The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA), located in Fairfax, Virginia, announced the SGIA Product of the Year competition winners (sgia.org). The competition recognizes the latest equipment and supplies currently on the market that are advancing the specialty imaging industry.
A team of industry experts judged the entrants for their significance on the specialty imaging community, and this year’s categories included everything from digital inks, finishing and media to direct-to-garment, roll-to-roll and UV flatbed printers. Award winners receive the title of Product of the Year recipient.
“The Product of the Year Award competition showcases the best printers, technologies and consumables from the specialty imaging community,” said Ray Weiss, SGIA’s digital imaging specialist. “Whether they were a seasoned company or an industry newcomer, each and every entry came to win, and they gave the judges a real run for their money.”
Winners were selected from 139 products in 25 categories. The following are the 2014 Product of the Year winners by category and why they were selected.
Digital Inks: MAP (Metal and Plastic) Inkjet Ink; Prism Inks
This inkjet ink will print directly to and adhere on nearly any hard surface, including metal and plastic. MAP Ink also has superior scratch resistance while maintaining vibrant colors. It could be used in the POP market and for outdoor signage. prisminks.com
Media – Paper: Filmfree Laserjet Waterslide Decal Paper; Sunny Scopa
With this product, there is no need for any press machine and no need for sublimation ink. Users can print the image with any color laser printer on this patent-pending paper, apply it on a mug and bake it in an oven for about nine minutes. The result is a beautiful, no-cut transfer image on the ceramic mug, ceramic tile, glass mug, etc. unnyind.co.kr
Media – Vinyl, and Media – Non-PVC, Non-Woven Categories: AlumiGraphics Smooth; AlumiGraphics by FloorSignage
A two-category winner, AlumiGraphics Smooth is a wide-format substrate made of pliable, durable aluminum foil for use on exterior walls, including brick, cinder block, stucco and concrete. It easily conforms to the texture of rough or smooth surfaces, resulting in a graphic that appears to be painted to the surface. Standard rolls are 53 inches wide, available in 30-, 75- and 150-foot lengths. alumigraphics.com
Media – Films: VM-ChalkBoard Plus; Visual Magnetics
The VM-ChalkBoard Plus is a MagnaMedia product from Visual Magnetics. The 12-mil black chalkboard film is designed specifically for liquid chalk. It complements the company’s current chalkboard film offering that is compatible with standard, dust-free chalk. visualmagnetics.com
Media – Textile: Digitex Decoflex; Heytex Bramsche GmbH
The decorative fabric on polyester basis is flexible, elastic, tear-resistant and 200 g/m² light. It is also flame-retardant in accordance with B1 and M1 standards. It was developed for print with dye-sub inks, can be processed with silicone welt, and is easily folded for packing. heytex.com
Media – Rigid: eco-Hips; New Hampshire Plastics
Press-ready eco-Hips is a print-grade substrate developed and manufactured by NHP. It offers the same press performance as regular Hips, the same recycling stream, and the same ability to customize while providing up to 15% material cost savings and a freight/weight advantage of up to 30%. nhplastics.com
Finishing – Display Exhibit Hardware: Tension LED System; TLS International
The Tension LED system offers uniform lighting and low energy consumption. It is collapsible, fully customizable, requires minimal wiring and is easy to assemble. tls-led.com
Finishing – Laminates, Adhesives, Films, Coatings: Marashield UV-Curable Coatings; Marabu North America
This UV-curable liquid coating enables users to achieve lower production costs while making the production process more efficient. Marashield coatings are applied using a roller coating machine like the Burkle LFC 1600. Marabu partnered with Burkle to ensure the best possible results for Marashield UV-curable coatings. marabu-northamerica.com
Finishing – Equipment: SSC 165H Panel Saw & Dust-Free Cutter; Safety Speed Manufacturing
Combine dust- and noise-free cutting with a Safety Speed Vertical Panel Saw and users can cut just about any material straight and square. This one machine takes up less space, cuts material up to 1-3/4 inches thick, cuts multiple sheets, V grooves and scores material, and rips sheets up to 10 feet long. safetyspeed.com
Roll-to-Roll Aqueous, under 96 in.: SureColor T7270; Epson America
Offered in 36- and 44-inch dual-roll models, the SureColor T7270 delivers extreme line accuracy with resolutions up to 2,880×1,440 dpi at incredibly fast speeds; it produces a presentation-quality D-size plot in just 25 seconds. For increased efficiency, the dual-roll printers feature a high-capacity catch basket for quick retrieval and reduced sorting time. epson.com
Roll-to-Roll UV, under 96 in.: JV400-160 SUV; Mimaki USA
The JV400-160 SUV specializes in printing on solvent media such as PVC films and banner materials, thus meeting solvent ink users’ desire for “a little more here.” It offers newly developed high-speed printheads, multiple drop sizes with a minimum size of 4 pl, a nozzle recovery function, UISS (Uninterrupted Ink Supply System) and an eco-cartridge method. mimakiusa.com
UV Flatbed, under $200K, and UV Flatbed + White, under $200K, Categories: Océ Arizona 318 GL; Océ Display Graphics Systems – A Canon Company
Another two-category winner, the Océ Arizona 318 GL flatbed printer is a highly capable introductory model that offers smaller print producers entrance into high-quality UV flatbed printing. It delivers quality printing on the same robust platform as the Océ Arizona 360 GT printer, at a price positioned for light production. usa.canon.com
UV Flatbed, over $200K: Jeti Titan HS; Agfa Graphics
The six-color plus white, 122×79-inch flatbed UV printing system (with FTR option) is equipped with two rows of the latest generation 1,280-nozzle Ricoh Gen 5 printheads for maximum productivity. It is ideal for high-value work like POP/POS viewed at close range or for the high-level art, fashion and cosmetics markets. agfagraphics.com
UV Flatbed + White, over $200K: Océ Arizona 6170 XTS; Océ Display Graphics Systems – A Canon Company
An easy-to-use, high-volume flatbed, it delivers highly productive rigid media printing and sets new standards for print quality, application versatility and reliability. Benefits include versatile rigid media applications up to 155m² per hour, an automated printhead maintenance system, pneumatic media and white ink printing. usa.canon.com
Roll-to-Roll Solvent/Latex, over 96 in.: ValueJet 2638; Mutoh America
Printing high-quality images up to an incredible 1,168, the 2638 includes Smart Printing technologies such as the intelligent interweave (i2) print technique to eliminate banding and the ValueJet Status Monitor (VSM) mobile app, which allows users to check the printer’s status from a smartphone. mutoh.com
Roll-to-Roll UV, over 96 in.: Q5-1000h; CET Color
Q5-series flatbeds are ideal for close-viewed, detailed projects like trade show graphics, retail and exhibition displays, museum and fine art reproductions, specialty packaging and detailed interior signage. The Q5-1000h can be custom configured with 2–10 printheads from the factory. Each machine comes with an expanded, dual-row, 10-slot, jet plate, allowing room to upgrade in the future. cetcolor.com
Direct to Garment Printers: Mankind Digital/ion-Argon; Eastern Tech
Mankind Digital’s ion Argon direct-to-garment printer operates with a micro-piezo on-demand inkjet printhead and prints CMYK plus white and spot colors. With a maximum print size of 13×24 inches, the printer is capable of printing 720×720 in less than 60 seconds for CMYK and less than two minutes for CMYK plus white. easterntech.co
Screen Printing – Prepress: i-Image STE II; M&R Companies
i-Image STE II has all the imaging and exposure features and capabilities of i-Image STE but adds a secondary UV LED light source after the inward pass for ultrafast exposures. The secondary light source accelerates the exposure of dual-cure and other slower-exposing emulsions. It can be used with either exposure method, with both exposure methods in the same imaging/exposure cycle, or without exposure. mrprint.com
Media – Vinyl, Pressure Sensitive: Brilliant! Self-Adhesive; DreamScape
This material is perfect for wall graphics, trade show displays, wide-format murals, advertising, point-of-purchase displays and signage. It has a special metallic surface and is part of the popular self-adhesive wall wrap category. The product is available in 54-inch-wide, 75- and 150-foot rolls. All are delivered on three-inch heavy-duty cores with no production splices. dreamscapedirect.com
