Long Sheets Drive New Applications and Revenue
Print service providers are continually looking for new application opportunities to grow revenue. Canon Solutions America is responding to this need with a high-end, low-cost solution for printing larger print applications (e.g., book covers, dust jackets, maps, pocket folders). Canon Solutions America has partnered with TEC Lighting who has engineered a Long-Sheet Feeder and Catch Tray for the Canon imagePRESS color digital presses. Created for book and commercial print providers, the Long-Sheet Feeder offers an expanded sheet size for a broader range of applications and increased productivity through an expanded imposition capability. Lisa Weese, Manager of Product Marketing for Canon Solutions America’s Production Print Solutions, states, “With the expansion of output capabilities of up to 13" x 26", the Long-Sheet Feeder enables book and commercial printers to offer digitally printed applications that were once outsourced or printed using other technologies.”
GlobalSoft Digital Solutions (GSDS) was a beta site for the Long-Sheet Feeder and Catch Tray. As an experienced implementation strategist, GSDS provides customized communication solutions. The company works with clients and their agency partners during the planning process to ensure that marketing programs are efficient and effective, resonate with customers, and reach them at critical moments in the brand’s lifecycle.
“[The Long-Sheet Feeder and Catch Tray help] add valuable services to meet more of our customers’ needs by accepting jobs we might have previously had to turn away or outsource.”
Chris Petro
President and CEO of GlobalSoft Digital Solutions
For GSDS, the first and most recognizable use of the new technology was dust jackets for books. Prior to implementing the Long-Sheet Feeder, GSDS was using its wide format presses to produce and meet the high-quality yet low-quantity requirement for the application. Chris Petro, President and Chief Executive Officer of GSDS says, “On average, the printing process alone was taking us a minute and three-quarters to two-and-a-half minutes per cover to manufacture, with a separately integrated workflow for pre-press and client submissions. The first thing we wanted to explore was how to improve speed, because it was a bottleneck for us. The combination of the Canon imagePRESS with the Long-Sheet Feeder took a two-minute manufacturing process down to less than two seconds.”
Petro also realized an enhanced workflow through the Canon imagePRESS’s front-end integration with his Océ PRISMA workflow management software solution. Petro notes, “Hands down, it was by far the best.” Beyond dust jackets and photo book covers, the company has moved outsourced applications in-house – including larger brochures, posters, and other commercial jobs where consistency and quality are required. The Long-Sheet Feeder has also served as a way to increase efficiency and reduce costs through multiple-up imposition with the expanded sheet size. For example, a 4-up card (depending on the size) could become an 8-up card on a larger sheet. “From a pure cost perspective, it’s a great feature for service providers,” Petro adds.<
For Petro, the Long-Sheet Feeder and Catch Tray allows GSDS to offer a broader array of applications for its customers. Petro concludes, “This feature set helps add valuable services to meet more of our customers’ needs by accepting jobs we might have previously had to turn away or outsource. It is just one more way to leverage the power of digital print.”