printer’s ability to create dark blacks play a huge role in the range of colors one can print. Gamuts are very much a 3D phenomenon, and effective gamut evaluation and comparison should always be done in three dimensions.

Inks and the media (paper, film, etc.) to which they’re applied significantly affect a printer’s overall gamut. Along with the printer settings, they are the most controllable elements when trying to print vibrant, accurate images.

Print gamut is created by the interaction between your inks and substrate. Its outer limits are defined by the substrate's media- white level (almost always the brightest color), the maximum black level (the darkest ink combination), and the colored

inks alone at 100% and overprinted with other inks at 200%.

A Business Essential Simply put, everything inside the gamut

is a (theoretically) printable color, and everything outside is not. Many Pantone® colors are left outside typical printer gamuts. ICC printer profiles do a great job of finding in-gamut colors to print instead, but if too many of a customer’s brand or image colors are out of gamut, the resulting print can have dull, disappointing colors, muddy shadows and off-color logos. In short, small gamut output loses its punch.

It’s good to know if the system is capable of hitting those Pantone colors, or if it will be able to match the color your customer is aiming for. Knowing the gamut can indicate whether process colors will reproduce the image well or if spot inks are needed. Further, knowing the gamut of every process in the plant shows how much shared gamut the whole plant

Print Gamut Ins and Outs Gamut plays a significant role in how colors in a workflow get converted and how they appear in the final product.

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2D gamut.

V i s i t S G I A a t S G I A . o r g 2 8 | S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9

can produce. When it comes to reducing differences between jobs and between different printing technologies, knowing gamut capabilities is essential.

Expanding Your Gamut What makes the biggest difference

(and is often the easiest) is changing the substrate. The brighter the white, the bigger the gamut, which affects saturated colors as well as whites and near-whites. The substrate can also affect how much total ink can be held as well as the appearance of dark colors.

Also, the substrate’s invisible coating can make a surprising difference. Uncoated media absorbs ink into itself, allowing the grain of the substrate to rise up and scatter light before the ink has a chance to color it. This means your print’s saturation is battling against reflected white light, which reduces how saturated and dark the colors appear to the eye.

One CHROMiX customer discovered a coating problem by graphing the gamut of the test patches and seeing that the entire gamut was shrinking. Considering coatings are typically invisible and mostly unmeasurable, this was quite a feat! It also resulted in a media refund of over $100,000!

UV printing systems — those that “fix” their ink with UV light immediately after application to the substrate — tend to leave the ink on top of the substrate, reducing the surface bumpiness and increasing image color gamut.

Alternative or Additional Inks Most printing systems use the typical

four CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) inks to produce their ranges of color. Printing with high-density inks can increase output gamut while not adding the complications of additional channels. High-density inks incorporate more pigments or dyes into the same amount of ink fluid, but there are limitations to how much can be carried, and users rarely have control over such things in the world of inkjet output.

Some printing systems use light versions of each ink to smooth tones and hide speckling in highlight colors. Though light cyan, light magenta and gray inks are fairly common in inkjets, they typically have no effect whatsoever in the size of the gamut produced.

However, additional chromatic inks, such as orange, green and violet, can have a significant effect on print gamut. Some companies have also added pink, yellow

Paper White 100%Yellow

100%Magenta

400%CMYK

xCMYKCMYK GRACoL CMYKOGV

3D gamut.

Gamut color comparison between four- and seven-color printing systems.

or orange fluorescent inks to enlarge the gamut in order to hit specific color ranges.

Neutrals (grays from black to white) are an important part of any print gamut. It’s worth noting that while inks other than CMYK are effective at enlarging the gamut, they are almost never used to create grays in the gamut’s center. C, M and Y, in balance, along with K, are the inks used to create grays and near neutrals. This is why G7 calibration — which concentrates on gray tone calibration and gray balance — is very useful for both CMYK and CMYK+ printing systems alike.

Metallic inks containing silver- or gold-colored flakes can produce visually striking output, but they tend to have no effect on the overall gamut that can be produced.

Cautions and Limitations Stretching a printing system to print a

gamut larger than necessary can cause a variety of issues. When ink is over-applied, it stops filtering the desired colors, and its impurities start filtering new colors. This causes the ink’s hue to shift, making calibration and profiling difficult. Neither process printing nor spot color does well

with inks that shift color as they get thicker on the paper, so beware of over-inking.

Just because a printer can create saturated colors doesn’t mean the profile will allow them to print. In some cases, this is expected and acceptable when you choose to limit inking levels. Many substrates can’t handle higher than 250% - 300% ink coverage reliably, even if that could result in darker colors.

Some profiles, however, will not allow fully saturated colors to print. When printing with any profile, colors are converted into printable colors using the profile’s rendering intents. Colors that are originally in-gamut for the printer will often get printed as a similar color, while out-of-gamut colors must be mapped to pleasing, printable colors. This gamut mapping compresses the original gamut into the printer’s gamut, but an alarming number of profiles over-limit the resulting gamut and render some colors permanently unavailable.

Black Ink’s Impact Black ink is important to printing in a

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This graph compares overall printer gamut to the color range the ICC profile will allow you to print (red dots).


has fine details that multiple inks can blur if not aligned properly. When cyan, magenta and yellow inks combine at a full 300%, their impurities limit them from producing the darkest maximum black the images demand. Adding black ink allows the image to get much darker and remove fairly equal amounts of color inks. In fact, adding black ink can increase the gamut volume by 25% or more.

While not a gamut issue per se, black ink helps create more stable printing through gray component replacement. As colors pass through an ICC profile, equally gray amounts of CMY inks are replaced with black ink. This reduces the total amount of inks used — saving money and drying time — while reducing the percentage levels of the remaining color inks. As a result, any variation in a single print channel resulting from clogged nozzles or paper absorption effects has a lower chance of visually affecting the color balance of the image.

Gamut Metrics Gamut graphs are impressive for their

visual shape and are useful for comparison with other gamuts and image colors, but sometimes numbers offer more reassurance. One of the first gamut metrics created was gamut volume.

Having a volume shell shape means being able to calculate the volume using a variety of different techniques. CHROMiX prefers the technique of slicing the gamut horizontally into thin slices, calculating the area and estimating the volume of each slice, then adding all the slices together. Others find a point within the gamut and calculate the volume of tetrahedrons emanating out from the center point to triangles on the gamut surface. Either way, the result is a single number representing a gamut size.

Unfortunately, due to the warped nature of Lab, not all colors are represented equally. Also, a single volume number does very little to help when comparing two gamuts. The specific parts of the gamuts that intersect (or don’t) tend to be quite important. Still, when comparing profiles of different media on the same printer with the same inks, it’s not a bad metric. To make the numbers as meaningful as possible, avoid comparing dissimilar gamuts.

There has been some work toward creating metrics that effectively compare two dif ferent gamut shapes. One comparison technique receiving attention is the Gamut Comparison Index (GCI) by Kiran Deshpande. GCI involves comparing separate sections of the gamuts and combining the results to create a single

number that enumerates how one gamut compares to another.

For example, high-density xCMYK has a GCI of 1.46 compared to GRACoL CMYK — meaning it’s 46% larger. Comparing seven-ink CMYKOGV to xCMYK produces a GCI of 1.14, showing it’s still 14% larger. These metrics still don’t reflect that parts of the xCMYK gamut are “inside” CMYKOGV, but they’re an improvement and accurately reflect the portions that overlap.

Recreating customer brand colors often involves dealing with Pantone-specified colors. Another print gamut evaluation technique is finding how many Pantone colors (typically from a specific library, such as Pantone Coated) can be reproduced with acceptable error — and hence be considered in-gamut.

The Calibration Effect Calibrating a printing system can

affect gamut in two ways. The first, is the maximum ink level setting in each channel. It’s fairly obvious that reducing how much magenta ink can be laid down will shrink the gamut accordingly. But it may come as a surprise that linearization, which affects the distribution of the inks between paper and maximum inking, can also affect the gamut.

This is especia lly visible in dye sublimation printing, which of ten requires printing on a transfer paper and heat pressing the image onto the final substrate. If there’s too much ink applied to the paper (something it can often handle without problems), the excess ink base can actually impede the transfer of ink. This can result in density reversals, where the saturation of the ink that’s transferred is reduced. Effective linearization will stop this reversal, save ink and actually increase the saturation of the transferred ink — increasing the resulting gamut size.

Steve Upton is President of CHROMiX, the 20-year-old Seattle-based firm providing color management products, consulting, training and technical support to visual content creators in various industries. He is the creator of the award-winning ColorThink color profile graphing and analysis package, the architect of the Maxwell online color management system and co-developer of Curve. With years of computing and photographic experience, and a degree in computing science and optics, Steve is uniquely qualified to manage color fidelity in the digital realm.

3 0 | S G I A J o u r n a l ■ M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9

Gamut Volume GCI % represented

CRPC 6 GRACoL2013 389309 (reference)

XCMYK 569984 1.46 vs CRPC6 46% larger than CRPC6

CMYKOGV 652201 1.14 vs XCMYK 14% larger than XCMYK

(data courtesy of Kiran Deshpande et al paper 2015)

Gamut Comparison Indices for Industry Standard Spaces

Ink set/CRPC Colors in gamut % Colors in Gamut

CMYKOGV 1560 77%

CMYK(subset) 1403 69%

GRACoL 1437 71%

SWOP #3 1321 65% From Pantone Coated set: 2036 colors

Number of Pantone Colors Available in Several Color Gamuts

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featurecase study

Day-to-day tasks often distract from new initiatives in the workplace, but this didn’t stop 30 SGIA member companies from prioritizing sustainability projects last year and applying for the 2019 Sustainable Business Recognition program.

The Sustainable Business Recognition program encourages companies to do just that: to look beyond business as usual and strive for programs that support the three pillars of sustainability — people, planet and profit. The award examines activity from the previous year, and in 2018, a particularly high amount of companies pursued programs to improve facility efficiency, waste management and resource reduction.

Pollution prevention encompasses redesigning products and manufacturing processes to reduce solid waste or emissions of harmful wastes such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), greenhouse gases, hazardous chemicals or solvents. It’s about resource reduction and waste management. Pollution control, on the other hand, takes waste that’s already been created and repurposes or recycles it.

Minimizing both raw material intake and waste of all kinds benefits the company’s financial bottom line because it reduces waste management costs, amount of material initially purchased, employee sick days, and potential pollution fines. Just as importantly, the other two pillars — people and planet — also benefit from avoiding pollution emissions.

Facility efficiencies reported for 2018 included improving energy efficiency, converting from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources, converting to electric-powered vehicles, and improving workspaces to enhance worker efficiency, attitude and performance.

Sustainability is only viable if the three pillars are equally considered. Two applicants, Inteplast Group Lolita and Print Equipment GmbH & Company, stood out for the ways they used multiple programs throughout the year to establish true sustainable success. Both minimized negative effects on the natural environment, employees and customers, and improved their own profits.

Inteplast Group The Lolita, Texas, facility of North America’s

largest integrated plastics manufacturer, Inteplast Group, signif icantly improved building eff iciency, waste management, community outreach and employee care in 2018.

Building Ef f iciency: This faci l it y is equipped with the best available technology for plastic production including advanced automation and computerization. Inteplast Group’s consistent technology updates ensures optimal production efficiency and has earned Inteplast the IOS 9001 Certification, a globally recognized quality management certification.

Waste Management: The sheer volume of waste they produce makes waste management efforts, primarily pollution control, significant tasks. The Lolita plant produces four million pounds of scrap plastic each year — an average of about 11,000 pounds every single day. Their new program allows it to be ground, melted and re-pelletized to be immediately reintegrated into production rather than carted off to the landfill.

Also in 2018, the plant fostered two ongoing recycling-focused partnerships for repurposing Inteplast’s paper cores and wood pallets. Their partnership with a manufacturer of 100%-recycled packaging products, has helped to divert over 11 million pounds of viable material from the landfill over the last 10 years.

Through the second partnership, Inteplast reuses pallets and buys recycled pallets, reducing waste and expenses. (Recycled wood pallets typically cost 30% - 60% less than new wood pallets.) Unusable wood pallets are chipped into mulch.

Community and Employee Support: Inteplast understands the importance of treating their employees and community well. They support their nearby community by providing complimentary recycle totes and other products to organizations and churches. This charitable and understanding culture is integrated into the workplace through fundraisers, employee

Sustainable Success Stories

Heather Nortz, Government & Business Affairs Assistant, SGIA


contributions and emotional support given to workers whenever a personal tragedy occurs. They view their employees as their most valued asset and therefore don’t hesitate to ensure their well-being. Furthermore, they have achieved a personal record of two years injury-free in the workplace!

Print Equipment GmbH & Company Print Equipment GmbH & Company of Achern, Germany, a provider of

printing systems, transfer press systems and sublimation printing articles, has also been a 2018 sustainability leader. Their focuses on utilizing renewable energy, increasing business efficiency, and ensuring employee and customer satisfaction has benefitted their profits, reduced tax deductions in employees’ salaries, made their products more recyclable, and helped them to produce renewable energy to the extent that they could sell some back to their power company.

Renewable Energy: They began transitioning all their vehicles, right down to their lawn mower, from fossil fuel to electrically powered. By the end of 2019, this change will cut their fuel use by 11,000 gallons. The amount saved will double next year, after they transition their final nine vehicles. Their vehicles are not the only operations being run by renewable, though. Geothermal energy is used to moderate temperature in their new headquarters building, and a 400kW solar panel installation on the roof more than accommodates their remaining energy needs. The remaining energy is sold back to the grid. Investing in renewable energy allowed this facility to become 100% carbonless and to make a profit on energy production.

Business Efficiency: By attaching an inflatable structure to the loading dock, Print Equipment GmbH improved climate control, reducing the hot or cold air (depending on the season) flowing into the facility. Their new automatic small parts warehouse, driven by robotic technology, shaved 70% off picking time — allowing more orders to be completed more quickly. Lastly, they simplified disposal and recycling for customers by replacing 98% of polystyrene packaging materials with cardboard, which is less toxic and much easier to recycle.

Employee and Customer Satisfaction: Among employees, the most popular program implemented at Print Equipment GmbH in 2018 was the system that allowed paying portions of salaries without tax deductions. This system was individualized based on each employee’s specific situation and resulted in significantly higher take-home pay for all workers. Employees also enjoyed the new ventilation system, which improved air quality, and the 10 electric car chargers available for personal use free of charge. When employees are happy, work quality improves, and it did in this case. The greater quality, along with Print Equipment GmbH’s extended product responsibility efforts, are appreciated by their customers.

Cultural Changes Bring Success Both Inteplast and Print Equipment GmbH have integrated cultures of

sustainability into their everyday business practices. This commitment has resulted in returns on investment in the form of efficient workers and money saved on raw materials and electricity. All the while, they are improving the environmental condition by reducing the solid and gaseous waste they generate and the amount of fossil fuels used, and by increasing recyclability of materials.

Sustainability is an ongoing, long-term solution — a commitment, really — to conserving and sustaining a healthy earth and consistent high standard of living. Accomplishing this requires constant work and improvement. So, what are you and your company doing to improve your sustainability efforts? If your answer is “not much” or “I’m not sure,” then invest in figuring out what projects or programs may be feasible for your facility to accomplish! Look at trends in your industry and learn from what other companies are doing. Tell us where you have found success by applying for next year’s Sustainable Business Recognition program.

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The industry needs to go beyond looking at signage as a flat, 2D medium and consider how 3D can enhance, improve and perhaps even change how graphics are viewed.

By Nigel Heywood, KIWO Inc.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, will profoundly change society, from manufacturing (on-demand parts for consumer products, cars, airplanes etc.), to creating human tissue and enabling survival in remote locations (think Mars). At some point, a machine in the home will create food or consumer items selected from a screen. It will be as common an item as the microwave, stove or television.

Today, 3D printing is split into two distinct markets.

“Hobbyists” find the pursuit of building and mastering 3D printers a goal in and of itself. This is the segment that created the 3D printing revolution.

“Makers” are trying to use additive manufacturing to create rea l va lue products. This market will generate 3D printing’s social impact.

Examples of 3D printing in the marketplace last year included parts on planes (Emirates Airlines), automotive

interiors (Ford), biomedical innovations, synthetic food in Israel, surgical prosthetics and military metallurgic parts.

Massivit 3D stole the show at the 2018 SGIA Expo by showcasing the ways 3D technology can be used to create unique, large-format models, channel lettering and backlit signage. Massivit 3D is looking to the future and exploring how signage should be viewed as a 3D object, not a flat 2D sign. By merging props and signage, the company has given us a glimpse of the not-too-distant future.

3D printing can seem a daunting technology. There are a lot of moving parts —software, hardware, consumables, design. The purpose of this article is to provide a starting point in your search to embrace the technology.

It’s a Sign The industry needs to go beyond

looking at signage as a flat, 2D medium and consider how 3D can enhance,

The Future of 3D Printing It’s no novelty. 3D printing has real applications for printers.

feature


improve and perhaps even change how graphics are viewed. Applications such as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signage, channel letters, lithographic backlit images and even unique point-of-purchase (POP) displays illustrate the advantages 3D printing provides for smaller run, custom designs that cannot typically be printed or created without great cost. 3D printing allows the printer to enhance 2D signage, and to create custom displays for cosmetic, toy or any POP subject matter. A simple coffee shop sign can be 3D printed with a cup attached, ADA signage 3D printed with Braille lettering or a museum sign with 3D-printed dinosaur bones.

Technologies Fusion deposition modeling (FDM),

which involves creating an object by extruding molten plastic in layers, using a device that looks like a router with movement in the X, Y and Z planes, is the primary technology for signage. Other 3D printing methods include stereo lithography (SLA), which uses UV or a similar light source to cure a liquid polymer in layers, and selective laser

sintering, the fusing of plastic or metal powders with lasers.

Cost and Assembly 3D printers in the FDM market fall

into three price categories: below $1,000, $1,000 - $5,000 and over $5,000. 3D printers under $1,000 — the largest category — tend to require some minor assembly, as they come in kits or semi-assembled. This is a fast-evolving and improving area. Printers in the category include the Dremel, Flashforge, Prusa (MK3), Robo, Wanhao and XYZ.

Printers from $1,000 to $5,000 tend to be fully assembled with self-enclosed housings, better components and better product durability. In this category you will find Lulzbot, Robo and Ultimaker.

Above $5,000, you get into the industrial 3D printers, such as 3Dplatform, HP, Makerbot (Method), Massivit 3D, Mimaki, Raise3D and Stratsys. (This is by no means a complete list of manufacturers.)

Build Sizes With their smaller build volumes, most

3D printers — even the most expensive — can create objects that are relatively

Decisions Before purchasing a 3D printer for

signage, make some critical decisions:

• How will the printer be used? Saleable products, prototypes, tinkering with the technology?

• What size will the prints need to be?

• How durable will the printed pieces need to be?

• Will it need to print in color? • Can signage be assembled

from it? • What is the budget? • Does anyone on staff have any

experience with 3D design? • Can anyone on staff

troubleshoot? 3D printing is not a plug-and-print technology (yet). Issues can and will arise.

The Massivit 1800 3D Printer. (Image courtesy of Massivit 3D.)

small. With some notable exceptions, 3D printers tend to be limited to less than 12-by-12-by-15 inches. Companies such as 3Dplatform, however, manufacture large-volume 3D FDM printers. The cost for a 40-by-40-inch printer ranges from $18,000 to $50,000. Modix also has large-format printers from around $6,000 for a 50-by-30-by-30-inch build volume.

Materials Metallurgic 3D printing is evolving

fast and capturing headlines, but it is plastic that is used in most printers. FDM works by melting a thin (1.75 millimeters or 3 millimeters) strand of plastic and forming a part. The materials vary from PLA, PETG, ABS, nylon, flexible (TPU) to co-blended plastics that include metal powders within the plastic (carbon fiber, Kevlar, gold, copper, even diamonds!). 3D FDM printed parts can be very strong, but tend not to be as durable as injection molded parts at this time. 3D printed parts can also be hygroscopic, that is, they tend to absorb moisture from the

air, unless they’re post treated. That also affects longer-term durability. For signage applications, especially interior, this is not an issue.

Designing for 3D This is the most crucial aspect for

3D printing. Technology is improving, however, to become a maker, you will need to learn to create artwork within a 3D art environment. That includes mastering software such as Fusion360 and SolidWorks to create what you need for your printer. Photoshop and Illustrator also have 3D rendering tools.

Color 3D has been a monochromatic

technology so far. Most applications are for components or parts, where color is secondary to durability. However, as applications broaden into areas such as signage, color is becoming essential. Until recently, 3D printed color was “hacked” by printing color in layers (e.g., starting with a white base, then changing the color

to red), using multiple nozzles (which has had mixed results) or by gluing parts together. In the past few years, there have been serious attempts to create color parts.

In terms of FDM, the concept of color merging filament is evolving quickly. Chinese manufacturer Geeetech has a color-merging, dual color printer nozzle, or hotend, that can combine filaments to create a true additive color and build objects in solid colors. Late last year, M3D announced the CRANE Quad 3D printer, which merges cyan, magenta, yellow and black filament to create over 50,000 colors. The Prusa Multi Material Upgrade 2.0 allows you to combine four individual colors for its MK3 3D printer.

Mosaic Manufacturing’s Pa lette 2 splices up to four filament colors on demand during the printing process. They are attempting to simplify the process of creating multi-colored objects through innovative software that allows you to paint your 3D file and then allows the Palette 2 to do the rest. The Mosaic approach can be used with almost any 3D

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FDM printer. Mosaic caters to the general FDM market, but has an industrial-grade product that can splice filament for real production needs, such as mass-producing 3D printed signage. If you are seriously considering FDM for signage, the Mosaic Palette 2 is an essential tool.

XYZ Printing and Mimaki have also taken an original approach by merging inkjet with FDM and SLA.

Ready to Buy? 3D printers in the sub $1,000 range

are available online through consumer sites that provide added protection in the first 30 days or so. There are industry-specific online companies that focus on 3D printers and provide excellent pre-

sales service. Over $1,000, go directly to the manufacturer. But due diligence is important! Identify what kind of support the company provides, warranty coverage for specific parts (identify limits) and the warranty process. If this is a printer from China, expect long wait times for parts. Nigel Heywood, owner of 3dhd World, is a consultant on 3D printing and design, and a product manager for digital products for KIWO Inc. His work with 3D printing includes building additive printers and 3D software such as Fusion 360, Blender and Solidworks. He’s been in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, working with companies including Gerber Scientific and Autotype Americas (now MacDermid Autotype).

The Mosaic Palette 2. (Image courtesy of Mosaic Manufacturing.)

The Prusa MK3. (Image courtesy of Prusa.)

Companies Referenced Manufacturers

Dremel: digilab.dremel.com

Flashforge: flashforge.com

HP 3D: hp.com

Lulzbot: lulzbot.com

Massivit 3D: massivit3D.com

Makerbot: makerbot.com

Mimaki: mimakiusa.com/products/3d-printers

Modix: modix3d.com

Prusa: shop.prusa3D.com

Raise3D: raise3D.com

Stratasys: stratasys.com

Ultimaker: ultimaker.com

Wanhao: usawanhao.com

XYZ Printing: xyzprinting.com

Design Software

Fusion 360 by Autodesk: autodesk.com

Solidworks: solidworks.com


feature


case study

With 3D printing already making its mark on industries far and wide, the latest market to benefit from this alluring technology is the wide-format print space.

We asked Steve Gallow, Co-Owner of Canada-based print service Media Resources, why he took the plunge into large-format 3D printing a couple of years ago, and how it has empowered his sales and marketing bottom line for 2D and 3D business.

According to Gallow, Media Resources’ 230 employees have always kept their fingers on the pulse of new technology in order to evolve the business and maintain an edge in light of the competitive digital printing arena.

Upon seeing a Massivit 3D printer for the first time at ISA Expo two years ago, Gallow and his partners were awestruck and immediately ordered the machine.

“Watching the enormous 3D printer live is a jaw-dropping experience,” he said. “The business benefits were immediately obvious. Displays that until then were taking us several months to sculpt can now be 3D printed literally within hours, and at an even higher quality that can be accurately reproduced. This means we can accept a greater quantity and a more sophisticated array of jobs. Also, the machine enables the production of far more complex structures than what we can achieve by hand or on our CNC routing machines.”

More Leads Many wide-format print services are not exposed to the

business benefits obtained from adopting large-format 3D printing services. Gallow claims it is bringing significantly more prospects into his print shop, and they often end up “ordering

additional jobs using our 2D printing services.”

“One example was a $2.5 million LED job we won when we called in Fallsview Casino to see our 3D printing technology,” he said. “The hype that this technology drums up is phenomenal. We used to get around one lead per month through our social media channels, but since purchasing the Massivit 3D printer, we’re now getting an average of three leads per day. In our first year, we added $1 million extra related to 3D displays, signage and props,” Gallow said.

“3D printing gives us another reason to pick up the phone and talk to customers,” he added. “It is the most exciting part of our presentation to our clients. It inspires the advertising agencies to experiment with new ideas as well, and then they approach us and ask, ‘So does that mean you can do this?’ It is helping us start exciting, new conversations.”

New Markets Gallow said the Massivit 3D printing solution is helping

Media Resources’ operation evolve. “Due to commoditization, services like digital vinyl printing

that used to be charged at a cost of $12 per square foot are marketed today at just $0.65 per square foot! We’re always looking for ways to evolve as a company and service so that we can remain a partner of choice for our customers while maintaining a competitive advantage. Customers also generally prefer to work with ‘fun’ companies. 3D printing supplies that perk,” he said.

3D Printing Complements Wide-Format

Kim Haimovic, Senior Content Manager, Massivit 3D

This Spider-Man exhibition display prop required 60 hours of printing and 40 for assembly and finishing. (Image courtesy of Media Resources.)


“Every time we introduce new tech, we try to add a service that will firstly match our existing customers’ needs. We can now offer larger and more unique billboards, for example. Our customer base was already in the billboard business, so it made sense for us to invest in 3D.”

The investment in 3D printing has also enabled the company to open doors that were once firmly shut.

“We tried for many years to tap into the movie industry by offering backdrops, but we didn’t succeed,” said Gallow. “The Massivit 1800 printer has allowed us to offer custom props to the movie studios with the super-fast turnaround they require. Before, we were mostly making 3D props by hand, but this is extremely time-consuming. We also tried CNC routing with foam but couldn’t achieve the quality, complexity or speed required. Now, 50% of our work comes from the movie industry and we’ve been able to supply them with the 2D backdrops and LEDs as well!”

According to Gallow, Media Resources completes a quarter of its projects on the Massivit 1800 printer, often combining it with either CNC or hand sculpting, depending on the complexity or time constraints. The finishing process is often completed in-house, although on some jobs, the movie studios complete the finishing.

“In terms of applications, we’re only limited by our imagination, and I am adamant that there are additional ripe markets just waiting for us to dive in,” he said. “We have won jobs for museums and science centers and now want to target the sports industry. Also, the unique attributes of the 3D printer allow us to offer our customers new ways to execute their concepts. For example, we produced a 3D, illuminated Samsung Stylus pen for a retail POP display in Toronto. I believe we can sell hundreds of these. We want to get into 3D printed molds for vacuum forming too as it promises great business potential.”

The 3D printer is also winning over the operation’s team. “Our staff are absolutely drawn to it!” said Gallow. “They mill around the machine, which doesn’t occur with any of our other printers. It creates a real internal buzz.”

For those tempted to see what 3D printing can offer, he has some advice: “Get your feet wet and make a few projects by leaning on other 3D printer owners. Check out the potential.”

This case study was submitted by Massivit 3D and Media Resources. If your company would like to submit a similar success story, please contact [email protected].

This bus shelter’s 3-foot high beer bottles were 3D printed two-at-a-time with dual printheads. The beer case is made of Sintra plastic and filled with foam. (Image courtesy of Media Resources.)

Image courtesy of Media Resources.

The jet ski and rocket figures on this billboard were 3D printed. (Image courtesy of Media Resources.)

Produced for the sequel to the movie “It,” this Paul Bunyan prop’s head, hands and boots were 3D printed. (Image courtesy of Media Resources.)

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case First to Know

Gary Jones, Director, Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs, SGIA

Over the past few years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has stepped up its compliance enforcement efforts with a new severe-injury reporting requirement and an electronic injury and illness reporting rule. To avoid noncompliance and fines, it is essential to understand these requirements.

Form 300, 300A, 301 (10+ employees) OSHA requires employers with 10 or more employees to record

any injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace within seven days. Incidents resulting in loss of consciousness, medical treatment beyond first aid, death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job are considered recordable and must be logged on OSHA’s Form 300. OSHA also has Form 300A and, if necessary, Form 301 to be completed.

Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, lists all work-related injuries and illnesses that occurred at an establishment during a specific calendar year. It collects data including the person’s name, what happened, how it happened, the incident classification, its severity and if the employee missed any time from work or was prevented from fulfilling their job duties.

Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, summarizes the data on the previous calendar year’s Form 300 and lists the total number of recordable injuries and illnesses by category. OSHA requires Form 300A be posted prominently in the workplace annually from February 1 to April 30.

Form 301, Injury and Illness Incident Report, gathers details of the incident entered on Form 300A or the OSHA 300 Log. If the worker’s compensation injury reporting form contains all required information, OSHA allows employers to substitute it for Form 301.

Electronic Record Keeping Rule (20+ Employees) Since May 2016, OSHA’s “Improve Tracking of Workplace

Injuries and Illnesses” rule, also known as the “Electronic Record Keeping Rule,” has required establishments with more than 20 full-time, part-time or temporary employees at any time in the past year to use the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) to submit injury and illness data from OSHA Form 300A.

The Electronic Record Keeping Rule included provisions explicitly prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees who report work-related injuries or raise safety and health concerns. OSHA interpreted these anti-retaliation provisions as placing limitations on certain safety incentive programs, disciplinary strategies and post-accident drug-testing policies. The rule triggered several lawsuits, which are still pending. As a result of the lawsuits and privacy concerns, OSHA modified the rule on January 25, 2019, for large establishments (individual locations with 250 or more employees), but did not rescind the entire rule.

Large establishments are now no longer required to submit detailed information from their Form 300 — they only need to submit their Form 300A information. This is OSHA’s way

Understand Record-Keeping Rules


case First to Know

of protecting worker privacy, as it prevents the collection of sensitive information, including names, descriptions of injuries and affected body parts.

As of March 2, 2020, OSHA will require all companies to include their Employer Identification Number (EIN) with their Form 300A data. This will apply when establishments submit their 2019 Form 300A.

Site-Specific Targeting Program Based on 300A While its intended use of the Electronic Record Keeping Rule data was not initially obvious, in November 2018, OSHA announced its Site-Specific Targeting 2016 (SST-16) inspection plan. The SST-16 uses the 2016 calendar year 300A injury and illness data to target companies for inspection.

The SST-16 targeted facilities include three categories of establishments: • Those with elevated days away, restricted or transferred

(DART) injury rates (OSHA has not yet defined the DART

threshold and may be waiting to see how many companies are on the list before finalizing it)

• A random sample of establishments OSHA believes were required to submit 2016 300A injury data but did not do so

• A random sample of establishments with low DART injury rates for quality control purposes

In addition to OSHA’s concern that some companies are deliberately not recording or reporting all of their injuries and illnesses, they believe thousands of companies did not submit data that should have and are including these companies in the program.

Severe Injury, Illness and Fatality Reporting (All Printing Operations)

Historically, OSHA has required employers to report catastrophic events and any fatality to be investigated. In January 2015, OSHA revised its regulation by expanding the list of severe

Deadline for reporting injuriesThe deadline for reporting injuries and illnesses that occurred during 2018 was March 2. Companies that have not filed their data are advised to submit their forms as soon as possible to avoid any potential fines. The application is available at osha.gov/injuryreporting

To report a severe injury or catastrophic incident, contact OSHA: • Phone: 800-321-OSHA (6742)

• Online: OSHA’s Serious Event Reporting Online Form (osha.gov/pls/ser/serform.html)

• In person: Go to the OSHA area office closest to the injury site

injuries all OSHA-covered industries must report — regardless of size or partial exemption status. This means that even if a company is not required to keep OSHA injury and illness records or electronically report their data, they must still report any severe injury, illness or fatality.

At that time, OSHA reduced the threshold for a “catastrophic incident” from the hospitalization of three or more employees to the hospitalization of a single employee. Amputation and the loss of an eye were added to the list of injuries that must be reported within 24 hours of occurrence and within 24 hours of the employer learning about the incident. The current regulation requires employers to inform OSHA within eight hours of the occurrence in the case of a fatality or three or more hospitalizations. Any fatality that occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident must be reported within eight hours of the death.

Printing operations reporting amputations or hospitalization due to equipment-related injuries can expect an OSHA inspection, because the printing industry is classified as a high-hazard industry for amputations.

OSHA’s changes to its injury and illness record keeping and reporting rules have significantly altered the compliance landscape. The severe injury reporting rule has resulted in many printing operation inspections, which have resulted in high penalties due to non-compliance with the underlying regulatory requirements (principally, machine guarding and lockout and tag-out programs). The SST-16 program will bring additional inspections with the scrutiny of worker’s comp and other records. Printing operations must ensure they understand their obligations under the rule and take steps to comply if they have not met the requirements.

case First to Know

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A First Time for Everything

As featured on the SGIA Printing Press blog on SGIA.org.

For nearly a decade, I have been directly involved with the programming for several SGIA conferences, from the Membrane Switch Symposium to the more recent Industrial Applications & Printed Electronics Symposium. I have been attending these types of conferences for even longer, but not long enough to say I attended their first iterations.

On many occasions, my industry colleagues have spoken about their experiences at the first Membrane Switch Symposium and I sometimes find myself feeling jealous that they saw that first symposium evolve into what became last year’s inaugural FP3: Functional Printing, Process & Products conference. I now hope to look back on FP3 in the distant future and feel a sense of pride in seeing how it’s grown and matured, much like my own children.

The FP3 conference, unlike its predecessors, was designed to attract and inform a diverse group of companies, from smart textile manufacturers to business best practices professionals to industrial printers. They would all come together to listen, learn, engage with and be inspired by industry leaders covering both technical innovations and business-related topics.

I had the opportunity to be part of the diverse FP3 agenda as I presented my company’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics U.S. team’s Ralph Lauren jackets. In tandem with the “Collaboration Leads to Innovation” theme, Michael Burrows of DuPont and I shared our companies’ involvement with the printed flexible heater used

Mike Wagner, Engineering Manager, Butler Technologies


to warm the athletes. Our presentation opened with a short Ralph Lauren promo video of the jacket and its heating technology.

This was followed by an overview and discussion on how each of our companies became involved with this project and ultimately collaborated on the key components of the heater system. We discussed the challenges we faced during the project’s different phases and the creative solutions developed to overcome these hurdles. Michael also shared how the heater technology continued to evolve into a robust heater system for the wearables market, which segued into a conversation on the various pathways attendees could follow when seeking their own collaborative opportunities.

Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome of our presentation and the conference as a whole. With FP3’s second installment around the corner (May 5 - 7; Itasca, Illinois), I look forward to seeing it continue to grow and widen its impact in the years to come.

Mike Wagner is the Engineering Manager of Butler Technologies and has more than 23 years of experience in the graphic imaging, printed electronics and automotive industries. Nearly 19 of those years have been spent working exclusively in industrial printing, and membrane switch and printed electronics.

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feature


Bill Farquharson, President, Aspire For

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Sell Your Sales Reps

Crickets. That’s the best description of the sales meeting he’d just left,

the company president thought as he slouched in his office chair. Why was he the only one excited about the new piece of

equipment being delivered soon, a wide-format device with incredible capabilities, color quality and opportunities for his sales team to benefit?

After the big announcement, a review of the speeds and feeds, a presentation from the business development team, numerous charts and graphs clearly showing the need and the potential, his salespeople looked at him with all the excitement of a teenager being told her parents will be chaperoning the school dance. On the way out, he heard one rep grumble, “It’s beige and uses electricity. Rah-rah.”

What went wrong? Can’t they see what a big deal this is for the company?

Slowly spinning in his chair while he pondered the situation, the president’s eyes fell upon his bookcase. Over the years, he had collected quite a few helpful books on sales, finance and business, and one in particular caught his eye. Its pages were ragged and well worn. He smiled.

Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”

has more travel miles on it than most people, he thought. It’s a classic. How he wished everyone who worked for him could benefit from its simple wisdom!

The book essentially says everything is a sales situation, where the desired outcome is possible only when the needs of the “other guy” are taken into consideration. It works when selling print. It works when trying to talk yourself out of a speeding ticket. It works when negotiating with your children. It works …

Suddenly, he stopped and thought, “I wonder if I’ve been going about this the wrong way. I assumed everyone would be as excited as I am, so much so that I forgot one key factor: I still need to sell the idea to others in the plant in order to make it successful. Perhaps Dale Carnegie has something to teach me here, as I try to introduce a new piece of wide-format printing equipment. This is just another selling situation, only I am the salesperson, and the reps are my prospective clients. I can get what I want when I figure out what the sales force wants and help them to get it.”

And with that, he grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and made a list of the perceived needs of his “customer”:


Money Compensation is always a good starting point. The president

realized he had overlooked the single most motivating factor for his sales team: The commissions it could generate. It’s no secret that salespeople follow the money. Incentivize them properly, and they will sell to the digital device.

This might require taking a close look at their compensation plan. Is it motivating enough? Salespeople are a funny bunch. They are lone wolves who can be quite selfish at times. They’ll sell to the equipment that makes them the most money.

In digital print sales, dollar amounts — and therefore commissions — can be small, and that perception can generate a negative attitude. But, and this is frequently overlooked, the rep’s involvement is typically limited to the beginning of the digital print sale. By and large, they need only locate the applications and bring in their technical experts to set up proper file transfer procedure. Once the client connects with prepress and any technical issues are ironed out, orders flow in — often without the sales rep’s knowledge (until they see it on their commission check). Still, it might take an entirely different compensation structure to get the sales reps’ attention. It might even require overcompensating for a time in order to show the reps the value of digital annuities.

Help with Selling Another key factor when considering sales needs comes down

to the assistance the company can provide in identifying and accelerating the sale. Specifically, there are three areas to consider:

Marketing: If sales is baiting the hook, then marketing is stocking the pond. It is incumbent upon the company to tell the story of wide format and stir up some interest. Each application of this new press has the potential to generate a success story, one that will demonstrate the value to others with similar needs. Solve a problem using a wide-format print solution, and then create YouTube videos or white papers or case studies that scream, “Look what we can do!” More than any other aspect of print, digital and wide-format marketing requires an anecdotal approach.

Vertical Market Information: One of the fastest ways to find

success in print is to focus on a particular vertical market, such as banks, colleges or hospitals. The thinking is, solve a problem for one company, and their competitor is certain to have the same need. Become a subject matter expert in that vertical, and you can rule their world. Such is also the case when selling wide format.

But understanding the specific applications is not enough. Relying solely on a list of what, say, colleges buy, almost always ends with the dreaded, “Your prices are too high.” Salespeople need to understand business needs, not just print needs, in order to find profitability.

Qualified Leads: All sales people clamor for leads. In a perfect world, the company’s marketing efforts get the phone ringing, and vertical market education makes it easier for the reps to make the sale. One last component, providing qualified leads, helps the sales team and encourages them to sell to the new equipment. Anyone can buy a list. Qualifying the lead requires doing a little pre-call research, perhaps identifying a business need along with a business contact. The more the company can do, the more the rep will sell.

Sales Skills: Finally, the company must confront the potential fear factor involved. Sales reps must be given the skills they need to confidently pursue applications and opportunities. No sales rep will admit to it, but given that they are being asked to approach the originator of the document, use technical language that is foreign to them, or be asked questions to which they do not readily have the answer, they’re going to be knocked way out of their comfort zone.

As the saying goes, what got you here won’t get you there. Back in the day, adding a new piece of equipment required none of these steps. It was bolted into the shop floor, tuned up and blended in with the other pieces of iron. Today, however, with the advent of digital printing equipment, not to mention other aspects of converging markets, special attention must be paid to ensure that everyone is on board, especially the sales force.

Bill Farquharson is the President of Aspire For and can be reached at BillFarquharson.com or 781-934-7036. Bill’s books, “The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever!” and “Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How?” are available on Amazon.


Introducing PrinterLinkPrinting is a community, and PrinterLink, on the new

SGIA.org, opens up that community for discussions, referrals and product searches.

Start on the SGIA.org home page, and log in with your email address. (Use the “Forgot Password” link if you haven’t created a new password yet.) Scroll to your industry — Graphics Production, Garment Decoration, Educators and Students, Functional Printing, Commercial Printing, Installation/PDAA, Digital Textile, Packaging and Label — click in, start exploring and chime in on PrinterLink.

Gray Steps Up as SMC Vice ChairCarleen Gray, CEO,

S TA H L S ’, h a s b e e n appointed Vice Chairman of SGIA’s Supplier and Manufacturers Council (SMC). Gray has led the STAH LS’ team s ince 2018, following 20 years in posit ions including Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer.

STAHLS’ manufactures garment decoration materials and equipment.

In other news, Felix Mueller, President, Heidelberg Americas, has joined the SMC. Mueller oversees all activities of Heidelberg USA, Canada and Mexico. He has more than 20 years with the company, serving in roles including Regional Business Manager (RBM) for Asia, RBM Equipment for Western Europe and Worldwide Product Management for Sheetfed.

The SMC is an elite group of industry leaders who are advising SGIA on issues and concerns related to the future

success of their companies, their customers and, more importantly, the printing industry.

PRINTING United Direct Mail Gets NoticedA recent “Save the Date” mailing for PRINTING United

caught the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) eye as a prime example of direct mail that qualifies for its new Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Mail Piece promotion. The full-color piece, produced by Color Ink, was a group effort that involved the following companies: Xerox (press), Konica Minolta (embellishment), MGI Digital Technology (embellishment), Mohawk (paper stock) and Crown Roll Leaf (foil). It’s one more example of how PRINTING United is bringing the industry together!

SGIA Supports StudentsSGIA and NAPCO Media have established the PRINTING

United Scholarship at Clemson University, an annual, need-based award for students majoring in graphic communications. Clemson will start accepting applications for the $4,000 scholarship with the 2019-2020 academic year.

The submission period for applications for ASDPT Scholarships ($2,000 each for 20 students) closes April 30. Students must attend an SGIA Educational Member school to be eligible. Contact Erin Nuss, Manager of Workforce Development, for more info: [email protected].

GOA Booth Sales OpenBooth sales are open for Graphics of the Americas

(GOA), newly-powered by SGIA and coming to the newly-refurbished Miami Beach Convention Center (Miami, Fla.) February 27 - 29, 2020. SGIA is working with the Florida Graphics Association and Conlatingraf (the confederation of Latin American graphics associations) to create a program by and for the Latin American and Caribbean printing communities. Visit GOAExpo.com to get started.

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SGIA News


Methodology Matters SGIA is strengthening its industry research with

representative survey panels. Typically about 200 volunteers each, the panels represent six industry segments: graphics, garment, commercial, packaging, in-plant and functional printing. Panel members agree to respond to all surveys and are often selected to participate in interviews that clarify the context of survey results. “Methodology matters,” said SGIA Chief Economist Andrew D. Paparozzi. “Establishing survey panels minimizes non-response bias, maximizes data consistency, improves participation and builds relationships and engagement.”

Business is Better When it’s SafeThere’s no doubt safety counts, especially for the 18

SGIA members who received the annual Safety Recognition Award. These superstars of safety completed action items such as bi-monthly safety checks, establishing safety committees and attending safety webinars in 2018. Better yet, they increased staff awareness of the importance of safe working environments and complying with state/provincial and national safety laws and standards. Kudos to:

• Albert Basse Associates, Inc.• Ampco Manufacturers Inc• Artists with Machines• Auto Trim Design Incorporated• Beacon Promotions Inc.• DesignTex Surface Imaging• Empire Screen Printing• Fisher Textiles• Gillespie Graphics• Global Products Inc

• LEM Products Inc.• Horizons, Inc• Image Options• ImagiCorps• Metropolitan West, Inc.• Signcraft Screenprint Inc• Stahls' Transfer Express• Tapecon Inc

SGIA Takes Color InternationalKiller color management is a key indicator for customer

satisfaction, reduced waste and improved bottom lines, and SGIA is leading the way.

Our Digital Color Professional Certification is a two-part process, a written test followed by a test print, and the credential just got even more rigorous. SGIA is partnering with the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics at Clemson University, which will provide an independent, third-party verification of color quality and consistency.

And it’s going international! SGIA Director of Digital Print Programs Ray Weiss is taking SGIA’s Color Management Boot Camp down under, leading a workshop for SGIA-Australia April 2 – 4 in Melbourne, Australia.

Kicking it up another notch, SGIA has convened a working group to establ ish industry-wide color specifications for digital inkjet printing. Members come from companies including Fujifilm, Nazdar and WestRock. “While color specifications such as SWOP and GRACol are based on offset presses running traditional CMYK inks, digital printing is the Wild West, with substrates and ink sets varying tremendously,” Weiss explained. Find out more about SGIA’s color management leadership at SGIA.org/programs/certifications.

QUALIFIED

NEW SECTION!


SGIA Calendar

Get the best training around! Learn more and register at SGIA.org/education/workshops

April 2 - 4 Colorcasters Color Management Boot Camp (Miami)

April 2 - 4 Color Management Group (CMG) Color Management Boot Camp (Seattle, Wash.)

April 2 - 4 SGIAA Color Management Boot Camp (Melbourne, Australia)

April 9 - 11 CMG Color Management Boot Camp (Carson, Calif.)

April 9 - 11 IT Supplies Color Management Boot Camp (Rolling Meadows, Ill.)

April 15 - 17 Screen Making: Basic to Advanced Workshop (Fairfax, Va.)

April 16 - 18 CMG Color Management Boot Camp (Fairfax, Va.)

April 22 - 24 CMG Color Management Boot Camp (New York)

April 24 - 26 RP Imaging Color Management Boot Camp (Phoenix)

April 30 - May 2 CMG Color Management Boot Camp (Boston)

May 7 - 9 Alder Technology Color Management Boot Camp (Londonderry, NH)

May 7 - 9 CMG Color Management Boot Camp (Springfield, N.J.)

May 14 - 16 Nazdar Color Management Boot Camp (Irvine, Calif.)

May 15 - 16 PDAA Training & Certification (Kansas City, Mo.)

May 21 - 23 CMG Color Management Boot Camp (Clemson, S.C.)

May 29 - 30 Totally T-Shirts! Garment Screen Printing Workshop (Fairfax, Va.)

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All webinars are free and begin at 2:00 PM ET unless otherwise noted. Visit SGIA.org/education/webinars to register.

April 9 How to Accelerate Your Sales Pipeline

April 16 The Implications of 2018 Tax Reforms

April 18 SGIA Research Report: Markets & Products

April 23 Assessing Color Range for Peak Consistency

April 30 Shop Floor Management: Strategies for Efficiency

May 7 Customer Experience (CX): How to Start or Upgrade your Program

May 14 Exploring the Emerging Field of Surface Decoration

May 21 What Your Mama Didn’t Tell You About Budgeted Hourly Rates

May 28 60-Minute Print Sales Boot Camp

May 8 Watch for the Spring SGIA Journal (Garment Edition)

May 28 Watch for the May/June SGIA Journal

May 1Watch for SGIA Research Report: Markets & ProductsBe part of future surveys and receive a copy of full reports! To participate in future surveys, email [email protected]. Full reports available to participants only.

April 22 Sustainable Business Recognition Recipients Released

April 1 Product of the Year Submissions Opening Soon!

April 3, 8:00 AM Gary Jones Speaks on Environmental and Safety Updates at America East News Media & Technology Summit (Hershey, Pa.)

April 11 - 15 Pro Imaging Golf Tournament (Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.)

April 14 - 17 PIA Continuous Improvement Conference (Dallas)

April 30 SGIA Scholarship Applications Close

May 1 Committee Applications Open: Sign up to be a part of SGIA's Committee Leadership

May 1 PRINTING United Registration Opens this Month!

May 5 - 7 FP3: Functional Printing, Process & Products Conference (Itasca, Ill.)

June 4 - 5 DPP: Digital Print for Packaging US 2019 (Orlando, Fla.)

June 6 - 7 DTP: Digital Textile Printing US 2019 (Orlando, Fla.)

October 23 - 25 PRINTING United (Dallas)

SGIA can save Members 80% off published rates on both inbound and outbound, long or short haul, LTL shipping.* Most participating members easily save more money than the cost of annual membership. 2018 Average Member Savings: $8,246*

• At least an 80% On-Bill Discount — outbound and inbound, long or short haul

• Reduced COD fee— $30 Charge regardless of item price

• No additional charge for single shipments — $40 savings

• No additional charge for residential delivery — $122 savings

• No additional charge for notification before delivery — $52.50 savings

• Full Discount on interline shipments originating with YRC Freight

• Reduced Cross-Border Management Fee on Canadian Shipments only $1 — up to a $160 savings

SGIA.org*Discount applies only to Continental US and shipments between the US and Canada

SGIA members receive at least an 80 percent discount on LTL freight services with YRC Freight.

Specialty Graphic Imaging Association888.385.3588


Equipment

Scodix Strengthens Digital Enhancement Offerings

Scodix has launched the Scodix Ultra 101 and the Scodix Ultra 202 Digital Enhancement Presses to meet the increased demand for business-generating digital enhancement and allow print service providers (PSPs) of all sizes to target new revenue opportunities.

The Ultra 101 is fully compatible with offset and HP Indigo presses with seamless integration, ensuring PSPs can maximize their uptime and expand their throughput. The Ultra 202 provides customers with a large array of enhancement capabilities and the ability to produce unmatched quality quickly and cost-effectively. Users have the freedom to print enhancements on paper, lamination, a variety of water-based coatings, PVC and carton.

All nine Scodix applications run efficiently on the Scodix Ultra 202 press, replacing the need for separate systems on the production floor and preserving a small footprint. By incorporating digital enhancement, PSPs can expand their service offerings with attention-grabbing applications. These include premium business/greeting cards, folders, head-turning book covers, audience-engaging brochures, stand-out labels and packaging.

More info: scodix.com

Consumables

Midland Paper Releases Wide-Format Catalog Midland Paper, Packaging + Supplies has launched the 2019

version of its Wide-Format Inkjet Catalog to the North American graphics market. The 100-plus-page catalog reflects an expanded product lineup of the top-name brand manufacturers in the wide-format media marketplace.

“Midland’s 2019 Wide-Format Inkjet Product Catalog contains seven new vendors and 26 new products. With over 950 SKUs, it’s an incredible resource for any printer involved with wide-format inkjet printing in today’s market,” said David Field, Senior

Business Manager – Inkjet Technologies, Midland Paper. The new product catalog includes print media compatible with

aqueous, latex, eco/solvent and UV inkjet systems including rigid substrates; pressure-sensitive film; fabric, canvas and magnetic media; banner stands, inks and accessories; and synthetic-based inkjet media.

“We have already received a tremendous response to our new catalog from the market. There was an obvious need for a user-friendly and extensive catalog like this in the market. We are incredibly excited to see that the Midland Wide Format value proposition is being received with such high regard from the wide-format inkjet community," said Mike Ratcliff, President — Specialty Paper & Film Division, Midland Paper.

More info: midlandpaper.com

Nimlok Releases Newest Education e-Book Nimlok®, a division of Orbus Exhibit & Display Group®,

released “Five Steps to Evaluating Trade Show Value,” the newest e-book in its extensive list of educational resources for exhibitors. Aiming to answer the question of what value trade shows provide brands, this step-by-step guide covers establishing quantifiable goals, refining audiences, essential trade show metrics, tactics for new leads and analytic tools for determining value.

All of Nimlok’s free educational resources can be found at Nimlok.com/learning-center.

More info: nimlock.com

SAi Launches Sign Design Elements SAi’s new Sign Design Elements is a comprehensive stock

library of over 6.5 million downloadable assets for the sign industry available to SAi software subscribers. It features an ever-expanding collection of high-resolution images, logos, fonts, cut-ready vector illustrations, vehicle outlines and wraps, and metallic-ready files. With nearly 23,000 templates alone for global car and truck makes and models, the new portal is particularly beneficial for those specializing in vehicle wrap applications.

SAi Flexi software subscribers benefit from five free downloads each month, with the opportunity to obtain 100 more images or templates for just $15 per month via simple subscription add-on.

NEW PRODUCTS

member resources & news

The Scodix Ultra 101 press. Image courtesy of Scodix.



The service is available to those on both annual and monthly plans and is easily accessible from the user’s SAi Cloud window.

“Sign Design Elements responds to the specific needs of sign businesses that increasingly require high-quality images and graphic elements,” said Annette Plummer, Vice President, SAi. “This offering makes it easy for such users to quickly locate and download exactly what they need from one location directly from their SAi software, saving precious time and maintaining throughput.”

More info: sde.thinksai.com

Supply55 Releases ReelPRO V2™ Take-Up System for Wide-Format Printers and Laminators

Supply55’s new ReelPRO V2 is an affordable, easy-to-install, easy-to-use universal take-up system allowing users to improve efficiency and profitability when printing longer jobs for vehicle wraps, banners, wallpaper and signs. ReelPRO V2 is compatible with all wide-format printers and laminators, allowing shops to incorporate the system easily into their workflow and use it throughout their shop on multiple devices.

ReelPRO V2’s benefits include:• A universal system and works with all wide-format printers

and laminators• Allowing the user to operate their printer unattended

resulting in improved profitability • Improving quality by eliminating kinking and scratching

of prints as they are moved from the printer to work tables or as they hit the floor

• Automatically shutting down when running in “manual mode” at the end of the print job

• A sensor to monitor printhead movement when running in “automatic mode” and shuts down when the printhead stops

• Delivering true roll-to-roll production capability and supports media rolls weighing up to 110 pounds

More info: supply55.com

CORPORATE Digital Technology Group Opens Epson Certified Solution Center

Digital Technology Group, which provides complete imaging solutions to the photographic, fine art, signage and graphics manufacturing markets in Tampa, Fla., opened an Epson Certified Solution Center. The location will showcase Epson printing solutions and applications, leveraging its professional printing portfolio of dye sublimation, signage, photography and direct-to-garment solutions. Potential customers can visit the center to engage with product experts and run personal test print samples on the equipment.

“It’s important that customers feel supported and confident when purchasing new equipment, and we are thrilled to provide this support through our partnership with Digital Technology Group,” said John Meyer, Manager, Wide Format Channel, Epson America, Inc.

The center provides customers with an immersive experience, including the full suite of SureColor® production equipment, extensive print samples and applications and comprehensive customer training opportunities.

“This new facility will allow imaging professionals to directly experience how Epson’s printing technology, combined with Digital Technology Group’s color imaging solutions can assist their business in achieving profitable growth through industry-leading hardware and color imaging expertise,” said Scott Erickson, Vice President, Digital Technology Group.

More info: dtgweb.com or epson.com

Global Imaging Welcomes Chavez, Richardson Global Imaging announced John Chavez and Emily

Richardson joined its administration team. They will be working closely together to ensure smooth customer transactions, product accuracy and inventory levels.

Image courtesy of Epson.Image courtesy of Supply55.




With a background in executive administration, operations and database and sales support, Chavez is Global Imaging’s new Purchasing Administrator. He will handle purchasing and inventory management and ensure the accuracy and availability of products in the company’s many warehouses for daily order fulfillment.

Richardson, Global Imaging’s new Sales Administrator, has a background in administrative assistance in private and government sectors. She will process orders, check the accuracy of shipments and invoices, perform sales analysis and liaise between sales team and customers.

More info: globalimaginginc.com

LexJet Now Exclusive Distributor for Fisher Textiles Dye Sub Wide-Format Fabrics

LexJet announced it is the exclusive distributor for Fisher Textiles’ dye sublimation fabrics that are converted to fit wide-format printers. Previously only available for grand-format printers, this is the first time these world-renowned, award-winning fabrics have been converted and distributed for wide-format sizes.

LexJet will carry a variety of Fisher Textile products in 61-inch-by-100-foot rolls for a multitude of applications, including trade shows, SEG frames, retail signage, back drops, home décor and furnishings, soft signage, backlit graphics, banner stands, table covers and more.

“At wide-format widths, these trusted, well-known and proven-to-perform dye sub fabrics from Fisher open the door to the benefits of wide-format applications, such as smaller runs, one-off prototypes, quicker turnaround and customization, which is in higher demand than ever,” says LexJet VP of Sales, Justin Lehman. “With the success of our LexJet InFuze dye-sub transfer paper last year, we are seeing fast-growing, high-margin possibilities with dye-sub technologies for our wide-format PSPs.”

These fabrics round out LexJet’s dye sub portfolio of products, which includes Epson printers and inks, InFuze transfer papers, ChromaLuxe metal photo panels and heat presses from Geo Knight and FLEXA.

More info: lexjet.com

Mike Riley Named LasX COO

Mike Riley, a seasoned leader in manufacturing and distribution, has joined LasX as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO).

“L a s X ha s made a n investment in Mike, because we know organizations that invest in strong leadership perform better than those that don’t,” said Ryan Falch, President, LasX. “Our primary focus is the customer and our employees, so it is crucial that Mike and I provide the leadership and guidance necessary to ensure our company is moving in the right direction.”

Working in partnership with Falch, Riley will play a key role in aligning the company to its long-term strategy of operational excellence.

“As LasX continues to grow globally, my 30 years of experience — both nationally and internationally — in direct customer connections will help us improve our customer experience in both machine manufacturing and contract services,” said Riley. A major focus for Riley will be creating continuous improvement opportunities to ensure the company’s growth is well managed and in step with organizational goals.

More info: lasx.com

RSA Releases New QDirect Output Management Software Version

Rochester Software Associates (RSA), provider of production print workflow software solutions for in-plant, corporate print centers, commercial printers and PSPs, announces a new release of QDirect™ output management software. RSA’s V5.4 output management software includes:

• Improved prepress automation ability via new direct integration with RSA’s ReadyPrint automation module for end-user configurable workf lows to provide job enhancements such as barcoding, pre-flighting and more.

• Easier job submission with new printer drivers for end users to submit jobs and server-configurable job tickets that allow print shops to dynamically change the print options offered.

• Native support of IPP print protocol.

Anthony Leccese, Product Manager, RSA, said, “QDirect continues to advance job management capabilities and increase f lexibility with improved prepress automation abilities and additional ways to receive jobs from users and other systems.”

More info: rocsoft.com

Mike RileyEmily RichardsonJohn Chavez

“I’m thinking we will see quite a few commercial vehicle wrap installers learning and incorporating custom color changes into their skill sets.”– Ken Burns, quoted in A Graphic Installation Wrap-Up, page 5

“The simple truth is that operating teams do not have all the tools on-

hand they need at each stage of the workflow.”– Erik Strik, Optimizing Wide-Format Workflows, page 21

“When it comes to reducing differences between jobs and between different printing technologies, knowing gamut capabilities is essential.”– Steve Upton, Print Gamut Ins and Outs, page 27

“At some point, a machine in the home will create food or consumer items chosen from a screen. It will be as common an item as the microwave, stove or television.”– Nigel Heywood, The Future of 3D Printing, page 37

“You want to look at ways to keep attendees entertained and to get them immersed in your world and make them feel like they’re not at a trade show being sold something.”– Conrad Coe, quoted in Wowing the

Exposition, page 11

“If sales is baiting the hook, then marketing is stocking the pond.”– Bill Farquharson, Sell Your Sales Reps,

page 53

OVERHEARD

BOOTH #2210

Where the Community Meets 80% of printers believe a consolidated

printing industry event would serve the industry better than separate, segment-only events.

PRINTING United is that “one-roof” expo you need for access to all of the latest technologies with less time out of the office.

Be sure to mark the dates in your calendar and pre-register to be a part of the community:

PRINTINGUNITED.COM/JOURNAL4

SAVE THE DATEOCT. 23-25, 2019 • DALLAS, TX

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention CenterPRINTINGUNITED.COM/JOURNAL4

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