In a market dogged by uncertainty, it struck me that there was a divide at IfraExpo in Amsterdam: A ‘no-depression zone’ in the digital halls ... and a heavy-metal area determined to make the best of the situation. Here it might have been easy to be dragged down by dour Europeans – Germany, for example, seems to have been in and out of recession for most of the past decade – had it not for the upbeat approach of manroland’s Gerd Finkbeiner, whose attitude is to view the economic situation as an opportunity. And in the two-and-a-half RAI halls dominated by digital technology, the opportunities were clear enough ... especially in online and mobile publishing. The annual European newspaper event – with attendance of 8841 people (albeit only a dozen from Australia and New Zealand) and a record number of exhibitors – brought plenty of food for thought, although the rival attractions of the exhibition halls meant that some events were less than crowded. The programme included a series of focus sessions covering editorial, advertising and production issues and there were a range of side events including Ifra working group meetings. PrintCity launched its new magazine production project at a media breakfast, and a press conference for research associations group IARIGAI promoted next year’s Stockholm research conference (September 13-16). In the ‘solution park’ area, there were regular opportunities for exhibitors to present their latest products, and some stands even featured their own discussion groups. At Vjoon (the curious new name for K4 developer SoftCare) industry stalwart and Ifra research manager Harald Löffler presided over a roundtable discussion including Adobe business development manager Gary Cosimini, GrafData’s Bert Moerman, Dortmund University’s newsdesk coordinator Michael Schulte, and Vjoon managing director Andreas Schrader ... or was this just another group love-fest as well? In the first of the round of press conferences, although KBA’s Klaus Bolza-Schünemann was bemoaning the orders (especially sheetfed) the company has signed at DRUPA only to find they could not be financed, rival press maker manroland had given itself the task of talking up the future of the printed newspaper against digital and internet-based challengers. Both chairman Finkbeiner and marketing manager Thomas Hauser were notably upbeat in their presentations: “Our duty is not to follow those who deliver the bad news,” says Hauser. “My own conviction is that the period ahead will see a refocusing on real values, products and business models – not merely in double-digit growth. Accepting the challenge to ‘cut costs and innovate’, manroland has put its growing automation portfolio together to launch the first of a ‘one touch’ series of newspaper presses. Autoprint ‘one touch’ newspaper presses – starting with a modified and more compact Colorman series – will have just two buttons, Finkbeiner announced: “Start and stop”. Most of the technology to automate startups, changeovers, printing and maintenance is already in place, he says, and more – such as systems for delivery of loaded plate cassettes to units – is under development. And a new compact Colorman line – abandoning the familiar ten-cylinder configuration – will reduce tower height from 6.8 to 5.7 metres, “without compromising accessibility”. A beta site at the ‘Saarbrucker Zeitung’ was being followed by new installations at Chemnitz and Osnabruck, while the system was also being retrofitted to heatset and coldset presses at the ‘Times of India’. And the technology will be affordable, “because we can show the feasibility,” the manroland chairman says – “better deadlines, he ability to sell more products, and work with fewer people”. On the acid-test of sales, Finkbeiner says the results for the last nine months have been “exactly the same” as for the previous year ... but he is still relieved that a date for a stockmarket floatation has been deferred. A less optimistic picture was painted by KBA web sales, marketing and service vice president Christophe Müller: Already stung by the fallback of DRUPA sheetfed orders, it was now facing the postponement of major newspaper projects by weeks or even as much as two years. “Cost reduction and profit maximisation have become key issues: Customers are looking for short deliveries and a two-year return on investment which, in most cases, is unrealistic.” The impact of the financial crisis on advertising revenue and falling circulations in developed countries was being partially offset by growth in countries such as China, India, Turkey, eastern Europe and Brazil. But that in China was “not what we expected” and many projects had been postponed. Müller estimates global demand for newspaper presses this year at 700 million Euros ($1.36 billion) – barely two-thirds what he describes as “average” volume. While the biggest slump in investment is in the USA, printers in western Europe, China and Asia have scaled back activities, and in India, spiralling paper prices have resulted in a moratorium on new purchases. And along with completion of the conversion to full colour and the free-paper market approaching saturation, makers have proved their own worst enemies, developing technology of such enormous productivity that fewer are needed. However, the German rivals shared a common message on the themes of long-term business models, and savings through automation. The company’s highly-automated compact Cortina and Commander CT presses had “spearheaded a wave of automation in newspaper technology”, Müller says. In the exhibition halls, the other major players in the press arena had plenty to talk about. Goss International reported new orders, continued its DRUPA theme of ‘new ways for print’ and took a party of delegates to see its FPS technology in operation at contract printer FD Hoekstra Boom, 100 kilometres away. Tensor – with a new upgraded four-high tower on their stand – Web Leader and Manugraph/DGM were among single-width makers represented. Tensor’s 46,000 cph three forme-roller T-460 press follows the success of the T-500 model, the company’s first 12-roller ink press unit introduced in 2006. Tensor is repositioning the T-500 in the marketplace with an enhanced couple shaftless drive system and speed upgrade from 50,000 cph to 60,000 cph, and the T-460 will fill the niche which needs high ink coverage and fast makeready capabilities for semicommercial print without the higher speed. One area of common interest for the single-width makers is the addition of UV systems to their equipment, and exhibitors included a few specialists in this area. Prime UV had its own stand manned by Erich Midlik, who has recently moved to Frankfurt from the company’s US base in order to develop the European market. A new player at the show was UK-based GEW, following the launch of its wider IsoCure systems, which can be retrofitted to existing presses. The company uses what it called an ‘e-Brick’ for which a lower carbon footprint – together with higher UV output and lower running costs – is claimed. The hidden cost of high-volume extraction of ambient air as part of lamp cooling is also reduced by the use of water cooling. Another press innovation on show was the prefolders supplied by New York-based Innotech to allow a range of on-press inline folding options including panorama and gatefolds. President Vinod Kapoor had samples including a double-gatefold produced by Union Druckerei Weimar using the system on the Berliner product from a manroland Regioman press. It can be adapted to produce smaller gatefolds or coupon folds at one or both edges for advertising promotions. Digital printing Somewhat strangely, Screen was the only digital print systems vendor with a press running at the show, although rival Agfa were happy to talk about developments with their 630 mm-wide Dotrix DGNews digital web press. Screen had a twin-engined TruePress Jet520 inkjet in production with Hunkeler finishing, and had just signed its first newspaper installation. Partner Newsworld, which has a contract to print print copies of the ‘Daily Mail’ and ‘Mail On Sunday’ in New York from January, is working with digital printer Alphagraphics on the project. Screen says the twin-engine Screen Truepress Jet520 prints at 128 metres/minute, the equivalent of 1200 48-page tabloid newspapers an hour. Agfa newspaper systems business manager Kurt Smits says the company expects to have the inkjet system running at 32 metres/minute – a third faster than currently – and is confident of more. With no news of lower ink costs, this is the best news you can hope for from manufacturers (Agfa included) who continue to talk ‘total cost of ownership’ rather than in per copy costs. Agfa’s highest-profile user is a Portuguese newspaper distributor with a ‘net revenue’ cost model... which means he gets paid only for the copies sold of a range of licensed titles. So far most of the 30 Dotrix engines installed are in packaging and transpromo applications, and Agfa says it needs to sell about ten a year. Prepress In prepress, the interest is in CTP automation and the move to ‘chemistry free’ plates. Agfa chose the event to launch a ‘new generation’ violet platesetter, the fruits of its research and development cooperation with Punch Graphix, the OEM manufacturer which now makes much of its graphic arts equipment. Four modular Advantage N units cover the space from manual to direct loading and will handle plates up to 1143 x 710 mm... replacing the existing X and DL models (but not the Polaris range). Features include a new FlexWheel registration system, an Ugra-style visual-check wedge, and zoomable optics, while the electronics are CAN-bus and single-board Windows based. Agfa’s Kurt Smits also updated on chemistry-free plate developments, where the company’s N92-VCF is delivering run lengths of up to 200,000 copies at 15 sites, and is estimated to meet the needs of 80 per cent of users. Also new are versions of OptiInk, Intellitune and Analyst software, plus an Arkitex Essentials series for the entry-level Advantage N, and Vantage 1.2 with multi-site support and the capability to monitor third-party components. From Fujifilm, there was the Ifra launch of the chemistry-free BrilliaPRO-VN newspaper plate – with run length of 200,000 copies, but the same productivity as its conventional counterpart – a preview of new pressroom chemistry, and a demonstration of XMF C-Fit image enhancement software. This uses several Fujifilm algorithms – some familiar to digital camera users – including face recognition and skin smoothing, light source recognition and white balance adjustment. While the new Fujifilm plates were seen running on both FFEI News930 and a faster Krause LS-Jet 350, the news from Krause was also about plates for KBA’s waterless Cortina press. Here an all-new X-Jet, designed to produce from 70-200 plates an hour, and teamed with a Marks-3Z processor, is already in use at German Cortina site. Krause says performance features including a 22,000 rpm spinner make the LS Jet 350 “by far the fastest” violet platesetter on the market, a claim it is more than happy to strut, given competition from much bigger rivals. Introduced in 2002, and in use in Fairfax and APN sites in Australia – the LS Jet gains speed from the faster polygon, a 160 mW violet laser and a quicker NetLink Data interface. A BlueFin CF processor now matches performance in chemical-free violet production. Punch-benders, however, cannot: Sales and marketing director Stefan Beke-Brakamp acknowledges the 350 pph may remain “a theoretical figure”, he points to its use as publishers move to higher screen resolutions. And Krause would clearly like to be able to offer its own benders for more than just the entry-level Smart’n’Easy system ... watch this space! Krause also has plans to extend the BlueFin processor family with a new compact chemical-free version, without preheat and rinsing sections. A model for the larger plate formats of the new LS Asia platesetter and commercial formats, and another for the narrower widths used in the USA (BlueFin XS) are also introduced. Kodak had brought ink optimisation to its Colorflow software, shown with the new Generation News platesetter and Newsmanager workflow. The company says its GCR method uses a colour fidelity engine, ensuring that colour transitions are smooth and saturation in dark colours is preserved. The new thermal CTP system – based on Trendsetter technology – was shown at Nexpo, and images 300 plates an hour at 1270 dpi. Automation features include multiple plate cassettes, integrated plate size selection, slip sheet removal and three-point registration. Newsmanager has a remote web browser for monitoring and control, and has been upgraded to provide better management and transmission of files and plans across multiple print sites. Also new is the ability to process files based according to priority – a necessary component in automated delivery systems which require ‘virtual’ sorting. Local success for the Amsterdam show has been the decision by Freie Presse Chemnitz in Osterdoe, Germany, to install four Generation News Z platesetters with Mercury P-HD processors, capable of 270 pph. Meanwhile, a total of 16 Trendsetter systems are going to two of Turkey’s biggest publishing groups – six Trendsetter News and a 800III Quantum for TMedya, and nine Trendsetter News for Star Medya Grubu ... a decent order to be able to announce at a relatively subdued show. ProImage – owned by Agfa, but happy to take a separate place in the marketplace – launched new versions of two of its productivity solutions: These include a graphical report function for the OnColor ECO ink optimisation software and enhancements to Newsway 5.2 including improved zoning features for targetted content. And if Krause has its eyes on the bender market, German punch bender specialist Nela has ambitions both up and downstream. The Total Register Control system it showed at DRUPA has been enhanced and now pitches into the space previously occupied by a handful of specialist companies. It uses tiny colour dots which are registered by a camera and compared with previously-set target values. Newly developed image processing software is combined with the camera into a single unit mounted directly in the print unit. Nela has also enhanced its software offering with LogiStack plate management, added a touch screen to all its VCP series, and offers sorting stackers which can be customised and mounted directly on a press. The company has also taken on support of Strobbe benders installed around the world, among them multi-format units at News Limited in Chullora. Press peripherals In the press peripherals area, Baldwin showed its ever-growing newspaper and semicommercial product range, adding new cloth and brush blanket cleaning systems. ProTech2 NP is a brush system which uses a pivoted doctor blade to clean the brushes, reducing time and the use of washing agent, the company says. QI Press Controls, on home ground in the Netherlands, had orders from Transcontinental, Newsquest and the ‘Atlanta Journal-Constitution’ – its first US installation of the new mRC system – to talk about and an engaging innovation in the iPhone-based IQMobile to play with. The system provides reporting on a variety of quality management functions plus alerts if predefined IQM limits are exceeded. Flint – one of the few (perhaps the only) ink manufacturer at the show – introduced the concept of a range of customer services it is marketing under the Pole Position name. Drawing on its existing technical knowledge, the European news inks division has created a series of modules with which newspaper managers can monitor and improve their plant performance. In some cases this means that assistance outside the normal responsibility of the ink manufacturer will be available to customers at a fee, the company’s Wim Decaluwe says. Mailroom Competition in the mailroom area is more intense with the release of new mid-level products from two of the major players, Ferag and Müller Martini. While Ferag’s position has traditionally been the high end of town, it has increasingly developed options to bring its inline handling and finishing benefits to a broader market. At Ifra it went a stage further with the launch of EasySert, a primarily offline system pitched pretty much at the same space at MM’s Alphaliner. In EasySert, Ferag had teamed its FlyStream precollator and JetFeeder hoppers with elements of the UTR conveyor to deliver a 25,000 cph offline inserting system, seen as a solution for small-circulation newspapers with high insert volumes or zoning needs. Main products are held by the UTR gripper throughout the process, and the JetFeeder hoppers – up to 40 of them -handle a wide range of products with quick changeovers, or can be replaced by log feeders. A repair control system detects missing main products, either sending the collected inserts into a holding loop or suppressing further inserts so they don’t reach the gathering process. However, while an “exceptionally attractive price/performance ratio” is promised, the new system is not likely to be available until next June. Ferag also showed two modular fully automatic strapping machines, and followed up last year’s presentation of the LineMaster control with a glimpse of a new-look PostPressManagement system planning and control platform, which uses the same operating concept and screen design. New graphic interfaces reduce relevant information for planning and control to a few screen displays. At the same time, Ferag partner WRH Marketing introduced an e-shop from which stickers for MemoStick ‘stick-ons’ can be ordered. Elsewhere, Swiss specialist Sitech Systems had small-scale solutions for applying ‘stick-on’ notes, plus a novel inkjet printer for producing short-run applications (which visitors to the stand discovered, adhered well to bars of Swiss chocolate). At Müller Martini, the popular Alphaliner is being ‘relaunched’ with 20 per cent higher speed and the option of an upgrade kit to take existing machines to 18,000 cph. Müller Martini also had a pragmatic response to market conditions at the show: The add-on CoLiner system which it released at DRUPA in May. Marketing manager Volker Leonhardt says the company began the project in September last year in response to a demand for compact machines which could be configured to different needs according to the time of the week. Designed originally for the new ProLiner inserter, the CoLiner will also be available as an add-on to existing NewsLiner systems. It enables capacity to be varied (or shut down) on days when fewer inserts are required, with correspondingly lower costs. Leonhardt says the pregatherer addresses the needs of those who produce Sunday newspapers and handle many more inserts at the weekend: “The CoLiner can be easily docked into the inserting line and offers maximum flexibility in the smallest of spaces,” he says. “Because it is only activated when it is actually put into use, newspaper printers can reduce their operating costs thanks to less wear and tear and reduced energy consumption.” Danish specialist Schur promoted the user-friendliness of its NewsStar inserter A1055 and introduced a return product system designed to process a mix of unsold products at up to 20,000 cph. Central to the new inserter is a high-speed feeder – shown running at 50,000 cph – and Schur had video footage of a new installation at German publisher ‘Schweriner Volkszeitung’. IfraExpo is a talking shop amid a city of what are euphemistically-named ‘coffee shops’ (and where smoking tobacco is, I’m told, illegal). There’s little or enough hardware among the stands of more than 300 exhibitors – exceptions being the Tensor tower and Screen’s digital inkjet press – and it’s fair to say that a multitude of press and postpress projects are still under discussion. But everyone in that area appeared to be reconciled to a delay before intentions are turned to action. Contrast that however, with those halls focused on online, advertising, mobile and every other form of digital publishing ... and the pace was more frenzied. I never met an Australian who was at the show as a customer – the nearest being a consultant from New Zealand. But probably a dozen were present on behalf of vendors, among them a four-strong team from Melbourne-based APS (supporting Roxen and Brainworks), and exhibitors including AdLizard and Serendipity Software. And they were rushed off their feet: Terry Flynn of APS is upbeat about the way business is developing, both at home and overseas and a News Limited invitation for expressions of interest is also a talking point. Despite not meeting its hoped-for target of 10,000 visitors, the four-day show was busy enough ... and Finkbeiner may be right in asserting that they were not there to mope about the economy. There are opportunities, all right, and on aggregate, no shortage of customers with live projects still going ahead all over the world.