Inter-State Studio installs first Contiweb DFA in the US in partnership with Canon

Inter-State Studio, a market-leading print specialist, has installed a Contiweb Digital Fluid Applicator (DFA). In cooperation with Canon Solutions America, Inter-State Studio is the first US customer to have purchased the DFA-560 in alignment with the Canon ProStream 1800 inkjet web press.

Family-owned, Inter-State Studio has been servicing its customers nationwide since 1933. The Canon ProStream 1800 inkjet web press is the company’s first web inkjet press and is predominantly used for the printing of yearbooks. The company services around 3,500 schools in all fifty states across the US, with order sizes of up to one million yearbooks for a year, often coming during short-time frames during the holiday seasons.

“We are often under intense time pressures to produce yearbooks on such a large scale. This means we need every advantage we can get and that’s where Contiweb’s DFA solution will really help,” Brian Dieckman, Manager Engineering & QA says. “Canon led us in the direction of Contiweb and the DFA will aid us in chartering somewhat unknown waters as this is relatively new application for inkjet printing.”

The Contiweb DFA-560 is a standalone fluid applicator that uses tap water and a surfactant for intelligent remoisturizing of paper that is processed through an inkjet web press. It offers a water only or water + silicone substrate mixing and application system.

Precise remoisturizing is obtained by individually controlling the remoisturizing process for each side of the paper. This process helps enable increased runnability of lightweight paper applications which require post process finishing. Optionally, the DFA-560 can also apply silicone, which helps stabilize the paper after printing, especially for heavy substrates which have heavy ink loads. This maximizes output quality prior to finishing while improving the overall user experience.

“Following the success of this product in Europe, we’re delighted to replicate this achievement in the U.S., and we are confident Inter-state Studio is the first of many customers, especially following our agreement with Canon Solutions America,” says Robert Bosman, Sales Director at Contiweb. “Contiweb has a long heritage with fluid application in web offset and has successfully applied this knowledge to web-fed inkjet over the last few years. We are delighted with this announcement, and it is great to hear that Inter-state Studio had a smooth installation process, something we pride ourselves on.”