Print Innovation Asia April

Print INNOVATION

Asia

Magazine

Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industries across Asia Pacific since 1985 Issue 4 2021

How will digital effect label production?

Full article from page 4

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PACKAGING EXCELLENCE AWARDS: 2021

_018 021 ONLINE Contents Page

Issue 4 2021

4

Digital drivers in labels

8

A Can that connects – and fulfils consumer

hygiene expectations

10

Key points to successful use of inkjet digital

printing for packaging applications?

16

World first for soft touch laminate tubes

20

Memo from Asia: It’s time to do more than check

the box on ocean plastic

24

Fuji Xerox officially renamed

FUJIFILM Business Innovation

26

Trigon installs Asia’s first HP Indigo 25K

28

Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 roars in the Indian

market with a strong track record

32

Can digital print technology really have an impact

36

Judging wraps up for Asian Packaging

Excellence Awards

Publisher

Paul Callaghan paul@printinnovationasia.com

Editorial

Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com

38

Manroland helps build new benchmark

Editor

for packaging

40

How XSYS Prepress is helping customers

Sha Jumari sha@printinnovationasia.com

through the pandemic

44

MPS prepares for future of flexo

46

Miraclon enables Zecher to deliver successful

“Together for Golden Results”

48

Why inkjet is your next growth opportunity

50

News from around Asia and the world

Print INNOVATION

Asia Magazine

Published by Asian Print Awards Management Pte Ltd 65 Chulia Street #46-23 OCBC Centre Singapore 049513 Print Innovation Asia Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia Asian Print Awards Packageing Excellence Awards Label and Packaging Conferences

Packaging Sales

Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

4

Digital drivers in It has been a few decades since the term ‘digital’ first entered the lexicon of the label printing industry. Since then, those at the bleeding edge and adopting when the market was still very much embryonic have been supplanted by a mature customer base deploying tried, tested and refined solutions as digital printing has become commonplace.. by David Pittman With the technology evolving – faster speeds, better quality, increased consistency, etc –, so the market has embraced the opportunities digital printing permits. This has been realised in pressrooms the world over through hardware installations as printers look to respond to 21st Century consumer behaviours, the advent of short runs and ongoing trend for personalisation, and brand owner demands for new business models to provide just-intime delivery and minimise waste in the supply chain.

This sees many digital adopters in labels now operating multiple lines. They are

also embracing the different digital printing technologies and the unique characteristics and capabilities of each to further their ability to respond to today’s business environment, and that of tomorrow.

Increasingly, the end-use is driving the choice of technology, be that: challenging substrates as often seen in wines and spirits; durable labels that are resistant to various environmental factors; beer and beauty labels, where achieving the correct look and feel is paramount; or food labels, which must be aesthetically pleasing whilst meeting stringent regulations for food safety.

For most, these digital presses have slotted in alongside flexo and offset machines. There are examples from the early days of this not providing the most effective route to ROI, with the capabilities and capacities of digital printing undermined by attempts to make the technology work within existing workflows.

Today, it is widely acknowledged that to make the most of an investment in digital, the ecosystem around the press is as important as the machine itself.

This helps get incoming orders through pre-press, onto the print engine, then forwards to finishing and converting in

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labels

the most streamlined and effective way possible.

The starting point is invariably the correct MIS/ERP, designed to handle the greater number of orders and jobs, the complexities of such work and the amount of data involved, whilst being able to keep up with the press and keep it filed with saleable work. Web-to-print business models are now springing up at an increasing rate, bringing the convenience of e-commerce as experienced by consumers on a daily basis to the business-to-business world.

While this will not work for all, it’s likely that a growing amount of work destined for digital label presses will come from online avenues. This then creates an entirely different structure for label printers who might be more au fait with established workflows that see orders coming through the door and being processed by the pre-press department.

The likely deskilling of the prepress process will result in a need

for companies to find new roles for staff. This can be a boon for many as it creates new opportunities for growth, taps up underutilised resources within a workforce, and strengthens the personal development roadmap for staff. This may seem scary to some but it is an inevitable consequence of

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digital transformation. It should not be feared but be embraced and made a part of corporate strategies for the future.

Similarly, for a period there were concerns about how digital transformation would impact analogue print processes and their place in the food chain. Driven in part by the digital industry’s excellent marketing activities and loud vocal presence permeating the supply chain, the furore reached such a fever pitch that there was a brief point in time when the digital printing industry was having to go on record to state, ‘We’re not here to kill flexo.’

In recent years, the flexo industry has staged a ‘fightback’ and gone through a technical resurgence of its own, including efficiency gains, automation of press set-up and better standardisation of the process. It has also got more vocal and better at fighting its corner. Its marketing efforts have improved to highlight the strengths of flexo in the 21st Century.

As a result, the reality on the factory floor today is that digital and analogue are entirely complementary print processes.

This is realised through the growing amount of ‘hybrid’ options available – ‘full’ hybrid, ‘true’ hybrid, ‘integrated’ hybrid, etc – that combine the best of

both processes, as well as the capacities that have been freed up and created. By taking the burden off a flexo press to print short runs when implementing a digital printing workflow, for example, label printers can increase the amount of volume work they put through their Gallus/Mark Andy/Nilpeter/MPS/ BOBST press. Similarly, digital presses are now able to take on longer runs, leaving a flexo press free to produce the highest value jobs, perhaps.

This maximises OEE and hastens the ROI, for both digital and analogue hardware. For many label printers, this has now opened up new business opportunities and new markets to them that they may have previously been unable to service.

One such opportunity has been digitally printed flexible packaging.

Flexible packaging is a widely spoken about open goal for label printers.

Technical challenges remain in this area given the greater demands placed upon primary packaging and how it relates to established label printing technologies such as UV, although work is ongoing in the supply chain to mitigate and alleviate such concerns. Further, a growing amount of hardware is now available to permit fast turnaround of digitally printed flexible packaging constructions, printed using either aqueous inkjet or toner technologies

and suited to ‘print-for-use’ business models.

There remains a need for education amongst label printers as flexible packaging materials and end uses are entirely different. That being said, it’s likely we’ll see more and more label converters moving into flexible packaging as opportunities present themselves.

Adding value is another area of opportunity for label printers deploying digital. In the ongoing battle to win at the ‘Moment of Truth’ and offer the greatest shelf appeal, more and more systems are being introduced to enhance and embellish digitally printed labels with either post-print analogue processes, or newer digitalnative systems that can apply foils, varnishes and other visual effects, as well as haptic elements to appeal to consumers’ desire to touch and feel.

As such, I believe that the label industry is well placed to embrace the next iteration of digital transformation, coupling its engrained knowledge of digital printing coupled with a capacity to adapt and change. Rather than being fretful, the label industry is looking forward to how digital can futureproof business and is ready to embrace all the opportunities this will present.

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A Can that connects – and fulfils consumer hygiene expectations CCL Label presents CANtastic, combining an aluminium can and shrink sleeve for an innovative and safe drinking experience CCL Label, a world leader in specialty label and packaging solutions, presents CANtastic a new type of aluminium can packaging that offers maximum hygiene and ideal marketing possibilities for promotions. “This new packaging product is all about connection and protection – it guarantees maximum cleanliness from production to the Point-of-Sale in supermarkets, convenience stores or gasoline stations, were cans are often openly displayed in an unprotected environment to catch the attention of the consumer.

With CANtastic the cans are protected against all kinds of possible contaminations while ideally promoting the brand owner’s message”, says Reinhard Streit, Vice President and Managing Director Food&Beverage at CCL Label. “It goes further than other aluminium cans available in the market, allowing brand owners to build maximum trust with the consumers.”

CANtastic will consist of a aluminium can with an engineered sleeve and top label that provides a 360 degree safety

seal for the can making it hygienic and safe to drink from. The packaging fulfils all official food safety standards and the can is also re-closable to prevent for example insects to enter the can via the opening.

Consumers demand more hygiene and food safety “We see that COVID-19 has transformed the consumer landscape – trust in brands is more important than ever. Health is now connected to heightened issues of food safety and hygiene with two-thirds saying that being healthy is being safe. Improving food safety is cited as the number one priority for manufacturers”. A study carried out by IPSOS* revealed that two thirds (66%) of consumers `concerned’ with the safety of their food and the Packaging Survey released

by McKinsey** revealed that concerns

connected to food safety and hygiene is a new trend amongst the top 6 packaging industry trends.

Promotions: Back to a “New Normal” “Once the lockdown restrictions are lifted and life becomes more normal again, we expect promotional activities from brand owners to become an important marketing tool again. Our CANtastic can offers ideal space for branding and consumer communication. Firstly, there is additional space on the lid for extra activities or design possibilities.

Contests, lotteries and loyalty programs can easily be integrated as well as Virtual Reality elements or special QR codes for unique and secure digital identity”, explains Streit.

Sustainability: Aluminium Can are Widely Recycled The especially engineered sleeve and top construction allows for normal recycling of the aluminium can which very widely recycled in most countries.

Aluminium is a 100% recyclable and sustainable metal and nearly 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use.

Recycling aluminium saves over 90% of the energy needed to make new aluminium

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

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Key points to success digital printing for pac As print providers and food manufacturers strive to ensure the safety of food labels and packaging, demand is growing for capabilities and compliance of inkjet solutions that won’t negatively impact food or human health.

Memjet’s water-based pigment inks offer high-quality output, durability on a wide range of substrates, and safer ingredients than alternative technologies and are making inroads into label printing, and are emerging in flexible packaging, folding cartons, and corrugated packaging as well.

Clean-up and maintenance with waterbased cleaning agents also reduces workplace hazards and air permitting costs.

New Revenue Streams: Savvy printers are building new revenue models leveraging increased performance, reduced waste and regulatory costs, and the capability to create short run products to capture new customers and markets.

Flexibility: Hybrid printing solutions give label printers much greater flexibility. They can still use their flexo presses to produce longer run jobs, while the hybrid option extends their capabilities to include customized labels and packaging, higher graphic content, smaller lot sizes, and the faster cycle times client’s demand. Hybrid printing has the added benefit of supporting a sustainable circular economy, by

extending the life of existing equipment while ramping up the use of more environmentally friendly technology.

“watch” the job run real time or put the requirement of reliability on the printhead technology.

Print Quality: Print quality can vary amongst inkjet print solutions. In general, a high resolution printhead with a small drop size will provide the best image quality (fine details and smooth transitions).

Powered by Memjet print solutions with 2.1 pL drop size and true print resolution of 1600 dpi, provides unrivalled inkjet print quality along with the durability needed to satisfy the most demanding markets.

Memjet’s DuraLink printhead design uniquely address this issue with builtin nozzle redundancy for each vertical line of print. What this means in terms of reliability is that we can have many nozzles contributing to each image line blocked with minimal change in print quality or optical density. This allows our customers to print every packaging job element with confidence until the next maintenance cycle is applied to the printhead returning it to 100% functionality for the next image line.

The fact that our industry leading resolution is so fine means that single missing droplets have significantly less impact. Other systems with lower resolution and therefore large droplets will mean a large white space when the printhead nozzle does not fire, and as every print provider knows, there are always nozzle outs.

1. What are the pitfalls to watch out for?

Reliability is a key requirement for any print solution. Automated packaging and job processing systems that run at high-speed with high print quality specifications mean each print job element is critical.

You cannot afford to find out that your roll of printed media has job elements missing when you get to the next step.

So, you either have expensive and complex integrated vision systems to

Watch out for claims about “low migration” inks. Food Contact Materials (FCM) compliance is a function of ink ingredient selection and

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

sful use of inkjet ckaging applications?

migration testing on specific substrates.

Look for systems where providers have proven satisfactory migration results on specific use cases and media.

Adopting a stand-alone inkjet press in addition to existing analog printers, while providing value, can bring about too many other challenges for the business like having to retrain employees, developing new sales strategies and new digital workflows.

A hybrid press can be the answer, and provide benefits of inkjet printing while reducing the risks and challenges that can come with adopting a standalone inkjet press. It also supports a sustainable circular economy. Some examples of solutions from our Powered by Memjet partners include Colordyne’s 3800 and PCMC’s ION retrofit.

Most of the substrates commonly used today are only optimized for analog print processes and inks, so they do not perform well with inkjet devices where the print processes and inks are fundamentally different. Memjet’s

OEM partners are already benefiting from our investment in the research and development of coatings and primers and are investigating ways to integrate near-line and/or in-line treatment solutions to facilitate highquality printing for paper and filmbased applications for the growing packaging market.

Some OEMs are using this technology to develop solutions for totally new applications like direct-to-shape where the print surface is not flat.

With so many technologies now available, what criteria should a printer look at when considering an investment in inkjet?

When evaluating the printing costs of inkjet compared to conventional analog printing, many companies are surprised to find that inkjet is competitive beyond short-run or prototyping. In one recent TCO analysis, a corrugated box printer was able to show that inkjet was competitive at production-scale, in the tens of thousands of boxes

per month, by eliminating expensive platemaking, multiple steps of laborintensive prep, handoffs, inventory, and waste/spoilage To capture the full impact of both the print and non-print costs, most printers will build a full ROI (returnon-investment) model to accurately capture both new and eliminated costs, from electricity to labor – as well as changes in ink costs and waste.

Printers who switch to inkjet will also find their regulatory and environmental (e.g. emission permits, waste stream reporting) costs go down. In many cases, we’ve seen savvy printers also build new revenue models with capacity and opportunity factors to capture upside potential.

Inkjet printing technology meets the quality and production speed requirements for the entire box – not just marking and coding, and inkjet is competitive beyond short-run or prototyping

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

12 Just as consumers are paying attention to the impact their choices have on the environment, businesses and brands are putting much more emphasis on the environmental impact they have across their entire supply chain. Regulators are placing more emphasis on climate change, waste management and disposal, supply chain social responsibility and plastics consumption.

With digital inkjet printing, printers and converters eliminate waste in their processes by removing plate preparation, make ready processes, and produce shorter runs, that eliminate obsolescence waste from demand /

alternative technologies and are making inroads into label printing, and are emerging in flexible packaging, folding cartons, and corrugated packaging as well.

Print quality can vary amongst inkjet print solutions. In general, a high resolution printhead with a small drop size will provide the best image quality (fine details and smooth transitions).

Powered by Memjet print solutions with 2.1 pL drop size and true print resolution of 1600 dpi, provides unrivalled inkjet print quality along with the durability needed to satisfy the most demanding markets.

The compact nature of Memjet’s inkjet combined with the low cost and high performance capabilities enables customers to streamline processes to reduce cost. By combining or eliminating process steps to effectively print just what you want, when you need to, you eliminate a lot of substrate movement, work in progress, and ultimately inventory.

On-Demand -- Companies are revolutionizing box-making with “on-demand” right-sizing solutions that create custom-size boxes to eliminate inventorying multiple sizes, reduce voids/wasted space inside the box, better protect contents from contamination, improve sustainability, and reduce shipping costs.

We will see printing being done during the creation of the package instead of printing with analog technology, shipping the printed media to a filler and then they make the final product with the pre-printed media.

For example, Powered by Memjet partners Rigoli and V-Shapes are doing this.

Successful brands will keep pace with trends and market drivers to consume less, create less waste, and provide a healthier work environment for employees in their supply chains.

With digital inkjet printing, printers and converters eliminate waste in their processes by removing plate preparation, make ready processes, and produce shorter runs, that eliminate obsolescence waste from demand / supply mis-match.

supply mis-match. Inks when created from components that aren’t on watch or restricted lists also play an important role in sustainability.

As print providers and food manufacturers strive to ensure the safety of food labels and packaging (40% of packaging is for food and beverages), demand is growing for capabilities and compliance of inkjet solutions that won’t have an impact on food or human health. Memjet’s waterbased pigment inks offer high-quality output, durability on a wide range of substrates, and safer ingredients than

How will the technology and application scope for inkjet digital package printing develop over the next five years?

When digital printing technology first came to packaging, it was focused on prototypes, short runs, and personalization. With inkjet, those runs can be expanded and now the quantities aren’t hundreds, but thousands, and even tens of thousands. That allows digital to take on some of the work currently being done by conventional processes, and that helps compress timelines and increases inventory efficiencies.

The challenge is to design printheads that are simple enough for nonprinter designers to use, like packaging machinery companies, while also being flexible enough to allow design differentiation for the big printer brands.

Allowing our customers access to print engines that can do all of their printing on demand or as late as possible in their manufacturing is key to enabling the personalisation to which everyone is becoming accustomed to and now expecting.

Taking a technology that can produce photo-quality images at an industry

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Korn it Digital

bonding

matters

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www.kornit.com #simpleprintingproduction #sustainablefashion #wearyourcare Enquiry: apac@kornit.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

14 Memjet's inkjet technologies provide a solid foundation for OEM partners to meet the needs of a variety of print applications and media types especially in regards to packaging. As a result, more package printers/converters can leverage the value of inkjet for labeling and packaging applications – from industrial high-volume to benchtop applications yielding higher resolutions, faster speeds, and profitable print devices.

These solutions have the speed and affordability that print providers need right now. They have raised the bar for beautiful, high-quality output that packaging providers demand, producing sharp images, smooth gradations, and an expanded color gamut with resolutions up 1600 x 1600 dpi. leading resolution and scale it to provide industrial applications at more than 200 m/min is non-trivial, but this is a challenge that Memjet is taking head on and succeeding.

exposure health risks to employees and operators. Because of the hazards associated with their production, there also have been several disruptions in supply in the last few years.

How will UV and water-based inkjet evolve over this time?

Prompted by increased data, NGOs, and customer demands, regulators around the world are tightening rules regarding the use of hazardous chemicals often found in UV inks and associated cleaning solutions.

This restriction will make innovation increasingly difficult for UV printing technologies.

- Supply chain social responsibility requirements will continue to highlight the risks of “process chemicals” in large brands’ and print will begin to gain more visibility.

UV inks will become obsolete for packaging in the coming years based on several driving forces and restriction.

UV photo-initiators are inherently toxic and carry significant long term

- Even where photoinitiators are not required, hazards with UV ink monomers exist including sensitization.

UV inks claim low VOC’s, however, cleaning fluids for wash up and maintenance are typically solvent based and hazardous.

Memjet's newest technologies use water-based pigment inks which are safer for the earth and the people handling them. These inks are ideal for packaging applications because they can achieve offset-quality output on a wide range of coated and uncoated substrates while being resistant to light and moisture.

They contain no toxic or reactive chemistries, are formulated using components listed on the Swiss Ordinance and are in alignment with the Nestlé Guidance Note on Packaging Inks, Additionally, for those concerned about sustainability, Memjet’s inks are unlikely to impact recycling.

- Memjet’s ink technology is solely water-based, and we intend to remain so in the future as an important driver for human health and safety as well as sustainability efforts.

2. What are Memjet’s latest and greatest developments in inkjet digital printing?

What are the USPs of this technology and how will this shape the future for inkjet digital package printing?

Over the past couple of years, Memjet has launched two new modular inkjet technology platforms.

DuraFlex enables delivery of light production units, while DuraLink is a good fit in high volume production needs.

By: Gianluigi Rankin, Director Product Management at Memjet

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

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World first soft touch coating for laminate tubes ACTEGA, manufacturer of specialty coatings, inks, adhesives and sealing compounds for the print and packaging industry, today announces the launch of, GALACRYL® 89.501.14, the world’s first ‘soft touch’ effect decorative coating for laminate tubes.

The new water-based dual cure solution solves the previous issues of long-term scratch, abrasion and stain resistance associated with soft touch effects on laminate tubes and provides manufacturers of laminate and extruded tubes with a brandnew revenue stream to diversify their business.

The highly desirable soft touch effect coating has previously been used successfully on different flexible packaging. However, attempts to create an effect coating that provided both the soft texture and optimal technical production properties for laminate tubes have previously been

unsuccessful. ACTEGA has overcome this challenge by combining an environmentally friendly, water-based dual cure varnish coating, achieving the long-term durability required of this effect on laminate tubes.

André Soterio, Head of Sales, Labels, EMEA, ACTEGA, comments “Soft touch effects on packaging are very appealing to consumers as they add a feeling of prestige and quality – proven to increase product engagement and sales.

“Thanks to the expertise and talent within the ACTEGA R&D team, we’ve been able to bring these effects

to laminate tubes for the first time, transforming the cold and clinical laminate substrate into a warm, comfortable and tactile consumer experience. Replicating rubber, leather or even velvet soft touch effects, this new capability represents a new and profitable service offering for customers.”

Ideal for packaging containers used within cosmetics or pharmaceuticals, house-hold goods and the food industry, new GALACRYL 89.501.14 features a water-based and milky matte finish varnish. Once applied, the coating is UV cured to protect and seal the container.

Srecko Stjepanovic, Head of Global Market Management, Flexible Packaging, ACTEGA, concludes, “The plastic tube industry is growing rapidly, so tube manufacturers need to be able to adapt their offering to deliver what brands want and need. Having solved the previous durability problems associated with this effect when applied to laminate tubes, we are now excited to see how brands integrate this new solution into their product portfolios.”

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

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Memo from Asia: It’s ti check the box on ocea Plastics pollution in the world’s oceans: Most of us were at least somewhat aware of the problem. Maybe we’d seen pictures of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or had read about seabirds swallowing debris.

But the issue took on fresh urgency in 2018, particularly across Asia, when a diver named Rich Horner posted a YouTube video of himself in the waters off Bali, in a popular area called Manta Point. Horner’s camera didn’t capture many of the eponymous creatures often found there. Instead, it showed him swimming through what appeared to be an endless underwater galaxy of multi-coloured snack wrappers, bags, and other garbage suspended in the current. Even if we thought we understood the problem, here was new, graphic evidence that humanity is treating our precious oceans like a landfill.

After Horner’s video went viral, there was some initial reaction from consumer goods companies,

governments, and NGOs. But like much of the response to plastic pollution, it all felt a bit routine—like ticking a box to demonstrate concern.

In the end, it didn’t really address the problem, and we all went back to our lives. A couple of months later, a plastic grocery bag was discovered in the Mariana Trench—the deepest part of the Pacific.

As a business development director for Avery Dennison, I live in Singapore and travel throughout the Asia Pacific region for work. I’ve observed the problem of plastics pollution from the perspective of a businessperson who sells materials—including some made from plastic and many that are applied to plastic—and as a citizen and consumer.

Here’s what I see: We’re losing the race against plastics pollution, and dramatically so in the part of the world that I call home. In 2015, the Ocean Conservancy, citing the journal Science, reported that eight million metric tons of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans every year, with more than half coming from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. UN Environment concurs, noting that 60 percent of all plastic in the ocean comes from just six countries, all of them in Asia.

It’s not for a total lack of trying. Many consumers across Asia are ready to move away from single-use plastics and help build a circular economy in

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

ime to do more than an plastic

which plastic packaging is recycled into new packaging and stays out of the waste stream. I know from my work with consumer brands that surveys show something like 60 percent of consumers want to buy sustainablyproduced products—products that use less material, reuse existing packaging, and recycle used packaging (source: inc. com). But right now, those products are usually priced too high for many people in Asia.

Brands and manufacturers have taken steps in the right direction. Many have announced sustainability goals that include commitments to increasing recyclable packaging over the next several years. A number are innovating

to create packaging that contains more recycled plastic or avoids the use of plastic altogether. Some are partnering with NGOs. But, so far, these efforts have not been enough to stem the plastics tide. Sustainable plastics packaging remains a niche product, because brands know that consumers in most of the world can’t pay the higher cost it commands.

Meanwhile, governments in the Asia Pacific region offer a patchwork of regulation that supports meaningful plastics recycling in some areas, but not others. Japan, where I lived (and meticulously sorted my garbage) for several years, is often held up as a model for the region. Other countries are

struggling to handle an overwhelming amount of plastic waste, and one by one, countries across Asia are following China’s lead in banning the acceptance of foreign waste, forcing countries to come up with solutions. For many, the primary outlet at present is landfill.

All in all, government, companies, and consumers seem to be looking at each other, saying, “You go first.” But as the video from Bali and countless similar images remind us, this strategy isn’t working. All of us—governments, brands, suppliers, and consumers— must do more, quickly.

Up to now, governments and corporations have largely let the market

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

22 plastic,” has received significant funding from consumer goods and chemical companies. And corporations, nonprofits and others are working together as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s Trash-Free Seas Alliance. These are all positive steps.

At the same time, as someone on the ground in Asia, where pollution from ocean plastic is most dire and impossible to ignore, I also want to say: We all need to do more, faster.

How can we accelerate the progress being made? How can we knock down the barriers that still prevent government, corporations and NGOs from collaborating most effectively?

How can we put our vast innovative capacity to work to get rid of singleuse packaging and create waste management systems across Asia that can handle the rivers of plastic literally flowing through our countries?

How can companies make this issue a top priority—not just in the name of good corporate citizenship, but in the name of risk management and the long-term viability of our businesses?

How can we clean up our oceans, on which everyone, everywhere, depends, before it’s too late? address the problem. Everyone is waiting for the moment when greater demand for sustainable packaging drives volume high enough for costs to come down and for ocean-friendly packaging to become the rule rather than the exception. But after many years, that moment has yet to arrive, and our oceans are telling us that we can’t afford to wait any longer.

Nobody likes more regulation, but it is apparent that, for meaningful change to happen, governments across Asia— particularly at the local level—must create laws and infrastructure that facilitate recycling and limit single-use plastic packaging. A big part of the plastics problem goes back to a lack of sufficient waste management systems in localities across Asia. That, first and foremost, is a problem for government.

Meanwhile, brands and manufacturers of packaging materials must work together to increase the amount of recycled plastics in packaging and

boost the numbers of consumers who recycle. And we must collaborate to bring down the cost of sustainable packaging, so that consumers in parts of the world, like much of Asia, where incomes are low and use of single-use plastics is high, can afford them.

To be sure, some collaboration among all these stakeholders is happening.

Global consumer brands, motivated by increasing consumer concern, the spectre of more regulation, and occasional public shaming by NGOs, are sponsoring recycling initiatives and exploring alternative packaging. Last fall, the U.N. announced a project with the Government of Sweden and the Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia to shore up waste management in Southeast Asia.

A firm called Circulate Capital, which bills itself as an “investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies and infrastructure that prevent ocean

These are the conversations all of us should be having at virtual.drupa and wherever suppliers and customers in our industry convene. And we must follow up those conversations with quick, decisive, meaningful action.

Because if Rich Horner’s video and the countless tons of garbage amassing in our

By Conrad Mendoza, Jr. Conrad Mendoza is a Singaporebased director of business development for Avery Dennison’s Label and Graphic Materials division.

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Fuji Xerox officially renamed FUJIFILM Business Innovation As of April 2021, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. corporate name has changed to FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp. (FIB). This change follows the end of the Technology Agreement with Xerox Corporation on the agreement’s expiration date, 31 March 2021.

Likewise, on 1 April 2021, the sales departments in Japan and all 31 domestic sales subsidiaries plus Fuji Xerox InterField will integrate as one to establish a new company, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Japan Corp.

Fuji Xerox has renamed its Asia Pacific operations in line with the Fujifilm brand. Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, the regional management of sales affiliates in Asia/Oceania countries and regions, is now known as FUJIFILM Business Innovation Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. The new corporate name represents Fuji Xerox’s commitment as part of the Fujifilm Groupwhich promotes “Value from Innovation” as its corporate slogan - to expand into a wide range of business areas going forward and to always continue delivering business innovations.

List of major Asia Pacific affiliates

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Trigon installs Asia’s first HP Indigo 25K HP Indigo 25K Digital Press is the preferred solution to meet the needs of a growing sustainable flexible packaging market standard of print quality, sustainability, and quick service experience to our customers, and the installation of the HP Indigo 25K is an important step in that journey.”

“India is fast becoming a hub for startups & small brands, especially in Food & Beverage sector. It is crucial for brands and businesses to have highquality packaging for their products to be placed on shelf for visibility. A highquality printed package increases the brand value and gains trust from the consumers. Due to the nature of digital printing there is no MOQ concept with HP Indigo.

HP announced the installation of the HP Indigo 25K Digital Press at Indiabased Trigon Digital. This is the first customer installation of the flagship press across Asia.

Trigon Digital is a print and packaging solutions provider with an ‘all-digital’ set-up, with customers across India, Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia. Established since 2007, Trigon has an existing HP digital press in its repertoire, the HP Indigo 6900, purchased in 2018.

The HP Indigo 25K Digital Press installation with a 30-inch printing width will allow Trigon Digital to venture into customized pouch, shrink sleeves, IML printing on a large scale.

The HP Indigo 25K installation features an inline slitting option, which will enable Trigon to print label media of up to 30-inch width & then slit it inline to smaller rolls for further finishing.

In a world where customers demand highly personalized solutions, the

HP Indigo 25K Digital Press offers the agility to meet rapidly evolving customer needs, across all types of packaging requirements. With the HP Indigo technology, Trigon Digital will be able to support brand owners with innovative solutions in packaging while supporting them throughout the product development process - from prototype to marketing test samples to production and shelf.

“With the industry evolving and growing exponentially, we required a solution to add value to our business and support the increasing demand of small and medium quantity packaging runs with NO MOQ. Today, the package is the messenger, the brand and storefront, all integrated into one,” said Anil Namugade, Managing Director, Trigon Digital.

“With our new HP Indigo 25K, we are ready to bring the power of the digital transformation to label and flexible packaging. Furthermore, we are on a mission to transform our business, achieving the most exceptional

Also plates or cylinders are not required to be made, so along with HP Indigo, Trigon can support such brands to launch their product in the market faster, digitally printed pouches can be turned around in as low as 5-7 days from the approval of artwork to physical pouches. With the first HP Indigo 25K installation in the region, Trigon Digital will be able to help its customers to get to market faster with their innovative services and products,” said A Appadurai, Country Manager, HP Indigo, HP India.

HP is committed to providing safety in print packaging across a comprehensive range of applications, including pharma and food packaging. HP Indigo inks meet FDA, EU & Swiss packaging regulations for well-defined conditions of use & are suitable for indirect contact applications. HP Indigo inks do not contain any UV curing substances or any photo initiators & meet the industry accepted definition of low migration inks. Apart from printing on standard flexible packaging media, HP Indigo can also print on both recyclable & compostable media from partner media vendors.

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Heidelberg Speedmaste Indian market with a stro The Heidelberg Speedmaster 92 press is highly capable and well suited for both commercial and packaging requirements. Heidelberg’s Speedmaster presses, which it calls “the most intelligent and most automated” has been receiving overwhelming responses from across Asia and Indian subcontinent.

Talk to any commercial and packaging print firm, they will explain how the print potential has been changing over the years, even though there are more products, the print runs were shrinking and there have been margins falling. To deal with the scenario, the print firms re-looked at the shopfloor to keep the costs under control and maximize the printing press utilization because time and money are most imperative, and every minute wasted will impact the business.

Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 was launched with the sole purpose of addressing all the customers' needs. The

Speedmaster is a profitable investment for printshops who are looking for higher productivity, multiple orders and of course, wanting to upgrade and widen their offering in the market.

Talking about buyer fulfilment, we have received several satisfactory customer feedbacks and to share, some of the customers are.

Three Speedmaster CS 92 installations at Replika Press One of the satisfied customers and known company is Replika Press who had invested in their third Speedmaster CS 92 four-colour press. Replika Press

is one of the biggest print service providers specializing in book printing, high-end commercial print production, digital printing and now in packaging as well. The company prints more than 16,000 titles per year.

At Replika Press, the range of titles comprises everything from monochrome to multi-colour, softcover to hardcover, medical to scientific, technical to coffee table books, art books to children books, cookbooks, travel guides, dictionaries, encyclopedias and religious books, etc. for reputed international publishers from USA, UK, Germany, Czech

(From Left) Vikram Seth and Bhuvnesh Seth of Replika press with Speedmaster CS 92 four-colour press

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3 2021

er CS 92 roars in the ong track record Republic, France, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Russia, Africa, Brazil, etc. Replika Press provides solutions to leading publishers like Penguin Random House, Hachette and Bloomsbury to name a few. Replika oversees a paper and board stock of more than 20,000 tons per annum with a production capability of printing 50,000 hardcovers and 1,50,000 softcover books per day to achieve a target of 2,00,000 books per day soon.

Bhuvnesh Seth, managing director at Replika Press, said, “Today the market is extremely competitive, and we have to offer best to our customers and in such circumstance, the investment is very appropriate for Replika Press.

The Heidelberg has been the obvious choice for Replika Press. Heidelberg is a different story altogether. Be it the built or the output quality of Heidelberg, you don’t see any deviations from the standard, be the press from China or the German plant. The sturdiness of Heidelberg’s is unmatched, and we can see it for ourselves from the merit they have earned. One of the more evident of which is their resale value.”

Speedmaster CS 92 - A Secure investment: Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 can accommodate a wide array of print substrates with thicknesses ranging from 0.03 mm to 0.6 mm. Boasting print speeds of up to 15,000 sheets per hour, this high-end press is integrated with Heidelberg’s exclusive Prinect workflow to make operations simple and intuitive. Heidelberg Speedmaster has a printing stock capacity of maximum sheet size with 650mm x 940 mm with a gripper margin of 10mm to 12mm.

Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92, available in four, five and six-colour configurations, with coating options available in all formats. It comes with

Panjabis: The Heidelberg CS 92 is a sturdy and robust press Intellistart, AutoPlate, Auto blanket wash, the pre-set feeder and delivery from the XL 106 range, doublediameter blanket and impression cylinder, and triple-diameter transfer drums, which put less stress on sheets.

the decision to invest in a Heidelberg press has changed the game for NaviMumbai-based packaging specialist Rukson Packaging who had installed a brand-new Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 five-colour press with coating unit.

Speedmaster based on the CX 102 platform reduced in width for the plate cost savings, with speed-compensated inking and dampening system, calibration-free ink zones, all combined with the Prinect Press Centre operating system. It’s available with all the usual curing systems from Heidelberg, including the latest UV systems.

It features Easy Control spectral colour measurement and control with reporting functions.

Gobind Panjabi, the owner at Rukson Packaging, said, “The Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 is very ideal for packaging and pharmaceutical jobs.”

During the lockdown period, while most of the segments were facing a tough time, Rukson Packaging was able to employ the press to run at full capacity, for which, Rukson Packaging had thanked team Heidelberg India for all the hard work; as the Heidelberg India team had worked tirelessly roundthe-clock during the initial lockdown period.

Ideal for packaging jobs The second success story is of how

29

Kyowa Printing Main Printing Innovation Asia Issue 3Plant 2021

30 The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) members at the inauguration event and productivity, with quicker makereadies and turn-around. We were excited to print Sri Guru Granth Sahib on a world-class quality press. Theis empowers cost-effective and highvolume printing,” shared Manjinder Singh.

The remote-controlled, calibrationfree foil ink fountain of the Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 ensures superior quality and stable coloring throughout the entire production run, with 500 increments per colour zone. A speedcompensated Alcolor dampening system facilitates stable ink-water balance and outstanding print quality.

Manjinder Singh concluded, “The Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 is a valuable asset to assist the shift from conventional and monochrome press operations to highly-automated, fullvolume and colour printing. Waste optimization is a bonus.”

“We were able to take in the press at our plant in August 2020 and went into production right away.” As of today, the company’s portfolio includes 80% of jobs catering to the pharmaceutical industry; FMCG accounts for 15% and the remaining 5% is cosmetics. The surge in demand for pharmaceutical and FMCG products during the pandemic boosted the quantum of jobs at Rukson Packaging.

Another success story of Heidelberg Speedmaster is from, New Delhi-based Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib who had upgraded its print facility with a brand-new Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 four colour press, reaffirming its commitment to excellent print quality.

The facility is managed by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and the facility prints Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the central religious scripture of Sikhism and other related holy texts, calendars, diaries, and material by the Sikh religious code. The sacred text books

are then supplied to Gurudwaras (a place of worship for the Sikhs) in India and overseas.

“The Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 enhances overall print quality

63 Speedmaster CS 92 units across Indian subcontinent Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92, a printing press with quality and Precision that Indian printers rely on, Heidelberg India has installed 63 units of CS 92 presses in last 6 years. With an amazing number of Speedmaster 92 press installations in the country, the team Heidelberg is optimistic about the future.

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asia.canon/uvgel-interior-decor-guide

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Can digital print tech have an impact The term “fast fashion” didn’t always have the best connotations. In fact, says Sharon Donovich, product marketing manager for Kornit Digital, it was akin to a dirty word in certain circles.

“Fast fashion is all about a highly profitable business model that was based on replicating catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, and massproducing them at low cost,” she says.

“It is also a synonym for and being

accused to be responsible for pollution — both in the production of clothes and in the decay of synthetic fabrics — poor workmanship, and emphasizing very brief trends over classic style.”

In fact, she notes, the United Nations estimates that the fashion industry is responsible for as much as 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions heating the planet, which has led many to look at digital technologies as the answer. “When digital textile printing started, it was more about one of prints and personalization but with the progress of technology and changes in consumer behavior … the fast fashion brands are looking more and more to adopt digital textile printing, which offers production on demand, with no inventory risks, no MOQs [minimum order quantities], minimal TTM [time to market], and the endless design variety. On top of that, it is a sustainable production with no pollution, and very low carbon footprint.”

Digital textile printing allows brands to bring new designs to market faster.

Digital printing allows brands to bring new designs to market much quicker, allowing them to move from concept to finished piece in a fraction of the time. | Credit: Roland DGA A big part of being a more sustainable production process, which is appealing to many fashion brands, is the reduction — if not total elimination — of waste.

Learning the Ins and Outs of Digital Textile Printing Digital textile printing reduces excess waste in the design process by allowing designers to create smaller fabric test runs and waste less while finalizing the fabric, It also brings the textile design process onshore, therefore reducing turnaround time and shipping costs that designers and retailers can then pass on to the consumer.

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hnology really Digital textile printing allows designers and manufacturers to quickly flow from concept to production. A designer can create a new design or modify an existing one — i.e., revising color schemes — print it out, produce a prototype, and get an approval before manufacturing.

Once approved, producers can create one-offs, short runs, or medium runs immediately. Fashion changes quickly in response to changes in the season or new collections, and digital textile printing can facilitate this type of ‘just in time’ production.

What this means for wide-format shops either producing digitally printed textiles or looking to add the equipment is that fast fashion is no longer a dirty word for brands — it is fast becoming a new way of producing pieces faster and more efficiently, and this is where digital textile printers can find opportunity.

Creating a New Market Seeing an opportunity and knowing how to take advantage of it and create new business are two different things.

To start, Hunter says, don’t feel like fast fashion is an all-or-nothing game.

Printers, she notes, can start small.

“You don’t have to drop everything to be in the fashion industry,” she says.

“Begin by offering sublimated jerseys, uniforms, or bathing suits. Pick one thing to make, learn the ins and outs of the workflow, and then expand. If you choose to invest in dye-sublimation equipment, you can do quite a few things beyond apparel, including soft signage, photo panels, promotional goods, and home décor.”

Digital textile printing isn't an all-ornothing game.

Digital textile printing isn’t an all or nothing game — PSPs can start small,

and grow their fast fashion business over time.

It is also about cultivating the right connections, notes Donovich, since fast fashion is more than just textile printing — it is being part of a production process with multiple moving parts, that printers need to be aware of, and know how to work with effectively. “Fast fashion is not only about production,” she says. “Marketing is the key driver of fast fashion. Marketing creates the desire for consumption of new designs as close as possible to the point of creation. Marketing closes the gap

between creation and consumption, therefore, if a PSP wants to get into the fast fashion space, he needs to get connected to the brands.”

Another thing to keep in mind is the technology being used. Check says that what a shop decides to invest in will ultimately determine which types of fast fashion and brands can be targeted.

“Dye-sublimation is often selected for its overall versatility because it can provide a print shop with the ability to do projects outside of traditional clothing textiles,” he says. “With dyesublimation it is crucial to select white

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34 or light-colored 100% polyester and primarily polyester blends to ensure a successful transfer with no change to the fabric feel. DTG is primarily used for creating t-shirts and sweatshirts.

It can also be used to create socks, tote bags and apparel accessories.

Unlike dye-sublimation, DTG printing is best suited for 100% cotton or predominantly cotton blend fabrics.”

Today, you can shop and customize clothes online — and try different hair styles, for that matter,” she says. “You can also enter your measurements or take a picture of yourself to ‘try on’ certain outfits to get an idea of how they’ll look on you. You can even customize your design. Software that can translate the finished outfit design into cut-and-sew patterns that manufacturers can load graphics onto will increase productivity.

That, in turn, will lead to greater automation across the board, which is what Donovich believes will be a major driving force in the growth of digital textile printing and fast fashion in the next few years. “Digital textile printing is still located in a very labor intensive and manual production environment.

More automation, less touch points, and more data driven production will allow faster, more predictable production of fashion.”

Barriers and Benefits to Keep in Mind Like any other vertical, digital textile printing in general, and fast fashion in particular, comes with big benefits to those who succeed in it, but carries barriers to entry that shops looking to enter this space must overcome.

Pigment technology has been around for a long time, but hasn’t changed much since the 1990s. But its changing in the coming months, with technologies on the cusp of breaking the barriers that have previously held the space back.

And pigments, he notes, will be a game changer for fast fashion. If that takes off, then you don’t need to print on polyester, you can print on blends, which will expand the marketplace to not only sportswear and t-shirts, but also the fabrics and printing onto yardage itself, which is what everyone is looking for.

Beyond the printing technology, Hunter notes that the software side of production is also changing rapidly, which will in turn help drive the fast fashion space. In particular, she notes that 3D design software is changing the way consumers think about and buy fashion online, which is a prime market for the benefits digital textile printing can bring to the table.

On the benefits side of the equation, Donovich notes that, “being part of the fast fashion fulfillment and supply chain is a huge benefit, as most of the impressions come from this market.

Therefore even a niche in the market can bring many impressions and increase profitability.”

Digital textile printing allows designers to stretch their creativity in ways that wouldn't be financially feasible with traditional processes.

Digital textile printing allows designers to stretch their creativity, experimenting with different shapes, colors, and more far easier than with a traditional workflow.

That said, notes Check, “In some sense, the printing part is the easy part, as the manufacturers have improved the products to produce good results consistently. The final product that is being sold is a combination of a good design that is applied to fabric; having a good understanding of the fabric, and

offering a wide range of fabric types is a critical part to success in fast fashion.”

While it can be daunting to jump into an entirely new market that has a significant learning curve, it shouldn’t discourage printers from exploring the options, or investing in the space, Hunter says. A few tips that were echoed across the board include taking the time to learn about the equipment, what it can do, and what brands are looking for when it comes to fast fashion, taking a lot of notes along the way and asking a lot of questions. Partnering with a wholesaler that already has some of this work is another way to get started, giving the shop a chance to test the waters of fast fashion and learn what investments would be absolutely necessary to get started.

And don’t just think about clothing, either. While “fast fashion” tends to refer to apparel, the reality is that digital textile printing can be applied to other elements of the fashion industry, such as sublimated accessories like buttons, belt buckles, or even eyeglass frames. “It’s just amazing what we can customize and print on!” says Hunter.

Smart wearable technologies is another arm of fast fashion that is still in its infancy, with future opportunities for those who master the category.

Fast fashion isn’t a vertical for the faint of heart — it requires not just the equipment for digital textile printing, but a strong sense of what brands need, and the ability to work with them directly to create textiles quickly and efficiently on demand. But while it might not be as easy as “buy the machine and the work will come,” fast fashion — and digital textile printing — is still a relatively new frontier with unlimited opportunities for those willing to experiment and learn.

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22- 25 SEP 2021 BITEC • BANGKOK

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countries and regions

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Judging wraps up for Asian Packaging Excellence Awards Judging for the 2020 Asian Packaging Excellence Awards has wrapped up. Due to the ongoing pandemic, judging was delayed.

In previous years, the judging panel consists of international packaging printing experts from across the region.

Travel restrictions over the past year in different countries has rendered it almost impossible to organise judging in the same conditions as before.

days, judges based in Australia came together and were able to select winners for the 2020 awards.

In order to prevent further delay, judging was conducted in Australia once travel bubbles within the country were lifted. Over the course of two

“We are hopeful that the next Awards we will be able to meet in person at the gala dinner at the end of the year, but let’s get their first with travel open and

Winners will be notified by email, and an online virtual awards ceremony will be held soon after.

people being vaccinated, but we really look forward to this live event again in the future,” said Paul Callaghan, Judging for the Asian Print Awards will be conducted soon.

About the Asian Packaging Excellence Awards The Asian Packaging Excellence Awards celebrates the best in packaging production in the region. Now in its 19th year, the competition recognises and honours packaging excellence for the Asian region. The competition is open to companies involved in the production of packaging.

In light of the current COVID-19 situation, the judging for this year will be held in Australia. The event was originally supposed to be held from 26 to 27 August 2020 in Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam. Due to ever evolving pandemic, the 2020 prize and awards presentation will now be held virtually.

Supported by leading industry-supply companies, the competition awards excellent print and packaging products with the Gold, Silver or Bronze award.

The Awards are judged on a wholly quality-oriented set of criteria to ensure that fair play is enacted at all times. The Independent Judging Panel comprises highly qualified personnel form within Asia and around the world.

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Manroland helps build new benchmark for packaging For a company that started out full of ambition, Ningxia Hongde Packaging Materials Co., Ltd. naturally favors a bold business approach and a smart choice in essential equipment. says Ms. Ma Guiqin, General Manager and General Secretary of the Party branch of Ningxia Hongde. "This poses tremendous challenges to us including the frontline production workers and the company managers.

And so as the demand for productivity and high-end tobacco packaging grows, Ningxia Hongde turned to Manroland for its production needs in these fastchanging times.

Situated in Wuzhong City on the Ningxia Plain, the company is the leading high-end cigarette packaging printer in the Northwest, a vast area covering the Ningxia Autonomous Region.

To accommodate more customers and to keep its standing as a print leader, Ningxia Hongde last year purchased a new eight-color ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION press. Having been installed and put into production recently, the powerful machine is expected to propel the company to greater success.

"However, in terms of the equipment quality or the quality of printed products, we have been very satisfied with our Manroland machine, which has been running in our plant for almost a decade."

Ningxia Hongde provides packaging for large-scale tobacco companies across the country. It has an annual production capacity for packaging of 400,000 boxes of cigarettes. Nearly 10 years of unremitting effort saw the company enjoy significant business growth and receive a number of awards such as “Top 50 Small and Medium Enterprises in the Autonomous Region,” “Specialized and Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises in the Autonomous Region,” and “Advanced Organization of Safe Production in the Autonomous Region.”

From the beginning, Ningxia Hongde relied on an eight-color ROLAND 700 with double coating module press as its key production machine. During nearly 10 years of operation, the ROLAND 700 helped the company achieve continuous business growth and build a Ningxia Hongde was founded in new benchmark for cigarette packaging 2011 by a group of tobacco industry printers in the Northwest. That is leaders adhering to the shared value​​ due to its premium productivity, print of “Country First, Consumers First.” quality and finishing capabilities. For Its chief aim was to actively support these same reasons, the new-generation the development of the “Yellow River ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION became Charity Valley” in Ningxia. Hence, it the obvious choice of Ningxia Hongde is a poverty alleviation enterprise in when selecting a new machine.

Hongsibao District, Wuzhong City, the largest ecological immigration area in “Tobacco packaging products have the country. rigorous requirements -- large quantity, high speed and high product quality,"

Speaking of Ningxia Honde's investment on a ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION, Ms. Ma says: “Looking at the future, the demand for printing technology is becoming more and more diversified, which raises the new requirements of the processing capacity of the printers; at the same time, we also hope to continuously improve our productivity and optimize the production process through automated technologies.

"The new-generation ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION has made big improvements on user-friendliness and various automatic functions.

Furthermore, its print quality is as brilliant as other Manroland printing machines. It meets all of our needs."

"With its outstanding print quality and processing capabilities, the new-generation ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION has been well received by tobacco packaging printers since its launch," Ms. Chan says.

A ProServ 360° comprehensive performance management program comes with the ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION, assuring printers they can get maximum performance from their machine.

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SPEED UP YOUR PROCESSES with optical systems for UV curing and drying

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How XSYS Prepress is helping customers through the pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of all parts of the packaging supply chain and introduced new challenges for manufacturers, suppliers and printing companies. As the scale of the crisis became clear, many had to re-evaluate their business structure and find new ways to support customers.

For XSYS Prepress, restrictions on travel and entering customer premises brought the built-in remote capabilities of the ThermoFlexX equipment into

the limelight. Thanks to the ability to set up, calibrate and bring machines online without being on site, the company has continued with installations of

its innovative and highly automated platemaking equipment no matter where in the world customers are based.

Christophe Lievens, Director of Sales at XSYS Prepress, explains, “Not only do all of our ThermoFlexX platemaking products come equipped with comprehensive remote support capabilities, the machines are also incredibly easy to use and have some very innovative automation features that really simplify the process. The evidence lies in the fact that machines have been installed by customers’ own engineers guided remotely by the XSYS team. It really is quite extraordinary.”

Repeat order for expansion In Pakistan, repro specialist Digital Process recently took delivery of a ThermoFlexX TFxX 48 digital imager to expand capacity in its flexo platemaking department. Having invested in a ThermoFlexX TFxX 60 model just two years before, the company already knew the technology well.

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“This installation was only possible thanks to our advanced remote tools, which enable us to set up and calibrate the machine without being on site.

There are no special tools required to check laser focus, power and beam quality as it is all built into the machine”, Yves Vanryckeghem, XSYS Prepress Technical Manager for APAC Zain Fazal, CEO of Digital Process, says, “After we set up the ThermoFlexX TFxX 48, Yves ran all the tests and configured the machine while sitting in Singapore. He monitored the whole process and even supported us over the weekend. To be up and running in just three days during this global crisis is just amazing!”

Adding to the workflow In China, Zhengyi Advanced Flexo Graphics Co Ltd has invested in

two new ThermoFlexX machines to improve its platemaking capabilities.

A ThermoFlexX Catena-E UV LED exposure unit and a Catena-DL dryer/ light finisher have been installed at its facility in Dongguan; both set up by XSYS’ local Chinese technician with remote support from Ypres, Belgium.

“The Catena-E offers great remote tools, which means we are able to check and calibrate the UV-LED power without sending anyone on site. On the Catena-DL, we can check the UV-A and UV-C intensity, and also verify the dryer temperatures, all done remotely,” explains Yves.

Easily moved with support When Graphiflex in Mexico was setting up an in-plant platemaking operation, it put its faith in an existing ThermoFlexX TFxX 48 imager,

which was relocated from the repro company’s own facility. The move took place under the watchful eye of Martín Ayala, XSYS LATAM regional service coordinator and technical support for ThermoFlexX, who was able to offer remote assistance during installation.

With the machine coming online at the customer site, Martín also provided training and support to the operator to ensure that the imager was completely calibrated and production ready. He says, “Although this is a complicated process, the technical capabilities of the ThermoFlexX TFxX 48 imager meant that I could direct the engineers and the operator remotely.”

As well as savings in time and costs for XSYS customers, significant sustainability benefits can also be gained from the remote capabilities of the ThermoFlexX product family.

With less need for engineers to travel, many miles are saved on car and plane journeys, helping to lower the overall carbon footprint.

“The crisis has certainly changed the way we work, but it has in no way hampered our efforts to support our global customer base,” concludes Christophe Lievens. “We are proud to help our global community of ThermoFlexX users through what is one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime.”

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MPS prepares for fu With automated features and connectivity, the flexo press specialist is enhancing its product range for the next wave of flexo printers.

MPS Systems, a specialist in flexo presses for the narrow web marketplace, has been hard at work in developing the next wave of technologies for the future. Today, this equipment must meet a host of requirements for current operators and those that have yet to enter the workforce. They must be faster, smarter, and in many ways – go “Beyond the Machine.”

In addition to new flexo and hybrid presses, MPS has engineered its “talk to me” protocol to further the exchange of data through multiple channels.

The company has also developed high-speed matrix rewind, automated and dynamic print control, non-stop print changeovers and more, which promote an increase in press speeds, reducing and optimizing downtime and empowering machine operators.

MPS’ range of presses – the EFS, EFA, EF-SYMJET and EXL lines – are focused on connectivity, productivity, service and applications to meet its customers’ needs. The company has also embraced hybrid label printing, which leverages its flexo expertise in combination with that of Domino’s digital inkjet know-how.

“We believe hybrid printing technology will be the technology of the future,” explains Michael Weyermann, vice president of sales and marketing, MPS Systems North America. “Though conventional presses are here to stay, we will continue to improve the technology, speed, and productivity of these machines to rival the advantages of digital presses. We believe digital assets will get wider and faster, making way for this technology into other segments like flexible packaging.

Converters want the best of both technologies – the speed and quality of flexographic printing with the flexibility and versatility of digital inkjet – and hybrid presses are the solution.”

The EF SYMJET powered by Domino is that hybrid flexo inkjet press that gives converters a range of new print potential with the combination of conventional and digital printing technologies. The EF SYMJET press is built with the standard MPS EF platform and an integrated Domino digital N610i inkjet printer. With a Domino digital inkjet unit integrated on the EFS or EFA flexo platform, converters get the best of both worlds together in a future-proof press.

The increase in short runs and need for personalization and variable data printing has placed an increased emphasis on digital printing. Manufacturers like MPS have responded to meet this market need.

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uture of flexo atmosphere, manufacturers and converters alike must adjust to better serve their customers. For MPS, that has translated to virtual press demonstrations, remote service calls and operator trainings, while also adapting quickly to a digital workspace.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about certain challenges, but MPS has responded – and its technological

“The rise in digital printing continues to motivate us at MPS to engineer better, faster, quicker flexo press technologies,” says Weyermann.

“Inspired by digital technology, MPS has created flexo solutions that support quicker changeovers, automation, and connectivity. To have a press that can recall print parameters in job memory, automate print and registration settings, store and present important data metrics to management, and get up and printing as fast as a digital changeover is what we strive for.

Also, the increase in digital has sparked the production of flexo-digital hybrid technologies, as well. The EF-SYMJET powered by Domino is MPS’s hybrid press solution that combines the advantages of conventional print with the versatility and flexibility of digital inkjet – all in a single pass.”

MPS has tailored its portfolio to accommodate the varying needs of the modern label printer. Whether looking for a flexo, hybrid or digital

printing press, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind.

According to Weyermann, converters must evaluate for quality, speed and performance of each press. Of course, the press must also be able to meet their unique job requirements.

“Another consideration is the connectivity options provided by the OEM,” notes Weyermann. “Having a press that provides real time data to not only your management and production staff, but your OEM’s service team, can dramatically decrease downtime and optimize maintenance.

Also, complete an audit of your order mix, staff and fleet – are there any gaps or opportunities for growth?

Understanding your most profitable opportunities, your current fleet challenges, and the capabilities of your staff are important when choosing the best press and auxiliary equipment for success.”

Flexibility also must go beyond the equipment. In today’s challenging

capabilities have played a role. “For new press installs and necessary service visits, we used local engineers from agents and customers, when available, to reduce travel exposure to the virus,” says Weyermann. “Customers with “talk to me” connectivity deployed on their machine had the added advantage of digital visibility into their machine data, which helped with remote service, job planning and informed decision making during these critical times.”

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Miraclon enables Zec successful “Together Zecher GmbH, manufacturer of anilox rollers for the printing and coating industry headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, successfully completed a project to demonstrate how consistent, high quality results can be achieved with a variety of packaging applications that are produced on flexo using CMYK process colours and advanced technologies.

The project, executed in cooperation with a range of partners, including Miraclon that provided the plates, aimed to prove that uniform colour and image reproduction on a range of different substrates can be achieved using flexo, to ensure that the packaging communicate a brand’s identity and message consistently and provide consumers with an incomparable, positive shopping experience.

An ambitious undertaking To maximise the practical relevance, complex images typically found on packaging for foods, coffee, tobacco, cosmetics and animal food were chosen.

Subtle gradients in the highlights and fine details in the high tonal ranges

were features shared by all the designs.

A subject rich in contrast and showing a woman’s face completely covered in gold make-up proved to be a particular challenge for CMYK flexo printing. It was this subject that also inspired the motto for the project: “Together for Golden Results”.

Three applications were produced: flexible packaging (printed on BOPP film), corrugated preprint on 135 g/ cm2 paper fully coated on one side, and a paper carrier bag made from 100 g/ cm2 white-coated kraft paper.

Zecher anilox rollers equipped with Zecher’s SteppedHex engraving technology were used to print all three

applications. This innovative engraving method is characterized by a unique, specially staggered cell geometry which helps optimize print quality.

Three applications, one FLEXCEL NX plate technology All three applications were produced using FLEXCEL NX plates, made with KODAK MAXTONE SX Screening – which is optimized for the FLEXCEL NX System – and a 60l/cm (152 lpi) screen. “We selected FLEXCEL NX Plate technology based on its strong presence in the flexo market and the controlled ink transfer it delivers,” explains Jörg Rohde, Head of Application Technology at Zecher.

The technical resources for producing the flexible packaging application were made available by machinery and systems manufacturer Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) at its Printing Technology Center in Lengerich, Germany. And, as the facility houses a FLEXCEL NX Ultra Solution from Miraclon, the flexo plates could be made on the spot.

The corrugated preprint application was produced at Christiansen Print in Ilsenburg, Germany, using FLEXCEL NX plates from SCHAWK Goslar, while the paper carrier bag was printed at Stenqvist Austria with FLEXCEL NX Plates from FLEX-PUNKT Druckformen GmbH. “Golden results” convince in every aspect There were delays executing the project owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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cher to deliver for Golden Results”

However, there was no denying the brilliance of the results once it was completed. Everyone involved was excited - not only by the colour consistency with remarkably close tolerances across all substrates, but also by the outstanding image quality in the gradients and fine details. The striking reproduction of the golden face using just the capabilities of CMYK flexo printing with no additional spot colours was similarly impressive.

“We succeeded in demonstrating the high colour consistency and comparable results that are achievable

across a range of products and substrates with flexo printing today,” says Rohde. “The project confirmed that our Zecher SteppedHex anilox roller engraving technology facilitates the highest levels of colour consistency in different flexo applications, and the FLEXCEL NX plate technology from Miraclon helped us do that. Provided all process parameters are precisely matched, ‘golden results’ like these are entirely feasible under real production conditions.”

“We are delighted to be part of a project that pushes the boundaries

of flexo printing,” adds Nilgun Turan, Marketing Manager, Europe at Miraclon. “With their unmatched stability, optimized ink transfer and the wide tonal range it delivers, FLEXCEL NX plates enable the large colour gamut that is a condition of applications like gold in CMYK – every time. The results of this project are clear evidence that innovation will continue driving flexo’s growing success in the market.”

Samples of these applications produced are available on request and can be ordered from Zecher GmbH at marketing@zecher.com.

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Why inkjet is your next growth opportunity Digital inkjet is the fastest growing print process and it will perform more strongly than any other technology over the next few years.

This is according to market research consulting firm Mordor Intelligence.

Its Inkjet Printing Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 – 2026) report valued the global inkjet printing market at E34.29 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach E41.36 billion at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 3.11% between 2021 to 2026.

Driving this growth is the huge investment being made in inkjet technology and the enhanced quality and productivity that today’s high speed inkjet devices deliver.

Innovative concepts and technological inventions featured in colour inkjet products provide the right balance between image quality, image durability, print speed, purchase price, and operational cost.

This combination became attractive for early adopter commercial printers enabling them to adapt their application

offering and cost effectively transition analogue print to digital.

flexo, gravure, screen and digital toner printing.

The marriage of high quality colour print, media flexibility and the ability to add variable content delivers a compelling business case and it is broadening digital inkjet’s effectiveness across different sectors.

And while the pandemic will have had an impact on investment in the technology, the report’s statement remains true that as inkjet press performance improves, the economic crossover moves to longer runs. This makes it an ever more interesting opportunity.

Book printing, magazines and catalogues were all highlighted by Mordor as growth opportunities while Smithers reported all inkjet sectors were enjoying growth in its The Future of Inkjet Printing to 2025 early last year.

It said this was because inkjet suits the changing demands of print buyers because it can be more responsive to the preferences of consumers than analogue alternatives. The continuing technological developments, together with the greater experience of print service providers (PSPs), combine to make inkjet competitive against offset,

It also futureproofs your operation by placing you at the forefront of this growth. It allows you to expand your application capabilities supported by the technology’s continuing evolution.

The report also pointed to inkjet’s ability to help PSPs become more agile and responsive to client requirements, deliver total variability cost effectively, and print only what is needed on demand to cut waste and enable production and supply chain efficiency.

Learn more

New solution for direct-to-substrate proofing on uncoated packaging media - now available for FLEX PACK!

www.cgs-oris.com

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CGS ORIS and HanGlobal collaborate to further digital printing in China CGS ORIS announced its digital printing partnership with China’s HanGlobal Group for the next three years.

In the initial phase of the agreement, CGS ORIS colour management solutions will be applied to the inkjet digital label and book presses.

In a second phase, other digital printing presses of the HanGlory Group – a division of the HanGlobal Group – such as digital corrugated packaging printers, textile printers, large format UV printers and other digital printers will follow.

“Our common aim is to optimize digital printing processes and results and make it even more easier and faster for printing operators to achieve perfect print results. Especially, the handling and reproduction of spot colours play an important role for us,”, said Lilly Xiao, General Sales Manager Greater China at CGS ORIS. The partnership was cemented in a ceremony between Xiao and HanGlobal General Manager Li Hualin.

In addition, CGS ORIS software will be used to optimize and reduce the total ink volume. That leads to faster drying times and even higher production speed. The customers profit by an increase in productivity and the ability to make full use of their presses while reducing production costs.

With the diversification of label products, small quantities and

the development of multi-SKUs, coupled with the Internet of Things, Internet plus as well as one yard, anti-counterfeiting technology, a growing demand for digital products is expected. The strong partnership between the two companies will give answers to that by providing reliable software solutions for the usage of digital inkjet technology with accurate colour in the field of industrial printing.

“We are very glad about the partnership and are very looking forward to bring our colour management solution and experience to the new market to meet the growing number of needs on colour consistence, especially the accurate reproduction of spot colours on high speed inkjet printers,” said Christoph Thommessen, Managing Director Global Sales.

HanGlobal is part of the Hanglory Group, a industrial digital printing solution provider that focuses on digital inkjet printing technology and integrates R&D, production, sales and after-sales service. The Hanglory Group owns seven high-tech enterprises, with applications covering advertising, home improvement, clothing, textiles, packaging, books, labels, printed circuit boards, 3C electronics and other industries.

HanGlobal focuses on digital inkjet presses for label sand books printing.

Introducing a new business model, consumables, and software Highcon Systems Ltd., announces the launch of new product enhancements and consumables, and a new pricing model. These new initiatives will enable the customers of Highcon® Euclid and Beam digital converting platforms, to improve their workflow efficiencies to significantly reduce their costs, as well as offering a new level of cutting and creasing performance that will lead to increased product value and job profitability.

These latest Highcon updates have been launched in response to worldwide customer feedback matched to its own R&D roadmap. They have been designed to help customers to better meet the challenges of the pandemic, as well as an increasingly

competitive landscape where margins are tight and product differentiation is key.

“Customers expect us to continually deliver product enhancements and improvements throughout the life cycle of our equipment, and now more than ever, it’s important that we support them. The initiatives launched today, once implemented at each of our customers’ sites, will have an immediate benefit, but they will also secure future success too. For example, our new unified software platform approach will ensure that all Highcon Highcon DART customers continue to benefitRule from (Digital Adhesive our ongoing R&D investment in head Technology) writing

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51 “From increasing on-shelf appeal to dramatically reducing minimum order quantities and reducing stock and storage, to the recyclability and overall sustainability attributes of product packaging, we believe that digital Luxury packaging market in Asia Pacific to witness high growth to 2026 - China is a key market driver for growth in luxury goods.

software tools for years to come,” comments Shlomo Nimrodi, CEO at Highcon.

New pricing model: Highcon is introducing consumables and services at a new bundled price, allowing for consistent pricing of any job. Customers will be afforded the simplicity, predictability, and consistency to make it easier to understand their costs and drive better future business decisions – crucially, making considerable savings in the process.

Austin Meissner, V.P. Operations at Color Ink, Sussex WI, USA said, “We are very excited about the new Highcon business model for consumables and the 5th generation foil & resin.”

New consumables: Highcon is also launching its 5th Generation DART Consumable set (5thGDC), engineered to improve crease quality and reduce setup time by up to 20%. It also features a broader range of supported boards, leading to greatly increased application possibilities and ensuring that Highcon finished jobs meet the quality requirements of major brands.

As the name suggests, this is the fifth generation of consumables since the Highcon Euclid was first introduced, representing years of R&D investment in optimizing specialized proprietary consumables, for dynamic, digitally driven physical creasing.

According to Francois Boussioux of Autajon/Haubtmann “We are very happy with the quality achieved by the Highcon 5thGDC. The crease

quality of our applications has reached new heights and the crease lines are uniform and without cracks. Setup times have also been reduced and the use of foam strips has significantly dropped. Altogether, we see a terrific improvement.”

Operating System: Highcon is releasing a new and unified software version for both Euclid and Beam platforms, delivering new and upgraded features/capabilities to all our customers. Highcon Euclid customers, some of whom have been running their Highcon solutions for years, will now be able to upgrade their operating system and PC hardware to run the newest version, ensuring optimum production performance, as part of an annual service contract.

Shlomo Nimrodi, concludes: “Our business is growing rapidly, but our vision has remained laser focused - we are dedicated to customer success.

And because it answers so many of the big issues faced by our industry and the wider world, we are also committed to making digital finishing a mainstream technology.

The luxury packaging market was valued at USD 16.65 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 22.37 billion by 2026 and grow at a CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period of 2021-2026, according to a new research by Reportlinker.

The use of luxury packaging for packaging and decorating high-end products is driving the market’s growth. Major packaging vendors are gaining access to numerous high-quality materials and innovative shapes, as these properties improved the consumer experience.

Factors such as changing consumer preferences, growing willingness to spend more, and rising focus of various brands on design, processes, and the overall product development drive the luxury packaging demand.

The report titled "Luxury Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)", indicated that the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow substantially in the forecast period, due to the increase in disposable income

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52 leading luxury brands, as the country is fast turning into the world’s largest consumer of luxury goods. Chinese consumers are also looking for easyto-use and quality food products. A surge in online retailing in China is expected to drive the demand for luxury packaging solutions.

and consumer’s spending on luxury products in the region.

Large population and massive urbanization have led to the rise in the adoption of urban lifestyle, due to the changing consumer patterns and the rising demand for luxurious products.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, about 60.16% of the total population lived in cities in 2019.

Sustainable packaging is also driving the market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Manufacturers of high-end products are focusing on producing packaging by the help of bio-degradable materials. In addition, major international brands are focusing on eco-friendly luxury packaging solutions to maintain the sustainability goals.

The major key factors driving the growth of the market include a massive increase in the number of product launches in the fashion and cosmetic sector. The major international brands are eyeing on the emerging economies, such as China and India, to set up their stores in these countries, as these countries pose various growth prospects.

The rise in penetration of online retail and travel retail, increasing innovations in technologies in luxury packaging, and others are among various other factors, driving the growth of the market in the region.

China is one of the economies, which is increasingly being targeted by the

Paperboard is Witnessing an Increased Adoption Paperboard is one of the most popularly used materials in packaging.

Some of the other used materials include metal, glass, plastic, and wood, among others. Most of these materials used are easily sourceable and, at the same time, help to establish a sense of premium quality in the minds of customers.

Paper and paperboards have maintained a strong position in luxury and premium packaging, with their ability to serve as the canvas for flawless graphics and eye-catching decoration. The features, such as laminations, unique coatings, super embossing, and debossing effects, make papers much more attractive in the packaging of luxury items. These packagings also provide superior strength and smoothness.

In the high-end wine and spirits segments, papers have always been popular label materials. The craft-beer brands use paper-labels to describe or advertise the products’ premium or handcrafted values.

Due to the wordlwide lockdown because of COVID-19, the supply chain of the luxury packaging market was disrupted. But the market is recovering and is not supposed to create any significant effect in the long run.

Xeikon adds brand new CX50 press to its wall decoration suite Xeikon announces an eco-friendly, cost-effective digital answer to today’s wallpaper production challenges. As a key part of Xeikon’s Wall Deco Suite and with Xeikon’s bespoke and environmentally friendly dry toner technology with extended colour gamut, the new Xeikon CX50 is introduced.

The Xeikon Wall Deco Suite is an allin-one streamlined solution including inline finishing – all developed to cost effectively produce creative wall decorations including custom illustrations and photomurals in short runs. Meeting today’s consumer demand for individualised home interiors, the Xeikon CX50 digital press offers unlimited creative freedom across a wide range of substrates where every printed product can be unique.

Dimitri Van Gaever, Market Segment Director for Graphic Arts, states, “Xeikon has once again led the way in bringing to market a complete endto-end solution for wall decoration production. What we have put together is a complete automated Wall Deco factory coming together to produce a quality finished coreless roll.

The Xeikon CX50 digital press fits perfectly into our portfolio for wallcovering applications, midway between the Xeikon 3050 REX entry level option and our high-end Xeikon CX500 digital press. For higher speeds the Xeikon CX50 can be upgraded from 20mpm (65ft/min) to 30mpm (98ft/min). With Xeikon’s dry toner technology and advanced

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The Future of Flexo Plate Making

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Improve plate print quality and consistency

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Reduce handling errors

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Lower total cost of ownership

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Higher productivity

www.xsysglobal.com

info@xsysglobal.com

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54 colour management capability with new generation interfaces and cloud connection, the Xeikon CX50 simplex digital press is designed to offer maximum OEE and TCO.” The wall decoration business has huge potential, however online ordering, stricter environmental controls and consumer demand for unique products is presenting a number of challenges for conventional wallpaper companies. Xeikon is dedicated to helping its customers improve business profitability and drive growth through our creative solutions. Xeikon has designed and developed its Wall Deco Suite to give businesses an allin-one cost-effective solution which can give them every advantage in the marketplace.

Like all of its presses, the Xeikon CX50 is driven by Xeikon’s powerful and intelligent X-800 digital front end for full automation and integration.

Xeikon’s Digital Front End (DFE) workflow is a true differentiator and enabler and can be integrated with common ERP and MIS systems. The X-800 workflow, which is the same across all Xeikon dry toner solutions, features a ‘poster layout’ function for murals and wallcoverings to ensure spot-on registration for seamless installation.

Accuracy of colour reproduction is guaranteed by an integrated on-press inline spectrometer and an optional registration camera. The Xeikon CX50 press provides superior colour consistency and an extended colour gamut. Xeikon’s developed dry toner is available in CMYK, Red, Blue, Green, Orange and Magenta, plus additional

colours such as one-pass opaque white and colours produced on customer request. Inline finishing equipment has been specifically designed to work within Xeikon’s Wall Deco Production Suite and includes inline water-based varnishing, slitting, waste removal and coreless rewinding, providing a fully finished wallpaper roll, ready-to ship, in one operation.

Van Gaever concludes, “Part of Xeikon’s ongoing value proposition is to offer the market choices to help customers drive business growth.

We believe a successful and costeffective investment in a digital production solution works best when it is based on expected and realistic print volumes. The Xeikon CX50 press is ideal for those working in wall decoration production with flexible orders and shorter runs.

With its capability to upgrade to higher speeds, an investment in this press ensures and secures future business growth. With Xeikon’s long standing expertise, we can help our customers make relevant and appropriate choices.

We are recognised as a ‘go to’ trusted advisor and solutions provider. With the introduction of our Xeikon CX50 digital press for Wall Decoration, we strengthen our comprehensive portfolio so that our customers can find everything they need from Xeikon.”

Fujifilm invests in new US $19m ink production plant FUJIFILM Imaging Colorants, Inc. (FFIC), will construct a new production plant for pigment dispersions, which is a colorant for

water-based pigment inkjet inks, in order to accelerate the growth of the global inkjet business.

Construction will start in April 2021 and is scheduled for completion by 2022. The investment for this construction is approximately US $19 million.

Inkjet technology has the capability to deliver fast, versatile, print production at short or long run-lengths with variable data. Applications for inkjet are expanding into industrial fields such as packaging printing in addition to commercial and publishing printing.

In particular, there is a growing need to use water-based pigment inkjet inks, which have low environmental impact and potential to meet requirements for food packaging safety compliance.

Currently, FFIC Inc. in the U.S. is a water-based inkjet ink manufacturing facility. By adding the new production plant for pigment dispersions (the main colorant in water-based pigment inkjet inks), it will be able to produce consistent, fully-featured water-based pigment inkjet inks built with Fujifilm's own core dispersion technology.

Fujifilm's pigment dispersions are based on its unique “RxD (Reactive Dispersant)” technology, which crosslinks polymer dispersants adsorbed on the pigment particles. The dispersant prevents desorption from the pigment, creating a very stable dispersion. This technology makes RxD dispersions suitable for multiple applications as they enable the design of stable ink formulations that meet demanding performance requirements.

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55 Fujifilm uses RxD dispersions not only for its own inks, but also supplies to ink manufacturers around the world, and they are used in many water-based pigment inkjet inks.

Currently, the development and manufacture of pigment dispersions using RxD technology is limited to FUJIFILM Imaging Colorants Ltd. (Grangemouth, Scotland) in the U.K. In the establishment of a new dispersion plant at FFIC Inc, in the U.S., Fujifilm will continue to ensure the production of the highest quality products and strengthen global supply capacity to meet the future needs of the growing industrial inkjet market.

“RxD is a key technology for current and next-generation water-based inkjet inks,” said Ian Wilkinson, President & Chief Operating Officer of FFIC Inc. “Expansion of our manufacturing capacity is part of a commitment to ensure we can meet increasing demand to support our global customer base.

We are already manufacturing a very high-quality, high-purity product in the U.K. In this venture we are using the design and project management expertise of our U.K. team to execute this project in the U.S. This, alongside expert knowledge, technology and processes will ensure that we manufacture RxD dispersions to the same exceptional standard across both sites.”

Unilever making progress tackling plastic packaging in Asia In 2019, Unilever announced its commitment to halve the use of virgin plastic in its packaging, and to help collect and process more plastic packaging that it sells. The organisation hopes to achieve this by 2025.

Unilever announced that around 11% of its total plastic packaging worldwide consists of recycled plastic, a progress towards its 25% recycled plastic use by 2025.

Unilever has updated on its progress in Asia Pacific through partnerships, collaborations and initiatives.

Using Technology In China, Unilever teamed up with the Alibaba Group to create an Al-enabled recycling system for plastic bottles.

Through the Waste-Free World initiative, Unilever installed 20 recycling machines in offices and community spaces in two of China’s largest cities, Shanghai and Hangzhou. The machines automatically identify the plastic the bottle is made of, sort and store it, so it can be collected and returned to recycling centres and fast-tracked for reuse. Consumers earn Unilever coupons and green energy points on the Alipay ‘Ant Forest’ for each bottle they deposit.

In Indonesia, Unilever utilised ‘Google My Business’, a platform that enables consumers to find the location of nearby waste banks directly on Google Maps. At the moment, almost 800 waste banks are searchable on the digital tool in 18 cities. Unilever aims is to make 2,000 available.

Investing in waste management systems in Asia Together with other large consumer goods companies such as PepsiCo, P&G and Coca-Cola, Unilever has collectively pledged a total of US$100 million to the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund – the world’s first investment fund dedicated to preventing ocean plastic.

By demonstrating the investibility of the waste management and recycling sectors, Circulate Capital’s aim is to attract the billions of dollars of institutional investment needed to scale companies and infrastructure across South and Southeast Asia. These regions contribute disproportionately to ocean plastic pollution, primarily because they lack the infrastructure to manage the problem.

The fund provides financing to waste management, recycling and circular economy start-ups and SMEs in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the

Philippines, helping solutions to scale and replicate by connecting them to supply chains, including those of the world’s leading companies.

One such investment is Recyckal, India’s first waste-commerce company.

Recyckal provides end-to-end digital solutions that connect waste generators, processors, recyclers and brand owners. It also facilitates material flows and transactions across the waste management and recycling value chain.

Developing Holistic Solutions Four years ahead of plan for India, Unilever will collect and process more than 100% of the plastic packaging it sells.

Since 2018, Hindustan Unilever has facilitated the safe disposal of more than 120,000 tonnes of post-consumer-use waste. In Mumbai, Unilever partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and consulting firm Xynteo to create material recovery facilities. The aim here is to demonstrate the feasibility of inclusive end-to-end waste management solutions.

In a separate collaboration, Unilever Pakistan has partnered with UNDP to make Rahim Yar Khan a zero plastic waste city. The initiative will test solutions to reduce plastic waste and turn it into a resource. The ultimate aim is to create a circular economy system for plastics waste management that can be replicated across the country. iDurst Group. “With the predictive maintenance developed in the project Framework and the machine learning techniques used will in future trigger the maintenance of the printing systems independently in order to guarantee predictable and trouble-free operation.

www.xeikon.com