Graphic Arts Magazine October 2018 | Page 9

Print industry news Agfa launches first preheat-free chemistry-free plate Boss Logo in receivership Agfa Graphics’ new Avatar V-ZH Violet Plate aimed at newspaper print, requires no pre-heating unit and reduces capital costs and energy consumption. The decrease of start-up time and waste during the mak- eready stage, as well as stability and linearity throughout the entire print run, better empowers daily production, said Agfa. The plates have high image contrast after cleanout, allowing a visual image inspec- tion to avoid mix-ups on press. Other features that make the plate ideal for newspaper printers are its daylight compat- ibility, high scratch resistance, and outstanding robustness on press (run length, dot gain, and press start-up). The new plate can also be used with either conventional or UV inks for semi-commercial or special applications. It works with all violet CtP units. Over the past several months, initial users have reported up to 60% energy saving compared to proces- sors and COUs running with preheat, Agfa added. Whitebird to install Canada’s first EFI Nozomi C18000 Whitebird (Hamilton, ON), a leading distributor and manufac- turer of corrugated solutions, packaging, sanitation and safety supplies (and one of our leading independent boxmakers), has purchased an EFI Nozomi C18000 – Canada’s first single- pass ultra-high-speed corrugated inkjet press. The new press will be installed in the fourth quarter of 2018. Whitebird will be able to produce premium, shelf-ready packaging and corrugated displays in the exact quantities that customers need with the new press. This represents a key advantage that’s been all but impossible to achieve in the past, consid- ering the larger fixed costs and minimum run lengths required on high-graphic corrugated packaging using analogue flexo and litho lamination methods, said EFI. The Nozomi press shortens the time needed to launch new designs – from weeks or months to just days! This means Whitebird clients throughout Canada and the US will be able to drive greater product sell-through and better marketing performance with more-targeted corrugated packaging and display advertising strategies. EFI Nozomi C18000 Inkjet Press @graphicarts Leading trade printer Boss Logo Print & Graphics (Markham, ON) seems to have closed, as sources late last month reported receivership notices on its locked doors from MNP Limited, a licensed insolvency trustee based in Richmond Hill, ON. Since it opened in 1995, the company had evolved into an industry leader in online trade-printing services, initially special- izing in gang-run production. It also had hundreds of B2B customers. Industry sources cited financial difficulties over the past few years. At press time, Boss logo was operating out of MPI Print in Concord, ON. Heidelberg appoints Brooks as VP of label products Heidelberg North America has appointed Chris Brooks as vice president of label products. In his new role, he’ll focus directly on the integra- tion of Gallus into Heidelberg NA and will be responsible for expanding the Gallus product line in Canada and the US. Brooks will report directly to Felix Mueller, president of Heidel- berg Americas. Throughout his 24 years of Chris Brooks, experience in the printing industry, Brooks has vice president of spent the entirety of it at the former Heidelberg label products, Web Systems, now Manroland/Goss, working Heidelberg in the web offset segment. Brooks started off as a mechanical engineer and worked in various product man- agement and technical sales support roles prior to his last 14 years working in both sales and sales management. As of April 1, 2018, Gallus fully integrated with the Heidelberg NA team in order to increase market coverage and efficiency in sales and service. Heidelberg-Gallus provides complete print-shop solu- tions including equipment, parts, service and consumables. Gonzalez to lead Mutoh’s sales efforts in Canada and the US Mutoh America (Phoenix, AZ) has appointed industry veteran Miguel Gonzalez as its new director of sales. His main responsibilities will be growing sales throughout Canada and the US, as well as developing and cultivating relationships with the Mutoh distribution net- Miguel work. Gonzalez joins Mutoh with over 20 Gonzales, years’ experience in wide-format printing. director of Most recently he was with Neenah Paper, sales, Mutoh where he was responsible for driving West Coast sales in the wide-format category. Mutoh Industries, founded in 1952 in Tokyo, Japan is celebrating over 60 years of business this year and began as a manufacturer and distribu- tor of mechanical drafting products. Today it’s one of the world's foremost manufacturers of large-format piezoelectric printers. GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | October 2018 | 9