Analyze the new development of mixed mode cloud computing printing industry mixed mode

The concept of "mixing" is not limited to the hybrid application of printing presses. Mixed mode also has many new developments in the printing front. A major news at the Drupa show was about the development of hybrid front-ends, telling us that there are already many or soon-to-be-realized cloud-based solutions. Its application models range from cloud-based Fiery manipulators, cloud-to-print solutions from EFI to PixFizz, and PantoneLIVE, a cloud-based solution that dynamically changes spectral color measurements to Make sure that the color is consistent throughout the color reproduction process, including the positioning, the type of substrate, and the output device. You can get more PantoneLIVE information and video introduction by clicking the link here. Fujifilm also introduced XMFColorPath (formerly known as Taskero) cloud computing color management system, which can help printers in the cross-device color management between offset, digital printing and screen printing equipment, to ensure the consistency of color.

The most important thing right now is to understand the hybrid application features of cloud-based applications. This is also a very clear message from drupa. For some software systems, such as PixFizz, the entire project process is done in the cloud. There are also software systems, such as EFI's MonarchPortal productivity module and Fiery Dashboard dashboard, which are also based on cloud processing tools that help local host applications or products become more accessible and efficient. Another model is that a single application response can be processed by the cloud and the local host, respectively, to maximize the advantages of the two.

EFI's Fiery Dashboard is a good example of improving the ease of data in the workflow. It is also a cloud-based service module that allows users and production managers to access mobile devices and tablets at any time through any browser. Get production data on your computer. This cloud-based computing function is very practical, allowing users and production managers no longer to be "snapped" by a fixed host. Obviously, the Fiery server monitored by the user must collaborate with the printing equipment. However, in a factory or through a networked workstation, data acquisition can be passed through the cloud. It becomes much easier to manage multiple devices.

In the past, many cloud-based network-to-print solutions were sold at a reduced price, including HiFlex, which is now acquired by HP. Many small company booths can be seen in Drupa Innovation Park. This kind of solution based on cloud computing services may be the most reasonable entry point for printers to get involved in the cloud world.

Xerox is convening a joint enterprise organization based on cloud services and hopes to work together with several printing companies to promote the delivery of cloud-based services to the market.

Do not ignore the post-press field

Finally, the concept of blending is also applied in postpress. An example is the Standard Horizon binding machine I have seen. The equipment is constructed to accept both offset and digital printing equipment, bind them into volumes, and add digital press printing to the offset sheet. Out of the capacity of liner.

Another area of ​​great interest is the upgraded version of Martini’s SigmaLine technology, which currently supports 60-inch-wide webs. At drupa, the only thing I saw at the widest was just 42. inch. The SigmaLine origami system can reach speeds of more than 800 feet per minute. Most notable is SigmaControlConnex, SigmaLine's central control software. In a sense, the software uses the binding technology of post-print binding equipment to actually control the entire post-press processing process.

The Connex software interface is directly linked to the prepress facility. The prepress department sends Connex unpublished PDF files and arranges a series of processes according to the PDF file Connex system.

The system can arrange job process queues, intelligently arrange production plans, arrange similar work content together to improve short-term production efficiency, use Ultimate or other imposition methods to automatically impose PDF files, in a JDF workflow will be original The PDF file is linked to the imposed PDF file to ensure that the work remains intact from the very beginning. The system sends the assembled PDF file to the digital press. There are more intelligent features, including direct connection and communication between the printer and SigmaLine, to ensure that there are no pages in the signature (SigmaLine can automatically remove the offending signature and notify the printer to reprint). The connection can also be reprinted when other errors occur, fundamentally saving print and playback. At any point in the production process, Connex knows where the bad product is produced and can communicate with the press to ensure that the right amount of production is produced.

Duplo, a postpress equipment manufacturer, exhibited the DC-745 Series Cutter/Cutting Machine/Crimp Creaser, providing a wide range of digital post-printing solutions for one-step post-press processing needs.

These product examples are all good examples of the diversification of more functional forms of post-press solutions. This is the result of the efforts of all suppliers or partners and alliance groups, resulting in products in the post-press process. The overall function is unified. As we have seen, the concept of hybrid work has been applied very well in practice, and the leap-and-thru combination of offset and digital printing device construction has given the user a diverse and more functional experience.

Is this the mixture on Drupa? It is obvious that I think so, of course I want to know what you think. For my part, I think the overwhelming novelty at the drupa show has attracted everyone's attention. I believe that when people are excited, they will coolly review the drupa show and the hybrid concept will It is deeply imprinted in people's impressions and not merely its novelty.

Follow-up discussion on packaging

There is one more piece about drupa that is not mentioned in this article, but will be discussed in follow-up articles, that is, the packaging field. Everyone has jumped into the wave of development, trying to dig a barrel of gold in the transition between slow-paced packaging printing and early simulations.