SMART DESIGN

LABELS&LABELING |65
Drupa
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST PRINT SHOW, while not a labels-specific event, continued trends seen at Labelexpo
towards digitization of the print process with a new emphasis on automated color control. Andy Thomas reports
Drupa 2012 was in many ways a watershed show in the
commercial print market, with the launch of a range of B2 inkjet
sheetfed presses and of course the much hyped launch of
Benny Landa’s ‘nanographic’ print process.
As there were no live print samples available it was impossible
to assess the claims made by Landa, so we must await the first
production models in around 18 months time.
We covered extensively the big new launches from HP Indigo
and Xeikon in the last edition of L&L, and prototypes of the HP
Indigo 20000 label/flexible packaging press and 30000 carton
presses were on show, as well as the Xeikon carton print and
converting line. Of major interest here was a digital cold foiling
application which used a clear toner as the adhesive to bond
the foil onto the substrate.
The narrow web single pass inkjet vendors were present at
the show, and for a full review of inkjet developments, turn to
the feature by L&L technical editor Barry Hunt on p.52 of this
issue.
Durst launched a wider, 330mm press which prints with
CMYK+white, with orange and violet to be available later this
year for optional extended gamut printing. The speed of the
press is 48m/min (157ft) which translates to 950sqm/hour.
Durst also demonstrated a new white ink, which is broadly
comparable in opacity with a good UV flexo white, as well as
an early trial with metallics. Resolution from the Xaar 1001
heads is 720 x 360dpi, achieved by doubling up inkjet modules.
The press was demonstrated with an inset capability enabling
printing on pre-diecut and pre-printed labels for late stage
versioning.
FFEI was showing for the first time a dedicated white
print station on the 410mm- wide Caslon hybrid flexo/inkjet
press built by Nilpeter. Going forward, FFEI will now sell the
exclusively digital version of the Caslon through its global sales
and support network, while Nilpeter will continue to sell the
hybrid inkjet/flexo press version.
Omet launched its JetPlus in-line inkjet technology, with a
4-color module mounted on an XFlex X6 UV flexo press. The
press was demonstrated printing wine labels at 60 m/min.
The press line also incorporated Omet’s Monotwin Cut single
cylinder die-cut system, where format changes are achieved
simply by replacing the flexible die.
Focus announced its entry into the digital print market with
the launch of its d-Flex combination inkjet press. The press
adds 4-color inkjet heads to the existing Reflex servo UV flexo
press.
Heidelberg formally launched its own badged narrow web
inkjet press, the Heidelberg Linoprint L. This was otherwise
the same machine seen at Labelexpo Brussels on the CSAT
stand after Heidelberg acquired the company, with a print width
of 210mm and resolution of 600dpi using LED-cured Kyocera
heads to print at speeds up to 48m/min.
Daniel Dreyer, head of Heidelberg’s Linoprint program, said
most interest had come from Heidelberg’s existing sheetfed
customers, both label converters and general commercial
printers looking to move into PS labels.
EFI Jetrion were another Xaar user which had increased the
print resolution of its Xaar-based inkjet press, demonstrating
a new 720dpi mode on its 4900 press – which also includes
a dedicated laser die-cutting section. The company also
announced a broadening of its qualified portfolio of flexo
substrates that need no special coating or overlaminating. This
means the Jetrion 4830 and 4900 are now compatible with
additional stocks from 3M, Avery Dennison, Flexcon, Raflatac,
Ritrama, Spinnaker and Wausau.
Drupa also gave converters a first glimpse at a prototype of
Screen’s new UV inkjet press, one part of a major move by the
company into the package printing market, which included a
carton-optimized inkjet press and a flexo CTP unit.
Stork Prints showed its established DSI UV inkjet press with a
new digital primer, enabling printing on machine-coated paper.
The press is supplied with four print heads as standard, but an
additional six can be added to enable options like the digital
primer, digital white and an extended color gamut through
orange and violet.
Konica Minolta introduced a successor to its established
KM1024 industrial inkjet head. The KM1024i has a printing
speed approximately three times greater than the KM1024 and
is compatible with a wider range of industrial inks, aqueous,
solvent and UV. The unit has 8 grayscale gradations with13 pl
droplets.
For label converters, OKI is majoring on its proColor
pro510DW roll-fed digital label press – part of the proColor
Series of digital printers – launched last year. The press uses
using a drum and toner model using LED imaging to fix the
toner particles rather than laser imaging. Its consumables are
based on OKI dry toner that adheres to a drum roll where the
image area charge is neutralized by small LED printheads. The
image is then transferred from the drum to the media.
The pro510DW digital web press has four color stations and a
print width up to 12.9 inches. It runs up to 30 ft/min (10 m/min)
with fully variable data where required. A three inch core holds
up to 300 feet of material.
The press is equipped with auto insertion hardware and
software that allows converters to ‘cut-on-the-fly’, so when
multiple jobs are run on a single roll, each can be cut and cored
while the material is automatically held and set for the next run.
As well as new wide-web inkjet kit, Roland DG introduced
a white ink for the BN-20 desktop printer/cutter, adding to
the metallic option for this CMYK unit. Typical applications
for the system include textile heat transfers, labels, stickers,
promotional material and signs.
Atlantic Zeiser showed a hybrid digital/sheetfed print solution
by mounting a Delta inkjet system for serializing and coding
onto a KBA Rapida 105 sheetfed offset press.
JULY 2012 | L&L