Print World Asia Magazine
Issue 10 2014
Covering the Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industries across Asia. MICA (P) 155/12/2013 - KDN PPS1529/05/2013(025527) (Formally Print Pack Publish Asia)
Find out all the winners in next months issue.
US$8.50
Asian PrintAwards 2014 th
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Contents Page
Issue 10 2014
4 Cloud service helped to optimise a print business 6 Xeikon Cheetah to rev up label print production by 60% 8 Print on demand Services will grow in demand 12 Lead the way with personalised industrial applications 14 :The Successful Integration of Digital and Offset Technologies with CGS Solutions 18 Paving the Digital Path To Achieve Offset Quality 20 Confidence in Ink on paper 24 Record-breaking production with Rapida 106 26 FIVE NEW ROLAND 700 PRESSES WILL SPEED UP PRODUCTION AT ZRP CHINA 30 World’s First HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution 32 ART AND TECHNOLOGY UNITE IN THE PRESS ROOM 34 NEW 3D PRINTERS FROM OFFER SPEEDUPS, WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES AND MORE 36 Print tge intent of the designer 38 Maximize Vpak benefits for the packaging sector 40 Alegro Perfect Binder is On a Roll 42 High quality pre-press products for flexo 44 One-Pass LED Inkjet Label Print, Varnish and Cut Workflow 46 The Future of Product Decoration The label industry listens to the brand owners 48 Impressed by versatiliy of its BOBST F&K 20SIX 50 The Industry Debates Afterlife options for Label Release Liner 52 AFTA Conference information and Registration form
57 Ubi Ave. 1, #03-06 Ubi Centre, Singapore 408936. tel+65 6733 5342 fax +65 6733 3586 Publisher Paul Callaghan paul@cpublish.com.sg Events Elizabeth Liew eliew@cpublish.com.sg Advertising sales@cpublish.com.sg Journalist Sha Jumari editorasia@cpublish.com.sg Advertising Sales Matthew Callahan matt@cpublish.com.sg Accounts/Circulation accounts@cpublish.com.sg
Who are the winners of this Year's Asian Print Awards Find out next issue
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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PrePress
Cloud service helped to optimise a print business Nissha Printing has become the first print company in Japan to utilise and incorporate SAP’s cloud service, SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud. Sha Jumari reports. The latest print company to utilise a cloud service to optimise, simplify and support their business is Nissha Printing. Since incorporating the inmemory based SAP ERP (enterprise resouce planning) on SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, Nissha Printing has reported that its ability to handle rapidly changing business environments has been strengthened, allowing it to enhance analytics capabilities and speed up decision-making. The cloud service is not specifically designed for print companies, but Nissha printing has managed to be the first SAP customer in Japan to run its ERP system on SAP’s in-memory cloud service platform.
Some benefits the company has reaped from the cloud service include: realtime insights of business processes which can help improve business performance, automation of the provisioning of compute resources, cloud elasticity, and the streamlining of daily management. It all boils down to optimisation and simplification of the Nissha Printing business. For example, SAP HANA helped Nissha Printing to significantly improve its operational efficiency through cutting batch processing times from seven hours to just two hours, a 71.4% improvement. Key reports can also be generated much quicker; one report used to take 17 minutes to run, but the same report now takes just ten seconds.
The SAP ERP on SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud is SAP’s managed cloud service that provided from the Data Centre in Japan. SAP ERP is an enterprise resource planning software, developed by SAP that integrates key business functions of an organisation. SAP ERP consists of several modules, including utilities for marketing and sales, field service, product design and development, production and inventory control, human resources, finance and accounting. SAP ERP collects and combines data from the separate modules to provide an organisation with enterprise resource planning. At Nissha Printing, overseas business accounts for over 70% of revenue. The company’s business mainstays include industrial material printing, device printing and information and communications printing. Nissha Printing’s business environment has changed rapidly in recent years, making it essential for the company to respond quickly, at the global level, to factors such as increasing competition and changes in market conditions. In light of this, it was crucial that the company adopts a business structure that is more flexible and can enable faster decision-making. To support its new business ideals, Nissha Printing incorporated SAP ERP.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
PrePress
More Performance. Built in automation plus unique press
5
technologies take the finite resource of time and multiply it for you. You get more out of every shift and enhanced relationship with your clients.
The Versant™ 2100 Press allows you to manage colour more easily and simply with automated calibration and proofing. The result is higher quality without operator involvement, a positive impact on your productivity as well as your print output.
Do More. With More. For more information: www.fxap.com.sg/product/production/versant_2100p.jsp The Versant™ 2100 Press
Xerox, Xerox and Design, as well as Fuji Xerox and Design and Versant are registered trademarks or trademarks of Xerox Corporation in Japan and/or other countries.
Xeikon Cheetah to rev up label print production by 60%
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Digital Technology
The press manufacturer announced the launch of the Xeikon Cheetah, anticipated to set new speed benchmarks for the digital label printing industry. Sha Jumari reports. Xeikon announced the official release of the Xeikon Cheetah digital colour press. According to the press manufacturer, the Xeikon Cheetah is the most important advancement for the digital label market in 15 years. The press is 60% faster than any other model in its current product lineup. The new digital press is dedicated solely to self-adhesive/pressure sensitive label production and can output high quality labels at 30 m/min, to also make it the fastest five-colour digital label press in the world. “This increase in speed represents a huge leap forward in digital press technology. This 30m/min benchmark in CMYK or CMYKW regardless of the label size makes this machine unique in the high end digital market,” said Josep Roca, Asia Pacific Sales Manager, Xeikon. “It will enable Xeikon label printers and converters to embark on a new era of productivity and efficiency, with much greater flexibility to react to their clients’ requests for shorter time-to-market.”
The Xeikon Cheetah narrows the gap between digital printing and traditional flexo and offset methods for producing labels. “In Asia, the majority of labels are produced with traditional methods, so we are convinced that the Xeikon Cheetah will help to bridge the gap for some customers,” Roca added. Xeikon currently offers six presses in its label and packaging portfolio, providing solutions from entry-level
to high capacity production. This is the broadest press portfolio of label and packaging presses available on the market today. The Xeikon Cheetah is designed for self-adhesive label production, which has a higher productivity rate for cost-effectiveness. The Xeikon is a significant breakthrough for highcapacity productions, especially in mid- to long- jobs that require digital
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Digital Technology
The Xeikon Cheetah was first introduced at Labelexpo Americas 2014, where visitors were treated to live demonstrations of the press. According to Xeikon, the digital colour press will be available commercially in 2015 worldwide, including the Asia Pacific region. The machine will be showcased at the March 2015 edition of Xeikon Café in Lier, Belgium.
printing due to VDP (variable data printing) and/or high-resolution Brand Protection features such as microdots and microtexts: “The increase in speed results in a lower total production cost. High added value industrial label with security features and VDP is just a typical application where a Cheetah would be a perfect match but there are many more,” said Roca. The Xeikon Cheetah can handle substrate widths of up to 330 mm with a true print resolution of 1.200 x 3.600 dpi. It utilises full rotary printing where the press speeds are independent of the number of colors used and/or the repeat length of the job. Full rotary printing also makes step-and-repeat and subsequent finishing operations straightforward. The Xeikon Cheetah uses dry toners that meet FDA regulations for food contact, along with the ability to print opaque white toner in one pass. Based on dry toner electro-photography, conventional substrates that do not have to be pre-treated can be used. Other features include extremely high toner light-fastness and eco-friendly printing without the use of VOC’s. The presses also offer easy integration of third-party workflow software and converting/finishing solutions. Furthermore, they incorporate professional colour management capabilities.
In addition to the standard CMYK + White, the fifth station on the Xeikon Cheetah can be used to print gamut expansion colours or security toner. The press also includes automatic inline register and density controls. The imaging width is up to 322 mm while the repeat length is variable from 0 to 55 m. Media weights range from 40 gsm to 350 gsm. All label substrates that run on the Xeikon 3000 Series today, will run on the Xeikon Cheetah. To test out the print of Xeikon presses remotely and conveniently, the company introduced the programme, www.seetheproof.com. The programme allows customers to upload files onto a secure workflow, which will then be printed on a Xeikon press. The labels will then be delivered right to the customer’s doorstep.
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Digital Technology
Print on demand Services will grow in demand Print World Asia sat down with Canon Singapore’s Michael Sak as he as he offers up his views on the future of the digital print industry in Singapore due to changing marketing communications needs. By Sha Jumari.
The future of effective marketing will rely heavily on the digital print industry in Singapore, claimed Michael Sak, vice president of Canon’s regional Business Imaging Solutions (BIS), Canon Singapore. “While traditional printing has fundamentally been labour intensive, digital printing has unlocked numerous possibilities, such as the ability to achieve shorter runs and to print small quantities cost-effectively. This is especially relevant in the context of Singapore, where many Print Service Providers (PSPs) do not operate in a large print factory environment, but rather cater to smaller, specific industries,” said Sak. A recent Smithers Pira study revealed that digital print is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4%, from $131.5 billion in 2013 to $187.7 billion in 2018. This highlights the massive potential for growth in the digital print industry in the world, Asia Pacific, and especially Singapore. Sak observed that businesses in general are gradually moving away from a shotgun-style of marketing, in which generic mailers are sent out to a large audience. This untargeted method often ends up with more misses than hits.
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Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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Management/General
“It is truly something special to pick up a brochure that is addressed to your name, with content tailored to your individual interests. In the light of these possibilities, I firmly believe that there is great room in APAC on the whole for digital printing to grow, and for Singapore to take the lead in this industry,” Sak explained. The digital print industry in Germany is one that has already begun to effectively adopt personalised marketing. Businesses in the European country are harnessing the power of digital printing to execute targeted marketing in the form of personalised catalogs and brochures for their customer bases. Sak added: “This means that each individual will receive a unique catalog
with content catered to their unique profile, such as their needs, wants, and behavioral profiles. This has opened up incredible opportunities for businesses to connect with their customers.” Sak also commented on the state of print-on-demand (POD) services available in Asia Pacific: “As the name suggests, POD allows PSPs to print as and when needed, or only when orders are received. This differs from the traditional model where excessive quantities of printed products, such as books, are often printed and stored, causing a needless waste of resources when not all units are sold.”
“The benefit of being able to print small quantities without breaking the bank is an attractive opportunity. POD does not entail large inventories of book and print material, thereby reducing storage, inventory and handling costs. In light of these promising benefits, the outlook for POD in the APAC region is looking optimistic,” said Sak. Sak stressed upon the importance of going beyond just offering affordable printing solutions to customers: “While it can be easy to offer a service at a lower price, what is really paramount is the ability to add value to our customer’s business, and our customer’s customers.”
Canon imagePRESS C7011VP
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Digital Technology
Lead the way with personalised industrial applications Tismo Products BV, based in The Netherlands, has rapidly been setting new trends when it comes to industrial print personalisation, thanks to their investment in an Acuity Advance Select wide format printer with Uvijet KV inks, and the creative forward-thinking of Hendre Vos and co-owner Jeroen Maessen. An experienced entrepreneur and passionate marketeer at heart, Hendré is constantly looking at new opportunities that would allow the business to expand. He was, for example, also the person who developed the patent for digital imaging transferable technology to transfer images on to 3D objects in 2003. “Demand for personalised consumer products has been growing rapidly, which has created a big gap in the market for a number of industrial applications,” comments Hendré Vos, managing director. “Furthermore, we found customers who were looking for a supplier that doesn’t only print and form personalised products, but also offer a platform to sell it. We decided to start off our new venture by responding to the demand for personalised, digitally printed thermoformed products in the form of car dashboard
covers. This was when Super Click Covers was born.” Tismo Products BV has built a strong working relationship with Fujifilm over many years through its screen printing arm, Mazon Screen. So, after Hendré and Jeroen finalised their business plan to launch Super Click Covers, they approached Fujifilm to see if the company was able to help them create a solution that could deliver exactly what they required. Hendré continues: “Fujifilm was already working on the development of Uvijet KV, a thermoforming ink specifically designed for use with its Acuity Advance Select range of flatbed printers. It was therefore the ideal timing and opportunity for us to work with them to perfect the ultimate thermoforming system.” Fujifilm’s Uvijet KV ink has been de-
signed specifically for use with its renowned Acuity Advance Select midrange flatbed printers. Unlike other UV inks, these inks do not crack or flake during the thermoforming process, and yet maintain the high quality, vivid colours and excellent performance expected from a Fujifilm ink, without any compromise to the print speed. Tismo Products BV bought and installed an Acuity Advance Select from Fujifilm in March 2014, and continued rigorous testing of the Uvijet KV ink over the following two months. During this time, Fujifilm’s engineers were constantly on hand to provide the necessary support and fine-tune the thermoforming system.
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Digital Technology
ny is producing a range of car model dashboards five days per week for customers across Europe. Orders are placed through its configured online portal, which allows users the opportunity to easily design and personalise their order. Adds Hendré: “We are delighted with the market response – not just from end users, but also from a number of designers and smaller printers across Europe who have opted to outsource digital thermoforming projects to us.” Ever the entrepreneur, Hendré has since developed a number of other applications that open up new revenue streams. Personalised cycle helmets have been proving just as popular, while wheelie bins – thermoformed and printed to fit in with the rest of the environment – will be transforming the look of rubbish and recycling areas across The Netherlands soon.
Hendré is delighted with the endresult and what they can now achieve with the thermoforming offering from Fujifilm. “I am absolutely amazed by the ink’s stretch capabilities. It is just incredible to have a substrate digitally printed while it‘s flat, then warmed and vacuum formed with not one single crack in the ink. With elongation properties well in excess of 300% when heated and returning to normal when cooled, it’s pure rocket science! “What’s more, the Uvijet KV white ink produces a pure white opacity, which is fantastic when it comes to piezoelectric inkjet technology. There is virtually no difference compared to using screen inks.” Super Click Covers took its first orders
for personalised Mini car dashboards in May 2014. The popularity for these has grown so rapidly that the compa-
Hendré concludes: “With Fujifilm’s Acuity Advance Select printer, combined with its Uvijet KV inks, the possibilities of what we can deliver with this unique system are endless. I firmly believe that we couldn’t take the first step to lead the way with personalised thermoformed product without Fujifilm’s expertise. For us, Fujifilm is more than a supplier; we count them as partners.”
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PrePress
The Successful Integration of Digital and Offset Technologies with CGS Solutions The Business Industry: Commercial and Security Printing, Sheetfed Offset Lithographic & Digital Xerographic Printing Business Name: McKellar Renown Press (McKR) Headquarters: Melbourne, Australia Website: http://www.mckr.com.au/ Machines: Fuji Xerox c800 and c700 press, alongside an Epson Stylus Pro 9900 and Fuji Xerox Colour Managed Workflow Solution.
The Challenge - Successfully integrate digital print systems into their business that could dovetail into existing colour standards, workflow and client expectations.
The Solution CGS ORIS Colour Management Solution consisting of: - CGS ORIS Pressmatcher - CGS ORIS Colourtuner
- Improve colour management and client expectation management processes to retain and grow key accounts and keep processes aligned with best practice standards.
The Business - McKR achieved Fogra Validation Print Creation certification for its digital printing and ISO/PSO for offset. - McKR won two gold medals for offset and digital printing at the Australian National Print Awards, plus the two out of three of the top national awards, the Heidelberg Award for Excellence in Offset Printing & the Fuji Xerox Effectiveness Award for Digital Printing. - The successful transition of many existing and new accounts across to the new digital solution relied on McKR’s strong colour proposition that ORIS and Fogra certification provided. - Increased client satisfaction with proofs and approval speeds on key accounts, to positively affect turnaround and cashflow. - Pressmatcher ensured McKR is able to provide best digital colour practices to match its established offset workflow and value proposition. - ORIS Colourtuner streamlined McKR’s proofer calibrations to guarantee all proofs are colour correct, eliminating press downtime and any inefficiency caused by inaccurate proofs. Operating out of an old movie theatre in Melbourne, Australia, is prominent printery McKellar Renown Press (McKR). Established in 1946, McKR’s business is family-owned by the Norgates, and now proudly spans three generations. Five family members and a team of 40 staff currently operate the business. McKR provides quality-differentiated sheetfed offset, digital and security printing. Like many offset printeries, there has been pressure for McKR from the general print market and its clients to include digital print in their service repertoire. The company was insistent to not simply dive into digital print. The company directors were resolute to not jeopardise McKR’s brand integrity, so time and effort was invested to test out dif-
ferent solutions to come out with the best digital print solution that aligns
with the quality of their offset print services.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
PrePress After 9 intensive months of research, McKR finally came to the decision to install CGS ORIS colour management systems to power up its digital presses: “CGS ORIS maintains our ‘golden triangle’ of colour consistency between inkjet proofing, offset and digital and has helped us retain our competitive differentiation of best practice colour management,” said Norgate. McKR first installed the CGS ORIS Pressmatcher, along with the xrite i1i0 spectrophotometer, that manages colour on the company’s digital machines – the Fuji Xerox c800 and c700. The Pressmatcher keeps the presses aligned with the colour from the spectroproofer and the offset presses. Another CGS solution McKR utilised is the CGS ORIS Colourtuner, which drives the Epson spectroproofer, proofer calibrations, proof validation to ISO standards and RIP queues for security and
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Kerrie Norgate Account Executive uses the gamut viewer in ORIS Press Matcher commercial offset work. On the offset side, McKR houses the Heidelberg CD102 and Heidelberg Sm74 presses. “In our transition to digital, it was crucial to be able to address specific quality requirements across inkjet, xerographic and lithographic that are
specific to stamp and philatelic products,” said Norgate. “We began investigation into digital solutions with the release of Fogra standard digital devices and when equipment manufacturers realised upon the capability for these devices to be reliably colourmanaged.”
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PrePress Adam Norgate & Chris Norgate (co-General Managers) with Xerox c800 press
At the same time, McKR was also investigating ways they could improve colour management and client expectation management processes in order to retain and grow key accounts. Keeping processes aligned with best practice standards was a priority. The Hunt for Colour Perfection If you’ve ever used stamps, chances are one of them came from McKR. McKR specialises in producing postage stamps, churning out millions annually for the domestic and export markets. Australia Post and other Postal Authorities requires that there be accurate consistent colour and integrity to their stamp products in order to maintain a healthy collectors market – which is why colour perfection takes precedence in McKR.
“It was paramount that the solution McKR chose could dovetail into our existing colour standards, workflow and client expectations,” said Chris
Norgate, general manager, McKellar Renown Press. Norgate is one of the latest generations to be involved in the established print business.
“Visual variations in colour need to be rarities to facilitate the hobby and market of stamp collecting,” said Norgate. “Our colour management solution recognises colour change mathematically as ‘delta error’ but also recognises that our eyes are more sensitive to variations in some colours than others and use that understanding alongside mathematical measurements to best regulate colour for the stamp collectors market.”
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05.06.13 12:54
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
PrePress “We evaluated output from EFI and GMG, but with demonstrations by Fuji Xerox found that the CGS solution best integrated with our workflow and requirements,” said Norgate. Fuji Xerox’s Professional Services team helped to integrate the solutions into the print system. “Being Fogra-certified, they recognised our exacting requirements and our need for competitive differentiation in the world of colour management and provided us with the necessary support to take the full advantage of ORIS’ capabilities. It proved to be the best decision, because McKR went on to win two gold medals for both offset and digital printing at the prestigious Australian National Print Awards 2013 after integrating the CGS ORIS colour management solution. The printery also won two out of three of the top national awards, namely the Heidelberg Award for Excellence in Offset Printing & the Fuji Xerox Effectiveness Award for Digital Printing. “We’re proud to have McKR as a customer. Together with Fuji Xerox Australia as our partner, we are all more than excited about all the awards McKR has been able to win, as testament to our ability to deliver what we promise,” said Christopher Thommessen, sales director for the Asia Pacific region, CGS ORIS. “Time and time again, CGS superior colour management system tools de-
livers to guarantee consistent quality across different output devices, even on different substrates. And McKR is the best proof of that,” added Thommessen. The Key to Successful Digital Transition The implementation of the ORIS colour management solutions enabled McKR to achieve Fogra Validation Print Creation certification for its c800 digital press. “This was our second colour management certification, along with our existing ISO 12647-2 certification for offset. The successful transition of many existing and new accounts across to the new digital solution relied on McKR’s strong colour proposition that ORIS and Fogra certification provided,” said Norgate. The CGS Oris Pressmatcher was instrumental in McKR’s success into digital. This solution kept the presses aligned with the colour from the spectroproofer and the offset presses, ensuring that the company was able to provide the best digital colour practices that can match its established offset workflow and value proposition. On the other hand, the CGS ORIS Colourtuner was instrumental in streamlining McKR’s proofer calibrations and together with the spectroproofer validation procedure, guarantees accurate colours in proofs.
“The Colourtuner guarantees that 100% of the proofs we provide to our clients are colour correct, eliminating press downtime and any inefficiencies caused by inaccurate proofs. This in turn was able to increase client satisfaction and approval speeds on key accounts to positively affect turnaround and cashflow,” added Norgate. The Vivid Future Ahead McKR’s most celebrated characteristic is its intense focus on achieving quality and colour accuracy at all times. Such a trait will only continue to flourish the company’s digital print division as it inevitably grows over time. “As our press fleet grows and we embrace new and emerging printing technologies, We see CGS as a critical part of our colour management strategy moving forward, to give us a competitive edge versus other providers utilising the same or similar technology,” said Norgate. “Where the CGS solutions really excel is in their ability to help reliably manage client expectations. If a job fulfills or exceeds a client’s expectations, they are more likely to be happy with the service you provide. And a happy client is one the most valuable assets of any business,” Norgate concluded.
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Digital Technology
Paving the Digital Path To Achieve Offset Quality The new Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C1070/1060 incorporates offset functions to produce a print quality that is closer than ever to offset-type calibre. By Sha Jumari. Konica Minolta introduces its latest series of bizhub PRESS C1070/1060. The 70ppm bizhub PRESS C1070 and 60ppm bizhub PRESS C1060 form the next generation of Konica Minolta presses designed to be powerful and flexible colour digital print systems. “We’d like to think of the new machines as bulletproof. It’s very different from the existing machines from the competitors,” said Jonathan Yeo, general manager, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia Pte Ltd. The most striking feature of the digital presses is its integration of offset functions to greatly increase print reliability. That, coupled with Konica Minolta’s proprietary technologies, the bizhub PRESS C1070/1060 ensures offset-type calibre at every pass. A Leg Up the Offset Quality Ladder Personalisation and job automation are just some forces that are driving the global shift to digital printing. Near offset print quality is an attribute most digital print providers strive for. To achieve that coveted near offset print quality, Konica Minolta introduces its
new proprietary Simitri HDE toner and the fourth generation Screen-Enhancing Active Digital (S.E.A.D IV) image processing system. “We have to make it as close to offset as possible. When we print 1,000 brochures, the first and the thousandth brochure needs to be exactly the same. Take into example a company’s logo, which tends to be particular with colour. If it’s even a tiny bit off, the job gets rejected. One of the strengths with the technology is optimal colour consistency and quality for every page,” said Jonathan. The Simitri HDE toner technology produces better halftones and skin tone quality while the SEAD IV image processing technology delivers superior quality and enhanced electrophotographic in both colour and black & white. The Simitri HDE toner is also specifically developed for energy-saving performance and uses recycled PC and PET, in line with Konica Minolta’s commitment to promote sustainable print practices.
Jonathan Yeo
The Game Changers One of the most compelling features of the series is the implementation of air suctions and automatic skewed correction. The bizhub PRESS C1070/1060 are the first of its kind to be featuring such offset functions in digital. The two functions work together to provide the most precise registration, a necessity for production machines.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Digital Technology
“To a printer, this is a huge development for digital machines to adopt an offset machine type of functions and mechanics. Apart from colour consistency and quality, now there is the added offset reliability of air suction and skewed correction. This is unprecedented,” added Jonathan. The machines are also equipped with skewed correction capabilities. Predecessors of the series utilise a friction feed system to hold the substrates, with no auto correction feature. The bizhub PRESS C1070/1060 are equipped with sensors to achieve optimal auto correction, such that the machine will be able to correct itself even with a 1mm slant. “The range and type of substrates and media that can be used is increased. With that much more different substrates, it opens up opportunities for many applications, such as for packaging, banners, and specialty collaterals such as photobooks,” added Jonathan. The substrates that get fed into the press are driven by air suction feeding technology to ensure jam-free precision. With the air suction, the presses have up to 7,500 sheets paper input capacity, with up to five paper input trays
for enhanced overall productivity. “Our grand goal is to have a bigger chunk of the offset print volume, which takes up a huge 90%,” Jonathan continued. “Today, globally, only 5 to 10% of the volume has moved to digital. We’re confident that we can double that percentage, and accelerate the switch from offset to digital. The key to that? The new bizhub PRESS C1070/1060.” Digital Print in SEA The new bizhub PRESS C1070/1060 series targets several markets, first of which are small and medium-sized print shops that typically hold less than 20 employees. Konica Minolta counts the market as especially booming in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, which is still a largely paperdriven economy. “The short-run print market is driving the demand for the digital presses. For countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand, this is a very easy business to start up with a proven market. The only exception is perhaps Singapore,” said Jonathan. In Singapore, the market serves the corporate world, which handles high
volumes of print. This market is especially considerable in Singapore due to the high concentration of digitally advanced organisations such as banks, financial corporations and educational institutions. “We take the example of an airline company that requires a lot of training materials for its cabin crew. It’s inconvenient to go to a print service provider, because besides the waiting period to receive the materials, the information becomes obsolete after three months. This is on-demand printing,” explained Jonathan. He added that its first shipment was close to 20 units, and based on initial customer reactions, he is positive that this trend will continue: “Our customers are impressed thus far. They can see the quality. The customers who purchase this machine to replace the older models, they see definitely notice the difference immediately.”
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Sheetfed Offset
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Sheetfed Offset 21
M-600: World’s best selling 16-page commercial web press
Goss print quality, reliability and high-speed performance features combine with sheetfed quality and run lengths to make the 16-page M-600 press a leader in application versatility.
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Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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Sheetfed Offset
KBA Sheetfed Offset
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Sheetfed Offset 23
KBA Rapida 106 Triple world champion in medium format
KBA.R.642.d
Capable of printing fifteen 500-sheet jobs per hour, the Rapida 106 has been the world makeready champion since Drupa 2008. Now it has broken the records for speed and length as well. Its output of 20,000sph in straight printing or 18,000sph in perfecting mode, and configurations of up to 19 printing and finishing units, are virtually unrivalled. While simultaneous processes that include automatic changes of coating formes and anilox rollers have trimmed costly down times. So drop by and test the medium-format world champion for yourself. KBA Printing Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., +86 10 8447 5909, w.zehner@kbachina.com KBA Koenig & Bauer AG (Asia Pacific) Sdn. Bhd., +60 3 788 588-60, KBA@KBAasiapacific.com KBA Asia Pacific (Singapore Branch), +65 6562 8582, ssegger@KBAasiapacific.com KBA (HK) Co. Ltd., +852 2742 8368, jkwan@kba.com.hk Intergraphics (Thailand) Co. Ltd., +66 2 259 3071, jtsuwan@igraph.co.th www.kba.com
Koenig & Bauer AG
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Digital Technology
Record-breaking production with Rapida 106 18,964sph net equals 127,625 sheets in less than 7 hours KBA North America congratulated Winston Packaging, a fourth-generation family-owned printed paperboard packaging company located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for its record-setting performance. This world record breaking attempt took place on 11 August on the company’s six-color Rapida 106. The press ran 127,625 sheets of 74 x 106cm (29.5 x 41.5in) paperboard in less than seven hours with an average speed of 18,964sph. The average output of the Rapida 106 which can run at speeds of up to 20,000sph was thus higher than the maximum output of any other press in this format class. James Gordon, president and CEO of Winston Packaging: “We are proud to be operating this high-performance Rapida press at our facility. This amazing record reinforces our purchase decision to go with a KBA and clearly shows that we have the most productive medium-format press on the global market.” Several factors helped to determine the final result of this new world job
production record at Winston Packaging starting with a truckload of paperboard that ran well on the press and the firm’s best press crew working that day. James Gordon: “We’ve run this same product many times previously but never achieved much higher than 17,500sph average run speed for an entire eight to ten-hour shift. Our talented press operators made it happen using all of the tools available to them on the press.” Not only did Winston produce its record-breaking world job production record on its Rapida 106 in August 2014, but the company was also recognized by the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) for achieving a major milestone for safety as it reached 500,000 hours without an incident (lost time accident).
the high level of automation that they didn’t have before. Our customers are quite impressed with the Rapida as well.” Gordon and his entire family of employees at Winston Packaging could
The record-breaking Rapida came online in January 2013 and was Winston Packaging’s first KBA press. Gordon: “This press combines the best of both worlds: very fast set-ups and best-in-class run speeds. After receiving sufficient training on the press, our press operators have been able to use
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Digital Technology not be more proud of their world record. “Being a third-generation owner of a 103-year-old family business, I can say with confidence that this is the first world record we have ever achieved, at least during my 36 years of service,� says Gordon. Winston Packaging was founded in 1911 in downtown Winston-Salem as a
Gordon succeeded his father as company president in 1953. His experience as an industrial engineer helped bring new technologies to the company. He added offset printing presses and improved the workflow processes and management techniques. Over the years, Winston Printing shifted its operation from commercial printing to printed-paperboard packaging,
With speeds of up to 20,000sph the KBA Rapida 106 world makeready champion is the fastest medium-format press on the global market also during actual production. The press confirmed its impressive reputation at Winston Packaging in North Carolina with a net output of nearly 19,000sph over almost seven hours commercial printing shop by Alexander G. Gordon. He was a journeyman bookbinder and entrepreneur who promoted the use of color in the printing industry. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. became one of the company's largest customers after its inception and remained so for 82 years. John R.
and, since 1999, has done business as Winston Packaging. The company has 46 regular employees and designs and makes paperboard packages for consumer products for a wide range of industries in the USA and Canada.
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Sheetfed Offset
FIVE NEW ROLAND 700 PRESSES WILL SPEED UP PRODUCTION AT ZRP CHINA As part of its new initiative to bring its packaging products closer and faster to its growing number of customers, ZRP Printing has strengthened its equipment capacity in its four facilities across the country by acquiring five brand-new ROLAND 700 presses. The first of these, the Ultima ninecolor ROLAND 700 HiPrint, got off to a flying start in Kun Shan at a time when ZRP Printing was pushing for greater printing capacity to serve the needs of prestigious domestic and multinational firms in the wine, electronics, food, pharmaceuticals and personal care sectors. The other four ROLAND 700 presses will be installed to a strict program later this year. "The ROLAND 700 has been the best-selling model in the packaging printing industry,'' said Mr. Huang Huanran, Managing Director of ZRP Printing Group Limited."It is highly automated and easy to manage in an
integrated way, which guarantees premium print quality, maximum productivity and flexibility. This is a wellthought out investment. We're sure this will further the growth of our company.” According to Mr. Huang, ZRP Printing's long relationship with Manroland Sheetfed and the reliable performance of their ROLAND presses – with dozens of ROLAND 700's and ROLAND 900's having been supplied over the years (including IntegrationPilot plus 2.0, the premium networking management tool) carried a lot of weight in their decision-making.
Adding to the attractiveness of ROLAND 700 is the Automatic pallet transport system (AUPASYS) that comes with the new machines. AUPASYS includes feeder plus fully auto delivery and pile tuner. This ensures not only smooth printing throughout the entire run, but also saves time and operating costs. In addition, it can improve the paper pallet quality for fast and trouble-free paper in-feed. The integral concepts covering material flow in production areas as well as the building design and future investment planning in the evaluation ensure increased net production output with less waste. Hence, AUPASYS further guarantees high productivity and stability for ZRP. With the help of the Ultima ROLAND 700 HiPrint, ZRP Printing can provide tailor-made products – with both UV and conventional applications – to their customers in one pass (inline completion), resulting in ever shorter lead time and increased production capacity. “The groundbreaking innovative technologies, for example, the different printing applications including security prints, special coating applications, OP varnishing printing, applied on the Ultima ROLAND 700 HiPrint enable us to create more added value for our customers and at the same time strengthen our competitiveness,’’ said Mr. Huang. “All the QuickChange functions, Color Pilot D+F, Ok-Balance, LCS
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Sheetfed Offset and Plinths in the ROLAND 700 can increase our production capacity and productivity. The UV dryers plus the inking blowing device for the UV application can not only broaden our product range and create more business opportunities for us, but also bring our workshop a healthier environment.” Mr. Kurt Herrmann, Managing Director of Manroland Greater China, said: “The huge investment of millions of Euros manifests our customer’s full confidence in us as the world’s leading manufacturer of packaging printing machines. This is also a remarkable recognition from the Chinese printing industry for our strong and long-term commitment to the Chinese printers.’’ About ZRP Printing Group Limited Established in 1978, ZRP is one of the top 100 printers in China. Relying on three manufacturing sites in Zhongshan, Tianjin and Kunshan, ZRP have gained excellent reputation in domestic market and are rapidly growing in overseas market. ZRP has been focusing on the printing and packaging business for 6 industries: Per¬sonal Home Care, Consumer Electronics & Toys, Cosmetics, Food & Pharmaceuticals, Spirits, and Paper Products.
Aupasys
Automatic Pallet System Aupasys is Manroland’s automatic pallet system, based on state of the art technology and able to be upgraded to any level of automation required. It is designed to ease the operator’s workload and increase net production output with less waste and is an integral component of the Manroland printing press. Can be configured for system pallets or wooden transport pallets Extremely low height of 100mm allows for floor assembly Perfect pile preparation – not only turns the pile, but keeps it positioned central and straight Minimum cycle time, operation from one side, space-saving installation without a pit Job saver that stores job-related data regarding substrates, pallet format, turning programme, ventilation and jogging Allows module combinations of chain conveyors, roller conveyors, corner stations empty pallet storage, slat conveyors and shuttles
IntegrationPilot plus
Fully informed IntegrationPilot plus is a new development that provides comprehensive production data collection for the pressroom. IntegrationPilot plus supplements complete job preparation with automatic and detailed production data collection that can be used for analysis purposes. Which job was printed at what time? Why was there downtime? Which production time has to be added to final costing? IntegrationPilot plus delivers the data for all production times, auxiliary times, classified downtimes, plus good sheets and waste sheets to a Management Information System – in JDF/JMF format, as well as CSV data format for Excel evaluation. This automatic production data collection function, combined with manual inputs of press downtime, provides optimal transparency and the potential to increase productivity. A prerequisite for IntegrationPilot plus is PressManager perfect. Benefits of IntegrationPilot plus Precise and complete process time collection Precise and complete material collection Provision of data to external systems Output of the collected production data as a detailed day sheet
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THE QUALITY BENCHMARK JUST GOT FASTER The Xeikon digital presses for labels and packaging excel in productivity and high quality printing. With its top speed of 30 m/min (98 ft/min), the Xeikon Cheetah is the fastest top quality five color digital label press. Furthermore, it offers all the other benefits that make Xeikon label presses unique. With the Xeikon Cheetah, the quality benchmark has just become significantly faster! Top quality, true 1200 x 3600 dpi Dry toner electrophotography 98 ft/min (30 m/min) 5 colors Full rotary printing
www.xeikon.com
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Packaging Technology
World’s First HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution
HP announced that Obaly Morava, a.s. installed the world’s first HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution to digitally pre-print high-quality corrugated liners and meet demand for faster time to market. Obaly Morava, a privately-owned corrugated board producer based in the Czech Republic, provides a broad range of corrugated products to the Czech Republic and surrounding markets, including up to nine-layer corrugated board and boxes. The forward-looking company installed the press in June, becoming the first user of the new solution, which is based on the HP T400 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press. “Market demands and the technology available are changing dramatically, and we are taking a fresh look at how to best meet our customers’ needs, such as individualisation and differentiation from the competition,” said Martin Rehorik, president, Obaly Morava. “I had a vision of what digital preprint could potentially do for our business and reached out to HP to discuss the possibilities of its highspeed production inkjet technology for printing corrugated liners. HP helped turn that vision into a reality.”
With the HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution, Obaly Morava digitally produces pre-printed corrugated top liners in back-to-back runs on the same substrate rolls for maximum efficiency. It then transfers the pre-printed rolls to its corrugator to produce corrugated board for packaging applications. Capitalising on new digital capabilities Adding value for new and existing customers, the HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution enables Obaly Morava to transition high-value jobs from analogue litho-lamination and flexographic processes to digital. This allows the company to take advantage of faster time to market, short and medium runs, versioning and reduced environmental footprint. Obaly Morava is optimising its finishing processes with a Harris & Bruno International near-line coater, ideal for aqueous priming and overcoating
printed substrates. The company plans to eventually move this coater inline for priming and add a second coater for inline overcoating. “By adopting the HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution, Obaly Morava is helping usher in a digital transformation in the corrugated market,” said Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions Division, HP. “This innovative solution brings game-changing productivity, greater versatility, valuechain optimisation and more efficient production workflow to corrugators and represents the first of a series of production inkjet innovations from HP.” Printing on uncoated and coated corrugated substrates, premium offset media, and recycled and thin liners with speeds of up to 183 metres (600 feet) per minute, the HP High-speed Inkjet Corrugated Packaging Solution delivers faster turnaround times. The solution also includes new HP Priming Agent technology with four-colour HP A50 aqueous pigmented CMYK inks that provide exceptional print quality.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Game changer The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press will take your packaging business to the next level with offset-quality digital printing. Engineered for folding carton packaging printing, the HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press is the next big thing in packaging. Versatile, efficient and cost-effective, it will bring offset-matching quality to your operation, while introducing new opportunities enabled by digital. Get ready to expand your business with HP Indigo 30000. Find out more at hp.com/go/hpindigo30000 or contact Edcent Chan; Hp: +65 9862 6092 or Email: edcent.chan@hp.com
Š 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Packaging Technology
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Sheetfed Offset
ART AND TECHNOLOGY UNITE IN THE PRESS ROOM Ruksaldruck has become a household name in Berlin, Germany, for the fine arts, even the piece of art “Turmtext” by Wolfgang Nieblich displayed at reception is eye-catching. The printing firm’s 34th art calendar will be finished soon. This is in addition to further numerous art catalogues printed at Ruksaldruck over the last 75 years. Art has also recently become a feature of the company’s press room with the arrival of a new medium-format Rapida 106 whose KBArt printing units and side frames were decorated in the company’s colours. At the end of 2012 the management questioned the future of the firm’s printing activities. The choice was between updating an older sheetfed press, purchasing a used machine and investing in a new one. Ruksaldruck decided on a brand new press. KBA came out on top with regard to the total investment amount by offering the best price/performance ratio. The press operators were also informed about the offer in a staff meeting and took part in the investment de-
cision as it also has an impact on their daily work. Highly flexible for creative ideas The new KBA Rapida 106 with four inking units and coater is equipped with a board-handling package, automatic plate changing, CleanTronic systems, VariDry IR/TA dryers, QualiTronic ColorControl inline colour control and it is linked to pre-press, production management and MIS via LogoTronic Professional. As almost half of the company’s jobs are produced in four colours or less, more than four inking units were not necessary. One of the firm’s specialities is duplex or triplex printing. A further
six-colour press can also be found in the press room. The company was looking for the maximum level of substrate flexibility possible including various types of board, as display manufacturers, agencies and publishing houses also belong to its customer base. Furthermore, unusual ad campaigns often demand printed products on board. The Rapida 106 showcased its potential in the very first three-shift weeks: The makeready times were cut substantially. Anilox roller changes are easy thanks to the Anilox-Loader in the coater and a press operator can change the anilox rollers in about three minutes with little physical exer
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Sheetfed Offset 33 to cutting out parts of a sheet in order to create the optimum image extension on the next sheet. The new Rapida has reduced waste levels and washing agent consumption significantly which fits well to Ruksaldruck’s ecological philosophy. All waste has been strictly separated since 2005 and as much as possible is recycled. The firm does not simply separate waste paper according to type or recycle used printing plates, old pallets are used to create raised vegetable beds in Prinzessinnengärten (Princess Gardens), an organic farming area for the community in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Germany. Scrap rubber blankets are used as seats for garden chairs and in the future use will be found for old wash cloths.
Art has also recently become a feature of the company’s press room with the arrival of a new medium-format Rapida 106 whose KBArt printing units and side frames were decorated in the company’s colours. At the end of 2012 the management questioned the future of the firm’s printing activities. The choice was between updating an older sheetfed press, purchasing a used machine and investing in a new one. Ruksaldruck decided on a brand new press. KBA came out on top with regard to the total investment amount by offering the best price/performance ratio. The press operators were also informed about the offer in a staff meeting and took part in the investment decision as it also has an impact on their daily work. Highly flexible for creative ideas The new KBA Rapida 106 with four inking units and coater is equipped with a board-handling package, automatic plate changing, CleanTronic systems, VariDry IR/TA dryers, QualiTronic ColorControl inline colour control and it is linked to pre-press, production management and MIS via LogoTronic Professional. As almost half of the company’s jobs are produced in four colours or less, more than four inking units were not necessary. One of the firm’s specialities is duplex or triplex printing. A further six-colour press can also be found in the press room. The company was
looking for the maximum level of substrate flexibility possible including various types of board, as display manufacturers, agencies and publishing houses also belong to its customer base. Furthermore, unusual ad campaigns often demand printed products on board. The Rapida 106 showcased its potential in the very first three-shift weeks: The makeready times were cut substantially. Anilox roller changes are easy thanks to the Anilox-Loader in the coater and a press operator can change the anilox rollers in about three minutes with little physical exertion. In the past two people had a hard job of changing the rollers which took approx. 15 minutes. Nearly 90 per cent of the jobs at Ruksaldruck are coated. These consist of solids, products with areas that are left blind, e.g. for the back covers of books, or spot coatings in art catalogues. The substrate’s haptic qualities should often remain unchanged whereas the images, depending on the desired effect wet-on-wet or wet on dry, are finished with coating. Drip-off coatings are also possible. Recycling where possible Inline colour control with QualiTronic ColorControl is one of the Rapida 106’s key features according to Ruksaldruck managing director Werner Schmidt and his team. Even the smallest colour deviation can ruin an art catalogue. The company’s printers are still used
Strictly ecological Many further projects are conceived with an eye on protecting the environment, for example the firm feeds power into the grid via a photovoltaic system. It amounts to approx. seven per cent of its own energy consumption. Since 1 January the company has printed using 100 per cent green energy. It costs slightly more, but still results in savings as long-term respective quotas are obtained via an electricity exchange. A current compensation system ensures that energy is used up fully. This also helps to save costs. Ruksal aims to be the first printing firm in Berlin to deliver its products emission-free with an electric vehicle from October 2014. The starting point was a student project “courier services on an industrial estate” which focused on networking the companies based in Großbeerenstraße, an industrial area. 50 companies located here work together to liven up and strengthen their estate which offers more than 6,000 jobs. A courier service company bought an electric vehicle and has pooled it as part of this network. Ruksaldruck has installed a plug socket in its courtyard to charge the car that can drive up to 400km a day (248miles). Two further students from the School of Economics and Law in Berlin are coordinating the upcoming EMAS certification of the printing firm.
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Wide Format / Proofing Technology
NEW 3D PRINTERS FROM OFFER SPEEDUPS, WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES AND MORE Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSYS), a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, announced the launch of two PolyJetbased 3D printers - the versatile Objet30 Prime Desktop 3D Printer and the quality-enhancing Objet Eden260VS. The Objet30 Prime Desktop 3D Printer is the most advanced PolyJet desktop 3D printer and offers an unparalleled combination of prototyping versatility and suitability for workgroups within the professional office environment. Building on the established Objet30 platform, the Objet30 Prime features include 12 material options, among them the capability to 3D print rubberlike material (in TangoGray or TangoBlack) and bio-compatible materials such as MED610. This material is ideal for applications requiring prolonged skin contact of more than 30 days and short-term mucosal-membrane contact of up to 24 hours. This includes surgical planning and tooling devices. The Objet30 Prime also offers the capability to prototype soft-touch parts and achieves a closer look and feel to similar end-use soft materials, enabling the simulation of parts like gaskets, plugs and seals. The build size is 11.57 in. x 7.55 in. x 5.85 in. (294mm x 192mm x 148.6mm). Besides the two standard build modes, the Objet30 Prime exclusively introduces a third print option - draft mode, which enables 36-micron layer 3D printing for faster build speeds. This offers PolyJet desktop users the capability to 3D print the most time- and material-efficient models and parts. The Objet30 Prime also expands the number of materials available for highquality mode to include all rigid materials.
Objet Eden260VS 3D Printer The new Objet Eden260VS adds the first soluble support removal process for PolyJet technology. Soluble support technology allows users to create delicate, more finelydetailed models with small cavities. Additional benefits include automated support removal, which is expected to enable businesses to enjoy lower costs per part during removal of rigid materials. The new SUP707 soluble support capability works in conjunction with Stratasys' VeroGray*, VeroBlue*, VeroClear* and VeroWhitePlus** materials. For complete flexibility when the need arises, water jet-removable support can be used with these as well as other materials such as elastomers. These attributes ensure that the Objet Eden260VS meets the application needs of a wide range of users such as consumer-good designers, research
centers and service bureaus, requiring cost-effective prototyping and assembled parts with fine features. The new Objet Eden260VS permits users entry to mid-sized, high-quality precision prototyping by offering ultrafine 16-micron layers for exceptional detail, complex geometries and very thin walls. The Eden260VS is also compatible with a range of 14 materials, including specialized options for medical applications. The build size is 10 in. x 9.9 in. x 7.9 in. (255mm x 252mm x 200mm). For more information about the Objet30 Prime or Objet Eden260VS 3D Printers, contact a reseller or visit Stratasys' website. Images, video and a brochure for both 3D printers are available by visiting the Stratasys newsroom.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Wide Format / Proofing Technology
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ASTRONOMICALLY LOWER COSTS BOOST YOUR SUCCESS
EFI™ Jetrion® 4950lx
The EFI Jetrion 4950lx delivers the lowest cost per label in its class without compromise. This feature-packed modular system will literally get in line with your growing business needs. Just the type of fuel you need to accelerate your success. Enjoy the ride. http://jetrion.efi.com/takeoff10 or call 07 3625 9200.
©2014 EFI. All rights reserved.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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Sheetfed Offset
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
38
Packaging Technology
Customers for the Goss Sunday Vpak series will now benefit from a complete turnkey package printing solution including hardware, software, installation, training and ISO certification.
Maximize Vpak benefits for the packaging sector With the intention of establishing a new benchmark for color quality in the packaging market, Goss International has agreed a strategic cooperation with graphic software provider Alwan Color Expertise. The agreement will ensure repeatable color accuracy for Goss Sunday Vpak press users across all applications including labels, carton and board, and flexible packaging printing. According to Mike D'Angelo, managing director of Goss International Americas, Goss has recognized a pressing need for color consistency standards within the packaging sector since entering the market in 2012. "This is particularly critical when using special ink formulations and substrates that have been specified by brand owners, often with little regard for the technical challenges involved," comments D'Angelo. "In response to this need, we have identified Alwan as the perfect fit for Goss, complementing our own product design expertise with
their established ISO development credentials." Goss Sunday Vpak 500 and Vpak 3000 web offset press models for folding carton, flexible packaging, pre-print and label applications are available in web widths from 520 mm to 1905 mm (20.5 to 75 inches) and print at speeds of up to 457 meters (1,500 feet) per minute. Key features include quickchange sleeve adapter technology for efficient, cost-effective size changes, and advanced offset inking, tension and control systems.
As a result of the new cooperation, customers for the Goss Sunday Vpak series will benefit from a complete turnkey package printing solution including hardware, software, installation, training and ISO certification. Software solutions provided will include on-press color matching, press calibration, and print proofing and verification, all of which are available for CMYK and extended gamut printing, spot color and HiFi color production. Alwan founder and president, Elie
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Packaging Technology Khoury, has been at the forefront of ISO developments for commercial and newspaper printing for more than 16 years and a leading contributor to advancements in packaging workflow standardization over the past four years. "Alwan Color Expertise has a long-term commitment to establishing industry standards. It has been a defining objective of our business since it was founded, and we select our partners for this undertaking very carefully," comments Khoury. "Being inherently stable - even for webs as wide as 1905 mm - Goss Vpak technology meets our criteria in every respect. Combining it with our software and workflow know-how will enable customers to provide packaging print of unbeatable quality. Vpak technology also delivers a uniquely cost-effective approach, offering a viable long-term solution for converters in tackling the trend towards shorter run lengths. Alwan Color Expertise will help make this proposition even more powerful by ensuring the most efficient makeready processes and, with it, low waste."
Alwan's training capabilities were a key aspect of the agreement for Goss. Through its Academy of Color Expertise (ACE), customers can receive technical and sales training, installation and integration services, as well as certification of individual operators and of facilities. Working with partner organization Kee Consultants (http:// www.keeconsultants.com/), Alwan is also able to offer technical consultancy, including workflow audits to help customers establish best practice for achieving stable processes and implementing ISO standards. "This agreement is a win-win for us as suppliers, but yet more so for the labels and packaging market. We're especially energized by the opportunity to roll out the benefits of process color to the package printing market," concludes D'Angelo. "Using CMYK+ offers so much more production flexibility and agility for accommodating image changes and enabling fast makereadies, as well as being vastly more costeffective. But packaging printers and converters need to be entirely confident
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that the quality will meet the demands of the brand managers. Our joint offering with Alwan can help deliver this." About Alwan Color Expertise Alwan Color Expertise (http://www. alwancolor.com/) was founded in Lyon-France in 1997 by the current President Elie Khoury. His visionto demonstrate how important standardizing and controlling color is throughout every stage of productionhas resulted in the company becoming a world leader in standardization and color management. Today, Alwan Color Expertise offers a choice of full-featured Color Management and Standardization software solutions to key players throughout the graphic arts industry, from printers to publishers and from software developers to hardware manufacturers. The unique benefit of Alwan technologies is that they enable conventional processes such as offset, flexography and gravure, and digital machines such as digital printers and large format presses to produce consistent and predictable colors.
Customer driven technology
High quality, modular and open solutions for flexo & letterpress plates www.thermoflexx.com
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Finishing Technology
Alegro Perfect Binder is On a Roll With eight new installations in the USA alone over the past 18 months and more than 60 systems sold worldwide since being launched at drupa 2012, the Muller Martini's Alegro perfect binder featuring the revolutionary motion control technology is proving massively successful. The Alegro perfect binder with a maximum performance of 7,000 cycles per hour is a prime example of Muller Martini’s modular machine and design concept. The compact softcover system can be supplemented with a wide range of additional components. All such components are servo-controlled using motion control, which means that they can be controlled individually. Motion control technology, however, not only enables extremely short processing times for jobs, which translates into maximum profitability, but also forms the basis for a wide range of applications. The Alegro stands out for its ability to process special sizes. It binds products up to A3 in size, and even products in DIN A4 landscape size can be run in double production, which reduces unit costs. Highly Cost Effective and User Friendly Motion control technology enables extremely short setup and job changeover times, which are key to cost-effective production given the shift in job structures with the trend toward many smaller jobs. Moreover, compared with traditional perfect binders, the Alegro has 70 percent fewer chains and no line shafts or complicated gear boxes at all. That
means less wear, fewer spare parts and lower maintenance needs and costs. Its high degree of cost-effectiveness is paired with ease of use. Thanks to line control, all aggregates can be viewed and operated on up to four screens for the gathering machine, the binder, the three-knife trimmer and the stacker. If, for instance, the three-knife trimmer reports an error, it is displayed on all screens. For Offset and Digital Printing An important factor in the massive success of the Alegro is the shift in the market toward perfect bound products. Runs in traditional offset printing are falling, while digital printing is on the rise, and corresponding print finishing technologies, such as personalization options, are in demand. “With the Alegro, our customers are optimally equipped to meet requirements in offset and digital printing. They have a high degree of investment protection, because the Alegro can be easily adapted to changing needs thanks to its modular design,” says Carrington Herbert, Vice President of Sales at Muller Martini North America.
commissioned in the US alone over the past 18 months. Worldwide, there have been more than 60 new installations in the just over two years since the new perfect binder was launched at drupa 2012. “In addition to motion control, our great success is down to two other innovations from Muller Martini,” says Herbert, based on feedback from satisfied customers. First, the book verification system with the patented AsirCode, which is integrated with the control system of the gathering machine. It controls the complete product structure, the correct sequence of signatures and the matching of the cover with the content, prevents production with products that are set up incorrectly and ensures that every cover gets the right book block.
AsirCode, Solit Three-Knife Trimmer and Granit Eight new Alegro lines have been
Second, the Alegro perfect binding line is usually topped off by the Solit threeknife trimmer, which can be changed
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Finishing Technology
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The over 60 satisfied Alegro customers worldwide include the Scherrer bookbindery in the Swiss municipality of Urdorf. Production Manager Michael Scherrer allows himself a short break every now and then, since his perfect binder runs so smoothly.
over without tools in less than three minutes. The Solit is also equipped with SmartPress Technology patented by Muller Martini. Thanks to this unique technology, the air in the book block can be released optimally, even if the product is bulky. In addition, the pressing automatically adjusts during production to fluctuations in product thickness, ensuring outstanding trim quality. The new Granit three-knife trimmer from Muller Martini also suits the Alegro, especially if several books are trimmed together. Like the Solit, the fully automated Granit ensures consistently high trim quality thanks to SmartPress Technology. The operator can perform any fine-tuning needed directly on the central screen of the perfect binder during production
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Packaging Technology
High quality pre-press products for flexo The business became so successful that new employees were steadily hired in the following years. In 1992, a second site was opened in Leipzig, Germany, and today, about 130 staff members are employed at the two sites. rudolf reproflex GmbH aims to offer innovation and competence as a packaging agency. Thus, the company relies on innovative ideas, the know-how of a highly qualified staff and an excellent range of high-tech equipment. rudolf reproflex develops high quality pre-press products for flexo, as well as offset printing, for all of the primary application segments, including corrugated preprint and postprint, foils, labels and heavy duty sacks, just to name a few. From the individual packaging concept up to a complex
workflow solution – customers can always expect the highest quality products and comprehensive service. This concept proves to be effective, as rudolf reproflex is one of the leading specialty agencies in the international packaging market. One of the company’s keys to success is staying optimally equipped with the latest technology. Especially in corrugated postprint, flat top dots and optimised surface screening play more and more of an important role - this is why deciding on the right technology is crucial for obtaining the highest quality. As printing plates produced with the nyloflex® NExT exposure technology show a significant improvement in fluting during printing, rudolf reproflex decided to acquire such an exposure from Flint Group. The nyloflex® NExT exposure technology utilises a high intensity UV-A LED light source to conduct rapid
crosslinking of the photopolymer surface before oxygen inhibition can occur, resulting in a flat top dot structure on the printing plate and a virtual 1:1 image reproduction from the digital file to the finished plate. This technology does not require any additional consumable items or steps; additionally, it can easily be incorporated into the existing digital workflow. The high level of UV emission leads to a significant improvement in the reproduction of the fine relief elements. When combined with high resolution surface screening, the resulting surface texture of the flat top dots provides an optimal surface to enhance ink laydown, ink density, and consistency in printing. In flexible packaging, printing plates exposed with this technology allow excellent ink transfer, particularly in solids. In corrugated printing, fluting will considerably be reduced as the LED exposure allows a better control of the relief profile. Additionally, the nyloflex® NExT technology provides significantly improved reproduction quality and long-term stability. “Our company and Flint Group have a long-standing and close working relationship“, says Maik Gottschlich, head of the printing plates department at rudolf reproflex, “we are always very satisfied with the cooperation. Recently, flat top dots became an important issue in the market, and with the nyloflex® NExT exposure technology, Flint Group provides the opportunity to achieve a highly accurate reproduction in corrugated postprint. We have also been convinced by the many positive characteristics of the exposure – the temperature control of the exposure bed, for example, enables better dimensional stability and repeatability. Additionally, the device could be implemented in our digital workflow without any problems.”
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Packaging Technology
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More Quality. Quality is one of the most important criteria that
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Xerox, Xerox and Design, as well as Fuji Xerox and Design and Versant are registered trademarks or trademarks of Xerox Corporation in Japan and/or other countries.
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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Wide Format / Proofing Technology
One-Pass LED Inkjet Label Print, Varnish and Cut Workflow At the recent Labelexpo Americas tradeshow, EFI™ a leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation showed the first fully in-line LED inkjet digital printing system with flexo varnish, lamination, in-line laser cutting and slitting for lean label production.
The production line features the 13inch wide EFI Jetrion® 4950LX LED narrow web press now available with a new white ink module. The new end-to-end production line makes its debut amid increasing momentum among Jetrion customers: EFI has just surpassed the 200-press milestone for its installed base of Jetrion equipment. EFI's new, complete label converting production line was on display in the company's Labelexpo exhibit, which also features the EFI H1625 LED printer a new, 65-inch wide hybrid roll/flatbed printer suitable for highquality label proofing and packaging prototyping applications. EFI,
which has seen its sales of advanced packaging MIS/ERP products double over the past two years, is continuing its momentum in software innovation with the launch of the latest version of the EFI Radius ERP system, which offers new scheduling, CRM and orderentry tools for streamlined, automated converting workflows. These industryleading solutions offer unparalleled plant optimization opportunities that are critical in today's short-run, digital environment. The leading edge of inkjet label converting The automated Jetrion 4950LX press with integrated finishing has a superior,
720x720 dots per inch resolution. Plus, EFI is demonstrating a faster, 200 feet per minute speed for the press, a higher level of throughput that can make digital inkjet label converting an even more useful option as a replacement for flexographic printing. "The Jetrion 4950LX press's productivity, quality, and low cost per label - combined with the ability to go from blank substrate to finished labels in a single pass - will serve as a tipping point for the many flexo converters looking for a way to profitably add digital printing capabilities," said Stephen Emery, vice president of EFI's Jetrion and ink businesses. "This
Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Wide Format / Proofing Technology
press and our industry-leading Radius workflow exemplify the technical innovations that help so many EFI customers become top performers in the packaging market." The Jetrion 4950LX LED press on display is the culmination of years of advanced research in narrow-web production and LED inkjet technology. Jetrion presses - the market leader in narrow-web inkjet technology - have helped customers worldwide achieve remarkable growth in digital label printing. With nearly 200 Jetrion presses installed worldwide, ink volumes increased 23% in the first half of 2014, a testament to converters' ability to migrate a wide range of jobs to Jetrion presses for more profitable short-run and multi-SKU label production. With the Jetrion 4950LX model, converters can reduce labor costs and make-ready prep using a 1000-watt inline laser cutter. Plus, the new white ink for the press gives converters more flexibility in full-color imaging on clear, metallic and colored substrates. The press's LED platform offers a "cool cure" advantage, giving converters the opportunity to print on a broader range of substrates, including flexible
packaging films, that cannot withstand the heat required with other curing or drying methods. "Cool cure" printing with the Jetrion 4950LX press also is a greener, more economical choice because it requires significantly less energy, and the press's LED lamps are more consistent and last significantly longer than traditional UV lamps. Enhance your ERP value; go beyond "lean" to "global optimization" Label converters looking for ways to improve their management and production workflow can view the latest release of EFI Radius ERP software at Labelexpo. Version 15.1 builds on the end-to-end integrated and automated capabilities of the Radius platform, adding the power of PrintFlowÂŽ Dynamic Scheduling: EFI's awardwinning, "smart" workflow toolkit. Based on the Theory of Global Optimization (TGO), PrintFlow is the industry's ultimate scheduling platform. TGO is "lean" re-written and improved for the printing and packaging industry and it is the foundation for synchronizing and optimizing converters' production operations. PrintFlow creates an optimized schedule for the entire company and
each machine based on constraints such as workload, job characteristics, work center capabilities, and delivery priorities, juggling thousands of pieces of information to build the most efficient production schedule for the plant and maximize profits. The software automatically and intelligently schedules thousands of tasks and sequences them to minimize switchover and setup time. Many customers that use PrintFlow have reported reduced waste, faster internal communications, reduced overtime, and greater productivity without increasing staff size. Other enhancements to the Radius platform include mobility features for sales and management personnel using EFI's award-winning CRM software. Plus, a Radius web portal further simplifies order entry by extending capabilities to the end customer. The streamlined Radius business workflow now extends to shipping and fulfillment with integrated connectivity to EFI SmartLinc multi-carrier shipping software.
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Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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Management/General
The Future of Product Decoration The label industry listens to the brand owners Brand owners – whether they are manufacturing foods, beverages, personal care products, or toys – have a common need: labels for their products. Today, ‘labels’ come in many forms and, as well as identifying the product and its contents, perform additional key roles – decoration, promotion, and a track-and-trace functionality. A panel of brand-owner packaging experts from different market sectors came together recently, courtesy of FINAT, the international label industry association, to debate specifically ‘the future of product decoration’. Here, FINAT Managing Director Jules Lejeune recounts some interesting aspects of the conversation.
The occasion for this panel discussion was the 2014 FINAT Annual Congress in Monte Carlo last June, attended by our association’s membership, which spans the extremely complex label industry value chain, from raw material suppliers to label printers. The panel was well-qualified to discuss the subject of product decoration. Participants were Olivier Delataulade (F), finishing and printing expertise controller at L’Oréal, with extensive experience in the company’s packaging
and brand strategies; Jesper Toubøl (DK), head of LEGO’s packaging and processing research, and with a wideranging career with the company in strategic roles; Arno Melchior (D), global supply excellence director with Reckitt Benckiser, tasked with the continuing harmonisation and optimisation of the merged companies’ two product ranges and their packaging; and Brendan Kinzie (USA), a senior director for G3 Enterprises, global suppliers -- with a specialist focus on the wines and spirits industry -- of packaging components, including labels, as well as logistics services and technical and laboratory expertise. Choosing the right label technology for the product on hand
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Management/General 47 finding in- mould labelling a good choice. Interestingly, he said, ‘label printers could usefully be much more aligned with our production process’; and added that the company are also moving more of their packaging and print supply functions in-house, or as close to their production units as possible, to respond appropriately to the persistent challenges of tight delivery timelines. Another challenge is presented by label design changes created in the marketing department, which can mean that ‘a lot of labels of the old design are wastefully thrown away. This is another area for more alignment.’
Labelling is not a single-track activity. As well as self-adhesive and glueapplied labels, it embraces sleeving, in-mould solutions, flexible packaging, and direct-to-container print. L’Oréal, said Olivier Delataulade, chooses to employ all the available technology options, including multiple imaging processes on one label, and makes each choice on the basis of ‘What’s the best solution for THIS product?’ With product and label print runs getting shorter and shorter as a result both of local language and regulatory requirements and product versioning, he said, production using digital print is an increasingly-favoured option. L’Oréal is also keen to keep abreast of imaging trends, like 3D polarising Fresnel lenses, metallisation, holography, the ‘no-label look’, fabric substrates, and leaflet labels. ‘Labels’, Mr Delataulade observed, ‘are more technical than other print’. Overall, Arno Melchior defined the decision-making criteria at Reckitt Benckiser as ‘quality and volume – on time.’ For very high-volume product packaging runs, Reckitt Benckiser are
Should more brand owners print their own labels, or can our label industry platform provide everything they want? G3 Enterprises’ Brendan Kinzie replied: ‘I don’t see in-house print happening in wines in the short term. Our label print involves lots of special processes like embossing to attract consumers’ attention – it’s too complex – and it is the label that actually sells 80-90% of wines in America!’ For G3 Enterprises’ clients’ specialist packaging/labelling needs, ‘it is quality that drives the decoration choice decision,’ he confirmed, adding that it is G3 Enterprises’ creative agency that buys label print. Talking about label print technologies, he told us, ‘flexo is doing well, and so is digital print, which is enjoying – and will continue to enjoy -- a lot of growth in the wine industry, where it still represents a very small percentage of label volumes.’ LEGO packaging differs significantly from that of FMCG products in that it consists primarily of cardboard boxes, and its market focus is on children, as Jesper Toubøl explained. ‘Digital print is growing fast – it enables us, for example, to respond to seasonal needs’, but he advised: ‘the separate, additional label still needs to compete with other packaging segments’. Technology choice made at too late a stage in production Mr Melchior drew attention to some concerns Reckitt Benckiser experiences on the packaging/labelling front. The decision on choice of decoration technology is, he said, taken at too late a stage in the chain. ‘We may need, for example, to change a bottle shape
to accommodate a shrink sleeve. The label supplier therefore definitely needs to be integrated at an earlier stage in the production process.’ Mr Kinzie concurred with this statement, because, in his world of wines and spirits, the ‘label is actually printed and applied – and then assessed for its value and efficiency!’. Connecting with brand owners: a label printer’s challenge In truth, one of the most difficult challenges experienced by FINAT label converter member companies is making contact with the right people in an end-user company to discuss their needs and wants. For L’Oréal, the right pathway is to involve not just purchasing, but also marketing. ‘For packaging, the marketing people need to say what they want, and then we can look at the technicalities’, said Mr Delataulade. Mr Melchior, Reckitt Benckiser, enlarged on this theme. He said that ‘purchasing’s target is to control costs. The design manager and packaging manager are the company contacts who are likely to want to develop higherquality, innovative solutions... But, in the end, it’s always about price in some way or other. If you have a product that people will pay more for, then there’s room for extra label costs.’ ‘And,’ added Mr Toubøl, talking for LEGO, ‘you really need to be able to add value – especially for products for kids.’ That may be the case, but the fact remains that ‘end users will generally go to label converters in the event of a practical problem – and if that doesn’t produce a solution, they will go to the material supplier’, said Mr Melchior. That is also the case for G3 Enterprises. ‘In a field like ours, involving lots of glass,’ said Mr Kinzie, ‘whenever there’s a problem we expect the vendor to cope!’ It would appear that there is still some way to go before label printers can establish a more fundamental relationship in a brand owner’s packaging planning.
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Packaging Technology
Impressed by versatiliy of its BOBST F&K 20SIX It is more than a year now that Societé Tilwel’s 1100 mm wide 8-colour F&K 20SIX has been on duty, and ever since it was comissioned, it has fully met Tilwel’s high expectations. In particular, the responsible persons at Tilwel are impressed by the versatility, the new press is offering: “We print on all types of substrates, from 330 g/m² carton board to thin OPP film. We print on 20 microns, and we have even printed on 12 micron PET “says Laurent Parolari, production manager who is also much impressed by the process consistency and efficiency that smartGPS™ provides. As Arnaud Barbedet, Tilwel site director, points out, the F&K 20SIX does not only allow Societé Tilwel to target new markets, but thanks to its performance and capacities also serves well a back-up for the other companies of the group. According to Mr. Barbedet, what made Societé Tilwel opt for the F&K 20SIX, were three major reasons: the performance
of the press, the quality of service that BOBST provides, and the trust in the manufacturer’s people they met during the buying process. Apart from the extraordinary flexibility with substrates and web tension, another specialty of the press is its tailored capability of printing water-based inks. Water-based flexo has a long tradition in the family-owned Brodard Packaging group which Societé Tilwel is part of and reflects the group’s concern for the evironment. Running 5 production sites with 210 employees in total, the group of companies achieves a turnover of 45 Mio €. With their wide range of products, Brodard Packaging serves both the food and non-food industry, includ-
ing dairy, convenience food, coffee, personal care and cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
Division ContiTech of Continental AG Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
Packaging Technology
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Print World Asia • 10 / 2014
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Management/General
The Industry Debates Afterlife options for Label Release Liner Sustainability and environmental concerns are a key focus for FINAT and, of course, for the self-adhesive labelling industry as a whole, as part of the broader packaging business. This year’s FINAT Technical Seminar drew together different elements of the label value chain to address recycling initiatives in a discussion panel moderated by industry guru Mike Fairley. Panelists were Calvin Frost, Channeled Resources Group; Paolo Guagliumi, Munksjö; Erkki Nyberg, UPM Raflatac; Eric van Pottelbergh, RecuLiner; Stephan Reis, Avery Dennison, and Petri Tani, C4G. Mike Fairley opened the session by reminding seminar participants that the very first patent for paper recycling was granted in 1800 – for newsprint. What, then, should restrain the label industry’s efforts to create a second life for spent release liner? Pathways, today and tomorrow Discussion was wide-ranging, across a number of important pathways in which the industry is already a participant, or which offer possibilities for recycling or re-use. Calvin Frost and Petri Tani agreed that one way forward is for the labelstock laminators to create the demand for secondary fibre, and communicate it to their suppliers. But, although such materials are available on the market, there is still no ‘pull through’ from the brand owners – perhaps, as Stephan Reis commented, because they may have to be willing to pay more for recycled material – which is rarely the case in today’s competitive marketplace. But, added Petri Tani, ‘even end users understand that recycling is better than landfill and incineration!’ Needed – a coherent message Mike Fairley underlined the importance of the sustainability agenda for the future health of the label industry. ‘We are not getting the message across to the brand owners and end users,’ he said, ‘and we still don’t have a system for
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Management/General 51 creating a carbon footprint through the label supply chain. As an industry, we simply don’t have one clear, coherent message.’ Liner recycling options Closed-loop, cradle-to-cradle recycling is, naturally, a prime goal for FINAT members. In that context it is so much easier, and more successful, to set up recycling initiatives for film liner, because of its intrinsic financial value. Mitsubishi Polyester Film’s scheme for collection and recycling into their Reprocess™ liner programme – containing 25% of recycled material – is now handling 4-5000 tonnes per annum in the US.
Most of the negative recycling issues, sadly, relate to paper liner base. Paolo Guagliumi observed that it is helpful that paper liner is listed as ‘recyclable’ in the 2013 revision of EN 643. In this document, paper release liner for self-adhesive labels has been added to Group 5 (special grades) – as grade no. 5.05.03. (CEPI’s new guidance document -- http://www.cepi.org/ en643 -- provides valuable detail). Is release liner packaging or process waste? If, however, the European authorities finally decide to define release liner as packaging waste, Erkki Nyberg pointed out, there will be no question: the industry as a whole will have to recycle. Voluntary action is preferable, so Mike Fairley urged: ‘let’s set targets NOW!’ Alternative scenarios Options other than recycling are also practical in the context of the ‘three Rs’ –reduce, re-use, recycle. Calvin Frost provided an excellent example as to how liner simply can be rewound into rolls, is already being used by small laminators in the Asia Pacific region, for example in making self-adhesive tapes. RecuLiner patented technology is another possible route. Eric van Pottelbergh’s company’s model – already up and running in the Benelux countries -- collects and transforms spent paper release liner into highperformance cellulose fibre insulation material for the construction industry.
The label converters’ role The label converters are perhaps the key to success in engaging the ‘buy in’ of the end users, since they talk to their customers every day, said Stephan Reis. However, Petri Tani showed that ‘it’s not so easy for a label printer to talk to the right person – who is most probably NOT the person who actually purchases labels.’ The outcome of TLMI’s current pilot spent liner collection initiative with LIFEregistered converters, across seven states, will certainly be of relevance and interest in Europe, and in the broader L9 associations. This provoked a printer delegate to comment that his company had actually been required by one brand owner to sign a form confirming that their labels had NO recycled content. FINAT: the action hub As the discussions drew to a close, panelists and delegates agreed on one key future action: it is FINAT, the European label industry’s association, which must take the lead, and ensure that self-adhesive labelling’s future is safeguarded by delivering the message that release liner, paper and film, has a valuable second life after it has performed the tasks in production and application that have made the selfadhesive label such a successful and enduring element of the packaging industry.
Print World Asia • 6 / 2014
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More Results. Everyone’s results are different. But, whatever your goals may be, the Versant™ 2100 Press is the ideal solution to help you achieve yours.
• Grow your business with new applications enabled by the incredible media latitude. • Reduce your costs by automating critical tasks. • Produce more jobs with state-of-the-art innovations included as standard. • Delight your customers with a new level of image quality.
Do More. With More. For more information: www.fxap.com.sg/product/production/versant_2100p.jsp The Versant™ 2100 Press
Xerox, Xerox and Design, as well as Fuji Xerox and Design and Versant are registered trademarks or trademarks of Xerox Corporation in Japan and/or other countries.