Warren Werbitt, Founder of Pazazz Printing - famous for his YouTube video Printing's Alive! - talks with Cary Sherburne about the business and thoughts on recent industry developments at drupa 2012.

Warren Werbitt, Founder & Fisherman of Pazazz is the first Quebec printer to join the IPN Global Network. IPN Global (International Printers' Network) is the world’s foremost international alliance of cutting edge companies in the printing, visual communications and graphic arts industry.

Werbitt decided to join IPN Global to provide clients with more options to produce and deliver materials globally and to strategize with printing and graphic communication companies around the world.

"Being part of a global network gives us access to more than 45 printing companies across 30 countries,” explains Werbitt. “Our goal is to work together to manage worldwide accounts and help companies maintain their corporate branding.”

Pazazz is constantly looking at new ways to help clients improve their business. As an IPN Global member we can make our client’s lives easier by providing a “local global” service to them and manage their needs around the world.

Posted by: Kia Nicolaou Manager - Production Services at Precision

I’ve heard it countless of times, print is dying or the internet has murdered the print industry… it goes on and on. But is it really on its way out? I think not.

The way I see it, print is entering the hybrid world, much like everything else these days. Digital interaction becomes a key component to most printed pieces – the explosion of those ugly little squares they call QR Codes is a prime example of this. Yes, I called them ugly. Sure they work (70% of the time) and you can do some pretty cool stuff with them, but they’re still ugly. In my next post I’ll let you in on ‘the next best thing’ and trust me, it’s totally cool and you’ll love it;)

I’ll be the first to admit to how much I adore my iPad, MacBook Pro and iPhone. You got it, I’m a techie at heart, but there’s still nothing like thumbing through my favorite magazine while sitting on the…couch, or going through the weekend edition of the paper over a hot cup of coffee. I tried to go digital, but there are some things that still require the tactile satisfaction of print. This wont change, no matter how many IPads, Kindles or E-books are out there. Besides, what do I wrap my dishes with when I need to move? Have you ever tried swatting a fly with an IPad?

In closing, I’d like to share some industry lingo familiar to all production managers: against the grain, bleed, burning, choke and my favorite – dummy. Please don’t use them all in one sentence – you will be accused of sounding somewhat violent and aggressive. Not necessarily a bad thing if confronted by someone who insists that print is dead. Watch this video and find out why printing doesn’t fall short.

Print is the original disruptive technology and brought knowledge to the masses. Today print is one of the largest industries in the world. Print eclipses auto-manufacturing and is more than 18X bigger than video games. While print technology and applications are certainly transforming, it is still growing every year worldwide. PRINT IS BIG http://printisbig.com/#big

September, 2009

Pazazz, the forward thinking printing company and leader in customer-focused printing innovation, today unveiled its newest acquisition, the Xerox iGen4™ press with enhanced G7 Print Master colour management tools and in-line output profiling and advanced variable capabilities - ready to deliver digital print with unparalleled colour quality.

The iGen4 press is one of the most productive and high-quality cut-sheet digital colour presses in the printing industry, with superior quality images and consistent colour from the first print to the last. The Pazazz digital department plans to use the iGen4 press to produce direct marketing pieces such as full-colour booklets, brochures, manuals and postcards with variable data and image options.

Achieving colour quality and consistency remains one of the biggest challenges facing the printing industry, but with the new integrated and automated tools available with the iGen4 press the guesswork is completely removed, resulting in professional quality colour to present the desired output the first time and every time.

The Xerox iGen4 includes an in-line Spectrophotometer (ILS). Integrated profile making with G7 colour management standards ensures accurate colours and maximum gamut utilization. Combined with spot colour management, profile making allows for dynamic Pantone colour adjustments to ensure corporate colours are always a match. The Xerox iGen4 is also equipped with XMPie® software capable of producing complete personalized direct marketing campaigns with variable data and images.
"The iGen4 press is yet another example of our commitment to offer our clients the highest standards in print to ensure the best quality available for our clients,” explains Warren Werbitt Founder and CEO at Pazazz. “We can confidently deliver outstanding image quality; utilize maximum speed, advanced variable options and unsurpassed reliability with the iGen4 press.”

Pazazz, the forward thinking printing company and leader in customer-focused printing innovation, recently unveiled its newest acquisition, the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000, the most advanced 64-inch wide large format solvent based printer purchased from Fuji Graphics.

"The demand for large format signage and banners has been growing," explains Warren Werbitt Founder and CEO of Pazazz. "The Epson GS6000 was the obvious solution for us. It has enabled us to react faster to our customers' needs and turn around high-quality, high-volume wide format jobs."

The Epson is one of the fastest and high-quality 8-colour solvent based printers on the market. The 64-inch wide roll-to-roll printer delivers a vast colour range, photographic image quality, and rock-solid reliability, all while using a solvent-based ink technology that's less harmful on the environment. The printer is uniquely engineered for the demands of high-production solvent printing and produces fine detail with a maximum resolution of 1440x1440 dpi.

According to Tony Karg, Sr. Director of Business Development & Marketing, Fujifilm Canada Inc., Graphic Systems Division, "The Epson GS6000 is a flexible printing platform to help Pazazz print on a broad range of substrates needed to satisfy their customer's varied printing requirements. It is a perfect compliment to their existing printing technologies to broaden their offering to their customers."
From design to pre-press to final output, Pazazz focuses on providing consistent and repeatable end-to-end colour. Since precise colour matches are an essential part of branding, we have been especially pleased with the solvent-based Epson UltraChrome® GS ink that achieves an extremely wide colour gamut, resulting in signs that feature entirely new degrees of colour fidelity and accuracy that are otherwise unattainable with any other solvent technologies.

"The Epson is yet another example of our commitment to offer our clients the highest standards in print to ensure the best quality available for our clients," explains Werbitt. "We can confidently deliver outstanding image quality; utilize maximum speed, advanced colour options and unsurpassed reliability with the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000."

About Pazazz
Founded in 1992, Pazazz is an offset, digital, label and large format printing company, competitively offering a full range of Cross Media Integrated (CMI) solutions with a focus on service and innovation. Pazazz is a certified G7 Master Printer, FSC, PEFC and SFI certified and promotes UV inks that are VOC-free.
To learn more about Pazazz visit www.pazazz.com

For more information contact:
Lori Cohen, Marketing Director
514-856-3330 x 269
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Pazazz is the only Canadian printer to win the Xerox Best of Best Award

Printer builds reputation for high quality with digital catalogue for architects.

The challenge

Pazazz has always had a passion for printing. So when they were approached to help create a high-end, 244-page catalogue to showcase Canada's leading engineers, designers and architects, they jumped at the opportunity. This Canadian Architecture Edition would act as a key reference book to help capture the attention of industry members throughout all of Canada. For Pazazz, it would prove to be a valuable example of the incredible quality that could be achieved through digital printing—particularly for the short run length of 200 that their client wanted.

The solution

Pazazz had both offset and digital printing capabilities at their facility, so they first performed analysis through their Avanti Print MIS to confirm what they anticipated: that digital printing was the fastest and most cost-efficient method of production for this project. Print quality was of the utmost importance for this publication as the featured architects and designers were very prominent and the book needed to capture the rich colors and fine details of their bold, intricate designs. Accurate crossover was equally as important, as many of these designs spanned page spreads. Fortunately, their Xerox® iGen4® Digital Press paired with a CX Print Server powered by Creo® was more than up to the task. Substrate selection was also critical to delivering a high-end look and feel, and Pazazz worked closely with the client to determine what would produce the best results before choosing Xerox® Digital Color Supreme Gloss 12 pt. stock for the cover and Gusto Gloss 160 gsm for the interior pages. The layout was completed using Adobe® InDesign® and sent to their iGen4® Digital Press. Each catalogue was then perfect bound offline.

The results

Not only was the first edition of Canadian Architecture Edition a winning showcase for the featured Canadian firms and designers, but it has been an outstanding example of the digital printing capabilities for Pazazz. Architecture and engineering audiences particularly have been very impressed with the results, and Pazazz continues to use the book as a key marketing piece to show customers just what's possible with digitally printed books. It's working, too—their digital print business increases every year, and they consistently delight clients with the quality.

Environmental Initiatives

Pazazz prints with environmental consciousness. We are committed to environmental
responsibility and compliance. We have adopted practices that help reduce the impact on our
environment. We are less wasteful, more efficient and more thoughtful.

Certifications

Pazazz was one of the first printing companies in Quebec to receive triple Chain-of-Custody
(COC) certification in environmental practices in the printing industry. Pazazz received FSC
certification in January 2006 and PEFC and SFI certifications in June 2008. This triple
certification distinguishes Pazazz as a leader in environmental practices in the print industry.

Pazazz received a bronze award at the 2010 Environmental Print Awards (EPA) for Most
Environmentally Progressive Offset Printing Project.

Paper

We promote FSC, PEFC and SFI certified papers, recycled papers and papers that contain
100% post-consumer fibre such as Cascades Rolland Enviro 100™.

Pazazz maximizes paper usage and minimizes paper waste by offering 56" press sheets. The
large format sheet can set up 32, 36, and 40 pages (depending on the page size) on one 56"
sheet compared to 16 pages on a 40" sheet. That can translate into 30% less paper used. The
benefits include fewer make-readies, less paper, ink and raw materials used, less waste
generated and less energy used on press.

Plate Technology

Pazazz only uses CTP (Computer to Plate) technology in the printing process. With this
technology, an image is created in a Desktop Publishing application and is output directly to a
printing plate providing a more efficient and less wasteful process. We work closely with
Fujifilm who has been recognized and awarded for their environmental impact on plate
technology. Pazazz uses the Fujifilm FLH-Z 'ZAC' intelligent processor with the Brillia HD LH-PJ
plate to reduce chemistry usage. This processor uses the least amount of chemistry of any
processless plate in the industry. We also use the Fuji EcoPro cleaning system which returns
processor water into the environment without pollutants.

Inks

Pazazz uses use UV and conventional inks that reduce emission patterns for volatile solvents.
We promote inks that improve air quality and non-renewable resource conservation. We
recycle dried waste ink scraps through a licensed industrial waste handler.

Pazazz uses conventional inks that have minimum Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) levels
and contain on average 35% or more vegetable based oils. The oils are derived from
renewable resources (flax plants or soybeans) and are biodegradable and nontoxic.

Pazazz uses UV inks that contain zero VOCs and zero Hazardous Airborne Particles (HAPs)
while delivering outstanding quality and unparalleled effects. Our UV inks contain low levels
of Alkali, Alcohol and Nitro solvents and have an excellent ink water balance which leads to
less chemistry waste.

Benefits of UV Inks

There are three benefits with UV printing.

1. UV inks are more environmentally friendly
2. UV inks produce better print quality
3. UV inks are more efficient

1. UV inks are more environmentally friendly than conventional inks. Since UV inks cure
instantly when exposed to UV light, drying time is eliminated and no solvents are released
or absorbed into the substrate. The UV process releases no VOCs making it much safer for
operators and the environment.

Conventional inks not only have to dry via evaporation, but up to 50% of the initial ink film
applied is lost through evaporation into the atmosphere and absorption into the sheet.
UV inks are not absorbed into the stock or substrate but rather remain on top of the
sheet. UV printing improves ink holdout and dot gain. The result is a more vibrant print
and visual effect.

UV inks are fully recyclable. UV inks do not stick to the rollers like conventional inks and
therefore can be washed up with less aggressive solvents. The UV printing process yields
less ink and washup waste than conventional print since there isn't any waste from
incidental drying.

2. UV Inks have excellent colour value. In-line UV printing is known for its rich and vibrant
colours and the spectacular results it can achieve on difficult substrates. UV inks are an
exceptionally good choice for four-colour process graphic printing on coated and
uncoated stock. With UV capability, we can dry trap the inks which produces a cleaner
and sharper dot fidelity and better ink holdout especially with uncoated stocks. Because
UV inks cure immediately, they can print at higher ink densities with better trapping.
Ranging in opacity from transparent to translucent, the results are a cleaner wider color
gamut.

3. In-line UV printing is ideal for difficult jobs that typically require two passes on the press.
The result is perfect registration and less energy used to achieve a spectacular outcome.

We can print UV on a broad range of paper and synthetic substrates including recyclable
and biodegradable plastics, static cling, vinyl, styrene, lenticular, foil, flute and board, (80
lbs to 48 pts). With UV inks we can produce special effects such as strikethrough, soft
touch and scents.

Other important advantages of UV's instant drying include immediate throughput, faster
turnaround and higher productivity, even on two sided jobs. The ability to "lay down"
layers of opaque white or metallic, and then print over it in a single pass, merely hints at
the versatility and the energy savings of the UV process. Also, when UV printing is
complete, the press sheets are dry and can be sent directly to bindery without marking or
smudging the image on finishing equipment.

Pazazz is committed to being a leader in environmentally friendly standards. We work hard at
informing our clients about environmentally beneficial options and at promoting
environmentally friendly certified substrates. Our environmental commitment is ongoing.