Scodix has great expectations for the Scodix Ultra 6000 SHD that made its European debut at the Hunkeler Innovations Days.
The appearance of the B1 digital embellishment press in Switzerland follows hard on the announcement of the first European sale to Druckhaus Mainfranken, the print group that owns the FlyerAlarm online print business. Multiple short runs that need the level of embellishment that has previously only been available through hot foiling B1 sheets suit the Scodix technology.
To prove this, Scodix EVP global sales and marketing Mark Nixon had devised a test sheet, half of which would be embellished with conventional foiling, the other half through the Scodix. This sheet was glued down at the front of the Scodix display during Hunkeler Innovation Days to prevent it being carried away.
Nixon admits that he did not set out to create a killer job, intending only to show that the Scodix makeready would be much shorter than a conventional foiling platen. But the combination of small text, reversed out 4pt text, line work and foiled areas proved almost impossible to achieve in an algae way. The best foiling houses took six hours to produce something that still contained compromises because of the physical limitations of the process. “This is because the foil is stretched,” says Nixon.
The same job on the Scodix took one minute to set up and make ready, he says. “The SHD technology keeps the reversed text open, the line work is precise. The only questions is why wouldn’t you buy one?” he says.
The short answer is the initial cost. Nixon is keen to point out that per-sheet cost is minimal, and minimal training and skills are needed to operate the Ultra, but not to discuss the capital cost of the B1 format machine. Instead he points to the markets where shorter runs and faster turnarounds are tipping the balance in the direction of digital embellishment: luxury packaging, book jackets and covers, magazine covers and greetings cards.
“In the face of increasing online purchases and the popularity of personalised books, the publishing industry continues to require smaller job runs and faster time to market. Clearly digital enhancement is an excellent solution for those challenges, but with the large format of the Scodix Ultra 6000 and virtually zero makeready time, publishers can also match the productivity of their analogue systems,” says Nixon.
