Print China 2015 proved to be a place for Innovation and Solutions

Held from April 7-12, 2015, Print China 2015 was a major draw for the printing industry. While green printing concept was the talk of the town, technological innovations by bigwigs from the industry kept the show abuzz with activities. Here, SK Khurana, editor, Print & Publishing brings a first-hand report. Jointly sponsored by the Printing and Printing Equipment Industries Association of China (PEIAC), Printing and Replicating Industrial Association of Guangdong (GPA) and China International Exhibition Center Group Corporation (CIEC), the 3rd International Printing Technology Exhibition of China (Guangdong), popularly known as PRINT CHINA 2015, was held at Guangdong Modern International Exhibition Center from April 7-12, 2015. With the strong support of the printing industry, PRINT CHINA 2015 was spread over an exhibition area of 140,000 sq m, grown by 17% over that of last year’s (120,000 sq m). Apart from the original six halls of the Guangdong Modern International Exhibition Center (GDE), PRINT CHINA 2015 also occupied Hall 3F. From India, All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP); Indian Printing, Packaging and Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA) and independent visiting groups comprising of approximately 800+ delegates attended Print China 2015. Other overseas organisations like the Korean Printers Association, the Korea Federation of Printing & Information Industry Cooperative, the Seoul Federation of Printing & Information Industry Cooperative, the Pakistan Association of Printing and Graphic Arts Industry (PAPGAI), the Malaysia Printers Association (MPA), Malay Entrepreneur Printing Association of Malaysia, the Selangor and Federal Territory Chinese Printing Presses’ Association, the Printing Industries Association of the Philippines, Ski Lanka Association of Printers, the Indonesian Master Printers Association as well as printing associations of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao also got delegations from their countries to the show.

Other concurrent events…

Visitors to the show could also benefit from concurrent events like the Annual Summit of China’s Digital Printing Alliance; Award Ceremony of China Print Awards; Forum-PT 2015. The International Forum on the New Development of Label Printing Technology; Launch Ceremony of China Print 2017; and Release of Technology Development Roadmap of Chinese Printing Industry.

Few of the major exhibits at Print China 2015 included: PRINT CHINA 2015 was an important event for Canon. They came out with new ad campaign ‘Digital Printing All in Canon.’ Their recently launched eight new products were showcased in a display area of 600 sq m, inkjet being the focus at the show. Fujifilm came up with a new caption ‘Value for Innovation’. They showcased Jet Press 720, a next generation digital inkjet press (launched in drupa 2008 and reaching to the second generation digital inkjet stage this year). Their flagship industrial packaging solution (Flatbed), a large format hybrid inkjet printer which produces outstanding packaging prototypes and XMF ColorPath software, a cloud-based colour management system that brings standards-based colour control to digital and analogue printing technologies, was also on display. FujiXerox displayed various value added products at the show, which included production colour printer, Color 1000i Press, targeting the high-end professional printing market. It is industry’s first xerographic production printer to offer both metallic gold and silver colours. Besides, FujiXerox also showcased iGen4/150 and different models of Nuvera 120 series. Heidelberg China (HCN) presented an integrated portfolio of offset and digital print solutions.

With the slogan of “Discover Hei, Discover Future”, HCN showcased a grand display of digital printing solutions, besides new model of Speedmaster offset press CS92-4, all based on the market situation and the future requirements of printing market. The trade show also marked the market launch of the new Linoprint CV digital printing systems from Heidelberg. Heidelberg also unveiled Jetmaster 4D printing system on the show, which can make the process of customizing mass-produced goods faster, cheaper, and more flexible. “We’re the only manufacturer that is able to offer customers in the market an integrated portfolio of equipment, software, services, and consumables from a single source,” remarked Benny Huang, CEO of Heidelberg China Limited. Komori displayed GX 40/G40 – a press of superior configuration with a wealth of automation possibilities designed around the KHS-AI system; LA 437 – a four-colour 37- inch offset printing press; Impremia C60 (a toner-based full colour digital printing machine that is capable of handling a wide range of work). Komori has been very aggressively supporting technology concept and have established Komori Graphic Technology Center in Japan where research and training goes on extensively. They are of the firm belief that innovation will change the print world for sure.

Komori has also setup such technology centers in Amsterdam and Shenzhen City.

XXKonica Minolta Business Solutions showcased their digital bizhub PRESS C1100/1085 which extend the print provider’s range of high-volume job possibilities and maintain the stable high image quality demanded by professional users for high-volume printing. Also on show was a digital glazing machine, for which they acquired 60 percent stake in MGI (Jet Warnish). Manroland Sheetfed went against the traditional way of taking equipment to an event; instead they held a stunning mapping show to interpret its full range of premium printing solutions. This futuristic way of presenting not only made history at the event but took the audiences by surprise with a “dazzling” and impressive performance of Manroland technology. Kurt Herrmann, managing director of Manroland Greater China, said, “Upholding our exhibition slogan of ‘one touch for the future’ we decided not to follow traditional exhibiting practice; instead a dynamic mapping show introducing the audiences to the advanced features of the new generation ROLAND 700 HiPrint, such as SPL (Simultaneous Plate Loading), InlineFoiler and QuickChange technologies etc. meant they could experience ‘one touch’ printing by visual and auditory senses.” Ricoh came out with a tag line ‘Transform your business with Ricoh.’ It was only a few months Ricoh launched C9100 and C7100X which were also on display at PRINT CHINA 2015. Also on display was Ricoh Pro VC60000 which is capable of producing more than 1,00,000 letter images per hour, providing a function-rich total solution for customers new to digital colour. And for those already using digital print but wanting to consolidate and streamline their operations, their current InfoPrint 5000 family was also displayed at the show. The KBA Group announced a positive verdict on group performance in the first three days of Print China. Longstanding and new customers ordered half-, medium- and large-format Rapidas in various configurations.

However, the medium-format Rapida 105 has dominated new order intake in China. The new press has been positioned between the proven Rapida 105 and the high-end Rapida 106. The Rapida 105 Pro will be officially unveiled at an open house from June 24 – 26 at the KBA plant in Radebeul. Live demos of a KBA Rapida 105-5+L and a Rapida 75-4+L with LED-UV printing were attracting flocks of visitors and print samples were being snapped up.

HP’s exhibits mainly included: Indigo10000 (the first sheet-fed digital press having the quality of offset print), Indigo20000 (digital press for soft packaging), Indigo30000 (digital press for folding carton) and other series of digital presses and inkjet presses for commercial printing, post printing and printing of publications, labels, logos and advertisements. Besides, HP held Dscoop Asia 2015 in Dongguan, an HP digital summit forum with global influence, before the opening of PRINT CHINA 2015.

Senior management team from the Switzerland based company Hunkeler (with their distributors) was also present at the show. All time favourite machine producing stunning effects from Scodix was a major attraction for Indian visitors. Another star-attraction at the show was from Highcon, direct to pack, remained as new launch, demonstrating live cutting with laser technology. AIFMP promoted their upcoming PAMEX 2015, at their stand in hall 3A.

Green printing concept: A common note for all
Briefing about their products and offerings on display at PRINT CHINA 2015, every company talked elaborately on Green Printing Concept. They said that it is an environmentally friendly sustainable concept which requires to be practiced at large. For this, Chinese laws are also prevalent to follow majorly to achieve: reduced carbon footprint, low carbon emission, eco certification, paper and energy waste reduction, etc.

Salient features: at Print China
Window patching machines; Paper bag making machines; Rigid box making machines; Host of CtP/CtcP machines; Web inkjet presses; Spare parts, etc.

India Day

The Organising Committee had scheduled “India Day” activity in Regal Palace Hotel. TJ Suresh, commercial consul of the Consulate General of the Republic of India in Guangzhou was the guest of honour. Besides, the Organising Committee had planned a visit to the booths of outstanding domestic equipment manufacturers for the Indian visitors. Unfortunately, there was very low attendance as most of the Indian exhibitors/visitors were busy in the expo during the day. Lu Chang’an, vice president and secretary-general of PEIAC and president of Print China Show Company Ltd. (PCSC) talked about historical relationships between India and China and welcomed delegates. TJ Suresh expressed his happiness to see India Day celebrations at Print China and emphasised on the message of our prime minister – Make in India initiative. He presented a well laid out investment guidelines booklet printed in Chinese language describing the ‘Make in India’ concept. Other speakers from India included Kamal Chopra, KS Khurana and CP Paul from AIFMP and IPAMA respectively.