We have been previewing ISA’s International Sign Expo 2013, coming up next week, April 3–6, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. A fortnight ago, we looked at the educational opportunities to be had, and this week we will look at but the merest handful of the offerings on the show floor.

Canon/Océ (Booth #3353)—New to ISA this year will be the Océ Arizona 480 GT UV flatbed printer, designed for application versatility. The new model features eight independent ink channels with support for varnish or double-opacity white ink printing, including additional cyan and magenta channels. The flatbed table includes six vacuum zones that have been configured to match the majority of standard-sized graphic arts media to reduce or eliminate manual masking. Also on display will be the affordable Océ Arizona 318 GL UV flatbed printer, the extra-large Océ Arizona 550 XT UV flatbed printer, the Océ ColorWave 650 wide-format printer, the 12-color Canon imagePROGRAF 8400 printer, and Océ’s ProCut 2500 L automated cutting system. 

EFI (Booth #3721)—EFI will be showing the full gamut of its integrated product portfolio. Specific wide-format printers on display will include the EFI H652 hybrid UV printer and the EFI R3225 UV roll-to-roll printer. Superwide-format products on display the new VUTEk HS100 Pro digital inkjet press, the VUTEk GS2000lx LED UV hybrid printer, the VUTEk GS3250r roll-to-roll printer, and the VUTEk QS2 Pro production-level hybrid UV printer. Business automation and workflow software at ISA will include EFI’s Digital StoreFront job management and workflow solution, the EFI Pace fully integrated estimating, production accounting sales management, and e-commerce solution, and PrintSmith Vision for business management.

Epson (Booth #2505)—Epson will be showing two of the newest entries into the SureColor line: the F-series dye sublimation printers. Introduced earlier this year, the two rollfed dye-sub transfer printers—the 44-inch SureColor F6070 and the 64-inch SureColor F7070—boast industrial-level production and output up to 1440x720 dpi on all leading transfer papers. Applications for the SureColor F-Series include soft signage, sportswear, apparel, accessories, and customized promotional items such as mouse pads and ceramic mugs.

Esko (Booth #3759)—Esko will be demonstrating its range of products that run the gamut from design to print to finishing. They will offer live demonstrations of the company’s Kongsberg digital finishing equipment will be shown, and hands on demos of the i-cut Suite that includes i-cut Automate, i-cut Preflight, i-cut Layout, and i-cut Vision Pro.

Fujifilm (Booth #1512)—Fujifilm will be showcasing its Acuity Advance Select and Acuity LED 1600, including the Acuity Advance Select 8 UV flatbed inkjet printer which offers a wide selection of color options; its eight channels offer extended color, white, and clear ink options. Fujifilm will print unique samples with the Acuity Advance Select 8 on such diverse substrates as magnetics, wood, clear PETG, Innova Art,  and Ultraflex poplin fabric. The Acuity LED 1600 hybrid inkjet printer, which features a UV-LED ink curing system, will be printing on such media as Ultraflex Illumisol backlit signs, Sihl clear film, Catalina Graphic Films’ Mojave wall paper, and Fujifilm poster paper.

HP (Booth #4357)—At ISA, HP will be demonstrating its wide-format sign and display solutions. The company’s flatbed UV-curable devices on display will include the HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press, designed in part to help print service providers expand into new applications such as packaging. Also in the booth will be the HP Scitex FB700 and FB500 Industrial Printers, which can help PSPs produce high-value point-of-purchase applications; the HP Scitex LX850 Industrial Printer and HP Designjet L28500 and L26500 Printers with HP Latex Inks offer a broad range of indoor and outdoor applications from vehicle wraps to wallcoverings. To demonstrate the wide variety of applications made possible by HP digital printing solutions, the booth will also feature vignettes of printed output.

Mimaki (Booth #4515)—Mimaki will be showing all of its recently announced wide-format printers, including the UJF-6042 tabletop model LED UV curing printer, introduced in January. The UJF-6042 offers a bed size of 24 x 12 inches and is available with four CMYK process colors, plus white, a primer, and clear. The company will also be showing its UJV500-160 UV curable roll-to-roll printer and the new LUS-200UV ink sets, jointly developed with 3M.

MTL Print (Booth #609)—ISA attendees will be the first to see MTL Print’s new NURStar 305D, a 5x10 UV flatbed printer, as well as the acclaimed NURStar 304D. Both NURStars are robust, industrial-grade wide-format digital flatbeds for POP, display, packaging, and more. The NURStars achieve speeds up to 2700 square feet per hour. The new NURStar 305D allows customers to output up to 5x10-inch images, and have access to a white ink printing option. The NURStar Family also includes the Interchangeable Table, a function with which operators can load and unload while printing, reducing wait-time between prints from the typical 50 seconds down to 12 seconds.

Roland DG (Booth #3511)—Two new products Roland DG will be focusing on are the new SOLJET XF (which will be introduced officially just before ISA on April 2) and the new Paparazzi Premium Matte Paper media. Roland’s flagship Pro 4 XR-640, unveiled last October at SGIA, will still be a hot topic of conversation in the booth as well. Roland will also be displaying the full gamut of its printing and cutting portfolio, including—but not limited to—the VersaStudio BN-20 20-inch desktop inkjet printer/cutter; VersaCAMM VS-540 54-inch large-format printer/cutter; the VersaUV LEJ-640 hybrid UV-LED flatbed inkjet printer, and VersaUV LEF-12 12inch benchtop UV flatbed printer.

That’s all the news that fits, to coin a phrase. A complete schedule of events, as well as an exhibitor list and floor map can be found at www.signexpo.org. WhatTheyThink will be reporting live from the show, both in pictures and moving words.