June 2017 Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia

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Asian Packaging Conference 2017 Closes on a High note. Looking forward to 2018 event Toppan Printing is First HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination Customer Flexo Wash celebrates 25 years Specialty Printing chooses Vetaphone corona treaters ALT Technologies chooses Rotometrics Xeikon Forays into UV Inkjet Technology Flint Group presents a quality evolution in flexographic printing 200 years Koenig 6 Bauer (KBA) - From letterpress to digital print Fuji Xerox expands portfolio with Durst Tau 330 Flint Group launches innovative rotecÂŽ Eco Bridge Stamping Nanomaterial onto Flexible Surfaces Study shows packaging print will promote healthy growth opportunities for machine manufacturers Pack Print International 2017 delivers packaging and printing 4.0 Focus on label and folding carton applications Introduces new, integrated Platform for Brands Interpack 2017 - International Visitors and Top- quality Discussions Tetra Pak unveils first Customer Innovation Centre in Asia Centre of excellence for identity and security print Corrugated inkjet will lead digital packaging print growth Sustainability and premium appeal are keys to growth in flexible packaging Accommodate a wider range of substrates Kodak installs world's first PROSPER 6000S press for folding cartons Breathable backsheet films: serving the growing hygiene market more efficiently CGS wins Idealliance G7 System Certification with ORIS Lynx

AFTA Pte Ltd 39 Robinson Road, Robinson Point #11-01, Suite 25A Singapore 068911 Tel+65 6733 5342 Fax +656733 3586 Chairman

Paul Callaghan paul@printinnovationasia.com

Conference Director

Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com Advertising Sales

Matthew Callahan matt@cpublish.com.sg

Chairman Judging Panel 2014 Packaging Excellence Awards Head Judge - Bob James Afta has 11 active Committee members for 2017 For everything you need go to www.printinnovationasia.com

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Asian Packaging Conference 2017 Closes on a High note The event wrapped up another successful year as it attracted more than 360 visitors from the region and celebrated wins from the concurrently-run Asian Packaging Excellence Awards. Sha Jumari reports.

The two-day event, which took place 27 to 28 April in Jakarta, Indonesia attracted more than 340 unique visitors from around the region. Organised

by Labels & Packaging Innovation Asia (formerly known as AFTA), the conference attracted business owners and suppliers, packaging printers, converters, brand owners, designers.

The conference marked the first edition since the rebranding of the association.

The 15th edition event featured business and technical presentations which were well-received by the attendees. The intensive programme featured high value, inspirational and knowledge-sharing sessions. The aim

of the annual conference is to facilitate an active exchange of ideas, networking and participation in the growing packaging print industry in Asia. The comprehensive conference covered issues in pre-press, digital, flexo, gravure, finishing, design and branding faced by today’s print packaging business owners.

This year’s conference was supported by a number of associations in the Asian packaging industry, namely NPES Indonesia, the Indonesian Packaging Federation and Label Manufacturers Association of India. A special highlight of this year’s edition was a conference takeover by NPES,

who led the second half of Day 2 with seminars and an interactive Q&A session.

Technical workshops and tabletops featured 40 manufacturing and supply companies. To better tailor to individualized business needs of delegates, the new set-up allowed for one-on-one customised consultations on the latest products and technology in the packaging industry. Companies that participated include HP, Bobst, Xeikon, Flint Group, Kodak, CGS, DIC Inks, NPES Indonesia, Martin Automatic, Windmoller & Holscher, Rieckermann, Action Coach, Daetwyler, Epson, KBA, Esko, Glunz & Jensen, Stripsteel,

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

5 Thermoflexx, Alphasonics, Flexowash, Swedev, QuadTech and PrimeBlade.

“We are proud to be able to bring all of the experts together under one roof for the benefit of the packaging and label industry in this region. We would like to express our gratitude to the speakers and industry partners for joining us over the two days, and for being generous with sharing their knowledge and expertise with our visitors,” said Paul Callaghan, chairman of Asian Packaging Conference.

The Asian Packaging Conference wrapped up with a gala dinner and award presentation session to winners of this year’s Asian Packaging Excellence Awards. The next edition of Asian Packaging Conference 2018 is slated to be held in Phuket, Thailand.

“We continue to be amazed by the quality of the entries received for our excellence awards this year. Heartiest congratulations to all winners - we are excited at the turnout this year and we are already looking forward to Asian Packaging Conference 2018!”

NPES Indonesia Programme The second half of Day 2 was led by NPES Indonesia, as it hosted a series of presentations by leading industry experts. NPES Indonesia is a non-profit organisation of US-based suppliers for printing and converting technologies.

The aim of the association is to help its members grow within the Indonesian market, as well as grow import for USbased companies.

The session began with presentations by leading industry experts, including by president of NPES, Thayer Long, who gave a talk on “Worldwide Market for Print 2.0: Global Opportunities in Packaging” featuring market trends in Indonesia. A main focus was on colour management, as topics broached include colour standardization,

improving colour communication and managing brand colour expectations.

An “Ask the Experts” session and brand owners panel were organised after, in which visitors were invited to share challenges within the print packaging industry in a dynamic Q&A-style forum. This proved to be successful as it stretched over more than the hour delegated to the forum.

Within the session, the audience were able to have their specific business challenges addressed by a diverse panel.

15th Asian Packaging Excellence Awards Asian Packaging Conference additionally celebrated its 15th year of organising the Packaging Excellence Awards. Winners were announced at the Gala Dinner, held on the second night of the conference.

With the objective of: “To raise the standard and promote the achievements in excellence of Asian packaging printing”, the awards churn out excit-

ing products that set industry standards every year. Submissions were entered by printers in gravure, flexo and labels printing.

Judging commenced end-March 2017 by a panel of esteemed industry veterans, namely independent chairman of judging, Robert R James, Willem (Wim) Swiggers and Alf Carrigan.

A total of 33 awards were meted out.

Thailand was the leader of the pack as it took home 11 awards. Malaysia and Vietnam tied for second place with five awards each. India won three awards,

while Philippines left with two awards.

Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and Cambodia left with an award each.

The Judges Award, which represents the best of the best in show, goes to India’s Multiflex Poly Bags Pvt Ltd for Flexo; Print Master Co. Ltd from Thailand for Gravure; and Vietnam’s An Lac Labels for the Label category.

Following is the full list of winners for the 2017 Asian Packaging Excellence Awards:

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

6 Narrow Web Flexibles (Web Widths up to 500mm) Gold – Multiflex Poly Bags Pvt Ltd, India Mid Web Flexibles (Web widths 501 to 914mm) Gold - TPN Flexpak Co., Ltd, Thailand Silver – Scientex Great Walls (Ipoh) Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Bronze - PrePack Thailand Co., Ltd, Thailand Wide Web Flexibles (Web widths 915mm or more) Gold – Multiflex Poly Bags Pvt Ltd, India – JUDGES AWARD Silver - TPN Flexpak Co., Ltd, Thailand Bronze - Scientex Great Walls (Ipoh) Sdn Bhd, Malaysia FLEXO JUDGES AWARD - Multiflex Poly Bags Pvt Ltd, India GRAVURE Paper and Metallised Paper - Surface Print Gold - PT. Semarang Packaging Industri Jaya Abadi, Indonesia Metallised Films and Aluminium Foils - Surface Print Gold - United Graphic Expression Corporation, Philippines Surface Print Films Gold - Print Master Co., Ltd, Thailand – JUDGES AWARD Reverse Print Films Gold - Prime Packaging Co., Ltd, Thailand Silver – Fuji Ace Co., Ltd, Thailand Silver – Print Master Co., Ltd, Thailand Bronze - S.B Packaging Limited, India GRAVURE JUDGES AWARD - Print Master Co., Ltd, Thailand LABELS Flexo Gold – QLM Label Makers, Malaysia Silver – An Lac Labels, Vietnam Bronze - Pemara Labels (M) Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Letterpress Gold - Hoang Ha Labels Co., Ltd (QLM Label Makers), Vietnam Silver - Orient Quality Print Pte Ltd, Singapore Sheetfed Offset Gold - Thung Hua Sinn Co., Ltd, Thailand Silver - United Graphic Expression Corporation, Philippines Combination Printing Gold – An Lac Labels, Vietnam Silver – CCL Label (Thai) LTD, Thailand Silver – QLM Label Makers LABEL, Malaysia Bronze – Holographic Label Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Non Pressure Sensitive Material and Process Gold - J.D. Precision Printing Co., Ltd, Taiwan Digital printing Gold - Hoang Ha Labels Co., Ltd (QLM Label Makers), Vietnam Silver – Orient Quality Print Pte Ltd, Singapore Bronze – An Lac Labels, Vietnam LABELS JUDGES AWARD – An Lac Labels, Vietnam

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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All these and more photos are online at www.printinnovationasia.com Also you can download all the 2 day conference presentations

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Toppan Printing is First HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination Customer At interpack 2017, HP announced Toppan Printing of Japan, a global supplier of packaging solutions, as the first customer beta site for the HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination solution. The new HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminator, manufactured and supplied by Karlville, is scheduled to be installed this summer at Toppan’s facility in Japan.

HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination is game-changing technology that allows for immediate time-to-market to convert HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging material into consumer packaging. The solution, which includes HP Indigo Pack Ready

Laminator and Pack Ready Film, creates high-quality, high-performance laminates without the use of adhesives.

Film, enabling flexible packaging converters around the world access this state-of-the art lamination technology.

Toppan Printing is also conducting certification tests to become a licensed supplier of HP Indigo Pack Ready

HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination is designed for HP Indigo flexible packaging digital printing on the HP

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On every stock: film, cardboard, sheet metal, aluminum, sleeves, IML and much more.

Including finishing effects: Spot varnish, embossing, cold foil, foil blocking, drip-off, soft-touch and much more. www.cgs-oris.com

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

11 Indigo 20000, 8000 and WS6800 digital presses. It provides strong laminate bond strength with zero curing time for immediate pouch converting, opening new opportunities for digitally printed flexible packaging.

At the HP stand, the commercial Pack Ready Laminator was being demonstrated for the first time for the production of digitally printed, laminated, on-demand pouches, using HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press printing, Pack Ready Film, and a form-fill-seal (FFS) machine. Optimized for usage with the HP Indigo 20000, Karville is to start shipping to customers by the end of the year.

Toppan Printing is also testing another Pack Ready solution, HP Indigo Pack Ready Coating, HP Indigo’s post-print coating solution for high-performance applications. Pack Ready Coating

makes it possible to covert HP Indigo digital print to retort pouches, including clear retort using Toppan’s high barrier

GL Film, produced by Toppan USA in Georgia, holding the top global market share.

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Flexo Wash celebrates 25 years It all began a quarter of a century ago when Danish label printer Henning Kongstad became frustrated with the time and effort required to clean and maintain his printing presses. . The biggest problem was dirty parts and the knock-on effect they were having on print quality. In addition, the manual process of cleaning was taking up valuable production time, so Kongstad decided to come up with a remedy - and the rest is Flexo Wash history!

Kongstad explained: “Suddenly, we found change over times were shorter and we had fewer press stops – more uptime means more print, and more print means more profit. It was a simple fix that had a profound effect on productivity – and we have never looked back!”

gravure that does not use Flexo Wash technology, with industry sectors as diverse as corrugated and coating included. Today, the Flexo Wash portfolio includes specialist anilox cleaning and plate washing technology, as well as the original parts washing machines.

The machine he developed was unsophisticated and little more than a modified domestic dishwasher, but the die was cast, and through various ingenious modifications, he developed what became the first Flexo Wash Parts Washer, and in doing so, he changed the course of history for so many printing companies.

Always keen to ensure that his product fitted the ‘lean, clean, and mean’ maxim, Kongstad claims that the company’s ethos and dedication to quality and sustainability has reaped rewards the world over. Beginning by supplying the narrow web sector in native Denmark and neighbouring Germany, the reach of Flexo Wash products now extends to all sectors of the printing industry with installations around the world.

There is barely a sector of flexo and

Flexibility has always been an essential element of the company’s success as well as its ability to predict what its customers will need next. By keeping close contact with the market, Flexo Wash has used this feedback to develop and refine its products, while all the time retaining the highest level of after sales service and support. Aware that his customers are a major asset, Kongstad says the key to his success has been the level of trust and loyalty that Flexo Wash has managed to build over the years. “Most of our customers make repeat purchases, which speaks volumes for the reliability of the equipment and the dedication of our service team.”

The benefits of the new mechanical washer were immediately obvious, as

Twenty-five years on, Flexo Wash has more than 4000 machines in everyday commercial use worldwide. The thrust is still ‘productivity’ and no-one has a more diverse yet specialised product portfolio that has been developed from first-hand experience to provide reliable performance under the toughest working conditions. “We supply machines to major global groups and small family businesses in remote locations – both need technology and service they can depend on, and that’s been the key to our first 25 years of success!” he concluded.

Henning Kongstad.jpg – Kongstad’s successful global business began with a modified dishwasher!

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Specialty Printing chooses Vetaphone corona treaters - as part of its LEAN manufacturing progra One the largest manufacturing suppliers of supermarket weigh scale labels in the US, Specialty Printing, has installed Vetaphone corona treaters at its production facility in East Windsor, CT, to boost productivity across the wide range of customized labels it produces.

Established in 1978 and now under second-generation family management, Specialty Printing began life as a billboard company. Today, its 130,000sq/ft plant employs 155 people, houses 17 printing presses with web widths ranging from 10” to 30”, and with the capability of printing up to 14 colors.

It also boasts an extensive range of converting and finishing equipment.

Francis Poirier, Senior VP Operations, explained: “We have grown very quickly largely because of the customized products and services we offer. By working closely with the medical industry, for instance, we have innovated a range of unique products that set us apart from our competitors.”

But innovation is worthless without the capability of backing it up on a consistent and reliable basis, and Poirier is very proud of his company’s achievements in terms of production efficiency. One area that is key to being LEAN is minimizing waste, whether materials or time.

“We installed our first corona treater in 2011, and 12 months later need another.

By that stage our experience prompted us to look around the market, and in our opinion Vetaphone was the best way to go. After all, they invented the technique back in the 1950s, so know more than anyone else about it,” he added. Specialty’s decision saw one double sided and two single sided units installed on 28” and 30” machines, and Poirier calculates they have treated more than 1.1billion feet of substrate to date, without a hitch.

Key to his decision in choosing Vetaphone was the open and approachable stance that the company adopts towards its customers. “We knew exactly what we needed – they listened and responded in the same way that we do with our customers – and, they were the only manufacturer to offer a performance and dyne level guarantee on the materials we use.

That shows real confidence in your

product,” he said. Materials used by Specialty include thermal stocks, vinyl, film, and foil, with water based, solvent and UV inks and coatings. “Many of the rolls come pre-treated, but as we move more into filmic materials we shall need to corona treat everything in-house to be sure of the dyne level.”

He also hinted that Vetaphone’s EASI-Plasma technology might find an application with some of the new business he is anticipating.

From an operator’s point of view the Vetaphone units offer easy routine maintenance with their slide in/ slide out cartridges, which allows the electrodes to be kept clean for peak performance. “We were impressed with how quick and easy the units were to self-install, and the depth of knowledge and know how available from the manufacturer offers real peace of mind should anything go wrong. In fact, it hasn’t, but it’s reassuring all the same,” he quipped.

With the company looking to expand into the flexible packaging and electronics markets, a raft of new presses and ancillary equipment is likely to be needed soon at the East Windsor plant. Currently, output is around 70% thermal, but Poirier expects this to drop to 50:50 paper to film as the product portfolio changes. Typical turnaround times on jobs from order to delivery is two working weeks, although this can be shortened, but not without a degree of disruption. “We like to make a plan and stay with it – that’s how you achieve maximum efficiency from the technology,” he concluded.

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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ALT Technologies chooses Rotometrics Specialist international manufacturer and supplier to the automotive, durables and electronics industries, ALT Technologies, has selected Rotometrics as its preferred partner to supply rotary die cutting technology to its manufacturing plant in Harghita, Romania.

The need for a reliable supply, service and support of top quality dies, provided on a 24/7 basis was prime among the requirements of the company, according to Plant Manager, Csaba Hajdo. “The products we manufacture need a right first time, every time approach, with a fast response should something go wrong. We are dealing with safety products that are part of an intricate manufacturing chain, where a stoppage in one sector can have serious consequences downstream.”

The supply agreement, which was negotiated by James Wellsbury, of Rotometrics UK, is based on the die maker’s commitment to meet ALT’s requirement for JIT production.

To serve ALT and other important customers in the region, Rotometrics entered a joint venture with Romanian distributor Graphic Open Systems

(GOS), based in Brasov. Rotometrics South East Europe, as the facility is known, provides the company with the ability to repair and re-sharpen rotary dies on a ‘same-day’ basis, and is a good fit for ALT’s level of demand.

“The automotive industry in Europe waits for no man, so it is vital that we have instant response from our suppliers to any emergency, as well as a local source to meet our planned programme of die refurbishing, re-sharpening, repair and replacement. No other die manufacturer was interested in making that commitment,” explained Hajdo.

The strictures under which ALT works with its customers are an object lesson to many in other industries. Attention to detail is extremely high because the products being manufactured all relate to passenger safety in cars, where there is no room for error, or second chances.

“Many of our dies in use at ALT are cutting metal to metal, so die life can be short. We are dealing with an industry that works in microns - we take drawings and convert them into dimensioned die lines. There must be no deviation at any stage because lives depend on the absolute accuracy and flawless repeatability of the work being done here – and Rotometrics’ dies are a key component,” explained Wellsbury.

Admitting that the contract with ALT was one of the most interesting and challenging in his long career with Rotometrics, he commented: “We are both engineering companies so were immediately on the same wavelength.

Today’s JIT production leaves no room for buffer inventories, so we see our investment in the Romanian facility as the type of long term commitment required to build and diversify our business.”

It’s an investment that has already paid dividends in the 12 months since opening, and plans are afoot to expand capacity in Brasov. Typically at ALT, there is a complete inventory turnover close to three times per month – so Rotometrics works on daily shipments to supply customer demand.

ALT Technologies has its headquarters in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established initially in 2002 as part of the Sentega Group through a management buy out from Avery Dennison, the plant in Romania was opened in 2004. In 2008 the company opened a sales office in Shanghai, and in 2012 added a production facility there, as well as a warehouse in El Paso, USA. Today, the group employs more than 350 people across all locations, and is building business steadily in the specialist markets in which it operates.

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

The road to growth

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Follow HP Indigo to a bigger future in labels and packaging

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Xeikon Forays into UV Xeikon introduces the new Panther technology and launched the first UV inkjet label press in the series at Xeikon Café 2017. Sha Jumari reports.

With the introduction of Panther technology, Xeikon strategically moves into UV inkjet printing. Following the global launch, Xeikon released its first UV inkjet press on the Panther platform, the PX3000. The series of announcements was made at the recently-concluded Xeikon Café Packaging Innovations 2017 event.

Visitors to Xeikon Café 2017, which took place from 28 to 31 March in Lier, Belgium, were amongst the first to see the PX3000 in action. The annual event attracted more than 800 unique international visitors from 49 countries – a record number of delegates to the conference yet. According to Xeikon, 10% of the visitors came from Asia.

The third edition of the event featured business and technical conferences as well as live production of more than 30 key digital print applications. In addition, the event provided an opportunity to view end-to-end solutions from more than 40 industry suppliers. Highlights of the conference included a keynote presentation by Israel-based Rafi Albo from Segmarketing, who emphasised the importance of inspiring consumers in engaging campaigns to boost businesses. He showcased creative and cost-effective methods that uses augmented reality to bring print to life.

Panther & the Xeikon PX3000 Xeikon developed Panther technology

in response to growing needs in the digital label printing space. The UV inkjet platform is intended to complement Xeikon’s dry toner label press portfolio, which currently includes the Xeikon 3000 series and Xeikon CX3 (Cheetah) label presses.

Panther is based on drop on demand (DoD) inkjet technology. It utilises PantherCure UV inks, which are mercury cured. Kyocera 600 dpi heads are used, with 4 grey-levels, and incorporates automated head cleaning and maintenance. Panther uses dedicated UV inks with no intermediate pinning required.

The first press based on the Panther technology is the Xeikon PX3000.

With the introduction of the PX3000 digital label press, Xeikon hopes to be able to drive new applications in digital label printing and produce labels in the most efficient way.

The machine features a web width of 330 mm, and a maximum speed of 50 m/min. Colour configuration is CMYK plus white, with a print quality of 600x600 dpi. Substrates can range from self-adhesive media with facestocks including paper, PVC, PP, PET and PE. According to Xeikon, speed, durability and cost-effectiveness for digital runs are the new press’ primary strengths.

It is powered by the Xeikon engineered X-800 digital front-end, which is the same system used by the dry toner digital presses. The X-800 accepts various file formats and tackles demanding variable-data print jobs at rated engine speeds. Intuitive and based on open standards, the DFE allows the implementation of flexible and fully automated workflows in any production environment.

“Digital printing is more than speed and output. It is about producing

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

Inkjet Technology

a numerous number of jobs in the most effective and efficient way, which is why workflow is so crucial — something we can’t emphasis enough.

The X-800 workflow is therefore a key differentiator of the Xeikon PX3000,” said Jeroen Van Bauwel, Xeikon’s Director Product Management. “From day one, we have been developing our own workflow technology dedicated to digital printing that allows customers to gain maximum value out of Xeikon’s dry toner, and now UV inkjet, presses.

Our customers frequently tell us that by using the X-800 features, such as job optimizer and many others, they can set themselves apart from their competition.”

UV Inkjet: The Complementary Technology for Dry Toner The PX3000 will be first targeted to the industrial label printing market. Xeikon identified an opportunity to widen its role in the market for self-adhesive

label applications where dry toner is not the most optimal solution, but UV inkjet printing can bring more value.

A few examples include digitally printed labels, previously produced on UV flexo or screen-print, where a glossy appearance and tactile look and feel is desired, or a high durability requirement for respectively the health & beauty and industrial end-use. There are plenty of end-use applications in the self-adhesive label market, each with their own requirement.

“The Xeikon PX3000 is complementary to our dry toner presses and the choice of the label converter will be based on the end-use markets such as food, health & beauty, industrial, wine & spirits, pharma, and beverage, they serve. Each of those markets have their specific needs — there is no one-sizefits-all,” Van Bauwel continued.

“Inkjet and electrophotography are different technologies, each with pros and cons, and the choice is end-user dependent. We see UV inkjet as a complementary offering that addresses customer needs, for example, in strong durability, extra glossy effects and scratch-resistance results, while recognizing the advantages of dry toner in other applications where high print quality, food safety, and compatibility with challenging substrates such as natural paper are key,” Van Bauwel continued.

More details on the benefits and complementarity of UV inkjet and dry toner is described in a white paper, published by Xeikon.

The entry into UV inkjet comes after acquisition of Xeikon by Flint Group, which meant more resources for the division. As it adds a new printing technology to its portfolio of label

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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presses and its knowledge in the digital printing market, Xeikon hopes to be able to be better advisors and aid label converters find the best solutions to their needs.

“Label converters and brand owners are increasingly recognizing the value digital printing brings to the market, but many converters are unsure which direction to take to bring digital into the fold,” said Filip Weymans, VP of marketing for Xeikon. “In addition, some of our current dry toner users would like to move into inkjet as well, in order to extend their digital offerings. Through our deep industry experience and expertise, and offering both technologies for label printing, Xeikon stands ready to help them make these important decisions. We believe that both dry toner and inkjet will be required in the foreseeable future to meet market needs.

Visitors to Labelexpo Europe 25-28 September in Brussels will also have the opportunity to see live demonstrations of the Xeikon PX3000 UV inkjet press on stand 5C29. Commercial availability of the new Xeikon PX3000 UV inkjet press is scheduled for October 2017.

Wim Maes steps down as CEO of Xeikon

Set to take over Flint Group’s digital solutions business is Ricoh’s Benoit Chatelard.

Xeikon announced that Wim Maes will be leaving the company as CEO. Congruent to the announcement, Benoit Chatelard will take over the role of president & CEO of Flint Group’s Digital Solutions effective 8th May. The announcement was first made to print media at Xeikon Café 2017’s press event.

“First, I want to thank Wim Maes for his years of service to Xeikon, and for the great work he did in getting the Flint Group Digital Printing Solutions division off the ground following our acquisition of Xeikon,” said Antoine Fady, CEO of Flint Group. “His contributions have been invaluable in our ability to continue growth at Xeikon, better integrate sales efforts among our divisions, implement proper market segmentation, develop and implement investment strategies, and build a product roadmap for the Digital Printing Solutions division.”

“Under his leadership, Xeikon fully developed its labels and packaging domain, expanded market coverage, and thanks to customer-driven innovation, leaves the company in a strong position with a robust product portfolio. As Wim leaves our organization, we are thrilled to have an executive of the quality and with the experience of Benoit to carry the business forward.

His mission is to continue executing the plan and further grow the division.

Flint Group's mission is to be a global provider of digital printing equipment and overall printing supplies, and his knowledge and expertise will be important as we continue to move that mission forward,” Fady continued.

“I am leaving Xeikon and Flint Group with mixed feelings. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the company and feel good about the progress we made. I especially want to thank our wonderful Xeikon customers, partners and employees for eight very interesting and rewarding years. I feel proud to have been able to contribute to the Xeikon story, and I have full confidence Benoit will continue this great story with even more achievements in the future,” said Maes.

As part of Chatelard’s new role, he will be taking the lead to further develop

Xeikon. He will be proposed as CEO at Xeikon, to be decided at the Xeikon shareholders meeting.

Chatelard was most recently the vice president for production printing business at Ricoh Europe. His digital production printing career began in 2002 when he led the IBM Printing Systems Division for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. With the creation of the InfoPrint Solutions Company Joint Venture between Ricoh and IBM in 2007, Chatelard was appointed vice president and general manager for the joint venture in Asia Pacific based in Singapore, and continued to take on increased leadership responsibilities within Ricoh Europe over the ensuing years.

“I am looking forward to taking on this new role. It is an exciting time in the industry, both for Xeikon and its customers. Under Wim’s leadership, the company was set on a solid path to the future, and I will be taking up the reins to continue his work, building even greater levels of customer intimacy, working to understand and address emerging customer needs in an everchanging marketplace,” said Chatelard.

Make Offset Your Choice

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

22

Flint Group presents a quality Pet food flexible packaging print samples, produced by Flint Group in cooperation with Soma engineering and Marvaco Oy, highlight an evolution in quality for flexo printing.

Flint Group is pleased to present the latest print samples, ‘Petfood’, demonstrating several ground-breaking technologies to its customers. The samples were produced as a result of the technical cooperation and successful partnership between Flint Group, Soma engineering, and Marvaco Oy.

top dots and surface screenings. The plates are specialised for printing of flexible packaging. Their high solvent resistance makes them perfect for use with solvent-based inks. Extremely durable for long print runs, the plates also offer advanced cleaning behaviour, leading to fewer press stops.

The print job was done with only six process colours - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Green and Violet in the Flint Group supplied FlexiPrint MV, next generation NC-based ink system for high performance surface print and lamination work. The ink series offers maximised colour strength and specific shades to support highest quality and fixed pallet multi-colour process work (high definition flexo).

FlexiPrint MV is specifically modified for highspeed printing and enhanced press stability throughout the entire job to support maximised Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).

Flint Group’s rotec® Bluelight Sleeves are light and robust, setting the benchmark in conventional plate mounting. Available in wall thicknesses from 0.9mm to 125mm, the sleeves are renowned for their superior service life and outstanding durability. XXL dimensions for wide web presses are also available. rotec® Bluelight Sleeves stand out thanks to their consistent and long-lasting mounting and clamping characteristics.

nyloflex® ACE Digital was the plate of choice for the cooperation partners due to its outstanding performance in combination with new technologies, providing excellent reproduction of flat

The job was printed on a Soma Optima2, a wide web CI flexographic press recently launched at drupa. The press offers five unique solutions: Zero Meter set-up waste, Advanced Bounce Control, investment flexibility, online press supervision, and unexpected ink savings.

The design and prepress work was produced by Marvaco Oy and included the Marvaco EGP (Expanded Gamut Printing) Evolution technology, allowing the production of PMS shades without using any spot inks (fixed palette from four to seven process colours). Product images with ultrahigh line screen density (100 lpcm, 254 lpi) and high densities (+20%) were achieved thanks to flat top dot technology and Marvaco’s micro surface structure on the plate. The print samples demonstrate photograph sharp images with very small, round dots and large gamut, where strong solids are combined in the same colour with limitless fade-outs to 0%.

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

23

evolution in flexographic printing

YOU’RE THE DRIVER

SOME ARE RULED, AND SOME RULE. But it’s so much more fulfilling to build instruments for the latter. They are the ones who drive us to create a flexo plate maker that is truly compatible with their one-of-a-kind vision and any workflow that ensues, really. The result?

Open technology for open minds.

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15054-V1-EN-LabelPlus-Adv-210x148.indd 1

23/02/15 09:09

200 years ago Koenig & Bauer started in the secularised monastery Oberzell near Würzburg

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

24

200 years Koenig 6 Bauer (KBA) On 9th August 2017, Koenig & Bauer in Würzburg will be celebrating its 200th anniversary. In international business, such a proud age is reserved for companies which make full use of changes in technologies and markets to embark on new paths, and whose reliability, flexibility and innovations secure the loyalty of customers over successive generations.

Koenig & Bauer is such a company. The cradle of German manufacture has blossomed into a globally successful press manufacturing group with a unique portfolio of print solutions. Anniversary festivities are planned for September – an ideal occasion for print Innovations Asia to review past achievements and some visions for the future.

Start-up in London Nowadays, many start-ups head to Silicon Valley in search of venturesome investors and an optimum infrastructure for the realisation of their ideas. It was this same reason, which led Friedrich Koenig to travel to London some 210 years ago. In the English capital, Koenig and his partner

Andreas Bauer laid the foundations for today's industry. In November 1814, The Times became the first newspaper to be printed on their double-cylinder press. And on 9th August 1817, they signed a contract establishing Schnellpressenfabrik Koenig & Bauer in a secularised monastery in Oberzell near Würzburg in Franconia (North

Bavaria).

200 years ago, the Franconian region lacked almost everything which is necessary to support industrial manufacturing. But gradual progress was achieved nevertheless. On 25th January 1823, the Haude und Spenersche Zeitung in Berlin was the first newspaper on the European

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

25 continent to be printed on Koenig & Bauer presses.

Friedrich Koenig died in 1833. His widow Fanny Koenig and Andreas Bauer continued his work. New presses were developed and the one-hundredth press was already delivered in 1838. The company's foundation period came to an end with the death of Andreas Bauer in 1860.

1855 – 1873: Social achievements far ahead of their time The founder's two sons, Wilhelm Koenig and Friedrich Koenig Jr., joined the company in 1849 and 1857, respectively. Wilhelm Koenig tended to the technical side of the business, while Friedrich Koenig Jr. modernised factory routines and introduced a series of ground-breaking social reforms. The sickness benefit fund founded in 1855 which still exists today was followed by a factory savings bank in 1865 and by a factory training school, the precursor of today's vocational training centre in Würzburg, in 1868. A widows’ and orphans’ fund and a foundation to

The new factory built in 1901 is today the site of the Koenig & Bauer AG headquarters in Würzburg

printing, a field in which Koenig & Bauer was later to become market and technology leader. In 1895, the 5000th cylinder press left the factory.

Wilhelm Koenig died in 1894. In the meantime, Albrecht Bolza, a grandson of founder Friedrich Koenig, and Constantin Koenig, the youngest son of Friedrich Koenig Jr., had joined

a great-grandson of Friedrich Koenig, made a notable contribution to the mending of severed foreign business links. He was appointed to the executive board of the company when it was transformed into a limited company in 1920 and became chairman of the board in 1931. He held this office for 40 years.

- From letterpress to digital print support the education of children from poor families were further early social achievements. The factory statute of 1873 defined the rights and duties of workers and managers and established a factory council employee participation already 140 years ago.

1876: The era of web printing starts Webfed presses were added to the manufacturing programme in 1875 and shaped technical developments, business expansion and the whole image of Koenig & Bauer over the following 125 years. The first webfed press was supplied to the Magdeburgische Zeitung in 1876.

Wilhelm Koenig invented the variable web press in 1886, designed the first four-colour press in 1888, and began building special machines for the printing of luxury colour products shortly thereafter. At the same time, he became very interested in securities

the company as the third generation.

Together, they shaped the course of the company through into the 1920s.

1900: Expansion and a new factory In 1901, a new factory was built at the site today occupied by the company headquarters in Würzburg. The 225-metre long manufacturing hall was one of the largest in Germany at that time. The first webfed publication and rotogravure presses were supplied, and the development of sheetfed machines was stepped up. The four-colour Iris press, for example, prepared the stage for the later securities printing division.

Alongside sheetfed and webfed presses, various matrix-moulding presses and plate-casting machines were delivered to customers all over the world.

1914 - 1945: Destruction and rebuilding The First World War interrupted economic expansion. Dr. Hans Bolza,

Koenig & Bauer survived the period of hyperinflation in the 1920s thanks to a newly developed collect press for coloured banknotes. In March 1945, bombs and artillery shells destroyed the factory. Reconstruction began in 1946.

After the post-war currency reform, Koenig & Bauer resumed business in 1949 with nominal capital amounting to DM4.1 million, and set out to participate in the German economic miracle. The first new newspaper press was delivered in 1950.

1952: Success story of security printing The start of cooperation with securities printing expert Gualtiero Giori in 1952 and the arrival of the talented young design engineer HansBernhard Schünemann, the son of a Bremen publishing family, in 1951 were important milestones. His first of over 250 patents was granted for a modification of the so called Maltese

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

26 First web-fed rotary press designed by Wilhelm Koenig (1876) Rapida 142 and 162 presses which were developed jointly by the Radebeul design engineers and their colleagues from Würzburg in the 1990s. The transition to a technologically superior large-format press generation and continuous further development have paved the way for KBA-Sheetfed’s leading position in large formats. This standing was confirmed yet again in 2003, when the factory in Radebeul unveiled the Rapida 205, the largest sheetfed offset press in the world.

cross drive mechanism. In 1959, Dr. Hans Bolza formally adopted Dr. Schünemann. From 1971 to 1995, Dr. Bolza-Schünemann was himself president of Koenig & Bauer AG for almost 25 years and initiated the formation of the KBA Group from 1990. After the turn of the century, he was succeeded by his sons (2003 - 2009) and Claus (since 2011), who thus represent the sixth generation of the founding family at the helm of the company.

Successful presses Condor and Rotafolio Despite the growing offset competition in the 1960s and 70s, Koenig & Bauer retained the proven letterpress technology for its sheetfed and webfed presses for a relatively long time. Alongside the Rembrandt sheetfed gravure press and banknote presses, the two-revolution Condor and the Rotafolio sheetfed press for wrap-around plates were particularly successful.

Rapida: High-performance in sheetfed offset since 1974 The offset process was nevertheless a topic for design developments in Würzburg. The first half-format sheetfed offset press, the KoebauRapida 0, was presented at drupa in 1967. The medium-format KoebauRapida III followed in 1969. Both ran at speeds up to 8,000 sheets per hour.

The Koebau-Rapida SR III launched in 1974 was almost twice as fast at 15,000

sheets per hour. The presses of other major manufacturers did not achieve such performance until decades later.

In 1986, Koenig & Bauer launched the Rapida 104, a unit-type press designed for high flexibility and printing speeds up 15,000 sheets per hour. Production was transferred to the new subsidiary KBA-Planeta AG in 1992, sowing the seed for today’s high-performance sheetfed offset presses from Radebeul.

The current Rapida 106, for example, has defined the benchmarks in medium format with speeds up to 20,000 sheets per hour, fast job changeovers and configurations comprising up to 19 printing and finishing units.

The same can be said for today’s large-format series Rapida 145 and 164. They are the successors to the

Pioneer of new technologies In the same way that the Würzburg engineers ventured new approaches to webfed printing, the Saxon designers have repeatedly struck out on their own in search of simpler and more efficient sheetfed solutions. Two examples are the DI offset press 74 Karat with direct on-press plate imaging, which was developed together with Scitex from Israel in 1997, and its sister press Rapida 74 G from 2000. Both were equipped with short-train inking units for waterless printing. KBA remains strongly committed to this technology, which is especially interesting for print quality and environmental protection.

When it comes to innovative processes for inline finishing, direct printing on corrugated board, ecological printing or – most recently – LED-UV drying, KBA Sheetfed has regularly acted as a pioneer, one of the reasons for its rise to become the second-largest sheetfed

Four-colour Iris press for colour illustrations and banknotes (1923): The precursor of today's securities presses

KBA-Flexotecnica

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Class-Leading technology for water based flexo printing

KBA.F.103.e

The new NEO flexographic press designed by KBA-Flexotecnica and showed at last DRUPA sets the standards for Hybrid flexo press technology. This successful new product range features a number of innovative concepts which enable to print with either solvent and water-based, UV LED and EB ink systems on many different substrates.

KBA-Flexotecnica S.p.A. +39 (0371) 4431, info@kba-flexotecnica.com, www.kba-flexotecnica.com KBA Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd., Singapore, +65 6562 8582, a.friedrich@kbaasiapacific.com KBA Printing Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., +86 10 8447 5909, w.zehner@kbachina.com KBA (HK) Co. Ltd., +852 2742 8368, eric.wong@kba.com.hk www.kba.com

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

28 Press assembly in the Oberzell factory in 1895 establish the company as the number one in newspaper printing.

offset press manufacturer in the world.

The entry into the post-press market and announcement of the digital sheetfed press KBA VariJET 106 at drupa 2016 open up further prospects.

Not just mainstream also in webfed printing In the 1960s, the focus in Würzburg soon returned to webfed presses for newspapers, books and illustration printing. The letterpress machine Koebau-Courier, which was introduced in 1962, was a best-seller through to the late 1970s. A particular stir was caused by the Koebau-Jumbo-Courier in 1974 ‒ with its web width of 2.52m, it is still the widest newspaper press ever produced.

The Courier was followed in the

1980s by the Anilox-Courier and the Flexo-Courier with keyless short-train inking units. Koenig & Bauer supplied large-scale Anilox-Courier lines to the Guardian in London and to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The largest flexo installation in the world to date was commissioned in London in 1989.

The era of web offset newspaper presses began with the Commander in 1969, and this name still stands for front-line newspaper printing technology today. At the beginning of the 1990s the trend to less complex newspaper presses was answered with the Journal and Colora. Later, they were joined by the single-width four-high tower series Comet and Continent. The less expensive four-high tower design appealed to many new international customers and markets, and helped to

Many world firsts Despite the strong market position for conventional webfed presses, KBA has never shied the pursuit of new ideas. Already at drupa 1995, for example, an Anilox-Express was to be seen with automatic plate changing.

An imprinter with Scitex inkjet heads in the superstructure added a variable digital caricature to each offset copy.

In practice, it was then almost 18 years before the inkjet technology was used in webfed offset. At drupa 2000, a new trend towards compact newspaper presses for variable production runs was heralded by the waterless KBA Cortina, which stood less than 4 metres high.

Further features new to newspaper offset were dedicated drives for each cylinder and the ease of operation with automatic plate changing and lifts to the upper couples. The same concept was implemented by the wet offset counterpart Commander CT in 2007.

Both presses have remained unique on the international newspaper market to this day.

Media upheavals and realignment The first signs of pending change in the print and media industry already appeared in the early 1990s. The World Wide Web was taking its first tentative steps and new digital competitors entered the print arena. Faced with growing online competition, and especially in the course of the world financial crisis, the market for new

With extremely fast job changeovers, speeds up to 20,000 sheets per hour and the longest presses on the market, the Rapida 106 has defined the benchmarks in medium format for many years

commercial web and newspaper presses collapsed dramatically in 2008. Once it became clear that this traditional core segment for Koenig & Bauer would never regain the volumes of former years, the company turned attention to the digital process together with American partners. KBA presented its first inkjet web press, the RotaJET 76, at drupa 2012. Today, with the RotaJET VL series and the T1100 S manufactured on behalf of HP, the largest digital web presses in the world are assembled in WĂźrzburg, catering for web widths up to 2.8m. With this future-oriented technology, Koenig & Bauer is able to replace shrinking markets with new opportunities, for example in decor printing.

Early diversification To finance the planned growth course, the company went public in 1985.

The acquisition of Albert-Frankenthal AG and of a majority stake in Planeta Druckmaschinenwerke in 1990/91 established a company group with a turnover of more than DM1.1 billion.

Ten years later, the group management started a programme of diversification into market segments less affected by changes in the media landscape.

The acquisition of Swiss partner De La Rue Giori SA in Lausanne in 2001 secured KBA’s pole position in banknote and securities printing.

The purchase of marking and coding system specialist Metronic GmbH in 2004 opened the door to another new market. With Czech press manufacturer Grafitec, a manufacturing location with a favourable cost structure joined the group in 2005. The acquisitions of Bauer + Kunzi and LTG Print Systems in 2003 and 2006, and the subsequent merger into KBA-MetalPrint GmbH established KBA as the number one in metal decorating. And through the takeovers of Kammann Maschinenbau GmbH, a global leader for the decoration of hollow containers, and flexible packaging specialist Flexotecnica S.p.A in 2013, KBA further expanded its portfolio in packaging printing.

This early diversification has helped KBA to master the structural upheavals which have rocked the branch much better than its main competitors. At the turn of the century, 60 per cent

of the turnover from new press sales was generated in market segments which are under pressure from the online media. Today, over 90 per cent is accounted for by the growth markets digital and packaging printing and by securities printing.

Holding structure with a focus on growth The greatest structural changes of the past 20 years took place in 2014 and 2015, with market-oriented capacity realignment preparing the oldest press manufacturer in the world to meet the challenges of digitisation and globalisation in the third century of its company history. Parallel to the introduction of a new group structure with Koenig & Bauer AG as a central holding and independent business divisions for the segments sheetfed, digital & web and special applications, KBA has strengthened its focus on profitable, future-oriented markets.

Print technologies for every eventuality Today, analogue and digital systems from the KBA Group are used to print, finish and process products such as banknotes, metal cans, books,

brochures, displays, decor, labels, glass and plastic containers, board and film packaging, catalogues, laminates, magazines, tyres, cables, smart cards, advertising flyers, newspapers and many more besides. Practically all common printing and finishing technologies are involved.

KBA companies are the leaders in many market segments. This diversity creates unique know-how and drives innovations, new applications and new partnerships, such as those which KBA has successfully pursued in the futureoriented field of digital printing in recent years.

Digital inkjet printing with the RotaJET L at drupa 2016

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

30

Fuji Xerox expands portfolio with Durst Tau 330 With the new series of UV inkjet presses, Fuji Xerox enters the digital label printing business in the region.

Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. announces that it is entering the growing digital label printing business by expanding its suite of product offerings with UV digital inkjet label presses in the Durst Tau 330 series.

Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific will provide digital label printing solutions with the Durst Tau 330 to meet customers’ increasing demand to convert time-consuming print jobs run on conventional presses into profitable print jobs.

The Durst Tau 330 UV digital inkjet printer prints images on the substrate by exposing its ink to UV light, which dries the ink almost immediately. This allows it to print directly onto various substrates quickly, including heatsensitive films and labels. As the UV ink dries faster than solvent ink, the digital UV inkjet technology built into the system meets the need for efficient printing.

The Tau 330 series utilises singlepass UV inkjet technology with dual printhead architecture. It prints in full color at a high speed of 37 linear meters per minute while printing in the highest print resolution in UV inkjet label printer class of 1,260 dots per inch, in high definition mode.

“This partnership between Durst and Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific is a perfect fit for two market leaders,” said Helmuth Munter, segment manager, Labels and Package Printing, Durst. “Fuji Xerox is a leading company in the Document Services and Communications field and Durst is a leading manufacturer of professional digital imaging systems.

Together, we aim to expand our market in Asia Pacific through the vast network of Fuji Xerox to provide added values to customers in the region.”

Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific has an exclusive distributorship with Durst, the leading

provider of digital UV inkjet label press in Asia Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong), while it has non-exclusive distributorship in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Steve Ford, general manager, Production Sales & Marketing, Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific, added: “As packaging and label markets are linked to consumer spending and population growth, it is a key printing segment with great potential. Today digital printing has a limited penetration in this segment, however, as it advances globally and the demand for traditional printing tapers off, many of our existing customers are rapidly diversifying and are looking to us for a reliable and comprehensive solution. This partnership will help our customers expand and grow their business in the label and packaging segment of the industry.”

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Flint Group launches innovative rotec® Eco Bridge An adapter with a patent-pending breathable metal ring to eliminate all tight-fit and sleeve mounting issues Flint Group officially launches its patent-pending, state-of-the-art rotec® Eco Bridge for use in flexographic printing presses and on plate-mounting equipment. The rotec® Eco Bridge is an adapter with a breathable metal ring at the operator side which creates an air pillow to allow easy and fast mounting of sleeves. Typical adapters have only four to eight air stream holes to help mount the sleeves. In comparison, the rotec® Eco Bridge forms a ring of air across the entire circumference of the adapter.

Another significant benefit of the rotec® Eco Bridge is the reduced air volume requirement. A standard adapter normally needs about 720 l/ min of compressed air at six bar of pressure to mount a sleeve; the rotec® Eco Bridge can achieve the same results with only 50-70 l/min, and the required pressure can sometimes be reduced.

This is more than 90 % reduction in air volume needed. Not only is this a significant cost savings, but reduced air volume also equates to much less noise.

A working rotec® Eco Bridge produces decibel levels a little over normal room noise (< 60 dB) compared to a typical adapter set-up at ≥ 85 dB.

At a recent customer trial, Robert Adler, Flint Group Director of Sales for North America said, “I believe this will become a new standard of our industry.” Press operators benefit from using the rotec® Eco Bridge for easier sleeve mounting, cost savings, and reduced noise. At the first trial in Germany, the customer said, “Our press operator was ecstatic. Mounting is much easier than before. The noise is

significantly less than normal, and the best is, we can de-mount the 420 mm Repeat Sleeve with one hand, without effort. Perfect development for our pre-press operation.”

Flint Group remains focused on new technology and innovative customer solutions, like the rotec® Eco Bridge helping printers achieve increased press productivity.

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

34

Stamping Nanomaterial onto Flexible Surfaces How do you know if the coffee in your to go mug is ready to drink without trying and maybe burning your lips? Do you have an idea if you can still eat the meat in your fridge even if the expiration date is already exceeded?

Actual there is no practicable answer but nanotubes stamps could bring the solution! Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a stamping process that involves carbon nanotubes which might cost-effectively print electronic ink onto almost any surface – whether rigid or flexible.

How do you know if the coffee in your to go mug is ready to drink without trying and maybe burning your lips?

Do you have an idea if you can still eat the meat in your fridge even if the expiration date is already exceeded?

Actual there is no practicable answer but nanotubes stamps could bring the solution! Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a stamping process that involves carbon nanotubes which might cost-effectively print electronic ink onto almost any surface – whether rigid or flexible.

Higher Resolution than Conventional Printing Methods But what is new about this stamping method? In the past there have already been some attempts to print electronic surfaces using inject printing or rubber stamping techniques but the results

have often been fuzzy. Controlling the results gets more difficult the smaller the scale gets. With conventional methods, the ink risked to disperse to places it should not. Further, the conductive ink often cracked a little when been printed on flexible surfaces so that it lost its conductance.

To overcome all these challenges the stamps developed by MIT come with a surface covered with nanoscale holes, which enable the ink consisting of nanoparticles uniformly flow onto the surface. The MIT researchers also found out that the key to success is not just the stamp’s nanoporous surface but it also depends on how evenly pressure is applied to them. Designed in this way, the stamp achieves much higher resolution than conventional printing methods.

New Techniques Possibilities

Bring

New

The researchers expect that these nano-stamped prints can, for instance, function as a transistor for controlling individual pixels in high-resolution displays. They could also be used as electronic labels or stickers. When it comes to food packaging, they

might show a countdown how long the food inside is still consumable.

Another application possibility are windows telling you the day’s weather forecast based on hyper-local weather monitoring.

Now, that there is a solution for the technical realization of such small applications in prospect the next challenge is to reduce production costs as much as possible. As soon as the costs for fabrication are low enough it will become more likely to print these applications on disposables like a to go mug or a meat packaging.

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Study shows packaging print will promote healthy growth opportunities for machine manufacturers A study conducted by the print and paper technology associations in VDMA and NPES forecasts positive market development in packaging print, with an expected annual sales growth of 5.2 % until 2020 These figures are based on a contemporary study conducted by the VDMA industry association in conjunction with NPES, the US association for printing and publishing technologies, and market researchers from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

“We expect overall sales of 286 billion US dollars in 2020, which represents an increase of 44 billion when compared to the figure for 2015,” said Dr. Markus Heering, managing director of VDMA Print and Paper Technology.

This study has also drawn upon market developments in the period from 2011

to 2015. Apart from this, the authors also took a closer look at 26 countries on every continent to support their prognosis. Data is also subdivided into five packaging printing segments: corrugated board, folding cartons, flexible packaging materials, label printing and, as a fifth segment, all other niches, including direct glass and metal printing.

Developed markets offer enormous turnover potential “The study indicates that, although growing middle classes and increasing awareness of hygiene in emerging economies have lead to very high growth rates, sales in developed markets

such as the United States, China and the EU increase at a completely different level,” said Dr. Heering.

As a result, four-fifths of the growth forecast in sales is expected in the five largest markets (37.6 billion of 44 billion US dollars). The USA, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom together accounted for 78 % of all sales in 2015. According to the study, this will increase to 79 % by the end of the decade – with India advancing from sixth to fourth place and forcing the United Kingdom out of the top 5.

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

38

Urbanisation, the trend towards smaller, more flexible packaging in terms of precise targeting of groups and differentiation of competition and increasingly decentralised suppler chains are the drivers behind development both there and here.

Global brands are also increasingly manufacturing and packaging their products in regional hubs.

“In addition to the increasing quality of print on packaging, equipping these hubs offers printing machine engineering equally promising prospects of growth,” Dr. Heering continued.

Modern printing technology is the key to a more refined, high-quality appearance and can attract the attention of undecided buyers to products through the use of sophisticated embossing techniques and the interplay

between gloss and matt varnishes and metallic inks.

Print on films, labels and folding cartons offers positive chances of growth The market study, which is available free of charge to member of the VDMA Print and Paper Technology industry association and which non-members can obtain through the association as of June 2017, breaks down growth forecasts according to markets and segments.

At annual rates of 5.6 %, print on flexible packaging is the most dynamic area, followed by print on folding cartons and printing of labels, as analyses of both indicate that they will each grow by 5.2 % annually. However,

as the most mature and, indeed, largest segment, printing on corrugated board remains on course to continue growing, with the joint study predicting average growth rates of 4.5 % until the end of the decade.

Numerous companies which are association members have been rigorously aligning their portfolios for years with this market and supply customers with precision solutions tailored to suit their applications.

“This could involve efficient offset systems for cartons, rotogravure and flexographic processes for films, systems for direct printing on glass, metals and many other materials or even highly flexible digital inkjet technology for individualised products and rapidly expanding campaigns,” said Dr Heering.

Intensive joint research also means that machine engineers can avail of a broad range of high-quality, food grade printing inks and varnishes today for every process.

“We are well prepared to embrace pending growth on a global scale and our research and development continues uninterrupted. That's why I'm sure we'll once again be able to enjoy a broad range of innovations relating to print on packaging at drupa 2020”.

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

Game changer

39

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HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press with optional TRESU inline coater For today’s converting environments for folding cartons, HP Indigo has reinvented productivity and versatility so that you can create unique solutions that exceed your customers’ expectations. The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press is the only digital press proven to meet the needs of folding carton converters and open new high-margin opportunities with metalized board and synthetic media. Enjoy extra security features and new embellishment capabilities while boosting your productivity with automated color management and tailored converting solutions from industry-leading partners.

As with all HP Indigo Digital Presses you can take advantage of HP PrintOS, an open and secure cloud-based print production operating system to help you get more out of your HP presses and printers, simplify and automate your production process and enable new forms of collaboration.

Change your game and drive innovative campaigns for the world’s leading brands with the HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press.

Find out more: hp.com/go/hpindigo30000 and hp.com/go/PrintOS © 2017 HP Development Company, L.P.

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Pack Print International 2017 de The sixth International Packaging and Printing Exhibition for Asia returns from 20 – 23 September with a renewed focus on packaging.

Pack Print International 2017, Southeast Asia’s premier exhibition for the packaging and printing industries, returns to Bangkok, Thailand from 20 to 23 September. The sixth edition of the biennially-held trade exhibition, created by the industry for the industry, is jointly organised by Messe Düsseldorf Asia, The Thai Packaging Association and The Thai Printing Association.

Following the implementation of “Thailand 4.0”, an economic model that will enable Thailand to transform the country into a value-based and innovation-driven economy, moving from producing commodities to innovative products; emphasising on promoting technology, creativity, and innovation in focused industries and changing from a production-based to a service-based economy, it has also prompted nation- and industry- wide movements across the packaging and printing sectors – through Packaging and Printing 4.0 – in keeping towards the end goal of increasing the capabilities of Thai industries through technology and innovation.

PPi 2017: One Stop Pack & Print Pavilion A highlight at this year’s event is the One Stop Pack & Print Pavilion.

Brought together by the exhibition’s coorganisers, the Pavilion will showcase 25 award-winning, creative and innovative packaging from Thailand covering the food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, electronics, cosmetics and personal care sectors and more.

The One Stop Pack & Print Pavilion will serve as a targeted platform where innovative packaging designs, packaging end users, packaging producers, material suppliers and machine manufacturers, can all come together to source and share best practices in navigating the dynamic packaging and printing ecosystem.

Framing this setting would be a focus on Packaging and Printing 4.0 – where innovation and technological advancements bring new synergies and perspectives to packaging and print – as conveyed through the three pillars of packaging 4.0, comprising of package, packaging process for manufacturing and packaging production.

“I am positive that the insights exchanged at the exhibition and the Pavilion would be a step forward in strengthening and upping the competitiveness of Thailand’s packaging and printing industries, and foremostly in contribution towards

the Thai economy,” said Noppadol Krairiksh, president, The Thai Packaging Association.

“We are pleased to have received the support of key government and industry organisations including the Ministry of Industry, The Federation of Thai Industries which includes 45 industrial clubs as well as Printing and Packaging Cluster of the Federation of Thai Industries towards the One Stop Pack & Print Pavilion,” said Pimnara Jiranithitnon, president, The Thai Printing Association.

“With this, packaging and printing trade professionals will be able to reach out to many member companies and packaging users, get free professional advice from an alliance of packaging and print related associations, agencies and institutes, as well as learn from successful case studies by champions of industry.”

Some 15,000 trade visitors from around the world are expected at Pack Print International 2017, where they will have the opportunity to discover and source for new, cost-effective machinery from 300 participating international exhibitors and suppliers from 20 countries.

Exhibiting companies include: HewlettPackard, Kurz, Konica Minolta, Ferrostaal, Riso, Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA), Wah Ho Packaging, Harn Engineering, Nakayama Corporation, PMC Label Material, Rotometrics, Keywell Industrial, BPS United, Ueno Corporation, Zund Asia, and more.

“As we progress together with Thailand 4.0, there is a greater need for trade organisers like us, to align our exhibition line-up with present industry shifts and future trends. With a renewed focus on packaging, Pack Print International 2017 – as in the

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

elivers packaging and printing 4.0 41

launch of the One Stop Pack & Print Pavilion – will present the entire value chain that is, from ideation to creation bringing to the forefront the full spectrum of the packaging and printing sectors; from developing new products and technology to creating packaging that protects food for a longer shelf life to digital printing’s economic and speed-to-market advantages for mainstream package decoration,” said Gernot Ringling, managing director, Messe Düsseldorf Asia.

He added: “Fundamentally, we want Pack Print International 2017 to be a strategic launch pad for packaging and printing businesses to grow their business forward, through drawing critical market insights, gaining invaluable connections and benefiting from the expansive showcase of innovative capabilities and technology.”

Augmenting PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2017 show floor’s line-up is a series of concurrent conferences, seminars and technical

presentations organisations.

led

by

industry

This will include an event on Food Loss and Waste in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “We are pleased to collaborate again with the packaging industry in encouraging a move towards solution for the reduction of food loss and waste and look forward

to this exciting event” said A. Bennett FAO Senior Food Systems Officer for the Asia Pacific Region.

A free business matching service will also make networking easier as it connects industry professionals from the packaging, printing and related industries prior to visit, so as to engage in meaningful discussions during the exhibition.

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Focus on label and folding carton applications Xeikon showcased its cutting-edge label and packaging technology for the first time at PacPrint 2017, one of Australia’s leading trade shows for the printing and packaging industry in May in Melbourne..

Visitors also learned more about Xeikon’s end-to-end solution for folding carton and see for themselves the value of going digital in folding carton production.

“Finding the right solution for every label or packaging project is crucial for businesses today. The Xeikon solutions allow operations to handle workloads efficiently and in a way that would allow their business to grow. They also complement longer flexo runs supporting competitiveness in a range of fields,” concludes Trevor Crowley, Xeikon ANZ Sales General Manager.

Xeikon’s first PacPrint attendance follows the creation of a dedicated sales, service and support operation in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. The new business unit was established after the acquisition of Xeikon by Flint Group and a thorough review of synergies between the companies. Xeikon ANZ uses its own service engineers to support the presses, with parts and consumables located in Sydney and with demo / benchmark support from the regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, which hosts the regional technology centre with both simplex and duplex technology installed.

“PacPrint was in the middle of a very exciting time for Xeikon. First there was the launch of the direct operation here, followed by the international Xeikon Café event in Belgium, and now our first PacPrint attendance,” comments Bent Serritslev, Xeikon Managing Director Asia Pacific.” We

saw many of our Australian customers at the show and shared updates on our local organization and latest technology developments such as the recently announced Panther technology.”

Running live at the show was the Xeikon CX3 aka Cheetah which offers label printers faster running speed, lower operating costs and an unseen flexibility to meet complex customer demands without compromising quality, reliability or consistency, whatever the label. This five-colour press, dedicated solely to the production of self-adhesive/pressure sensitive labels, offers variable substrate widths up to 330mm and comes with a top speed of 30m/min. It offers all the benefits that make Xeikon presses unique: full rotary printing, true 1200 x 3600 dpi print resolution, food safe toners and one pass opaque white toner. Next to the standard CMYK + White, the fifth station can be used to print gamut extension or security colours without reducing productivity.

ABOUT XEIKON Xeikon, a division of Flint Group, is a long-standing leader and innovator in digital printing technology.

Grounded in the principles of quality, flexibility and sustainability, Xeikon designs, develops and delivers webfed digital colour presses for label and packaging applications, document printing, and commercial printing.

These presses utilise LED-array-based electrophotography, open workflow software and application-specific toners.

As an OEM supplier, Xeikon also designs and produces plate makers for newspaper printing applications.

In addition, Xeikon manufactures basysPrint computer-to-conventional plate (CtCP) solutions for the commercial offset printing market.

For the flexographic market, Xeikon offers digital platemaking systems under the ThermoFlexX brand name.

ThermoFlexX systems provide highresolution plate exposure combined with unique plate handling, flexibility

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Introduces new, integrated Platform for Brands Esko and MediaBeacon integrate software to develop marketing and packaging assets faster and manage marketing campaigns more efficiently.

Esko and MediaBeacon are releasing a fully integrated packaging and marketing process and digital asset management solution. It enables brands and marketers to deliver consistent content across digital, social and packaging consumer touchpoints.

The new platform helps brand owners streamline complex creation, approval and deployment processes across multiple teams and locations.

Esko acquired MediaBeacon two years ago, with the intention of developing this new solution for industries such as CPG and Life Sciences, Retail & Apparel, Media & Entertainment, Public Sector and Financial Services.

The platform’s unique strength is the integration of a superior asset management system with a powerful project and workflow management system, complete with support for packaging, which is exceptional in the market.

Content consistency: a clear yet unmet need A recent Forrester report revealed the growing importance of consistent content: “To drive positive brand experiences, brand owners need to simplify their complicated content processes, while boosting transparency and reliability across teams. Brands today want to be able to drive consistent omnichannel content for all digital and physical touchpoints.”

Unique abilities combined Esko and MediaBeacon have decades of combined experience with packaging management and digital asset management. This deep understanding is tangible in a platform that tackles the following challenges: • Collaborate.

Connect all stakeholders—whether people, partners, processes or systems— creating a seamless work experience based on automation, transparency and doing the right task at the right time.

• Create. Provide a wide range of options to create something new faster than ever thought possible, increasing time to market by up to 50%. Be it packaging, designs, content, or 3D, brands have the right development tools, fully integrated into existing workflows.

• Manage. Establish a Single Source of Truth, enabling brands to control and leverage their assets and eliminate costly rework.

• Publish. Deliver the brand the way envisioned by all, regardless of whether it is a digital or physical representation.

• Analyze. Drive decisions based on insights into the use and effectiveness of assets with performance dashboards.

“We’ve built this solution very strategically, driven by customer conversations we’ve had over the past few years, and we’re pleased to be deploying and integrating it within a global brand now,” said Udo Panenka, President of Esko. “The acquisition of MediaBeacon has enabled us to create this truly unique platform: it combines the creation of brand assets, including packaging, with the management and actual publication to all distribution channels.”

Practical The new platform is available on a worldwide basis from May 2017 onwards.

It can be purchased modularly, deployed on-premise or hosted, and integrated with all popular

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45 ERP, MIS, PIM and PLM systems.

MediaBeacon: New Integrated Platform to deliver consistent brand experience across all digital, social and physical consumer touchpoints The newly released platform offers a fully integrated marketing program, process and asset management solution that transforms Digital Asset Management into Marketing Asset Management (MAM), centralizing content and streamlining the creative workflow.

Addressing major marketing challenges Today’s digitized and globalized world gives marketers in industries such as Retail & Apparel, Media & Entertainment, Public Sector, and Financial Services huge challenges when it comes to consistent omnichannel delivery in a merging digital and physical environment.

They need to reduce complexity, streamline content development and deploy assets across regions and time zones whilst ensuring brand consistency across all channels.

The new platform is a powerful solution that helps brands accomplish the following: • Improve Consumer Experiences: Meet consumer expectations and deliver a seamless and meaningful brand experience across every touchpoint; • Deliver Omnichannel Consistency: Digital and physical channels are converging. Whether its social media, printed media, e-Commerce or on-theshelf packaging, we empower you to deliver omnichannel consistency for your Brand; • Increase Speed to Market: No more organizational silos. Get to market faster by providing your crossfunctional team the visibility and the accountability necessary to deliver a successful Marketing Campaign from concept to consumer; • Lower Costs and Monetize: Repurpose and reuse your digital and physical assets at no cost. Eliminate costs associated with errors and redundancies; • Mitigate Risks: Protect your Brand

by monitoring and ensuring the use of approved digital and physical assets in the right format and in compliance with contractual terms, rights and licenses.

Enabling omnichannel communication “Omnichannel planning, communication, and execution – which is really the only type of communication you should put in place today for your brand – requires near real-time adaptation and publication of content, and its reuse across both digital and physical channels,” said Joshua Foster, MediaBeacon General Manager. “We see this integration as a market evolution, moving from Digital Asset Management (DAM) to Marketing Asset Management (MAM), driven by brands taking back control over the customer relationship. It is exciting to be able to offer a combined Esko and MediaBeacon solution to facilitate this evolution.”

Esko: New Platform integrates packaging management with digital asset management, for an end-to-end workflow from ideation and creation through digital marketing to the final package on the shelf The newly released collaboration platform helps brand owners in industries such as CPG and Life Sciences to specify, create, manage, publish and analyze the performance of brand assets. This integrates marketing and packaging processes and assets, creating a single source of truth for a simplified go-to-market across multiple teams and geographies.

Fulfilling a need to centralize control, visibility and utilization of brand assets Many brand owners are using digital asset management systems in their process today, but in most cases these are little more than content repositories. And, often there is a

disconnect between those who design and produce packaging and those who market the packaged goods.

This new solution links all relevant stakeholders together, centralizing control, visibility and utilization of brand assets across departments, regional hubs and third parties. It creates a “single source of truth.”

This ability has major benefits: it secures improved consistency across the brand’s entire digital and physical presence. Also it reduces time spent searching, distributing or creating assets and helps brand owners speed up their time to market.

Easy search and sharing of packaging and marketing files The new marketing asset management platform enables easy search of files, be it by brand, topic, text elements, color of a graphic, and so on.

It is also designed for straightforward sharing and access of packaging and marketing files by a broader internal community including designers, marketers, sales teams and executives as well as external stakeholders like agencies, distributors and retailers.

Additional features of the platform allow for comprehensive reporting, e.g. who uses files, when and what for, as well as a simple way of producing low, medium or hi-res files by just a click of a button.

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Interpack 2017 - International Visitors and Top-quality Discussions German machinery manufacturer, Windmöller & Hölscher, comes away from interpack 2017 very satisfied. “As a specialist in machinery for the production of flexible packaging, interpack is one of the most important international trade shows for W&H.

and consulting we bring to our customers.”

This year, the importance of the trade show was underscored by the large number of international visitors and the high-quality discussions we had at the booth,” said Chief Sales Officer (CSO) Peter Steinbeck. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Jürgen Vutz added, “Customers invest in improving the efficiency and quality of their production to profit from the growing flexible packaging market.

We saw this again and again through the high traffic to our booth, the interesting and fruitful discussions that were had as well as from the number of orders we were able to close on the show floor.”

At interpack, which ran from 4 to 10 May in Düsseldorf, W&H provided information about its entire portfolio of packaging machinery from extrusion lines to printing presses to converting equipment. “Customers are interested in the potential for optimization that a continuous process from film to sack can offer. This is in part to better

understand the correlation between individual steps and the effects they have one another, and also in part because they themselves offer their customers the entire production chain.

In all areas of our business, we have decades of hands-on experience that flows into the design of our machinery

The focal point at the W&H interpack booth was the TOPAS SL FFS line with new EASY CONTROL automation and operating modules that increase the machine’s intelligence. “Improved transparency, ease of operation and the integration of all components into one control system lead to better efficiency and production quality,” explains Steinbeck. In addition to modules for the shop floor, EASY CONTROL offers management analysis tools and enables customers to connect suppliers and partners. “Industry 4.0 continues to be a dominant topic on the market.

With Packaging 4.0, our vision of Industry 4.0, W&H offers practical applications that add value to daily production: With intelligent machines, integrated processes and intuitive handling.”

Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia â&#x20AC;˘ June/July 2017

47

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Tetra Pak unveils first Customer Innovation Centre in Asia Located in Singapore, the facility aims to help food and beverage brands develop and test innovative solutions through simulations.

Tetra Pak launches its first Asia-based Customer Innovation Centre (CIC) in Singapore, to address the evolving needs of the fast-growing Asian markets.

This centre will help the region’s food and beverage manufacturers uncover growth opportunities, accelerate and enhance product innovation to create winning solutions for their brands.

Located at the Tetra Pak Jurong site, the new CIC was custom-made to bring together Tetra Pak’s infrastructure, expertise and processes to help customers ideate and evaluate products across the entire value chain.

Equipped with the latest tools and technologies, the centre is designed

to facilitate brainstorming, prototype product formulations, customize packaging designs and finally refine the product until its full-scale market launch.

“Ours is an extremely dynamic, fast growing and yet increasingly complex market. Consumer needs are evolving rapidly and, at the same time, the competitive environment is getting tougher. Technological advances, exposure to global trends, greater awareness about food safety as well as increasing focus on health and nutrition are keeping brand owners on their toes, requiring them to be far more innovative with a faster speed to market. The Singapore CIC was created to address these challenges and will allow a quick simulation of the entire innovation journey under one roof,

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thereby significantly increasing the speed and the probability of success for our customers,” said Saumya Tyagi, marketing director, Tetra Pak South Asia Markets.

The Marketing Services approach follows a customised, collaborative innovation journey tailored to individual customer ambitions and needs. Subject

matter experts from across the world are involved, leveraging the company’s portfolio of packages, services and other solutions showcased at the CIC. “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Since our entry into India over 30 years ago, we have helped our customers create many industry ‘firsts’ using our global knowledge, local insights and our state-of-the-

art infrastructure. The launch of our Singapore CIC reaffirms our dedication to providing end to end solutions to our customers and supporting their success in the market place” added Tyagi.

The Singapore CIC is the third in Tetra Pak’s expanding global network of CICs, after Denton (USA) and Dubai (UAE).

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Centre of excellence for identity and security print Adding taggants and colour changing pigments provides valuable protection against counterfeiting.

Contiweb, together with partner DG press ServiceS, today announce that De La Rue, the world’s largest commercial printer of banknotes and identity documents, have confirmed an order for a Thallo printing press. The purchase is part of a global investment of €33 million in equipment, factory upgrades and skills for De La Rue’s Centre of Excellence for Identity and Security Print in Malta.

De La Rue’s choice of the Thallo web offset printing press, which can print on a wide variety of substrates ranging from paper to film, demonstrates its flexibility and performance for many different market segments. The Thallo sleeve offset based concept makes it possible for printers to set up jobs in a matter of minutes, and the system’s many waste-reducing features deliver an unmatched, high quality solution for short run jobs, or when printing on

very expensive substrates.

“The Thallo press is designed to provide printers with the optimum flexibility without sacrificing on print quality. Security printing for product identification is an extremely demanding application, where compromise is not an option,” explains Richard Miedema, Product Manager, Contiweb. “Our experience in the security printing segment has contributed to the development of very high quality imaging for the Thallo system, which opens up several new markets alongside the label and flexible packaging market”.

Mr. Edward Chetcuti, Head of Site, Malta, from De La Rue commented: “To support its market leading position and drive further growth, De La Rue is investing in the creation of a centre of excellence for Identity and

Security Print in Malta. This demands that we have the flexibility to meet the changing needs of our customers whilst delivering high quality products within the shortest possible lead time, which is why we chose to invest in a Thallo web offset printing press”.

The Contiweb Thallo printing system offers significant advantages for the profitability and environmental requirements of printing businesses.

Integrating web offset with flexo, gravure or digital into hybrid configurations provides sustainable and environmentally friendly printing, cost-effective plates and sleeves and fast make-readies for high print quality on a wide range of substrates.

Contiweb Thallo web offset systems are produced and distributed under a strategic partnership between Contiweb and DG press.

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Corrugated inkjet will lead digital packaging print growth According to new report by Smithers Pira, digital print for packaging is projected to grow to $23.2 billion in 2022, led by corrugated inkjet.

Digital print for packaging is worth $13.2 billion in 2017, and will climb to $23.2 billion in 2022. As such, it represents a key growth area for the print industry, as well as opening new market opportunities for packaging converters and their brand customers.

The new Smithers Pira report tracks how demand for inkjet and electrophotography print in packaging will evolve across 2017-2022. This will see an 11.2% annual increase in value across the forecast period and annual

15.4 growth in volume output (A4 sheets equivalent) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; up from 163 billion A4 sheets (equivalent) in 2017 to 334 billion in 2022. This reflects the arrival of new higher throughput equipment.

Penetration for digital print technology is not uniform the labels sector is the early adopter and mature in some regions. Consequently, future expansion will rest heavily on less-developed packaging formats principally, namely on corrugated board, folding cartons and flexible plastics.

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“Growth is forecast in different applications and regions at varying rates. In packaging, it will be rising sharply as more players get involved, make investments and see how these benefit their customers. There will be new campaigns, which will be copied.

Converters will also provide new services in response to their customers, which will allow significant supply chain efficiencies – some of which are not clear in early 2017, but will open up over the next few years to better suit the final packaging consumers. The goal for all parties is to satisfy buyers,” said Dr Sean Smyth, report author.

In 2017, the mainstream corrugated sector has a real appetite for highvolume inkjet liner and postprint systems, to provide new functions and gain plant efficiencies. Implementation is being led by some of the largest companies in the corrugated sector – as well as by more agile independents – leading to the arrival of new dedicated equipment that will enable volume production at a much more economical price.

Digital printing will enable packaging supply chains to develop, providing advantages in cost, time and flexibility for buyers and final consumers. In

2017, the great majority of packaging and labels is produced by specialist converters, delivering to fillers and packers. These fill the packs and apply labels, adding any coding, and complete packs are then delivered into the retail distribution chain.

Fundamentally, using digital printing in packaging enables brands and retailers to make decisions later that are closer to the end consumer. The result is making packaging and labels more relevant to the end consumer who ultimately determine the success or failure of brands and retailers.

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Sustainability and premium appeal are keys to growth in flexible packaging Flexible packaging has quickly become a popular choice among consumers and consumer goods producers due to its cost efficiency and convenience. However, lack of sustainability and low premium appeal are hindering the growth of the flexible packaging segment, signaling a need for manufacturers to invest in addressing these issues, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

“Investment by flexible packaging manufacturers into environmentally friendly formulations and credentials is vital if they hope to align with clients’ sustainability goals. Achieving this would allow flexible packaging manufacturers to take share from glass packaging, and prevent their existing share switching to glass for sustainability reasons,” said Veronika Zhupanova, consumer analyst for GlobalData.

The company’s report stated that flexible packaging is one of the fastestgrowing packaging sectors, driven by increased focus across all links of the supplier chain on convenience and value, and has grown with a compound annual growth rate of 3.3% between 2010 and 2015. This is forecast to reach 4.1% between 2015 and 2020.

poses the biggest threat to flexible packaging.

However, according to GlobalData’s recently conducted executives survey, 32% of 77 business leaders surveyed responded that the popularity of glass

Additionally, sustainability practices such as recycling not only enhance the image of a business, but also improve financial returns through the use of cheaper recycled materials.

One of the primary factors contributing to this preference is glass's recyclability, with 56% of survey respondents believing improved sustainability would increase the popularity of flexible packaging.

Glass packaging is also more likely to be associated with superior quality and craftsmanship. Zhupanova continued: “Features of glass packaging such as matte or glossy finishes, as well as the material’s strong link with artisanal production position the material as a strong choice for higher-end goods, when the nature of the products permits it”.

Numbers confirm this, with a third of industry players believing that packaging manufacturers should aim to provide flexible packaging with a premium aesthetic in order to boost their popularity with high-end goods producers.

In this way, flexible packaging manufacturers would benefit from collaborating with designers to create a premium look that would allow them to compete in the higher-end market.

Zhupanova concluded: “Original shapes, matte surface and sophisticated design patterns will help to create a luxury aesthetic, and will appeal to consumers seeking premium products.”

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Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • June/July 2017

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Accommodate a wider range of substrates Screen announces the launch of two new UV inkjet label presses, expanding its remit into food packaging, breaking boundaries with new world-class speeds and further strengthening its position within the digital labels sector. The commercial release of the Truepress Jet L350UV+ and the Truepress Jet L350UV+LM will take place in parallel at the upcoming Labelexpo exhibition The new Screen Truepress Jet L350UV+LM brings unrivalled levels of functionality to food packaging label production. As well as using newly developed low migration (low permeability) inks that offer enhanced safety, the press includes a nitrogen purge mechanism for accelerating the curing of UV inks, further preventing ink migration and UV odour.

Furthermore, the new Screen Truepress L350UV+LM press pushes the envelope in terms of productivity, sharing a host of fresh features with the L350UV+ press, which was developed

by Screen for high-end, high-speed label production. The L350UV+ system offers superior productivity, substrate compatibility, colour reproduction, operability and other advanced features that provide a significant edge over conventional technologies in a wide range of fields.

Both new Screen presses deliver industry-leading, reliable print speeds of up to 60 meters per minute and enable the reproduction of a wider colour gamut by adding support for a special orange ink to conventional C, M, Y, K and white inks. Each system’s transfer section can also be equipped with an optional chill roller for cooling thin substrates that are particularly susceptible to the heat generated by the UV lamp. Labels such as those required for the wrappers used on PET bottles can now be printed with ease on the Truepress Jet L350UV+LM press. These functions provide print companies with the ability to produce

an expanded range of new and profit generating applications with greater quality and productivity than ever before.

The continuing diversification of consumer preferences has led to sustained growth in small- to mediumrun work in a wide array of the food label printing market. Brand owners have also sought to create label designs on a greater variety of substrates to differentiate their products from the competition. In response, printers have increasingly been calling for digital label presses that can accommodate a wider range of substrates while maintaining the high safety levels required for food products. Screen meets this rising demand with the introduction of these new products.

A technology preview is taking place today at Screen Europe for those customers that have already expressed interest in the direction Screen’s technology is taking.

“We announced our first specialised digital label press, the Truepress Jet L350UV system, in 2013. Delivering world-class print speeds of up to 50 meters per minute, the combined quality, productivity and substrate compatibility attracted significant attention, adoption continues to grow internationally as does its excellent reputation,” comments Bui Burke, Senior Vice President Sales at Screen, “Screen will continue its development of systems designed to meet the needs of the label printing industry, we’re fully committed to the stable, longterm growth of the sector.”

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Kodak installs world's first PROSPER 6000S press for folding cartons Kodak today further expanded its footprint in the folding carton market by announcing the world's first installation of a KODAK PROSPER 6000S simplex color inkjet web press for packaging applications at Zumbiel Digital.

Based in Hebron, Kentucky, USA, Zumbiel – one of the country's largest independent paperboard packaging companies – provides a range of packaging solutions to clients in the food, beverage and healthcare markets.

A need for greater production capacity as well as better digital capabilities led to the company ultimately investing in the PROSPER 6000S. Ed Zumbiel, President, Zumbiel Digital, explains: "Our customers are running more and more marketing campaigns requiring mass versioning, but have not been able to include paperboard in the mix due to digital's high cost and low output. We therefore

needed to find a digital technology with production capacity and print quality that would be suitable for marketleading brands. After evaluating several technologies, we opted to work with Kodak to create a truly hybrid solution that 100% caters to our customers' needs."

Zumbiel Digital's unique hybrid configuration of the PROSPER 6000S press incorporates in-line die cutting and seven in-line flexo towers for precoating, application of PMS colors, backside printing and overprint varnish.

The PROSPER 6000S simplex color inkjet web press delivers up to 12,000 B1 sheets per hour, with a print quality of 600 x 900 dpi at speeds of up to 200 m/min (656 ft/min). It offers print widths of 204mm to 647mm (8 inches – 25.5 inches), and can handle paper-

based substrates, including labels, carton and PE coated paper, of 150 gsm – 380 gsm. The press utilizes Kodak's nanoparticulate pigment CMYK inks that are compliant with Indirect Food Contact Safety regulations.

"The unmatched economy and throughput of the PROSPER 6000S-based hybrid press will allow Zumbiel Digital to take masscustomization of paperboard packaging from niche to mainstream," comments Donald Allred, Worldwide Director of Packaging Sales & Marketing, Enterprise Inkjet Systems Division, Kodak. "The PROSPER 6000S is especially ideal for mass versioning of beverage carriers, pharmaceutical cartons, paper cups and food packaging. As it can be installed as a standalone device or integrated into a current production line, packaging service providers will benefit from a truly hybrid digital production device that promises to broaden their service offering with high quality digital printing capabilities at production speeds."

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PrimeBlade®

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Breathable backsheet films: market more efficiently Backsheet films are a growth market. Around 590,000 tons are used each year and the number is on the rise. Breathable films used in products such as diapers make up some 50% of this total.

“Experts estimate a CAGR of around 4.4% for the hygiene market up to 2020,” explains Ali Hassan, Hygiene Market Specialist at engineering firm W&H. Diaper and incontinence products seem to have a particularly high potential. “Factors such as our aging society, the growing acceptance of these kinds of products and higher global availability, particularly in developing regions, are the driving forces behind this,” adds his colleague Dirk Dreier. Where breathable backsheet films have traditionally been made predominately using cast film extrusion, the experts at W&H are now advising customers to convert to blown film extrusion systems. “We are seeing a clear trend of companies moving to blown film extrusion technology for their backsheet films”, says Hassan.

According to the experts, there are a great number of benefits associated with producing breathable backsheet films using blown film extrusion.

These include a lower weight per square meter, and therefore lower raw material usage, and better mechanical properties despite a comparable output rate and speed. “Diaper backsheet films made using cast film extrusion tend to have a base weight of around 16 g/m². The thinner, breathable diaper

Breathable backsheet films for products such as diapers are a growth market. Using blown film extrusion processes, companies can achieve a downgauging potential of around 25 percent with equivalent or even improved product performance.

serving the growing hygiene

VAREX II – The VAREX II with inline MDO stretching unit can produce incredibly thin, breathable diaper backsheet films with a base weight of just 12 g/m². backsheet films made using blown film extrusion with inline stretching [MDO] on the other hand have a base weight of just 12 g/m². This represents a downgauging potential of around 25 percent with equivalent or even improved product performance,” explains Hassan. By stretching the film and using special materials and parameter configurations on the VAREX II with inline MDO, companies can generate the specific level of breathability they need for their individual applications.

Before, thick spots at the edges (the “neck-in effect”) and tapering at the center of the film (the “smiley effect”) would affect the net output of a production run. With cast film manufacturing, the neck-in effect occurs twice as frequently as in the blown film process. After going through the chill roll and inline stretching systems, thick spots would have to be removed by trimming up

to 150 mm off of each side in order to ensure problems would not occur further down the line. The integrated OPTIFIL P-MDO thickness profile control for the VAREX II guarantees a consistent thickness across the entire width of the stretched film. The result: 50% less edge trimming required, and therefore a significantly higher net output from the blown film extrusion system.

appreciate the fact that our expertise covers the entire process chain. We can adapt extrusion and printing lines to ensure that they work together perfectly. The highly automated VISTAFLEX flexographic printing press, for example, can achieve speeds of up to 800 m/min, which makes it a powerful machine for printing breathable backsheet films”, says Dreier.

High speeds are another important factor that a blown film extrusion line and subsequent winder have to deal with. “The VAREX II can achieve outputs of up to 700 kg per hour at a machine speed of up to 300 m/min. This means that its speed is comparable to that of cast film technology", explains Dreier.

Both experts are confident that blown film extrusion processes will continue to increase in popularity in backsheet film production. “Competition is fierce, especially in growth markets like the hygiene market. In the diaper product area, brand manufacturers are competing with own-brand labels.

As a highperformance blown film extrusion line, the VAREX II offers significant efficiency increases that could prove the key to success here by making the whole process more costeffective", summarizes Hassan.

As a system provider, W&H also ensures this level of performance continues on into the next stage in the process, printing. “Our customers

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CGS wins Idealliance G7 System Certification with ORIS Lynx Idealliance recognises latest advancements in ORIS Lynx including the new G7 Curve Connect feature CGS Publishing Technologies International, LLC announces that ORIS Lynx has been awarded Idealliance G7 System Certification.

G7 is a catalyst for achieving colour consistency across varying print technologies. The achievement ensures that users can now benefit from a guaranteed industry-wide standard of excellence when using CGS colour management technology.

ORIS Lynx is CGS’s cloud-based colour management tool designed to deliver precise, repeatable colour along with the ability to generate Custom ICC Profiles. The ORIS Lynx system validates industry standards like SWOP or GRACoL, then guides users step-bystep through the process of creating an ICC Output Profile or a Device Link Profile, each optimised for G7 calibration.

In contrast to competitive systems, ORIS Lynx calculates G7 correction curves directly, simplifying the calibration process and simultaneously establishing a measurable and uniform colour management process.

A number of recent ORIS Lynx advancements were key to the certification of G7, Idealliance’s industry-leading set of best practices for managing gray balance. Pivotal among these is the new G7 Curve Connect feature, which enables process colours to be curved to meet certified G7 standards, producing gray balance and tonal characteristics defined by the G7 specification. With this capability, users of ORIS Lynx now have independent verification of CGS technology for facilitating consistent, repeatable colour across jobs, presses/ printers and processes.

The G7 Curve Connect feature can also be found in OEM editions of ORIS Lynx “Colour management is crucial to our clients and partners. I can’t imagine selling an offset or digital press without a controlled process for colour managing it,” said Cory Sawatzki, director of ORIS Lynx. “The aim of CGS is the development of powerful proof and workflow software solutions to colour manage every step from prepress to print production.

Consistently and seamlessly producing repeatable color, day after day, is a core need of our customers. They need to be able to trust the tools that they use – this G7 Certification is a powerful endorsement of our own efforts here at CGS and the benefit of peace-ofmind to our customers.”

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Print Performance | Simplified

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