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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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ONYX Thrive for Production Printing and Adobe Workflow Now Available

Print production workflow softwareONYX has introduced Thrive, an Adobe-based workflow product for production printing, and ONYX Advantage for Thrive. The big news here is the ability with Thrive to run on multiple computers with one license, and Thrive’s Adobe PDF Print Engine.

“One of our customers was trying to drive six printers with one ProductionHouse license, but now with Thrive they can spread it out to other computers without having to buy multiple licenses and they’ve been able to double their production,” explains Mark Maynard, ONYX general manager for the Americas. “With PDF files, sometimes you have to go into Illustrator and flatten the file or save it as a TIFF, so there’s an extra step involved in that case. Since Thrive is an Adobe-based workflow solution it RIPs the file the first time around without having to do additional work to the file.”

Maynard adds that Thrive offers print shops a cost-effective way to grow their business by spreading out the workflow across multiple computers and streamlining the Adobe print process. Therefore, Thrive is more easily scalable as the print shop adds more printers and grows their business.

Plus, you can drive production from a mobile device, like an iPad, with the new Thrive Production Manager. With Thrive Production Manager on a secure network you simply open a browser, point it to the RIP Queue, and away you go, wherever you are.

ONYX Thrive comes in three different configurations: 211 for $3,295 (two RIPs, one large-format or grand-format printer and one Job Editor, formerly known as Preflight), 642 for $6,995 (six RIPs, four printers, two Job Editors) and 862 for $8,995 (eight RIPs, six printers, two Job Editors).

With ONYX Thrive, you can also add ONYX Advantage, a service program that includes software maintenance and Live! Web-based training – where you choose any three of a variety of instructor-led online sessions for the training that best suits your needs – and personalized training – a  two-hour personalized and custom Web-based training session for your print shop that provides the confidence that operators are maximizing the performance and automation of your ONYX Thrive workflow.

For more information about ONYX Thrive and ONYX Advantage, and to help figure out which products will work best for your business, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Prints that Win: Bridge over Water

Award winning photography and printing

Award-winning photography is often a fortuitous combination of skill and luck as was the first-place winner of the Commercial division and LexJet Sunset Award winner at the 2012 Professional Photographers of North Carolina print completion, Gregory Georges.

Georges co-owns Jonathan Penney Inc., a New York-based fine art print making business, with the company’s founder, Jonathan Penney. The skill is obvious in the presentation of the image, Bridge Over Water. The luck was in finding the scene at the right time.

Georges captured the image at the Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge over Coos Bay on US 101 in North Bend, Oregon, with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III using an EF70-200 at 148mm set to 1/320 @f/8.0 and ISO 100.

“I was fascinated by this beautiful old bridge. It was near sunset with lots of clouds and not much color, so it was very monochromatic to begin with. I got very compulsive about locking-down my tripod, and using mirror lock-up to minimize vibrations to get the clearest image I could,” explains Georges.

Equally important, says Georges, was the combination of Adobe Camera RAW 7 RAW file conversion and black-and-white conversion done in Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2.0. “Silver Efex has absolutely amazing features that really bring out the best in a black and white image,” says Georges. “My vision was to make the print look like a mechanical pencil sketch without pure black tone and yet still show extremely fine detail.”

He printed on a fine art watercolor paper at competition size – 16″ x 20″ – on an Epson Stylus Pro 3880. Georges says that those who saw the print at competition were amazed by the amount of detail in the image, especially the individual cars crossing the bridge and fine line detail of the wires on the bridge.

“Monitors, color calibration tools, media, ink technologies and printers are so awesome now that if you edit it well on your computer you will get an amazing print. I also use ColorByte Software’s ImagePrint RIP, because it’s giving me extraordinary paper profiles,” adds Georges.

For more information about Jonathan Penney Inc., go to www.jonathanpenney.com.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Promotions & Rebates
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Free Eye-One Pro and Monitor Calibration Software with Onyx ProductionHouse

Bundled promotional software and color calibration dealOnyx Graphics is offering a free X-Rite Eye-One Pro color management device with Monitor Calibration Software, a $995 value, when you order Onyx ProductionHouse.

This special promotion ends on April 30 and cannot be ordered online, so contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538 for more information and to take advantage of the offer.

This custom promotional bundle includes ProductionHouse, the Eye-One color management spectrophotometer – with a case and tray – and X-Rite’s monitor calibration software tool. In Onyx’s software you can build your own spot color libraries, calibrate existing media, build your own custom media profiles, and more.

Click here to go to the product page for ProductionHouse Version X10, which also includes a number of how-to educational videos that show ProductionHouse in action.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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The Keys to Product Placement at the Point of Sale

Printing cooler wraps for liquor stores

As everyone in the beverage distribution market knows, point of sale sign placement is a crucial component of sales. Though it can’t always be quantified there’s no doubt that a restaurant, bar or c-store account that’s happy with their signage is more than happy to place more orders and try different brands offered by the distributor.

Printing cooler wraps for a convenience store
Cooler wrap printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene by Brent Lee and David Raszka, Atlas Distributing, for Renaissance Wine & Spirits, Worcester, Mass.

An excellent case in point of this maxim in operation is Atlas Distributing Inc., and its print shop headed by graphic design manager Brent Lee. Lee says the two most important keys to ensuring high-visibility point of sale placement for Atlas Distributing’s brands – primarily MillerCoors, Samuel Adams, Corona and Heineken – is quick turnaround and colorful, photo-quality graphics.

“Turnaround time is easily the number one factor for us. One of our competitors here promises a turnaround time of two weeks for all their signs. We have a turnaround time of two to three days, so that’s our number one selling point,” explains Lee. “As far as winning signage space at the point of sale, we always use the most current graphics supplied by the brand. Our competitor’s graphics are very simple – logo and price; they won’t use any background graphics, so we have a leg up there as well. Also, we provide the account with a digital proof if is it’s a larger sign before we print and install it.”

In order to fulfill their two- to three-day turnaround promise, Lee says they rely on LexJet’s shipping and logistics infrastructure to get materials into the shop exactly when they’re needed.

“I’ve been using LexJet since I’ve been here, which is almost four years now. LexJet is the leader in this industry. I’ve used a lot of different suppliers and LexJet is the best and shipping is number one; it’s absolutely killer how quickly my orders get placed. If I send Chris [Piersoll, Atlas Distributing’s customer specialist] an email in the morning it’s out before I know it.”

Moreover, the recent addition of a Canon iPF8000S to supplement the shop’s older HP 5500 has also helped speed up the pace. “The Canon printer is incredibly fast. It saves us a lot of time and allows a very quick turnaround, and our clients love that. Plus, when we first got the Canon our sales guys and accounts noticed the quality immediately,” says Lee.

Since the HP 5500 is 60″ wide and the Canon is 42″ wide, larger work is printed on the HP, which allows flexibility and greater efficiency in the print shop workflow. The print shop uses LexJet UV Ink Replacement Cartridges for HP 5000/5500 and Lee says the switch was seamless.

“The LexJet Ink is awesome. We’ve had no problems with it, there’s no difference in color, it’s just as good as the original ink, it was easy to switch, and when you see the savings it’s a no-brainer,” says Lee.

Lee uses Adobe Photoshop CS4 for design and the FlexiSIGN RIP to queue up and send designs to the printers, which also include two OKI laser printers for table tents, case cards, menus and other smaller signage. The print shop’s product purchases and workflow enhancements are driven by those two keys to successful product placement in the field – speed and quality – and it’s working.

Printing point of sale signage for a bar“A few months ago I made a sign for an account and put the wrong brand on it, and instead of returning the sign they actually took the product because they liked the sign,” relates Lee. “We have another account that wanted to make their entire store a Samuel Adams brewery so we made 10 to 12 signs that were just brewery images. That was a very custom job and the account was very happy with it.”

Nor is Lee afraid to experiment with different materials to get that edge in the market. He’s tried any number of banner materials, setting on LexJet Poly Select Heavy fabric reinforced with LexJet Heavy Duty Banner Tape on the edges as his favorite, as well as LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl (70/30) for one-way window graphics.

“We use the Heavy Duty Banner tape to help with fraying on outdoor banners, and that’s been working well. The Poly Select Heavy fabric with the banner tape on the ends is very strong and durable. In New England we’ve had some strong winds, but the banners stay up and the quality is still awesome,” says Lee.

Posted on by Sean McGettigan Posted in Tips & Tricks
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HP Latex Printers and Onyx X10: Troubleshooting Ink Smudge Issues

Troubleshooting HP latex printersWhen printing to the HP L25500, L26500 and L28500, the heat settings play a crucial role in producing a quality print. While profiles are made to work for all users, different environmental factors can impact how a profile performs. For example, a profile that is made in an environment where there is high humidity may not work the same in a place where there is very low humidity.

If you are experiencing ink smudges on your latex prints, you may need to adjust specific heat settings. The location of the smudging on the print will determine what settings need to be adjusted in the Onyx Media Profile.

In the videos embedded below, learn how to fix the following ink smudging issues by adjusting the Media Profile in Onyx X10:

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Tips & Tricks
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Matte Black Ink: The Right Profile and Media Type

Printing with Matte Black and Photo Black InksIf you’re considering upgrading to the latest aqueous ink printers from Canon, Epson or HP, consider no more. Reports from the field have shown that these next-generation models print up to twice as fast and use less ink than their predecessors.

They also use additional ink channels in the printing process, which increases the color gamut. As part of these expanded ink sets, all the latest printers now include Matte Black and Photo Black channels. While HP and Canon printers can switch from Matte Black to Photo Black on the fly, Epson printers require you to purge the line to switch inks, so keep that in mind as you switch between the two if you have an Epson printer.

Because of this expanded ink set, it’s necessary to pay close attention to the profile or media type being used, and to use a matte material profile/media type with matte materials, and a satin/luster or gloss material profile/media type with gloss materials. Note: If you’re using a RIP like Onyx, you’ll choose a media profile, which will determine which black ink is used. If you’re printing through the driver, you choose a profile as well, but it’s the media type that will choose the black ink channel that will be used.

Matte Black provides an image quality advantage as it yields much better density, which works extremely well on backlits. However, Matte Black ink is not compatible with all media. If you choose the wrong profile/media type, the Matte Black ink will wipe right off, even after the print is completely dry. This is especially true with media that has a microporous inkjet coating, such as LexJet 8 Mil ImagePro Gloss.

On the other hand, using Photo Black ink on a matte material will result in lower density in the dark areas and a more washed-out look, though Photo Black ink will have better dry times and durability, regardless of the material. Photo Black is more water-resistant and is best for unlaminated outdoor applications.

On large production runs, a lot of print shops use a standard generic profile/media type like Heavy Weight Coated, which is a bond paper profile that lays down less ink. If this profile/media type is used on gloss materials, it will activate the Matte Black channel, which is largely incompatible with gloss materials and will not absorb into these types of coatings.

A good generic profile/media type for matte materials is Heavy Weight Coated. A good one for gloss materials is Glossy Photo, which, like Heavy Weight Coated, uses less ink. If you have any questions about the right profile or media type to use for the material, contact a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538.