HP Introduces the World’s Most Advanced Digital Labels and Packaging Portfolio

HP Inc. expanded its labels and packaging portfolio with solutions to drive the printing and converting toward more flexible, productive and profitable digital printing of any application. New solutions include the HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press for labels and packaging and HP PageWide C500 Press for mainstream corrugated production.

“The expansion follows the largest packaging deal ever for HP Indigo with ePac. Our customers are growing fast across all segments and are experiencing massive success. They are leveraging HP technology to innovate and deliver on brands’ evolving needs,” said Santi Morera, Global Head of Graphics Solutions Business, HP Inc. “These new technologies we are launching are needed now more than ever and will allow our customers to be more productive.”

Innovations increasing digital production profit

The new HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press increases the addressable label market while offering higher revenue per meter, including:

• Pack Ready for Labels for the production of high-resistance labels for food, household, chemical, and pharma labels. Four beta sites are producing commercial jobs.
• New HP Indigo ElectroInk Silver, now commercially available, delivers metallic effects across a wide color gamut, similar to Pantone 877.
• HP Indigo ElectroInk Invisible Blue and Yellow visible under UV light for brand protection and promotional labels
• Integration with the HP Indigo GEM embellishment unit, the first fully digital, one-pass label printing and embellishment solution for spot, tactile, foil, holograms, mini textures and lamination.

Additionally, the high-performance HP Production Pro for Indigo Labels and Packaging is now included in the HP Indigo 6900 and rolling out this year to HP Indigo’s entire Labels and Packaging portfolio. Featuring five times faster RIP power and the Esko Color Engine, the powerful Digital Front End provides extensive productivity and scalability for continuous digital production, to allow converters to scale and manage their digital production across multiple presses and multiple sites, increase the number of jobs per day, and shorten delivery cycles.

Pack Ready Laminator commercially available

For the HP Indigo 20000 flexible packaging press, the HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminator is now commercially available. A pioneering technology, Pack Ready Lamination allows for immediate time-to-market of HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging by eliminating the use of adhesives. The Pack Ready Laminator is manufactured and supplied by Karlville.

Extended capabilities for the HP Indigo 30000

The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press offers converters an opportunity to build new profitable businesses that leverage cost-effective short runs and added value long-run production. The new capabilities and improved performance include:

• Increased productivity to enable dozens of folding carton jobs per day and up to 1 million B2 sheets per month.
• The widest folding carton application span on one press, leveraging wide media range from paperboards to metalized, synthetic, and transparent media, new security features like micro-text and micro QR-codes, and new automatic mass customization and personalization capabilities.
• The Tresu iCoat 30000, sold and serviced by HP Indigo, for one robust folding carton production line.

Digilinck, a folding carton converter based in Deinze, Belgium, is adding a second HP Indigo 30000 digital press. “The Folding cartons market is changing and our customers expect speedy delivery and lower inventory levels. The HP Indigo 30000’s high flexibility and offset matching quality allow us to seize this opportunity and build a new profitable digital business, offering short turnaround-time and economic production of short-run healthcare packages,” said Vincent Oosterlinck, Owner, Digilinck. “Since installing the press, our business grew by 66% in the last three years.”

Addressing the dynamic corrugated packaging market

HP also announced that Kiwiplan, a leading MIS/MES software solutions provider for corrugated and rigid packaging, will be fully integrated, keeping the HP PageWide C500 presses running at optimum capacity, while helping customers to save time and costs through production and supply chain efficiency. Five customers in Europe and the US have already purchased the groundbreaking PageWide C500 Press for direct-to-board post-print corrugated production. The first unit will ship next month.

Utilizing HP’s high-performance single-pass Thermal Inkjet technology, the HP PageWide C500 provides a cost-effective digital alternative for offset lamination and flexo production. The press delivers offset quality direct-to-board with mainstream productivity on both coated and uncoated papers, delivering packaging with vibrant graphics that preserves even the finest details.

The HP PageWide C500 utilizes HP CV150 Water-Based Inks, which contain no UV-reactive chemistries. These true water-based inks allow corrugated converters to print primary and secondary food-related packaging without an additional barrier. This robust and trusted solution enables compliance with the most stringent global food safety regulations and industry guidelines.

Sun Chemical launches SunCure Accuflex UV Flexo Ink System for various food packaging applications

Sun Chemical has launched SunCure Accuflex UV, a new UV ink system for primary and secondary food packaging that is not manufactured with Bisphenol A (BPA)-based materials and meets low migration specifications.

Compliant with the strictest global standards in the marketplace, including Nestlé food packaging requirements and Swiss Ordinance chemical composition requirements, SunCure Accuflex UV flexo inks meet the latest photoinitiator safe packaging guidelines and provide low odor and very low residual extractables characteristics, while maintaining the highest standards of pressroom performance.

The ink system specifically addresses concerns that brand owners face due to strict labeling laws like California’s Proposition 65, which require businesses to provide warnings on their packaging for products that could expose consumers to BPA. BPA and certain photoinitiators are chemicals that have been identified as carcinogens and reprotoxins. 

Designed for both folding carton and flexible film packaging applications where high press performance, color vibrancy and regulatory compliance are critical, SunCure AccuFlex UV flexo inks offer good adhesion to a variety of film substrates, provide great flexo viscosity stability under high shear conditions, and exhibit excellent UV cure response. Available in North America, SunCure AccuFlex UV inks can be used for a variety of paper packaging applications and feature low post-odor properties that are essential to many brand owners.

Toyo Printing Inks to highlight full line-up of packaging solutions at Propak

Toyo Printing Inks Inc., a member of the Toyo Ink Group of Japan, is exhibiting at Propak East Africa 2018, one of the biggest and most comprehensive trade fairs for packaging technology in the region. The trade fair kicks off tomorrow 27 Feb and runs until 1 March at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

At Stand F2, Toyo Printing Inks will showcase a wide array of packaging solutions that address the product, regulatory and efficiency requirements of brand owners and packaging companies in Africa. Featured products include high-performance inks and coatings for nearly every substrate or packaging type, flexible or rigid. Moreover, the company will introduce other packaging innovations from around the Toyo Ink Group, such as lamination adhesives and plastic masterbatch for food, beverage and industrial applications.

“We are excited to make our first showing at Propak East Africa,” said Yakup Benli, CEO of Toyo Printing Inks. “Building on a successful exhibit at last year's Propak West Africa, we aim to reinforce our commitment to the area as we look to raise our brand awareness and open new markets in this strategic region for us. Propack East Africa provides an ideal platform on which to highlight our diversified portfolio of packaging solutions that are tailored to the needs of the region and manufactured at our factory in Turkey.”

Toyo Printing Inks Inc., a member of the Toyo Ink Group, has been one of the leading brands in Turkey's printing ink sector since its foundation in the country in 1968. The company is a leading manufacturer of printing inks and auxiliary products for virtually all printing techniques, such as web offset inks for publications, offset sheetfed inks, serigraphy inks, flexo and rotogravure inks, laminate adhesives and metal can coating systems. Toyo Printing Inks is committed to meeting the needs of the packaging and printing industry by adhering to the highest production standards, with importance given to quality and innovation. The company operates a Colour Making Centre in İstanbul and state-of-the-art production facility in Manisa, while maintaining a network of 36 dealers and sales offices in 4 cities in Turkey. 

HP launches High-Definition Digital Press for Commercial Printing

HP Inc. announced commercial availability of its HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press with breakthrough high-definition imaging, the next step in the evolution of HP’s market-leading1 Series 4 large format press platform with more than 700 units installed worldwide.

The High Definition Imaging System for the B2-sized HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press doubles image resolution, delivering sharper, smoother, finer print, enabling print service providers (PSPs) to surpass offset quality and open new digital possibilities in high-end commercial and photo applications. The press uses an all-new High Definition Imaging System, using 48 parallel laser beams and high screen sets up to 290 LPI.

“HP print service providers are experiencing unprecedented growth and momentum as print buyers, agencies, and brands are looking for ways to connect the online world with the physical world,” said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, HP Indigo, HP Inc. “HP's digital print technologies are blending these realities, providing amazing new application opportunities, alongside higher productivity.”

Following successful beta testing at ORWO and CEWE in Germany and Italy’s New Print, HP Indigo is now starting commercial shipment of the press.

Ongoing innovation for new digital printing applications

The HP Indigo 50000 Digital Press, the most productive digital press on the market, is now accompanied by a robust finishing solution for cost-effective printing of offset jobs.

HP also announced new color gamut technology and new inks:

• ColorUP! delivers an extended color gamut using color profiles to expand the on-press color gamut using additional hits of CMY inks.
• HP Indigo ElectroInk Vivid Pink and HP Indigo ElectroInk Vivid Green, a new set of brighter inks for high-end photo applications including wedding photography, allow printers to reach more vibrant pink, green and blue shades.
• Commercial release of HP Indigo ElectroInk Fluorescent Green, Yellow and Orange, in addition to the previously available Fluorescent Pink. The inks are already in use by PSPs to produce commercial applications.
• Creating a more efficient production floor with workflow and end-to-end solutions

The powerful apps running on the PrintOS platform bring cloud advantages to enable PSPs to automate production, optimize their presses, and grow.

New HP PrintOS apps available include: 

• An optional OEE app for efficient and automatic measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness, providing value-based on-press data to ensure press excellence
• Color Beat, enabling color tracking and reporting to ensure color standards are reliably and consistently achieved.
• A new version of HP Site Flow enables customers to effectively fulfill hundreds or thousands of online orders per day. With fast and easy startup, and instant scalability, PSPs can take on new business, and handle tight deadlines, while increasing productivity from order to delivery.

Mercian Labels consolidates on success

Following a record January sales month, Mercian Labels are pleased to announce that it has also completed its plans for consolidation having successfully transferred its Derby-based operations into their Burntwood (UK) site, thereby bringing all of its manufacturing processes under one roof.

‘The transition to a single-site operation has multiple benefits’ said Dr Adrian Steele, MD of Mercian Labels.

‘Cost savings and economies of scale are obvious, but with sales and admin now all under one roof, our communications and cross-training benefits will improve considerably. IT issues have been dramatically simplified, in fact we are already seeing advantages throughout the business.’

Mercian Labels employ a broad range of print technologies which allow them to offer a very wide range of self adhesive products. 8-colour high speed flexo and the latest in digital printing can be combined to produce multiple layer products in industry-beating lead times, and further enhancements are possible with rotary screen printing and foiling.

‘There isn’t much we can’t do now’ points out Steele, ‘and with a robust NPD strategy coupled with some exciting R&D, we will continue to push the boundaries of specialised embellishments so that our customers enjoy the finest labelling available. Manufacturing of flexible packaging in short and medium runs is now also possible, with very exciting developments on the horizon’.

‘We have developed a dynamic and very knowledgeable sales force’ adds Hugo Gell, Director of Sales and Marketing. ‘This consolidation and their expert advice will allow our customers to see our wide range of capabilities operating under one roof. Designers and buyers will be able to make exciting branding decisions and add value to their product portfolios, no matter how large or small their business’.

Examples of Mercian Labels’ capabilities will be on display next week at the Packaging Innovations exhibition at the NEC.

New Roland 900 keeps packaging printer on top

Scatolificio del Garda, a leading Italian manufacturer of packaging for food & beverage products, has installed a Roland 906 press with coater unit and LED technology to meet the increase in production demands.

“The proven reliability and flexibility of the Roland 906 are just two of the reasons we chose this press" said company chairman, Mr. Luca Sandri.

The new press with LED technology allows the company to meet all of the safety and hygiene requirements for food and catering products such as paper cups, plates, food containers and disposable cutlery. Included in the supply is an automatic pallet transport system (Aupasys) at the delivery end, which automatically loads pallets of printed sheets .

Mr Sandri: "As we handle around 300,000 sheets per day, the Aupasys ensures smooth printing throughout the entire run. It also saves on time and operating costs. Thanks to its modular system, Aupasys provides high productivity and flexibility; its concept covers material flow in production areas as well as allowing for design and future investment planning and to provide increased net production output with less waste. We are ISO 9001, BRC, FSC certified and produce tens of thousands of products a day; our motto is customer satisfaction and we keep a total hands-on approach during the entire production cycle, from the purchase of raw materials to delivery of the end product both at home and overseas".

"La priorità è il cliente" is more than just a slogan for Scatolificio Del Garda. It means that we are attentive to our customer and the market needs; in fact since 1990 we have been pioneers in our sector with the  Bioplat brand of biodegradable and compostable products. We are flexible to meet all requirements and requests and turn round high-quality customized work at the shortest time possible" concluded Mr. Sandri.

Register for China's biggest label show - Sino Label 2018

Participate at Int'l Printing, Packaging & Sign Machinery Expo @ Chittagong

Participate at Eastern Print Pack 2018 Exhibition @ Kolkata

More than 60% exhibition space in PrintPack India 2019 already sold

The Indian Printing Packaging & Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA), which is organizing  PrintPack India 2019 (14th edition) at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida from February 01-06, 2019, has already sold out more than 60 percent  exhibition space to 233 exhibitors (Till 17th Feb 2018).  As per the existing policy of IPAMA management, the participants are being issued Priority Number on receipt of the application along with the requisite amount of space rent.  The priority number is generated within 48 hours of the credit of the requisite amount in IPAMA’s Bank account. To make the participation hassle free, the space will be allotted to the exhibitors strictly in accordance with the priority number. This information has already been circulated to participants, through various channels, for their information and guidance.

The prominent companies amongst those who have already booked their space for participation include LineOMatic, HP, Provin Technos (Ryobi), Megabound, Xerox India Ltd., Manugraph India Ltd., Insight Communication (Komori), Technova, Kodak India, Prakash Offset, Memory Repro, Alpna Visual, Electro Mec, Bobst, Monotech, Malhotra Graphics, Excel Machinery, NBG Printographics, Ronald Web, Manroland etc. Many more big companies, including Konica Minolta, The Printers House, Canon, Zhongke India and Muller Martini are in the pipe-line. LineOMatic is leading as far as space booking is concerned.  It has booked 500 square meters of space.

The companies booking space on or before 31st March, 2018 will get a discount of Rs.500/- per square meter. The new companies enrolling as IPAMA Members will also get further discount of 5%. NSIC members can submit their applications for availing MSME assistance through them. IPAMA intends to provide world-class exhibition facilities to visitors and exhibitors.

A multi-purpose website, relating to PrintPack India 2019 exhibition is being developed. All the relevant information which will be incorporated therein can be shared by the visitors and the exhibitors. The industry associations, which are interested in organizing seminars, conferences, business-meets etc. during the exhibition, in association with IPAMA, can submit their proposals for consideration and approval.

IPAMA has also signed one more MOU with Indian Paper Corrugated & Packaging Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (ICPMA) for marketing & sales of the space earmarked for “Corrugation Industry”  directly and or through sub-agents; dissemination of information of PRINTPACK INDIA 2019 through website, monthly newsletters and bulletins to their members and potential exhibitors. ICPMA will also be branded as “Corrugation Industry Partner” for promotion of the Show. Before ICPMA, IPAMA had signed agreements with (1) Association of Label Printers & Suppliers (ALPS); (2) Indian Paper Corrugated & Packaging Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (ICPMA); (3) Screen Printers’ Association of India (SPAI). 

In continuation to the agreements with different Indian Associations of Graphic Arts Industry, IPAMA is now heading towards SAARC countries, and also signed its first MoU with Bangladesh Mudran Shilpa Samity. The financial sector of Bangladesh is the second largest in the subcontinent and a growing market. Association is also approaching Sri Lanka and Bhutan in its second phase.

As a part of promotional activates, IPAMA has already organized two promotional Meets, one in Mumbai and the other one in Amritsar.  IPAMA has also marked its presence in domestic exhibitions, including those organized at Kolkata, Vijayawada, Ahmedabad, Chennai etc. In the past IPAMA had also marked its presence in many foreign exhibitions for promoting PPI 2019. It is also participating in Collate 2018 being organized by Sri Lanka Printers Association at Colombo in March, 2018.  Related information will be uploaded on IPAMA’s web-site for information of visitors, exhibitors and concerned organizations.

West Essex Graphics strengthens service offerings, thanks to DuPont Advanced Printing and Esko

Essex Graphics (WEG), in Fairfield, New Jersey, announced it is expanding operations and strengthening service offerings by installing an additional Esko CDI (Cyrel Digital Imager) 5080 HD unit with Pixel+ technology for use with DuPont Cyrel Easy flexo plates.

“With continuing demand for our products and services, expanding our manufacturing footprint was essential if we were going to stay ahead of the pack. Once that decision was made, looking to DuPont Advanced Printing (DuPont) and Esko, our long-standing partners, to make this happen was very easy,” said Tom Guth, principal, West Essex Graphics.

“Our customers have certain demands and they work with WEG because of our commitment to quality and service. There are a lot of options out there when considering how critical our role is in helping our clients succeed and how the demand for the highest quality image carrier solutions is increasing, the DuPont/Esko solution made the most sense for us and our customers,” he said.

“West Essex Graphics is a great example of a tradeshop that is utilizing the benefits DuPont Cyrel Easy plates offer to them as well as to their printer customers. They are enabling printers to expand into markets previously inaccessible due to higher quality demands, thanks to their customer focus and the use of Cyrel Easy plates,” said Shyamal Desai, Americas marketing manager, DuPont Advanced Printing.

By adding their second Esko 5080 CDI Spark, West Essex Graphics has substantially increased their capacity for Cyrel flexo plate imaging. “We are pleased that West Essex Graphics has decided to continue their longstanding relationship with Esko and their commitment to supplying the highest quality flexo plates by using HD Flexo and Pixel+ technology,” said Rory Marsoun, vice president - Business Development – Flexo, Esko.

2018 Premier Print Awards now accepting Submissions

Printing Industries of America is now accepting submissions for the 2018 Premier Print Awards competition honoring print excellence. The international competition is open to all companies involved in the creation or production of print communications, as well as students and student groups from high school, vocational school, or college print production programs.

All entries must be received by May 18, 2018. An early-bird discount is available until April 20, 2018. Entries may be submitted at awards.printing.org. All entries are competing for the coveted Best of Category "Benny" award in recognition of superior craftsmanship. Entries may also be recognized with an Award of Recognition or Certificate of Merit.

Entrants can submit to more than 100 individual categories ranging from traditional print items like brochures, binders, and magazines, to recently added categories like digital enhancements, 3D printing, and industrial printing. There is no limit to the number of pieces that may be entered or the number of categories in which a piece may be entered. Some sub-categories allow for competition within parameters such as employee count.

Winners will be honored in front of industry leaders and peers at the Premier Print Awards Gala Featuring the InterTech Technology Awards on Sunday, September 30, 2018 in Chicago, IL. You can find full program details and a catalog of entry categories at www.printing.org/ppa.

Highcon launches Euclid IIIC for Corrugated

Highcon announced the launch of the latest in the Highcon Euclid series, the Highcon Euclid IIIC. This latest machine extends the range of the 3rd generation Highcon Euclid cutting and creasing machines into the world of corrugated and fluted substrates from 1 mm up to 3mm/ 40-120pt.

The Highcon Euclid machine has been working with corrugated board at LxBxH in Switzerland since the end of 2015 and is now being made commercially available in the market.

According to Silvano Gauch, President of LxBxH “We have been using the Highcon digital cutting and creasing technology to produce high quality short run packaging on demand for our customers. The ability to produce small to medium size batches just-in-time with low entry cost, allows our customers to order what they actually want”

Aviv Ratzman, Highcon CEO and Co-founder, added: ”We realized the potential of the corrugated market in B1 and B2 (42" and 28”) formats and have been encouraged by the success that LxBxH have had in this market. Box Compression Tests that have been performed by comparing the digitally produced boxes with conventional ones have proven that boxes produced with the same substrate on the Euclid are stronger than those produced on conventional machines. This creates an opportunity to attain the same strength with reduced material usage and as a result, reduced costs. The potential of adding lamination and high quality print to the flutes also opens up a world of packaging that is both visually and structurally effective.”

The integration between the digital cutting and creasing and online ordering dovetails into the trend in the industry towards optimizing packaging size to reduce overpackaging and shipping costs.

The Highcon Euclid IIIC not only saves on the production and storage of die cutting forms but also adds the flexibility of digital technology which enables JIT production, short runs, customized perforations with cleaner edges and easier opening, and variable data etching for customization or personalization down to the level of serial numbers. The Euclid IIIC will handle single wall, laminated, N F G E and B-flute from 1mm to 3mm/ 40-120 points.

Packaging converters interested in seeing the machine at work are invited to attend a Highcon VIP event to be held at LxBxH on April 16th, 2018.

New label solutions approved for Scree Truepress UV inkjet digital ink

Mactac announced new additions to its Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved narrow-format UV inkjet printing portfolio for durable goods labeling. The latest UL recognition includes pre-approval of the use of Screen Truepress UV inkjet digital inks on Mactac’s FCD6914 2.0-mil gloss-coated white polyester labelstocks with FAB6914 1.0-mil clear polyester overlaminating film.

FCD6914 and FAB6914 feature Mactac’s MP690 high-performance, high-tack permanent acrylic emulsion adhesive, which has excellent ultimate adhesion and mandrel hold, is extremely resistant to chemicals and solvents, and offers good adhesion to various high- and low-energy substrates. The label solution is ideal for durable goods and industrial labeling applications such as power tools, appliances, electronics, compliance labels, and warning and instructional labels.

As the fast-growing trend toward digital printing continues, using UL-recognized Mactac products with narrow-format UV inkjet technology provides significant advantages.

“Digital printing is highly efficient, significantly reducing production time by eliminating conventional steps like plate setup, registration, and color adjustment,” said Kim Hensley, marketing manager, Mactac Performance Adhesives. “Having pre-approved UL recognition for the digital printing of durable films brings even more efficiencies and cost-savings to the go-to-market process.” Hensley adds.

Mactac’s pre-approved solutions allow converters to complete short- and medium-run label jobs, reducing costs, unlocking new business opportunities and ensuring shorter time needed to enter the durable goods labeling market. Additionally, pre-approved solutions require only a paper transfer, saving time and money typically spent on testing and qualifying substrates.

Mactac constantly works with OEM printers to obtain new certifications or pre-approvals for digital printing solutions. The new Screen Truepress offering joins Mactac’s existing UL pre-approval portfolio, which includes narrow-web digital inkjet solutions with EFI Jetrion and INX Digital International.

Mactac’s Durable Films Solutions are available under Mactac’s Precise Program, allowing customers to order less material for small runs and limited applications. For more information on Durable Films Solutions, UL recognitions, or other high-quality products available from Mactac Performance Adhesives Group, visit www.mactac.com/rolllabel.

Hop Industries issues Trends Report on the Growth of UV and LED Digital Printing

Hop Industries, manufacturer of the durable Hop-Syn synthetic paper, today announces a new trends report about the proliferation, and its contributing factors, of UV and LED digital printing. Fast emerging as a cost-effective and high-quality alternative to traditional printing methods such as offset and flexo, UV and LED digital printing has several notable advantages. The report highlights these advantages, as well as the sustainability factors that are driving print service providers (PSPs) to embrace UV and LED technologies. These include durable substrates designed for UV and LED printing, which are also environmentally-friendly, such as Hop-Syn synthetic paper. Hop-Syn comes in multiple grades, and delivers high quality results on leading digital printers such as EFI and swissQprint, recently featured at SGIA Expo 2017.

“Technological innovations are rapidly evolving for UV and LED printing, and with it comes new applications and choices,” comments Jack Smith, Senior Vice President, Hop Industries. “Our newest report is a helpful guide to understanding this new market segment, and the environmental implications that can either make or break customers’ sustainability mandates.”

Additionally, Hop’s new report addresses shifts in marketing trends, which are contributing to the quick adoption of UV and LED printing. The report addresses the move from a one-size-fits-all brand marketing approach to more targeted communications. It also highlights the increasing demand for more sustainable, environmentally friendlier printing processes, inks, and substrates such as Hop-Syn synthetic paper. Hop-Syn is 100% recyclable, and meets RoHS and CONEG certifications, and is produced under ISO 9001 standards.

A free copy of the trends report, "Technology and Diversity Drive Growth in UV and LED Inkjet Markets," is available upon request.

International Label & Printing installs ‘CEI BossJet powered by Domino’ hybrid press

International Label & Printing, a Chicago-area based converter of labels and package printing in Elk Grove Village, Ill., continues to grow their label printing/converting capabilities with the December 2017 installation of the ‘CEI BossJet powered by Domino’ hybrid press.

Mark Turk, President & CEO at International Label & Printing says, “In-line operation of printing and finishing, and the ability to run multiple webs, pre-and-post coatings when necessary, foiling, and two-sided printing were some of the reasons for investing in this hybrid press. We have the press configured with two UV flexo print stations (one before the Domino N610i and one after). We have a rail system with a cold foil tower with unwind and rewind, which will allow us to run wet lamination or lamination with a liner. There is also a second matrix take up unit, a turn bar, and a second unwind and take-up unit for running multiple webs, as well as a sheeting stacker/conveyor for running roll-tosheet applications.”

When asked what types of jobs and substrates International Label & Printing plans to run on the new press, Mark smiles and says, “Anything that is manufactured on a roll. Part of the decision-making process to go this route was to have the ability to run unsupported films. There are many small-quantity applications that large wide-web printers have asked us to produce. Now we can, while also featuring some of the sharpest, most opaque white printing in the industry today.”

International Label & Printing took their first step into digital printing a few ago when they purchased a five-color (CMYK+W) Domino N610i digital UV inkjet label press to help off-load some of their shorter-run, multiple SKU label jobs from their flexo presses onto the Domino. However, having the digital asset helped in ways they never imagined. “After a year of having the Domino press, we thought our flexo business would drastically decline because of that. We were taking jobs off those presses. The exact opposite has happened. We’ve never been busier flexo-wise since we’ve gotten the digital, so it has really opened up a lot of business for us on the flexo side.” Learn more in this short video as International Label & Printing describes implementing digital and how it complemented their flexo business.

Since that time, Domino launched their seven-color digital UV inkjet version (CMYKOV+W) of the N610i. The idea of expanded gamut, more printing and finishing capabilities, and having the entire process in-line propelled International Label & Printing to take their next step with the installation of ‘CEI BossJet powered by Domino’.

“The extended gamut feature and new ink system from Domino have proven to be even better than advertised. The print quality on jobs is much sharper and shows much more detail. We are very impressed,” adds Mark. And with this new hybrid press just recently installed, it would be easy to understand if International Label & Printing wanted to keep the news of it all to themselves. Quite the opposite with this very open, honest, information-sharing company. “We allow potential Domino customers to see our machine in action. The Domino demo room and training facility is great and the folks there do a terrific job, but as a buyer, I also wanted to see this machine in an industrial setting and it made a huge difference. I just hope they don’t sell any around my area until after I retire!” says Mark.

That type of relationship and business partnership doesn’t just happen. It’s built on commitment and trust and delivering on what you say you are going to do. “We have had outstanding service from Domino. The staff not only services our unit, but also educates us, which helps to keep the machine running properly. We have received excellent training and this has been an ongoing process as new developments and techniques are introduced. Everyone, and I mean Everyone, from Domino has been great to work with and extremely helpful. We had several people from Domino here on a recent Saturday to help us with a difficult job—unheard of. We all thought it would be a quick-fix and we would be done in an hour. It ended up taking all day and into the night…nearly until midnight. They were right here with us the whole way. You don’t forget things like that.”

According to International Label & Printing, their success continues. “We will be celebrating our 25th year of ownership of International Label this year and much of the credit to any success we have experienced goes to suppliers like Domino, who are not only courteous and professional, but are also extremely knowledgeable. Whomever is in charge of hiring all these people should be commended.”

HP Introduces the World’s Most Advanced Digital Labels and Packaging Portfolio

HP Inc. expanded its labels and packaging portfolio with solutions to drive the printing and converting toward more flexible, productive and profitable digital printing of any application. New solutions include the HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press for labels and packaging and HP PageWide C500 Press for mainstream corrugated production.

“The expansion follows the largest packaging deal ever for HP Indigo with ePac. Our customers are growing fast across all segments and are experiencing massive success. They are leveraging HP technology to innovate and deliver on brands’ evolving needs,” said Santi Morera, Global Head of Graphics Solutions Business, HP Inc. “These new technologies we are launching are needed now more than ever and will allow our customers to be more productive.”

Innovations increasing digital production profit

The new HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press increases the addressable label market while offering higher revenue per meter, including:

• Pack Ready for Labels for the production of high-resistance labels for food, household, chemical, and pharma labels. Four beta sites are producing commercial jobs.

• New HP Indigo ElectroInk Silver, now commercially available, delivers metallic effects across a wide color gamut, similar to Pantone 877.

• HP Indigo ElectroInk Invisible Blue and Yellow visible under UV light for brand protection and promotional labels

• Integration with the HP Indigo GEM embellishment unit, the first fully digital, one-pass label printing and embellishment solution for spot, tactile, foil, holograms, mini textures and lamination.

Additionally, the high-performance HP Production Pro for Indigo Labels and Packaging is now included in the HP Indigo 6900 and rolling out this year to HP Indigo’s entire Labels and Packaging portfolio. Featuring five times faster RIP power and the Esko Color Engine, the powerful Digital Front End provides extensive productivity and scalability for continuous digital production, to allow converters to scale and manage their digital production across multiple presses and multiple sites, increase the number of jobs per day, and shorten delivery cycles.

Pack Ready Laminator commercially available

For the HP Indigo 20000 flexible packaging press, the HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminator is now commercially available. A pioneering technology, Pack Ready Lamination allows for immediate time-to-market of HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging by eliminating the use of adhesives. The Pack Ready Laminator is manufactured and supplied by Karlville.

Extended capabilities for the HP Indigo 30000

The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press offers converters an opportunity to build new profitable businesses that leverage cost-effective short runs and added value long-run production. The new capabilities and improved performance include:

• Increased productivity to enable dozens of folding carton jobs per day and up to 1 million B2 sheets per month.

• The widest folding carton application span on one press, leveraging wide media range from paperboards to metalized, synthetic, and transparent media, new security features like micro-text and micro QR-codes, and new automatic mass customization and personalization capabilities.

• The Tresu iCoat 30000, sold and serviced by HP Indigo, for one robust folding carton production line.

Digilinck, a folding carton converter based in Deinze, Belgium, is adding a second HP Indigo 30000 digital press. “The Folding cartons market is changing and our customers expect speedy delivery and lower inventory levels. The HP Indigo 30000’s high flexibility and offset matching quality allow us to seize this opportunity and build a new profitable digital business, offering short turnaround-time and economic production of short-run healthcare packages,” said Vincent Oosterlinck, Owner, Digilinck. “Since installing the press, our business grew by 66% in the last three years.”

Addressing the dynamic corrugated packaging market

HP also announced that Kiwiplan, a leading MIS/MES software solutions provider for corrugated and rigid packaging, will be fully integrated, keeping the HP PageWide C500 presses running at optimum capacity, while helping customers to save time and costs through production and supply chain efficiency.

Five customers in Europe and the US have already purchased the groundbreaking PageWide C500 Press for direct-to-board post-print corrugated production. The first unit will ship next month.

Utilizing HP’s high-performance single-pass Thermal Inkjet technology, the HP PageWide C500 provides a cost-effective digital alternative for offset lamination and flexo production. The press delivers offset quality direct-to-board with mainstream productivity on both coated and uncoated papers, delivering packaging with vibrant graphics that preserves even the finest details.

The HP PageWide C500 utilizes HP CV150 Water-Based Inks, which contain no UV-reactive chemistries. These true water-based inks allow corrugated converters to print primary and secondary food-related packaging without an additional barrier.2 This robust and trusted solution enables compliance with the most stringent global food safety regulations and industry guidelines.

Custom Printed Products adds digital capability with Mark Andy Digital One

Label and flexible packaging manufacturer, Custom Printed Products has added digital capability to its business through the acquisition of a Mark Andy Digital One. Richard Nicholson, President, Custom Printed Products was first exposed to the inline digital label press in the Fall of 2016 and purchased in October 2016.

Digital One is an entry-level digital label press designed for short and micro run prime labels. The press is made up of 4 color dry toner printing process and a multi-function flexo deck for spot colors, laminates, adhesives or varnishes. Unlike many other small footprint digital devices, Digital One provides inline converting and finishing, delivering ready-to-ship label production.

Custom Printed Products (CPP) is a longtime industry player based out of Bossier City with nearly 50 years in the business. Nicholson founded the company with his partner Robert Waddell in the back of a transmission garage with a Mark Andy tabletop three color press. Since 1971, they have expanded to multiple locations in Bossier City, Louisiana and Edinburg, Virginia. The company employs over 100 people and runs a fleet of 10 Mark Andy presses, one being the newly installed Digital One. Employees are knowledgeable and maintain an average of 15 years of experience in the printing industry.

Nicholson began the search for a digital label press when the company noticed a substantial increase in work that was outsourced. These jobs were shorter runs and had application requirements that were only achievable on a digital device. At Labelexpo Americas 2016, Nicholson and his team attended with the goal of finding a digital label solution that allowed them to bring this work back in-house to meet their evolving business needs.

CPP evaluated Digital One against another well-known toner-based digital device and decided to partner with Mark Andy because of the cost-competitiveness the press manufacturer brought to the table. Digital One is built on a pay-as-you print model with no click charges and is offered at an affordable capital investment level. Nicholson and his production team were also impressed with Digital One’s ability to retrofit all of their tooling to the press.

Since installation, CPP runs 8,000 to 10,00 feet per day on the digital hybrid machine. The company has a varied book of business and prints a variety of labels ranging from motor oil labels to work for clients in the wine and beer market. The ability to bring digital labels in-house has enabled the company to ensure their customers are receiving the highest quality work at a competitive price.

The business reports that the ability to bring in digital work that the company was previously outsourcing has justified the spend on the new press. The company has been able to move short run work they were previously running on a legacy Mark Andy press to Digital One, which provides the ability to fully utilize the full production flexo press. A decision that has proved to be extremely cost effective for the business. With the addition of Digital One, the company is currently running at capacity daily.

When reflecting on the value of Digital One, Nicholson states, “All in all, the Digital One has been a great addition to our business. It has given us the ability to bring work back in-house that we were previously outsourcing. Not to mention, how easy it is to send a PDF to the machine to get setup.”

Custom Printed Products is committed to its mission of providing high-quality labels and flexible packaging that consistently exceeds customers’ expectations, while positioning them for growth into the future. 

Mexico lines up Label Summit Latin America 2018 return

Avery Dennison has been confirmed as gold sponsor of the 15th edition of Label Summit Latin America. Returning to Guadalajara from 24 – 25 April 2018, the summit is being held at Expo Guadalajara and is aimed at senior decision makers working within the label and package printing sector.

Subject-led, the summit will cover many hot topics such as business diversification, consolidation in the marketplace, packaging design trends, product security and material technologies and their applications. Featuring a cross-industry mix of expert speakers, the conference sessions are designed to help steer industry development and shape the way printers strategize their businesses going forward.

As well as being a good environment for learning, the summit will also feature around 90 exhibitors as part of its table-top exhibition. Participating companies confirmed in addition to Avery Dennison so far include: acpo, Armor, Bobst, Durst, Dupont, Esko, FUJIFILM, Gallus Ferd. Rüesch AG, HP, Green Bay Mexico, Industrial Papelera Venus, Mark Andy, OMET, Sun Chemical and Tesa Tape.

Jorge Orejuela, general manager at Avery Dennison Mexico says: "Avery Dennison participates in Label Summit Latin America 2018 as gold sponsor to demonstrate our continued commitment to change and evolving this industry with great innovations, such as intelligent labels among others, being shown to the Mexican market during the show."

Tasha Ventimiglia, Americas event director comments: “The Label Summits provide an excellent opportunity for delegates to network, collaborate and hold open and frank discussions on the most pressing issues facing their industry and ultimately their own businesses. We’ll be focusing on the great things that are already happening and also looking at where is next for the label printing community. The summits bring together some of the most knowledgeable and influential people from across the American region and it is a great chance to foster best practice and help build a sustainable and profitable future.”

An early bird registration rate is valid until April 6 with a full two-day delegate pass costing USD $260/MXN 4400. Two-day supplier passes cost USD $825/ MXN 14,500. Full event passes include access to the table-top exhibition, conference sessions, lunch, networking reception and refreshments. On-site registration is possible and full registration is also possible online at www.labelsummit.com/mexico.