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EFI, a company focused on digital printing innovation, announced that it has acquired the assets of privately held printLEADER. printLEADER, with headquarters in Palm City, FL, is a provider of print MIS (management information systems) software products for the printing industry.

While financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, the acquisition is not expected to be material to EFI’s Q2 or full-year 2013 results.

This article, published on DesignBUILD Source's Website, shows one of the countless applications in which screen printing plays an integral part. This time, the printing process finds a home on the basketball court of tomorrow. Its glass flooring features LED-illumination -- a design from ASB Systembau GMBH. The ASB Glassfloor, as its known, consists of 160 glass panels. Each panel is coated with a special ceramic formulation that's deposited via screen printing.

Hotronix (www.hotronix.com) now offers optional cap-press platens for shops that decorate a variety of headwear styles. They are designed to work on Hotronix and MAXX brand presses. According to Hotronix, these four additional platen sizes will allow shops to fulfill almost any cap decorating request. The All Star measures 2.75 x 6.5 in. (70 x 165 mm) and is a low-profile platen used for caps with a small printing surface on the front. The Rookie measures 3 x 5.75 in. (7 x 146 mm) and is intended for caps with a low crown or mid-size print area. The Slugger is 4 x 6.5 in.

Kapco Graphic Products (www.kapco.com) added an 8-mil, gloss paper for solvent and latex printers to its line of media. According to Kapco, the new product is engineered to handle high ink saturation without cockling. The material is compatible with OEM, solvent, and latex inks, and it's available in 165-ft (50-m) rolls in widths of 36, 54, and 60 in. (914, 1372, and 1524 mm).

Onyx Graphics (www.onyxgfx.com) has announced that its software packages are compatible with a recently released metallic-ink swatch book. The ReferenceGuide - Metallic Edition was developed by Color Concepts Europe and is currently compatible only with ONYX Thrive print-workflow software, as well as ProductionHouse, ONYX PosterShop, and ONYX RIPCenter software.

Technology changes many industries eventually. Though UV curing has been in the printing industry for more than 20 years, LED curing technology for UV printers is a modern technological twist in digital imaging. For a new technology to take hold, users have to feel a compelling need to accept it.

Graphics printers have been very aggressive in investing in digital imaging technology; however, many have forgotten that once capacity has been increased on the back end, print providers need to be able to handle their work efficiently from design to print to cut.

Digital printers designed for producing quality graphics on T-shirts have reached a new level in quality and ease of use. This newer decoration method has its own challenges. There are particular styles of artwork that fit well with the digital process; however, many decorators quickly find out that clients don’t always provide artwork that is easy to deal with and make friendly for these digital printers. Most of the time, a few simple adjustments to the artwork can be made so that the work meets the approval of the client and the shop.

ONYX Graphics, Inc., announced that its software packages are compatible with a recently released metallic ink swatch book. The ReferenceGuide - Metallic Edition was developed by Color Concepts Europe and is currently compatible only with ONYX Thrive print workflow software; and ONYX ProductionHouse, ONYX PosterShop and ONYX RIPCenter RIP software.

Agfa reports that it is ceasing development of its current M-Press platform. Doing so, says the company, will enable it to focus on and develop a new technology and strategy that will address the industrial-printing market served by the M-Press as well as the graphics markets served by Agfa’s Anapurna and Jeti lines.

The company will continue to sell through its existing M-Press inventory and support the installed M-Press base.