Category Archives: Printing

Professional digital printing at your fingertips with OKI Digital Print Solutions!

With the OKI C942dn and C931e, premium print jobs that required expensive printing equipment or outsourcing are now available affordably and on-demand. Digital printing delivers rich, saturated, press-like color – without the mess. With no setup costs and fast turnaround times, users can broaden services, expand short-run offerings and deliver high quality printing on demand. Whether printing-for-profit or looking to reduce costs and bring your specialty printing in-house, the OKI C9 series is the solution.

OKI C9 digital printers can be used as a standalone production station, and
also complements existing production equipment by offering extended
printing capabilities. The C942dn and C931e have a compact footprint, vast
capabilities, and are remarkably easy to use and maintain. With four- and
five-color printing options available, users can unlock creative potential and produce a wide range of breathtaking output including invitations, stationery, brochures, packaging prototypes, point-of-sale material, window graphics, banners, labels and more!

Unlock new markets & grow your business with digital printing

What’s the best choice for you? That all depends on priorities and budget. Because one size doesn’t fit all, OKI offers solutions for every need.

Each environment has different needs. Some want full color, plus white to begin creating innovative and exciting print applications, and others want four color printing to reduce their overall cost per print, and offset jobs that normally require a larger press to complete. OKI is the ideal color print device for creative, opportunity-seeking print shops, design firms, and even large retailers: a fast, flexible, cost effective, easy-to-use printer that lets you do more in house than ever before.

Download C9DP Series Brochure >>

Production-level print shop in a box

C942dn LED Digital Color Printer — OKI C942dn

The OKI C942dn lets you do something very unique – broaden your printed offering with White toner. OKI’s most revolutionary five-color print system delivers the ultimate high-impact output by intelligently and accurately applying White toner under CMYK to produce brilliant color printed on dark media. This is a truly ground-breaking device for creative graphic artists and print shops that want to stand out.

Generate additional sources of revenue with the ability to print white and create breathtakingly unique printed output – everything from business cards to colored wedding invitations now become possible!

Learn More >>

Big time color output for a smaller price

OKI C931e Digital Envelope Printer — OKI C931e

The OKI C931e is the perfect solution when CMYK is all you need. Designed for printing on white and light colored substrates, the C931e delivers the same high quality output and media flexibility – but at an incredible value and low total cost of ownership.

With the ability to print Super-B (13″ x 19″) sheets and banners up to 52″ long, the C931e nicely complements existing production equipment by offering extended printing capabilities and lowest toner cost per square inch.

Learn More >>

Mid-State Litho, Inc. (MSL)
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
Ph: 810.238.7370
www.midstatelitho.net

Short-run envelope production made easy!

With the OKI C9 Digital Envelope Printers there’s no need to outsource or turn away jobs because they won’t be profitable. Short run envelope production (runs of 5,000 or less) used to be a headache for the print shops large and small: not economical for traditional offset printers, too much trouble even for small digital print shops. Until now!

OKI’s award – winning Digital Envelope Solutions make it easy to broaden your services and expand short-run offerings with affordable, customized envelopes in a variety of sizes, weights and colors. Print short runs in less time than it takes to produce printing plates and ink up a press. With little to no setup required, the C9DP series make it easy to produce mock-ups / samples and quickly go from design to production.

Production-Level Print Shop in a Box

The OKI C942dn lets you do something very unique – broaden your printed offering with White toner. OKI’s most revolutionary five-color print system delivers the ultimate high-impact output by intelligently and accurately applying White toner under CMYK to produce brilliant color printed on dark media. This is a truly ground-breaking device for creative graphic artists and print shops that want to stand out.

C942dn Product Page >>

Big Time Color Output for a Smaller Price

The OKI C931e is the perfect solution when CMYK is all you need. Designed for printing on white and light colored substrates, the C931e delivers the same high quality output and media flexibility – but an incredible value and low total cost of ownership.

C931e Product Page >>

Only OKI Offers You:

Straight-through paper path handles ultra heavy card stocks with ease
Broadest range of media sizes
Lowest entry cost for White toner printing
High capacity toner cartridges
Laser-safe and waterproof output
Digital NCR printing
Magnetic media approved
Variable data at rated engine speed
On-site standard warranty included
Patented LED Print Technology

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
PH: 810.238.7370
www.midstatelitho.net

Why visit CET Color at SGIA 2017?

The time is fast approaching for the 2017 SGIA Expo! We invite you to come out and join CET Color as they demonstrate their award winning UV printers, the K2 and Q5 Series, along with the all new ‘Andes Cutter’. We will be located at the Booth 119 and, along with our product representatives and technicians, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and see our products in action.

This year’s event will be held in New Orleans, LA at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, playing host to hundreds of exhibitors who will be demonstrating all of their latest technology and work. With more than 40 classes and educational opportunities there won’t be a moment where you aren’t able to gain an in-depth understanding of the industry and how best to continue to grow your business. In addition there will be several competitions which will award the industries highest honors: the SGIA Golden Image Awards for printers, the Tom Frecska Student Award for students and the Product of the Year Award for supplier.

There is still time to register, so join with us and your colleagues to experience the best products and work in the industry. For a free registration, please click here!

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
midstatelitho.net

Three Years Later, the John P. Pow Company Explains How the MGI JETvarnish 3D Changed Their Business Model

Three Years Later, the John P. Pow Company Explains How
the MGI JETvarnish 3D Changed Their Business Model.

3rd Generation Publishing Services Specialist Looks Back on MGI Digital Finishing Investment with New Customers and Business Growth.

: MGI JETvarnish 3D

: MGI JETvarnish 3D

: MGI JETvarnish 3D

MELBOURNE, FL (USA), September 8th, 2015 – Three years ago, the John P. Pow Company and MGI Digital Graphic Technology joined forces to help expand digital finishing options for the book publishing industry. Since then, JP Pow has been building and growing the range of its publishing and printing services portfolio with the MGI JETvarnish 3D Digital Finishing Solution. Together, John P. Pow Co. & MGI are helping publishers sell more books.

A Tradition of American Publishing & Printing Goes Digital
For over 70 years, the John P. Pow Co. has been providing expert lithography & print finishing services to some of the world’s finest publishers – with a nationally recognized specialty in both paperback book covers and hardback dust jackets. “Our original investment in the MGI JETvarnish 3D was designed to provide our clients with the highest quality standards and most flexible design options possible.” said Mr. Mark Finneran, JP Pow’s Vice President.

“MGI’s technology helped launch us towards the digital future.” added Mr. Finneran. “We’ve expanded our trade service business and experienced successful growth in “touch-centric” book cover market categories in publishing like holiday, seasonal, children’s, home décor, cooking and technical works”.

“Now we have more finishing options for all kinds of book covers and other types of commercial printing projects as well. The JETvarnish 3D produces strong, finely detailed textures and a durable enhancement effect that customers love.”

MGI System In-House Leads to Improved Quality & Project Management
“Prior to working with MGI, we outsourced our Spot UV work. Now, by bringing the JETvarnish 3D in-house, we can manage our costs, ensure high quality, offer more customer options and manage our production schedules more effectively. For the last three years, the machine has been in continual production mode – at times going 2 shifts non-stop.”

Profitable Prototyping, Short Runs & POD Services
”Furthermore, the JETvarnish 3D’s ability to quickly prototype new designs and implement short runs has helped us increase our capacity for highly profitable customized projects such as limited editions, private printings and E-Commerce-driven Print-on-Demand (POD) services.”

Improved Competitive Position
“The addition of MGI Digital Finishing Services has helped us establish a better competitive position.”, Finneran continued, “The ability to quickly prototype and implement short runs gives us a sales advantage in our key target markets. The features & functions of the JETvarnish 3D give us something new to sell and show customers. The MGI digital enhancements are a brand new change in the industry and are a sexy & exciting advance towards the future of the print finishing business.”

Increased Quality Enhances Customer Experiences
Mark Finneran summarized JP Pow’s experience with MGI digital finishing technology by saying, “Our relationship with key clients has growth and strengthened with the high quality output, improved job scheduling, more flexible project management and greater customer satisfaction that comes from the MGI JETvarnish 3D Spot UV 2D coats & 3D texture effects.”

“We’re honored to help contribute to the creative skillcraft of such a respected firm as JP Pow. For three generations they have helped publishers produce great books that get noticed, purchased and read.” said Kevin Abergel, MGI Vice President of Marketing & Sales.

MGI’s JETvarnish 3D digital finishing product supports production printing applications to produce eye-catching, luxurious-feeling 3D foil & embossed textured effects. The JETvarnish 3D streamlines spot UV coating, embossed tactile coating and foiling through a fully digital process that requires no screens or dies and no minimum runs. MGI’s creative enhancement options help graphic artists & printers utilize their craft experience to offer dynamic new digital designs, features and formats.

About the JP Pow Company: Premier Printing & Publishing Specialist
In 1935, John Percy Pow started using a one-color letter press to produce advertising material for Boston businesses. The business grew when John Pow’s son Jack entered the business. In the late 50’s, Jack Pow teamed up with Tom Finneran Sr. and the two became partners. Soon afterwards, the firm moved to offset printing ranging from one to four color technology.

From then on, John P. Pow Co. steadily built a reputation for providing publishers with high-quality book components along with top-notch, personalized customer service. John Pow branched out and is now serving customers both locally and nationally. JP Pow is a strong reliable business with nearly 50 employees working day and night at their South Boston location. Even with this growth, John P. Pow continues to offer the type of personalized customer service a small firm does best. They remain a family-owned business, with the founders’ grandchildren now actively involved in operations.

MGI Media Contact:
Kevin Abergel
Vice President of Marketing & Sales
MGI USA, Inc.
+1 321 751-6755

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd. Flint, MI 48507
Toll Free: 1-800-343-4231
www.midstatelitho.net

Kelvyn Press Goes Digital with MGI…

Kelvyn Press Goes Digital with MGI’s JETvarnish 3D, iFOIL & Meteor DP8700XL+

81 Year-Old Commercial Printing Leader Expands Services & Revenue Streams with MGI Digital Printing & Finishing Technology

MELBOURNE, FL USA (August 31st, 2015) – Kelvyn Press, Inc. in Broadview, IL, started in a garage across from Kelvyn Park in Chicago many decades ago. It grew and moved into The Donahue Building in ChiTown’s storied “Printer’s Row” neighborhood. In 1968, the Malacina family took over the business and has since expanded nationally by creating a separate firm, called Financial Graphic Service (FGS) with a dedicated focus on government, financial, banking, securities, health care, legal and regulatory projects.

Kelvyn Press & MGI 2015 Print Industry Awards

In 2015, the Printing Industries of America (PIA) recognized the quality of Kelvyn’s work with MGI digital technology with a coveted “Premier Print Award” (popularly known as a “Benny” after Benjamin Franklin, the founding father and leading printer of the American Republic). Additionally, the Binding Industries of America (BIA) awarded them a Product of Excellence (POE) Award. The PIA also recognized the MGI iFOIL product in 2015 with an internationally prestigious “InterTech Technology Award” to match the one earned by the JETvarnish 3D in 2013.

Kelvyn Press & MGI Partnership: Digital Helps the Business Grow

After 80 years in business, Kelvyn Press invested in MGI technology in 2014 to launch a new Digital Print Department with the Meteor DP8700XL+ press and the JETvarnish 3D & iFOIL integrated finishing suite. They also upgraded the JETvarnish 3D with the T2 option – a second row of inkjet heads that can double throughput speed and Spot UV elevations up to 200 microns. Since then, the machines have not stopped running and their business has grown with new work producing brochures, catalogs, invitations, envelopes, business cards, books and many more profitable new enhanced print applications.

Printing Industry Trend: The Move to Digital Technology

Tony Malacina, Kelyvn’s Director of Operations, stated “Digital has been getting bigger each year. The whole industry is going digital. It is an inevitable business transition of technology. The MGI JETvarnish & iFOIL finishing solutions have opened up a whole new doorway to new business opportunities.”

MGI Digital Printing & Finishing Business Impact

“The MGI digital technology sells itself. Customers fall in love with their samples. We prepare “Before & After” samples of client work to highlight the dramatic impact & enhancement of the JETvarnish 3D Spot UV Coater & iFOIL products.”

“Working with the prototyping options of the JETvarnish 3D & iFOIL allows customers to play with ideas and experiment with different choices. The MGI digital technology brings out their creative spirit and helps them appreciate the value of print.”

“With MGI, there are so many foil, color, texture and substrate options to choose from. Customers love being able to pick and choose which variations of 2D spot coats, 3D enhanced textures and embossed foil coloring they want. We find this helps build good customer relationships, leads to more referrals and ultimately generates more revenue for the firm.”

MGI VDP Personalization & POD Customization Value:

“Clients can change their print selections and enhancement options to adapt to changing business conditions or market cycles. For example, for each season, the output can have a different theme for Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter – or an English or Spanish Version personalized for each recipient.”

Print Samples as Sales Tools:

“We’ve also created a gallery of samples in our visitor area. Customers get inspired to use their imagination for new projects – which leads to new revenue. With MGI digital printing & finishing technology, all we need is a PDF file to print a new brochure or publish a new book.”

MGI Media Contact:
Kevin Abergel
Vice President of Marketing & Sales
MGI USA, Inc.
k.abergel@mgiusa.com
+1 321 751-6755

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
www.midstatelitho.net

Printing Gradients

: Figure 1

: Figure 2

: Figure 3

In this day and age customers expect perfection. Whether it’s the color accuracy of a photo or the perfectly straight fold of a brochure, printers are always trying to squeeze the most out of their tools. In this article I want to cover a particularly difficult area of printing; gradients.

A gradient, in regards to printing, is a smooth blend from one color to another. Gradients can come in all shapes and sizes, they can also include more than two colors. Their use has steadily increased in our industry as designers have started taking advantage of the growing number of color printers in the field. Gradients bring a set of challenges to the printer, especially in digital printing.

There are several guidelines you can follow to get the most out of your gradients. The most effective method for improving your final results starts at the design stage by adhering to some basic guidelines. Things like making sure it’s a vector element and dictating values that won’t clash with the natural dot gain from the print engine. There are also some steps you can take at the last minute to improve your results right at the print engine.

Firstly, vector gradients are far superior to raster artwork. In a nutshell, raster artwork is comprised of pixels with a defined resolution. Each individual pixel has its own color designation. A raster gradient could be described as a picture of a gradient. Vector gradients are mathematically defined. A vector gradient is essentially a line with points along its axis with color anchors. This more simple method of creating a gradient is far simpler and more forgiving once it hits the print engine. Vector gradients allow the RIP system in the print engine to do its own calculations of all the colors in between the defined anchor points. In essence it gives the printer a degree of flexibility to smoothly draw the fade based on its own math. A raster gradient comes predefined and the printer simply outputs what it receives, which isn’t always a good fit for the printer (Figure 1).

Second, we’ll talk about color limits and dot gain. This can be a deep topic but there are some simple rules to keep things simple. This part focuses on the color choices and what specific colors are used within the gradient. Simply speaking, you want to avoid having your gradient reach the limits of the color channel. That is to say, your lowest and highest color values should be within the center 80% of the full range of color (Figure 2).

When venturing outside of this safe range you are likely to experience a phenomena when printing where your gradient will have a hard step. This occurs when the color values defined in the artwork cross over the dot gain that happens during printing. Printers have a word for this, it’s called plugging. Basically what’s happening is the artwork is calling for such a high fidelity dot that it falls outside of what’s possible for the printer to reproduce (Figure 3).

Those tips are great if you have the luxury of going back to the source document. Often times, trouble doesn’t arise until crunch time when a job is due. In that situation, options are limited to changes on the output side. There are a couple things you can do to help improve your results.

Calibration is critical for smooth gradients. Calibration, or more specifically linearization, is your first line of defense when having trouble printing a gradient. A proper linearization forces the print engine’s output to be true to dot. When a machine falls out of calibration you can start to see unwanted shifts in small ranges of color. On most printers, the calibration or linearization process is rather user friendly and it’s just good practice to keep the printer calibrated.

If you’re still struggling to print a smooth gradient and your printer is well calibrated you may need to explore running at a lower line screen. Printing at a lower LPI will increase the size of the dots comprising the printed image. This can help to ease the load on the print engine and help it to produce a smoother looking gradient. It can have some adverse effects on other elements in the job but this trade off can help in some situations. If your print engine or RIP system allows, you can also experiment with alternate dot shapes, such as stochastic or a line shaped dot.

Gradients can be difficult, in many ways, they are one of the toughest elements to print. With a bit of planning ahead you can circumvent many problems by just changing some properties of the gradient. In a pinch you can also experiment with the output settings of the engine and get out of trouble.

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
www.midstatelitho.net

Variable Data Printing

How Do Colors Affect Purchase?

For retailers, selling is the art of persuasion. There are many factors that influence how and what consumers buy. A large part of every decision is based on visual cues, and the strongest and most persuasive is color.

Color and Marketing

When marketing new products, it is crucial to consider that consumers place visual appearance and color above other factors when shopping.

1% Sound/Smell
6% Texture
93% Visual Appearance

NOTE: 85% of shoppers place color as a primary reason for why they buy a particular product; 15% other.

Color and Branding

Color increases brand recognition by 80%. Brand recognition directly links to consumer confidence.

Color and North American Consumers

Color is one of the most powerful methods of design. However, it is not entirely universal. Colors that entice in North America are often different from those that entice in India. Below are colors that affect North American online shoppers. Below are colors that affect North American online shoppers.

Yellow
- Optimistic and Youthful
- Often used to grab attention of window shoppers

Red
- Energy
- Increases heart rate
- Creates urgency
- Often seen in clearance sales
Blue
- Creates the sensation of trust and security
- Often seen with banks and businesses
Green
- Associated with wealth
- The easiest color for the eyes to process
- Used in stores to relax
Orange
- Aggressive
- Creates a call to action
- Subscribe, buy, or sell
Pink
- Romantic and feminine
- Used to market products to women and young girls
Black
- Powerful and sleek
- Used to market luxury products
Purple
- Used to soothe and calm
- Often seen in beauty or anti-aging products

Colors and Types of Consumers

Color also has the unique ability to attract specific types of shoppers and change shopping behavior.

Impulse Shoppers – Fast Food, Outlet Malls, Clearance Sales
- Red
- Orange
- Black
- Royal Blue
Shoppers on a Budget – Banks, Larger Department Stores
- Navy Blue
- Teal
Traditional Buyers – Clothing Stores
- Pink
- Sky Blue
- Rose

Other Influences

Color is not the only item that influences consumer behavior. For online shoppers, design, buzz words and convenience affect their need to shop.

Overall Design

For many online shoppers, poor website navigability and poor overall designs are the reasons they choose not to purchase from a particular website.

42% of shoppers base their opinion of a website on overall design alone
52% of shoppers that did not return because of overall aesthetics

The Element of Time

Speed, efficiency and convenience are some of the many reasons shoppers are turning to internet retailers. Having a website that runs even five seconds slower than your competitors could mean a huge economic loss.

64% of online shoppers that did not purchase items because the website was too slow
Amazon found that with every 100MS of load time there was a 1% decrease in sales

Power Words

Retailers rely on the ability of words to evoke emotions in consumers. The right “power” word could prompt a consumer to purchase an item at one retail shop over an identical item at another shop.

52% of consumers are more likely to enter a store if there is a sale sign in the window
60% of consumers feel at ease and are more likely to purchase a product that has the word “guaranteed” associated with it

Sources: dirjournal.com, colormatters.com, “The Effects of Store Environment On Shopping Behaviors: A Critical Review” by Shun Yin Lam, “The Profit of Color” by Color Marketing Group, “The Psychology of Color in Marketing” by June Campbell, “The Psychology of Web Performance”; KISSmetrics

Colordyne Production Class Printing System

Prime Label & Tag Printing

Colordyne Production Class Printing System

The CDT- 1600 PC Sprint is a Production Class printing system that performs continuous web printing on pressure-sensitive labels, narrow web packaging, retail tags, professional documents, and pre-die cut labels at 32 inches per second (160 feet per minute), powered by Memjet technology. With five printheads containing over 350,000 nozzles, the Production Class printing system releases 3.5 billion drops of ink per second while printing in full process color (CMYK + 1 spot) at affordable costs. The CDT-1600 PC’s five color interchangeable ink delivery system has a 10 liter ink tank capacity.

Colordyne’s Production Class printing system is the world’s first roll to roll digital printing system. Delivering 1600 x 1200 dpi, the CDT-1600 PC is a high speed roll to roll color digital printing system. The web handling system is manufactured by Aztech Converting Systems and is proven to be reliable in the global printing industry.

Combining Aztech’s Servo web control for critical constant web speed along with the remarkably fast Memjet powered print system, the CDT-1600 PC maintains web print speeds of 32 inches per second. Colordyne’s high speed Production Class printing system is designed for manufacturing floors and distribution centers allowing customers to print what they want, when they want it. With a compact system footprint, the CDT-1600 PC requires minimal user intervention and on-site maintenance, along with no expensive power systems.

Ask about our in-line finishing system! For more information, contact our sales team at
1-800-343-4231 or at sales@midstatelitho.net

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
Toll Free: 1-800-343-4231
www.midstatelitho.net

Eliminate Label Inventories with Digital Print

Eliminate label inventories with digital print.

With the CDT 1600 C, print on demand has never been easier. Using digital print allows you to eliminate pre-printed label inventories and reduce costs. In one step, add color to your tags and labels, integrate variable data, and print what you need, when you need it.

Designed for secondary and logistics labeling, as well as private labeling and branding, the CDT 1600 C is the fastest digital color tag and label printer in its class. Powered by Memjet technology, the CDT 1600 C prints at 12 inches per second, with print quality up to 1600 x 1600 dpi.

Print full digital color at the same cost as thermal transfer.

Capable of printing full digital color at the same cost as thermal transfer, the Colordyne family of printers provides a custom solution for your business. Printing labels and tags in full color offers endless possibilities for branding and messaging. The CDT 1600 C allows you to print today for tomorrow’s production.

Add value by printing labels in full color.

Meeting and exceeding the needs of the tag and label print industry, the CDT 1600 C presents an affordable and scalable solution for a variety of industries and applications. The CDT 1600 C prints rich colors at full-bleed and excels in printing readable small fonts and sharp barcodes.Colordyne adds value to your business by providing digital printing, variable data, and color management solutions.

Use the CDT 1600 C for high volume, full color industrial solutions.

Print labels and tags on demand and eliminate pre-printed label inventory
Reduce supply chain errors by using color to increase picking accuracy
Add more control over your labeling operations by moving your production in house
Tap into new branding opportunities by printing your shipping label in color to build brand awareness
Increase your profitability by offering private labeling
Increase effectiveness of retail shelf tags through the use of color labels

To view the product video CLICK HERE.

Mid-State Litho, Inc.
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
Toll Free: 1-800-343-4231
www.midstatelitho.net

MSL Blog

Equipment and Support for the Graphic Arts Industry

Category Archives: Printing

Professional digital printing at your fingertips with OKI Digital Print Solutions!