Photokina 2010 – End of show thoughts

Another Photokina has been and gone. There was no particular theme that emerged from the show. Perhaps the statement that most vendors made was “we are still here and we are doing okay in spite of the tough times”.

Photokina was smaller than previous years. This year only 6 of the 11 halls were in use. Most notably the massive Hall 10 was empty. Photokina has yet to announce an official number for attendees, but it seemed to us to be fewer people visiting the stands. In an unofficial poll of taxi drivers the consensus was that visitors were down by 50% on 2008. That said, the big brands pulled in the crowds and there were times when it was almost impossible to move around the Canon and Nikon stands. When speaking with exhibitors they seemed generally satisfied with the show. Although Photokina is not as big as in previous years it is pulling in the right crowd of people.

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The Next Wave of Cross-Media Communications: SaaS Enablers Everywhere!

Recent trade shows illuminated an emerging theme around software and services targeted at the new cross-media opportunity. The cloud is in, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions are popping up everywhere. Why? The recent economic downturn–coupled with the fast-paced, capital-intense nature of technology adoption–has created huge demand for low-cost and easy-to-use IT solutions.

In 1965, Intel Co-Founder Gordon Moore established Moore’s law, which states that data density doubles every 18 months. We can extend Moore’s theory across many information technologies. For example, mass storage technology and bandwidth are just a couple of other technologies that are rapidly coming down in cost and exponentially increasing in capacity. Technology is moving at an incredibly rapid pace, and it is now difficult to stay on the leading edge when acquiring new hardware and software solutions. Furthermore, incorporating new technologies into your infrastructure and successfully monetizing the benefits of the acquisition and implementation cost in a timeframe that will yield an acceptable return has become difficult (if not impossible) for some companies. Read more »

Magnetic Graphics System … I see the attraction

The other day I got a briefing from a company called Visual Magnetics, which has developed a magnetic coating that it can apply to a wide variety of substrates. When used with the company’s “InvisiLock” system, the graphics printed on Visual Magnetics MagnaMedia can quickly and easily be replaced in part or in whole. There are quite a few advantages to this system but the biggest ones are in the levels of compliance reached by retailers who want to change advertising messages quickly. Read more »

Instant Sharing Brings Back the Emotion

Excerpt from Photo Industry Reporter’s State of the Industry 2010

The future of imaging is the connected experience. The CE industry is buzzing about connecting devices like TVs, set-top boxes, mobile phones and PCs with personal and commercial content and services. Digital cameras need to integrate with this ecosystem or run the risk of being left out of the equation.

As connected devices become more widespread, cameras need to become connected to participate. Eventually, digital cameras may need to adopt an operating system and open APIs that will enable them to run various applications much like smartphones.

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Pitney Bowes Customer Summit

Pitney Bowes’ Document Messaging Technologies group held their 2010 Customer Summit this week in Danbury, Connecticut. The event was attended by approximately 180 people from 12 countries including many of the largest corporate mail centers, data center service bureaus, and direct mail printers. Two of the most significant items were:

• White Paper Factory demo of the HP IntelliJet press and the new PB Print+Messenger system
• Announcement of PB’s TransPromo marketplace service which may finally help realize the potential of using bills and statements as a viable marketing channel

Enabling the White Paper Factory

Pitney Bowes pointed out that transaction print and mail are often co-located, but uncoupled manufacturing functions supporting legacy systems applications. PB’s focus is to link print AND mail operations into an integrated workflow that enables significant productivity improvements and new revenue streams. PB is pushing the idea of a White Paper Factory that does not require any pre-printing or storage of shells, forms, or envelopes by using the IntelliJet printer and Print+Messenger system.

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Kodak to Announce NexPress SX Platform with Larger Format Size at Graph Expo

Not much more than a year after announcing its NexPress SE platform, Kodak revealed to a group of journalists and analysts today that it was bringing the next NexPress product generation to market. Most notable in the new SX platform is its optional ability to handle a sheet up to 26 inches long with a long-sheet feeder or the Lasermax Roll Systems roll-fed unit. Kodak will show the NexPress SX at Graph Expo (October 3-6 in Chicago). It will become available in the second quarter of 2011. Existing SE customers will be able to upgrade to SX at that time.

Key implications of the larger format size are that it allows applications like a six-page A4/letter format brochure, sizeable book dust jackets, and posters that fit within the 14 inch by 26 inch format. (Note: The maximum format size of the current SE platform is 14 inches by 20.5 inches.) Read more »

Kodak Will Show the 5000XL at Graph Expo (and Other Prosper News)

I found out this week that Kodak has decided to bring the Prosper 5000XL to Graph Expo (October 3-6, Chicago). This will mirror what Kodak did at IPEX and will represent the first showing of the device in North America. It’s good news and for those who haven’t committed to attending, it provides another reason to come to the show. There’s more about Prosper in the news as well. You should have a look at Eric Owen’s blog in Output Links for some insight on Prosper, but here’s a quick take on the recent developments:

• There are now two Prosper system installations — Kodak customers Offset Paperback Manufacturers (Laflin, Pennsylvania) and SAGIM (a French print service provider using the system for books) represent the first two installed beta sites of Prosper standalone systems (other companies have Prosper S10 Imprinting Systems running in conjunction with traditional printing presses). Both have the Prosper 1000 (the monochrome version of Prosper). Kodak reports that Offset Paperback Manufacturers (OPM) will be the first site to get the process color Prosper 5000XL and that the device is being installed now. Kodak said that in the past month OPM has been produced salable books at a volume of up to 1.7 million book pages (approximately 3,850 books) per day on its Prosper 1000.
• The first Prosper 1000 placement in Australasia — SOS Print and Media Group in Sydney, Australia will be installing a Prosper 1000 for book printing in November. This is the first Prosper 1000/5000XL announcement in Australasia (there have been S5/S10 Imprinting System announcements, for example, in China). SOS says that it will consider upgrading the device to the full-color 5000XL version. Read more »

A Look at Production Digital Print News from Canon’s Expo 2010

Canon Expo 2010 is taking place this week (September 1^st through 3^rd) at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. It’s a huge, once-every-five-year event that Canon puts on for customers, partners, and dealers. It will go on the road to Tokyo and Paris later this year and there will also be one in Shanghai in 2011.

What I found to be particularly interesting about this event is that Canon highlights possible product directions in its technology demonstrations. The Expo covers all of Canon’s product areas and had some fascinating areas dedicated to Canon consumer and medical imaging technologies, but they are a topic for another day. The focus of this blog will be the production digital print developments at Canon Expo. Read more »