At All in Print 2016, EFI was one of the key exhibitors which was out in full force with its various technological applications on display at its stand. We met Frank Mallozzi, senior vice president of global sales and marketing, EFI who highlighted the company’s solutions which have been part of its portfolio since drupa 2016.
Over the years, EFI has been involved in various segments of the markets such as industrial inkjet, signage, labels and ceramic tiles. Mallozi says, “Fiery is one technology which we offer in digital where we provide the tools to not only print on paper but also on a number of different substrates whether it is textiles, ceramic or poster. And certainly we offer a number of software solutions because you need to mange your printing resources well and our workflows are aimed at helping you do your job as efficiently and as cohesively as possible. EFI Productivity Suites are designed, built and validated for customer workflows, featuring a core EFI ERP system combined with multiple integrated components for new revenue generation and increased efficiencies.”
drupa 2016 was the launch point for two additional EFI Productivity Suites in the company’s portfolio of segment-specific certified workflow solutions. “At drupa 2016, EFI showcased a variety of its new workflow solutions. The new Publication Print Suite is an endto-end suite specifically developed for publication printers producing books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, catalogs, and highvolume direct mail with options for core ERP capabilities using EFI’s Monarch or Technique ERP software platforms. The new EFI Corrugated Packaging Suite is a fully featured solution that has the EFI ERP manufacturing execution system software at its core, with a full set of components from the EFI CTI software portfolio to deliver end-toend corrugated board manufacturing solutions for box plants, sheet feeders, and sheet plant printing workflows.”
Mallozzi also highlighted the newest version of the company’s Enterprise Commercial Print, Packaging and Midmarket Print Suites. The new version of the Enterprise Commercial Print Suite, built around EFI’s Monarch ERP software, includes improvements in inventory and purchasing, support for EFI Digital StoreFront webto-print services, stronger CRM tools including the ability to add attachments to RFQ forms and expanded reporting capabilities.
The latest EFI Packaging Suite release has been expanded to include 22 certified workflows geared towards real-world label and package converting environments. Mallozzi points out, “Each certified workflow combines the core EFI Radius ERP solution with modular, integrated components from EFI’s industryleading portfolio, as well as with key third-party technologies, such as Esko’s Automation Engine.”
Nozomi inkjet platform
Mallozzi also spoke about the new Nozomi from EFI—a 1.8 m wide single-pass inkjet platform which prints directly to 80 x 60 cm corrugated boards (as speeds upto 9000 sheets an hour) an hour and can be printed in a wide gamut of 7-color with CMYKOVW options. Its LED imaging capabilities are aimed at improved printing on a variety of board materials such as kemi, model, bleach and kraft paper.
Speaking to Bernard Sun, senior marketing manager, EFI Asia Pacific, it was clear that EFI is focusing on showing its customers the potential of print and what can be expected from the future. “What we tried to show to our customers in this exhibition is the power of digital. Through digital printing technologies, print possibilities are immense. There are a lot of print avenues at the moment which may not be conventional, but through digital printing we can achieve what could not be done before. There are three things which could never be replaced in print— packaging, textile and decoration. The adoption of digital in these areas is still very low so there is a huge potential of growth in these areas at least,” Sun opines.
