Digital Printing and finishing
From Riso Africa at Fespa
The advent of digital printing simultaneously brought a number of benefits and created a series of problems. The benefits included the ability to print short runs, achieve fast turnaround times and recreate previously printed items. The major disadvantage was the inability to professionally finish the printed items, especially in the case of books, manuals and corporate information.
The result was that many of the digital printing systems manufacturers entered into strategic agreements and alliances with finishing systems manufacturers for post-print solutions, either inline or offline. One company which opted to do things differently was Riso. It decided to create a complete print and finishing solution all in one device. The ComColor+ 9150 can be configured with a range of printing and finishing solutions to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of users.
The ComColor+ 9150 is a 150 page per minute, full-colour printer capable of handling a range of substrate sizes and weights. It can handle substrates up to 550 x 345mm and paper weights up to 400gsm without any reduction in print speed. With the inclusion of the HS5000 scanner, double-sided printed originals can be scanned and reprinted or stored and manipulated prior to printing.
When configured with book finishing features, the ComColor can handle punching, stapling, folding and even perfect binding. These features make it ideal for the production, or reproduction, of all different types of books. It is ideally suited to the production of training manuals for universities, colleges, schools, in-house print departments and company reproduction departments. It incorporates built-in imposition software allowing books to be correctly imposed according to the requirements of the book being produced.
The ComColor+ can produce books up to 30mm thick and includes hot-melt glue for the application of square-back printed covers. All steps of the book printing, collation and finishing are produced as an inline process with completed books exiting the machine and ready to be handled. The perfect binding system drastically reduces production time by combining and automating all functions of book printing and finishing. This provides increased efficiency and is a cost-effective solution for both short run and high-volume production.
However, the printer can be configured to handle other functions if book production is not the function of the printer or the in-house reproduction department. With a different configuration it can handle envelope blanks and be used as a full envelope printer, folder, inserter, addressing and sealing line capable of printing and handling up to 2200 pieces of mail per hour. The ComColor+ features high-speed variable data printing capability with the optional IS950 or IS1000 PostScript RIPS, allowing each item to be individually addressed and totally personalised according to customer-specified databases. Riso Africa partners with Objectif Lune to provide PrintShop Mail and PlanetPress mailing and variable data software.
Cost-effective printing of envelopes and the contents which will be inserted into the envelopes, along with automatic finishing significantly reduces production costs. The in-line process also cuts production time by seamlessly integrating the steps from print to mailing. The reliable system increases uptime and the simple transport path reduces the possibility of errors and jams. All of this means that personalised mailings can be delivered to the postal system faster and, through the use of personalisation are guaranteed to achieve higher response rates.
The ComColor + 9150 was shown at the recent Fespa Africa exhibition at Gallagher Estate. Both the Book production machine and the Envelope printing system were shown. According to Marvin Minnaar, product manager at Riso South Africa, the devices attracted significant levels of interest from visitors. He added, ‘The small, compact design of the ComColor + 9150 makes it particularly attractive to organisations which need the flexibility and convenience of having printing and production in-house but which do not have the space normally associated with these types of processes. For commercial printers it offers another level of productivity.’
Visitors to Fespa were able to see the ComColor + 9150 in actual production. For more information on the printer and its range of finishing configurations contact Riso Africa on 011314 0562 or e-mail