AFTA May 2014

Asian Flexo, Gravure & Labeling May 2014

MCI (P) 169/12/2013 - KDN PPS1529/05/2013(025527)

THE PRINTER THAT TAKES YOU TO THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

EFI™ VUTEk® HS100 Pro o

This revolutionary digital inkjet press delivers print quality approaching h ng hi n offset at the speed of screen—with lower operating costs than screen. It prints in white and has a full suite of automation and material handling options.

Take off with EFI. Visit http://vutek.efi.com/takeoff2

©2014 EFI. All rights reserved.

13th Annual Conference & Display

Packaging in Asia The Growth Market of The Future

AFTA Now in it’s 13th year - Still the First and Original in bringing the BEST Information to you. Helping to build a

brighter future.

10-11 November in Bangkok, Thailand Now with more EMPHASIS on

Brand Management.

Getting both sides of the industry together

Putting our

INDUSTRY under the Microscope

www.afta.com.sg

IST METZ presents: AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Energy efficient UV systems for all printing applications

UV systems from IST METZ can be integrated into printing presses of any shape or size.

This allows production of high-quality UV packaging, UV labels, UV commercials prints and special UV applications.

IST METZ manufactures and develops all key components, such as UV lamps, reflectors and electronic power supplies, in-house: MAdE In GErMAny!

Our new subsidiary IST METZ SEA Co., Ltd. in Bangkok provides services and consulting for all UV applications.

IST METZ SEA Co., Ltd. 1558/12 Baan Klang-Krung Soi 4, Bangna-Trad Road, Bangna Bangkok 10260, Thailand phone +66 2 1 82 00 43

We want to become your regional partner for all UV printing matters. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss UV solutions for your specific needs!

We bring you the latest technology in gravure and flexo to help your business Arcotest Series of Test Pens and Inks

Recyl’s products for flexo and gravure

Ecograph products for flexo and gravure

TM

DAILIAN INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD 71 Ubi Crescent #02-08 Excalibur Centre Singapore 408571 Tel +65 6748 2662 Fax +65 6747 9929 Email: info@dailian.com or visit www.dailian.com

Perfect solutions for label printing A partner of Heidelberg

www.gallus-group.com Gallus RCS 330/430

Exceptional productivity and flexibility for the production of high-quality labels.

Gallus EM 340/430/510 S

Exceptional range of processes and substrates for the production of short to long runs – with or without finishing.

Gallus TCS 250

Format variability ensures high operational cost-effectiveness in the production of very short runs.

Gallus ECS 340

Extremely cost-efficient commodity label production – a technical granite core ensures exceptionally quiet and precise operation with minimal vibration.

Gallus EM 280

Plug & print – ideal gateway to the label printing sector.

Gallus South East Asia Pte. Ltd. 6 Eu Tong Sen Street #11-11 The Central Singapore 059817 GallusSEA(at)gallus-group.com T +65 6896 4891

May 2014

Covering the Flexo, Gravure & Labeling Industries across Asia MICA(P)046-11-2010 - KDN PPS 1529/05/2012(022768)

AFTA Pte Ltd 57 Ubi Ave. 1,

8 Color Quality Solution for the gravure market #03-06 Ubi Centre, 12 Thailand and India dominate AFTA Excellence Singapore 408936.

Tel+65 6733 5342

Awards 2013 Fax +656733 3586 16 End-to-end lamination solution for digitally printed

flexible packaging Chairman 18 Gravure printing press commissioned in Bangladesh

Paul Callaghan 20 N610i continues to set new standards for productivity paulftw@cpublish.com.sg

and performance

22 Comexi Group, essential in Caihua’s expansion Managing Director 24 Ink range to include UV metallic inks and pastes.

Elizabeth Liew eliew@cpublish.com.sg 28 The Next DIGITAL FRONTIER – Ceramics 30 Modern Buildings Need Not to Look Like Clones 32 Being first is not all that new to KTC Vietnam Editor Christel Lee 34 Flexiprint standardizes with Martin Automatic for editorasia@cpublish.com.sg

maximum efficiency 36 Sappi announces Algro® Guard M and Advertising Sales

Leine® Guard M

Matthew Callahan 38 Making a successful wwitch from letterpress to flexo matt@cpublish.com.sg 44 Polytype Asia Pacific Opens Its Doors 48 In-Mold Label Suite illustrates game-changing Accounts

potential of digital production Meynard 50 Two new Flowline Washers for Equipment accounts@cpublish.com.sg Programme 54 Vila Etiketten gains competitive edge Chairman Judging Panel 2013 56 The Label Says it All Packaging Excellence Awards Head Judge - Alf Carrigan 60 Subsidiary to acquire Flint Group from CVC

Capital Partners 62 ECO-FRIENDLY Packaging Solutions 64 Heatproof label series 66 3D's place in print 68 Sustainability is an integral part of the paper tissue

value chain 72 Industry news and happenings from around

the world

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Color Quality Solution for the gravure market Cartotecnica Veneta S.p.A, of San Pietro, Gù (PD), Italy, is simplifying color preparation and improving print quality on its gravure printing line with QuadTech’s new Color Quality Solution, and attracting new business in the process.

QuadTech's ‘industry first' integrated Color Quality Solution relays in-line spectral data gathered by QuadTech's SpectralCamTM to ink formulation software from X-Rite and ink technology from Huber Group to ensure a consistent color measurement standard from the brand owner's request to last printed image. The system installation was managed by QuadTech's agent, ColorConsulting, S.r.L, and supported by the QuadTech team from the United States.

Cartotecnica produces finished and semi-finished flexible packaging and folding cartons primarily for large Italian and European food and beverage brands including Ferrero, Nestlé Italy and Unilever. The company's vast substrate portfolio - ranging from

coated and uncoated paper and board, to aluminum foil and thin PP and PE films - requires different ink sets, discrete color targets and precisely imaged gravure cylinders. Before the installation of the automated system, achieving the standards of accuracy required was time-consuming and expensive.

The QuadTech Color Measurement System with SpectralCamTM is positioned after the last printing unit on Cartotecnica's gravure line. Once the press is running SpectralCamTM measures the multiple pre-defined color targets throughout the print run to ensure accurate, repeatable color quality. The system receives the color targets, ink quantities, viscosity, substrate, run length, and other

The QuadTech Color Quality Solution enables automatic sharing and processing of color data between in-line color control and off-line color measurement industry leaders

parameters utilizing the QuadTech Color Quality Solution and ICON platform.

The network-based QuadTech ICONTM platform controls all components from one central station.

Job data is automatically saved for recall providing makeready, material and labor savings.

With Huber Group's ink technology the company can use just one set of color base inks for varying substrates instead of multiple ink gravure series.

The X-Rite Ink Formulation software pin-points customer-defined color targets to form a spectral color curve and then checks existing stocks availability for any matching return ink before formulating an ink recipe.

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Game changer The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press will take your packaging business to the next level with offset-quality digital printing.

Engineered for folding carton packaging printing, the HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press is the next big thing in packaging. Versatile, efficient and cost-effective, it will bring offset-matching quality to your operation, while introducing new opportunities enabled by digital.

Get ready to expand your business with HP Indigo 30000.

Find out more at hp.com/go/hpindigo30000 or contact Edcent Chan; Hp: +65 9862 6092 or Email: edcent.chan@hp.com

Š 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

10 This is highly effective as 80% of print jobs at Cartotecnica are repeat jobs, so stored inks are kept to a minimum.

Ink formulation is then carried out using the Huber Group color database that doses exact color quantities.

New formulations are verified using a strike-off produced on The Phantom QDTM portable table-top proofing system from Harper Corporation and a handheld X-Rite SpectroEye. If the formulation is correct, the ink is produced and production can begin.

The industry minimum ink batch is 20kg but at Cartotecnica the minimum ink volume is 40kg, so it is essential to achieve the correct color first time right to minimize waste.

"Before QuadTech's Color Quality Solution, the production of gravure inks was manual, labor-intensive and wasteful," said Francesco Meneghetti, President of Cartotecnica Veneta. "Our vast substrate portfolio has always a challenge as it requires different ink sets, unique color targets and accurately

made gravure cylinders. Therefore, excess ink was a frequent occurrence but now ink storage space has now been reduced from two rooms to a fifth of one room."

substrate combination and can rectify anything within minutes."

The Color Quality Solution has also secured new business for Cartotecnica just 30 minutes after showing Nestlé Italy representatives a live makeready on its problematic multi-layered substrate for its Buitoni range. That substrate includes plastic film on one side and an aluminum foil on the other, but the Cartotecnica's QuadTech system achieved accurate repeat prints in minutes.

"We have also eliminated unpredictable manual intervention. Our operators find the QuadTech solution very easy and so accurate to use that they want to work with the system every day, for every job, Meneghetti said." Setup is simple and once the color is on the press it decreases makeready time because the system knows exactly what to expect from any ink, cylinder and

The QuadTech SpectralCam™ delivers L*a*b* data for precise, costeffective color management—in the image, in-line, on paper or film substrates.

• High-intensity LEDs (>800 mW/cm2) for highest efficiency & repeatability • Highest print quality - precise image reproduction & excellent ink laydown • Significant reduction of fluting • No additional processing steps or consumables • Easy implementation to existing digital workflow and compatible with all digital plates, formats and thicknesses

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Thailand and India dominate AFTA Excellence Awards 2013 The AFTA Excellence Awards went for its 12th run on 15th November 2013 in Manila. While the usual suspects bagged the usual accolades, one actually did the same for the six consecutive year.

At the Dusit Thani hotel in Manila, over, 300 guests from the flexographic industry in Asia congregated to witness not only the reinforcement of alreadyastounding standards in packaging, but also acknowledge new contenders who just might join the ranks of the elite in the game.

Alf Carrigan, Chairman of the Independent Judging Committee, shared in his opening speech: “There are significant improvements in the print qualities of entries this year.

The judges were heartened to see contenders taking more pride in their work; the time and effort spent to assess and place entries are nothing less than worthwhile.”

Thailand and India dominated the ring with nine and seven wins respectively.

India’s tightest contenders – but now Vietnam, Sri Lanka and others are quickly raising the quality bar and soon will be winning gold medals.

One Indonesian company, PT Bentoel Prima, went on stage many times, scooping wins out of win,

It was also announced that at the successful conference that was held on the 14-15th the association along with

its member partners managed to raise a total of US$17,000.00, which was presented to the Philippines Red Cross by all members who went on stage for a group photograph. The moneys raised was sent to the Red Cross headquarters to be distributed to help with aid for the many thousands of people who were effected by super typhoon Yolanda that only hit a few days before the conference started.

Paul Callaghan Chairman of AFTA congratulated each and every company/ person on stage after a minute’s silence to reflect on the devastation that ripped much life’s apart. he also has asked to stay one more term as Chairman after this outpouring of generosity for the people who needed help

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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IST METZ presents: The new MBS®-6 Most efficient UV system of the world

Thanks to the completely new URS® Duo Reflector Geometry the MBS®-6 sets new standards. The system requires a lamp output of just 120 W/cm in order to achieve the same curing results as standard 200 W/cm UV units. The energy saved has a direct influence on electricity bills.

For further information please visit our website www.MBS-6.com.

IST METZ GmbH Lauterstraße 14-18, D-72622 Nürtingen Tel. +49 7022 60 02-0, Fax +49 7022 6002-775 info@ist-uv.com, www.ist-uv.com

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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End-to-end lamination solution for digitally printed flexible packaging HP today announced a strategic agreement with Comexi Group, a leading flexible packaging machinery manufacturer, to develop a dedicated lamination solution optimised for the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press.

Lamination is a major part of the flexible packaging conversion process.

Current solutions have long set-up cycles for each job, and converters need to wait several days for complete curing and delivery, which creates a bottleneck and impacts time-to-market.

The Comexi NEXUS L20000 is the first dedicated end-to-end lamination and coating solution for digitally printed flexible packaging. Available in inline or offline configurations, the Comexi NEXUS L20000 will offer advanced solvent-free lamination to help flexible packaging converters shorten time-tomarket, as well as help reduce waste and environmental impact.

“Shorter product life cycles and customised packaging are driving growth in short-run jobs that demand fast turnaround times,” said Ramon Xifra, vice president, Comexi Group.

“The new Comexi NEXUS L20000 with the HP Indigo 20000 will enable flexible packaging converters to meet these demands and grow their businesses.”

The HP Indigo 20000 is a mid-web digital press that helps meet the needs of flexible packaging converters for

short runs. It provides converters the ability to produce several different items around a common design, then customise each one by changing the colours, images and language.

Additionally, the press’s 762-mm/30inch width and ability to print on a wide variety of substrates and film (from 10 to 250 micron) gives converters market versatility.

Going from computer to press without producing plates helps increase speed to market, improve production flexibility and reduce packaging costs for short runs. HP Indigo’s digital, zero-setup process minimises waste, translating into significant cost and time savings. On-demand digital printing also reduces waste and over-stocking throughout the supply chain, allowing converters to offer their end customers more sustainable packaging solutions.

HP Indigo’s liquid ElectroInk technology is the only digital colour printing process that matches gravure printing. With seven ink stations, converters can meet the most stringent corporate branding requirements and achieve perfect colour registration on all substrates. HP Indigo ElectroInk also is safe and suitable for printing on food packaging, under set conditions

of use and compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for non-food contact surfaces.(1) “As we drive the digital revolution in flexible packaging, it’s important that our customers benefit from the full value of digital across the printing, converting and lamination processes,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, HP Indigo Division.

“With the Comexi NEXUS L20000, converters will be able to increase speed to market to further maximise the benefits of digital printing with the HP Indigo 20000.”

First announced at drupa 2012, the HP Indigo 20000 is now successfully operating at a select number of customer sites in the U.S., Europe and Asia, where it is producing commercial work across a variety of industries.

The HP Indigo 20000 will begin global shipments later this quarter to meet demand from leading packaging converters worldwide.

Comexi Group will showcase the Comexi NEXUS L20000 in fall 2014.

Availability is expected in early 2015.

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Gravure printing press commissioned in Bangladesh BOBST has recently completed the commissioning of a BOBST Rotomec 888 gravure printing press at Robin Printing & Packages Ltd., in Dhaka. Robin’s new Rotomec 888 line is the first of its type to be installed in Bangladesh.

Established in the mid-sixties in Dhaka, Robin Printing & Packages Ltd., has grown into an industrial concern at the forefront of the printing industry. The main production is cigarette cartons and with its capabilities for high-end printing Robin has become the leading supplier to British American Tobacco (BAT) in Bangladesh. From its modern production facilities, the company also offers its large and diversified domestic and international client base a wide range of printing services in a variety of other industry segments.

Robin Printing & Packages is a privately-owned company run since its inception by the Hussain family whose members provide a dynamic style of leadership and marketing strategy that includes the ability to foster product innovation, market diversification and best use of technology. This prompted the decision in 2011 to enter the flexible packaging business. In line with its strategy of using high technology to its advantage, Robin Printing & Packages went through a rigorous assessment

of printing press suppliers and finally zeroed down on BOBST equipment as the most suitable to fulfil their production requirements. Furthermore, the recognized global leadership of BOBST equipment in terms of printing quality and operational efficiency, as well as the confidence derived from the assurance of a highly qualified BOBST local support would provide Robin with the perfect launching pad for their new business endeavour.

Robin Printing & Packages’ new press is a second generation ELS BOBST Rotomec 888 machine featuring solutions that provide the improved efficiency required to increase volume flexibility and deliver fast turnaround of a wide range of high quality printed flexible packaging applications.

Significant waste and operating cost savings result from the key features of the Rotomec 888 press, such as the short web path; the integration of the ELS with the register control system for faster correction during press speed variation; the optimized inking

and drying & ventilation systems. All these are key features of the press that provide technological advantages that benefit both machine productivity and environmental sustainability.

With their new press now running with commercial production for the past few months, Robin Printing and Packages is confident they will achieve their objectives to be a market leader in the Bangladesh flexible packaging market and to rapidly be able to supply the export markets as well, as they build their experience in this segment of the packaging industry.

Mr. Shameem Hussain, Director of Robin Printing & Packages Ltd. comments "After looking at various Asian options we decided to go for the BOBST Rotomec 888 simply due to the fact that this press not only has a proven leadership record in this region but is acknowledged to be the press which helps in cost reduction on all production cost parameters like raw materials wastage, electricity, labour & maintenance. Also this will provide us easy entry to the large MNCs operating in Bangladesh."

Along with the 9-colour Rotomec 888 gravure printing press, Robin’s new Flexible Division houses solvent-based and solventless laminators, a high output three-layer blow film lines, high speed slitter-rewinders and pouching machines. The factory also includes a state-of-the-art Q C laboratory, captive power production facilities and the whole factory is supported by UPS system. Gearing up for various international quality certifications, the production facility is undoubtedly the most modern setup up in the Bangladesh flexible packaging industry.

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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N610i continues to set new standards for productivity and performance Domino continues to enhance the latest addition to its N-Series range – the N610i digital colour ink jet label press – through a number of significant developments.

Launched at Labelexpo 2013, the N610i combines the productivity of flexo with the flexibility of digital ink jet technology.

Domino has fine-tuned the N610i’s capabilities to further boost its productivity and performance. With the capability to handle 1m (40”) diameter reels, the N610i offers maximum productivity with up to 15% increased uptime compared to 560mm (22”) diameter rolls. The recent introduction of a chilled roller option means that the range of media that can be handled by the press has now been extended to

include thermally sensitive substrates.

The capability to integrate the N610i with finishing lines such as those from AB Graphic and GM, enables ‘endto-end’ label production and is now a field-proven solution with several systems running in live production environments today.

Central to the appeal of the N610i is the opaque digital white ink, specifically formulated by Domino to run with the press. The ink delivers a smooth silkscreen-like finish, and provides the highest opacity white when printing at 50 metres (164ft) per minute.

Operating at speeds of up to 75 metres (246ft) per minute with a 600dpi native resolution, the N610i offers double the print speed of most high resolution digital systems. These combined qualities expand the range and viability of high volume production work that a digital solution can handle.

The N610i incorporates a range of Domino’s i-Tech intelligent Technology productivity-enhancing smart features designed to optimise printer

performance and deliver the most consistent print results. These include CleanCap, Domino’s automated print head cleaning and capping station that maintains high uptime operation and print quality. In addition, its ActiFlow ink circulation system ensures precise ink temperature control and degasses the ink, which maintains nozzle performance for improved print quality and reliability.

Precision alignment is optimised with the use of the proprietary Domino enhanced Kyocera high resolution jetting assemblies, which incorporate head stitching technology for seamless overlapping. And, it is further enhanced with the use of Domino’s StitchLink micro-motor controller technology, which enables precise head alignment.

This reduces set up time, eliminates stitch lines and delivers seamless images across the 333mm (13”) print width.

The N610icolour press comes in a choice of colour options and print widths to enableusers to select the most appropriate solution for their requirements.

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Comments Philip Easton, Director of Domino’s Digital Printing Solutions Division, “Label printers are looking for solutions that offer consistent output at high production speeds, all at a viable cost. Having already successfully introduced our first full colour digital ink jet label press, we have taken our technology a stage further with the N610i. By using our latest generation N610i label press, customers can exploit new applications, improve profitability through sales growth while at the same time reduce their overall production costs. Following the machine’s launch last year, we have worked closely with our customers and the market to identify features that could strengthen the N610i’s capabilities and we have responded accordingly. The options for the chilled roller and integrated finishing line enhance the machine’s already impressive performance levels, helping customers to boost margins, reduce lead times and become even more profitable.”

LONGLIFE | long-lasting.

MDC DOCTOR BLADES N E X T G E N E R AT I O N

The deviceis driven by an Esko digital front end for seamless integration into existing customer workflows, and is available in reel-to-reel as well as reelto-finishing line configurations.

Main applications: Illustration gravure printing | packaging gravure printing | special applications Characteristics: THE MDC high performance doctor blade | extra long lasting due to hardened coating Personal service on site – Please contact us!

daetwyler.com

Commitment to the planet Our mission is to offer global solutions unique to a world with ever-increasing flexibility and efficiency needs. We strive to provide you with the most convenient services and easy product maintenance.

Our pledge to sustainable innovation means we are committed to research and technological design aimed at creating products that are efficient, reliable, energy intelligent and environmentally sustainable.

Our commitment is also to the knowledge. The objective of the Manel Xifra Boada Technological Centre is to position itself as a driving force for know-how within the flexible packaging sector. Founded in 2013 as an independent body, activity is centred on training and consultancy services, academic activities, innovation and development.

COMEXI OFFSET CI8

www.comexigroup.com

Polígon industrial de Girona - Avinguda Mas Pins, 135 17457 Riudellots de la Selva. GIRONA (Spain) Tel. +34 972 477 744 Fax +34 972 477 384 comexi@comexigroup.com

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Comexi Group, essential in Caihua’s expansion (China) Comexi Group, a leading specialist in providing solutions for the flexible packaging conversion industry, has installed three new machines in Caihua’s new plant. The Chinese company has relied on Comexi Group to launch the expansion of its production plant in Kunshan (Shanghai).

Comexi Group has sold three different machines that will improve effectiveness and efficiency in different parts of Caihua’s production process.

The package acquired by the Asian company has two laminators, the Comexi NEXUS Evo and the Comexi NEXUS Power, and the slitter-rewinder Comexi PROSLIT S2 DT. Jiangliang Xia, president of Caihua, explains that the decision to rely on Comexi Group is based on the quality of its products: “Having Comexi to expand our plant allows us to obtain high quality standards and offer our customers products quickly and efficiently”.

With this agreement between the two companies, Comexi’s presence and expansion grows day by day in Asia, being a market that is currently open and shows a very good attitude for business. In this sense, several companies have already visited Comexi Group facilities showing interest in

different product lines of the Catalan company.

Founded in 1996, Caihua is specialized in the manufacture of flexible packaging for the pharmaceutical, agricultural or food industry, amongst others. The Chinese company has focused its development on quality and technology, with its own R+D centre, which meets the ISO9001:2000 and the ISO014001.

Comexi NEXUS Evo The Comexi NEXUS Evo laminator has the most advanced systems of control and application of adhesives.

Thanks to its simplicity and ergonomics, this machine allow working with both long and short runs and with a variety of materials such as plastic film, aluminum or paper.

Comexi NEXUS Power The Comexi NEXUS Power model incorporates specifications requested

by the growth of the flexible packaging market, such as the lengthening of the machine base, the independent cooling and the rewinding systems that allow working at top speed without interruption. But among these stands out the possibility of working without solvents, offering a product absolutely respectful with the environment.

In addition, the new reinforced settings and its advanced tensions control systems allow the Comexi NEXUS Power laminating at production speeds up to 600 m/min.

Comexi PROSLIT S2 DT The Comexi slitter-rewinder is characterized by being accessible, robust, secure, productive, as well as for its high quality in both slitting and rewinding. It is also a machine of high performance and work capacity, small sized and with an easy use and maintenance.

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Refreshingly Pure www.martinautomatic.com

Purity is good for the body and good for your business. Like non-stop splicers and rewinders from Martin Automatic. No added complexity, no short-cuts to quality. Just pure engineering, delivering roll change automation that is easy to use, simple to understand, reliable and productive.

Exactly what you need.

High Performance Splicing, Rewinding and Tension Control Systems www.martinautomatic.com

OUR EXPERIENCE...YOUR ADVANTAGE

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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s i s w S Theri ginal.

O

Ink range to include UV metallic inks and pastes.

Offering the widest range of low migration solutions, Flint Group Narrow Web further expands its portfolio with custom designed metallic silver and metallic pastes

As with all of Flint Group’s low migration products, these specialty inks have been tested and proven to have the best low migration properties. Introducing Low Migration UV Flexo Silver, our first generation low migration singlecomponent metallic UV flexo ink.

MDC DOCTOR BLADES.

High Quality Doctor Blades from the Market Leader Since 1972 we develop and produce highest quality Doctor Blades for all printing applications. The coating of Doctor Blades is our passion and key competence.

Your Performance is Our Concern and Motivation With specialist knowledge in printing technology and dedication for research and development we can offer you added value and maximum productivity.

Contact Details – Global Presence with Local Service We offer personal service at your machine. With over 55 partners worldwide we are close to your needs. www.daetwyler.com | Phone: +41 62 919 31 31

Migration measurements show that with Low Migration UV Flexo Silver, item code YFM00077, migration levels below 10 ppb may be achieved when correctly applied on suitable packaging structures. This was verified based on the standard migration test method using the food simulants 95% ethanol as set out in Commission Directive 97/48/EC. This silver exhibits very good metallic performance, cure speed, and adhesion to a wide range of both paper and synthetic substrates. Low Migration UV Flexo Silver is fully compliant with the Swiss Ordinance SR 817.023.21 listing and the Nestlé Guidance Note on Packaging Inks (version 2.1 Jan 10th 2013).

Introducing Low Migration Metallic Pastes - Flint Group is offering 3 metallic pastes suitable for use in low migration ink systems, Rich Gold, Pale Gold, and Silver. These are first generation metallic pastes suitable for narrow web low migration applications and are for use as 2-component ink systems.

Flint Group Narrow Web has designed a 2-component concept which allows printers to purchase the necessary components allowing them to mix gold and silver shades locally, in both Lithocure® ANCORA (UV offset) and the Flexocure® ANCORA (UV flexo) systems. These components have been designed to meet today’s market requirements and have proven to pass the most stringent migration tests applied by the industry.

EXTRUSION | PRINTING | CONVERTING

Always fun, but never enough. Spices up flavorless nights in front of the TV while loudly ruining romantic love scenes.

What else would you use to print the packaging of something so crispy than the best flexographic press in the world?

As the world's largest supplier of flexographic CI presses, we combine innovative technology and custom equipment for field-proven and extremely cost-efficient production.

The more than 300 MIRAFLEX presses that have been sold to printing houses around the world demonstrate the high quality of the MIRAFLEX product range and have earned the trust of our customers. We would be happy to show you how the MIRAFLEX can add more spice to your printing production.

www.rieckermann.com Thailand: Malaysia: Singapore: Philippines: Indonesia: Vietnam:

Phone: +66 Phone: +60 Phone: +65 Phone: +63 Phone: +62 Phone: +84

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AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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Making Strides with Acquisitions EFI is no stranger to acquisitions and strategic alliances. Sha Jumari catches up with Steve Green to find out how this strategy plays out with EFI’s activities in the Asia Pacific arena.

Speak of acquisitions, and EFI comes to mind. Since the company’s inception, it has made numerous acquisitions, which has led to expansion of the business. Taking the lead in the Asia Pacific market is Steve Green, in his newly appointed role as vice president of EFI for the region.

Prior to joining EFI, Green was the Asia Pacific regional managing director and vice president at Kodak. He brings with him 25 years of print sales and marketing expertise.

“The beauty of doing business in Asia is that every country is different. It’s a big market in the US but when you drive from one state to the next, it’s still the same language and currency. In Asia though, you drive across a bridge and you can be in a different country altogether.

With 22 countries in Asia, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution. We have a great product range, and certain products are better suited for some markets than others. And that’s what makes it interesting,” said Green, when asked about EFI’s direction in the region as compared to operations in the US. One of the company’s main focuses is in expanding the software business in Asia Pacific. Green anticipates that EFI’s software business will experience a healthy growth in the regional market. “We’ve done markets such as Singapore and Malaysia for software, but we’d like to push further on that. We have a huge portfolio of software products and I’m confi-

dent that by the end of the year we’ll be actively selling and pushing our software products in the region. I doubt any of the current printers will not be able to find something to suit their businesses, whether is be small, medium or large corporations,” Green surmised.

As a company that has firm beginnings in software with its proprietary digital front-end system, Fiery, EFI has not slowed down on that front. Since 2012, the company has gone down an aggressive path in software, buying out organisations in the field of MIS, RIP and proofing, web-to-print, wide-format output and file management. The company kicked off early 2014 with the acquisition of SmartLinc, adding logistics into their software repertoire.

“It’s all about efficiency and productivity. We have web-to-print software that lets you communicate with your customers without having to meet them, and this takes minutes. This process used to take days of physical approval and proof checks, before the actual printing can take place. Our software is very intuitive and it helps the printer be more agile, to connect with their customers better, even track their costs better,” Green said.

Another focus is in promoting the LED cool cure technology on its wide-format digital presses, which it hopes to be a major market driver for its inkjet business. The company recently unveiled the

Vutek GS3250LXr for the Asian region in Guangzhou at Sign China 2014. The Vutek GS3250LXr is the first dedicated roll-to-roll printer to incorporate the LED cool cure technology.

Thus far, the response for environmentally friendly solutions has been nothing short of welcoming, according to Green: “The take on our LED environmentallyfriendly technology has been brilliant.

The GS3250LXr printer is going to be a good replacement for solvent machines, which Asia has a lot of. Solvent is slow, and environmentally it’s very nasty. This is very clean technology.”

The inkjet business only materialised after the acquisition of VUTEk, Raster Printers (marketed in EFI as Rastek) and Jetrion in 2006. The Jetrion deal also introduced EFI to ink expertise. Green highlighted the company’s commitment to investing in R&D. EFI reportedly employs 300 staff dedicated to software R&D alone.

“We spend 20% of our income to R&D, no one else in the print industry puts in that much of their total revenue to it.

We will continue to invest heavily in our solutions platform, software, inkjet and Fiery businesses, which are all closely aligned,” Green emphasised. “We want to work closely together to produce a fantastic output, which is what printing is all about. At the end of the day, the more our customers succeed, the more EFI succeeds.”

As recent as late January 2014, EFI partnered up with Landa, announced live in a grand gesture at Connect, the annual user conference. EFI will be developing its Fiery technology as part of Landa’s end-to-end Nanographic Printing solution.

“We’re excited for the Landa partnership.

Essentially, Landa is coming up with a large high-powered digital print engine based on its revolutionary Nanographic technology. When you have a machine that is going to be that big and powerful, you need an equally formidable RIP that can drive the digital data through, and that’s where Fiery comes in – we’re the leading, most high-powered RIP processor in the market. Landa agrees, and we’re more than happy to be involved and work alongside them,” Green commented.

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The Next DIGITAL FRONTIER – Ceramics The ceramic tile industry is rapidly shifting to adopt inkjet technologies. Asia is already home to some of the largest ceramics markets globally, is ceramics printing the next big thing? By Sha Jumari.

When digital inkjet printing for ceramic tiles burst into the scene in the beginning of year 2000, it was deemed simply as an interesting novelty. Fast-forward to now and a few technological advancements later, incorporating inkjet for ceramic tiles has evolved from being an opportunity for a niche market, to a necessity for tile manufacturers.

Although the digital adoption has been on a quiet albeit rapid rise, it is clear that sentiments are positive and strong. In 2011, the SGIA Industrial Printing Survey Report indicated that over 75% of its members consider ceramic tile printing to be a strong market opportunity.

“There’s a whole raft of material that you can print on which is just mind-boggling.

One of which is on ceramic tiles, where you can have personalised designs printed on a tile. The ceramic tiles market is in actuality bigger than the print market by a long stretch,” asserted Steve Green, vice president for Asia Pacific, EFI. Ceramics in Asia According to the Ceramic World Review, in 2010, Asia makes up 66.9% of the world production of tiles. Digital inkjet technology has made rapid inroads in ceramic tile printing with huge potential for growth in Asia, which holds some of the major tile markets in the world. “Glob-

ally, the biggest tile markets are ranked as follows: Italy, China, Spain, Indonesia, Brazil, India. Three countries in that list are located in Asia,” said Green.

Green observed that the ceramics market in Asia has taken on a hybrid printing centre approach, utilising both analogue production line printers and the newer digital printers. “It’s all about having the right balance. Just like in the print industry, the people who buy our digital ceramic printers have both the big traditional machines to be able to produce millions of tiles, but they also have the smaller inkjet machines for the versatility to take on shorter runs and more innovative jobs.”

Key Players in Ceramics A report by I.T. Strategies in 2013 surmised that digital print systems would have as high as 86% penetration into the ceramic tiles market by 2017, based on the 40% penetration rate in the market today.

The report also projected that vendor revenues for systems and inks will rise from $713 million to $1.3 billion by 2017.

It was not until 2008 that digital systems for ceramics printing began to take off.

The introduction of the Xaar 1001 printhead with its patented TF Technology ink recirculation and Hybrid Side Shooter architecture aided to push this digital

revolution in ceramic tiles printing. The company most recently launched the next generation Xaar 1002 ceramic printhead, boasting improved drop volume uniformity and drop placement accuracy for higher quality prints. In 2005, Xaar went into partnership with Xennia, a provider of inkjet solutions for the industrial market. Xennia most recently broke into the India market in 2011 with the Ultramarine.

Another printer that uses the Xaar printheads is EFI Cretaprint. In 2012, EFI acquired Cretaprint, effectively extending their inkjet solutions to ceramic tile printing. Subsequently, EFI released the latest version of the inkjet printer, the Cretaprint C3, which is updated to have the first dedicated colour management system for the ceramic market that is highly flexible. The C3 has a single chassis design to be able to accommodate up to eight print bars. Acquisitions such as these further fuel the potential of the ceramics tile industry as an emerging market.

In addition to the EFI Cretaprint, the market has responded to demands of the tile market with a number of ceramic

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29 printers, including Durst Phototechnik’s Gamma series of printers, KERAjet by Ferro, Newtech’s KeraMagic and System Ceramics’ Rotodigit.

Hope Ceramics’ Hope Jet printers made their first foray in the industry by entering the China market in 2009 with the Hope Jet 600.

Market Drivers With digital, tile manufacturers can streamline production processes and present new products and business models. Digital systems make way for a wider range of creative projects due its ability to provide photo-realistic image quality, for the production of very natural-looking textures and intricate designs. Digital print also has the flexibility to adapt quickly to trends.

The biggest appeal of digital is economical. Manufacturers apparently can recover their investments in an inkjet digital press in very little time.

Durst Phototechnik reported that the South African Ceramics Industries Ltd has digitally produced close to 4 million square metres of tiles on their Gamma 75 HD within 12 months.

Analogue processes are time-consuming to set up a new design, which meant that manufacturers tend to produce huge batches of tiles at a go and having a large amount of stock in storage, as related by Green: “A single production line for just one tile design can be 400 metres long.

It’s a very expensive process to set up the line for that one tile design, so millions of these tiles need to be produced in order to be able to earn a margin. Not all of these tiles will get sold too and there will be warehouses filled with millions of tiles that manufacturers can only hope to be able to sell.”

In contrast, shorter set-up times and lower set-up costs make shorter runs more cost-efficient. Reportedly, many manufacturers who adopt digital applications can achieve the return on investment in record time. “With a digital ceramic printer, however, you don’t have to print a million tiles just to make it cost effective. Digital ceramic printing is a different business model, if I want to have just 10,000 tiles, I can print it digitally and I can get it to you in a week,” Green continued.

EFI Cretaprint C3 fiery Besides flexibility and faster turnaround times, lower breakage levels are a benefit. Analogue processes require pattern rollers to come into contact with the tiles during the process, increasing the incidences of tile breakage. Digital is a non-contact printing process, ensuring that less wastage of not just tiles, but ink as well.

Although inkjet appears to outweigh analogue processes by a long way, analogue printing is much preferred on strongly coloured surface areas. For now, long run and large stock orders of tiles will also still benefit economically from traditional ceramic tile printing. That said, inkjet technology is always evolving, it is not naïve to consider improved colour quality and further cost reduction as works in progress.

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Modern Buildings Need Not to Look Like Clones An innovative synthesis of UV-cured digital print and industrial surface coatings transforms façades into modern art The sleek and often complex profiles of modern buildings offer limited decorative possibilities, both on exterior facades and in interiors. Today, however, there is a practical way to overcome the ‘sameness’ of today’s architecture: patented Numericoat® technology from professional coating innovators and image management company VisioTechnic.

Innovation in architectural decor Visio-Technic Numericoat is an innovative synthesis of digital print and industrial surface coatings, and it delivers an advanced professional solution for the creation of customised, durable, architectural graphics, signs, displays, images, and colours on a variety of today’s building construction materials. ‘Starting with a standard plain substrate – metal, glass, or composite’, explains Visio-Technic’s Commercial and Marketing Director, Martin SaunierPlumaz, ‘our in-house production team

take a digitally-generated image of the customer’s choice, and capture it on the substrate within Numericoat’s two special layers of spray-applied thermohardening primers. The Numericoat base layer provides the anchorage for the flatbed inkjet-printed image, and the top overlamination coat gives it perfect protection. Not only is it fireand UV-resistant, it also has anti-graffiti functionality.’

Guaranteed durability ‘Perhaps most important of all for the construction industry, Numericoat panels come with a ten-year durability guarantee – true confirmation that this is genuinely a highly-durable solution’, says Mr. Saunier-Plumaz.

Versatile image production The versatility of the flatbed inkjet’s movable printhead makes it practical to print on to very large panels – up to 6.5 metres long and 2 metres wide – using UV-cured acrylic inks to deliver a highdefinition four-colour CMYK printed image.

The proven benefits of UV inks UV inks deliver benefits at various levels, as Mr. Saunier-Plumaz explains.

‘They dry very quickly at ambient pressure – in seconds, rather than the 30 minutes it takes at 200ºC for traditional solvent-based inks, lowering the production costs. UV inks also offer good flexibility and good adhesion to the substrate. That makes shipping the panels easier, and makes it possible for our clients to cut and bend (if necessary) the coated panels at the application site.

And of course UV inks’ environmental credentials are excellent – low odour, no solvents, reduced energy usage. That’s important.’

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RadTech Europe Innovation Award In fact, Numericoat’s creative use of UV inks gained Visio-Technic the prestigious Innovation Award in the 2013 RadTech Europe Awards, presented biennially by the European Association for UV/EB Curing Technology.

A global commercial reality ‘Numericoat is not an experimental technique’, says Mr. Saunier-Plumaz.

‘We worked on its development at Visio-Technic for many years, and commercialised it eight years ago. Since then, the system has proved itself in an enormous variety of applications, from corporate company headquarters to theme parks, sports arenas, factories, and outdoor and indoor frescos.’

Quality, suitability, and durability -- certified Formally partnered since 2011 by steel giant ArcelorMittal, who now market Numericoat products under their Viso brand, across their global network, Numericoat is Qualicoat licensed for homogeneity with aluminium varnishes and coatings, and certified to the ISO9001 quality standard and to the EOTA ETAG 002 agreement for adhesive exterior window systems. It is RATP M1 fire-resistant.

UV and EB radiation curing are today well known processing technologies in many industrial segments such as wood and metal product finishing, packaging, and automotive components, as well as in graphic imaging applications.

David Helsby, President of RadTech Europe, says that this wide acceptance is ‘testimony to the robust nature of the cure that can be achieved, as well as the elimination of VOC emissions, significant reductions in energy consumption, and of course timeand cost-savings.’ In printing and graphic arts applications, he adds, ‘UV curing’s faster on-press turnaround coupled with excellent ink adhesion to the print substrate are high-profile field of continuing innovation today, with traditional high-energy lamps beginning to be replaced with “cold” UV LED lamp arrays on leading-edge high-speed printing presses. Visio-Technic’s Innovation Award for Numericoat highlights another new step

q Integrated compressible layer for optimized print.

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BEING FIRST IS NOT AT ALL THAT NEW TO KTC VIETNAM. After all, they remain a pioneer in digital flexographic plate making in Vietnam.

With growing demand for higher quality printing output in Vietnam, KTC was faced with the challenge brought on by the market, consumer package goods companies, and their printing suppliers and customers. A solution had to be found. KTC was looking for a cost effective solution with minimal startup and zero added consumable cost.

KTC representatives, Mr. Dinh Kim Bang, Prepress Manager and Mr. Le Van Quang Thuy, Technical Manager began their evaluation by examining various flat top flexographic plate making systems and comparing their ease of use, maintenance costs, technical support and consumable requirements. After visiting the DuPont Packaging Graph-

ics regional technical center located in Shanghai, China, receiving a live equipment demonstration and engaging with the DuPont team in a detailed discussion about the company’s needs, Bang and Thuy decided to invest in the DuPont™ Cyrel® DigiFlow 3000ETL flexographic system. KTC is the first trade shop in Vietnam and the ASEAN region to install the new system.

DuPont™ Cyrel® DigiFlow is a digital workflow enhancement that expands the capabilities of digital Cyrel® solvent plates to deliver superior print quality and productivity. As a simple modification to existing DuPont™ Cyrel® exposure units, the DigiFlow modification can be used, as needed, when a flat top dot is required. It also optimizes the benefits

associated with solid screening programs such as HD Flexo Microcell. DigiFlow delivers improved solid ink density and 1:1 image reproduction, with no additional plate making steps. In a comparison of standard and Cyrel® DigiFlow dot structures, ALC Group reported a significant performance improvement.

The Cyrel® DigiFlow dot was more dependable. They noted the system’s ease of use, greater speed and smaller potential environmental footprint than current flat top dot systems.

“KTC plans to work closely with its customers in Vietnam to meet the increasing demand for quality print performance,” said Bang. “We will continue to drive our services to the next level by looking into other new plate making technologies. Investing in the new Cyrel® DigiFlow 3000ETL has helped elevate KTC Vietnam in the future direction that we have envisioned.”

With its experienced staff, KTC has established itself as a reliable printing, graphic and prepress service provider. KTC was founded in 1999 and has expanded with more than 190 staff working in its head office and three branch offices in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City districts.

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Flexiprint standardizes

with Martin Automatic for maximum efficiency Flexiprint, the leading manufacturer of tea bag tags and envelopes in Sri Lanka, has confirmed further orders for Martin Automatic MBS unwind/splicer and LRD rewinder technolog y.

The new Martin machines, which will be installed at the company’s production facility in Colombo, will be the fifth and sixth since Managing Director Sathis Abeywickrama first decided to fit an LRD to his Gidue Combat press in 2005.

Commenting on his choice of equipment, he stated: “We were the first in Sri Lanka to install an LRD, and the first with an MBS, and this has all been based on Martin’s reputation for reliability in hardworking commercial environments. We convert around 4000 metric tons of paper and board each year, and our inline production system is geared towards zero waste.”

Flexiprint 0349s.jpg – Martin Automatic secured further orders from Flexiprint (Sri Lanka) at Labelexpo 2013 – shown here (left to right) are Gavin Rittmeyer, Sathis Abeywickrama, Hope Hu, and David Ho

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35 Flexiprint.jpg – Sathis Abeywickrama, Managing Director of Flexiprint, describes his Martin machines as ‘unbreakable’.

full potential.”

Claiming a reduction in waste of 20 per cent or better, and less downtime on press since the Martins were installed, Mr. Abey wickrama describes them as ‘unbreakable’ with minimal requirement for ser vice and none for spare parts.

“I have no Flexiprint was founded in 1993 to supply the added value tea bag and envelope market that was growing rapidly in Sri Lanka at the time. Preferring f lexo to gravure printing, for its better ability to handle a variety of work, and in the process becoming the first tag converter in Sri Lanka to use water-based inks, Flexiprint began printing with an eight-colour 7” Propheteer, and won an FTA Print Award in its first year of operation. Five more Propheteers followed as production increased to keep pace with demand before the company switched to 14” Gidue lines to improve productivity and quality – it now has six Gidue presses installed.

As the company moves from strength to strength - it is cur-

rently enjoying a 12 per cent year-on-year grow th and now has the capacity to produce 80 million tags/day – Mr. Abey wickrama points to an export business that has grown to make it market leader, with a major share of the Dubai and Saudi Arabian markets, as well as a growing share in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Yemen and Papua New Guinea.

With a quality portfolio of clients to keep satisfied, and ISO 22000:2005 accreditation to maintain, Flexiprint’s staff of 220 needs to be able to rely on the technolog y in its plant. Mr. Abey wickrama explained: “We believe Martin roll handling is the best on the market and its MBS and LRD machines allow our Gidue presses to reach their

hesitation recommending Martin Automatic to anyone doing long runs with special substrates – the technology has no learning curve because it is not unnecessarily complex, like some of its competition!”

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Sappi announces Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M ®

®

Innovative barrier substrate addresses migration concerns mineral oil

combines Machine Glazed Bleached Kraft (MGBK) paper with the mineral oil barrier on the reverse side. It is available in 80 g/m² to 120 g/m².

Algro Guard M has been designed for gravure printed primary packaging such as pouches, sachets, bags and wrappers, and is available in 90 g/m² to 140 g/m².

This grade incorporates a blade coating on the top side for gravure printability with the mineral oil barrier on the reverse side.

Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M protect packaged food from mineral oil compounds that are a complex mixture of saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and unsaturated hydrocarbons (MOAH). This new mineral oil barrier functionality protect food for minimum 15 months; and as there is no use of PET or aluminium, it is a sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost effective material.

Sappi Fine Paper Europe is launching Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M barrier paper grades at interpack 2014 - These sustainable and recyclable packaging materials are designed to address concerns about migration of mineral oil into food from packaging that is manufactured from recycled paper.

Food migration issues have arisen as a result of packaging materials containing recycled fibres for which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks contain mineral oil as solvents, as do many commercial printing inks. During the recycling process only 90% of the printing ink components can be removed. If these substrates are used

for food packaging applications, the mineral oil compounds can migrate from the cardboard into the foodstuffs, even when an inner bag is used.

Especially dry and greasy foods such as rice, pasta, cereal and chocolate products are affected.

Developed in partnership with BASF and Eurofins, the innovative flexpack substrate received very positive market feedback following its introduction at Fachpack 2013. Brand owners are now able to use their current recycled fibre based folding boxes, shelf ready packs and transport boxes. The food inside will be protected by inner bags, pouches and sachets made from Sappi mineral oil barrier papers such as: Leine Guard M for inner bags

Efficient and sustainable substrate "The integrated solution of mineral oil barrier functionality combined with excellent heat sealing properties minimise converting process steps and considerably reduce costs in the supply chain." comments René Köhler, Product Group Manager Flexpack Sappi Fine Paper Europe. In addition the integrated and recyclable paper grade solution is providing superior converting properties. Test have shown that the grades offering also a barrier against aroma and grease. As a result, Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M are highly efficient and sustainable mineral oil barrier packaging solutions for the food industry. Sappi Algro® Guard M and Leine® Guard M, will become commercially available beginning of June of 2014.

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MAKING A SUCCESSFUL SWITCH f ro m l et te r p res s to f l exog ra ph i c p r i nt i ng For decades, letterpress printing dominated the label printing sector. Indeed, it has only relatively recently been replaced as the main printing method by flexographic, offset and digital printing. Other printing methods such as screen and rotogravure printing are used primarily for finishing purposes. Although some label printers still use letterpress printing, more and more are switching to flexographic printing, and it won’t be long before the method is finally consigned to history.

The following article looks at the similarities and differences between the two printing methods before going into greater detail about the issues that need to be addressed when switching from letterpress to flexographic printing.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FLEXOGRAPHIC AND LETTERPRESS PRINTING The origins of both the flexographic and letterpress methods lie in relief printing.

In other words, the sections of the printing plate that do the actual printing protrude out from the sections that do not – as on a stamp.

Stamp

In relief printing, the protruding sections of the printing plate take up the printing ink and transfer it to the substrate. Both printing methods – f lexographic and letterpress – also use photopolymer printing plates.

However, while letterpress printing uses very hard photopolymer plates that usually exceed 80° Shore A, f lexographic printing uses much softer photopolymer plates of 70° – 80° Shore A (with a plate thickness of 1.14mm). That is one of the reasons why f lexographic printing can create areas that are more homogeneous and, in particular, transfer much more ink than letterpress printing.

The biggest difference between the two printing methods, however, lies in the way the printing plate is inked up. While cutting-edge f lexographic printing systems comprise only three cylinders, a letterpress printing unit has a much more complex design incorporating numerous inking rollers.

THE PRINCIPLE OF LETTERPRESS PRINTING In letterpress printing, the inking unit features an inking zone adjustment option. This means that ink can be applied to various different extents across the width. For example, more ink can be transferred on the drive side of the press than on the operator side, as befits the print motif.

Ink zones

Before good printing characteristics can be achieved, the ink paste first needs to be transported and distributed by the various rollers. Once the ink has passed through the various rollers, it reaches the protruding sections of the hard printing plate, where it is taken up before being transferred onto the substrate.

1. Inking unit / ink-zone screws 2. Rollers 3. Printing cylinder 4. Adhesive tape 5. Printing plate 6. Impression cylinder 7. Blanket 8. Substrate

Figure: The principle of letterpress printing

Flexographic and letterpress plate

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40 The principle of flexographic printing In flexographic printing, it is primarily the anilox roller that controls how much ink is applied. The anilox roller has a ceramic surface that is engraved with a fine cell structure identical to that of a honeycomb.

The liquid printing ink flows into the cells of the anilox roller and excess is scraped off by a steel squeegee knife. The squeegee ensures that only ink from inside the anilox roller cells is transferred and therefore keeps ink transfer consistent. This results in one of the key advantages of flexographic printing – fluctuations in solid densities are reduced to a minimum during the production process. On coming into contact with the anilox roller, the protruding sections of the flexible printing plate take up around half the ink from inside the cells before transferring it to the substrate.

1. Ink chamber 2. Squeegee knife (steel) 3. Anilox roller (ceramic) 4. Printing cylinder 5. Foam adhesive tape 6. Printing plate 7. Impression cylinder 8. Substrate

Figure: The principle of flexographic printing (ink chamber version)

What needs to be taken into account when switching from letterpress to flexographic printing?

Even though both methods have their origins in relief printing, the principles of letterpress and flexographic printing are still very different. For this reason, it is imperative that beginners in flexographic printing recognise and understand the most important influencing factors in this method, as listed below.

Influencing factors in flexographic printing: - Printing ink - Anilox roller - Printing plate - Adhesive tape - Feed - Prepress THE PRINTING INK UV inks are used on an almost exclusive basis when printing labels with the flexographic method. These inks are cured using UV light and also have the major advantage that the printer doesn’t need to worry about

viscosity or dilution. As with letterpress printing, the original ink is used undiluted and without any additives.

All the same, it can take some time for letterpress printers to get used to thin UV flexographic inks. While viscous letterpress ink is relatively easy to handle, thin UV flexographic inks require a much greater level of care and cleanliness. As a result, flexographic printing involves much more cleaning work than letterpress printing.

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A highly advanced, yet remarkably simplified process The Color Quality Solution begins with loading your defined color targets into the QuadTech® Color Measurement System with SpectralCam™, which then automatically obtains in-line, live spectral data (as well as a variety of other measurements that can impact color quality) at full press speeds. The data is analyzed against your defined color targets.

Any color deviations are automatically captured and reported in ∆E values. If perfect color is not achieved—due to contamination, for instance—a .CxF file is created. This is sent to X-Rite’s Ink Formulation Software (IFS) and necessary ink corrections are generated. A new ink recipe is then quickly and accurately formulated by IFS and digitally sent to your ink dosing system, which prepares the ink.

The QuadTech SpectralCam™ delivers L*a*b* data for precise, cost-effective color management—in the image, in-line, on paper or film substrates.

The Color Quality Solution assures color quality and consistency from your defined color targets through on-press ink formulation recipe changes and ongoing color measurement during the press run. Any color deviations are automatically captured, and can be rectified immediately.

That translates to less downtime, faster makeready, reduced waste and color quality that makes for satisfied customers.

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THE ANILOX ROLLER The anilox roller is one of the key elements in the flexographic printing process and determines the amount of ink that is transferred to the substrate.

One important feature of flexographic printing is that the quantity of ink applied can only be increased or decreased uniformly across the entire print motif and – unlike in letterpress and offset printing – there isn’t a range of different inking zones.

The amount of ink applied is defined in terms of theoretical pick-up volume in cm3/m2, which describes in cm3 the theoretical quantity of ink that would be transferred if printing a solid area measuring 1m2. Standard anilox rollers are available in a range of 2.0 to 12.0 cm3/m2.

Another important parameter is the ruling of an anilox roller. The ruling indicates the number of cells along a length of 1cm on the surface of the roller. Standard anilox rollers are available in a range of 100 to 500 l/cm.

Each flexographic printing unit in a press should be equipped with around 2 - 2.5 differently engraved anilox rollers.

For instance, a 10-colour flexographic printing press should have a range of around 20 – 25 anilox rollers and could be fitted with the following examples:

THE PRINTING PLATE

THE ADHESIVE TAPE

The most widely used type of printing plate in flexographic label printing is the photopolymer plate. Flexographic printing plates are available in various hardnesses, usually in a range of 70°-80° Shore A (with a plate thickness of 1.14mm).

Foam adhesive tapes in a range of hardnesses are used in flexographic label printing. The hardness of the adhesive

The hardness of the printing plate has a decisive influence on the printing result.

Harder plates are more likely to produce a visible pinholing effect in solids, while soft printing plates tend to produce higher dot gain in halftone printing.

The hardness of the adhesive tape

Soft adhesive tape Low forces on the printing plate = reduced squeezing

tape has a significant influence on the printing result and must not under any circumstances be underestimated.

Hard adhesive tape High forces on the printing plate = increased squeezing

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• Adhesive tapes used in flexographic printing are available in a number of different hardnesses.

• The hardness of the adhesive tape impacts directly on solid densities and dot gain in flexographic printing.

FEED Feed in flexographic printing is fundamentally different to feed in letterpress printing. While feed in letterpress printing features significant excess pressure, flexographic printers have to keep feed as low as possible (“kiss” printing). This has a significant influence on the printing result, since excess pressure results in a range of printing problems such as dot squeezes, high dot gain, vibration streaks, over-inked printing plates, etc...

Fundamentally, feed needs to be kept to an absolute minimum at the following points in the flexographic printing unit:

- Feed from the squeegee knife to the anilox roller - Feed from the anilox roller to the printing plate - Feed from the printing plate to the substrate

THE PREPRESS STAGE In flexographic printing, colour intensity can only be increased or reduced over the entire print motif – in other words, there is no zone adjustment option as in letterpress and offset printing. Colour adjustments in four-colour printing can only be made on the press under certain circumstances, which means that the prepress stage and profiling in flexographic printing are hugely important.

To guarantee identical colour results as in letterpress printing, it is essential that profiling is conducted with great care. The procedure is as follows: a) Selecting as few materials as possible (adhesive tape, printing plate, ink, etc.) b) Proof-printing an ICC profile test form under production conditions (“fingerprint”) c) Proof-printing an identical ICC profile test form on the proofing system d) Adapting the printing result from the proofing system to the flexographic printing result

It is critical that the flexographic printer then sticks precisely to the densitometric target values obtained when proof-printing the ICC profile test form. That is the only way to ensure that the proof and the press are identical in terms of colours.

ICC profiling

Test form for profiling and coordinating between press and proof CONCLUSION To complete a smooth transition from letterpress to flexographic printing, print shops need the right know-how and have to ensure they handle the key influencing parameters in flexographic printing properly. Once they have got to grips with the flexographic process, they can enjoy the benefits of the high and very consistent print quality that this relatively simple printing method delivers.

Gallus offers a number of flexographic printing seminars that ensure customers can get off to a flying start with flexographic printing. Please feel free to get

in touch with us. Our specialists will be happy to provide you with further advice. www.gallus-group.com

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Polytype Asia Pacific Opens Its Doors Jeff Rowe, CEO of PAP

The Swiss company introduced the latest line of affordable print systems while welcoming visitors to its newly furbished factory. Sha Jumari reports.

In late March, Polytype Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. (PAP) celebrated the opening of its renovated headquarters in Bangna, Thailand. The event, which spanned over 3 days, saw visitors and customers from around the region.

During the event, visitors were treated to seminars by industry experts and live machine demonstrations.

The star of the show was the Eco-line, a recently launched machine lineup for plastic tube decoration.

When asked to comment on the turnout at the open house, Peter Ruth, global CEO of Wifag-Polytype, was satisfied: “It’s very good, our customers appreciate the range of machines,

products and supplies that we have here. We’re very confident we made a very good representation of our company to our customers.”

PAP was founded in January 2006, and has been a fully functioning representative of all business in the Asia Pacific region. PAP will be focusing on business development, design and manufacturing of machines for the printing and decorating of plastic tubes and cups or containers for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, healthcare, toiletries and F&B industries in Asia.

“Although we are a European company, we export more to other hemispheres than Europe, this is why we have to be close to other markets, such as PAP for the Asian market here. We take the structure and concept in Europe to standardise the machines in Asia to lower the cost, which is what I’d like to call Swiss-quality, globally produced,” Ruth continued.

“With Polytype Asia Pacific, we aim to bring quality, high-precision Swiss machines to Asia,” concurred Jeff Rowe, CEO of PAP. “Within the zones here we have China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, India and Myanmar markets. If I were to include the visitors who are here today, we also have Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. That is the group representation of our market for this factory and our area of distribution. We have sold machines in most of the countries in the region already.”

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46 PAP’s parent company, Wifag-Polytype, is an international development and plant engineering company, whose core expertise and market leadership cover metal packaging and printing on plastic cups and tubes.

Wifag-Polytype has its roots in manufacturing newspaper printing presses, but has since evolved to include complete product lines and consumables to their customers.

“There are three elements to our business. First, we want to be present in global hotspots, such as the Asian market with this facility,” said Ruth, on the global goals of Wifag-Polytype. “We are also selling a complete lineup of machines, not just a printer.

Finally, we focus on providing supply too, be it lubricants, blankets or plates. We want to give customers the complete package; to be a one stop shop.”

On a micro scale, the factory’s location proved to play an important role in helping PAP achieve Swissquality standards at lower local costs.

Within a 200km zone of the factory’s location, there are aeronautical, dye, stainless steel and hardening businesses– industries that are able to provide the quality parts required to build a Swiss-standard machine.

Peter ruth

“With those locally-sourced components and what we bring in from European companies, we can make a very high-quality machine for a worldwide acceptable market. The machines are about 55% local content, and 45% international content, so there is a good balance between the two,“ said Rowe.

Soon enough, all of Polytype’s basic machines would be assembled in Thailand and shipped across to Europe. This move will enable the Europe team to concentrate wholly on high-end development and manufacturing. PAP’s branch also has its own team of designers working on developing new technology and products for the Asian market, setting the factory out to be a well-rounded establishment.

ECO-LINE PAP launched the Eco-line at the open house, a lineup consisting of high performance machines at a more affordable value. The company collaborated with German engineering company, Breyer, to complete the lineup. The Eco-line allows users to extrude and cut plastic tubes, send them directly over to dry offset printing, and have them fixed with shoulders and capped – all at one go. There

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47 sanitation automation introduces.”

The Eco-line system on demonstration at the open house consists of a Breyer extruder, with cutting capacities of up to 120 tubes/min. The extruder then links up to a transportation system, the accumulator, which links up to the RDA T, a dry offset printing machine. A second accumulator continues the lineup to facilitate an uninterrupted flow of output. To end off the setup, the last contraption is the HC 120, a high speed heading, orientated capping and membrane machine for extruded and laminated tubes.

“Our focus here is to bring Swissquality machines into Asia, at a far more affordable price by transferring the technology and high-end automation that’s created for the European and US markets,” Rowe emphasised.

“We simplify those machines, while making sure we maintain absolute quality, before sending them out into the market at a more affordable price.

There is the option of the machines being able to be upgraded, when before the flat price of a Swiss machine was much too expensive.”

is also the flexibility to add a final station to include sealing and filling.

“The Eco-line concept is designed to match the desire and forward focus of Asian companies that are beginning to struggle with producing at the low end cost. Labour costs has grown exponentially,” said Rowe, on the motivation to introduce the Eco-line into the Asian markets. “For example, China used to be the production central for the world, but it’s beginning to lose that ability to be a dominant producer because of rising labour costs. Countries like the US, Japan and Australia, and the European Union have long used fully automatic machines, and as such are producing high quality tubes at competitive rates compared to the ever more expensive China. China and other SEA countries need to reinvest to maintain their competitive advantage along with the improved quality and

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48

In-Mold Label Suite illustrates game-changing potential of digital production Label and packaging printers and converters as well as print buyers should mark their agenda’s for the Xeikon Café on Packaging Innovations, hosted by Xeikon and its Aura Partners (May 20 till 22 in Belgium) Participants will discover how digital production can enhance and transform not only the label and packaging industry, but also their own business. The three dayevent will highlight the complete range of Xeikon's label and packaging application suites: Folding Carton Suite; Self-Adhesive Label Suite; Heat Transfer Label Suite and In-Mold Label Suite.

This release provides more details on the In-Mold Suite and how it overcomes the issues of conventional technologies.

In-mold labeling (IML) is rapidly gaining popularity for the decoration of plastic containers. With in-mold labels the decoration is an integral part of the container, applied during molding and not added on at a later stage in the production process.

While this complicates the production and limits its f lexibility, the result definitely makes up for it with an eye-catching no-label look that stands out on the shelves. Conventional printing technologies struggle to provide an affordable solution for today’s demands for product launches, short runs and personalization.

mented with four supporting components: (1) software, (2) consumables and tools, (3) print media and (4) pre- and post-printing equipment.

Live production of labels for butter tubs and Clics buckets At the event, a Xeikon 3000 Series press equipped with ICE CMYK and opaque white toner will be printing label designs in roll-to-roll mode for thin-walled as well as thick-walled in-mold applications. Michelman primer will be used to precondition the substrates. Running inline with the press will be a MiniUCoat in which the

prints will be coated with a water-based varnish from Actega Terra before being rewound. To prevent the buildup of static charges, the MiniUCoat will be equipped with Meech antistatic bars.

The reel with the varnished prints will be mounted onto an off line Rietstack converting machine that will diecut the labels into their final shape.

“Digital printing of in-mold labels can overcome the issues of conventional technologies and will enable further grow th of the in-mold label market,” says Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s Director of Segment Marketing Labels & Packaging. “Together with our Aura Partners we have developed the In-Mold Label

Suite, an integrated solution that enables you to use digital printing as part of an automated in-mold label production process.”

This configuration will run two applications: a label for a thin-walled container – a butter tub with matching

Like any of Xeikon’s label and packaging application suites, the In-Mold Label Suite consists of a Xeikon 3000 Series press, comple-

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49 cover – printed in CMYK on EUH 70, a cavitated film produced by Treofan; and a label for a thick-walled plastic container – a twoliter bucket for Clicks Toys – printed in CMYK and opaque white on ETR 57, a transparent solid film from Treofan.

There will also be finished products on display, including IML labels converted by in-mold label technolog y from Schrobertechnologies.

In addition, during technical seminars, Aura Partners attending the event will describe their contributions to the In-Mold Label Suite in detail.

tunity to learn from first-hand experience, from a company that has successfully started up digital production of in-mold labels.

If anyone is still looking for a reason to attend, this is it!”

Based in the Netherlands, with also branches in Germany, aL Printing (www.alprinting.com) provides services to customers throughout Europe. Founded in 1938 as a dairy business, aL Printing became a specialist in innovative packaging solutions.

Using digital printing technology since the 1990s, the company decided at the end of 2013 to invest in a new digital platform, opting for a Xeikon 3500 Digital Press.

Meet the customer: aL Printing “Digital in-mold label production is a game-changer. We are therefore extremely pleased that one of our pioneering customers, aL Printing, has agreed to come and provide more details about their move into digital in-mold label production,” comments Weymans. “This Xeikon Café offers visitors the unique oppor-

This choice was determined by several factors. One particular important one is the Xeikon digital printing technology’s fit with in-mold labeling: PET dry toner does not deform during molding and meets FDA standards for indirect food contact as well as being CPSIA compliant. The combination of a 508 mm imaging width and unlimited repeat length supports any size of label and the 1200 dpi resolution combined with four-bit variable-dot density enables matching offset printing quality. aL Printing sees huge potential, especially in the decoration of thick-walled buckets. Many of these are decorated using conventional techniques, such as direct screen printing,

which fail to meet brand owners’ requirements in terms of image quality. The volumes sold of these larger containers are also lower than those of common consumer goods. So, conventional techniques are simply not cost effective for in-mold labeling of this type of packaging.

About the Xeikon Café on Packaging Innovations – easy and free registration The Xeikon Café will take place at Xeikon’s production site in Lier, Belgium. It will run from May 20 till May 22, with basically the same program each day so participants can choose the date that best suits them. Attendance is free but registration is required online at www.xeikoncafe.com.

The Xeikon Café is hosted in collaboration with the following Xeikon Aura Partners, who will all attend the event: 3M, AB Graphic International, ACTEGA Terra, Advanced Track & Trace, Argos Solutions, Bograma, CERM, CHILI Publish, Diamond Photofoil, Grafisk Maskinfabrik, Highcon, Hybrid Software, Iggesund, Kama, Label Traxx, Meech International, Michelman, OneVision, Rietstack, RotoMetrics, Schober Technologies, Siliconature, Stora Enso, Squid Inks, ThermoFlexX, Treofan, Tronics and UPM Raflatac.

Two new Flowline Washers for Equipment Programme nyloprint® Flowline Washer DW 100 and nyloprint® Flowline Washer DWT 65 for processing high-quality photopolymer printing plates

Cut Size : H- 297 mm

Flint Group Flexographic Products continuously develops its equipment portfolio. Now, with the nyloprint® Flowline Washer DW 100 and the nyloprint® Flowline Washer DWT 65, two new devices have been added to the product programme, which offer outstanding productivity and reliability in processing premium quality photopolymer printing plates.

The nyloprint® Flowline Washer DWT 65 has been designed as a compact, tankless flowline system for processing water washable printing plates, where washout, rinsing, drying and UV-A post exposure are all made automatically in line. The combination is suitable for processing printing plates up to a maximum width of 650 mm (25.6”).

With the new nyloprint® Flowline Washer DW 100 a compact tankless flowline washer has been introduced into the market, which can be used to

Tel: (+91-11) - 40574500 - 05 Fax: (+91-11) - 40574506 - 07

Cut Size : W- 52 mm

process printing plates up to a maximum width of 1000 mm (39.4”). This device is perfectly suitable in combination with the nyloprint® Combi 96x120 ED, a premium system for main exposure, drying and post exposure of photopolymer letterpress plates and especially appropriate for security printers.

Both washers are equipped with direct water supply to minimise the level of contamination in the washout section, thus reducing downtimes due to maintenance cleaning. Consistently good processing properties enable top notch product quality. Additional advantages are the excellent functional safety and a long service life. The water temperature will be indicated and the flow speed controlled during the complete process. The excellent construction quality makes the system reliable and productive – advantages, that help the user to save costs and valuable time.

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Fit for difference.

Make a difference and focus on innovation.

Regardless whether you occupy attractive niches in the area of offset printing or want to enter the digital printing business – Muller Martini’s systems can be adapted flexibly to your individual needs. Our finishing know-how, sophisticated Visit hall 14, booth C21 for your personal fitness program 3.5. – 16.5.2012, Düsseldorf

markets. Focus on your uniqueness and rely on the highest level of investment

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protection. Muller Martini – your strong partner.

technology and extensive MMServices help you become ready to enter new

Muller Martini (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Telefon: +65 6276 0656 Fax: +65 6276 3475, www.mullermartini.com/sg Muller Martini (Hong Kong) Limited, Telefon: +852-2877 8820 Fax: +852-2877 8128, www.mullermartini.com/hk

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MOVING TOWARDS GREEN GROWTH An increasing number of countries in Asia are transforming their economies toward a more sustainable model due to climate change and accelerated environmental damage. Sha Jumari reports.

In a world where the progress of a nation is measured by a country’s GDP, the state of the environment often takes a toll. In favour of economic progress, many countries across the world do not take into account the consequences of environmental issues such as air and water pollution, energy use and natural resource depletion.

Southeast Asia is estimated to be the most vulnerable to the climate changes, as a consequence of rapid carbonintensive growth. An IEA research in 2009 estimated that Asia accounts for 27% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, and the share is highly likely to increase to 44% by 2030.

In light of increased awareness and recent environmental calamities, more countries are making commitments to a green growth economy.

The concept of green growth is the means by which the current economy can make the transition to a sustainable one while reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, minimising waste and inefficient use of natural resources.

“Governments understand the effect urbanisation has on the environment. We see it almost everyday as

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53 Although green programmes exist, the adoption rate is still not as fast as it needs to be. Despite his optimistic observations, Ng agreed that there is still a lot of work to be done: “It’s a sad fact that eco-printing is still not as widely utilised.”

well, in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, where the pollution index is very high. There is a concerted effort now by the government, compared to say, 10 years ago,” said Nicholas Ng, regional manager for graphics solutions, HP Asia Pacific and Japan.

At the forefront of green growth are the economies of Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. Since 1970, these countries have successfully made the transition from being least developed to fast growing economies, suggesting that developmental efforts that facilitate environmentally-sustainable growth is possible.

It appears that these countries are leading the way for emerging markets around the region. In March 2014, Japanese companies started pitching advanced environmental technologies in emerging Asia, where economic expansion and population growth are sharply boosting demand for all things green.

At the same time, Vietnam had developed a National Green Growth Strategy to help improve people’s living standards and accelerate the process of economic restructuring in a sustainable manner.

“Surprisingly in Manila, they even have one day called ‘Strawless Day’ where you can’t find straws on one day of the week. They also have this campaign in Makati, one of the bigger cities, where they are also going on a green drive to have lesser usage of plastic. I think it is getting there,” Ng continued.

Print Goes Green Fundamentally, printing is not an environmentally-friendly industry, from the amount of paper used, to the use of solvents and consumables.

Since green growth meant that adopting sustainable practices can maintain economic development, ecofriendly printing is fortunately not only becoming a norm, but sought after.

Big players in print, such as HP, Canon and Fuji Xerox, already have comprehensive environmental initiatives. Ng pointed out that there is a definite trend in corporate buyers and advertisers requesting specifically for printing that is not only VOC-free, but PVC-free as well.

“One of the major retailers actually requested for PVC-free and VOCfree printing for recent campaigns. A main reason was for safety. In case of a fire, the printed material does not combust as easily as the ones printed with VOC or plastic. When those materials get burnt, the toxic fumes that are released are extremely harmful.

Materials printed with PVC-free, or latex ink, do not release these harmful chemicals. So there’s actually also a business aspect to their choice,” Ng continued.

The main reason? Costs. Ultimately, a substantial amount of investment is required to implement green technologies. Ng, however, implored printers, to take on a macro view on the overall costs of adopting print technologies.

“The overall cost of using latex printing is actually on par, if not lower.

Compared to a solvent printing, the turnaround time is lower and there is less manpower required to maintain it,” Ng said, using HP’s prolific waterbased latex ink technology as an example.

It all boils down to communication and customer education instead: “Let’s put it another way. If the print buyer or advertiser is aware that with just a little bit more, they can get printed outputs that is green and not harmful for the environment, and can still reinforce their corporate image, do you think they would go for the green printing? Perhaps that’s the message that has yet to be brought up to the print buyer, and needs to be communicated enough.”

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VILA ETIKETTEN gai ns competitive edge and ente r s new ma r kets w ith HP I ndigo WS6 0 0 0 and WS66 0 0 D ig ital Presses It’s no accident that “speed” tops the l i s t of V i l a Eti ket ten’s g u id i ng watchwo rds: speed, powe r, d ive r s it y, q ua l it y and se r vice.

A s a l a be l co nve r te r p rod uci n g m o re th a n 8 0 0 o rd e r s a week w ith a p ro m i sed seven - d a y o r l es s d e l i ve r y t i m e, V i l a h a n d l es eve r y th i n g f ro m o rd e r es t i m at i o n a n d p r i nt i n g to f i n i s h i n g a n d d e l i ve r y w ith m a x i m u m s peed a n d ef f i ci en cy. Si n ce 2 0 0 5, d i g ita l p r i nt i n g w ith H P I n d i g o so l ut i o n s h a s b een a m a j o r i n g red i ent i n th e co m pa ny’s reci pe fo r s ucces s.

AT A GLANCE Industry: Labels and Packaging Business name: Vila Etiketten Headquarters: Breda, Netherlands Website: www.vila.nl

CHALLENGE • Increase digital capacity for a wide range of label jobs and achieve fast turnaround times.

• Produce a wide range of label jobs of varying sizes more cost-effectively.

• Keep up with market changes and maintain steady business growth.

• Expand into new markets to support ongoing growth goals.

SOLUTION

RESULTS

• Two HP Indigo WS6000 series presses, both equipped with an Inline Priming Unit (ILP), to boost digital printing capacity and media flexibility, and support longer runs.

• With HP Indigo digital printing and expanded capacity due to recent press acquisitions, digital turnover has increased 500 per cent since 2005, accounting for a major portion of company growth; 60 per cent of Vila’s revenues today come from digital printing.

• HP Indigo press ws4050 for productive printing of short runs.

• HP SmartPlanner connected with inhouse estimation program, to automate job estimation and order creation.

• HPSmartStreamLabelsand Packaging Print Server, powered by Esko.

• HPSmartStreamLabelsand Packaging VDP Tools, powered by Esko, for variable data printing.

• WiththeInlinePrimingUnit, Vila no longer uses pre-coated materials, enabling it to pass cost savings on to customers while maintaining the same margins.

• Abilitytoprintonall80ofitsfoil printing materials enables Vila to better meet its customers’ requirements for full-colour, fastturnaround printing on varied substrates.

• Expandedmediaflexibility is opening the way to new fast-growing markets, including flexible packaging.

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55 Vila’s diverse customers – including healthcare, cosmetics and food companies, book and music publishers, and packaging resellers – know they can rely on Vila for responsive service.

“Our philosophy is ‘what you can produce and deliver today won’t wait until tomorrow’, and that’s what we do every day,” says Vila co-owner Robbert Vugts. “We believe you get work by being one of the fastest deliverers. That’s how we grow each year.”

Founded in 1993 as a thermal transfer label printer, the company soon added hot foil printing and built a solid business in this segment. Stocking 80-100 different colours of foil, Vila delivers a wider variety of hot foil labels than most of its competitors and delivers them faster – often within a few days.

GROWING DEMAND DRIVES MULTIPLE HP INDIGO INVESTMENTS In the early 2000’s, Vila moved into digital printing by outsourcing the work to another printing company. By 2005, 25 per cent of Vila’s business was going to digital, and it was time to bring the digital orders in-house.

“Having two HP Indigo WS6000 Presses running with an inline priming unit is by far the best decision we’ve made because now the possibilities are enormous. We can print on every substrate you can imagine, and it opens new markets to us.”

– Robbert Vugts, co-owner, Vila Etiketten

Vila invested in its first digital system, the HP Indigo press ws4050, in 2007. A couple of years later, with demand outstripping capacity, Vila added an HP Indigo press ws4500. The pattern has since repeated several times, prompting Vila to add an HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press, and then, in 2012, to exchange its ws4500 for a topof-the-line HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press. At the same time, Vila upgraded its WS6000 with the capabilities of an HP Indigo WS6600 and installed an Inline Priming Unit (ILP) on each of the presses.

Vugts cites the seven-colour process and white printing capabilities as the main reasons that Vila has repeatedly invested in HP Indigo systems. “HP’s investment in technology is another advantage; it has professionals who can help find a solution for almost anything,” says Vugts.

DOING MORE, FASTER Vila’s main goal when adding the WS6000 series presses was to gain speed and capacity. “Once we bought the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press, our capacity leapt forward. The WS6000 series can print almost twice as fast as the ws4000 series so we could start taking on much larger volumes of work,” recalls Vugts. “The efficiency of the entire automated workflow around the HP Indigo Digital Presses, including Esko components, allows us to handle 800 orders a week and even more.”

With the capability to produce long-run variable data jobs, Vila can now take on a wide variety of large and complex jobs. For example, Vila recently produced a run of 50,000 labels that were each made up of 21 smaller labels of varying shapes with a unique QR code and ID number. It took Vila just one day to complete the job – a total of about 1 million individual labels – on one of its HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Presses.

INLINE PRIMING OPENS NEW OPPORTUNITIES The ILP installed on both of HP Indigo WS6000 Series Presses dramatically improves Vila’s flex-

ibility and competitiveness. Vila can print digitally on the full range of its foil media stock and on many other uncoated materials. “Now I can offer exactly what the customer wants instead of a material that is merely ‘close’,” says Vugts. He lists silk labels for mattresses, freezer-safe self-adhesives and hot melt adhesives as examples.

“It’s faster, and therefore cheaper, to prime materials ourselves using the ILP, so we can reduce our price to customers and still keep our margins,” says Vugts. Vila is still updating its estimation system, but Vugts expects to see the prices to customers drop about two to three per cent for jobs printed on the HP Indigo WS6000 Series Presses.

The added media flexibility is opening a new market to Vila–flexible packaging. “We are testing a new flexible PET PE packaging material using the ILP. Before, I would have had to say ‘no’ to this customer, but now I can help him,” says Vugts, who sees great potential in this market. “The label market will be more competitive in the coming years, so if we can build up flexible packaging, then we can continue to meet our goal to grow 10 per cent or more each year.”

LESS IS MORE FOR BRAND OWNERS Growing digital awareness among brand owners is also helping driving Vila’s digital growth.

Vugts explains: “They understand about variable data printing and design change possibilities, but for them, the biggest advantage of digital printing is that they don’t have to keep large stocks of printed labels. They can order a lot of varieties at the same time but in smaller quantities and have it delivered within a few days.”

POSITIVE OUTLOOK PRINTING WITH HP

FOR

DIGITAL

For Vila, this will be the continuation of a steady trend. Since 2005, Vila’s business has doubled, and the digital portion has grown to represent 60 per cent of its annual turnover – a 500 per cent increase. Hot foil accounts for about 30 per cent of business, with the rest being mainly thermal transfer and flexo. Vugts says he sees digital becoming an even larger part of Vila’s business in the coming years, with new HP Indigo presses making digital printing viable for longer runs and larger formats.

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The Label Says it All Security logistics labels from Schreiner ProTech showcase the label industry's expertise in product authentication - FINAT, Europe’s international industry association for selfadhesive labels, is active in promoting the achievements of its members, many of whom are label converters, through its annual label competition, whose winning entries go forward for judging in the prestigious World Label Awards. Both competitions demonstrate the versatility, f lexibility, and technical skills that print on to self-adhesive labelstock can deliver. One area where self-adhesive labels have, in recent years, proved particularly adept is in the creation of security labels to help brand owners to provide authentication data for their products, and foil the perpetrators of today’s huge global business in counterfeit goods and ‘grey market’ trading.

The world ’s biggest brand Global sales of fake goods are now estimated at $650bn per annum, making 'counterfeit’ the world ’s biggest brand. As well as threatening the welfare of purchasers, fake goods negatively affect customer brand loyalty and, of course, the brand owner’s profitability.

A winning example A fine example of an effective security logistics label from Schreiner Group’s ProTech division has been honoured in the 2013 World Label Awards competition. Proclaimed the winner in the technical category covering combination line print, the Schreiner security logistics label features a complex package of overt, covert, and digital security features. It demonstrates ‘ best practice’ in leading-edge layered security solutions for high-value and sensitive goods -- in this case, critical OEM automotive spare parts – and it has already found commercial success for authenticating BMW spares.

Why use a label?

Labels are the preferred carrier of security features of all kinds, since they provide an accessible substrate which may be checked for authenticity in a number of ways. With self-adhesive labels in particular, the opportunities

to build covert security features into or under the label face, or in the adhesive, are diverse.

Three levels of security The three major areas of focus are the provision of devices for visual authentication (with the naked eye, or with a scanner of some kind); secure tracking systems (creating a continuum through the supply and distribution chain); and anti-counterfeiting technologies – often bespoke -- that are difficult, or impossible, to replicate. Such devices may be overt or covert, to provide the broadest possible umbrella of protection for everything from ethical pharmaceuticals to legal documents, designer handbags, automotive parts, prepared foods and their ingredients, toys, and computer software. They can involve the use of the label substrate itself (eg with security watermarks), inks and coatings, Data Matrix codes, holography, and even chemi-

The New Rotamag QR S2 AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

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SPEED MACHINE Extremely fast make-ready Super-fast harmonic

register control Super-ideal label press for small to medium size printers

Rotary’s brand-new Rotomag QR S2 is designed for easy operation and available in 250mm, 340mm, 450mm, 520mm – up to 1m wide.

It has a servo tension control system with an all-function re-lam; de-lam; UV; IR; foil (hot & cold) and turnbar, which are all standard features for a 10 or 12-colour unit. It is easy to use and simple to operate.

The New Rotomag QR S2

Need a cost effective option for Finishing?

Rotary offers a range of Digital finishing equipment, including two servo-driven flexo units for overprinting; foiling; complete finishing; as well as sheeting after printed material comes of an HP Indigo or Xeikon digital press.

It’s available in different widths and can be built to suit your requirements.

It offers laminating and other features such as inserting an RFID chip or booklet if required.

New All-in-one Digital Finisher

We customise and design to suit your needs.

For sales information and enquiries, please contact Peter Jessop on +61 (0)418 475 045 21 Bullecourt Avenue, Milperra NSW 2214 Australia • Phone (61) 02 9792 4444 • Fax (61) 02 9774 2317 • Email: sales@rotaryeng.com.au • www.rotaryeng.com.au

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cal taggants and microtaggants -- including DNA -- which are detectable only with dedicated specialist scanners.

The key to success in the real world The Schreiner ProTech security logistic label ’s specification brings together a complex cocktail of such features – some of which require professional authentication, and all of which need brand owner involvement in developing and using their company’s own security labelling system. As Thomas Völcker, Director, Business Development and Marketing at Schreiner ProSecure, explains: ‘Security is not just a matter of technolog y today. It’s a matter of educating the people who have to authenticate the product.’

demetallized holographic stripes which produce different (and identifiable) optical effects when they are viewed from different angles.

Visible tamper evidence Such education will begin with checking entry-level packaging features like security seals, which will readily provide tamper evidence without the use of any tools except the naked eye.

Security inks deliver additional features. Thermochromic inks, which change colour at different temperatures, fade to show a ‘genuine’ message when the labelled pack is at body temperature. UV luminescent inks produce a hidden text line and other marks when viewed under a black light. Additionally, a high-resolution random pattern, printed from an extra-high-resolution digital master, is printed on the label to enable authenticators to detect label copying. Anyone copying the pattern illegally will achieve less precision and technical detail in the image, since it is being copied from previous printed matter and not from the digital master. (It will in fact be slightly blurred). A simple scan with a handheld device or even a smartphone and will uncover this blurring and identif y the fake.

Covert features At the second level of security, covert features are added to the Schreiner security logistics label via the printing process, including two- and three-dimensional

Track-and-trace functionality Finally, a unique track-and-trace security product batch code is added to verif y the integrity of the logistics chain. As with all advanced authentication label-

ling solutions, customer-specific features can be added to order – and Schreiner ProSecure offers many additional options.

Foiling the fraudsters is now a major concern on high-value goods such as automotive spares, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and on wines and spirits. Multi-layer security labels from FINAT member companies such as Schreiner ProTech are contributing significantly to reducing the damage for both purchasers and brand owners.

Schreiner Group were also victorious in the Innovation category in the 2013 FINAT Label Competition with their Electric Conductive Films – produced using advanced printing and diecutting techniques, and used in electrical and electronic applications such as membrane touch switches and other conductive functions.

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Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division Partners with Koch Industries Subsidiary to acquire Flint Group from CVC Capital Partners Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division announced today that it has partnered with Koch Equity Development LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., to acquire shares representing 100% of Flint Group’s share capital from funds advised by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. Koch Equity Development has agreed to invest with Goldman Sachs in a newly formed entity that will acquire Flint Group.

by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking and Koch is a clear vote of confidence in our vision, strategic plans, and ‘can do’ culture. Flint Group’s fundamental dedication to safety, sustainability, integrity and compliance will continue to form the foundation of all of our business activities.”

Martin Hintze, Co-head of Corporate Equity Investing in Europe of Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division says: “The acquisition of Flint Group fits well into our strategy of investing in leading global franchises and growing them organically and through acquisitions. We look forward to working in partnership with Koch Equity Development and Flint Group’s strong management team to execute on their strategy.”

Flint Group is a leading global supplier of inks and other print consumables such as flexographic printing plates, blankets, image transfer products and chemicals for press rooms, to the packaging and the print media industries. The company has a global footprint and is the number one or number two supplier in most of the market segments it serves. Flint Group operates 137 sites in 40 countries and employs some 6,600 people.

“The management team of Flint Group is excited about this planned new ownership, and the opportunities this now presents,” says Antoine Fady, CEO of Flint Group. “The investment

“We believe Flint Group is uniquely positioned to capture growth in its attractive printed packaging markets while at the same time continuing to benefit from strong and resilient performance of its print media business. With a significantly improved capital structure, Flint Group is best positioned to pursue its ambitious growth plans to further strengthen its market leading positions,” adds Matthias Hieber, Head of Corporate Equity Investing in the German Speaking Region of Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division.

“Flint Group is an exciting opportunity for Koch Equity Development,” says Brett Watson, managing director of Koch Equity Development. He adds,

“Flint Group is a global leader with a clear strategy and a management team that has a consistent record of delivering results.”

“Partnering with top-tier firms like Goldman Sachs and investing in competitively advantaged businesses with high quality management teams is consistent with Koch’s investment strategy,” adds Matt Flamini, president of Koch Equity Development. “We look forward to working with Goldman Sachs and Flint Group to assist the company in transitioning to its next phase of growth.”

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Koch Equity Development will support the strategy developed by the Flint Group’s management team as it pursues a targeted business mix evolution towards the more attractive and higher growth printed packaging market while maintaining Flint Group’s strong position in the resilient print media business.

Chris Wildmoser, Partner of CVC, notes that “For almost 10 years, CVC has helped to build Flint Group through a series of acquisitions into the global leader it is today. We are pleased that, with Goldman Sachs and Koch Equity Development, we have found new owners who will continue to pursue this strategy in further developing the company."

Mr. Fady concludes that “the transition will be seamless for Flint Group’s customers, employees and suppliers.

Flint Group’s vision to be the print consumable supplier of choice to the global packaging and printing industries will remain firmly in place.

With its unique product portfolio and market-focused approach, Flint Group will continue to provide exceptional value to customers around the world.”

This sale remains subject to customary closing conditions and should be completed by the second half of 2014.

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ECO -FR I EN DLY Pack ag i ng Solut ions

Headline the 9th Hong Kong Printing and Packaging Fair The annual exhibition returns to highlight sustainable packaging solutions for the print and packaging industry.

Luxury packaging and 3D printing technology are also expected to draw in visitors.

Sha Jumari reports.

The Hong Kong Printing and Packaging Fair celebrates its 9th edition this year. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and CIEC Exhibition Company (HK) Limited, the exhibition will be held from 27 to 30 April 2014, at the Asia-World Expo.

Focusing on being a one-stop solutions shop for the print and packag-

ing industry, the fair will be anticipating over 360 exhibitors this year.

Eco-friendly packaging is expected to be a major draw, as last year’s fair survey indicated that environmentally friendly and sustainable practices will continue. Amongst the suppliers, there is mounting interest in ecofriendly manufacturing equipment,

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63 energy-saving products and green packaging. The exhibition’s Green Printing & Packaging Solutions zone will provide methods of reducing packaging waste such as the introduction of biodegradable materials, lighter packaging and reusable containers.

Another exhibition attraction is the De Luxe Zone, which features packaging products and materials and printing services for the luxury goods industry. This year’s zone will be presenting a seminar on smart luxury packaging designs of merchandises that aims to provide valuable resources on upgrading brand image at a minimal cost. The luxury market in Asia is booming, with Japan and Mainland China having the largest luxury goods market in the world.

3D printing technology will take centre stage at the Digital Printing Equipment zone. In a survey conducted at HKTDC’s autumn electronics fair, more than half of the respondents found the market poten-

tial of 3D printers to be promising in the near future. An increasing demand of rapid-prototyping machines in various industries such as electronics, toys, jewellery and watches was also noted.

Food & Beverage Packaging Solutions will respond to growing concerns of the level of toxic constituents in food packaging. The zone will place emphasis on providing a variety of films made of popular materials such as OPP, BOPP, PET and other flexible packaging to improve convenience and safety.

Other zones include Printing Services, Packaging Services, Food & Beverage Packaging Solutions, Printing Consumables & Packaging Materials, Printing & Packaging Equipment and Integrated Packaging Solutions. The fair is held concurrently with the 29th HKTDC Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Fair, the largest of its kind in the world.

Exhibitors can expect to meet with end-users of different industries,

advertising companies, production houses, print and packaging service companies, brand owners, designers, retailers and corporate end-users.

An established trading hub, Hong Kong’s total export of printed matter reached US$2.4 billion in 2013, up 4.9% year-on-year. Packing materials increased even more significantly by 16.7%, while the largest market Chinese mainland had a robust growth of 23.9%.

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HEATPROOF label series HP-CBR label product can withstand high temperatures of up 1200ºC and be variable data printed in-house

Lintec Graphic Films, supplier of specialist pressure-sensitive coated film products for durable label applications, has extended its HEATPROOF label series. The launch of HPCBR – a exteme high temperature label product that can withstand temperatures of up to an impressive 1200ºC and be variable data printed on-site – further addresses a number of challenges faced by the ceramic, glass and metal production industries.

Poor identification of metal, ceramic and glass leads to costly and time consuming corrective procedures, and there is a growing demand from across the production industry for a highly resilient solution to label damage caused by extreme temperatures, chemical exposure and harsh weather conditions. Such problems undermine everyday production efficiencies, including mixed batch numbers, liability issues, lost inventory via tracking problems, identification after cooling, outdoor storage and shipping difficulties.

“The identification of the goods in the manufacturing of machinery – such as industrial baking trays and motor vehicle parts – is paramount for production companies and of course, their customers,” explains Andy Voss, Managing Director of Lintec Graphic Films.

“We’re always striving to be at the vanguard of innovation, and there was a great demand from our customers for a label that could not only withstand temperatures of up 1200ºC, but one that could be supplied as blank label, printed on-site and applied with minimal fuss.”

Whether a bar, serial or QR code, the preprinted HP-CBR is a chemical proof, highly scratch resistant label that can effectively endure the harsh environments created during the manufacturing process. Capable of being produced in-house, the label enables the stock management team to print labels in real

time in the factory via thermal transfer and then easily apply the self-adhesive product – removing the need for special heat activated adhesive.

Enhancing time and cost efficiencies, HPCBR also provides close control over heat treatment process management for electric parts, heat generating processing for glass products and the homogenising of aluminium ingots.

The HP-CBR label is composed of an organic/inorganic complex with highly modified acrylic adhesive and backed with a paper release liner. Lintec Graphic Films’ innovative HEATPROOF series is globally renowned for its high temperature and chemical resistance, excellent printability of up 600dpi, its robust durability within interior and exterior conditions and importantly, its cost-effectiveness.

Voss concludes: “Significantly, the HP-CBR can also be produced via variable data printing in-house, providing absolute control for those in the front line responsible and ultimately reducing liability for lost, late and faulty stock. It provides automatic tracking and management of materials throughout the supply chain, improving efficiency and safety – gifting production companies with the peace of mind to focus on the other important areas of their business.”

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3D’s

Place in Print Across all industries, 3D printing introduces a whole host of new possibilities.

Has 3D infiltrated viably in the print world?

Sha Jumari finds out how 3D can be a viable technology for the print world.

The hottest topic in town? 3D Printing.

After the Singapore government pledged $500 million to go into the Future of Manufacturing (FoM) programme, 3D printing is the new buzzword in town.

According to research report World 3D Printing to 2017, the global 3D printing market demand is expected to increase more than 20% a year to $5 billion within three short years.

3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing. Essentially, it is a layering technology that is able to create an object in three-dimensional from a digital data

model. Layers of material are deposited consecutively in order to build up to a shape. 3D print operators are quick to dismiss additive manufacturing as part of the print industry.

“3D printing is not like paper printing. It may be called printing, but it’s really not from the same world. The idea is that it lets you quickly fabricate things. The closest analogy to the print industry is the photo printer. A photo printer is a very specific machine that prints photos. Similarly, a 3D printer is a very specific machine that prints parts,” explained Benoit

Valin, founder of 3D printing company, Prototype Asia.

That has not stopped Sim Boon Keng, owner of Botak Sign Pte Ltd from delving into 3D printing: “I purchased the Makerbot machine four years ago, partly for fun, and also for R&D purposes. This was way before the government announced its plans for 3D printing. I see 3D printing as the future of this company.”

3D printing may have started out as a hobby for Sim, but it has since evolved. He has been experimenting with 3D printing

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and seeking ways to make it work for his Singapore-based business, citing declining print numbers as a main motivation.

Sim is in the large format printing industry.

“In our line of business, we use inkjet.

Inkjet is one of the best technologies for 3D printing, and that is how I began exploring it. There is so much potential in 3D. A lot of people think that 3D printing is only limited to the prototyping and R&D industries, but this is not true at all.

Prototyping is in fact a very traditional way of using 3D printing. I’ve not seen many industries successfully incorporate 3D printing, except for dentistry,” said Sim. One of the more popular uses of 3D printing is in the packaging industry. 3D printing allows printers to present their clients with a realistic prototype faster and more economically. Clients can easily adjust the packaging via digital means, as opposed to the more arduous method of injection moulding, which would require expensive production molds too.

Sim has other plans for 3D printing, and he’s optimistic that he can use it to further his business. Sim saw its potential first hand, having used 3D printing services before. His patented display system, the B-Lock, was created using 3D printing that he outsourced in China, back when

he was not as familiar with the technology. Although he remains tight-lipped on the exact nature of his current 3D printing venture, he did reveal that he is actively looking for partners to develop a programme that can print embossed, rounded surfaces in 3D. “At this point, I’m looking for partners and investors to develop a software that can merge the technology of 3D Max and Maya. Specifically, a software that can create rounded surfaces at one go. For now, such embossed surfaces require you to manually shape each 3D layer, and each layer is a tedious process requiring very precise calculations. To have a software that allows you to enter all the data at a go, and have it printed out the surface immediately, that is the goal,” implored Sim. Lack of funds has not made the R&D process smooth sailing for Sim. 3D printing is a costly undertaking, especially when it is uncertain if he will be able to reap enough benefits. One of the most crucial factors Sim needs to take into account is in having skilled staff that will be able to operate 3D print processes.

“3D printing is a new technology that requires constant re-training. It is an expensive business that requires heavy investments. You don’t just need a 3D printer; you need a 3D scanner, software, people who can operate it. At this stage of 3D printing infancy, there are still a lot of

changes in technology, and you need to constantly re-train staff and update them on the new advancements. Otherwise you can’t change along with it and get left behind,” said Sim. The role of additive manufacturing for mass adoption for viability remains ambiguous across all industries. While most print service providers have shelved 3D printing as irrelevant for now, Sim’s risktaking demeanor is commendable. The all-important question had to be posed: who will ultimately be your customers?

“I still don’t know yet!” Sim quipped. ”Maybe my existing customers, but I will need to educate them on 3D printing first, which will take time. Typically, the software we use now is Photoshop, but 3D printing requires a different software. If our existing customers cannot adapt and change software, or if they cannot afford to change, then we will need to change our customer base,” he projected.

Having been in the 3D print industry for four years now, Valin imparted this piece of advice: “Asia is too small a market, if you just focus on 3D printing it’s hard to be sustainable. 60% of the time our 3D printers are not in use, so we sell services.

You need to create value-added services, such as content creation. For Prototype Asia, our niche focus on engineering and our product design service is what keeps us afloat in this industry.”

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SUSTAINABILITY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE PAPER TISSUE VALUE CHAIN Industr y’s continued ambition is to drive sustainable hygiene and human health

Industry veteran Roberto Berardi of the European Tissue Symposium explains how the sector is taking steps to stay ahead of the curve in meeting the challenges of sustainability

When you work in an industry that relies on forests for its base material then you naturally think long term. Business sustainability is a way of life in the European tissue industry where trees can have a growing cycle of up to 50 years. Europe has some of the most advanced forestry management systems in the world and performs well against a range of sustainability criteria. The goal of the tissue industry is to not only drive the adoption of ever-greater sustainability practices within our own sector, but to be an integral part of driving sustainable hygiene and human health throughout Europe.

Sustainability must become a way of life.

Before elaborating on some of the initiatives the industry is taking I should clearly define the concept of ‘sustainable business’. Sustainability is often described as having three pillars: social, environmental and economic. I agree of course but my preferred definition is one I learned in a seminar at Harvard Business School a few years ago where Sustainability was defined as Leadership and Responsibility. A business must set its direction placing the principles of sustainability at its very heart: its purpose, mission, strategy, goals, values and responsibilities. It must then create a corporate context and culture in which its actions are economically, legally and ethically sound.

By meeting each of these three criteria in all of its business actions an organisation can legitimately claim to be sustainable. And indeed as we have already seen, ethical requirements frequently become legal requirements over time as societal opinion moves to embrace a more sustainable approach to the way we do business.

This is ultimately in agreement with the Brundtland Commission’s mission to unite countries to pursue sustainable development together. Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

So how is the European Tissue industry shaping up?

The sector is working continuously to increase its sustainability across a host of different areas including recycling, recovery, transport, water and workplace safety. There are some well-established initiatives and also some exciting new projects being developed and likely to herald the future direction for the sector.

Forest certification – a crucial development in demonstrating our sustainable credentials We are immensely proud of our most recent initiative in the area of Forest Certification.

This is a crucial development for the sector and offers reassurance to our customers and consumers while also lending further credibility to the sector.

ETS supports the use of fibres from sustainably and legally managed forests and encourages the use of third party certification as one of the best ways to ensure that suppliers meet these requirements. We do not favour any single scheme but support the various international and national Forest Certification schemes that offer third party verification or certification of compliance.

Customers have welcomed the certification of fibres and we are committed to supporting the sustainable management of forests based on responsible forest management, social responsibility and economic viability.

We also encourage the development of standards, performance measures, and continual improvement in best practices for forest ecosystems.

We use the definition of ‘Sustainable Forest Management’ agreed at the Second Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, held in Helsinki in 1993: “The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way and at a rate that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other eco-systems.”

ETS has particularly welcomed the new EU Timber Regulation which came into force in

2013 and ensures that only products from legally sourced wood are sold across the EU28.

The members of ETS have for some years committed to using only fibres from legal and sustainable sources.

Exploring opportunities in recycling and recovery Europe leads the world in paper recycling with levels at over 70% in 20121– up from 40% in 1995. While paper consumption levels are the same today as in 1998, recycling levels are 150% higher. In Europe, a paper fibre is collected and recycled on average 3.5 times, compared with just 2.4 times worldwide. ETS are members of the European Recovered Paper Council, committed to meet a voluntary recycling target of 70% in the EU +Switzerland and Norway by 2015 – a level already achieved today and higher than any other region in the world.

I should stress though that Lifecycle analysis studies (LCA) show sustainable tissue products can be produced with both recovered and new fibres and that each has its benefits and shortcomings. Experts have carried out carbon footprint studies on toilet tissue that prove that the decision to use either fibre type does not significantly alter the carbon footprint and that neither fibre type can be considered environmentally preferable when considering carbon emissions.2 Total environmental impacts depend on a number of factors including location of the mill, closeness of available fibres, energy options and production waste utilisation and these should be reviewed on a case by case basis. It is for this reason that we advocate a total lifecycle approach to understand the environmental impact of our products. We are not in favour of carbon footprint labelling for our products as it measures just one environmental impact and so can be potentially

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misleading for consumers. However we are following with great interest the EU project to establish Product and Organisation environmental footprints as these should encompass all the environment impacts and overcome the weakness in carbon footprinting.

Thanks to sophisticated new technologies the tissue industry increasingly uses recycled fibres in products without compromising on softness, strength and absorbency. Companies are innovating using recycled fibres or environmentally friendly fibres from plants that grow well and are able to offer products that are similar to virgin fibre ones.

The very latest development is that industry leaders are actively exploring opportunities to recycle paper towels. Research is ongoing but could lead to some exciting breakthroughs for our industry in contributing to Europe’s status as paper recycling world champion.

Driving waste minimization The most effective way to recover used materials is to not generate waste in the first place. A great deal of work is being undertaken in paper mills across Europe to minimize wastage - in the production processes, in the cutting of the paper, and in the way machinery and forklifts are used. Efforts seek to minimise damage and hence wastage in the handling of tissue products and the industry is also developing more absorbent products which hence reduce usage.

Conservation of water is a key global concern and companies in the tissue sector increasingly operate fully closed production loops to reuse water – although they have to evaluate whether this is the most cost-efficient option in the more water abundant countries of northern Europe.

Upholding sustainability in the workplace

tion already with wind turbines being cited in forests on the tops of hills where they are away from people and in low-yield locations.

Safety in the workplace is a fundamental prerequisite of sustainability - and a legal and ethical obligation. Upholding optimal safety is rooted in respect and if employees believe that management is placing safety as a number one priority then they will be motivated and work well. The result is a virtuous circle for a company’s prosperity. The implementation of values and practices that guarantee optimal safety standards is rooted in the psyche of not just the tissue industry but of its main suppliers too and we are proud of the safety standards that we uphold.

My dream of course is that future innovations will provide the planet with unlimited quantities of low cost, low impact energy.

This would enable us to develop the ideal toilet roll: soft, absorbent, resistant, very long, pleasantly decorated, made with recycled fibres and at a price that is accessible to the vast majority of people.

So what’s next for the tissue sector?

Trade customers and consumers are increasingly aware of the need to save and conserve.

They are particularly keen on packaging reduction and industry members have taken a number of initiatives to make products more compact. This pleases retailers as they take up less space on-shelf in store, and pleases customers as they are less bulky to store at home.

Larger rolls - twice the length of a standard roll – which save on packaging, transport and storage costs, have been available for a number of years too and are now being extended more widely including into private label ETS has also undertaken transport studies to look at truck utilisation and content optimisation in order to be more economic and energy efficient. And the industry hasn’t stopped there. We also look at recycled plastics for the outer wrappings to ensure that every stage of the production chain is conscious of the impact it has on the environment.

Looking to the future our industry will continue to push the boundaries in re-utilisation techniques and even surpass some of the excellent work that is being done today. I believe we will develop ever more efficient and effective paper production and converting technology and perhaps machines will be more compact so located closer to the final customer.

I would also hope that we will work to further limit our energy waste, promote renewable sources and reduce the miles travelled by our products. Some promising new work is taking place in the area of wind energy genera-

I am excited about what we have achieved so far in driving the principles of sustainability throughout our sector. And I am optimistic about the future and where innovation and a determination to do even better can lead us.

But we are not complacent.

The European tissue industry is committed to helping people to achieve a better quality of life by delivering optimal hygiene that supports human health.

Unless we are able to improve, or at the very least uphold our standards of excellent, then we cannot justify the term ‘sustainable’.

1 CEPI 2 Carbon footprint of toilet tissue paper: Comparison of toilet tissue using 100% fresh fibre pulp and 100% recovered fibre pulp.

Authors: Catharina Hohenthal and Katri Behm, March 2009

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72 Food Safety and UV-Cured Printing Inks :- RadTech Europe is a key information provider for brand owners and retailers There is much to be said in favour of radiation-curing inks, as world-leading manufacturers of packaging print equipment – and their users -- have already discovered. Because UV inks and their EB equivalents cure faster, work throughput is much faster than with traditional print drying tunnels.

Just as importantly, UV inks deliver high-quality, crisp, graphics (partly a by-product of their speedy cure, which reduces the ‘dot gain’ flow tendency of liquid inks) at a competitive cost per m2. Perhaps most important of all, they achieve all this without emitting any VOCs, making them an environmentally-friendly alternative to solvent-based inks. RadTech Europe is the industry association focused on the use of radiation curing in a number of manufacturing arenas, and it is proactive in promoting and managing the technology’s future in the field of packaging print.

Learning lessons Since the first application of UV inks and coatings in the world of packaging print, the industry has reacted swiftly to market issues and worked diligently to increase the performance and suitability of the technology for use in food packaging, for example through the development of low-migration inks to deal with the potential issue of migration of ink components into food.

Packaging barrier performance It is a notable fact that, although some of today’s advanced packaging structures may effectively act as a barrier against migration, only two materials – glass and metal -- are regarded as absolute barriers. The permeation of possible contaminants through the packaging substrate, including ink migration,may therefore be possible. An additional factor in relation to ink migration is the possibility of ink ‘set-off’. This involves the transfer of ink from the printed side of packaging -- when it is stacked for construction or, in the case of printed labels, for automatic application -- to its underside (ie the surface which will make contact with the pack contents). Issues like this, along with questions reflecting wider discussions with respect to human

exposure to chemicals– are at the heart of RadTech Europe’s consumer safety agenda with UV inks and varnishes.

RadTech Europe has engaged with the entire packaging print supply chain, from the suppliers of ink raw materials to the end-user brand owners and retailers, and continues to do. A highly-focused pan- European food packaging seminar is planned for the second half of 2014, as part of the association’s proactive ongoing formal and informal communications programme.

Regulatory initiatives There have been ongoing developments to increase the performance of UV inks for food packaging and ensure their suitability for use and brand owners such as Nestlé have instituted their own company-specific food packaging production standards. Food safety has also been the driver for a raft of regulatory initiatives across Europe providing a framework for the use of inks in food packaging – initiatives that reflect the importance of the issue to all involved in the packaging print supply chain. RadTech Europe and other leading technical associations, including the European printing inks association EuPIA and the European chemical industry council CEFIC, are all actively addressing these concerns in concert with the EU authorities.

Although there is currently no specific EU legislation concerning printing inks in food packaging applications, good manufacturing practice for all

materials involved in the production and packaging of food– including inks – are covered by regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 which requires that materials and articles which, in their finished state, are intended to be brought into contact with foodstuffs or which are brought into contact with foodstuffs, must not transfer any components to the packed foodstuff in quantities which could endanger human health, or bring about an unacceptable change in the composition or deterioration in organoleptic properties.

Additionally, the Swiss Ordinance on materials and articles in contact with food – often used as an industry standard -- continues to refine a list of permissible substances as knowledge grows; any listed components being subject to specific migration limits.

Germany is also in the development stage of its own Ordinance in this respect. RadTech Europe members are contributing their expertise to help establish the highest-possible migration limits for key raw materials, and, together with EuPIA and the CEFIC UVEB Sector Group, have been instrumental in developing REACH dossiers and in compiling migration data for submission under both the Swiss and upcoming German Ordinances. As a direct result, GPOTA and TMPEOTA have been granted higher 50 ppb migration limits, with work on other substances, including a number of commodity photoinitiators, on the way.

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74 Ink innovation EuPIA has developed its own guidelines for the printing industry on the selection of raw material constituents of food packaging inks, which are today the established standard.

There is a standard Statement of Composition which EuPIA members will provide to the food printing and packaging chain to confirm that the inks supplied are fit for purpose; and printers are encouraged to conduct their own practical migration tests as appropriate for the types of packaging print they undertake, as a ‘fail safe’ mechanism. The industry continues to innovate, too, with inks demonstrating lower migration levels associated with radiation curing.

RadTech Europe’s President, David Helsby, comments: ‘RadTech Europe’s prime goal is straightforward: to work with all stakeholders to ensure that brand owners can safely use radiationcurable inks in food packaging applications, without endangering the consumer, and enjoy the attendant benefits. Radiation curing has a long and successful history in providing optimal outcomes in many other aspects of manufacturing, including flooring, automotive and electronic components, household appliances, metal cans, and rigid plastics. Food packaging print need not be an exception.’

Further information on RadTech Europe’s ongoing work in the printing inks arena is available via the association’s website, www.radtecheurope.com.extensive worldwide reseller network.

GROUP360 Worldwide® uses Esko Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves to help accurately predict artwork distortion GROUP360 Worldwide has been using a number of Esko design tools to build virtual 3D models of packaging – much faster and less expensively than physical prototypes – for customer reviews, and to create accurate artwork for shrink sleeves.

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Finding a better process to predict shrink sleeve distortions Unlike many companies, GROUP360 Worldwide does not use a heat process to determine shrink sleeve distortions.

At times they may get specifications with product grids from the converter.

While they could create good designs, the process of creating distortions for artwork required some calculations along with some guesswork. Their measurements were quite accurate, but

they wanted to predict shrinkage even better. At the same time they wanted to create 3D renderings, show them to the client, and demonstrate how certain objects in the artwork could react to counter distortion. “For the most part, we wanted to eliminate the guesswork of printing and reprinting design scenarios,” says Mark Meyer, Workflow/R&D Director Application Development.

GROUP360 Worldwide had used ArtPro PowerWarp, which helped to counter distortions created by physical shrink sleeves. After Artwork Systems merged with Esko, GROUP360 Worldwide transitioned from PowerWarp to Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves kit about two years ago. It allowed them to easily work with regular shapes created in Studio Toolkit and irregular shapes created in other 3D applications, rather than just simple cups or bottles.

GROUP 360’s use of design and production tools has expanded to include: Esko Automation Engine, a modular workflow server with dynamic workflows that are easy to set up and operate.

Studio, a unique set of tools for 3D packaging design Studio Toolkit for Boxes, a version of Studio specifically for boxes, using technology from ArtiosCAD, a structural design package, and several tools to handle the complexity of panels.

Studio Toolkit for Flexibles, providing

AFTA AGA ALA • May 2014

75 design tools to make flexible packaging shapes quickly.

Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves, which can simulate a virtual shrink sleeve around an object.

Designers instantly see what artwork elements suffer from the distortion in 3D. It can handle round objects, asymetrical objects and even multipacks.

GROUP360 Worldwide needed the ability to work with irregular shapes. “We work with many unusual containers, such as flavored water bottles for example. We will design the shape with a 3D modeling program and import it into Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves. From there creating the label is pretty easy,” explains Meyer. “Virtually any packaging structure can be used to create a shrink label, and artwork wrapped around that. The interface is very simple and there is not much to adjust. Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves is also very helpful when creating basic assembly models – for example, when we want to show what it will look like to wrap a shrink sleeve around a case of soft drink cans or bottles. Or, there are times when we will show a customer a scene of what it will look like to use a shipping box as a display. We can show the tear-out of the box, exposing the product inside. In that case, we use Studio Toolkit for Boxes and Studio Toolkit for Flexibles.”

By using Studio with Automation

Engine, GROUP360 Worldwide is able to create a model and distribute the files to operators to place graphics on the structure in Adobe® Illustrator®.

From there they use the Automation Engine workflow to create the final rendering. “Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves is great for design work. We will use it to create a rendering for artwork, making adjustments based upon production needs – mostly for brand integrity,” adds Meyer. “Most clients are given a flat template, but rarely a digital prototype. Many do not have a good idea of what it will look like in the final form. For example, there could be a square logo near the neck of a bottle which will get pinched in. In the end, it could look like a rectangle or another unacceptable shape. Or, a round logo could look like an egg. On a regular basis, we will pre-distort the artwork and show the brand owner what it will look like. Ultimately, the client will decide to alter the artwork or move the logo away from a highdistortion area to somewhere that is safer, giving them a more consistent, branded product. We can use Studio as a quality control tool offering a prediction of distortion. From my point of view, that is much easier than going to press and heat tunnels.”

There is a big time difference between creating a high-end 3D rendering and creating a rendering on Automation Engine. “We can spend an hour or more in a complicated 3D design application to render a file. But once we have a good model, it could take us only 30 seconds in Automation Engine to create the final rendering. It cuts down production time exponentially – perhaps ten times faster or more. Once we have an approved carton model, it

could be as much as fifty times faster.

I can produce in 15 seconds what it might take the production department 15 minutes to determine acceptable artwork,” calculates Meyer. “There is a significant cost savings by using Studio for prototypes versus going to press.”

For some clients a virtual 3D model is fine. In fact, a few of GROUP360 Worldwide’s customers are using the 3D renderings for sales and premarketing.

Other clients require a physical mockup, which GROUP360 Worldwide also produces or offers through a variety of its partners. However, the price tag can be up to five times more for a physical mock-up than it is for a 3D rendering counterpart.

“We were creating shrink sleeves for 300+ variations of packaging for a recent project. Basically, by predicting the distortions, it gave us the confidence to go through all of them and make a quick decision as to what was going to distort – and by how much – and what was not going to distort,” remembers Meyer. “It allowed us to experiment with many styles and sizes and quickly render the packaging for each container. In combination with our workflow server, Esko Automation Engine, 3D work can be passed from our operators’ desks to a final rendering in a very efficient manner.”

“Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves is a valuable product for very specific needs,” he adds. "If you have a specific purpose for shrink sleeves, Studio Toolkit for Shrink Sleeves is simple to use and is up and running quickly.

As far as I know, it's the only product that accurately mimics the prediction of shrinking.”

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