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ACHIEVE YOUR OBJECTIVES The RS 5002 gravure printing press features the unrivalled qualities of BOBST leading-edge gravure printing technology to deliver operational excellence and superior quality output in flexible packaging production.
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- Configuration with shaftless cylinders - BOBST Electronic Shaft and RegistronÂŽ register control integration for superior register performance - Very precise web tension control - High performance dryers with dual technology nozzles - Low energy consumption
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3 Asian Packaging Conference 2018 Book your seat today! UV LED or UV lamp? 6 8 Philippines’ Printwell increases output with BOBST 12 Printing labels for durable and industrial environment? What you need to know 14 First Nozomi in Australia goes to Orora 16 NPES Rebrands as Association for Print Technologies 18 Investment takes Packaging Simplified for flexible packaging and labels to a new level 20 8 Key Questions About Thermal Plate Processing 24 Durst and OMET unveil XJET 26 Uflex to develop optimised flexible packaging for daily staples 28 Packaging Trends Beyond 2017/18 30 Interpress Printers invests in flexo technology from Koenig & Bauer 34 MPS make bold strides into Asia 36 Open House draws hundreds at Bobst Bielefeld 38 Renato Lusa Srl invests in two Uteco rotogravure machines, looking to the future 40 Packaging printer in Saudi Arabia opts for high automation 42 Bring Your Wine Labels to Life With Augmented Reality 44 HP PageWide C500 – Digital Corrugated Goes Mainstream 46 Efficiency and quality gains through integrated assistance systems 48 South India Paper Mills achieves a world production record 50 Paper & cardboard packaging comes out on top 52 Capitol Gravure launches decorative rollers for Southeast Asia 54 HP Delivers First HP PageWide C500 Press 56 The changing face of surface treatment 58 Xeikon Celebrates 30-Year Anniversary 60 Esko launches largest digital cutting table for non-stop production 62 Exciting times for the corrugated industry 64 New from around the world and around the region
APAM 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
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
Asian Label Association
Join the biggest and Oldest Packaging Conference in Asia
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DATE: 2nd-3rd MAY 2018 BANGKOK THAILAND
FACT: the FASTEST growing industry in Asia
NARROW WEB LABELS
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SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PRINT AND PACKAGING IN ASIA
The 16th Annual Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia Conference returns May 2nd-3rd to BangkokThailand. This year we have speakers from Europe, USA, Australia and Asia, presenting topics that cover every area of Packaging Production In fact there are over 20 world leading speakers who will cover EVERY area of Business management, Production Technologies, Colour Management over the course of the 2 day event Combined with the Asian Packaging Excellence Awards you must come and find out first hand the latest information to help your business grow in the coming years Asia has been tapped to lead the packaging industry GROWTH until 2020. Are you and your company ready?
DATE: 2nd-3rd MAY 2018 BANGKOK THAILAND
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www.printinnovationasia.net/shift_018 Choose the Package that best suits you. From Hotel and Conference packages to Conference only Packages. Go to www.printinnovationasia.net/shift_018 See you in Bangkok for THE MUST ATTEND event of 2018 _018 Sponsored by Asia’s Leading Packaging Suppliers and Associations
Co-Organiser
Asian Label Association
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UV LED or UV lamp? How does the curing of printing inks and varnishes with LED technology actually work? What are the differences between this and systems which use conventional UV technology? When is it worth switching? With more than 40 years of experience in developing UV systems behind them, the experts from IST METZ are able to answer questions like this. UV LED technology is making its way into more and more printing companies. The reasons are obvious: efficient drying, short drying times and brilliant print results - these are just a few of the core characteristics of UV LEDs. In addition, LEDs have a particularly long life and do not produce any ozone. The key difference between highlyreactive LED inks and conventional UV inks are the photoinitiators, which are adapted to wavelengths >350 nm and thus to the emission level of the LED lamps. Other ink components such as binders or pigments are largely comparable with those of other UV inks. "On top of that, the more highly reactive inks do essentially make it possible to save energy", says Stefan Feil, Director of Technical Application development at IST METZ. However, a comparison between a conventional UV system and an LED system would have to take into account that this
system also changes the chemistry of the inks. “An effective comparison needs to be made on the basis of a defined drying outcome, which in turn allows the necessary drying output to be deduced. Stand-by/production times and average print format also need to be taken into account to make the result meaningful", continues Feil. LED product range serves an enormous range of applications IST METZ supplies a complete range of LED products – for sheetfed offset printing this is the newly-developed LUV® type of water-cooled highperformance LED system LEDcure. The system series guarantees optimum coordination to suit the differing requirements of sheet-fed offset presses. A newly-developed optical system with lenses specially designed to meet the requirements of the application in question results in an optimum light yield on the substrate. The systems are available in different
wavelengths, the standard being 385 nm. Water-cooling of the LED chips guarantees a high level of efficiency and system durability. A smart modular basic concept, in combination with an extremely robust and compact design, provides the user with maximum flexibility and versatility. The length of the system can be scaled and also adapted to suit all machine formats and installation situations. This allows an LEDcure unit to be used in a variety of positions on a press. XT8 booster technology means the LUV type of LEDcure also has up to 30 % higher output than conventional LED systems. Other highlights of the new LEDcure include straightforward exchange of the optical system and the possibility of upgrading the LED chips further down the track. Individual benefits of lamp and LED UV lamp systems are used primarily in high-end packaging in the luxury segment, but also for security requirements and for making food packaging. This is a technology which has been established, tried and tested for decades, for which a wide range of inks and varnishes is now available on the market. "It is virtually impossible to make a blanket statement about which technology is suitable for which application", says Stefan Feil. “It is already clear that both technologies boast application-specific individual advantages which need to be considered
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when selecting a UV system, which is why advice and consideration of the requirements of the individual case are essential in order to find the right system.” MBS LEDcure for narrow-web printing LED technology is increasingly interesting also for narrow-web printing. More and more printers are asking themselves if their company will benefit when changing over the production process to LED technology. If they decide in favour of a UV lamp system, they can rely on a technology which has proved itself for many years. However, they might then miss out on the opportunity of learning about the benefits of LED technology. BUY ONE, TRY ONE - try out LEDcure for free The question whether it is worthwhile for the company to upgrade the production process to the new LED technology can be clarified by the users for themselves during a free test phase. Within the scope of the BUY ONE, TRY ONE concept, IST METZ is giving customers the option of trying out the MBS LEDcure LED solution for free for a month when they purchase a MBS LAMPcure. Based on the Hot Swap concept for narrow-web printing, the user has the option of switching between the two technologies at any time during operation and evaluating their potential applications on an individual basis.
IST METZ equips its UV systems in such a way that they can be switched to operate either with UV lamps or UV LEDs. Integration and electrical supply are identical for both systems; the cassette with the light source simply has to be inserted in the printing press. Perfect integration and optimum handling of MBS The modern and unique design of the MBS is setting new standards in terms of handling. Without touching a single screw, it is possible to access all the relevant components of the UV dryer. The interchangeable cassette makes it quick and easy to switch between LAMPcure and LEDcure. The new generation of the MBS product family also is equipped with the Smart Control system interface. This makes operation of UV systems clear, is easy to use and allows straightforward integration in the control systems of all common kinds of printing press.
In addition to the savings to be made from low-energy production, availability of the printing press can also be improved, which is why the MBS has been specifically designed to reduce press downtime. All servicing work can be performed quickly and easily, saving both time and money. All-round service in the UV Transfer Center Founded in May 2004, the UV Transfer Center (UVTC) at the IST METZ GmbH headquarters in Nürtingen advises and looks after both novices and experienced users of UV to help them find the right system for their needs. The central task of the UVTC is to impart UV knowledge and to provide the customers with applicationoriented advice on all issues relating to UV technology.
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Philippines’ Printwell increases output with BOBST Industrial printer Printwell Inc.’s latest investment in the BOBST’s SPEEDWAVE 2 has led to significant improvement on production. The folding cartons market in the ASEAN region is forecast to rise from US$2.8 billion in 2016 to US$4.9 billion by the end of 2024, as the countries in the region experience significant industrial growth. The Philippines, for example, was the 10th fastest growing economy in the world in 2017, and the packaging industry is enjoying a boom as consumers become increasingly affluent. Luxury goods, toiletries, food and beverages are all growth industries in the country, boosting the folding carton packaging industry. Printwell Inc. is one of the largest and most modern commercial and industrial printers in the Philippines.
It is a full-service printing company, which provides high-quality multicolour offset, web and flexo printing for a broad range of customers in different industries, including food and beverage, publishing, pharmaceutical, personal care and electronics. Food packaging accounts for about 45% of Printwell’s carton sales, including breakfast cereal cartons and infant formula cartons. “These products are growing as the Philippines’ population grows — our population is now 100 million,” said Robert Yam, president of Printwell. “It’s also a very young population. Cereal cartons are filled and packed
locally for export to other Asian countries, but domestic consumption of breakfast cereals is picking up fast.” Infant formula companies are also looking to produce appealing and functional cartons to attract mothers to their products. There is a growing need and demand for pharmaceutical and personal care cartons. This is why Printwell and its group of companies continue to invest in technology that will allow them to keep ahead of the ever-changing needs of their customers. Partnership with BOBST brings quality and reliability Printwell’s success depends upon
Left to right: LA ROSA Olive, Division Manager - Supply Chain Printwell Inc., YAM Robert, President of Printwell Inc. and GAUDRY Erick, Product Sales Manager, BOBST
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© 2018 Kodak. TM: Kodak and Flexcel.
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the quality and reliability of its manufacturing equipment. For this, the company looks to BOBST, a leading global supplier of equipment and services to packaging and label manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible materials industries. “We have enjoyed a working partnership with BOBST for over 30 years. Our first BOBST machine was a MEDIA 45 folder-gluer back in 1987. Almost every year since then we have invested in new machines. BOBST is like a Swiss watch manufacturer – they are all about quality, precision, reliability and functionality,” explained Yam. Introducing SPEEDWAVE 2 The company operates three carton plants in Manila. As part of the company’s production expansion,
several new presses have been installed in recent years. Its latest post press investment is a new EXPERTFOLD 110 with SPEEDWAVE 2, which was installed at the Printwell plant in early 2017. SPEEDWAVE 2 is BOBST’s latest no-hooks device for running crashlock boxes and other special boxes. SPEEDWAVE 2 paves the way towards achieving incredible production speeds, considerably reducing downtime and setting times. “SPEEDWAVE 2 has led into significant improvement on production in terms of output, easy set up and quality consistency. As a result, we have doubled the net output of our EXPERTFOLD,” said Yam.
Exceptional folding quality SPEEDWAVE 2 is associated with exceptional folding quality and significantly higher productivity. It is also extremely simple to set up, and is highly ergonomic, with one button for all settings. It requires 80% less tooling to be set. The machine has reduced downtime and hook-free folding for a more stable folding process throughout the speed range. It is associated with better consistency, less noise and less maintenance. “We are very pleased with the impact SPEEDWAVE 2 has had on our productivity and what we can deliver to our clients,” said Yam. “We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with BOBST in the years ahead.”
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Printing labels for durable and industrial environment? What you need to know Not one label is the same - different applications require different digital technology. Wine & spirits, food, beverages, pharma, health & beauty or industrial chemicals: every label comes with its own aesthetic and functional requirements. Which is why we are diving deeper into the characteristics of each of these labels A technology agnostic approach At Xeikon, we did an in-depth analysis of different digital label printing technologies (dry toner and liquid toner electrophotography, UVcurable inkjet and water-based inkjet), taking into account quality basics (dot positioning and dot sizes), substrate compatibility and process reliability as well as characteristics such as look & feel, durability and sustainability. The results are published in a white paper which is free for download from the Xeikon website. Based on this analysis, Xeikon recommends UV inkjet as the most optimal technology to produce durable and industrial labels. Read on to find out why exactly.
#1 Temperature and mechanical stress Dry and liquid toner images are polymers fused to the substrate, so when heated, they can melt again. Applying heat-resistant lamination remedies this issue. UV-curable and water-based inkjet are heat resistant: the polymers formed after the complete curing of the UV-curable inkjet have a high melting point. In water-based inks, the concentration of polymers on the substrate surface is too low for the ink to melt and become sticky. Moreover, UV inkjet inks are resistant to mechanical stress after being exposed to UV light. #2 Chemical resistance of durable labels Cross-linked inks/toners are generally highly resistant to chemicals, which explains the performance of UVcurable inkjet inks compared to that of liquid or dry toner: the resins in toner are mostly not cross-linked. Applying chemically-resistant lamination remedies this issue but comes with a cost. #3 UV sunlight and durables Lightfastness is critical for high quality labels. It is a measure of how well a printed image resists discoloration or fading as a result of exposure to light over time. Products sitting on a store shelf or in a warehouse are often exposed to direct sunlight for hours on end. The UV affects the color pigments, causing the image to lose its brightness over time. It is a natural process which can be slowed down by adding
By Filip Weymans, VP Global Marketing, Xeikon
protective UV layers on top of the label (varnish or laminate). From the start, Xeikon invested in high quality toners, UV inks with great lightfastness scores without any additional protective finishing. Without applying any additional protection, liquid toner and waterbased inkjet achieve a very poor result.
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First Nozomi in Australia goes to Orora The ultra-high-speed digital printing investment expands EFI/Orora partnership for digital production and workflow systems EFI and Australian packaging innovator Orora Limited announced an expanded global partnership that will bring additional EFI production technologies to key Orora operations. The agreement includes Orora’s purchase of two EFI Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED inkjet corrugated packaging presses. The new presses are scheduled to be installed at Orora facilities in Melbourne, Australia and in the US in May, 2018. “The new EFI Nozomi C18000 digital printers are genuine game changers for our corrugated packaging customers, delivering magazine quality imagery directly onto corrugated board at ultra-high-speed,” said Nigel Garrard, Orora’s managing director and CEO. “We are the first company to purchase and install the Nozomi printer in Australia and one of the first to use this print technology in North America. Our investment in these state-of-theart printers demonstrates Orora’s commitment to keeping our business and customers at the forefront of the market,” Garrard said. “Orora is an excellent example of an innovative, large, multinational business that takes a savvy, proactive approach to enhanced customer service and bestin-class production for the corrugated packaging space,” said Frank Mallozzi, senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, EFI. “We are excited to partner with Orora to help the
company grow its competitive edge with the Nozomi presses.” The Nozomi C18000 The Nozomi C18000 presses Orora will be installing are production products that enable full-scale digital production of short to medium run corrugated packaging jobs. They eliminate many of the challenges associated with digital corrugated board production by offering fast production speeds up to 75 linear metres per minute. Key features on Orora’s Nozomi presses include extended-gamut printing for accurate brand colour reproduction with six-colour imaging plus white and a high-quality, accurate output in resolutions up to 360x720 dots per inch with four-level greyscale imaging. The press also features a fully integrated, programmable top- and bottom-feed system that also handles media separation, lift, transport and alignment at full press speeds. The 100% in-line image quality inspection system actively compensates for inkjet nozzle, alignment and uniformity errors for the highest possible imaging quality. The press enables high productivity with a permanent head architecture that eliminates the downtime associated with replacing consumable printheads. Output from the presses are unique in having certification for OCC recyclability and repulpability from the Western Michigan University Recycling,
Paper and Coating Pilot Plant – a leading certification organisation for corrugated recycling. Advanced workflows with the complete EFI ecosystem for corrugated Next-generation, ultra-fast and scalable EFI Fiery NZ-1000 digital front ends (DFEs) installed with the presses will give Orora the processing power needed to develop a broader range of production applications, including multi-SKU and versioned jobs where digital offers distinct economic advantages over analogue production. Orora will be collaborating with EFI on workflow innovations, including technologies used in the EFI Corrugated Packaging Suite manufacturing execution system. The overall partnership for packaging production technologies is the next major step EFI and Orora have taken together after the recent EFI VUTEk superwide-format printer purchases Orora completed for its U.S. point-ofpurchase and visual communications business, Orora Visual. Orora launched Orora Visual in March 2017, following the acquisition and
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EFI Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED inkjet corrugated packaging presse
consolidation of four separate pointof-purchase businesses under the one brand. Orora Visual is now able to serve the market locally from its national footprint of integrated production and fulfilment hubs, significantly improving speed to market and reducing freight costs for customers. Orora Visual is currently in the process of installing four 3.2m-wide EFI VUTEk HS125 Pro hybrid roll/flatbed inkjet presses at its US facilities to meet
growing demand for high-end pointof-purchase graphics and freestanding rigid substrate displays. The new VUTEk installations join several other VUTEk printers used at Orora Visual facilities. Orora Visual also uses EFI Fiery DFEs to drive its superwide-format production and proofing printers. Plus, the business uses EFI Monarch ERP workflow software and is in the process of upgrading to a complete EFI Enterprise
Commercial Print Suite for inventory and purchasing management, stronger customer relationship management and improved reporting.
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NPES Rebrands as Association for Print Technologies NPES (The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies) announced a name change to the Association for Print Technologies (APT). The rebranding marks a defining moment in the association’s 85-year history, and is a nod to its signature annual event - PRINT®. The new name will also signify progress towards its “Strategic Business Plan” for the industry, that it first launched in January 2017. “This rebrand of the organisation signals a significant turning point, not just for our Association, but for the entire printing and imaging industry. The convergence in our industry is
essentially in the rearview mirror. Now, as our new name more clearly expresses, our broader scope and direction are focused on greater alignment among the commercial printing and imaging value chain. This ‘next phase’ must happen in order for all stakeholders to benefit.” said Thayer Long, President, Association for Print Technologies.
Following the rebranding initiative is a launch of the association’s new website, www.PrintTechnologies.org, in Spring 2018. The association will also be announcing a series of new and expanded line-up of programmes and services. The offerings will span areas of research & market data, industry
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17 advocacy & standards, events, and communications. In addition, a new staff department named “Community & Industry Development,” has been established to advance programming designed to support businesses throughout the industry value chain, including initiatives that will address workforce development and training. As part of the organisation’s rebranding initiative, the association’s annual event becomes Print®. Now 100% non-profit and vendor-owned, and exclusively produced by the Association for Print Technologies, the event will take place in Chicago, US, from 30 September to 2 October 2018. In 2018, the PRINT® event will expand its focus on exceptional business growth opportunities. APT Indonesia NPES Indonesia will now be called APT Indonesia. As one of APT’s International offices, alongside APT’s
India and China branches, will continue to facilitate and boost exports by the US printing, publishing, and converting industry to the country. “Featuring a base of over 4,000 active printing companies (commercial, publishing, packaging and converters), a population of 250+ million people, and a new democratically elected government, Indonesia presents a market of great opportunity for US products,” said Marco Gandasubrata, Director of APT Indonesia. “We will also continue to work with partners in the industry in sharing the latest technologies to the regional markets. One such example of this partnership is by working with Packaging and Print Innovation Asia, in conducting the yearly Asian Packaging Conference event. This year’s event, themed SHIFT_08, will be taking place in Bangkok, Thailand from 2 to 3 May 2018,” he continued.
Thayer Long, President, Association for Print Technologies. APT Indonesia will be hosting an industry panel on Day Two of the Asian Packaging Conference event. To find out more, visit: http:// printinnovationasia.net/shift_018.
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Investment takes Packaging Simplified for flexible packaging and labels to a new level Leading Chinese flexo platemaker Amjet Shanghai, a division of Amjet Group, has again partnered with Esko to install the first CDI Crystal 5080 XPS system in Greater China. The investment in world-class platemaking process technology includes the latest Automation Engine prepress workflow as well as the latest screening technology for flexo printing. It will enable Amjet Shanghai to focus on the highest definition flexo production technology for flexible packaging and labels. With the new solution, Amjet Shanghai, a repeated winner of the FTA Award in the United States, aims to combine greater prepress workflow and the highest quality screening technology to improve efficiency and to enhance the quality of its packaging and printing Precise Crystal control The new and unique CDI Crystal XPS is a digitally-controlled exposure unit supporting all photopolymer flexo plates. The combined solution reduces five manual steps in the traditional platemaking process to just one step. The platemaking device integrates with the entire prepress workflow, including Device Manager, to optimally control the output of plates. Plates are placed onto the glass surface, where very accurate back and main exposures - by patented LED UV light technology that allows very precise control - are conducted simultaneously. The consistent light source and nearly concurrent back and main exposure
deliver unmatched relief and image consistency combined with perfectly formed flat-top dots. As a result, these plates deliver the highest level of consistency and quality on press. One of the primary factors influencing plate stability is UV exposure. It has also been proven that the shorter the time (dwell) between main exposure and back exposure, the finer the detail, such as highlight dots, tiny linework, and text, can be held on the plate. The CDI Crystal XPS completes these exposures nearly simultaneously, providing the absolute highest quality dot and fine elements. Automation Engine manages Flexo Platemaking Automation Engine enables a fullyautomated platemaking workflow, from
ripped files all the way to the exposed plate on the CDI Crystal XPS, without operator intervention. With Device Manager, anyone that needs to know what the status of a job is, can check from the comfort of their desks. Jobs can quickly and easily be placed in queues, and queues can be modified as needed. This automation not only saves valuable operator time, but also time in the platemaking process to help meet customer customer demand. Geert de Proost, Director Solutions Marketing for Esko, states, “With our new flexo platemaking solutions, we ensure that flexo printing maintains its prominent position and is ready for the business challenges of label and flexo converters today.” The CDI Crystal and XPS Crystal UV exposure unit was unveiled by Esko at Drupa 2016. Accolades include the Red Dot Design Award, the Printing Industries of America (PIA) InterTech™ Technology Award, the American Flexo Association / Graphic Arts Association of Technology Innovation Award and the FlexoTech Innovation Award.
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8 Key Questions About Thermal Plate Processing is not a new technology – the original process for developing photopolymer plates using heat and an absorbent material was patented nearly 20 years ago. But as time passes, technologies, processes and products improve. Problems that plagued early thermal processors may have been addressed, but improvements in other parts of the plate making process have introduced new demands that also require improvements in thermal processing. It is also worth noting that, in recent years, the number of thermal processors on the market has increased dramatically. This means a greater number of options for potential buyers, but it also complicates the decision making process. By this point, most plate makers are familiar with the concept of thermal plate making, and the general advantages and disadvantages of that process over more traditional plate processing systems (solvent- and water-washable plates). There are, however, some important differences between the systems currently on the market. With that in mind, for those who are considering a move to
thermal processing, or for those who are looking to upgrade their existing thermal processor, here are 8 important questions to ask your prospective thermal system vendors: 1. What is the maximum plate size that can be processed? Some new presses on the market need unusual-sized plates, such as a 65” width. While a large 50” x 80” sheet accommodates this size, there is a considerable amount of waste. And processing sheets that large requires the largest-format thermal processor available necessitating a larger amount of available floor space, potentially without any added benefit other than the ability to process plates that are only slightly larger than the nextsmaller thermal processor (42” x 60”). Admittedly, that is a very specific example. However, the key point to take from this question is to consider common finished plate sizes, sheet sizes, and processor capacity carefully – you may find a better option with one
thermal processor over another! As a follow-up to this question, consider how scalable thermal processors are – that is, the minimum and maximum plates sizes, the corresponding floor space requirement, and other factors, such as available sizes of consumables. If you’re thinking about increasing your maximum sheet size down the road, there may be a benefit to considering that expansion while looking at thermal processors, especially if there is a negligible difference in footprint
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Thermal Plate Processing When it comes down to it, running a plate making shop is a numbers game. Balancing revenue-in and costs-out, it is beneficial to consider everything, including energy consumption. To that end, it is definitely worth talking to any potential thermal processor vendor about energy costs associated with their equipment. A penny saved is a penny earned. Enough of those pennies, and you’ll be raking in the Benjamin’s instead!
between the right size currently and a larger sized unit. 2. Is there any auxiliary equipment required for the processor? Additional equipment, like condensers, chillers, or filtration systems, may add to the processor’s footprint. While this may not be a big deal for some users, those with limited floor space will want to keep this in mind. Also, some of these auxiliary devices will require additional maintenance and upkeep, which, in turn, may increase downtime on the processor, affecting plate making productivity. Another factor to consider with additional/auxiliary equipment is their energy consumption. A device that is constantly running may increase the total cost of operation in terms of energy usage. 3. How much do developer rolls weigh? Next to the plate material, thermal developer rolls (also known as blotting or wicking material, take-up rolls, etc.) are the largest consumable in thermal processing. The developer roll is responsible for removing unexposed photopolymer from plates to create
the desired relief depth on the finished plate. Since rolls cannot be reused over and over, they must be changed out regularly for new, clean rolls (depending on production loads and plate sizes, this can potentially occur daily). Traditionally, developer rolls have been relatively heavy – depending on the width of developer roll required for plate processing, rolls could weigh up to 50 pounds when clean, and considerably more when laden with unexposed polymer. Considering wearand-tear on plate makers, the savvy consumer would be wise to ask how much the developer rolls weigh for any given thermal processing system. Another follow-up question that environmentally-conscious customers might ask, is how developer rolls impact the environment, keeping in mind the whole life-cycle of the material, from manufacturing, through usage, and post-use processing. A unique benefit of lower-weight developer rolls, is that there is physically less material required in manufacturing, with a trickle-down improvement throughout the rest of the material’s life-cycle. 4. How much does it cost to run the thermal processor?
5. Are thermally processed plates susceptible to “melt lines,” developer material impression, or distortion? As mentioned previously, thermal processing has come a long way. Some newer processors are able to remove unexposed polymer more evenly, while older equipment was sometimes criticized for producing plates with “melt lines,” or visible ridges in the plate floor immediately after large solids. In some cases, these ridges were so pronounced that they printed, resulting in dirty shadows on one side of large solid images. Some plate materials have a tendency to take on the pattern of the nonwoven developer material on the plate surface – this results in a textured surface. Again, there have been situations where this surface texture was severe
By: Andy Knapp, Sr. Technical Specialist, Flint Group Flexographic Products
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enough to print on certain substrates. Furthermore, minor variations in processing conditions (main exposures or thermal processing settings) could increase or decrease the severity of this texture, resulting in a lack of consistency in plate surface characteristic. Some printers have become wary of thermal plates, simply due to this slightly unpredictable print characteristic. Finally, because of the amount of heat and pressure used to thermally process plates, it is important to understand how thermal processing affects the dimensional stability of finished plates. As graphics become more and more intricate and challenging, it is critical that presses hold tighter and tighter register between all colors. Any discrepancy in plate width or length will interfere with this registration, and should be thoroughly considered when making a decision on a thermal processing system. 6. Are “flat top plates” available for the thermal processing system? As previously mentioned, plate technologies are always advancing. The newest technology, plates with inherently flat-top dots, has caught on in the industry as a means of simplifying the plate making process. The transition to thermal plate making, or upgrading your current thermal processing system, provides a good opportunity to also consider upgrading to this new flat top plate technology, providing the material is available from the vendor you choose for your new thermal processing system.
7. Does the thermal processor create condensate and how does it handle exhaust? Thermal processing requires a significant amount of heat to melt photopolymer. A potential byproduct of this heating/melting process is vaporized monomers, which can be harmful if inhaled, and can cause damage to objects that come into contact with these vapors after they have condensed; this may include the inside of the processor, the floor underneath the processor, or the area around the exhaust outlet outside of the building. Making sure that your new thermal processor properly handles these kinds of vapors will benefit you by preventing you from encountering unforeseen costs in terms of repairs down the road. Of course, reducing or eliminating these kinds of vapors is also a good thing for the environment. 8. What else can the vendor provide? For printers looking to bring plate
making in-house, another obvious consideration is the whole equipment package. A thermal processor alone is not enough to make plates – you’ll also need an imager (“laser”) and, ideally, a combination exposure unit capable of handling back, face, post and detack exposures. Most folks today are familiar with the concept of “bundling,” or purchasing/leasing multiple products for a reduced price. With that concept in mind, finding a vendor who can provide most (or all) of the equipment and consumables (plates and developer rolls) needed to start a plate making operation will likely yield some significant savings, in addition to the benefit of having a single contact for ongoing sales and support. These eight questions are a great starting point for a good conversation with your potential vendors, and will likely lead to additional topics of discussion. In the broadest sense, the key things to consider when researching thermal processing systems are upfront costs (equipment), cost of consumables, cost of operation, productivity (in terms of size capacity and processing time), ease of operation, plate quality and environmental friendliness. Of course, it is up to you, the consumer, to determine which of these questions is most relevant to you. There are certainly other questions that are worth asking as well, based on your own unique requirements. The most important thing is to make sure that you are asking as many questions as possible, in order to make the most informed decision possibl
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Durst and OMET unveil XJET Durst, manufacturer of advanced digital production technologies, together with OMET, manufacturer of printing and converting machines, have strengthened their collaboration with the introduction of the new OMET XJet. Powered by Durst, the integrated hybrid solution for a wide range of high-performance labels and packaging printing guarantees flexibility and cost savings. The jewel in the crown of the Durst and OMET partnership, the new OMET XJet, is being officially presented to more than a 100 customers from across the globe at Durst’s Digital Days at its Italian headquarters in Brixen, northern Italy. The three-day event is dedicated to the best digital label and
packaging printing solutions. The OMET XJET is the new hybrid printing platform integrating Durst’s Tau 330 digital inkjet system with OMET X6 flexo stations and converting units. It can offer an unlimited flexibility and a wide range of
final applications with a consistent cost reduction thanks to the in-line multiprocess configuration. Durst inkjet technology together with OMET X6’s finishing and converting units like cold foil, hot foil, lamination, varnishing, die-cutting and slitting assure reliability and excellent results at every run, with
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25 the advantage of obtaining the final product in one single passage. The OMET XJet is powered by Durst Tau RSC, the high-performance UV inkjet printing press featuring 330 mm (13”) print width with maximum print speed of 78 linear meters/ min (245 ft./min) at 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution. Thanks to its eight color stations (CMYK+W+OVG) with new designed high pigmented inks it delivers outstanding print quality with 98% pantone color gamut coverage. The hybrid solution broadens the opportunities for label printers thanks to its flexible configuration. It can be seen as three presses in one as it can be used as hybrid solution, flexo standalone or digital stand-alone according
to the length of the run or the level of personalization required. This concept can help optimize production time and costs, getting faster ROI and open new market opportunities. Helmuth Munter, Segment Manager Labels & Package Printing at Durst comments: “We are very pleased to partner OMET in the launch of this highly professional hybrid printing solution. It combines the best technologies of both, the digital inkjet printing and conventional pre- and post press printing and finishing world, offering our common future customers a highly cost effective and complete “all-in-one” printing process.” Marco Calcagni, OMET Sales and
h.ist-uv.com, www.ist-uv.com
Marketing Director, added: “We managed to create a complete Madein-Italy printing solution that meets the market trends of personalization, just-in-time deliveries and final product variation, but also maintaining all the capabilities of a conventional press. I believe that Durst is the right partner for such a challenging project because they have deep knowledge and the best digital inkjet technology acknowledged by the international market.”
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Uflex to develop optimised flexible packaging for daily staples India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and solution company, Uflex, announced that is will be focusing on resource optimised packaging for essential Indian staples such as pulses, wheat flour, sugar, salt and oil. This is with the aim to extend the use of flexible packaging. Jeevaraj Pillai, joint president for packaging and new product development at Uflex Limited, commented: “The flexible packaging sector in India will get the real boost when high volume, bulk commodity food items like pulses, wheat flour, sugar, salt and oil are marketed in packaged form. In India, almost 8085% of unbranded food products are still sold loose, without predesignated packaging. With steadily increasing demand from urban consumers for branded high volume commodity food items, we are now getting a lot of enquiries from popular food brands to develop cost effective packaging particularly for the essential staples category.” To address this, Uflex recently developed a 2-ply laminated packaging for wheat flour comprising a specialised Polyester (PET) / specialised Polyethylene (PE) structure. The company had to address two dichotomous situations to manufacture the packaging solution for wheat flour in the 5 kg segment. “In order to restrict the pricing within 2.5-3% of the total MRP of the 5 Kg wheat flour pack we had to optimally down gauge the packaging. Down gauging cannot come at the cost of functionalities and strength of the pack. Therefore, to ensure that the wheat flour packaging is sturdy enough with good mechanical properties to withstand the weight of the product being packed as well as to sustain the rough supply chain conditions, we adopted a three pronged approach,” Pillai continued.
organisms can take place which can result in spoilage of the wheat flour packed inside. The perforations are designed just enough for removing the air and restricting the passage of mites. The nano-perforation on the pack imparts anti-skid properties to the bag, paving way for easy stacking all through the supply chain.”
The polyester film and sealant PE layer was modified to optimise the overall characteristics f the packaging. The two layers were rendered special high dart impact resistant to pass five drops from a 1.2m height, as per the ASTM standards. Uflex was also able to reduce the thickness of the PE by almost 38% which substantively down gauged the overall packaging. This reduction makes the packaging light-weight/resource optimised and far more sustainable than the previous version. “The third and the most important modification has been registered nanoperforation on the laminate for which we installed a new machine with the most contemporary software. No other flexible packaging company in India has this capability,” explained Pillai. “The nano-perforation helps in dispelling the air while filling the flour inside the pack. It also ensures that no infestation by mites and other micro-
“Resource optimised packaging for bulk commodities, particularly high consumption commodity food items as the name suggests, entails significant reduction at source,” said Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman & managing director for Uflex Limited. As the target market consumption of this product category in a country like India is fairly large, resource optimised packaging for this segment holds tremendous potential in overall reduction of polymer consumption. “I am glad that my packaging engineers have been able to develop this packaging solution which is lightweight, sustainable and significantly contributes towards extending the use of flexible packaging for this volume driven food category,” Chaturvedi continued. “Considering that the per-capita packaging consumption in India is just about 4.5 kg currently, whereas that for countries like Taiwan, Germany and US is around 19, 50 and 71 kg respectively, resource optimized packaging for essential Indian staples is a tangible and definitive step in making flexible packaging a more popular option in India.”
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Nothing herein should be construed as a warranty in addition to the express warranty statement provided with EFI products and services. EFI, FabriVU, Fiery and VUTEk are trademarks of Electronics For Imaging, Inc. and/or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. Š2018 Electronics For Imaging, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Packaging Trends According to GlobalData research, consumers want packaging that have unique shapes, bright colours and are environmentally-friendly. 1. Unique shapes and bright colours in packaging for social media With visually-driven social platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat becoming more prominent, brands should look to unique shapes and bright colours to appeal to consumers and encourage digital sharing, according to analytics company, GlobalData. According to GlobalData’s primary consumer research, 'how enjoyable or unique the product is', is often or always influential to over half of consumers globally when making purchasing decisions in food, beauty and grooming, alcohol, and nonalcoholic beverages. It has therefore become increasingly beneficial for brands to create products which are enjoyable, unique, visually appealing, and can ignite desire among
consumers to share these products with their friends and communities online. "Bearing this in mind, packaging plays an important role in enhancing online ‘shareability’ credentials and should be designed to take advantage of the digital age,” said Lia Neophytou, consumer analyst at GlobalData. “In particular, 26% of consumers globally find unique shapes and bright colours exciting – more than any other features – while interactive packaging excites 23% of global consumers. Brands should therefore consider these types of favorable packaging cues as a key vehicle for digital marketing.’’ 2. Environmentally-Friendly Packaging Another GlobalData research expects consumers to look for packaging that are environmentally-friendly. With the majority of global consumers already recycling, demand for environmentallyfriendly packaging will increase further in response to heightened publicity around plastics ending up in the ocean. According to GlobalData’s Q3 2016 global consumer survey, 65% of consumers globally always or mostly recycle product packaging and 53% always or mostly avoid excessively packaged grocery products. “Consumers are highly sensitive to the environmental implications of packaging formats. While the implications of product formulation have long been a focus of consumers, it is becoming clear that the packaging waste produced by everyday purchases also has a detrimental effect on the environment,” said Peter Hays, consumer analyst at GlobalData. GlobalData’s Q1 2017 global consumer survey found that consumers consider packaging recyclability to be the most
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Beyond 2017/18
Packaging is not supposed to be BORING!!
important factor when it comes to environmentally-friendly packaging, but that view is likely to shift as awareness builds. “While packaging recyclability is laudable, the recycling process requires additional energy. A more environmentally-friendly packaging format might use recyclable materials while also reducing unnecessary packaging. Better still would be offering consumers reusable packaging,” added Hays.
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Interpress Printers invests in flexo technology from Koenig & Bauer Interpress Printers (IPP), is a young company focused on the printing of fast-food packaging and operates from headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. IPP has already built up a fine reputation among its customers and is currently enjoying a period of dynamic growth. To accommodate the flood of new business, production capacity is now to be expanded at new premises in the Malaysian capital. After a series of visits to companies in Europe, it was decided to invest in an ultramodern flexo printing line from KBA-Flexotecnica, a subsidiary of Koenig & Bauer AG. “We are convinced that Koenig & Bauer is the ideal partner to answer our high demands. The outstanding technology of the EVO XD will enable us to define new yardsticks for the packaging sector,” says Ratha Kerisnan, managing director of Interpress Printers. The press is scheduled to come on stream at the new production site by the end of the year.
Strategic partnership with SCG Packaging Interpress Printers was founded almost ten years ago. In the meantime, it counts almost 200 employees and has developed into one of the region's biggest suppliers of fast-food packaging. The company produces for customers in both Malaysia and other Asian countries. IPP is furthermore a member of the International Packaging Group, a global alliance of leading companies from the field of packaging printing. As of 19th January 2018, SCGP Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of SCG Packaging (SCGP),
which belongs to the Siam Cement Public Company Limited Group, has acquired a majority stake in IPP. Listed on the Thai Stock Exchange, SCG is a leading business conglomerate within the ASEAN region with a strong positioning in the market and more than 100 years history. The partnership with SCG Packaging will support IPP´s vision to become a leading one stop solution provider to support all packaging requirements for its clients. Flexo printing is a growth market With annual growth rates of 4-5%, flexible packaging – today a strong domain of flexo printing – is the fastest growing packaging segment. “This project is solid proof that we have arrived on the Asian market. The next step is now to further strengthen our local presence. Our quality and our local service capabilities as a globally active press manufacturer will benefit not only IPP itself, but also its customers,” says Christoph Müller, CEO for KBA Digital & Web and KBA-Flexotecnica. EVO XD: Minimal waste paired with quality and efficiency The modern CI flexo web presses of the EVO and NEO series are designed and manufactured at KBA-Flexotecnica
After signing the contract (left to right): Ratha Kerisnan, managing director IPP; Andrea Dallavalla, KBA-Flexotecnica; Andreas Friedrich, Managing Director KBA Asia-Pacific
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32 serving fast job changeovers, the EVO XD can be considered the latest state of the art. About Koenig & Bauer Koenig & Bauer is the world’s secondlargest printing press manufacturer with the broadest product range in the industry. For 200 years, the company has been supporting printers with innovative technology, tailor-made processes and a wide array of services.
near Milan/Italy. The EVO XD for IPP, with its eight printing units, a new dryer generation and a newly developed coating unit, has been engineered for ultimate quality on the most varied materials. The technical highlights include a highly efficient energysaving ventilation system in the bridge dryer, the fully automatic impression
control system A.I.F. (Auto Impression Flexotecnica) and the operatorfriendly register setting system A.R.F. (Automatic Register Flexotecnica) as the key to minimum start-up waste. All important automation and control functions are integrated into the new touchscreen and enable intuitive operation. With regard to automation
YOU’RE THE DRIVER
The portfolio ranges from banknotes, via board, film, metal and glass packaging, through to book, display, coding, magazine, advertising and newspaper printing. Sheetfed and webfed offset and flexo printing, waterless offset, intaglio, simultaneous perfecting and screen printing or digital inkjet – Koenig & Bauer is at home in virtually all printing processes and is the market leader in many of them. In the financial year 2016, the approximately 5,500 highly qualified employees worldwide generated annual sales of more than EUR 1.2 billion.
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. You’re welcome on WWW.THERMOFLEXX.COM
15054-V1-EN-LabelPlus-Adv-210x148.indd 1
23/02/15 09:09
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EVOXD – The right choice for high profits in Flexo
The EVOXD generation flexo presses developed by KBA-Flexotecnica up to 10 colours embodies the essence of strategic principles of efficiency and sustainability thanks to a number of innovative solutions aimed at assuring added productivity even with the shortest of print runs, excellent print quality and the eco-friendliness of the converting process.
KBA Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd kba@kbaasiapacific.com koenig-bauer.com
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The EF SYMJET press is a hybrid flexo inkjet solution that gives converters a range of new print potential with the symbiotic combination of conventional and digital printing technologies.
MPS make bold strides into Asia
EB 370
MPS is a narrow-web press manufacturer that offers flexo and offset press solutions for label and flexible packaging printers. At the start of 2018, the Dutchbased company set up shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to better serve the Asia Pacific market. At the helm of the new Asia Pacific branch is managing director Tim Klappe. Print Innovation speaks with the print veteran to find out what the company has in store for the region. 1. Can you give us a brief overview on MPS’ activities in Asia so far, and what are your upcoming plans to grow in the region? Prior to this, MPS has been selling machines to the region via the main company based in Europe, and our agents in India, Japan and Australia and New Zealand. Initially, MPS concentrated all efforts to grow the European market. As a result, we are the market leaders in a few major European countries and have a leading position overall in Europe. In 2014, MPS entered the US market. At this moment, we have both a technology centre plus an assembly facility in the US. Our market position is strengthening as well in the Americas. Our recent successes of the
Hybrid press in both North America and South America shows the trust of the American market in MPS. Since January this year, we opened shop in Asia Pacific. We started with the opening of our regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We are now expanding our sales team and service team in order to give our current and future MPS customers top support. We have already appointed new agents in Indonesia and Taiwan, and will soon sign up new agents throughout the Asia Pacific region. We are also planning to set up a technology centre in Kuala Lumpur. Printers can come here to test materials, applications and the performance of the MPS presses. [Editor’s note: Meanwhile, printers in the Asia Pacific region who wish to view a demo can do so at T&K Toka, Japan’s MPS agent. Contact George Tan g.tan@mps4u. com or Tim Klappe t.klappe@mps4u.com
to request for an appointment.]
In addition, MPS will be participating in the upcoming Labels and Packaging Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, from 2 to 3 May 2018. We are looking forward to it as it will enable us to meet with customers and share thoughts on running special applications and new technologies. It is also a very good opportunity to meet many suppliers and partners in the industry with many we have a direct or indirect cooperation. 2. What are your observations on the labels and flexible packaging industry in Asia? It is a good market to be - it is large and there is constant growth. Shopping malls and supermarkets keep on growing in Asia. Products sold there have to be packed and labelled. There is also a growing middle class in Asia. These people want to buy more different goods and more luxury
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35 Rules are not only made, but enforced as well. Not just by governments, but by the brand owners as well. Due to this, more gravure printers are looking to more environmentally-friendly print technologies, such as flexo. 3. What sets MPS apart from the competition? Tim Klappe - Managing Director MPS Systems Asia packaged items. These developments are all driving growth for the label and packaging industry. Asia & Oceania accounts for 41% of worldwide label consumption. Flexo printing output volume in Asia is expected to grow at 7.2% (CAGR ’15-’21) to reach 4,177 mln m2 by 2021, which is just over half of output volume forecasted for Europe in that same year. Packaging cannot be replaced by the internet or with apps, unlike what had happened to a large extend with newspapers, brochures and other commercial print products. However, there are always new technologies in labels and packaging. Digital printing, many new substrates, especially films, inclusion of security features, having multiple layers and mixed printing technologies all in one label, are just some examples. As a printer and solution provider, you will have to be able to deal with that. This means having good knowledge and availability of prepress, materials, adhesives, printing technologies, and environmental issues. With regards to this point, more countries in Asia Pacific are getting serious about the environment. MPS EB 370 Print units print cylinders down
MPS presses are famous for the transport of the material through the machine. When you produce labels or flexible packaging, you will have to be able to process many different kind of materials. From pressure sensitive adhesive labels on paper stock, to thin stretchable wrap-around label films to shrink sleeves and even multilayer labels with several pre-printed laminations on top of each other. High demands are put on accuracy, registration and colour consistency. At high speeds, films will stretch. A MPS press is better able than any other press to deal with these high demands. This is due to the way an MPS press transports the substrates through the machine. There are less so-called nip rollers that can stretch materials and lead to inaccuracies. Especially when you need to laminate several layers of printed films on top of each other, the highest accuracy is needed. This is what MPS presses are doing very well in and why MPS customers has won many label awards. 4. Tell us about one of your star products. I think we are lucky to have a range of stars in our product family. It really depends on the application a printer wants to run and what the job load and budget is. Our EF press is the most MPS EF ink drawer open
flexible press. This machine can run the thinnest films, cardboards to lamitubes, can laminate multiple layers with ease, and can combine flexo, silkscreen, gravure, cold foil, hotfoil and different kind of converting technologies all in line at speeds up to 200 m/min. The EF Symjet combines the EF press described above with an inkjet digital print unit. This combines the best of both worlds: flexo and digital printing. Where dedicated digital printing machines can print economically to around 1,000 metres, a Hybrid machine is good for runs of up to 2,000 or 3,000 metres when using both flexo and digital at the same time. If needed you can, of course, run only digital or only flexo. It really depends on the job. The major advantage of using a hybrid press versus a pure digital one is that you can do the converting and embellishment inline plus use, for example, some flexo print units to print extra white, spot colours or glue varnish for cold foil. This enables you to make very creative label application without having to go through additional finishing passes. 5. Finally, what are your thoughts and feelings about joining MPS? MPS has a really good vibe. A lot of energy. It feels a being a part of a family. Everyone likes to work and help each other. Of course, the success we had over the past years helps to build this atmosphere. We have an incredible team with a lot of knowledge. I just came out of a meeting where colleagues all over the world participated. We shared our experiences with certain projects and discussed how we can improve. It’s really great to be a part of this team. MPS EF main control panel
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Open House draws hundreds at Bobst Bielefeld The promises for it to be an event of great appeal to the flexo printing industry were all there but the huge turnout of Open House visitors greatly exceeded expectations. and industry suppliers - who joined BOBST in the event. At the close of the Open House, satisfaction ran high at Bobst Bielefeld “Being complimented enthusiastically on the new press is very gratifying as it rewards our pursuit of innovation and excellence in equipment and process performance.” commented Jens Torkel, Managing Director and Head of CI Flexo Product Line, Bobst Bielefeld “We have hit the mark with converters because we have succeeded
On 27 and 28 February 2018, the Competence Center of Bobst Bielefeld was filled to capacity with over 400 leading packaging converters and industry suppliers who travelled to Germany from more than 20 countries to discover BOBST’s new 20SEVEN CI flexo press optimized for Extended Color Gamut (ECG) printing and learn more about the ECG process. The 20SEVEN indeed made a show of the expanded process consistency it delivers. This derives from a number of technical features relating to press vibrations, ink consistency in dosing and metering, drying at high speed and register tenure that have been engineered to give consistency, accuracy and repeatability to the printing process. In addition to highlighting the 20SEVEN’s excellent performance, the printing demonstrations of commercial and mock packaging with multi-lane graphics, and the laboratory quality check that followed, also demonstrated the advantages of the ECG process. The Delta-E color analysis of the same print job carried out in the morning and repeated in the afternoon showed how
the process can ensure brand owners of their packaging color consistency, so important for their brand recognition, anywhere in the world. Other time and cost benefits for brands and printers were presented during the wide-ranging review of the ECG process delivered by industry partners – brands, users
in improving the machine functions that are fundamental to ensure process repeatability in wide-web flexo printing. The press is ideal for ECG but it also brings enhanced performance with conventional printing. This makes the 20SEVEN a win-win choice in any situation”.
NEW RS 6003C HS
NEW STRENGTHS MORE POWER Championing the needs of the gravure printing industry, BOBST continues to lead innovation through the constant evolution of its range of gravure presses for flexible materials. The latest generation RS 6003C HS gravure printing press with the breakthrough development of the twin-flow dryer, along with new upper deck layout and other enhanced features, delivers more, creating compelling new opportunities for growth.
Watch the Gravure Innovation Open House video
www.bobst.com
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38
Frontal Dual trolley
Combi drying system
Fully encapsulated
Renato Lusa Srl invests in two Uteco rotogravure machines, looking to the future
Fully automatic
HIGH PERFORMANCE. BEST PRINT.
Renato Lusa Srl is an italian company that, for over fifty years, has been working successfully in production, processing, and marketing of flexible food packaging.
The NXS 300 isTheoutlined by a modular Uteco technology will allow Renato ultra-compact Lusa design, suitable Srl to look to the future, for servingvery the growing demands of the market, short-runs. with increasing quality, versatility and efficiency. The rotogravure 450, NXS 300 is equipped with unique andNext innovative with the possibility of using new watersolutions. Always aware of the new market The machine is equipped with the based inks, will also provide technical and environmentally-friendly solutions. demands, Renato Lusa Srl believes Combi drying compact energyfrontal "Dual trolley", system: a new and Powerful in the importance of investing in versatile solution that allows extremely saving system that allows a strong reduction of ever-new technologies, to offer its fast job changing . With this system Both machines will be installed soon, in noise to the combi technology. customers innovative and advanced a new ultra-modern facility, totally built you canthanks change the cylinder, the inking solutions, with a particolar attention to in 4.0 key. system, orDual both at trolley: the same time. Frontal Versatile trolley for extremely the environment. These solutions include the automatic fast job changes and trolley set-up. With this system positioning of the doctor blade and ink The Company has been successfully you traycan too. change the cylinder, the inking system, or collaborating with Uteco Converting both at the same time. Spa for a long time. After the positive Printing Units: the printing units are fully experience with the various flexo machine purchased over the years (the encapsulated to reduce VOC emissions and noise latest was recently purchased), coating pollution. & laminators and rotogravure “E-Press 8 colors”, successfully installed in 2006, Automatic positioning of the doctor blade and ink Renato Lusa Srl recently aquired two tray. new generation 10-color rotogravure
Thanks to the passion and competence of the Lusa Family, the company grew W W rapidly, W . U T Ebecoming C O . C O Mone of the most successful companies in its field, in Italy and abroad.
to 300 m/min and is chatacterized by the innovative and efficient “Cube®" drying system, that allows excellent performances combined with low noise and Energy saving.
UTECO: NOT ONLY FLEXO.
machines: Next 450, also suitable for water-based inks, and NXS 300, the new born machine inUTECO Uteco.CONVERTING SPA • I 37030 COLOGNOLA AI COLLI (VR) • PH.: +39 045 6174555 • FAX: +39 045 6150855 • UTECOVR@UTECO.COM • Introduced to the market during the last Uteco open House held in September, the NXS 300 is a modular and supercompact narrow-web machine, suitable for short runs. This machine prints up
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Energy saving ventilation system “CUBE”®
Trolley handled by a single operator Only one operator control point
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Next 450 meets the customer’s most demanding needs of efficiency, productivity and quality. Our technology focuses on: • Solutions for quick job changes • Reducing set-up time through automated solutions • Implementing an energy saving ventilation/ drying system • Centralizing all operating parameters in one point
UTECO: NOT ONLY FLEXO. UTECO CONVERTING SPA • I 37030 COLOGNOLA AI COLLI (VR) • PH.: +39 045 6174555 • FAX: +39 045 6150855 • UTECOVR@UTECO.COM •
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Packaging printer in for high automation - Completely new packaging facility in Dammam - Productive Koenig & Bauer technology to drive further growth - Vision: Automatic substrate logistics from the stores to product shipping It is not often that printing and packaging companies build a completely new production facility. But Noor Carton, a packaging producer from Dammam in Saudi Arabia, is one of those rare cases. The company erected its new plant in 2015 and has since been producing on two high-performance Rapida 106 coater presses, one with five colours, the other with six colours. Noor Carton is a member of the Salman Group, which operates not only printing plants serving the commercial and flexo segments, but also companies for medical and IT products. In each of its fields of activity, the group views itself as a solution provider and organises its competencies and
Trustful cooperation (left to right): Abdalah Al-Hareri, general manager of Al-Kharafi Saudi Arabia, Baker Al Nasser, general manager of the Salman Group, and Noureddine Amalou, MENA sales manager at Koenig & Bauer.
capacities accordingly. To this end, the individual business units are committed to continuous process improvement and the integration of cutting-edge technologies. In packaging printing, many of the leading global print buyers are represented on the list of Noor Carton customers. When looking for the ideal partner with regard to offset technology, the Noor Carton management formulated clear demands to be met by press manufacturers: The best available technology paired with the best advice and service. Baker Al Nasser, general manager of the Salman Group: “There are many presses which deliver good and saleable quality. And we ourselves grew with other presses until 2014. But the reality on the market is today unfortunately different to a few years ago. Today, it is imperative for us to use only the most productive presses with the highest levels of technical availability. That is the only way to grow further. In this connection, the Rapida series leaves no technical wishes unanswered. Furthermore, Koenig & Bauer and Kharafi convinced us with the best advice and service concept.” Noureddine Amalou, MENA sales manager at Koenig & Bauer: “It is an exciting challenge to plan a printing plant from scratch. For the Saudi Arabian market and for the target group of Noor Carton, productivity and integration were essential aspects. Many very long repeat jobs are printed,
which is why all the presses are configured with automatic non-stop pile changing and extended logistics. The vision is to automate board transport from the stores, via the printing press and die-cutting machine, through to shipping to the customer. This is an innovative solution which is unique in the MENA region, based on the models of existing Koenig & Bauer partners in Europe. After all, labour costs are also increasing dramatically in the Middle East and must thus be taken into account in major investment projects.” The printers at Noor Carton are today full of praise for the ease of operation of their two Rapidas: “The new
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Saudi Arabia opts
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A six-colour Rapida 106 with coater and extended delivery has been in production at Noor Carton since 2015
TouchTronic console, in particular, is an outstandingly intuitive system and made familiarisation so much easier for the operators. Further tools such as automated colour measurement and control based on optical densities and Lab values contribute to ultra-short makeready and stable, reproducible production.” The overall project comprises several phases and will soon be continuing with a further increase in the company’s capacities – enabling even more brand owners to rely on the specialists at Noor Carton.
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Bring Your Wine Labels to Life With Augmented Reality Augmented reality is an exciting technology that will now give wine lovers a new experience of drinking wine. Companies have begun to attract the attention of the customers in various ways, because the market is overfilled and you as a company have to stand out. They use colorful and shrill labels to get this. Furthermore we’ve come across all interesting examples for the use of augmented reality in packaging. The Australian wine brand 19 Crimes, for example, collaborates with creative technology company Tactic and J. Walter Thompson SF to bring the wine labels to life with the help of augmented reality. With a special app, the stories of each bottle become real by animating the labels’ photographs and prompting characters to tell the unique stories behind the labels. H1: Augmented Reality Brings New Experiences in Your Wine Cupboard The app is available for free via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The augmented und virtual reality agency Tactic und the marketing communications agency J. Walter Thompson SF have cooperated to get the 19 Crimes brand to life. With the app, users can experience the history of the founding of Australia as an English penal colony. Wine lovers, therefore, will not just have the opportunity to
taste the delicious wine but will also be emotionally entangled with the product. The Story on the Bottle The persona-driven wine brand is inspired by the true tales of British criminals accused of 19 specific crimes, which, starting in the late 1700s, were punishable by “transportation” or relocation to the new penal colony known as Australia. It celebrates the rebellious spirit of the more than 160,000 exiled men and women, the rule breakers and law defying citizens that forged a new culture and national spirit in Australia. Each bottle displays the mugshot of an actual person sentenced to make the treacherous trek to the unknown land. To bring the characters to life, you have to hover a mobile device over the bottles. People like John O’Reilly who recounts finding
love after avoiding the hangman’s noose, James Wilson who shares his tale of triumph after a conviction for treason, or Jane Castings who admits to her crimes of thievery, sharing their stories of rule breaking that sent them across the ocean to Australia. By the way, Jane Castings is depicted on the label of 19 Crimes’ first and newly available white wine, Hard Chard. Is it a hazard that the only woman is on the white wine bottle? Augmented reality is an exciting technology that will give wine lovers a new experience of drinking wine. And not only in this case it is an awesome tool that gives you special experiences with different products. I’m curious about where the exciting expansions of experience will meet me next. Whose story would you like to see on the label?
More difference, more profit Make every job different cost-effectively, with HP digital solutions for Corrugated packaging and displays
HP PageWide T400S Press
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HP has reinvented the versatility, productivity and quality of Corrugated printing so that you can stay ahead of your competitors. From basic corrugated to high value boxes, reduce delivery times on long and short runs while providing offset-substitutable quality. Always with end-to-end support from HP. The HP PageWide T400S Press gives you preprint and digital in one. The HP Scitex 17000 Corrugated Press ensures high-quality results delivered cost-effectively. Meanwhile, the HP PageWide T1100S Press with Multi-lane Printing Architecture cost-effectively prints multiple short runs with variable box sizes on one roll. As with all HP PageWide 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. Find out more: hp.com/go/pagewidepress/corrugated, hp.com/go/scitex/corrugated and hp.com/go/PrintOs Š 2017 HP Development Company, L.P.
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HP PageWide C500 – Digital Corrugated Goes Mainstream HP Inc. addresses the dynamic corrugated packaging market with the new HP PageWide C500. Sha Jumari reports. From 19 to 22 February 2018, 700 print industry people from all the over the world gathered in Tel Aviv, Israel for HP’s VIP Experience event. As members of the international media, we were amongst the first in the world to have an exclusive first-look live demo of the new HP PageWide C500 Press at the company’s R&D lab in Netanya, Israel.
impressions largely through consumers sharing their personalised bottles and resulted in a 7% consumption increase. There was no change in the actual product, simply the packaging that was able to engage.
A large percentage of today’s consumers are the millenials, characterized as being a discerning group who crave individualism and uniqueness. David Tomer, general manager at HP Scitex, described millenials in an interesting way – an attitude.
“The corrugated market is projected to grow to $5.5 billion in 2022. There is no question that digital is in the future of corrugated - it’s simply a matter of how fast,” said Tomer. “With the HP PageWide C500, we hope to address the corrugated packaging market. The digital press delivers offset print quality with postprint simplicity.”
such as security and tracking features. In addition, the press can speed up time to market significantly, allowing users to offer their customers better service. Tomer then announced that the first unit the first shipment of the HP PageWide C500 press will be installed within Israel at local convertor, Carmel Frenkel. Next month, the second press will be the first shipment out to a customer in Europe.
The HP PageWide C500 is a postprint corrugated packaging digital press. As a digital press, the C500 is able to deliver value in a few layers. It can help save costs by reducing setup times and makeready. The overall efficiency of the plant can also be increased. Digital applications can now be implemented,
Five customers in Europe and the US have already purchased the PageWide C500 Press for direct-to-board postprint corrugated production. HP added that there has been interest within the APJ region, namely Japan, Australia and China.
“Millenialism is all about carrying a message, and purchasing that message. They are the consumers of today who look beyond functionality,” said Tomer. Millenials seek to have an emotional relationship with brands. He brought up the Share-a-Coke campaign that is now synonymous to HP’s enabling technologies to illustrate this point. The campaign ignited 18.3 million media
The campaign is just one of the reasons why brand owners are seeking more mediums to deliver their messages. There is higher demand for customisation and versioning, as brands pull out more campaigns and dedicated marketing. Corrugated packaging, a largely brown-box industry, is presenting itself as a new opportunity to deliver marketing messages.
As part of the journalist programme, we were shuttled to HP’s facility in nearby Caesarea for a walkthrough of the press production process. At the time of the visit, eight machines were being built. At the moment, each HP PageWide C500 takes six months to build, though eventually this is expected to shorten to a mere two months per machine. HP PageWide C500 – The True Solution
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David Tomer HP Caesarea
HP leads digital revolution in packaging With the addition of the HP PageWide C500, HP today has the most comprehensive digital printing portfolio for corrugated with both preprint and postprint. Other presses in the lineup include preprint machines, T1100S and T400S. The first T400S in Asia Pacific was recently installed at Sejoong Industries in South Korea. Completing the corrugated portfolio, are the HP Scitex 17000 Corrugated Press and the HP Scitex 15500 Corrugated Press. The HP PageWide C500 aims to provide a real solution to the challenges of converters today by enabling digital flexibility in mainstream production volume. The 32-metre press offers direct-toboard printing to delivers offset quality prints on both coated and uncoated media. It has the linear speed of 75m/ min to ramp up industrial production. “There is only one speed on the machine, and it is a top speed. This way, all of the offset work can be shifted to digital,” said Niv Ishay, product manager for the HP PageWide C500. The HP PageWide C500 was designed to be able to withstand harsh flexo and offset environments. Ishay emphasised that HP is determined to not make the inkjet press a “silo machine. We wanted the press to be running alongside the mainstream flexo offset machines, which is why we made the C500 very robust.” The C500 utilises single-pass HP Thermal Inkjet printheads with one million nozzles at 6 picoliters per drop. It is equipped with x6 redundancy feature, that will further make it a suitable fixture in mainstream corrugated production. “You only have one shot to print with a single pass machine. To have even one redundant printhead, you can have a single missing streak on the board,” said Ishay. “With the x6 nozzle redundancy feature, that can be easily compensated. This is a huge benefit and a tool to provide print quality and robustness in the harsh corrugated environment.” With digital non-contact printing, industry grade boards need to be held down flat as sometimes it can tend to
warp. To address this, the C500 uses ‘corrugated grip’ technology. The rubber panels that the board is ferried upon have holes to let a strong vacuum suction through. This vacuum suction is what held the board down flat. Simple, yet effective. During the demo walkthrough, I attempted to lift the board from the rubber panels, and it stayed firmly put. For accurate dot placement, the C500 has a virtual belt feature which moves in 10 microns accuracy. This feature is able to produce sharp results even for small barcodes. On top of that, it can increase gamut and ink efficiency. True Water-Based Food Inks A standout feature of the press is its use of true water-based inks that are food-safe. Food safety is fundamental in the creation of the ink for the press, as more than 50% of corrugated packaging is food-related. Food brands are rigorous when it comes to protecting brand value and business, as product recalls can trigger over $100 million in costs. NGOs and social media are also constantly raising concerns about certain chemicals. It is not common in fact for food brands to guide and lead regulation. The HP PageWide C500 uses the HP CV150 Water-Based Inks, which was formulated specifically for the press. The pigment-based ink contains no UV-reactive chemistries and is safe for both primary and secondary food packaging, without no additional barriers. It complies with the most stringent global food safety regulations such as US FDA and EU Framework regulations. It also complies with food brand guidelines including Nestle.
Along with the C500 press showcase, HP made several essential labels and packaging announcements. First of which is the launch of the new HP Indigo 6900 digital label press. It features Pack Ready for Labels, a new HP Indigo ElectroInk Silver, and a new high-performance Digital Front End. The press also features an integration with the HP Indigo GEM embellishment unit, the first fully digital, one-pass label printing and embellishment solution for spot, tactile, foil, holograms, mini textures and lamination. The HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminator is now commercially available for the HP Indigo 20000 flexible packaging press. It is a pioneering technology that allows for immediate time-to-market of HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging by eliminating the use of adhesives. With the announcements, HP Inc. expanded its total label and packaging portfolio. The expansion follows the largest packaging deal ever for HP Indigo with ePac, a US all-digital flexible packaging converter. The company purchased 10 HP Indigo 20000 digital presses for its facilities throughout the US. “Our customers are growing fast across all segments and are experiencing massive success. They are leveraging HP technology to innovate and deliver on brands’ evolving needs,” said Santi Morera, global head of graphics solutions business, HP Inc. “These new technologies we are launching are needed now more than ever and will allow our customers to be more productive.”
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Efficiency and quality gains through integrated assistance systems Assistance systems yielding efficiency and quality gains have become indispensable in today's printing world. To date, however, flexographic and gravure printing presses have tended to contain a range of systems from different providers for web monitoring, inspection, printing impression, register setting and more. Inevitably, this has led to added complexity and interface problems. At drupa 2016, W&H brought an integrated assistance system to market for the first time. The VISION package combines these systems with a single operator interface. "The deep integration of the modules into the press means less data entry when starting a job, faster machine changeovers, and reliable, faultless print production – essentially, greater quality and efficiency," declared Ulrich Harte, Head of Marketing Printing and Finishing. The numbers speak for themselves: The specialist in machines for manufacturing flexible packaging is giving the market what it wants. "The VISION package has already become a standard in W&H machines; we've sold more than 100 systems since drupa," declared Harte. The VISION product range, developed under the slogan PACKAGING 4.0 – Integrated, Intuitive, Intelligent, significantly boosts the efficiency of W&H printing presses. The system is fully integrated into the printing press architecture and PROCONTROL operator console. A panel of monitors facilitates intuitive touchscreen and stylus operation. The maximum configuration includes modules for detecting the causes of print defects and intelligent automated
troubleshooting. "The printer benefits from a uniform, modern operating concept for the printing press and print quality monitoring. The printing process is monitored directly across the entire machine. Process deviations are quickly detected and immediately corrected, making the machines much easier to operate, and considerably boosting performance and profits," explained Harte. The right assistance systems for each individual situation can be chosen by selecting from the various modules within the VISION system.
VISION ZOOM uses a matrix camera for web monitoring. VISION FULL incorporates state-ofthe-art, high-resolution line cameras for early fault detection. These line cameras also help manage job changeovers as part of the EASY-SET and EASYREG automation systems. VISION CHECK further adds to the configuration, with modules for determining the causes of print defects and intelligent automated troubleshooting, e.g. targeted cleaning processes and machine parameter adjustments.
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South India Paper Mills achieves a world production record The Printing & Packaging Division of South India Paper Mills has achieved a world record for corrugated box production during a single shift with a BOBST FFG 8.20 DISCOVERY flexo folder gluer.
The machine completed 106,113 corrugated boxes in eight hours on 19 September 2017, a record made even more remarkable because this involved five separate jobs which had to be set up and changed. “The average of 13,264 boxes per hour includes the set-up and cleaning time during the shift,” says Mr Pratik Patel, Manager – Marketing and Product Development at SIPM Printing & Packaging Division. This was almost a normal day at the factory, he says. “We have been producing around 75,000 to 85,000 cartons for most of the shifts.” The recordbreaking shift involved a fortuitous combination of jobs and customer re-
quirements, he explains: “There were in total five job changes performed in this particular shift. One of the jobs was two-color and the rest were singlecolor jobs. In particular, one of the jobs was a beer carton box, which is a very lightweight board construction, ie 100 gsm and three layers with B-flute. This kind of job adds more value to us as well as our customers if processed at the fastest speeds with maximum accuracy, so that it runs flawlessly in the fast case erecting and filling lines at the customer’s end.”
South India Paper Mills was founded 59 years ago and is based in Nanjangud, close to the historic city of Mysore. Its Printing & Packaging Division (shortened to SIPM-PPD) was founded in 2007/8 to specialise in corrugated box making. It is situated near to the paper mill site on a 48.5 hectare plot. The main production takes place in a singlestorey 16,000 m2 factory. The paper mill and the SIPM-PPD factory share an advanced power generation system, with a newly installed 50 TPH (tons per hour) biomass boiler producing steam for a 12 MW power generator. This not only serves the electricity needs of the
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factories but allows about 3 – 4 MW to be exported to the state electricity grid. SIPM-PPD is a strategic supplier to multi-nationals including GSK, RB, Britannia, ITC, UB, USL, RSIL, Adani Wilmer, Nestle, American Power Conversion, Unilever, Coca Cola and others. Mr Patel says: “We have a much diversified portfolio, with our carton boxes are supplied to various industry segments such as food, beverages, alcohol and spirits, edible oils, copier paper, fresh agricultural produce, white goods, automobiles, footwear, textiles and many others.” Most deliveries are within a 250 to 300 km radius, though some special orders may go up to 1,000 km away within India. In total the division employs 97 people in production, maintenance, sales and administration. It has certification for ISO 9001:2008, FSC and an SGS Social Compliance Audit. It operates a stateof-the-art 1.8 m wide 5-ply automatic corrugating machine from Agnati and also has a range of converting machines from several manufacturers, handling flexo and litho printing, diecutting, printer-slotting, flexo folder-gluing and litho-laminating.
The BOBST FFG 8.20 DISCOVERY was installed earlier in 2017 and is the company’s first BOBST machine. It was supplied by Bobst India. It takes sheets up to 2,180 mm wide and has four flexo colour units. It is run inline with a Mosca strapper/palletizer. Running at full speed it can produce up to 300 boxes per minute (18,000 per hour) on coated/uncoated duplex board with white or kraft liners of all types. “We have a range of single-colour, two, three and a few four-colour jobs,” explains Mr Patel. “The BOBST machine is intended to be effectively used in changing many single or two-colour orders, to cater for a wide range of segments with a just-in-time supply concept. This ensures the best use of available resources to retain a competitive edge in the market.” The operating crew on for the recordbreaking production shift were Mr BM Jagadish and Mr HK Santosh. “To hold a record for producing good quality boxes can never be an accident,” say Mr Patel. “Neither can it be an effort only of the operating crew. The first thing what comes to all of our minds while running the machine at the fastest speeds is a feeling that we are walk-
ing on the path and vision given by our Managing Director, Mr Manish Patel. We the managers have an opportunity to show our skills and planning abilities under the constant guidance of our top management. But surely for that day all credit goes to the supervisory team and the operators Mr Jagadish and Mr Santosh!” In future SIPM-PPD has ambitions to increase productivity on its BOBST FFG 8.20 DISCOVERY still further, says Mr Patel: “Our next target on this machine is 120,000 cartons in an eight hour shift, which is 15,000 cartons an hour.” The company is very pleased with the performance of its DISCOVERY, he says. “This is our first BOBST equipment. If it continues perform the same way with accurate, dependable quality and with optimum running costs, then surely we will have future machines from BOBST in our wish list.”
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Paper & cardboard packaging comes out on top In the midst of heated discussions about packaging, avoidable plastic waste and a move towards a circular economy, a snap poll, conducted by Two Sides and international research agency Toluna, has revealed a strong preference for paper & cardboard packaging A nationally-representative survey of 500 adults found paper & cardboard to be the most preferred packaging material for environmental-friendliness, recyclability and practicality. Respondents were asked which packaging material (glass, metal, paper & cardboard, or plastic) they prefer based on a number of different reasons. Paper & cardboard received the highest score for being; better for the environment and easier to recycle and, in terms of practicality, easier to open and close, easier to store, lighter weight, more practical, and safer to use.
Consumers also appreciate paper & cardboard packaging’s unique environmental qualities: • 78% like paper & cardboard packaging because it is biodegradable • 73% believe paper & cardboard packaging makes good use of recycled materials • 64% like paper & cardboard packaging because it is made from renewable wood fibre Martyn Eustace, Managing Director of Two Sides, says; “In the current packaging climate, it is great to see paper & cardboard packaging recognised by consumers for its excellent environmental attributes. Not only does paper & cardboard packaging have an exceptionally high utilisation rate of recycled fibres, it is also the most recycled packaging material in Europe, at 83%. Consumers can also be confident knowing that European forests, which provide much of the virgin fibre used for making paper & cardboard packaging, have grown by an area the size of Switzerland in just 10 years – that’s equivalent to over 1,500 football pitches every day!”
The survey also revealed significant consumer concerns about packaging in general. 85% believe packaging is a significant source of litter, 84% believe over-packaging is a problem, and 71% believe packaging is bad for the environment. Coffee cups, plastic bottles, chocolate bar wrappers, crisp packets and take-away packaging were all perceived to be the most significant causes litter. Paper & cardboard packaging is durable, renewable and recyclable and will be an essential material as we move towards a regenerative, circular economy, as outlined in the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
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Capitol Gravure launches decorative rollers for Southeast Asia The decorative rollers will target the wallpaper, home décor and furnishing industries in the regions. By Sha Jumari. Capitol Gravure announced the debut of decorative roller production for the Southeast Asian region. With the service offering, the company aims to target the wallpaper, home décor and furnishing industries. “We hope to use our expertise in gravure printing to produce quality decorative rollers for the closer regional markets in Southeast Asia,” said Daniel Kuah, sales and marketing manager for Capitol Gravure.
Established since 1969, Capitol Gravure specializes in producing premium quality printing rollers for clients in the region, namely for cigarette packaging. For the past year, the Singaporean company has branched out to produce gravure decorative rollers for the Japan and China markets. “For many years, our core business is in Roto-Gravure printing cylinders and
Embossing Cylinders engineering. We added the decorative roller production into our catalogue of services and to further expand our capability to serve, not only the print and packaging industry, but also the decorative and fittings industry.” said Kuah. Decorative Rollers production are dominated by China-based companies due to competitive pricing. Having
Embossed proofs
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53 producing decorative rollers for selected Japanese clienteles for over a year now and achieving a healthy quality reputation, Capitol Gravure has now decided to introduce it to the closer regions. “We felt that it is the right time to launch this for the Southeast Asian market now because there’s a demand. Specifically, we want to target the
“Decorative rollers typically require long lead times due to the intricate details of the designs. On top of that, there is a proofing process for the clients, which adds on even more to the long lead times,” said Kuah. “Having our factory within Southeast Asia can drastically cut down on the turnaround times.” Wall Paper Manufacturers uses the decorative rollers, with the intricate patterns etched on them, to emboss on the substrate to produce the desired texture, and subsequently, coloring and protective coating are added onto the substrate for the finished product.
Besides printing wallpapers, the decorative rollers can also be used for creating embossed effects and textures on substrate. An example would be to emulate a natural leather look as furniture or vehicle interior covering. “Due to the high-end laser engravers and etching technology we possess, it has been exciting for us to be producing very unique, delicate and sophisticated designs that our clients demand,” said Kuah. Capitol Gravure is always ready to serve. For further information on Capitol Gravure and its new decorative rollers, visit http:// www.capitol-gravure.com.sg/.
Vietnamese and Thai markets which are seeing an increased demand in decorative embossing rollers,” added Kuah. The company’s main selling point is that its factory is much closer geographically. The 12000 sq/ft facility is located in Malaysia and caters solely to producing decorative rollers. This meant that companies within the region are able to have much shorter lead times for decorative roller production.
Napkin Paper
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HP Delivers First HP PageWide C500 Press Customer site installation of groundbreaking post-print solution for direct digital corrugated printing begins at Carmel Frenkel
PageWide Industrial Division, HP Inc. Announced at drupa 2016, the first HP PageWide C500 commercial units are due to be installed in 2018 at launch customers in Europe and the United States.
HP Inc. announced the first delivery of an HP PageWide C500 Press for digital mainstream corrugated directto-board printing to a customer site, as HP continues to expand its portfolio of innovative package printing solutions. Carmel Frenkel will serve as the customer testing site for the HP PageWide C500 Press, now moving a step closer toward commercialisation. The Caesarea, Israel-based converter supplies packaging solutions for leading brands, including in the food and beverage industry. “The installation marks a significant milestone in the launch of the HP PageWide C500 Press. This groundbreaking technology can address the broadest range of digitally post-printed corrugated packaging applications, including the growing segment of food packaging,” said Eric Wiesner, general manager, HP
An ideal digital solution to address the dynamic packaging market The HP PageWide C500 provides a cost-effective digital alternative for offset lamination and flexo production. The press delivers offset quality directto-board with mainstream productivity on both coated and uncoated papers, delivering packaging with vibrant graphics that preserves even the finest details. With its special water-based ink formulation, the HP PageWide C500 will enable converters to print food applications that can help comply with global food safety regulations and industry guidelines.
“Unlike some other digital printing alternatives, HP PageWide water-based Inks are 100% free of UV-reactive chemistries. Thus, these inks enable robust and trusted food-safe printing for both primary and secondary corrugated packaging,” Wiesner added. The HP PageWide C500 press joins HP’s portfolio of solutions for corrugated applications, providing converters with new opportunities to satisfy dynamic market requirements, including speed to market, high customisation and short runs, and supply chain efficiency. HP also offers a comprehensive solution for converters to go digital, including digital workflow, business development tools, financing, and ramp-up support, as it continues to lead digital printing adoption by converters worldwide. The HP PageWide C500 press offers the following features: • Prints on 1.3 (W) x 2.5 (L) sized boards maximum • Speed of 75 linear m/min • Innovative HP Virtual Belt technology for accurate corrugated board handling, delivering offset quality directly on the board • Supports a wide range of media, including industrial grade corrugated boards, from the lightest micro-flute to the heaviest double-wall board thanks to HP Corrugated Grip Technology
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© 2018 Kodak. TM: Kodak and Flexcel.
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The changing face of surface treatment Frank Eisby, CEO of Vetaphone, discusses the problems facing today’s narrow web converters and offers a simple guide to getting it right The need for surface treatment to improve the adhesive quality of ink and lacquers on plastic surfaces was established back in the 1950s and the invention and development of Corona treatment, as the process became known, has largely mirrored the requirements of the market in terms of performance over the intervening years. But, it is fair to say that the problems facing narrow web converters now require a greater degree of understanding if the surface treatment applied is to be effective in today’s increasingly sophisticated market. Far from ‘buy, install, set, and forget’, surface treatment has become as integral to quality production as any other part of the printing process, and to ensure you are using it correctly, you need to understand its operational parameters. I will simplify matters by splitting the process into three clearly definable requirements. First, there is the need for simple Corona treatment, and this applies to virtually all narrow web press applications. It will typically require a Corona unit to deliver a power rating of 1.5 – 2.0 kW, and provide excellent performance on standard substrates run off at low to medium speeds.
Vetaphone Corona and iPlasma units are at the cutting edge of today’s surface treatment technology The second section has been created by the development of new and more difficult substrates. These are run off on the latest generation of narrow web presses that have been optimised by manufacturers for high speed production. These factors place an increased demand on the Corona unit to deliver the correct dyne level, which typically needs to be rated at 3.0 – 5.0 kW. To understand this concept, think of the similar situation with UV curing, where dwell time under the lamp, defined by power rating and running speed, are critical to achieving a complete cure. The third and final section relates to those substrates that have been developed to produce what I will call ‘unique’ labels, typically using special inks and lacquers, lamination, multi web applications and other techniques to produce sophisticated products.
The chemical constituents of these substrates require a chemical treatment process as well as a physical one – and in these instances Plasma treatment is necessary to ensure bonding. Plasma should not be considered as a replacement for Corona, more as a logical development of technology to keep pace with the requirements of more sophisticated materials and processes. With print quality taken as ‘a given’ in today’s market, it is essential that converters appreciate the importance of what can appear to be a minor ancillary process. It’s only as ‘minor’ as expecting a performance car to run properly on low grade fuel. Converters need to wise-up on what all their technology can do for them – and not allow surface treatment to be the forgotten element.
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Xeikon Celebrates 30-Year Anniversary Xeikon, an early innovator in the realm of full color digital printing, marks 30 years since its founding with a series of educational blogs chronicling the history of digital printing. The series, dubbed Triple-X, will be authored by industry experts Laurel Brunner and Ed Boogaard and will run between now and November, when Xeikon will celebrate its 30th anniversary. “The year 2018 marks an important milestone in the history of digital printing. It has been 30 years since Xeikon, one of the earliest pioneers of the direct digital colour press, was founded,” Brunner said. “And it’s been 25 years since the Xeikon DCP1 and the Indigo E-Print 1000 were introduced at IPEX 1993. The Agfa Chromapress, based on the Xeikon engine with an Agfa front-end system, one of the first integrated digital production systems on the market, was also introduced at that time. The digital printing industry has come a long way over these years, and it is a good moment in time to explore digital printing’s evolution and what it can tell us about the possible future of
media and communications, especially the printed variety. We hope it will be beneficial to those who are relatively new to the industry, and a walk down memory lane for veterans who have been around for a while.” “It’s quite special to be part of Xeikon, a company that was a key player in giving birth to the era of full-color digital printing and a company that continues to innovate as digital printing evolves,” said Danny Mertens, Corporate Communications Manager for Xeikon. “Of course, none of this would have been possible without the knowledge, expertise and dedication of our talented employees. We had the right people in the right place at the right time – and still do. This 30-year anniversary is
the perfect time for a shout-out to all of the Xeikon family that made this achievement possible.” The Triple-X series begins with a discussion of the desktop publishing revolution and how that led to the birth of full-color digital printing. “In addition to strolling down memory lane,” Boogaard stated, “we also invite readers to sharing their stories, successes and expectations, and to join us in celebrating the present while exploring the roads to the future of print as well.” The Xeikon XXX blog series can be found at www.pastprintfuture.com. Readers can subscribe to the blog to ensure notification as each new segment is published.
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Esko launches largest digital cutting table for non-stop production – Esko a global supplier of integrated solutions for the packaging, labels, sign and display industries, has launched the Kongsberg C66, a digital finishing table designed for short run production of corrugated applications. Built on decades of Kongsberg table innovations integrated with Esko software solutions, the Kongsberg C66 is the largest digital cutting table for heavy-duty corrugated production. It was developed based on market demand as part of Kongsberg’s robotics program. Its combination of size, speed and precision on heavyduty rigid materials such as corrugated cartons make it a flexible and effective alternative to conventional diecutting equipment for short run corrugated productions of packaging and POP displays. Unique in the marketplace, the Kongsberg C66 can run at 100 m/ min. It can handle either manual multizone production of large 2.2m x 3.2m (87in x 126in) sheets or single-zone production of large 2.5m x 4.8m (98in x 189in) corrugated sheets. This makes it ideally suited for the production of protective packaging with a maximum sheet size of 2.5m x 4.8m, corrugated containers made from HD double-wall or triple-wall corrugated and packaging and POP displays. The Kongsberg C66 is also capable of processing other materials required in the protective packaging environment, including foam cushioning materials. Multi-zone production The Kongsberg C66’s 3210mm x 4800mm (W x L) work area supports both large-format and multi-zone production. Its Carbon Composite
Traverse is extremely rigid, enabling high speed, fast acceleration, high quality creasing with minimal deflection. It also delivers up to 40% higher performance than other 3 meter wide XY finishers. It allows the Kongsberg C66 to run at full production speed on much larger material without losing accuracy. The larger Kongsberg tables can be set up for MultiZone production, which maximizes production efficiency by ensuring non-stop material processing. While one zone of the table is in action, an operator can set up the other zone by clearing the finished piece and loading a new sheet. While the operator works and prepares one zone, the machine works at the other zone, with automatic zone-change based on a simple operator handshake. Driving functionality The i-cut Production Console (iPC) drives the table’s functionality, and includes capabilities such as camera control, machine set up, tool recognition, calibration and tool adjustments. Designed to guide and support the operator, it incorporates a number of logical, user-friendly features including an icon-based graphical interface with color-coded alerts and updates. Combined with Device Manager it offers the ability to follow production progress from a distance. Operators can prepare one job while producing another, increasing efficiency even more. The i-cut Production Console
also allows estimation of cutting time based on job characteristics for more efficient scheduling. There is a wide variety of optional tool units available as well. These can be quickly mounted and prepared to cut and finish a specific job, assuring exceptional quality and prompt delivery. “The Kongsberg C66 was designed to meet market demand for larger format solutions for finishing rigid materials,” explains Tom Naess Esko’s Senior product manager. “It boosts productivity and, when combined with robotics, ensures non-stop production. This allows for fast, efficient completion of heavy-duty packaging and shorter runs without compromising on quality. By moving shorter runs to the Kongsberg C66, operations can eliminate the time and cost associated with conventional diecutting solutions that become unwieldy when dealing with short runs and compressed cycle times.”
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Mr. Edmond Perrier, Cartonéo’s CEO, comments: “This investment followed our decision to invest in a digital printing press, to cost effectively manufacture large format printed packaging and displays in a variety of run lengths. The new press has enabled us to win several key contracts, which is why we also added the integrated production solution to complete the work to a high standard. With both, we are now very busy and competitive in the market for short run production of display materials.” About Esko Packaging Simplified. Esko helps its customers to make the best packaging for billions of consumers.
Cartonéo invests in first system The first operation to install the Kongsberg C66 is the French printing and packaging specialist Cartonéo. The 100-year-old multi-site group serves
a broad range of markets and sectors including food, automotive, cosmetics, wine and spirits, publishing, and pharmaceutical.
The Esko product portfolio supports and manages the packaging and print processes for brand owners, retailers, designers, premedia and trade shops, packaging manufacturers, and converters. For 9 out of 10 retail packages, Esko solutions are used in packaging management, asset management, artwork creation, structural design, prepress, 3D visualization, flexo plate making, workflow automation, quality assurance, sample-making, palletization, supply chain collaboration and/or the production of signage and displays. The Esko solutions consist of an extensive suite of software and two hardware product lines: CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers and exposure units as well as Kongsberg digital cutting systems, complemented with professional services, training and consultancy. Enfocus, with its suite of automation solutions and PDF quality control tools for printers, publishers, and graphic designers, is an Esko subsidiary. MediaBeacon, with its digital asset management (DAM) solutions is also part of the Esko family. Esko employs about 1,500 people worldwide. Headquartered in Gent (Belgium), its sales and service organization is in daily contact with customers all over the globe
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Exciting times for the corrugated industry With the capacity to supercharge corrugated packaging and merchandise display printing capabilities, EFI’s new Nozomi C18000 is ready to revolutionise the industry. A new digital press like the EFI Nozomi C18000 presents exciting opportunities for the corrugated industry, marketing companies and the e-commerc¬¬e sector. Andy Yarrow, Director, EFI Asia Pacific explains the rise of online purchasing and the upward mobility throughout much of Asia Pacific is going to drive the success of many economies for years to come. “Growing numbers of Generation Z and Millennials are sharing their purchases across social media channels,” he said. “They are looking for personalised experiences when ordering goods online, including packaging. Similarly, major brands want their products to be more relevant to the local market, traditional methods of production don’t allow this to be done easily, but with digital, run-lengths can be as low as one. There’s no reason why we in this region shouldn’t lead the way when giving them the experience they demand and assist e-commerce providers build valuable links with their customers.” The Nozomi C18000 is a single-pass UV inkjet digital printing machine that prints directly on corrugated boards, but what EFI is offering the market is much more than this. EFI’s focus on creating an “Ecosystem” for corrugated. The EFI Ecosystem connects colour management, file processing through the powerful Fiery server, enhanced usability and integration into the MIS, not to mention the EFI inks. EFI’s new Nozomi C18000 is one such way the corrugated market together with marketing companies can tap into this growing market and change the
production for on-demand printing on corrugated board, cardboard and display products. Able to produce high-quality, highspeed digital LED printing up to 75 linear metres per minute up to 1.8 metres wide, the Nozomi C18000 is poised to change the way the industry produces corrugated board and marketing products. “As the corrugated industry transforms we are able to benefit from the shift in distribution, growing e-commerce opportunities and the increasing importance of secondary packaging,” Mr Yarrow said. “EFI hopes the Nozomi C18000 will change the production for ondemand printing on corrugated board, cardboard and display products.” Benefits of the new product include: • Producing cost-effective on-demand and just-in-time jobs, fast-cycle proofs and prototypes • Customising campaigns with directto-substrate, production-level digital printing that reduces process steps, time, and costs • Producing high-quality, full-colour graphics without the complexities of other printing processes • Increasing profits by eliminating upfront make ready, plate costs, time, and storage
• Eliminating ink mixing and storage, and the associated labour • Reducing labour costs and eliminating scrap waste in the litho lamination process by printing direct to substrate • Accommodating customer’s requests for versioned, last-minute and on-thefly changes, edits, and buying decisions • Improving colour consistency and reducing waste — there is no need to manually mix ink during a run, so your colour remains consistent throughout the production process — from proof to final print — and from job to job • Offering greener LED printing with low VOCs, and less waste and consumable • Inks meet OCC certification for recyclability and repulpability • Cleaning – print head cleaning takes just two minutes and can be done automatically during a job change. In addition to the machine itself EFI is also working with existing carton manufacturers to adopt new and updated software solutions to maximise the opportunities for growth in the sector, including the personalisation of corrugated products. “As run lengths and turnaround times morph, it’s more important than ever to deliver on customer demands for faster job turns, versioning and variable data, and just-in-time and on demand printing while reducing costs,” Mr Yarrow said.
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64 Comexi and Quadtech collaborates on closed-loop colour control for flexible packaging
Since 2016, Comexi and QuadTech, Inc. have joined forces in the investigation and development of new colour control management technologies for the flexible packaging industry. After years of research, this close collaboration between the two companies has pursued the adaptation of QuadTech’s Color Control with SpectralCam™, and its extension from paper and label printing to the printing of flexible packaging.
QuadTech’s system brings automated precision for achieving colour targets. Spectral-based, closed-loop colour control means faster, easier colour OKs, reduced makeready time and enhanced productivity. The innovative SpectralCam is a 31-channel spectrophotometer that accurately measures spectral response over micro colour bars, then calculates L*a*b*, ΔE, Density and ΔDensity…all at full press speeds. The patented web stabiliser uses ISO-conforming black and white reference tiles—a constant, known backing—that moves with the camera to provide consistent spectral response. Short bursts of pressurised air are used to bring the substrate into close proximity with the ceramic backing tiles for precise colour measurement.
The Color Control with SpectralCam system brings significant advantages for standard applications on various flexible films. The two global enterprises have made progress on increasing brand owners’ awareness about the benefits of this technology. Early on, Comexi and its Offset Business Unit team recognised the clear advantages that the closedloop Color Control system brings to press operators and converters in the flexible packaging printing industry. As flexible packaging printing typically runs reel-to-reel, it is not possible for press operators to take a printed sample for exact colour check. That was one of the main requirements that the two companies recognised, and this drove the implementation of Color Control with SpectralCam for flexible packaging printing.
Patented adaptive control methodology adjusts the press to maintain accurate control over four– colour process, extended gamut and spot colours throughout the run. On Comexi’s Offset CI8 running seven-colour process, also known as “extended gamut’ printing, a spectral system that measures colour is preferred over a density measurement. SpectralCam is QuadTech’s thirdgeneration spectrophotometer. Broadening flexible packaging market “It is a pleasure to collaborate with one of the most technologically innovative companies in the flexographic, offset and gravure printing industries,” said QuadTech president, Karl Fritchen. “Comexi’s reputation and commitment to innovation is perfectly aligned with QuadTech’s vision and expertise.
The two companies will invest in research, innovation and training to better serve the flexible packaging printing industry.
Both companies continually invest in the development of pioneering technologies and solutions for the market”. “We are continuously investing in development, research, knowledge and innovation,” added Comexi CEO, Jeroen van der Meer. “We have become a market-reference in this field and we are really glad that the strategic collaboration with QuadTech has resulted in the development of new technologies that broaden the sector, its possibilities, and facilitates customers’ day-to-day production.” “All printing processes have their deviations during a print run. It is of great help for each printer when they can monitor, automatically correct, and regulate the quality of the colors during the process,” explained Adelbert Schoonman, manager of R&D for Comexi’s Offset Technology. In today’s flexible packaging industry, there are various systems on the market that simply measure colour or density inline, and then show the colour variations in a graphical or numerical way to the printer. These systems do not then “close the loop” by also automatically making colour adjustments. Also, when required, the printer can react on the provided information during the run, for example by making adjustments to viscosity, temperature or pressure. In comparison to flexographic and gravure technologies, offset printing technology offers an additional parameter that can be used in order to control colour consistency automatically, without operator intervention. Automatic adjustments Ink fountains of offset presses have a range of narrow ink keys across their entire width. The opening of each
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65 competition dedicated to packaging design. The 11th edition of the Pentawards was held at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. The gala ceremony played host to over 300 people from the global packaging design community, from all around the world as 27 countries represented.
individual ink key can be remotely controlled by the operator, in this way the operator can react on local or general colour variations, as they are indicated by the colour measuring systems. The “closed-loop” Color Control system can make the press operator’s corrections by automatically adjusting the ink keys based on data provided by the SpectralCam. Schoonman explained: “In the paper printing industry, closed-loop control systems are standard equipment with a long history of proven performance and, nowadays, are standard equipment on many heat-set and cold-set web presses. However, the characteristics required in the flexible packaging printing, such as measuring through a transparent film, and the different characteristics of packaging films—like clarity, gloss or matte finishes, background or spot colours—makes closed-loop colour control for flexible packaging much more challenging.” With SpectralCam in combination with the advanced web stabiliser system that assures a stable and calibrated background for each measurement, QuadTech and Comexi deliver an important part of the required solution. “Thanks to the collaboration between QuadTech and Comexi, we are working together to introduce a closed-loop color control system that benefits operators and converters and will be of added value for flexible packaging printers using Comexi’s CI8 Offset technology and the whole flexible packaging industry,” said Schoonman. Japanese designs come out tops at packaging awards The Pentawards is a worldwide
The 2017 edition of the Pentawards received 2,013 entries from five continents and 54 countries, an increase of nearly 10% in enrolment over the previous year. Amongst the five platinum Pentawards meted out, two went to Japanese designs. In addition to the Diamond Pentaward and Platinum Pentawards, the international jury also awarded 46 Gold Pentawards among the 55 categories competing this year. Silver and Bronze Pentawards were also presented. In total, 32 countries are represented among the winners. The entire range of award winners can be seen at www.pentawards.org. The Standout Sake The Beverages Platinum award went to Japanese designer, Ryuta Ishikawa, for the Kirinzan sake bottle design. The sake bottle is made instantly recognisable due to the beautifully bold Momiji gold maple leaf feature. Together with the embossed, frosted glass exterior, the gold leaf plating
detail and string tied at the top exuded a luxurious feel, reflective of of the high-grade, luxurious sake product within. The Invisible Toilet Paper The Body Platinum award was given to Japanese design agency Interbrand, for a series of packaging for Matsukiyo toilet paper. The packaging design aimed to tackle an age old Japanese stigma in purchasing toilet paper openly. The toilet paper is designed to look like everyday objects by displaying the full-size image of the objects on the packaging exterior. This created the illusion that the consumer is carrying something else, like groceries or a boom box, instead of toilet paper. Shin Han chooses Vetaphone to help boost export drive Shin Han, which was established in 1981 by CEO Mr Jae-Gil Yoo, has expanded to become a supplier of complete extrusion and laminating lines. Initially specialising in cast extrusion before moving into lamination in 1984, the company also began to manufacture rotogravure printing presses in 1987 and exported its first machine in the early 90s around the time it developed its solvent-free lamination technology. Today, the company sells its machines in Thailand, India, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines, and has a growing demand in Vietnam. But, it was with a view to acquiring the CE and UL accreditations that will allow it to develop its export business into Europe and North America, that the Korean based manufacturer has nominated Danish pioneers Vetaphone as its preferred supplier of corona treatment technology. Key to this decision, according to Mr Yong Wan Kim, Managing Director at Shin Han, is the immediate reaction from Vetaphone in response to customer requirements, which coupled with reliable performance, makes the total cost of ownership a far better proposition that specifying lower cost corona treaters, with a faster ROI. Shin Han’s comprehensive range includes rotogravure printing presses, capable of 300m/min on paper, film and foil substrates. It manufactures
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66 variety of end uses from shelf-ready packaging, point-of-sale, pre-printed litho, flexo and fashion bags. A few years ago, the coated white corrugated board liner market was comprised of two possible applications: kraftliner, made from high quality raw materials with only a very small proportion of recycled paper; and testliner, made almost exclusively from recycled paper.
Yong Wan Kim, Managing Director at Shin Han, chose Vetaphone to help the company develop its sales in Europe and North America. several different types of laminators, including extrusion (LDPE, PP, EVA, EAA, Ionomer, and Surlyn), and dry and solvent-free models, all with a web width of 1300mm and capable of speeds from 200m/min to 400m/min. It also manufactures slitter rewinders and inspection rewinders, as well as number of specials, such as combi and tandem extrusion lines that use two processes, and all inline. Speaking for Shin Han, Mr Kim explained the company’s association with Vetaphone. “We became aware of Vetaphone’s technology a few years ago and have always appreciated its wealth of knowledge and excellent response to any request we have made, which is essential in the negotiations we have with our customers.” Highlighting Shin Han’s commitment to quality, Mr Kim said that the importance of using quality co-suppliers could not be under estimated. For this reason, he chooses to work only with the best in each field because he knows that poor performance of any component, however small, will reflect badly on Shin Han in the customer’s eyes. “If we are selling quality, we need to guarantee it, and that cannot be achieved if the buying decision is based on cost alone,” he stated, emphasising the importance of taking a long-term view of investment. Now with five Shin Han machines in the market, fitted with Vetaphone technology, he can judge from firsthand experience how consistent quality and reliability are crucial to productivity in today’s pressurised production environment. “We cannot afford to have a machine failure caused
by an unreliable component, so solid after sales support is a major part of the buying decision. With Vetaphone’s global coverage, we know we have a true partner that will also support our customer, the end user, and that is important to our reputation,” he added. Currently employing 24 staff at its 35,000sqm facility near Seoul, Shin Han, which is still owned by its founder, generates annual sales of around US$8m from its comprehensive range. Typically, this will include 2-3 gravure presses, 3-4 extrusion laminators, 2-3 dry laminating and solvent-free laminators, and 4 slitter rewinders each year. Looking ahead, Mr Kim sees more development in solvent-free lamination, and the establishment of key alliances to extend the company’s business in new export markets, including Africa and South America. Sappi’s Fusion Topliner delivers top-quality results to expand brand owner opportunities Sappi’s Fusion Topliner is empowering brand owners to reinvent their print production approach for a wide
Sappi developed Fusion Topliner as an alternative to testliner – the most widely used liner for corrugated board. The double-coated bright white 100% virgin fibre liner is distinguished by its surface quality and strength while its brilliant white colour provides extraordinary colour reproduction for greater shelf impact and brand differentiation. As well as meeting food safety requirements, the use of bleached virgin fibres enables the grade to achieve the same material strength as testliners with a lower weight per unit surface area. The more enhanced fibre structure also means that folded edges do not crack. Converters can enjoy a host of cost and time savings, too. Thanks to the functional reverse side coating of Fusion Topliner the absorption of glue is consistent and reduces consumption. This saves on costs, reduces drying times and ensures excellent flatness. The grade also offers improved energy efficiency and a greater grammage yield advantage supporting lighter weights. Food safety, especially when combined with functional barriers, is another advantage of using virgin fibres. One company that recently discovered the grade’s advantages is Corruseal Corrugated. The South African converter produced the box packaging for Sappi’s Typek consumer facing grade using its flexo post print process. This is where the liner is first printed and then laminated onto the corrugated board. As a result, small runs can be produced more economically and with greater flexibility. It switched to Fusion Topliner to elevate the print quality for the outer packaging. Roland Cook, Corruseal’s
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68 Sappi’s Fusion Topliner is recommended for applications such as premium quality consumer goods packaging where high visual quality is required and when lightweight packaging and finer fluting are desired, using flexographic post-printing in addition to offset and digital printing technologies. The Highcon Euclid IIICs for corrugated General Manager, comments: “We tried Fusion Topliner to compare differences from a previous material used and were impressed with the results. With the outstanding quality Fusion Topliner delivers, we are now looking to add it to our retail and point-of-sale portfolio and recommend it to our existing brand owners.” Bernd Gelder, Sappi Product Group Manager for Containerboard adds: “If total cost of ownership (TCO) are considered, Fusion Topliner is an attractive alternative to testliner and provides a significant competitive advantage to both the producer and the buyer of corrugated products. Cost savings achieved thanks to the lower weight, lower glue consumption, more efficient production and lower transport costs all add up.” Fusion Topliner is available in grammages of 135g/m2, 160g/ m2 and 180g/m2. It provides impressive strength properties (SCT, compression strength, for instance), which are comparable to those of kraftliners. A compelling advantage is its weight benefits, thanks to the lower grammage that can effectively be used: for a grammage of 115g/m2, Fusion Topliner achieves the same strength values as a 145g/m2 testliner. Also, the gain in terms of strength properties comes to about 25 to 30 percent. With post-print, liners need to display as little rippling as possible after lamination. Tests have also shown that, above a grammage of 115g/ m2, Fusion Topliner delivers very good results in the post-print process regardless of the printing method selected. Especially impressive too, is the material’s capacity for printing without streaks.
Highcon announced the launch of the latest in the Highcon Euclid series, the Highcon Euclid IIIC. This latest machine extends the range of the 3rd generation Highcon Euclid cutting and creasing machines into the world of corrugated and fluted substrates from 1 mm up to 3mm/ 40-120pt. The Highcon Euclid machine has been working with corrugated board at LxBxH in Switzerland since the end of 2015 and is now being made commercially available in the market. According to Silvano Gauch, President of LxBxH “We have been using the Highcon digital cutting and creasing technology to produce high quality short run packaging on demand for our customers. The ability to produce small to medium size batches just-intime with low entry cost, allows our customers to order what they actually want” Aviv Ratzman, Highcon CEO and Co-founder, added: ”We realized the
potential of the corrugated market in B1 and B2 (42″ and 28”) formats and have been encouraged by the success that LxBxH have had in this market. Box Compression Tests that have been performed by comparing the digitally produced boxes with conventional ones have proven that boxes produced with the same substrate on the Euclid are stronger than those produced on conventional machines. This creates an opportunity to attain the same strength with reduced material usage and as a result, reduced costs. The potential of adding lamination and high quality print to the flutes also opens up a world of packaging that is both visually and structurally effective.” The integration between the digital cutting and creasing and online ordering dovetails into the trend in the industry towards optimizing packaging size to reduce overpackaging and shipping costs. The Highcon Euclid IIIC not only saves on the production and storage of die cutting forms but also adds the flexibility of digital technology which enables JIT production, short runs, customized perforations with cleaner edges and easier opening, and variable data etching for customization or personalization down to the level of serial numbers. The Euclid IIIC will handle single wall, laminated, N F G E and B-flute from 1mm to 3mm/ 40-120 points.
The market is changing
COST OF PRODUCTION
FLEXO
GRAVURE
HYBRID OFFSET
COST OF PRODUCTION
FLEXO
GRAVURE
HYBRID OFFSET
With hybrid offset, cost of production needn’t spiral If image changes, shorter runs and quicker turnarounds are becoming your new reality, it’s time to consider Goss Vpak™ hybrid web offset. Goss International Singapore Pte Ltd 2 Toh Tuck Link, #05-01, Singapore 596225 PHONE: +65-6462 4833 www.gossinternational.com
Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • March 2018..... BOOK YOUR SEAT TOPDAY AT THE 2018 CONFERENCE GO TO www.printinnovationasia.net/shift_018
70 to the press expands the versatility and flexibility of material types that can be supported, including thin and heat sensitive film, which significantly increases the range of
Sun Chemical and DIC acquire security ink company
and synthetic resins across Asia and the Pacific region.
The group strengthens hold on security ink market with new acquisition of the UK-based Luminescence.
Supplying labels to printers for over 30 years
Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have acquired Luminescence Holdings Ltd., a manufacturer of currency, tax stamp, passports, ID cards, secure documents and brand protection inks for the security market. Luminescence serves customers in over 100 countries. With the acquisition of the United Kingdom-based company, Sun Chemical will increase its market share in the securities market. By combining Luminescence’s portfolio of products with Sun Chemical’s global reach, customers will benefit from a new truly global player. The acquisition creates an enormous growth platform for Sun Chemical in the $2.7 billion security ink market. “Luminescence has a fantastic reputation in the security market for technology and service. Sun Chemical has the world’s largest research and development capabilities in the ink marketplace. What these two companies bring together is a truly exciting global supplier that will further strengthen our service to customers,” said Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer and board member. Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is a leading producer of printing inks, coatings and supplies, pigments, polymers, liquid compounds, solid compounds, and application materials. Together with DIC, Sun Chemical has annual sales of more than $7.5 billion and over 20,000 employees supporting customers around the world. With 176 subsidiaries and affiliates in approximately 63 countries and territories worldwide, DIC was one of the first Japanese printing ink manufacturers to establish a presence in other parts of Asia. It is now the leading provider of inks, pigments,
In a bid to stay a step ahead of the competition and ‘future proof ’ its business, UK trade printer Hine Labels has invested in a Screen Truepress Jet L350UV+LM press, its second Screen UV inkjet press to-date. Looking for additional capacity to serve growing demand, owner Bill Hine signed the deal at Labelexpo last month, making it the second sale of the Low Migration L350UV+LM press in the UK. According to Hine “pure common sense” drove the decision, he explains, “We need the additional capacity, business is good and our experience with the Truepress Jet L350UV we already have has been very good. In fact, the reliability of the equipment has been absolutely amazing, so it just makes sense to have another.” Hine Labels has been supplying labels to printers for over 30 years. As a trade printer, the markets served are varied and already include food packaging. “The L350UV press already meets the requirements of the market, however should legislation change, we will be prepared for it,” Hine states, “Meanwhile, we will have an extremely productive press, we’ll be able to print digitally onto thinner substrates and deliver an even faster service for our customers.” The new Screen Truepress Jet L350UV+LM delivers reliable print speeds of up to 60 meters per minute whilst proprietary Screen inkjet printhead technology ensures outstanding quality even at the highest speeds. The addition of a chill roller
packaging and label applications that can be printed. Hine Labels’ press will also come with Screen Equios Universal Workflow, drawing on Screen’s extensive prepress and printing knowledge, to maximise the performance of its cutting-edge UV inkjet technology. “The fact that Hine Labels is a returning customer means a great deal, we’re delighted to see their business go from strength to strength and we’re proud they’ve chosen Screen to be a part of that,” adds Bui Burke, Senior Vice President Sales at Screen Europe. Maintaining efficiency and avoiding downtime US-based, award-winning service provider, Express Packaging has over 30 years’ experience providing tailored primary and secondary packaging solutions for a wide variety of global brands – such as Nestlé, Kraft and Hershey’s. Specialising in applications that include pouching, cartoning, shrink-wrapping and label printing, Express Packaging must process track and trace codes at an extremely high speed and volume. To meet these demands, the company has invested in Domino’s latest continuous ink jet (CIJ) printer, the Ax350i. Fast Facts: US packaging provider with 30+ years’ experience High profile customers (Nestlé, Kraft, Hershey’s) Running 50+ Domino systems on its food packaging lines With four plants based across Ohio and Illinois and a huge volume of orders that are progressed on a daily basis, maintaining efficiency and avoiding downtime are critical for Express Packaging. As a result, the printers across the company’s plants need to be able to withstand the tough production environments that are typical of the food industry, while also guaranteeing that clear, legible codes are printed onto the packages.
BOOK YOUR SEAT TOPDAY AT THE 2018 CONFERENCE GO TO www.printinnovationasia.net/shift_018 ..... Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • March 2018
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Express Packaging President, Fred Hartzler Prior to the acquisition of Domino’s Ax350i, Express Packaging had more than 50 Domino systems, including case coders and CIJ printers already in use across its four plants. "Although we were very happy with the technologies we had in place, we instantly wanted to try the new product as soon as it was available,” says Express Packaging President, Fred Hartzler. “Every time Domino comes out with something new, we find it to be even better than what we're currently using. The Ax350i has continued that trend." With an IP55 rating, the Ax350i’s robust design makes it the ideal printer for use in a factory where wet foods are handled, while its modular stackability allows for easier installation on Express Packaging’s busy production lines. The Ax350i is capable of delivering multiple line codes, allowing for large amounts of data to be printed onto each item. The printer supports inks for a range of substrates, while the consumables are RFID coded, making it easy for operators to know which fluid should be used and where. Hartzler continues: “The Ax350i saves us money, it runs faster and we have clearer print. We've used other suppliers in the past but no one has equalled the production that a Domino printer puts out and the service that its technicians back it up with.” Get ready for the Xeikon Cafe Xeikon Café Exhibition and Conference (20-23 March 2018 in Belgium) will feature a unique and engaging keynote address by Andrew Vorster, a passionate technologist who works with companies across all industries to help them discover how to harness the capabilities
of technology in order to drive innovation in their business. The lively presentation will include many stories, anecdotes and real-life examples everyone will be able to relate to. “Xeikon Café is all about educating and inspiring people to explore the new opportunities digital production has to offer, and the impact it can have on their business and customers,” explains Danny Mertens of Xeikon Café. “Whilst the Academy sessions and exhibition area address technical aspects and specific applications, the Conference section of the event aims to go beyond products and systems, and instead provoke discussion, new ideas and inspiration for introducing innovation. Andrew’s approach fits perfectly with our theme of LearnConnect-Discover as he will talk about innovation from a broader, industryneutral perspective.” “Igniting Innovation Initiatives” Andrew brings more than 30 years of experience driving innovation across a wide range of industries, building a reputation as a passionate technologist, innovator and disruptor. In his keynote speech, he will address the question what is holding companies back from being innovative, and how they can overcome this to create a culture of innovation in their organisation. “Very few people are able to embrace, let alone initiate, change”, says Vorster. “They like stability and what is familiar – it’s human nature. This is no different in business: the majority of businesses shy away from the unknown, as it brings with it uncertainty about the future. Very often, it is not until some major event occurs, such as an important customer switching to a different supplier because they had something new to offer, that action is taken. But why wait until that happens? Fear can be a positive driving force, too, so instead of dwelling on the fear of the unknown, why not focus instead on the fear of missing out and embrace new ideas?” “Innovation is not the same as invention”, Vorster continues. “You do not have to re-invent the wheel in order to be innovative, but you can try to find new ways of applying what is already out there. There is so
much exciting technology available in the label and packaging industry today, with endless possibilities for personalisation, for example. Look at ways of tapping into this huge potential by thinking about how it can be used to make someone’s life easier – your customer’s, your supplier’s or your employee’s. What is vital is that everyone in the company gets involved; innovation does not happen just at board level, it should ripple through the entire organisation in order to create a true culture of innovation.” Packaging: The 5th ‘P’ In 1967, Philip Kotler introduced the concept of the four ‘P’s of marketing, which still stands today: Product, Price, Place, Promotion. Andrew Vorster addressed this concept in his dissertation in 1988 by adding ‘Packaging’ into the mix. “Packaging has always struck me as having a huge influence on brand image and identity”, he says. “It plays an extremely important role in creating and reinforcing a brand image. A high-quality package will be associated with a high-quality product, and it doesn’t matter if that is on the supermarket shelf, or at home when taking delivery of an online order – ‘unboxing’ something exciting you have received has even become a YouTube phenomenon. With all the opportunities digital production offers, there is no better time than right now to be in this industry and harness the potential for innovation in your own business.” The Keynote session takes place daily from 20 through to 22 March at 10.30. Get a glimpse of what you may expect from Andrew’s keynote by watching this video. Full details of the Xeikon Café 2018 programme are available at www.xeikoncafe.com. Xeikon Café 2018 takes place March 20-23 in Belgium. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit www.xeikoncafe.com.
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