“A new feature of all the Bagel laminators and foilers is they now have a standby function that keeps the temperature regulated so it doesn’t need to be cooled down and then raised back up to the right temperature after every stop,” Harry says, adding: “This increases productivity and reduces the energy consumption significantly.” All-White For Some Perhaps not always thought of as a special effect, working with white ink offers PSPs a huge amount of flexibility when producing many pieces, with quality white ink allowing users to make graphics stand out. This is very much the belief of HP, which offers a white ink option across many of its Latex printers. Stuart Thomas, business development manager for Large-Format at HP, explains that there are several methods printers can use when working with white ink. The first of these is to ‘underflood’, whereby users print a white layer underneath the image, allowing them to add brilliant white elements to transparencies and substrates that are not white. There is also the option of printing a colour first, then white, and finally the image on top. Another method is to ‘overflood’, with printers able to print a layer of white ink over a transparent media – something that is common when producing window decals for use in various public spaces. 45 November / December 2024 - Issue 351 www.printmonthly.co.uk these embellishment options, customers will return to them to see what else they can do for future projects.” Building on this, Harry picks out spot UV business cards and greetings cards as applications that are becoming more popular among customers. He also highlights how Flexpress, the first user of Duplo’s DDC-8000 B2 DuSense, recently upgraded its B3 DuSense device and moved away from near-line foiling and can now cold foil in one pass, with its most popular products being business cards. Incidentally, Duplo recently upgraded the DDC-810 B3 DuSense to the PRO version. Harry says the new version has more range on how much UV can be added to the sheet, is faster, and has a more robust build, while the heads can be moved closer to the sheet for more accuracy or further away to help with the curvature of the sheet. As for other solutions from Duplo, Harry picks out the DBM-700 booklet system, which he says does not exactly embellish but gives an “amazingly clean and polished look to booklets up to 250 pages”. Harry says: “The application isn’t new, it’s been around for ages, but every system we’ve sold in 2024 has the module. It’s become a gold standard for school exercise books and when combined with spot UV, it gives a beautifully embellished almost perfect-bound effect.” Finally, Harry notes how Duplo distributes the Bagel Systems range of laminators and foilers, from B3 to B2 sheet sizes in the UK. The 3D Foiler was designed to be used with spot UV devices and uses a silicon heated roller, which enables the device to cope with the variable height of the varnish. Vivid’s Matrix line of machines allow for digital foiling and lamination on textured and non-textured stocks Factoid ▼ According to Duplo, adding spot UV, foil, or the combination of the two instantly elevates products SPECIAL EFFECTS ▲ Vivid says introducing varied and creative finishes allows PSPs to target new markets
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