Tag Archives: navigator

Xitron Navigator Digital Front End Makes DuraLink Debut

xitron-navigator-digital-front-end-duralink-debutXitron Navigator Digital Front End Makes DuraLink Debut

Paired with Shanghai Dragon Printing Machinery’s Dumax-330 Label Press at All in Print

Ann Arbor, MI – November 13, 2018 – Xitron, the leading independent developer of RIP and workflow products for commercial, digital, and high-speed inkjet printing has partnered with China’s Dragon Printing Machinery, launching a DFE developed specifically for presses using Memjet DuraLink technology. Dragon, a member of UP Group introduced their Dumax-330 label press at All in Print, China. Revealed first to a select group of industry dignitaries and the media, the Dumax-330 with Xitron’s DFE was one of the most popular exhibits at the show.

Able to print at 100 meters per minute, the Dumax-330 is a high-speed roll-to-roll inkjet press designed for labels, custom packaging, and variable data applications. It features a maximum printing width of 222 mm and can handle a 600 mm diameter roll of coated, uncoated, glossy, matte, synthetic stock, or plastic film. The new Memjet Duralink printhead carries a 1600 dpi resolution with 70,400 nozzles and five times nozzle redundancy. This means five nozzles address each pixel on the page for truly sustainable quality.

Xitron’s Navigator DFE controls job queuing, imaging, and color management, and includes an innovative spot color matching capability that is important for brand owners. RIP speed is among the fastest in the industry, even when incorporating variable data options for custom applications. Because of this, Navigator is able to drive the Dumax-330 at full rated speed. Built around the industry standard Harlequin platform, Navigator’s command and control of jobs allows operators to maintain complete production visibility throughout each print run.

“We’re extremely honored to be working with UP Group and Memjet on this important launch,” said Karen Crews, president of Xitron. “The interest at the exhibition was high and the press performed flawlessly through the entire show schedule.” Willie Huang, Chairman of UP Group added, “Our teams have kept in close contact throughout this development process and the result is a tightly integrated system that is producing superior results. The product launch at the exhibition was very well attended and I anticipate much future success due to our intense collaborative efforts.”

Caption for attached photo:
Willie Huang, President and CEO of Shanghai UP Group presents the Dumax-330 inkjet label press to printing industry dignitaries and the media at All in Print China. The high-speed label press – configured with Memjet Duralink heads – is being driven with the Xitron Navigator Digital Front End.

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

NEW Xitron Navigator Northstar Videos

Navigator Northstar Videos

NEW Xitron Navigator Northstar Videos

9 NEW Navigator Northstar videos have been added to our YouTube channel. These videos include:

For additional information on Xitron’s Navigator workflow, click here for more information!

MSL
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
www.midstatelitho.net

Xitron Navigator – “This Workflow Has Exceeded All Our Expectations”

Xitron Navigator Workflow

Xitron Navigator – “This Workflow Has Exceeded All Our Expectations”

In 1996, John and Christy Zell purchased Camera Graphics in Portland Oregon. Established as the first pre-press house in Portland, CG had been in operation since 1967. The Zells turned it into a full-featured shop specializing in film output; a somewhat rare specialty given the industry’s move to CTP over the last few years.

Specialize, they do, however. They are currently running three Linotronic imagesetters and an Agfa Avantra 44. One of the main reasons is a niche service providing custom dry transfers, which is a way to apply graphics to just about any item, large or small. “Think old school Chartpak or Letraset,” John explains. Their regular customers for these “rub on” graphics are industrial model shops that produce prototypes of new products, which help the prototypes more closely resemble their intended final appearance.

In 2002 John and Christy purchased their first RIP and workflow from Xitron, the Xenith Extreme based on an Adobe core. It served dutifully for a full fourteen years before the Windows NT computer became unsupportable. At that point they made the decision to investigate Xitron’s Navigator Workflow, based on the popular and speedy Harlequin RIP platform.

>> Click here to read the full article

Xitron Navigator Harlequin RIP

Xitron’s Navigator Harlequin RIP is a best-in-class implementation of Global Graphic’s Harlequin RIP technology. Providing prepress environments with fast, predictable, and reliable interpretation of PostScript, PDF, and EPS format files, Navigator is the most trusted name in RIP architecture with over 35,000 installations worldwide.

>> Learn more here

MSL
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
www.midstatelitho.net

Perrin Resort and Collegiate Apparel calls Xitron’s Navigator Workflow a “very good investment.”

Xitron's Navigator Workflow

Perrin Resort and Collegiate Apparel calls Xitron’s Navigator Workflow a “very good investment.”

Xitron’s Navigator Workflow

What do you call a project where saving about 37 hours of labor each day is an unexpected side benefit? Robert Kern, Illustrator and Designer at Perrin Resort and Collegiate Apparel calls Xitron’s Navigator Workflow a “very good investment.”

Perrin is an employee-owned screen printer, located in Comstock, Michigan, with over 200 employees. Perrin’s customers include theme parks, museums, airports, sports teams and resorts worldwide. To meet the demand, twenty M&R screen printing presses are fed by three M&R i-Image ST computer-to-screen imaging units that produce up to 900 screens a day.

Prior to the Xitron system being installed, color transitions (gradients) were a problem, according to Kern. “It wasn’t smooth transitioning between, for example, 10% and 40%.” The need for improved quality sent Perrin looking for solutions that would complement the built-in software on their CTS systems. Industry consultant Lon Winters of Print This, Inc, recommended the Navigator workflow.

After a six-month evaluation and study, Perrin determined the Navigator workflow greatly exceeded expectations.

>> Click here to read the full article

About Xitron Navigator Harlequin RIP

Xitron’s Navigator Harlequin RIP is a best-in-class implementation of Global Graphic’s Harlequin RIP technology. Providing prepress environments with fast, predictable, and reliable interpretation of PostScript, PDF, and EPS format files, Navigator is the most trusted name in RIP architecture with over 35,000 installations worldwide.

>> Click here to learn more

MSL
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
www.midstatelitho.net

Get spot color matching right with Navigator Northstar

navigator-northstar-bannerGet spot color matching right with Navigator Northstar

Navigator Northstar is a Harlequin RIP and workflow package designed to “bolt on” to color printers lacking workflow tools and robust color correction capabilities. An alternative to print drivers or down-market RIPs, Navigator Northstar brings the professional level of color adjustment and control necessary to use these printers in a production environment where the final product (printed material) is sold.

What is Navigator Northstar?

Navigator Northstar combines a Navigator RIP, a two-client/one RIP workflow license, and a plug-in that will drive many Memjet-based printers, or the OKI 931/941 models.

The Navigator RIP communicates with the output device through a network connection, which means the printer can be physically located anywhere it’s convenient to the user. Since the workflow client software is compatible Mac or PC, the printer can be controlled from anywhere on the network.

Jobs are submitted to the RIP through the workflow’s drag-and-drop interface where the operator has an opportunity to select standard printing options such as rotation, copy count, halftone screening, and calibration.

However, Northstar deviates from the standard printer driver control by incorporating a professional color management tool which allows the operator to visually match spot colors on each individual job and adjust the color based on a series of printable swatches. The adjustments can be added to a library and used later (should the job repeat), or even on new jobs containing that particular color. Color accuracy can be achieved through built-in paper profiles, custom color profiles generated by the user, a global color change tool, or through a unique spot color matching routine that allows the user to visually adjust color accuracy on a job-by-job basis.

Integration:

Navigator Northstar supports a number of printers that incorporate Memjet’s Northstar print head. A separate plug-in will also support the OKI 931/941 series of toner-based printers.

Printers who have already purchased an OKI 931/941 can add Navigator Northstar to instantly improve color accuracy and fidelity.

MSL
5459 Fenton Rd.
Flint, MI 48507
midstatelitho.net