Print Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

Print INNOVATION

Asia

Magazine

Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industries across Asia since 1985 Issue 4 2020

Konica Minolta Highlights Commitment to Asia Interview with the Managing Director of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia, Mr Osafumi Kawamura

Asian PrintAwards 2020 th

PACKAGING EXCELLENCE AWARDS: 2020

2020

_018 020 VIETNAM - November Contents Page

4 Konica Minolta highlights commitment to Asia 8 Interview with Sabine Geldermann:about

drupa April 2021 14 Xeikon Introduces New High-End Digital

Label Press 16 Offers offset quality, digital flexibility and inkjet productivity20 20 “How much does it cost to print that?”

24 Digitally printed gift cards on thicker paperboard 26 Next level Push to Stop: Systematically

unlocking OEE potential with

intelligent digitization 30 Extension of partnershipon consumables 32 Global print industry was facing economic

and environmental challenges - this was

before COVID-19 36 Kornit Digital gears up for Japan 40 Water-Based Flexo Ink for High-Resolution

Printing on Flexible Packaging 44 Toppan to launch environmentally friendly

food packaging system 46 The most environmentally water

friendly product 48 How CPI improved food packaging production 50 The Pantone Colour System –

The Language of Colours 52 Waterproof E-Textiles In Minutes With

Laser Printing 54 Vale Len Lauer 56 News from around Asia and the world

Issue 4 2020

Print INNOVATION

Asia Magazine

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

Paul Callaghan paul@printinnovationasia.com

Editorial

Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com Editor Sha Jumari sha@printinnovationasia.com Packaging Sales

Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com

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Konica Minolta highligh Print Innovation Asia spoke with the Managing Director of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia, Mr Osafumi Kawamura, as he outlines moving forward in turbulent times, a focus on end-to-end print technology, and a new flagship series for high production printing.

The financial year of 2019 has been a year of growth for Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia (BSA).

According to an IDC report, Konica Minolta achieved an 8% increase in market share, which is staggering compared to its competitors. Konica Minolta BSA is the Southeast Asian subsidiary of Japanese multinational company, Konica Minolta.

“I believe that Konica Minolta is well positioned to bring value to our customers with our suite of solutions that goes beyond just hardware but also software solutions. With a strong emphasis on improving our product offerings by understanding customer requirements and partnering with industry partners to provide an endto-end solution to address business needs,” said Osafumi Kawamura, Managing Director for Konica Minolta BSA.

In these times, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has been especially useful in alleviating some of the challenges. Konica Minolta has a suite of workflow automation software that allows companies to cope with issues such as staff shortage.

“Our machines are designed to help customers achieve more with less through automated workflow and processes, companies can operate in a more efficient way during difficult times like this,” Kawamura explained.

“During this period where many industries are facing manpower crunch, our smart technology like the IQ501, provides extensive automation designed to reduce operator time and print wastage while increasing productivity. This allows companies to reduce manpower reliance and free up the operator to perform higher value task.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic hits globally, businesses are taking a hit, with most impact being felt in the manufacturing sector. Konica Minolta was one of the first few companies in the industry to issue response statements. In its most recent update, the company reported its swift recovery and that production facilities in China has resumed operations.

“We anticipate 2020 to be a challenging year, with a possible downturn in the economy that could impact several months ahead. However, we will continue to strive in these difficult times as we scale our operations and adapt to the economic landscape,” addressed Kawamura.

Managing Director of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia, Mr Osafumi Kawamura

IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimizer is Konica Minolta’s proprietary smart technology that automatically and continuously monitor and adjust colour and front-to-back registration to ensure output stability throughout the production process.

Headquartered in Singapore, Konica Minolta BSA distributes industrial and business products designed to transform the workplace of the future.

In the region, office printing continues to be a core of its business. That said, Kawamura added that the company is placing high focus on the industrial printing and production printing market.

Kawamura highlighted Konica Minolta BSA’s commitment to growing markets in the region: “We continue to place great emphasis on expanding our reach in the region, as we further establish our market presence in growing markets such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Not forgetting our local domestic office in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.”

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

hts commitment to Asia

“Asia continues to be one of the growing markets for us and I believe that Konica Minolta is well positioned to provide our customers with a suite of solutions that goes beyond just hardware but also software solutions.

With a strong emphasis on digital printing, we have done extensive research in our toner to close the gap between digital and offset printing quality,” said Kawamura.

Recently, Konica Minolta achieved a milestone for its AccurioLabel series.

It had sold its 500th unit globally, signalling a growing demand in digital label packaging. Designed for small to mid-size label converters by offering affordable entry to high-quality digital printing, the AccurioLabel series was launched at drupa 2016.

“We see great potential in the digital label packaging market,” said Kawamura. “The AccurioPress family will welcome its new member, the AccurioPress C14000 and C12000, a new flagship model that designed for the high production print segment.

With this addition, Konica Minolta

now has a complete lineup of digital printing solutions in the market.”

Introducing Cypress - AccurioPress C14000 series With the AccurioPress C14000 series, Konica Minolta entered the high

speed, high production, cut sheet toner print market. The AccurioPress C14000 series is Konica Minolta’s new flagship model and answer to the high production print segment. The new models are designed to distinguish themselves with unprecedented print

5

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quality, amazing media flexibility and integrating with high degree of automation.

“The AccurioPress C14000 series prints at 140 pages per minute (ppm) in A4 and is 40% faster than the existing toner-based line up. It offers higher print volume and longer duty cycle, to reach the high production print segment needs. With that, Konica Minolta now has the most complete lineup of digital printing solutions in the market,” said Kawamura.

The AccurioPress C14000 series is especially suited to meet the needs of the region: “Asia is an evolving landscape where turnaround time and print quality are inseparable, the AccurioPress C14000 addresses the very need that businesses have been longing for. Having the AccurioPress C14000/C12000 in the lineup of machines will further strengthen the business’ services and product offerings to their customers.”

“The first is definitely speed, with a speed of 140 ppm, we are talking about higher productivity, shorter turnaround

time and in turn allows businesses to take do more jobs and increase revenue.

With automatic media recognition and more paper media that are suitable, this expands the possibility and applications to meet the needs of the market,” said Kawamura.

The AccurioPress C14000 series offers three main benefits: opportunities for business expansion, operational efficiency and improved productivity, profitability and turnaround time.

“There are opportunities for business expansion because the press gives customers the opportunity to offer new applications, such as gatefold brochures, book covers and even shortrun packaging,” Kawamura explained.

Built to execute day to day operations with consistency and reliability, the AccurioPress C14000 series is compatible with a wide array of media. The series has a resolution of 3600x2400 dpi and can handle media of up to 450 gsm. It can support long size media printing up to 1,300mm, combined with envelope and embossed media printability.

“To improve productivity, the AccurioPress C14000 series is incorporated with the IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimizer, as mentioned earlier,” said Kawamura.

“There are auto inspection options to offer expanded inspection performance, verifying print quality, in addition to detecting streaks and spots as well as blemishes.”

The series has an automatic media detection sensor that can detect stock and assign the appropriate tray, eliminating time- consuming paper settings and operator error, reducing waste and increasing productivity.

Other features include an optional inline trimmer unit which allows fullbleed finishing support for banners, booklets, direct mail and a dedicated business card cutting option. A large capacity stacker LS-507 offers operators the advantage of offloading while the machine is still running. The new powerful colour management and job management utilities that available in the AccurioPress C14000 series helps to simplify the production flow and provide improved efficiency.

The AccurioPress C14000 offers stability, high durability and maximise the uptime to improve the total cost of ownership (TCO). The series is equipped with cutting edge technology to offer a highly reliable duty cycle of 2.5 million prints which improves productivity, profitability and turnaround time in today’s competitive market without compromising the print quality that customers demand.

The AccurioPress C14000 will be available to Asia in Q2/2020.

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Interview with Sabine Geldermann: about drupa April 2021 Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

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Mid-March, the postponement of the world's leading trade fair for printing technologies, drupa, to April 20 - 30, 2021 was announced due to the exponential spread of the coronavirus. Director drupa and Global Head Print Technologies of Messe Düsseldorf, Sabine Geldermann, is now answering questions that concern the print industry.

Sabine Geldermann, what was the decisive factor for Messe Düsseldorf to postpone drupa?

Messe Düsseldorf is following the recommendation of the crisis management team of the German Federal Government to take into account the principles of the Robert Koch Institute when assessing the risk of major events. Based on this recommendation and the recent significant increase in the number of people infected with the new corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), including in Europe, Messe Düsseldorf has reassessed the situation. In addition, there was the general ruling issued by the city of Düsseldorf on 11 March 2020, in which major events with more than 1,000 participants present at the same time are generally prohibited.

Against this background, there was unfortunately no other option than to postpone drupa.

On which criteria did you determine the new date?

"Under normal circumstances" the year 2020 would have been a “trade fair rally” for Messe Düsseldorf, because from August last year until this June almost all of Düsseldorf's major world-leading trade fairs should have taken place – with drupa as the finale. Due to the influence of the coronavirus and the associated official decrees or restrictions, seven trade fairs planned for this spring have

already been postponed to the second half of 2020 and to spring 2021. Since we need a time frame of around two months for drupa (due to its set-up, duration and dismantling), there were only limited options available. Having weighed up all the parameters and in view of the international trade fair calendar, the date chosen, 20 - 30 April 2021, is the earliest and best possible date, which we have agreed together with our President and the VDMA as the supporting association.

Under the current circumstances, this date now allows the greatest possible planning security for all parties involved. Fortunately, we are now once

again in a similar timeframe to the original, traditional May date of drupa, which has become widely established in the industry.

How has the global printing community responded to your announcement?

The current situation is affecting all industries worldwide in an unprecedented way and the effects of the coronavirus are already having a drastic impact on public and economic life. As in other industries, the printing industry is feeling the effects of this in the form of short-time work, production downtime and supply bottlenecks – on a national and global

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

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level. In this situation, however, the health and protection of employees and partners takes precedence. The reaction of our international customers and partners to the postponement was therefore consistently positive and met with great understanding and acceptance. Three months before the regularly scheduled start of drupa, we were thus able to give many exhibitors the opportunity at this point in time to reschedule their upcoming logistical and very cost-intensive measures, such as the shipment of machines.

We were very pleased with the numerous emotional feedbacks on our social networks and platforms.

One thing is certain: the industry wants to have a drupa again, one that retains its image, its radiance and its global standing – this would not have been feasible under the current conditions. That's why we will now take every possible measure to meet the expectations of our global customers in April 2021 – let's embrace the future in 2021 together!

Exhibitors traditionally work towards the drupa date with their new products: Much is already completed for June; exhibitors do not want to wait to present the new products to their customers.

Does drupa now see itself confronted with alternative, virtual presentation formats?

Our exhibitors will certainly present some of their innovations this year already, using different formats such

as customer events or digital platforms.

However, these can only bridge the current demand – in our opinion, they do not offer a complete replacement for a trade fair with worldwide appeal. drupa is and will remain the top platform for the printing industry to present innovations, come together and, above all, network. That is why drupa will remain the target the print industry is working towards even after the postponement. drupa represents an indispensable platform for industry participants, providing orientation, impetus and, above all, satisfying the demand for face-to-face meetings and worlds of experience to a high degree.

It is all about human needs, haptic experiences and running machines that fascinate participants and which definitely cannot be fulfilled at this point by digital media. What distinguishes leading world trade fairs such as drupa is the concentrated energy that arises from the selective gathering of many people; the personal and emotional exchange; the joint presence of decision-makers, multipliers and idea providers; lively discussions; presentations that set the

Especially in the current situation, where numerous European countries are subject to unexpected restrictions, the need for personal encounters and an extraordinary customer experience after such an experience will certainly be even more pronounced in the future. We are people, not avatars and the desire for personal exchange, knowledge transfer and networking in a fascinating ambience is unbroken despite all digital formats. That's why it's great to see that numerous key accounts are already shaping the motto "let's embrace the future in 2021 together.”

How do you believe print businesses can weather the storm caused by the pandemic?

There is no doubt that there will be declines and lasting economic setbacks. The government's measures and aids are on the way. However, it is important that the industry does not suffer a complete standstill in production as a result of the current measures. Our industry must continue to invest in the future in order to seize market opportunities, because print, with its so many different and extensive applications and forms of use, will continue to be indispensable in many markets in the future. The exchange of ideas between industry players and the necessary inspiration are key means

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

12 What are the effects of the postponement on the satellites?

We do not currently see any effects of the shift on our "Printing Technologies" portfolio and thus on Messe Düsseldorf's foreign trade fairs.

to this end, and are lived out and introduced in a future-oriented manner at leading world trade fairs such as drupa.

What changes will the postponement mean for drupa 2021?

The postponement represents a new, unprecedented scenario for all concerned and requires a certain degree of flexibility. As in the past, we will continue to take every possible measure to carry over the successful status of drupa to the new date in 2021. It is our ambition and desire to organise another unique and successful drupa for our global customers in 2021.

Will the framework programme remain in place?

Our supporting programme at the five

special forums has already impressed with a fascinating range of formats, renowned speakers and exciting topics.

Our top priority is to offer our visitors highly relevant, inspiring and lastingly valuable content. The lecture programme is rounded off by Guided Tours and was already available for bookings via our portal. Our aim is now, of course, to adapt and transfer the programme as far as possible to the April date.

Significant issues concerning the ongoing digital transformation, topics related to circular economy and sustainability or new business models, which will be presented as keynotes, panel discussions and best cases, will continue to inspire and successfully advise companies – and this will be more relevant than ever after the impact of the coronavirus.

As a result of drupa's postponement, the most important trade show in our international portfolio, All in Print China in Shanghai in October, will become the largest and most important print trade show in 2020, giving our international exhibitors another highly relevant trade show in Asia this year.

Furthermore, PPP Manila in October will provide an additional platform in an emerging Southeast Asian market.

And indoprint in Jakarta, planned for September 2020, will also take place on schedule – according to current information. Of course, we are also closely monitoring the situation together with our subsidiaries Messe Düsseldorf China and Messe Düsseldorf Asia as well as participating partners and will act in good time if necessary. For this purpose we keep in touch with our customers via our various platforms and our foreign representatives and my team in Düsseldorf are available for all questions.

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Xeikon Introduces New Label Press Xeikon, with more than 30 years of innovation and experience in digital printing, today reported it is launching a new digital label press based on nextgeneration Cheetah 2.0 technology.

As demand grows for mass customization, shorter lead times and more product diversification, the new Xeikon CX300 digital label press is an innovation solution that keeps both label converters and their brand owner customers at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry.

“The Xeikon CX300 delivers exceptional application versatility, designed to achieve the highest possible OEE (Overall Equipment

Effectiveness) and is even more productive than the very successful Xeikon CX3 first generation of Cheetah presses,” said Filip Weymans, Vice President of Marketing. “Today’s investments need to deliver results.

Printing speed is an important factor, but combining that with a low OEE would not deliver the value printers and label converters are looking for.

With Cheetah 2.0 technology, we have focused on combining high production speeds with a high OEE, ultimately resulting in maximum sellable output.”

Cheetah 2.0 technology: the details Cheetah 2.0 technology is based on the proven, scalable Xeikon press architecture that includes five print stations and a full rotary process with a variable repeat length. Also featured: Printing station - Dry toner printing process operating at 30m/min (98ft/min).

- Web width can vary between 220mm (8.6”) and 512mm (20.3”) wide using a LED imaging head operating at 1200x3600 dpi delivering offset/ gravure image quality.

-The Cheetah developer station, which holds the Cheetah toner, ensures a higher color consistency across and along the web, ensuring a higher volume of sellable output with reduced waste.

New generation interfaces - The Man-Machine interface has been designed in a way that the operator can assess the status of his press from a distance. The interface also communicates the specific actions the operator needs to perform.

- The Machine-Machine interface allows for the integration of pre and post equipment either inline or offline. Throughout this interface, relevant information about the jobs is transferred digitally to the appropriate individual module to eliminate human errors, as the information flows seamlessly through the manufacturing process, which again contributes to the overall OEE.

HP Indigo V12 Digital Press, Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

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w High-End Digital industry-leading Xeikon X-800 digital front end and includes an innovative inline thermal lamination process.

Cloud connected - Built-in technology reporting on performance, availability, etc., in real time, providing data that can be translated into information for factbased decision making.

Design considerations - In designing the Cheetah 2.0 platform, ergonomics for both service engineers and operators were a focus, plus it uses components that simply last long with the objective of reducing maintenance and repair times.

- Integrated quality management systems monitor and automatically adjust press operation. This includes the density and tone curve of the process color but also the density of identified brand colors and registration.

Xeikon CX300: the details The Xeikon CX300 is a 330mm (13”) label press that can offer production capacity of over 50.000 square meters per month in a single shift operation.

The full-color press is equipped with five print stations, including CMYK and single-pass opaque white but can also support color gamut expansion, custom or security colors.

Based on Cheetah 2.0 technology, the Xeikon CX300 can easily operate in a three-shift operation and still deliver high value work. Strong, growing end-use markets such as food,

pharmaceuticals and other markets using self-adhesive labels can be supported with the Xeikon CX300.

Its dry toner technology surpasses any other digital printing technology with respect to food safety. The Cheetah toner also incorporates the recently announced QB toner technology, making it even more future-proofed against upcoming legislation and regulatory requirements.

Other markets ideally served by the Xeikon CX300 are those that use challenging substrates such as natural structured papers. This includes wine & spirits, craft beer, luxury food, and more. Health & beauty labels also benefit from high-quality full-color printing and single-pass opaque white toner. These are just a few of the enduse market applications that make the Xeikon CX300 a versatile solution that can also be used for the production of heat transfer labels, in-mould labelling, wet glue, wraparound labels, and cartons.

Xeikon’s fleXflow process enables the Xeikon CX300 to produce flexible pouches, combining dry toner printing with thermal lamination to deliver a laminated construction with turnaround times never before possible, and increased sustainability driven by the fact that there is no solvent used during either printing or laminating.

Xeikon fleXflow is driven by the

“The Xeikon CX300 can be the cornerstone of digitizing label manufacturing,” Weymans concluded.

“Its built-in technologies enable label converters to address current and future industry demands: connectivity, responsiveness, flexibility and scalability. We believe the Xeikon CX300 can be a valuable addition to any label shop floor and the spark that ignites a digitization process that is unmatched in the industry.”

The Xeikon CX300 is commercially available beginning in April 2020.

For more information about digital label printing and finishing solutions from Xeikon, visit www.xeikon.com.

Filip Weymans, Vice President of Marketing

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Print a full spectrum of commercial print applications with the varioPRINT iX-series

Offers offset quality,digital flexibility and inkjet productivity Canon is announcing the varioPRINT iX-series, an advanced sheetfed inkjet press from Canon featuring iQuariusᶦˣ technology.

For customers with production volumes of 1 to 10 million A4 images per month, the new press combines the image quality and media range of offset or liquid toner systems with the productivity and cost efficiency of inkjet.

Print more than 9,000 SRA3 images per hour (or 320 A4 images per minute) on a wide range of media, including offset coated paper from 90 to 350gsm.

You can produce high volumes of the full spectrum of commercial print applications, from marketing collateral and premium direct mail to catalogues, magazines and books.

With more than 90% average uptime and no need for daily calibration and maintenance, the varioPRINT iXseries enables substantial productivity gains and measurable improvements in overall running costs compared with other cutsheet production print technologies.

The revolutionary new press builds on the success of the varioPRINT i-series

platform introduced in 2015. With over 250 installations to date worldwide, the varioPRINT i-series has established Canon as a leader in sheetfed inkjet production printing for transactional applications, books and high-quality direct mail.

The latest iQuarius technology at the heart of the new iX-series combines three key innovations: • A breakthrough drying system combines air and heat with humidification to protect the paper.

This ensures robust prints on a wide media range, perfectly flat and ready for immediate finishing.

• New proprietary polymer pigment water-based inks and ColorGrip for

outstanding, vibrant and robust colour on a variety of media, including coated stock up to 350gsm.

• iQuarius quality control technologies for high-end image quality, thanks to true 1200 dpi image processing and 1200 dpi co-developed Kyocera print heads for printing razor-sharp text and line details, smooth gradients and perfect skin tones. Advanced nozzle uniformity control technology uses an inline scanner to automatically check and align single nozzles during the production run to eliminate streakiness.

Nozzle activity control offers the capability of detection and autocompensation of the nozzles during the job and thus reduces downtime and waste, and ensures high image quality.

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Media handling is improved with auto-detection, discard of flawed sheets before printing and precision paper transport further optimising quality and productivity. Together, these innovations deliver a balance of excellent image quality, media and application versatility, reliable productivity and cost efficiency - all in a single inkjet press. Handle short runs profitably, switch jobs quickly, and confidently produce finished documents with mixed media, while meeting demanding customer deadlines with ease.

The appeal of inkjet is its excellent productivity in the face of ever tighter deadlines and higher volumes of shortrun jobs needing quick changeovers.

With the varioPRINT iX-series, there’s no longer a need to compromise between quality and media range, or between productivity and cost efficiency. Commercial printers can

now say “yes” to virtually any order, with confidence that print quality is flawless, media options are vast, and quick turnarounds are no problem.

And all of this is achievable with the varioPRINT iX-series. Customers wanting to offer the broadest portfolio of high-quality applications now have a sheetfed inkjet press that helps them to grow their volumes, as well as manage smaller, more diverse jobs flexibly and profitably.

Powered by a high-performance, mediadriven workflow, the PRISMAsync print server optimises productivity by automatically setting the appropriate printing parameters for the media selected as well as enables advance scheduling of up to eight hours of production. Combined with PRISMA software, a completely automated and highly intuitive solution can be

integrated into any existing workflow, covering every stage of production, from creation and print management through to finishing and delivery tracking.

The introduction of the varioPRINT iX-series is a significant enhancement of our product portfolio for the graphic arts market. With the varioPRINT iX-series sitting alongside Canon’s Colorado UVgel technology and ProStream continuous feed printer, commercial printers now have a broader range of Canon solutions to choose from to meet their specific business needs.

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“How much does it cost to print that?”

A simple question printers ask when evaluating inkjet printing presses – and one where the answer can come from many different measurements and metrics.

Once we start having the cost discussion with OEM partners and their customers, the conversation usually gets very specific – How much does the ink cost? How much do printheads cost? What’s the total system cost?

What other costs are there?

“click charges,” may in the end be more expensive than systems with a higher ink cost and lower initial hardware cost. Or conversely, more expensive hardware with lower ink cost could provide the result you desire.

uncovered important insights. By factoring in hardware and service costs, ink efficiency (how much ink is used in the job), we found that the system with a “higher ink cost” actually produced the lower total cost to print:

example from Graphics Journal Dec 2016, PIA Great Lakes, using a set of 11 books and 500 copies each The answers to each of these questions are important pieces to the big question of how much it costs to print – but what we’ve learned is that each component of cost can have an impact on the others, so it’s important to look at all of them together as a system – much like how all components of an inkjet press need to work together to produce quality print. We’ve built a model that captures each element, how they interact, and provides a net TCOP, or total cost of print.

In a TCOP model, the variable elements in the production of print are measured, costs assigned, and a net “per page” cost is calculated. When comparing costs using this model between different systems, printers can discover how some systems with a lower hardware cost, but with added

Recently, when doing a cost comparison, a printer was presented with a proposal that was “one third lower in ink cost.” While that sounded like a big number, diving into the details

This model has helped the printer better understand how click charges (or meter charges, “per linear foot” charges) can dramatically impact what initially was a “low cost” proposal:

DIGITAL PRINTING SOLUTIONS LIKE NO OTHER Ready for the next turn.

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Direct. Dedicated. Digital.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

22 offset equipment for what it’s better at – long run jobs, and finding enough efficiencies that let them retire some of their offset presses, freeing up space, labor, and overhead in the process.

There are some cases where, for extremely large runs or extremely low monthly volumes, different elements of the cost equation will matter more.

When comparing the annual operating cost – including capital equipment payments and service costs – of four different inkjet printing systems, we So how are the costs calculated and verified? With inkjet, ink usage or coverage is the critical cost driver, and most inkjet printing system manufacturers provide a cost estimator to help printers determine an accurate cost per page to use for estimation purposes. With Memjet-powered systems, the process is relatively simple, as we use an estimation tool that accurately (within +- 5%) measures the amount of ink that will be used. We compare that to the amount actually used, as measured on the printing engine itself, to verify. The hardware costs are a matter of simple math – dividing monthly lease payments and service contract costs across the total number of pages to get to a “per page” cost. What isn’t captured here are paper costs (it’s assumed the same paper is being compared, so it’s a constant).

Same for labor and electricity costs.

However, when evaluating the impact of a new inkjet printing system – especially when replacing older conventional offset – that’s when things get a little more interesting.

Digital inkjet production can eliminate many of the inefficiencies that come with analog offset printing: long ramp-up times, pre-press and plate costs, spoilage and waste, as well as additional labor costs at every step.

Not to mention the costs involved with shipping and warehousing longer runs versus printing more “on demand.”

To capture the full impact of both the print and non-print costs, most printers will build a full ROI (returnon-investment) model to accurately capture both new and eliminated costs, from electricity to labor – as well as changes in ink costs and labor. In many cases, we’ve seen savvy printers

also build new revenue models with capacity and opportunity factors to capture upside potential. One good example is a printer who took advantage of new inkjet technology to re-balance their workload – moving more time-consuming “difficult” jobs to their inkjet presses, freeing up their

see that “Printer 1” has the lowest annual total cost of print at volumes of 1 million impressions. However, if monthly volumes increase to 5 million per month, “Printer 4” has the lowest annual TCOP, but at 8M and above its capacity is exceeded.

Author Eric Owen, general manager, commercial press at Memjet

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Digitally printed gift cards on thicker paperboard HP Indigo 30000 digital presses can be modified to print on substrates with a thickness of 660 microns. This is the outcome of a development project driven by HP, Green Gift Cards, Transcend Packaging and Iggesund Paperboard.

“Being able to print digitally on thicker materials is an important step in producing gift and other types of cards on digital presses.” So says Graham Lycett, Managing Director of Green Gift Cards, who has been one of the driving forces behind a development project to increase the thickness of paperboard that can be used in an HP Indigo 30000.

The HP Indigo 30000 was originally designed to take substrates up to 600 microns thick. In a development project run by Green Gift Cards, HP Indigo, Transcend Packaging and Iggesund Paperboard, that thickness has now been raised to 660 microns, this is significant jump up taking into account the stiffness and bulkiness of the Invercote board that is going through the print system.

“It is a huge jump, 10 per cent makes all of the difference between paper-jam

galore and a smooth print operation.

Not to mention scratches etc. Besides, this is only half the story – media stiffness is the real issue we needed to address. Invercote is almost like plywood… very stiff and doesn’t easily bend in the system,” says Moshiko Levhar, Business Manager, Folding Cartons, HP Indigo.

“This brings us far closer to the haptic – the feeing of the card in the hand – sensation of a traditional, plastic gift card in credit-card size. This is important, since some companies hesitate to change from plastic to paperboard for that very reason,” Graham Lycett stresses.

He is one of the great advocates for replacing plastic cards with paperboard ones. Making the change can reduce the cards’ environmental impact by over 95 per cent, as a biogenous rather

than a fossil-based material is used. At present there is only one printing press in the world that is modified to take the higher thicknesses. It can be found at Transcend Packaging in the UK, a company which, like Graham Lycett, is passionate about reducing climate impact. As well as producing packaging and cards for Green Gift Cards, Transcend Packaging has made itself known worldwide for high-volume production of paper-based drinking straws.

HP Indigo’s involvement in the project also brings other benefits, says Graham Lycett, since it means that HP’s Mosaic software for variable printing can be used.

“Not only can we vary the print from one card to the next; the digital printing also means we can offer reasonably priced cards in smaller print runs, while large organisations can order card volumes to fit consumption, rather than printing massive runs to get the best economy. They change to a renewable material and their orders reduce the need to keep stock, while also reducing waste and allowing scope for quick design modifications.”

The development of HP Indigo’s printing presses is largely based on the qualities offered by Iggesund Paperboard.

“We have actively worked to ensure our Invercote paperboard is the best option for digital printing. This project confirms that we’re on the right track,” explains Thomas Janson, Business Development Manager at Iggesund Paperboard.

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Next level Push to Stop: Systema with intelligent digitization • Focus on the “yellow bar” systematically addresses operator-dependent and process-dependent time losses • Heidelberg User Experience (UX) makes the Speedmaster a modern and attractive workstation • New Intellirun software organizes print production on the Speedmaster using an integrated approach • Other intelligent digital assistants support the operator and control processes autonomously •Machine operation on the go with the Press Center Mobile app In a global survey of over 1,000 customers, Heidelberg identified four key areas that sum up the challenges in the print industry: increasing complexity, skills shortages, competitive pressure, and the expansion of the value chain to include digital platforms.

Heidelberg has comprehensive responses for all of these areas. In the area of printing presses, Heidelberg will be presenting the most intelligent and most highly automated Speedmaster yet with the new Speedmaster generation – a smart product that integrates seamlessly into a digitized smart print shop and even into a smart organized printing industry. With the new Heidelberg User Experience (UX) on the Speedmaster, it offers a

modern and attractive workstation. In addition, other intelligent assistants ensure that the machine’s productivity potential is unlocked. All models in the new generation also include Push to Stop functionalities and an interface to the Prinect Cloud as standard.

This enables more comprehensive navigated and autonomous printing, which increases productivity, process reliability, and profitability. The new Speedmaster generation will go into series production from April 2020.

of 73 percent waiting to be unlocked.

Next-level Push to Stop addresses the “yellow bar” in a systematic way Overall Equipment Effectiveness is an established metric of a machine’s productivity. A data-based analysis

by Heidelberg shows that the average OEE of current Speedmaster XL 106 presses across all configurations and customer segments is around 27 percent. By implication this means that theoretically there is still productivity

“In the past we’ve focused very strongly on technical improvements, and have made huge progress there. However, a technical improvement only has an indirect influence, in other words it can only have an influence if the overall process is also adjusted accordingly.”

Sheetfed offset has undergone substantial change in the last fifteen years. For example, Heidelberg has reduced the required makeready time from a purely technical point of view by up to 90 percent. However, similar reductions have not really been seen in practice, and the OEE has not increased by anywhere near the same extent.

With the new Prinect Press Center, the new Speedmaster Operating System, and the LED daylight lamp, Heidelberg has created a modern and attractive workstatio

Drilling down into the data shows that around half of this potential is down to mechanical and technical aspects, and the other half operatorrelated and process-related aspects – Heidelberg calls this the “yellow” bar.

“Any improvement that counts towards the yellow bar has a direct influence on the OEE,” explains Rainer Wolf, Head of Sheetfed Product Management at Heidelberg.

“This means that the operatordependent and process-dependent time losses must have increased accordingly. We are addressing this with the Heidelberg UX and Push to Stop on the Speedmaster. We want to make the potential offered by the yellow bar accessible to our customers in a systematic way through comprehensive digitization and automation, and in this way enhance their competitiveness,” explains Rainer Wolf.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

atically unlocking OEE potential

Intelliline also brings digitally controlled navigation to the individual printing and coating units. Colorcontrolled LED elements indicate the machine status. They light up green when the press is carrying out automatic makeready processes, and light up yellow in case of manual interventions.

New Intellirun software organizes print production on the Speedmaster using an integrated approach With Intellistart 3, the third generation of the patented digital makeready assistant on the Prinect Press Center machine control station is available to all Speedmaster presses. A new feature on the 24-inch multi-touchscreen is the extended job queue, which displays all job data from the digital Prinect print shop workflow in a clear format. The job queue makes it possible to prepare for job changes using the automatically generated process view while production is still underway. During the job change, Intelliguide simulates the time-optimized sequence live and, if necessary, also includes the steps to be executed manually.

However, the new Intellirun function on the Wallscreen XL now goes a step further. While Intellistart focuses on the makeready process, Intellirun

ensures continuous digitally controlled navigation during printing and automatically provides the operator with important, context-specific indications and pointers about what activities and information are required to avoid time losses.

“Everyone is familiar with the navigation system in their car. When you leave the freeway, the traffic situation is automatically visualized.

Thirty minutes earlier, this information would have been of no use to you,” explains Jürgen Mittmann, the project manager responsible for machine operation. “Intellirun works in a similar way.

For example, Intellirun shows the mask for preparing the next job in good time before the current run is completed.

The operator can see at a glance whether anything is missing and can intervene if necessary in good time.

A lot of time losses can be eliminated

or at least minimized through timely preparation. ” With the new Press Center Mobile app, the operator can call up all key control station information, such as the current job status, the job queue with the change overview as well as the status of the consumables, from all connected machines on a tablet or smartphone.

This optimizes the processes to do with the printing press, reduces downtimes and manual interventions, and ensures that consumables, paper, and plates are always available in the right place at the right time.

As another highlight, Intelliline also brings navigation to the individual printing and coating units. Colorcontrolled LED elements make it possible to see the machine status from afar. The LEDs light up blue when the press is printing good sheets and light up green when the press is carrying out automatic makeready processes. The

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28 results. The Wash Assistant selects the right washup program based on relevant job and machine parameters.

Apart from saving time, this also saves washing fluid and washup cloths.

When washing ink rollers, the Wash Assistant can, for example, identify when switching from a dark color to a light one, and initiate a deep clean automatically.

Settings that are too high are often also used in the powder area for safety’s sake.

Excessive powder soiling in the delivery will result in increased downtimes for cleaning, and too much powder is also a problem in postpress. The new Powder Assistant gives its recommendation for the necessary powder setting based on the substrate and area coverage. Initial tests at customers have already brought about significant improvements.

color on the printing and coating unit changes to yellow whenever manual interventions are required.

Intelligent digital assistants leverage additional potential With the new Speedmaster generation, elements of artificial intelligence are also finding their way into the pressroom and providing support above all where operators reach their limits.

For example, Prinect optimizes the job order based on various parameters such as delivery date, substrate, or area coverage using the digital “Scheduler” job planner.

“Unimagined productivity potential can be leveraged with an optimized job sequence that changes as little as possible from job to job – we call this “incremental makeready”. Customers who are already practicing this today are achieving reproducible makeready times in the range of just two minutes from the last good sheet to the first good sheet with 40 to 80 sheets of waste – in real-life production,” confirms Jürgen Mittmann.

Another example of intelligent digital assistants is the new Wash Assistant.

Evaluations show that operators tend to use washup programs that are too long as a way of ensuring good washing

The Quality Assist launched in 2016, which starts the production of good sheets automatically when the inking quality is achieved with Prinect Inpress Control 3, has been extended and can now also display the results of the sheet inspection and the PDF comparison performed by Inspection Control 3. As a result, Prinect Inspection Control 3 is also optimally integrated into the Push to Stop workflow. The learning function of Color Assistant Pro for optimizing ink presetting has been automated and enables fully automatic learning of the ink presetting in combination with a Prinect color measurement system.

With the self-learning Color Assistant Pro, the Speedmaster automatically optimizes ink presetting and in this way saves time and above all paper waste during setup. All Prinect color measurement systems are now integrated into the Prinect workflow via a central color database and also

support the importing and exporting of CxF data. This offers greater flexibility in production, since reference values can be swapped between the printing presses without any problems.

New Press Center offers a modern, attractive workstation Skills shortages are becoming an increasingly pressing problem for printing companies. In particular there is a lack of young talent. With the new Prinect Press Center 3 / XL 3, the new Speedmaster Operating System, and the LED daylight lamp, the Speedmaster delivers a modern, attractive workstation that creates the perfect conditions for the operator to deliver continuously high productivity at a level that is sustainable. For trained operators, areas of expertise can be restricted to various machine functions.

Heidelberg offers suitable training modules that will enable operators to build up their level of expertise step by step. The Heidelberg User Experience (UX) can thus be experienced on all Speedmaster presses.

“Minimizing the yellow bar in the long term requires intelligently networked, coordinated processes that help the operator go beyond their physical limits. This is less about a sprint, in other words for a top productivity hour or top shift, and more about a marathon with continuous top productivity over a month, a year, the life of a machine. This is the added value we want to offer our customers with digital integration, outstanding machine technology, modern service concepts, and new, output-oriented business models. We want to do this with a partnership-based approach that pursues common goals, and from which everyone benefits,” summarizes Rainer Wolf.

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Extension of partnership on consumables Koenig & Bauer and ACTEGA have been working together in the field of press consumables since November 2016. During this time, new Rapida presses accompanied

by ACTEGA starter kits with coating products for inline finishing have been delivered to customers in 58 countries around the world.

The users benefit from products which have been tailored to achieve the highest possible quality and performance on Rapida sheetfed offset presses. These products are used, tested and optimised on a regular basis at the Koenig & Bauer demo centre.

The two companies have now agreed to extend their successful cooperation for a further five years. This means that ACTEGA will remain a reliable development partner for Koenig & Bauer in the future – for example in work to optimise finishing processes in connection with LED-UV production.

Coatings and further consumables from ACTEGA are in constant use in the press demo centre and are presented there within the framework of customer events. The cooperation also includes presentations at trade fairs, for example at the next drupa.

High-quality finishing in an inline process For ten years already, the two manufacturers have been demonstrating the diversity of high-quality finishing

techniques which can be realised in a modern inline process through the production of ACTEGA’s annual calendar. The interesting visual, haptic and olfactory effects are created using Rapida sheetfed offset technology with corresponding coating facilities.

Continuation of the annual calendar production is another objective of the further cooperation.

Andreas Gipp, senior vice president for the business line Paper & Board at ACTEGA, explains: “Together with Koenig & Bauer, we are defining benchmarks for the finishing of printed products. The purpose of our cooperation is to guarantee the availability of high-quality coating systems for use on high-performance sheetfed offset presses from Koenig & Bauer. Consequently, we will continue to apply the innovation strengths of both companies in the future, in order to develop attractive products for our joint customers.”

Dirk Winkler, head of print technology at Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed, adds: “Our cooperation with ACTEGA is driving the development of finishing technologies and benefits our users directly. Coatings, presses and processes are matched precisely to each other, as the key to reproducible quality results.”

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Global print industry wa economic and environm this was before COVID Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

32

The 7th drupa Global Trends Report will be published in April 2020. The results, from a survey conducted before the outbreak of the corona virus and the postponement of drupa to April 2021, show a global industry that remained positive but reflected more challenging global economic conditions.

Packaging and Functional market sectors are better placed than Publishing and Commercial. North America remains buoyant but confidence has slipped in Europe and across all other regions. Developing regions are held back by concerns about political instability and corruption, while developed regions are nervous of an inevitable cyclical economic downturn.

There is constant pressure on margins but increasingly the better companies counter this by continual innovation.

Investment plans remain strong, as printers and suppliers all recognise the need to remain competitive.

The findings come from the 7th major annual survey issued last November to the drupa Expert Panel of senior decision takers recruited from printers and exhibitors at drupa 2016 and run

by Printfuture (UK) and Wissler & Partner (CH). Almost 600 printers and almost 200 suppliers participated with all regions well represented.

Globally 17% more printers described their company’s economic condition

as ‘good’ compared with those who reported it as ‘poor’. For suppliers the net positive balance was even stronger at +32%. However, there is a clear trend with confidence peaking in 2017 after the long slow recovery following the 2007/8 recession and a more cautious approach developing since.

1 Commercial includes Direct Mail, Business Forms, Security, Wide-format, Trade Finishing for Commercial work, Transactional, Photoproducts Publishing includes Newspapers, Magazines, Catalogues, Conventional book production, Short-run digital books, On-demand digital books, Trade Finishing for publications Packaging includes Labels, Cartons & Carton Board, Flexible Packaging, Corrugated/ Secondary, Rigid, Point of Sale/Point of Purchase/Banners Functional (Industrial/Decorative/Textile) includes Printed electronics, 3D products, Ceramics, Textiles, Wall coverings/ Other Decorative Printing

As always, conditions vary between markets and regions. The Packaging market sector thrives best with Functional, Commercial and Publishing following in that order1. Indeed an increasing number of Commercial and Publishing printers are attempting to diversify into the other two markets.

Financial measures confirm these trends with margins struggling in all market sectors, but Publishing showing the clearest evidence of active decline in revenues.

North America stands out as buoyant over the whole seven years of the drupa Global Trends Reports. Europe showed increasing confidence until 2018 but has declined since, while all other regions are in decline.

Suppliers’ fortunes follow those of

as facing mental challenges D-19

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

34 Richard Gray, Operations Director at Printfuture, stated: “For the first time we asked specifically about the broader socio-economic pressures and there were two clear patterns reported across the globe. For the developed regions the focus was concern about the risk of, or reality of, economic recession in the country or region, followed by concern about global trade wars and the impact of global warming/environmental pressures. For the developing regions, it was corruption and political instability creating economic recession that dominated. Clearly we must now add the impact of the corona virus, a concern for all which, however, is not yet represented by the report.”

their customers both regionally and by market, although in many cases they have the advantage of serving a wider range of markets and regions.

For several years printers have responded to the constant pressure on margins by increasing turnover and keeping costs to a minimum.

Sabine Geldermann, Director drupa and Global Head Print Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf, commented: “Increasingly we are seeing clear evidence that whilst cost reducing steps will continue, printers are recognising the need to innovate – by launching new products and services in their existing markets or by entering new markets.”

Hence, investment plans remain strong with more printers in all regions reporting they will raise capital expenditure next year than those reporting a decrease. Again, the balance of those increasing investment by market was positive for all, but strongest in Packaging then Functional, Commercial and finally Publishing.

Finishing is the most popular investment target followed by Print technology and then PrePress/Workflow/MIS. While finishing plans vary too greatly to allow any forecasting, we can comment on planned Print technology investments.

Digital toner cutsheet colour is most popular, followed by Sheetfed offset, but there are significant variations by market.

The industry coped with the last severe recession and will cope well enough with a global slowdown, even though now it will be exaggerated by the impact of the corona virus. The crucial difference is that, in most markets, the industry has adapted their business models to the challenge of digital communications. Investment is the key to keeping ahead of the curve.

Infographics and obtaining the full reports Infographics showing the key findings are attached to this press release. The full report in English will be released by the end of April and available for sale from www.drupa.com. The executive summary will be available for free in German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.

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Kornit Digital gears up for Japan We spoke with newly-minted general manager, Hisashi Tada, who joins Kornit Japan at its most critical time of growth in the wake of COVID-19.

By Sha Jumari.

Kornit Digital, one of the market leaders for industrial, digital textile printing technology, announced the appointment of Hisashi Tada as its new general manager for Japan. Tada has been in the printing and technology space for more than 20 years already, primarily in inkjet technologies. In that time, he has held various sales and management positions in multinational companies such as Océ, HP and Fujifilm. Tada joins Kornit from EFI, where he has held a position for the last three years.

“I’m delighted to be here in an amazing company which is completely focused on providing the best solutions possible to help our customers grow,” said Tada. “The apparel & textile industry is one of great frontiers for digitalisation. The process of moving to digital gives us a lot of benefits such as sustainability, optimisation of the supply chain as well as reducing waste of both time and materials. We can

contribute to the health of the planet and provide healthy, sustainable growth for our customers.”

Asia Pacific is expected to witness growth at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2019 to 2025 in terms of revenue. According to a study by Grand View Research on the global printed textile industry, the growth is on account of the increasing consumption of printed clothing in countries like Japan.

“The textile industry in Japan, especially for direct-to-garment (DTG) is very strong. The great thing from Kornit’s

point of view is that we already have an excellent DTG customer base, which I believe still has huge potential for growth, and a pretty untapped roll to roll, direct-to-fabric (DTF) market,” said Tada.

“Of course, with DTF there are several traditional digital technologies such as, reactive, acid and disperse, but pigment is emerging very quickly, and I believe that with Japan’s focus on sustainability and green technology this offers us a huge opportunity,” Tada added.

Progressing in a COVID-19 World In 2019, Kornit Digital had a stellar year of growth in Japan. The company installed the most number of presses in the country for Asia, and was primed for further growth in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world by storm, taking a toll on industries all over the globe.

“I believe that with the current coronavirus situation, Japan has a great opportunity to

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

38 “Outside of the coronavirus which we all hope will end very quickly, it’s about finding scale, moving to a more brand-focused mentality and providing a holistic service and support package to customers. Sales generally sell the first system, but the second, third and fourth solutions rely on the customer having an amazing post-sale experience.

It’s the responsibility of Kornit, and our partners in Japan to provide an amazing experience to our customers,” said Tada. reshore production which plays to our advantage. Japanese companies are typically pretty risk-averse, and this will be a time for them to reconsider where and importantly, how, they produce,” said Tada. “One thing is for sure, the time to market that today’s consumers demand will not change, so more suitable supply chain will be critical.

Traditional methods won’t be able to deliver, but digital of course will.”

The outbreak may have slowed others down, but it appears to have barely caused a dent in Kornit’s plans.

According to Tada, it has opened up opportunities for some of its customers: “On a positive front, we have had several of our international customers, who are a little behind Asia in their coronavirus experience, come to us to find production partners across Asia. The great thing about the Kornit customer-base in Japan is that we have an amazing, professional network of printers able to supply very high-quality work to other Kornit users anywhere in the world.”

In addition, one of Kornit’s customers in Japan is currently beta-testing the Konnect workflow management software. Kornit Konnect is a new cloud-based, mobile workflow software platform that enables businesses to maximize productivity of their digital printing solutions. Another one of its customers is also in the middle of implementing Custom Gateway, an ecommerce solution provided by one of Kornit’s technology partners.

Another Presto system in Japan appears to be underway, as Tada revealed that they are in discussion with a “very prominent Japanese textile business”.

The Presto is Kornit’s single-step solution for DTF printing, eliminating the need to pre- and post-treat fabric.

For its current customers, Kornit Digital has put in place a support system in these COVID-19 times.

Tada emphasized on the importance of customised support and available communication channels.

“First, we must keep a regular and close cadence of communication with our customers and our partners in order to understand their individual situations.

Some customers of course have been affected more than most, and for them we have prepared special guidelines to maintain their systems in readiness for a restart when the coronavirus has finally gone,” said Tada.

Customer Growth equals Company Growth As one of Kornit’s key markets, Japan demands for high quality, sustainability, and productivity. Tada’s main priority in his new role is to highlight Kornit’s commitment to post-sales services and customer empowerment.

When asked what has been attributing to Kornit’s success in Japan in the past, Tada asserted that effective channel partners and positive customer experiences has been the two major parts.

“Great channels to market and leveraging positive customer experiences have helped us a lot. Japan is a market that is obsessed by quality, and the quality that Kornit systems deliver is exceptional,” explained Tada.

“Although we have competition in the Japanese market from local brands, we are the leading industrial player by a long way. Many customers who have grown their businesses by using many small systems understand that to get to the next level they must use Kornit.”

Much like in other markets, Kornit works through channel partners in Japan, supported by Kornit sales and technical professionals.

“Kornit solutions have an excellent reputation, and many companies understand the opportunities that they bring in order to allow them to grow their businesses. Our job is to empower our partners to be more active as evangelists of Kornit solutions. With their partnership we can expand and grow dramatically in the next few years,” said Tada.

It’s still very early days for me, but we have many great customers who have built very solid businesses by using Kornit technology. Last year was an excellent year for Kornit in Japan, and my job is to ensure that our customers have an understanding of where we are going as a company, and where they can take their business if they share our incredible vision,” Tada concluded.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

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Water-Based Flexo Ink for HighResolution Printing on Flexible Packaging CreationExpanded use of environment-friendly waterbased flexo inks in the area of food packaging The market for packaging inks today is dominated by solvent-based products, which boast outstanding wettability on plastic film substrates and dry swiftly after printing. Nonetheless, demand for water-based, UV-curable and other environment-friendly alternatives is rising sharply, underpinned by the need to address key social imperatives, including the lowering of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which pollute the air and impact working environments; the curbing of global CO2 emissions; and the reduction of energy consumed in printing.

While printing on packaging films centers on gravure printing, an intaglio printing process, and flexographic printing, a type of letterpress printing, the latter is leading the global shift toward water-based inks. The principal reason for this is that flexographic printing uses less ink than gravure printing, meaning that even when water-based inks—which dry more slowly than solvent-based inks—are used, drying requires little energy, facilitating superior productivity, i.e., high-speed printing. However, the small volume of ink used makes high-density, high-precision printing difficult, as a result of which flexographic printing has traditionally been seen as inferior to gravure printing, spurring demand for improvements.

Against this backdrop, in fiscal year 2015 DIC and DIC Graphics created a

project team to develop a water-based flexo ink for use on flexible packaging for food products, cosmetics and other items, which is made primarily with plastic film. Leveraging its proprietary mixing and dispersion technologies, DIC succeeded in developing an innovative ink that achieves a high optical density, lifting print quality to a level similar to that obtained with gravure printing. The Company also revamped the resin binder, beginning with its structure, to prevent the ink’s high density from weakening adhesion during lamination and to increase the resolubility of ink remaining on the printing plate following transfer to the print substrate, thereby ensuring the stability of print quality. The new ink, Marine Flex LM, which was announced at a trade show in October 2016,

upended many preconceived notions of flexo inks.

ResponseSecuring the adoption of a new water-based flexo ink on the label for Suntory Tennensui An innovative, environment-friendly offering, Marine Flex LM facilitated the DIC Group’s entry into the market for packaging inks. However, sales volume fell short of expectations. One reason for this is the steep capital investment necessary for customers to switch from gravure printing to flexographic printing, as a result of which it is expected to take some time before the level of adoption in Japan catches up to that in Europe and the Americas.

Material printed using Marine Flexo LM

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

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

42 ink viscosity, plate surface drying speed and ph level.

However, certain major beverage manufacturers have stepped up efforts to switch from oil-based gravure to water-based flexographic printing to reduce VOCs and CO2 emissions and conserve energy used in printing on film for PET bottle wrap-around labels and sought to expand the range of products for which such labels are used. Convinced by this trend that its instinct had not been wrong, in July 2017 the project team steered its focus toward developing a new water-based flexo ink for wrap-around labels.

The way forward for the team remained challenging. While films for food packaging commonly consist of three film layers—a substrate and a top layer sandwiching an ink layer—that are laminated together, wrap-around labels comprise two laminated film layers, that is, an ultrathin substrate and a reverse-printed top layer.

Moreover, PET bottles have ridges, which enhance strength, recyclability

and other properties, so labels must also be able to withstand contact and vibration during transport from factory to warehouse or store and the integrity of inks and label designs must be maintained even if bottles become soaked when used outdoors.

To fulfill such challenging requirements, the project team leveraged the DIC Group’s broad network, asking companies to which potential customers consign the manufacture of wrap-around labels to evaluate the physical properties of prototypes, repeatedly conducting rigorous tests and making continual improvements.

The challenges here were many and included developing an exclusive white ink (for white underprinting, which creates opacity so that label design is not influenced by the color of the beverage), selecting a new curing agent, improving wet abrasion resistance during transport and ensuring stable large-lot print quality, i.e., by optimizing

The team resolved each of these challenges and in December 2018 achieved a water-based flexo ink that passed all material properties evaluation tests and boasted VOCs and CO2 emissions (energy consumption) significantly lower than solventbased gravure inks. The new ink and the Marine Flex ECG digital color management system, developed by DIC Graphics, together make it possible to use multicolor process printing instead of spot colors for printing on flexible packaging and thus to reduce wasted ink and improve operating rates for printing equipment. Soon afterward, the new ink—Marine Flex LM-R— was chosen by Suntory Beverage & Food Limited for use on the labels of the 2.0-liter bottles of its core Suntory Tennensui water. Shipments to Suntory began in May 2019.

Suntory: A Customer’s Story Sustainability Initiatives Since its founding in 1899, the Suntory Group has sought to contribute to

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43 technologies to ensure the same high definition and productivity as gravure inks, but the outstanding environmental performance of Marine Flex LM-R encouraged us to take the plunge. We thus became the first company in the beverage industry to adopt water-based flexo inks for this purpose.

a sustainable society as a company committed to “Mizu To Ikiru”‘ (“living with water”). To this end, we are committed to delivering products and services of the highest quality, as well as to promoting initiatives aimed at ensuring harmony with nature.

Based on its long-term Environmental Vision toward 2050, the Suntory Group has set targets for 2030 and has long been an industry leader in promoting efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and its environmental impact. Having positioned issues related to water as its priority, the group is implementing a variety of next-generation initiatives in line with the Suntory Group Water Philosophy, including the Outdoor School of Forest and Water and the Suntory Mizuiku Natural Water Education program, with the aim of teaching people about the importance of water. Employees also contribute to society by taking part in tree thinning and planting activities at water sources.

The Suntory Group is also promoting the development and adoption of environment-friendly packaging through its “2R + B” (Reduce, Recycle + Bio) strategy, as well as through bottle-to-bottle recycling, and has introduced PET bottle caps made with 30% bio-derived materials. Such initiatives continue to earn high marks.

Reducing the Environmental Impact of Packaging The Suntory Group is working to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging. The focus of these endeavors has shifted from making

conventional materials lighter, thinner and more compact to modifying existing and developing new materials. With consumer awareness of sustainability and rising demand for recyclable packaging and easily removable labels rising, the environmental soundness of products is expected to directly affect end users’ purchasing trends in the years ahead.

In addition to ensuring stable supplies, enhanced quality and cost competitiveness, the Suntory Group looks for materials that offer a lower environmental impact. This belief was behind its recent decision to adopt DIC’s Marine Flex LM-R water-based flexo ink for printing wrap-around labels. The decision to print labels with water-based flexo inks presented several challenges, including developing

The Suntory Group places a strong emphasis on environmental protection in all areas of its operations. In considering whether to adopt waterbased flexo inks, we weighed up the risk of being the first company to do so against the risk of not taking this step.

Recognizing the potential impact of environment-friendly water-based inks on the packaging industry as a whole, we became the first company to adopt DIC’s Marine Flex LM-R waterbased flexo ink. By more quickly developing increasingly innovative environmentfriendly packaging, we can help pass on a sustainable global environment to the next generation.

Accordingly, our focus is on driving our industry forward, rather than on maintaining the status quo. We look forward to seeing DIC continue to actively disseminate information on the environmental benefits of waterbased flexo inks and encourage their use, as well as to raise awareness of environmental issues. Environmentfriendly materials will continue to be an important consideration for packaging manufacturers, so we also look forward to new ideas and suggestions from DIC in the years ahead.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

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Toppan to launch environmentally friendly food packaging system

Toppan Printing will launch sales of a new food packaging system called Green Flat, which addresses the need to reduce plastic packaging and can be used as an alternative to conventional skin packs.

Skin packs are becoming widely used in Europe, North America, and Asia because their complete sealing helps to maintain the freshness of food and extend shelf lives due to the reduction of drip from food during storage.

Green Flat replaces the polystyrene or plastic tray often used in skin packs with a paper-based material incorporating Toppan’s proprietary GL FILM. This provides freshness retention and lowers environmental impact by reducing the use of plastic without sacrificing functionality. The tray can be made using paper from certified forests and, because it is flat, can also be used as a chopping board for preparing food.

In combination with the barrier film applied over the product, lamination of the tray with GL FILM, Toppan’s original transparent barrier film, means that food is protected from oxygen, moisture, and other external impacts, further enhancing content preservation.

Green Flat is also available in a nonbarrier type ideal for such items as cosmetics and toiletries.

Green Flat also offers advantages in terms of attractive package design and eye-catching displays in stores. Highquality printing is possible on both surfaces of the tray and the prevention of drip made possible by the tight seal means that even packages for fresh foods can be stood up or suspended from hooks for display. QR code can also be printed onto the tray to enhance customer engagement by providing information or running online or online/offline hybrid promotions.

The Green Flat system offered by Toppan will consist of the Green Flat tray, a skin pack filling system, skin pack film, and a consulting service for system implementation. Samples are being made available from February 2020, and full-scale sales are scheduled to begin in December. Comprehensive

consulting services will be offered to enable customers to create appealing designs, implement effective promotions, and make the most of shop space.

“Today there is strong demand for packaging that maintains freshness but also reduces environmental impact by addressing such issues as marine plastic pollution and food waste,” said Shingo Wada, general manager of business strategy in Toppan’s western Japan division. “Toppan strives to meet this demand by leveraging extensive experience in paper-based packaging and developing a range of products incorporating its advanced GL BARRIER technology. As a new addition to our lineup, Green Flat provides outstanding freshness preservation, better environmental performance, and exciting possibilities for package designs and displays that create an impact in stores.”

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The most environmentally water friendly product Toray, a leader in innovative solutions for waterless offset printing, has added yet another eco-friendly offering to its portfolio of waterless offset printing plate solutions.

Toray AQ Contrast Enhancer, now commercially available, is an ecofriendly post treatment for waterless offset printing plates that enhances the contrast after CTP-exposed waterless plates. AQ Contrast Enhancer is specifically designed for the use with punch-bending – and sorting equipment that need plates with an excellent contrast.

“Waterless offset printing is the most environmentally sustainable method of offset printing, and now it is even more sustainable,” said Mr. Noboru Kawanaka, Technical Manager of TTCE. “Historically, when contrast enhancement is required, chemicals have to be used, which is not only hard

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

47 on the environment but also costly due to the difficulty associated with managing and disposing of them. Now with AQ Contrast Enhancer, no special handling or treatments are required since the product is 90% water and contains a small amount of a special liquid that is also used in the cosmetics industry. This further improves the value of waterless offset printing as more companies seek to reduce their environmental footprints.”

Even though the after treatment of waterless offset plates, AQ Contrast Enhancer, can be drained to public sewers with no special handling required, it is better to check your local rules and regulations. While it is specifically designed for use with Toray IMPRIMA ‘J’ series waterless offset plates, it can also be used with the full line of Toray waterless offset plates when contrast enhancement is necessary.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

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How CPI improved food packaging production Indonesian leading food company takes its flexible packaging production in-house with BOBST CI Flexo technology What do you do when the quality of your product packaging differs from converter to converter, impacting consistency and potentially brand perception?

Charoen Pokphand Indonesia (CPI), an expanding and forward-thinking food producing company, decided to open a new plant for flexible packaging to internally control the quality of the food packaging production. Bucking the trend for gravure printing in the food industry, the company has purchased a BOBST 20SEVEN CI flexo press with smartGPS and BOBSTCL 850D Laminator to help it achieve its goal.

Traditionally, gravure printing technology has been widely used in the food industry for flexible packaging formats such as stand up pouches and quad seal bags and flat bottom bags. But the high print quality of CI flexo printing and developments in modern technology have meant that flexographic presses can now compete against gravure machines in this field.

BOBST 20SEVEN CI – just like its close relation BOBST EXPERT CI –is a state-of-the-art flexo press, maximizing CI flexo process consistency. The machine delivers stable and controlled printing results and exceptional productivity with both solvent and water-based inks.

The press includes a smartGPS system for registration and impression setting, meaning minimum waste of substrate and consumables at start-up and job changes. The logic is simple: if there is no need to print when setting up impression and register, there is no waste in substrate, ink, solvent, energy or machine time. In addition, since the whole process is fully automatic and not influenced by variables such as operator skill level, ink variations or the interval between repeat orders, users get the same print results every time.

Charoen Pokphand Indonesia has also purchased a BOBSTCL 850D Laminator, which with its ergonomic design and advanced automation features, make for very fast job make-

ready and changeovers, and optimal operational efficiency. The CL 850D can operate at high production speeds - up to 450 meters per minute - using a wide spectrum of flexible substrates, with different physical properties and different thicknesses, to produce very high quality laminates with minimal waste.

“To achieve continuous growth in this expanding food industry, we think BOBST is aligned with our vision to produce an improved and environment friendly packaging” said Junny Kumala.

The machines have been installed and the local BOBST team has provided training to help users get underway and start seeing the benefits of printing inhouse with a CI flexo press.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

50

The Pantone Colour System – The Language of Colours The Pantone Colour System was invented in 1963 and since then it’s impossible to imagine the industry without him. Besides its importance for corporate designs, the colour system is known for one thing in particular: The colour of the year.

"There are blue connoisseurs just like wine connoisseurs."

That’s what the French author and journalist Sidonie Gabrielle Colette said about her lifetimes.

Colours are true science. There are countless different colours with different shades, which make different impressions. That’s clear for almost everyone. But describing different colours and the different shades is a complete other topic. It’s much more complex and sometimes words are simply not enough to describe all the beautiful colours.

The Pantone Matching System That’s why Pantone LLC, a American company from New Jersey, brought the Pantone Matching System on the Market in 1963. It is a worldwide colour matching system based on 14 colours.

This system is offered for different graphic fields such as print, packaging and even fashion design. That system built an international language, which made it possible to express different colours understandable and precisely.

The colours are presented in two different forms: The Pantone Formula Guides and the Pantone Solid Chips Books printed on two different types of paper: coated and uncoated.

In the different colour fields you cannot only find the colour itself, but also the special recipe out of the 14 basic colours. You also often find a shortcut for the types of paper so you can make sure it looks exactly the way you want it to on the final printed material.

The Revolution: Pantone Plus Series Print is in constant change and so is the diversity of Pantone. In May 2010 Pantone LLC brought out an updated version of the Matching system: The Pantone Plus Series. The new version was based on 18 instead of 14 basic colours and had a higher variety of colours due to that.

In 2012 Pantone brought the “Pantone 50th Anniversary Edition” on to the market, which had a slightly even higher variety of colours. But due to a lack of communication back then, the Pantone Plus Series from 2010 is still much more popular that the Follow-up model. Today even Adobe Programs are only on the stand of 2010: The

colours 2001 until 2336 are not available in the Adobe creative cloud. But don’t worry, you can still download them in a separate download.

Pantone Colours for Corporate Identity But what is so special about the Pantone Matching System compared to other printing systems? It simply extends the achievable colour space of Four-Colour Printing. While the FourColour Printing system creates a colour impression by combing Grid Points out of the colours Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (= Black), the Pantone System is printing flat full colours.

Pantone’s special colours are often used to create a company’s corporate identity and their logo. So, for example, the colour 485c is special for Puma and 3425c is characterizing for Starbucks.

The German chocolate brand Milka from Mondelez has even created a special Pantone-Colour just for them.

But Pantone is not only a great solution for corporate identities. Since 2000 the company from the US creates the colour tone of the year. They are analysing the trends and influences of the year and choose one tone, which fits best in their opinion. In this year it’s Classic Blue 19-4052, a darker blue tone which is supposed to transmit calm and balance. we are already curious which colour it will be in 2021. With a bit of luck it’s drupa red!

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embrace the future in 2021 ent: m t n i o p p New a 21 0 2 , 0 3 – April 20

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

52

Waterproof E-Textiles In Minutes With Laser Printing Scientists from RMIT University have developed a cost-efficient method to laser print the next generation of waterproof smart fabric. The e-textiles are embedded with an energy storage device providing energy harvesting technologies.

Creating a patch of fabric that is both waterproof, stretchable and has an integrated energy harvesting technology and all of that in mere minutes! That is the break-through future technology RMIT University scientists have developed in Melbourne, overcoming key drawbacks of previously existing e-textile energy storage technologies.

The 10x10cm textile print prototype was produced in just ten quick minutes, using their innovative new method.

Smart Textiles And Nanotechnology The scientists found a way to laser print graphene supercapacitors directly onto textiles. The powerful and longlasting energy storage devices can be used for wearable devices for private consumers, the health care sector or defence industry. Vital signs, location tracking and even the health care status of soldiers in the fields could be tracked with only those devices. It is also washable and waterproof. The smart fabric works as an extremely efficient self-powering unit that can be easily combined with power sources like solar power which makes the new technology equally effective and durable.

Robust and Reliable Energy Solutions Dr Litty Thekkekara, researcher at the RMIT School of Science, wanted to focus their research on “robust and reliable energy solutions” for smart textiles with built-in sensing, wireless

communication or health monitoring technologies. “Current approaches to smart textile energy storage, like stitching batteries into garments or using e-fibres, can be cumbersome and heavy, and can also have capacity issues,” says Dr Thekkekara, further elucidating “these electronic components can also suffer short-circuits and mechanical failure when they come into contact with sweat or with moisture from the environment. Our graphenebased supercapacitor is not only fully washable, it can store the energy needed to power an intelligent garment – and it can be made in minutes at large scale.”

Those improvements might enable a new generation of wearable technology and intelligent clothing.

A New Generation Wearable Technology Throughout the research the scientists analysed the laser printed e-textile’s reaction and performance through a range of mechanical, temperature and washability tests and saw their ideas confirmed in a stable and efficient proof-of-concept. Min Gu, RMIT Honorary Professor and professor at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology said conclusively: “It also opens the possibility for faster roll-to-roll fabrication, with the use of advanced laser printing based on multifocal fabrication and machine learning techniques.”

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Vale Len Lauer On April 13, Len Lauer, CEO of Memjet, passed away unexpectedly at his home in La Jolla, California. He was 62 years old. Lauer was named the CEO of Memjet in 2010 and assumed the role of Chairman in 2012. company very well for a successful future,” said Don Millican, Memjet board member and Chief Financial Officer, Kaiser-Francis Oil Company.

Effective immediately, the Board of Directors has named seasoned print industry executive and Memjet board member Sunil Gupta, as CEO of Memjet.

Gupta joined Memjet’s Board of Directors in January of 2019. He has held leadership roles in major print industry businesses, including Fuji Xerox Australia, Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific and Xerox International Partners, and Xerox Corporation.

“On behalf of our Board of Directors and employees worldwide we extend our deepest sympathies to Len’s family during this very difficult time,” said Tony Duddy, Memjet’s group president, R&D and Operations and board member.

“An outstanding leader, visionary, and champion for high-quality, innovative digital printing technology for all markets, Len was a tireless advocate for Memjet Technology, our employees, and for delivering beautiful precision to the OEM partnership communities we serve as and their customers.

Most importantly, Len was a devoted husband, father, and friend. We all will miss his tremendous presence in our lives.”

Lauer was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, and received his Bachelor’s in Science degree in Managerial Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 1979. For over 30 years, Lauer held leadership roles with leading global technology innovators, developers and providers, including Qualcomm, Sprint, Bell Atlantic and IBM, and for the past

10 years, Lauer held the role of Memjet CEO, overseeing the company’s growth to its current status as a global leader in the development of inkjet printing technology.

During his tenure at Memjet, Lauer’s exceptional business acumen combined with his competitive spirit and strong family values drove his success in building teams, partnerships and industries. His passion, dedication and leadership will have an everlasting impact on Memjet’s business and employees, OEM partners and the print industry.

With the full confidence of the Memjet Board of Directors and its senior leadership team, Gupta will carry on Lauer’s legacy of courage, collaboration, and commitment to all stakeholders. commitment to all stakeholders.

Sunil Gupta

“Our family has always been inspired by Len’s passion for Memjet and the work of the Memjet team,” said Beth Lauer, Mr. Lauer’s wife. “Len was proud of the strong culture at Memjet.”

“Len’s clear and steady leadership at Memjet continually inspired confidence with employees, customers, suppliers, and its board of directors. He will be missed, but he has positioned the

All of us at Print Innovation Asia wish to express our deepest condolences and our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Len and the staff of Memjet.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

56 Xeikon launches SIRIUS technology Xeikon unveils its ground-breaking new generation dry toner technology for the graphic arts industry. It delivers higher speeds, reduced cost of ownership and further improved quality, and – even better – the first digital press based on this new technology will be launched and commercially available as of June 2020.

By introducing the ‘Power Of Dry Toner’ campaign last year, Xeikon made it absolutely clear that it remains convinced of the unique power that dry toner technology brings to the graphic arts market – pushing its boundaries even further.

It proves its case by announcing the next generation Xeikon SX30000 press: an entirely new, robust single pass duplex machine, powered by the new SIRIUS technology, able to run at a printing width of 20 inch (or 508 mm) on a broad range of substrates at 98 ft/min (or 30 meters/minute), 404ppm A4) – boasting an average speed increase of more than 50% throughout the range of 40-350 gsm versus the previous platform.

Setting a new standard in dry toner Xeikon has been allocating major resources since 2017 to set a new standard in dry toner technology and develop a new platform for the graphic arts industry. “The water cooled LDAs, with 1200x3600 dpi technology and the single pass duplex, full rotary concept, have remained unchanged, as well as the 5/5 print station setup. Almost everything else has been re-engineered”, says Dimitri

Van Gaever of Xeikon. “One of the things that really sets the SIRIUS technology apart is its ability to print on heavy substrates at high speeds.

Dimitri Van Gaever explains some of the core components that enable SIRIUS to set a new standard. We have been working along 4 major axes: toner development, imaging technology, fusing technology and media conditioning, resulting in more than 400 design changes and developments compared to the previous generation. All these core components have been redesigned and enhanced to deliver superior quality, market leading performance, unequalled sustainability, widest application range and best-in-class TCO. An important step to bring SIRIUS technology to a new era of productivity is realised thanks to Xeikon’s new EkoFuse technology: a new fuser and a patented new crossflow cooling system add up to achieve superior print quality levels at market leading speeds.”

quality papers combined with superior quality requirements. “This can be in the book printing segment or highquality direct mail, but because of the versatility of the technology, it might also be in retail and signage materials, security printing and other general commercial print. Furthermore, we are looking at customers who need higher productivity combined with lower running cost and a compelling overall TCO.” “We have been the pioneers of dry toner technology, and we continue to see opportunities to further enhance it and improve on it”, says Dimitri Van Gaever. “The technology has been named SIRIUS – after the brightest star in the night sky and in reference to its role in helping people to navigate and set course in various cultures throughout history. We believe this platform will lead the way towards a profitable business for our existing and future customers.” ePac breaks records for flexible packaging production with HP Indigo

For our newly developed SIRIUS toner, we have changed the production parameters of the toner and have improved the charging kinetics properties by adapting the outer shell of the toner to cope with the higher engine speed. Our new developer unit ensures superior image quality for high coverage applications.

Higher productivity for high value applications With the SX30000, Xeikon is first and foremost aiming at high value applications, usually featuring high coverage color content on high-

Steady rise in customer demand continues for digitally printed packaging HP Inc. and ePac Flexible Packaging announced that ePac hit a new production record at the start of 2020 on its fleet of HP Indigo 20000 digital presses operating globally, driven by a doubling of its customer base in the past year. ePac expanded to Asia in December last year after it established ePac Holdings Asia Pacific. The manufacturing site is expected to open in Indonesia in mid-2020.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

58 is also an integral part of job flow, performing press performance uptime monitoring across their entire fleet of printers.

Colorado 1650 UVgel 460 Ink Receives 3M Performance Guarantee Certification Canon announced today the Colorado 1650 and its UVgel 460 ink has been certified with 3M Performance Guarantee. This certification is testament that applications printed on the Colorado 1650 in combination with 3M’s approved media achieve the highest quality standards.

Europe and Asia, ePac is currently serving more than 6000 customers, primarily small and mediumsized businesses. benefitting from HP Indigo digital technology for economical short, medium and even longer run length orders, and ePac’s commitment to 10-15 business day turnaround time.

In January 2020, production reached a new record of over 20 million B1 impressions at 10 sites where ePac is currently operating HP Indigo presses.

Compared to January of last year, volume has tripled.

“Our customers have discovered the advantages of locally sourced, fast turnaround packaging as a means to drive market expansion of their brand.

A high percentage of orders today are coming from returning customers,” said Carl Joachim, ePac CMO. By the end of 2020, ePac is set to roll out a total of 52 HP Indigo 20000 presses as it continues its global expansion to 20 locations. “ePac is leading the digital flexible packaging movement worldwide, as it successfully replicates its HP Indigo digital printing-based business model in new locations. This expansion provides new opportunities for brands and end users benefit from digital printing advantages, including fast turnaround, no minimum order quantities, low waste and unlimited variable data for targeting, customization and personalization,” said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, HP Indigo.

ePac taps into growing market for digital flexible packaging Founded in May 2016 as a Greenfield business with one HP Indigo 20000 press, ePac has grown exponentially. ePac’s key markets include coffee, pet food, nutritional supplements, snacks, health and beauty, organic foods, cheese and dairy, confection, jerky and bakery products.

Through testing the UVgel 460 inks on a wide range of 3M media, this certification demonstrates the exceptional quality standards achieved through applications such as wall murals, window graphics, fleet and vehicle graphics.

Canon has worked closely with 3M on securing the quality and performance of UVgel prints on a broad range of 3M media.

In 2019, ePac placed an incremental order of 24 HP Indigo 20000 presses that was the largest packaging deal ever for HP, in preparation for the global expansion. The investment is valued at over $100 million, including hardware, supplies and services over several years.

The Colorado 1650 is an award winning roll-to-roll printer featuring a flexible yet robust ink set and FLXfinish, a new approach to LED curing which allows the user to choose between matte or gloss modes for each individual print. This means customers can achieve different aesthetic finishes without the need to change inks or media on a wide variety of different applications, both for indoor and outdoor use.

Advantages of the 30-inch wide (76 cm) HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press are the 42-inch repeat and white ink options. At ePac, HP PrintOS

COLOUR DIGITAL PRESSES Reap the Benefits of Productivity, Versatility, and High Quality

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• Production speeds of up to 90 ipm • Maintains rated speed on uncoated stocks up to 80 lb. Cover • 7,650-sheet1 feeding capacity with up to six different sources2 • Wide array of productive Canon and third-party in-line accessories2

• 2400 x 2400-dpi print resolution utilizing the unique R-VCSEL imaging technology • Intuitive calibration process that uses internal sensors to measure test patches • Translucent CV Toner produces vibrant images on a wide variety of stocks • Multi D.A.T. helps to achieve consistent color across long runs automatically

• Supports stocks up to 130 lb. Cover2 • Runs a variety of envelopes and long sheets2 up to 51.2” • Helps achieve highly accurate and consistent registration, even on large and heavy stocks • Meets ENERGY STAR® standards and rated EPEAT Gold

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

60 “Our ever-growing customer base is rapidly adopting UVgel as their preferred technology, for media that are widely used today, and emerging categories such as PVC-free print media. With the 3M Performance Guarantee certification, the Colorado 1650 help customers to pursue new businesses through expanded applications while giving them the confidence and assurance to provide to their end users when printing on 3M substrates.” said Steve Ford, Managing Director, Production Printing Asia, Canon.

About Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd. Canon is a global leader in photographic and digital imaging solutions.

Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd. is the headquarters for South & Southeast Asia driving sales, marketing and service strategies. Besides handling the domestic market, the company covers 22 other countries and regions including subsidiaries in India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The parent company Canon Inc. has a global network of more than 300 companies and employs close to 200,000 people worldwide. Canon is guided by its kyosei philosophy that focuses on living and working together for the common good.

Based on SGIA Product of the Year Award 2019, Roll-to-Roll UV (under 80 inches).

EFI appoints new lead for Packaging EFI announced the appointment of Evandro Matteucci as vice president and general manager for Building Materials and Packaging. Matteucci has replaced former VP/GM José Luis Ramón Moreno, who has departed to pursue other career opportunities.

Matteucci has responsibility for the Almassora (Castellón), Spain-based EFI Building Materials and Packaging business, which manufactures the EFI Nozomi C18000 direct-toboard printer and EFI Cretaprint tile decoration printers.

Matteucci’s role also includes directing operations for EFI’s new Cubik line of single-pass printers for wood, concrete and polymer materials. In addition, he will manage the Almassora facility’s development and commercialization

profitably grow their businesses.

of high-quality single-pass inkjet solutions in new and adjacent markets.

Matteucci’s international career spans more than 25 years in the printing industry in sales, marketing and general management roles. Matteucci was most recently the global VP for marketing, business development and product management in the Kodak Print Systems Division.

He has also served as Kodak Print Systems’ regional VP and GM for the Asia Pacific, Middle East/Africa and Latin America regions. Prior to that, he was Kodak’s APAC regional VP and GM for prepress solutions and workflow software. He has also served as Kodak’s EMEA-region VP of Marketing, as well as regional VP and GM for Kodak’s prepress operations in EMEA. Prior to working for Kodak, Matteucci held a regional leadership position with Kodak Polychrome Graphics, a joint venture between Kodak and Sun Chemical.

Throughout these positions, he gained significant expertise in digital print hardware, software and workflow, with keen insights on successful tech development and real-world implementations that help users

“I would like to thank José Luis for his dedication and contributions to EFI and wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” said EFI Chairman and CEO Jeff Jacobson. “I am also very pleased to welcome Evandro into his new role, where he will deliver sound, customer-focused management advantages that reflect his extensive print technology expertise. I know he will make a significant impact as we continue to bring more productivity, value and innovation to the markets we serve.”

Matteucci’s path in print began in his native Brazil at SENAI-SP Theobaldo de Nigris, where he obtained a Graphics Arts Technician degree.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Marketing and an MBA in Brazil as well. Matteucci also holds an Advanced Management Program degree from IPADE in Mexico City and, most recently, completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

“EFI is in a very exciting phase right now, and I am pleased to participate in the groundbreaking work taking place to make it an even more innovative company,” said Matteucci. “EFI’s Nozomi and Cretaprint solutions have had unparalleled impact driving the analog-to-digital transformation, and I am dedicated to continuing that momentum by helping customers capture new opportunities.”

Double launch for Roland DG Roland DG announces two new products. The new VersaUV LEF2-

5th INTERNATIONAL PACKAGING AND PRINTING EXHIBITION FOR ASIA

22- 25 SEP 2021 BITEC • BANGKOK

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International Visiting Delegations

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

62 300D has been introduced to enhance print possibilities, while the latest version of Roland’s renowned RIP software – Ergosoft Roland Edition 3 – enhances the user-experience for Texart customers.

Miraclon announces Global Flexo Innovation Awards Miraclon announced the return of the Global Flexo Innovation Awards to honour companies that are at the forefront of the transformation of the flexo industry.

Christopher Horton, former senior vice president of SGS, will chair the independent international judging panel that will comprise a rich selection of flexo industry influencers, technical experts and CPGs. The inaugural Global Flexo Innovation awards, launched in 2018, received over 200 entries spanning across 26 countries. With high quality considered a pre-condition, the ‘one of a kind’ program looks beyond the print sample and recognizes innovations that deliver value across the print production value chain.

Entries had to demonstrate how flexographic printing, KODAK FLEXCEL NX Technology and their own innovative approach resulted in outstanding achievements in the use of creative design, production workflow improvements, greater use of the flexo print process and commitment to sustainability.

Emma Schlotthauer, Chief Marketing Officer at Miraclon, commented:

“The transformation and growth of the flexo industry is dependent on companies that grow their businesses through innovation that impacts the whole supply chain while driving an efficient, consistent and sustainable manufacturing process.

The first iteration of the Global Flexo Innovation Awards proved that there are a great number of these businesses that have motivating stories to tell. The Global Flexo Innovation Awards not only celebrates these companies, it also helps bring like-minded individuals together and creates a valuable global network in pursuit of the same goals. The next round of the Awards program will further strengthen that network.”

The rest of the judging panel, which will see experts representing the complete flexo and packaging value chain, will be announced next month.

Entries for the 2021 Global Flexo Innovation Awards will open in June 2020.

Flint Group appoints new narrow web president Flint Group announced the appointment of Emmanuel Bareaud as President Narrow Web, effective 30 March 2020.

Christopher Horton, who was also on the previous Global Flexo Awards judging panel, is excited to again be part of the judging process: “It’s great to see what companies around the globe are accomplishing with flexo to differentiate themselves from competitors and bring additional value to their customers.

While other awards typically focuses on quality print, the Global Flexo Innovation Awards allows the industry to showcase how they are using flexo technology to be more efficient, reduce waste and leverage environmental benefits, and execute work to a higher level to meet brand and financial needs. It is the perfect platform to showcase the transformation of flexo and the future of the flexo industry.”

According to Flint Group, the appointment will ensure strategic consistency as the organisation continues on its journey to fully commercialise their innovative and market leading offering to print and packaging converters worldwide.

Bareaud joins Flint with extensive adjacent industry experience having worked at AkzoNobel (and formerly ICI). He was Director EMEA for Packaging Coatings with P&L accountability for a €280m business and recently as Director NW Europe and European Key Accounts for Metal Coatings.

In his new role, Emmanuel will succeed Guillaume Clement who will leave the business by the end of April 2020 to take a position as CEO of a private equity owned business in another industry.

Antoine Fady, CEO of Flint Group, said: “I would like to thank Guillaume for his important contribution to our Company over the last seven years.

He has developed a strong strategy, a great product range manufactured in a

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 4 2020

64 world-class mother plant in Trelleborg, and a team ready to meet the challenges and win in the market place.

Additionally, Guillaume led the stepchange in Flint Group growth with International Key Accounts and crossdivisional solutions for customers. We thank him for his contribution and wish him well for the future.”

Speaking about the appointment Steve Dryden COO, Flint Group, commented: “I am delighted we have secured a successor for Guillaume of the quality and experience that Emmanuel represents. Flint Narrow Web is an incredibly strong business and I look forward to working with Emmanuel and the Narrow Web team to continue the successful development of this business.”

Toppan Thailand and SCG to Collaborate on ZETA Technology The Thai subsidiaries of Toppan Printing and SCG Chemicals are partnering to develop ZETA technology-based artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for industrial and business applications.

ZETA is an innovative Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) network protocol developed by ZiFiSense that features Ultra Narrow Band (UNB), distributed access with intelligent mesh topology and bi-directional communication.

The collaboration between Toppan Thailand and SCG Chemical’s REPCO aims to use ZETA technology to develop AI IoT solutions that enable unmanned anomaly detection and failure prediction for industrial machinery and plant facilities. The

two companies anticipate that these technologies will make it possible to prevent loss associated with factory equipment problems.

The evolution of AI and the IoT has prompted efforts to predict failure and detect anomalies on large-scale industrial machinery. Monitoring of machinery operations requires sensors for temperature, current, sound, and vibration as well as related communication functions.

However, this means higher costs for transmission of increased volumes of data and replacement of sensing equipment when performance levels drop. Other issues include installation costs associated with wired networks and the number of man-hours required for data acquisition. ZETA industrial AI IoT solutions can be applied to smart buildings and smart factories to improve efficiency and enhance product quality with lower operational costs.

In trials by the Chemicals Business of SCG, ZETA industrial AI IoT solutions were shown to provide low power consumption, advantages in terms of intelligence, and high data transmission success rates. SCG Chemicals and Toppan Thailand aim to employ these solutions to support digital transformation in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries and drive their use in buildings and factories.

“Our intention for this collaboration at the first stage is to develop an AI IoT solution for machine monitoring by utilizing each company’s expertise—REPCO’s expertise in advanced plant monitoring and

Toppan’s service experience in ZETA LPWA networks—to create new innovative solutions to meet demand within the industry,” said Dr. Suracha Udomsak, Vice President and CTO Innovation and Technology, Chemicals Business, SCG. “I strongly believe that the MOU we have signed today will be the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration between our two companies.”

“Toppan has a long-standing relationship with SCG and we are delighted to be able to extend it further with this collaboration in a new field with an outstanding company,” said Hiroto Sasaki, Managing Director of Toppan Thailand. “ZETA technology has the potential for wide-ranging applications and we are confident that working with REPCO will enable solutions that contribute to SCG’s business and a wide range of industries throughout Southeast Asia.”

REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR HANDS REGULARY

and

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Quality Printer?

Then go for GOLD The 2020 Asian Print Awards Awards Dinner Manila Philippines Oct 2020

16

th

FREE ENTRY FORM DEADLINE 5PM SEPTEMBER 3RD 2020

SINGAPORE - THAILAND - INDIA - MALAYSIA - JAPAN - HONG KONG - CHINA - KOREA - TAIWAN - VIETNAM - INDONESIA - SRI LANKA - PHILIPPINES - CAMBODIA - MYNAMAR The annual Asian Print Awards was founded to recognise outstanding achievement in the print and packaging industries across Asia.

With more than half the world’s population represented in this fast growing area, communication in the form of printed matter links Asia’s diverse cultures. It is imperative that such print achievements do not go unrecognised, especially among the population base that Asia enjoys.

The Awards are judged on a wholly quality-oriented set of criteria to ensure that fair play is enacted at all times.

The Independent Judging Panel comprises highly qualified personnel from within Asia and around the world. The independent judging panel has no knowledge of the actual entrants details. ALL ENTRIES ARE NUMBER-CODED. Entries must be commercially produced work.

The Asian Print Awards is the only regional print quality competition of its kind in Asia. Supported by leading industry-supply companies, any progressive quality print house should enter and prove that they are the best - by winning the Gold, Silver or Bronze award. Proving pride in quality awareness is what customers love to see. It’s not just empty words, you can prove it.

Categories 1-8 : Offset Printing Only

20. Digital Labels

1. Calendars – any format

21 Digital - Outdoor Billboard

2. Sheetfed Magazines

Categories 22-26 : Specialty Categories

3. Book printing – less than 4 colours

22. Multi–Piece Productions and Campaigns Any substrate or print process: Multi–piece Production must be 3 or more items such as folder, leaflets, ring binders, inserts, envelopes including their contents.

Campaigns must be 3 or more items with a consistent theme produced during the year by the same printer for the same client.

4. Book printing – 4 or more colours 5. Limited Editions & Artwork Reproductions (under 1000 print run) 6. Web Offset – Coated stock 70gsm and above 7. Web Offset –LWC (light weight coated) 65gsm or less 8. Offset Packaging products

Categories 9 - 21 : Digital Printing Only

9. Book Printing 10. Calendars 11. Personalised photo books – any format.

12. Posters 13. Showcards & Point-of-Sale material 14. Digital Magazines

23. Embellishment Any substrate – any combination - for example: embossing – diecutting – foil stamping –laminating coating.

24. Innovation / Specialty Printing The entry must exhibit any innovative and/ special application of machinery, process, substrate or finishing.

A short description must be provided for the judges, detailing reasons for entry into this category.

25. Company Self Promotion Any item printed to promote a product or company involved in the graphic arts industry. Self promotion cannot be entered into any other Category.

26. Judges Special Award (A job that catches all the Judges’ attention)

15. Gold, Silver and Special colours 16. Restaurant Menus 17. Limited Editions & Artwork reproductions (under 500 print run) 18. Digital Proofing (must supply the digital proof and the prinnted product)

Best in Digital Award

19. Digital Packaging * If your company wins an award, a representative(s) from your company MUST be present in Manila to receive the award on stage, we will not send any awards to you if you are absent!

The Awards Dinner Presentation will be Friday Oct 9th in Manila, Philippines and held alongside the leading PPP Trade show also in Manila.

Best in Offset Award Best Use of Colour Award

FREE ENTRY FORM ASIAN PRINT AWARDS 2019

Deadline for Entries Submission: 3rd September 2020, 5pm Remember to submit 2 copies of each job! Why? - Just in case one is damaged.

SECTION A (This will not be shown to judges). Please fill the form in capital letters.

Entered by (company name): ______________________________________________________________________________________ Contact Person: ________________________________________________ Email______________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: __________________________________

Country________________________________

Category entered __________________________ Title of entry (ie: " Paul's Ice Cream" ): ____________________________________________________________ Printed by (Printers name): ________________________________________________________________________________________ Client name: ________________________________________________________ Designer Pre Press House: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Brand of Printing Machine used: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Stock supplied by (Merchant’s name): ______________________________________________________________________________ Brand name of stocks Coated Uncoated: ____________________________________________________________________________ By signing here you accept the rules and conditions of the Asian Print Awards

Signature over printed name_____________________________ Name_____________________________________________________

SECTION B Production information to be shown to judges

( tape this securely to the back of your entries)

Category entered (Same as above): __________ Entry number (Administrative use only] ____________

Title of entry (ie: " Paul's Ice Cream" )__________________________________________Print method: _______________________

Number of ink colours (4-6-8 etc) ________

Any Embellishment (foil stamping etc) __________________________________

Quantity produced (Print run copies): ___________ Other technical details (finishing processes etc) ________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16th Asian Print Awards 2020 ENTRIES SUBMISSION CLOSES 3rd July 2020, 5pm

Send all entries to: APAM Pte Ltd, Level 28, Office 28-31 - Clifford Centre, 24 Raffles Place, Singapore 048621 Email: paul@printinnovationasia.com Additional entry forms can be downloaded at www.printinnovationasia.com Please note that entries are non-returnable unless a self addressed courier pack is supplied.

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