SCOTTSDALE, AZ—Learn, interact, experience: Hundreds of users accepted the invitation and turned out for EskoWorld 2015, held June 14-17 at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, AZ. Each customized his/her own agenda, choosing from 75 sessions that covered myriad topics ranging from digital flexo to packaging. Briefings focused on everything from structural and three dimensional design to brand management, digital finishing and commercial print.
Attendees sat through analysis of industry dynamics and demographics, attended classroom lectures, accessed open labs and seized the opportunity to participate in hands on prepress training, utilizing the newest software and latest program updates. Team building exercises—a choreographed flash mob and Amazing Race like obstacle course—brought out their cooperative and competitive nature. Networking sessions delivered ample benefit.
Esko maintained that, “In the graphic communications industry, customer demands, tools, technologies and processes change at a fast pace.” That said, it pointed to the vision and mission of the company’s annual user conference. “To stay ahead, you need an inside track. You need to access first hand information that will have a positive impact on job performance and business.” Attesting to the global nature of the business, the Scottsdale session represented one of five 2015 Esko World installments; the others being:
- Barcelona, Spain
- Brussels, Belgium
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Prague, the Czech Republic
Subject matter that attracted widespread participation on the part of FTA members present at the Arizona meeting included:
- Flexographic printing for packaging, namely flexo print quality and economics, and digital flexo solutions
- Color management, specifically proofing and RIPs, color challenges and solutions for labels and packaging, and managing color in the offset flexo and digital environment
- Digital asset management, notably the integration of Esko and MediaBeacon, packaging content management, and digitalization in flexo workflow integration—design to prepress
- Packaging design, including The Next Big Thing in packaging decoration, and step and repeat layout for folding carton
- Brand owners/consumer product companies, takeaways came in the form of ConAgra sharing its perspective on private label; plus presentations on brand process improvement and the power of integration, technological game changers and right sizing packaging
Business partners on hand for the festivities at times served as session presenters and manned tabletop exhibits. They included: Chili Publish, DuPont Packaging Graphics, efi (Electronics for Imaging), Flint Group Flexographic Products, Global Vision Systems, Hewlett Packard (hp), MacDermid Printing Solutions, MediaBeacon, Meta Communications, Videojet and X-Rite Pantone.
In a lighter, yet pertinent keynote address, Brad Montgomery spoke to the science of “Laugh-O-Nomics” and decreed, “Happy people perform better than their unhappy peers.” He then suggested simple techniques to make work and home happier. Among them: Pick, find, lead and act happy. The motivational speaker noted that Harvard research has shown happy people are 25 percent more productive and their sales 37 percent higher than colleagues falling into other mindsets.
New Kids On The Block
Jon Giardina, Esko Americas president, opened the proceedings, telling attendees, “EskoWorld is a clearly important and unique event. Here, we sharpen our customers’ skills and customers help us sharpen our solutions.” Describing himself as a student in alluding to the fact that he came to Esko in August 2014, Giardina encouraged the more than 350 customers joining with the 110 Esko team members present to, “Participate. Interact. Learn and share.”
Udo Panenka, Esko president, introduced himself to attendees as among “The New Kids on The Block,” referencing the fact that he became president Jan. 1, after becoming affiliated with Esko the prior August. His tenure with parent company Danaher dates back close to a decade, and he was once a print buyer. In his view, “lives are changing fast,” and “late stage package customization represents an area where a lot of dynamics are happening.”
Panenka identified four factors influencing business today:
- Consumers drive dynamic change
- Brand owners respond
- Supply chain members adapt
- Technology enables
Referencing the “power of customized packaging,” he said its impact is evident in the number of pressruns initiated growing larger and larger, while the quantities of packaging produced in each run are growing smaller and smaller. Those trends, which Panenka deemed “more variation,” have bred “process standardization, new business models and the advent of package management systems.”
The future, he predicted, “will focus on the ability to control digital assets—for packaging, for marketing, for media and for other purposes.” Highlighting trends, he reported, “Conventional printers are now seeing 10 percent of revenue output in digital. That might represent 30 percent to 40 percent of all jobs.” Panenka promised, “In Danaher’s Product Identification Group (Esko, Pantone, X-Rite, Videojet), we will drive synergies and develop joint solutions.” The objective: “To make print fit inside the modern marketing mix and make it easier to sell and buy.”
From there, Panenka urged all, “Improve today. Dream for tomorrow.” He told attendees, “It’s EskoWorld’s theme. Great tools are in place. Leverage them to the full extent. Take advantage of what amounts to 5,000 years’ industry knowledge on the part of our team members in attendance. Get inspired. Move the needle!”
Breakouts & Breakthroughs
In breakout sessions, David Harris, who tackled color management, proofing and RIPs, pointed to a future vision of closed loop color. He decreed, “Color is now a part of automated workflow. Automation engines have become central color management hubs.” That has brought about integration of PDF powered imaging engines with color libraries, object based screening software and task driven profile software. New developments, naming and technology changes, are on the horizon.
Esko’s Rory Marsoun and Mark Samworth, familiar names to FLEXO readers and integral parts of the magazine’s October 2014 cover project, spoke to economic advantages of the world’s most dominant packaging print process. Marsoun singled out the advent and evolution of digital flexo, since the time the very first CDI unit was installed in 1995, 20 years ago. Advances credited to Esko technology came in 2009 with HD Flexo, 2012 with Full HD Flexo and 2014 with Full HD Flexo with microcells. Each introduction brought with it larger numbers of jobs converted from gravure to flexo, strengthening its economical footprint.
According to Marsoun, “Brighter, intense colors were achieved. Economic strengths were evident in flexo’s newfound ability to use fewer plates and combine process and line work.” Other attractions cited by Marsoun:
- Reduced ink consumption
- Increased efficiency on press
- Less energy consumption
Higher press speeds and getting up to color were among attributes reported by printers. One said the experience brought the typical job from 85 lpi, run at 330 fpm; to 120 lpi, run at 1,000 fpm.
Samworth applied an economic benefit analysis to 7-color expanded gamut flexo, something he affectionately called 7-color process. “There are two kinds of colors, spot and process,” he explained. Immediately, he suggested a new strategy. “Convert to 7-color and run with very good plates. It’s the best economic condition you can print with. Lighter fades to zero, a necessity with the 7-color platform, plus darker solids, equal a larger color gamut.”
The color guru then outlined “seven characterized referenced printing conditions,” which he said could be used in place of G7—near neutral calibration. They are:
- Cold set news
- Hot set news
- Premium uncoated
- Super calendared
- Pub coated
- Premium coated
- Extra large
All fall into the Continuous Gamut Concept. Samworth noted that in actuality, running 7-color work is achieved by running three colors at a time. He also stated, “4-color printing has way more color variation than 7-color. Four-color also uses more ink—estimates point to 25 percent more.” Citing additional statistics, he reported “Users have documented makeready savings at 25 percent to 50 percent, with some saying at times it runs as high as 80 percent. Those people run 100 percent sleeves, bringing makeready time down from one hour to 10 minutes.”
Translating those reports to numerics, Samworth explained, “A printer with an annual makeready budget of $1 million can save $250,000, bringing yearly makeready cost to $750,000.” Why? “We’re no longer restricted to ganging only jobs with similar colors; in 7-color expanded gamut printing. All jobs use the same colors.”
Further defining flexo’s economic impact, Samworth indicated that factoring in makeready savings, the $250,000 figure reported earlier applies to running jobs one up. When you gang jobs and run two up, the previous $1 million annual makeready cost drops further; with three up, even further, etc., etc.” He added: Obviously, one five hour pressrun, is cheaper than five, one hour pressruns. That increased speed, combined with less color variation, is moving the analysis of the breakeven point determining whether to run a job digital or flexo, now roughly 10,000 impressions, well into our—flexo’s—corner.”