FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division recently hosted another in its series of successful Technology Summits in Kansas City, sharing innovative wide format technology solutions with a record number of attendees.
Invited guests gained in-depth knowledge of wide format applications, and opportunities to serve this growth market. Presentations included insights into different substrates used to create wide format displays as well as software and finishing solutions. Attendees experienced hands on demonstrations of Fujifilm’s wide format solutions, including the Inca Onset S40i and Q40i; the Acuity Series of flatbeds; the Acuity LED 1600; the Uvistar Pro-8W; the Esko Kongsberg Cutting Table iXP24; and ColorGATE RIP software. In addition to interactive technology demonstrations and a lively and informative user panel Q&A session, other highlights included presentations by John Mills, CEO, Inca Digital; Steve Bennet, vice president, Esko, digital finishing business; and Tim Greene, director of wide format, Info Trends.
Tim Greene provided a broad industry view on trends in the marketplace, and during his presentation, titled “Moving to Inkjet: Where, Why, When?” Greene shared numerous industry statistics, including data showing that wide format digital is a growth market with better profit margins than other print markets. Specifically, shops that are in wide format reported 6.5% year-over-year revenue growth, compared to shops that are not in wide format reported 4.9% growth. Additionally, Greene says shops that are in wide format report a net income of nearly 20% higher than non-wide format shops.
The customer user panel featured three Fujifilm customers sharing their real-life experiences with Fujifilm solutions. David Leavey was a panelist, and his Merriam, Kansas-based print company, Creative Printing, is a family-owned and certified woman-owned business. For the duration of their near 50 year existence, they have continued to expand and invest in technologies at their 58,000 square foot facility. Leavey shared his perspectives on printing all types of display graphics on a wide variety of materials as well as insights on his selection criteria for wide format equipment. “Quality and versatility were two big factors for us, and Fujifilm’s Acuity offered us both. “We currently have three Acuity flatbed presses, and our business has grown so much we now need more speed and capacity so we are considering adding an Onset,” said Leavey.
Richard Burd, integrated solutions, RGI Results, a data-driven marketing company based in Marietta, Georgia attended the Tech Summit.
“This was a fantastic knowledge-gathering trip for me,” said Burd. “Fujifilm’s technology is outstanding; they seem to have every facet of wide format covered.”
Another highlight for Richard Burd during the tech summit was the individual speaker presentations. “The speakers were very useful to me, I plan to share a lot of the presentation materials with my colleagues,” added Burd.
Solutions Graphical Inc., a Québec-based printer in business for over 25 years, also attended the Tech Summit and recently installed an Acuity LED 1600. New opportunities are ever-growing, and they are looking to expand their offerings.
“The LED is working amazingly for us, as we can do both roll and rigid, and the print quality is amazing,” said Jimmy Houle, director of Sales and Development at Solutions Graphical Inc. “It’s a really nice machine, and I’ve never seen this type of quality before. The LED stands out over all competitors.”
“We do a lot of heat transfer printing, and screen printing, and we want to enhance our digital technology by moving into more of a wide format platform,” added Houle. “We came to the Tech Summit to learn more about the wide format opportunity and take a closer look at the Acuity Select flatbed. We were impressed by its speed, overall capability, and print quality.”
Upon conclusion of the Tech Summit, many of the attendees opted to prolong their stay at the Kansas City Tech Center for extended demonstrations to further learn of Fujifilm’s innovations.
Future summits are planned later this year at Fujifilm’s Technology Center in Hanover Park, Illinois. The facility is undergoing a major expansion and is expected to be ready for customer events and demonstrations by September.
