InPrint Show, in partnership with IT Strategies, has launched an industry survey to highlight key trends and insight for the continued development of industrial print production.
The survey and report features analysis on growth opportunities for new markets and tackles the challenges confronting a sector under intense pressure for high quality production in challenging and changing manufacturing conditions. All members of the industrial print community are invited to download a free copy of the report by completing the online form which can be found at: http://www.inprintshow.com/italy/english/industrial-print/white-paper/

On Thursday 24th March I ran a webinar focused on the results from a survey that we conducted in January. Joining me on the panel were Mark Hanley of I.T. Strategies, Paul Jenkins of ThePackHub, Ralf Ehrlich of PAS, Tim Phillips of IMI Europe and Marvin Jensen of CyconJet. I thought the panel collectively gave some excellent insight using the results as triggers of discussion.

The idea of the survey is to give us some insight on the state of the market, the pace of growth and the areas where we could perhaps see opportunity. On top of this the idea was to give us a clue as to what the key issues are. Of course it is nice banging the ‘growth drum’ whilst crowing about the potential of industrial print. However it is somehow more useful to discuss the challenges. Because where there is growth, there are growth pains. It is clear that industrial printing clearly also has some issues of its own. 

There was a time when embossing meant creating a special die-cut stamp for a letterpress machine that would impress the design onto a paper substrate. There’s definitely still a place for these traditional techniques, however, with digital UV technologies from Roland DG, the art of adding textures and embossed effects to all manner of media and surfaces has never been easier or more impressive.

The following close-up examples of raised textures and embossed designs were created with Roland VersaUV LEC Printer/Cutters, LEJ Hybrid Inkjet and LEF Benchtop Flatbed Printers.

This month, I'll deal with corrosion - especially the electrolytic effects in LED Signs, because humidity is one of the worst wintertime enemies of electric signage. Corrosion, from the Latin corrodere, which means “eating away,” describes how some chemical agents (like acids) can change an object’s constitution and finally dissolve it. I’ll confine myself here to metal corrosion, because it’s the most prevalent type of corrosion in signs. 
Rusting iron is the most common form of metal corrosion. However, iron won’t rust automatically; kept dry or in absolutely pure water, it’ll stay shiny forever. But in a humid environment, iron transforms into a brittle, brown-grey substance: rust, chemically called iron oxide (more precisely: a mixture of different iron oxides, oxide-hydrates and/or iron carbonates). To understand corrosion – and prevent it – we need insights into its surface chemistry.