BULLETIN
12
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
HP Inc. enters 3D printing market
HP Inc. has unveiled its first production-ready commercial 3D
printing system. The company says that the HP Jet Fusion
3D Printing Solution revolutionises design, prototyping and
manufacturing and, for the first time, delivers superior quality
physical parts up to 10 times faster and at half the cost of
other 3D print systems.
HP is offering two new models of 3D printer – the HP Jet
Fusion 3D 3200 Printer for prototyping and the HP Jet Fusion
3D 4200 Printer for prototyping and short-run manufacturing –
plus associated tools including software, an HP Jet Fusion 3D
Processing Station with Fast Cooling, and materials.
Shapeways, a global 3D printing service and marketplace for
consumers, is using an early prototype HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing
Solution in its Eindhoven factory, where it will be used to provide
its user community with a superior quality black nylon material
that will 3D print in greater detail, with a faster lead time and at a
lower cost than existing dyed nylons.
Stephen Nigro, president of HP’s 3D printing business, said:
“We chose to work with Shapeways because they are the largest
consumer 3D printing portal, with 3,000 products made every day.
The HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution will enable Shapeways to
bring high quality parts up to ten times faster than before for lower
cost.”
Extreme printing by Willow Graphics
Willow Graphics, the large
format printing arm of the
CityDocs group, has won the
Creative Use of a Substrate
award at The Print, Design and
Marketing Awards for printing
onto a block of ice.
ICEBAR London, located
in the Heddon Street food
quarter just off Regent Street
in the heart of London, asked
Willow Graphics to create
menus capable of withstanding
extreme cold and, in a world
first, to print artwork and
advertisements promoting
its ICEBAR & Dine packages
directly onto ice.
Willow Graphics accepted
the challenge and using its
Jetrix KX7 UV printer – one of
only six in the UK – reverse-
printed menus in fine detail
onto 3mm cast acrylic.
Multiple layers of white ink and
varnish were used to ‘seal’
in the design and protect it
against temperatures of -5°C
all year round.
In addition, Willow Graphics
printed advertisements
promoting the new ICEBAR &
Dine packages and artwork
for the bar directly onto the
surface of specially oxygenated
ice. A video showing the
printing and installation of
The Ice Queen by designer,
artist and photographer
Simon Fowler can be can
be viewed at
.
com/125557802.
The Stationers’ Company
has named DataLase Ltd
and Heidelberg UK as joint
winners of the Innovator of
the Year award at the third
annual
Stationers’ Company
Innovation Excellence Awards
.
DataLase was honoured
for developing a new process
for printing detailed packaging
labels accurately and at high
speed, which the judges felt
had broader applications in
print personalisation.
Heidelberg UK received
the award in recognition of its
Omnifire system for printing
onto three-dimensional objects
(see caption), which gives
printers an opportunity to
expand into new market areas
at a time of falling demand in
other sectors.
In total, the awards
attracted 49 entries from the
printer, consumables, office
supplies, publishing, digital
media and packaging sectors.
In addition to the Innovator
of the Year award, the
Stationers’ Company awarded
six Innovation Excellence
Awards. These went to:
n
Jessica Kingsley Publishers,
for books and comics that
present information about
difficult subjects in new ways;
n
Kolbus GmbH & Co KG, for
a system that automates the
mass production of luxury
packaging items that previously
required manual labour;
n
Parkside, for Rockpocket,
a lightweight pack that
uses a combination of
flexible laminate and
vacuum technologies for the
transportation of high value,
delicate or breakable items;
n
Ravensbourne College,
for a digital platform that
links different academic
communities to each other
and new services;
n
Sun Chemical, for Aquacure
inkjet ink, a hybrid of water-
based ink and energy-curing
technologies; and
n
Troika Systems Ltd, for
a volumetric measurement
device that minimises waste
during printing press set-up.
Innovative print solutions honoured by
The Stationers’ Company
World’s first 3D office opens
The Dubai Futures Foundation, a government initiative
aimed at promoting pioneering and innovative projects and
partnerships, has opened the
world’s first 3D-printed office
building.
The Office of the Future,
a fully functional building
complete with electricity,
water, telecommunications,
air-conditioning systems and
interior design by Bene, was
created over a period of 17
days on a printer six metres
high and 45 metres long.
Omnifire from Joint Innovator
of the Year Heidelberg
features 4-axis robotics to
print onto objects 10 to
300mm in diameter. Already
used by commercial printers
and retail and manufacturing
sites, the printing system can
apply between one and four
colours, with the option of
opaque white and protective
coatings. Later in the year,
Heidelberg will be introducing
the Omnifire 1000 with 6-axis
robotics capable of printing
onto every side of objects up
to 1,000mm in length.
