Atlanta, GA – Dscoop, the largest digital printing user group in the graphics industry, today reported that nearly 20 manufacturers and suppliers of finishing solutions will be represented among the over 80 partners participating in Dscoop 11, scheduled for 14-16 April in San Antonio TX.

"When making decisions about digital printing investments, selection or upgrading of finishing equipment can often be overlooked,” said Ed Wiegand, Dscoop board member and conference committee member. “In the Dscoop Solutions Showcase, members will be able to see the latest developments in finishing solutions of all types and speak directly to our sponsors about how these solutions can improve operations. We encourage Dscoop attendees to spend time in the Solutions Showcase, learning all they can from industry leaders on the latest finishing trends.”                                         

“Because digital presses can seamlessly print variable content and produce variably formatted product, finishing solutions must have the automation and workflow controls to efficiently produce these varied products,” said Andy Fetherman, Director of Digital Solutions at Müller Martini, a Dscoop Diamond partner. “These sophisticated workflow solutions become increasingly important as digital print speeds continue to rise. Finishing solutions must also be able to handle a wide range of substrate types as digital print vendors continue to broaden their portfolios of supported media.” 

Si Nguyen, Vice President of Sales at Duplo USA, adds, “If print service providers want to be profitable, they need to think Finishing First. Eliminating post-press bottlenecks will create a smoother workflow, generating efficiency and profits. In addition, when print service providers use finishing techniques to add value to their products, they can become one of the top profit-makers in the printing marketplace.”

Rollem International agrees. Susan Corwin, Marketing Manager, says, “We see the direction in finishing for digital print continuing to shift toward touchless, automated processes with nearline and inline finishing configurations. We also see successful print service providers bringing their binding and finishing processes in house to eliminate outsourcing and gain control over quality and turnaround times.” Doing so also makes it easier for print service providers to be more creative in the solutions they offer customers. Corwin shares, “One of our demonstrations at Dscoop will feature cutting and scoring of a 15-up fold-over business card sheet, a unique take on the standard business card.”

Key Finishing Considerations

Müller Martini’s Fetherman identified three key areas that digital press owners should be considering in terms of finishing investment strategies:

• Scalability – Digital presses will open up many new opportunities that some customers won’t see at first.  Finishing solutions need to provide future scalability to allow for new product applications without having to buy all new equipment, so that they have investment protection for future expansion.
• Sophisticated workflow solutions – Automated workflow is critical to enable finishing solutions to efficiently handle the variability associated with digitally-printed products.  Variable Data Printing (VDP) products often need to be fully validated during the finishing process and 100% compliance guarantees often come with personalized work.  Finishing solutions must be able to seamlessly guarantee both validation and compliance without human intervention.
• Commercial quality finishing – Digital print quality is constantly improving, which is raising the bar for the quality of the finished product.  As a result, printers must ensure that the finished product quality is also indistinguishable, whether it is produced in an offset or digital workflow.

Fetherman pointed out, “The Dscoop community contains some of the most progressive printers in the industry.  They are not only customers or potential customers for our digital finishing technologies, but they also provide us with a wealth of knowledge on market trends, evolving finishing requirements and the resultant equipment needs.  This helps us better understand what new developments are required to keep our offerings viable in this market space.”

Rollem’s Corwin adds, “This year will mark Rollem’s 8th year at the Dscoop event. We find that Dscoop attendees come equipped and ready to learn through the sessions, social interactions and for us, through the live finishing equipment demonstrations we provide. Over the years we’ve had the opportunity to provide streamlined, economical finishing upgrades for many of the Dscoop members.”

Conference registration can be accessed by visiting DscoopSanAntonio.org. Dscoop’s annual conference is the event of the year for learning, connecting and collaboration among members, thought leaders, partners and HP. Dscoop San Antonio will be a packed three days of business development, networking and knowledge sharing. The 2016 event has been reimagined to accommodate Dscoop’s continuous worldwide membership growth and further enhance the attendee experience.