Lasermax Roll Systems partners with top digital print vendors to present finishing solutions that maximize print line efficiency. Highlights include high-speed roll to roll with near-line finishing, high-speed dynamic perforating, automated digital print image inspection, and automated press sheet finishing.

Chicago, IL - Changes in digital print technology have placed new demands on finishing to keep print lines running at top efficiency and maximize the significant investments in these printers. At Graph Expo 2011, Lasermax Roll Systems (Booth #211) is presenting answers to four key problems and trends related to finishing digital print and designed to maximize productivity of the overall printing process.

Trend #1:  High-speed Sheeting-In-line vs. Near-line
Today's fastest continuous web printers generate ROI only when their up-times are maximized-influencing the shift from in-line sheeting/stacking to near-line configurations. The most efficient sheeting systems generate more process stops than the alternative and simpler process of printing roll-to-roll. In addition, sheeting in-line requires operators to offload stacks at escalating frequencies increasing the chance of mishandled output.

At Graph Expo 2011, LasermaxRoll is partnering with Xerox (Booth #400) to demonstrate a productive high-speed print line with its Roll 555 system for roll-to-roll web handling on the new Xerox CiPress 500 Production Inkjet System. Printed rolls are being finished near-line in the LasermaxRoll booth with the Stack 2230 system. The Stack 2230 includes the Cutter c22 and Stacker s30 and features dual rotary knives for variable strip cutting at speeds up to 450 ft/min. LasermaxRoll will also demonstrate an in-line Stack 2230 system on the InfoPrint 5000 with Ricoh (Booth #2600.)

LasermaxRoll is also partnering with HP (Booths #2610, #3210) for a near-line finishing demonstration. Produced on the HP T200 Color Inkjet Web Press, a 3-up short run book application is running on the LasermaxRoll StreamFolder 2030 system to create book blocks of 6-panel signatures. The StreamFolder 2030 system can easily perform either a single or double plow fold for flexible production of both 4-panel and 6-panel signatures. When creating 6-panel signatures for book blocks, the StreamFolder uses a unique Z-fold design to ensure pages are always precisely registered to the spine edge. The Z-fold is also effective and canceling out any paper curl.

Trend #2:  Digital Color Print–Eliminates Pre-printed Forms
A major benefit for continuous web color printers is the ability to eliminate pre-printed forms and use plain paper. However, many applications still require perforating and punching that now must be done as part of the digital print finishing process.

Kodak (Booth # 2018) has printed rolls on its Versamark 300W printing system with a TransPromo application for near-line finishing in the LasermaxRoll booth. Rolls are being finished using the Stack 2230 system to produce final pages with full color bleeds. Additionally, the application features several coupons, so finishing includes dynamic perforations using the new LasermaxRoll Processor p8200. Capable of speeds up to 790 ft/min, the Processor p8200 has four cross web perforation blades and four vertical perforation wheels. Various perforation patterns can be programmed and are only generated on the pages that require perforating.

Trend #3:  Automated Print Image and Data Inspection
Both higher speeds and color printers are making automated print inspection a necessity. It is simply not possible to manually inspect quality at these speeds and operators typically don't have access to verify variable data. In addition, the cost of reprints has increased with the use of color making it essential to catch problems as quickly as possible.

LasermaxRoll's WebVision system is installed directly after the digital printer to identify problems right away. WebVision is fully automated and analyzes print image quality, data integrity, and guarantees job completeness. It also connects directly to ADF systems for even greater end-to-end automation. At Graph Expo 2011, WebVision demonstrations are available in three booths:

• Ricoh (Booth #2600) has WebVision installed with the InfoPrint 5000 production inkjet printing system.
• Xerox (Booth #400) has WebVision installed with the CiPress.
• LasermaxRoll (Booth #211) is demonstrating WebVision's remote monitoring capability with a live connection to each print line.

Trend #4:  Automated Press Sheet Finishing
Sheet-fed digital presses typically produce multiple image press sheets that require labor-intensive guillotine cutting and manual sorting-a time consuming process in a "need it now" digital world.

In the HP booth, LasermaxRoll's PageReady system and FinishReady controller are in-line with the HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press. PageReady fully automates the process of cutting, trimming, collating, and stacking, to convert multiple image press sheets into smaller professionally finished pages without the demand for guillotine cutters. Pages are stacked with offsets for easy job separations and delivered nonstop to a conveyor table making it an ideal solution for the efficient production of postcards, direct mail, brochures, photo books, greeting cards, calendars, and more. FinishReady Controller is a central interface to facilitate the automatic set-up, control and monitoring of in-line or near-line finishing devices in close harmony with the HP Indigo Digital Press.

"Commercial print operations have been struggling with the gap in workflow automation that separates the finest quality sheet-fed digital print processes from the final stage of bindery and distribution of output. Closing this gap with the PageReady System which converts multiple image sheets to perfectly trimmed and collated pages ready for bindery, and the FinishReady Controller which provides a veritable neural network governing integrated printing, page processing and finishing workflows will generate major savings for commercial printers. We see this as another challenge met in the fulfillment of our role within the digital print industry as The Essential Partner to Print," said Bill Carroll, president and CEO of Lasermax Roll Systems.