BULLETIN
PRINT.IT
13
Giving waste a new life
A 3D printer that
uses filaments
made from
recycled, post-
consumer plastics
is one of the
featured products
in the EKOCYCLE
shop in Harrods,
London.
A collaboration between The Coca-Cola
Company and musician will.i.am, EKOCYCLE
is a collection of lifestyle products made
from recycled materials.
The EKOCYCLE Cube 3D printer from
3D Systems lets users create useful new
items out of waste plastic. Each EKOCYCLE-
branded cartridge contains filament made
from three recycled 20oz PET plastic bottles.
Consumables are available in red, black,
white and natural colours.
Design
challenge
To celebrate
the launch
of the ST3Di
ModelSmart
Pro printer range at the Staples store in
Milton Keynes, ST3Di is challenging pupils
in local secondary schools to submit their
3D designs to a panel made up of industry
experts. The five winners (one per school)
to be announced in June will have their
design printed and receive a £100 gift
voucher. The school with the most entrants
will receive discount vouchers for ST3Di
products. ST3Di, part of Environmental
Business Products, a remanufacturer of
inkjet cartridges, plans to roll out the ST3Di
ModelSmart Pro range to other retailers in
2015.
RS launches own brand
3D printer
RS Components, the trading brand of
Electrocomponents plc, has introduced
the first RS-branded 3D printer. The RS
IdeaWerk 3D printer
is claimed to be 30%
cheaper than other 3D
printers in its class and
very quiet in operation,
making it suitable for use
in offices, classrooms
and the home. RS also
sells 3D printers from 3D
Systems, Ultimaker, BEEVERYCREATIVE and
RepRapPro.
Rising star
The Zhuhai CTC 3D printer has achieved
second place in the January 2015 ranking
of 3D print quality produced by 3D Hubs,
which surveys more than 10,000 3D printer
users in more than 160 countries.
Based on an open source prototype,
MakerBot Replicator, the $700 printer is
designed, developed and manufactured by
Zhuhai CTC Electronic Co., Ltd. The Chinese
company entered the 3D printing market
in 2010 and opened the world’s largest
desktop 3D printer manufacturing facility in
April, 2014.
3D UPDATE
Balreed is holding a number
of educational and fund-
raising events in support of
ProSkills PrintIT!, a nationwide
education programme designed
to teach students about the
print and paper industry.
As part of its commitment
to the programme, Balreed
has already hosted a group
of GCSE students from the
Cornwallis Academy, giving them
an an overview of the career
opportunities in managed print
services and demonstrations of
new production print technologies
at its Head Office in Maidstone.
In addition, last month staff
raised £1,000 for PrintIT! by
completing the Balreed Pace or
Pay Challenge. Two treadmills
were set up in the reception
area and 44 members of staff
collectively ran, walked and
danced 84 miles.
Diary Date
Balreed is running a series of
Peak Performance document
strategy events where
businesses can learn how to
enhance the efficiency and
resilience of their document
infrastructure, workflows and
processes. For dates and
locations, please visit
/
or call
0345 000 8899.
Higher
definition
inkjet printing
HP claims to have raised
the bar in inkjet printing
with the launch of High
Definition Nozzle Architecture
technology for HP inkjet web
presses.
The technology doubles
the native print resolution of
current HP inkjet printheads
from 10,560 to 21,120
nozzles, delivering 2,400
nozzles per inch, and
supporting dual drop weight
per colour for sharper text,
more accurate skin tones and
smoother colour transitions.
High Definition Nozzle
Architecture technology will be
incorporated into all HP Inkjet
Web Press platforms, including
the HP T200, T300 and T400
Inkjet Web Press families and
those sold through resellers.
Existing customers can
upgrade to the new technology.
Balreed promotes careers
in printing
Going for gold
Xerox is introducing true Pantone
metallic gold and silver specialty
dry inks for its new Colour
800i/1000i digital presses. An
optional Specialty Dry Ink Station
can be used to add metallic gold
or silver to documents. Xerox
says the new colours will enable
printers to migrate foil stamping
applications to short-run, high-
value digital production.
Enduring
relationship
Pitney Bowes has renewed its
strategic alliance with HP, which
has been in place since 2009
and helps Pitney Bowes integrate
digital and physical mail, primarily
through the IntelliJet Printing
System (illustrated) and Print+
Messenger colour inkjet system
used by printers and mailers to
produce high quality, high impact
physical communications.
