Drupa Showcases Smart Solutions in Narrow and Mid-Web Printing

While the amount of new digital solutions for the corrugated sector was one of the surprising trends of drupa 2016, it does not mean that the narrow and mid-web sectors were on the back burner. On the contrary, there were several suppliers with new equipment, spanning digital, conventional and hybrid technologies.

Digital Suppliers Think End-to-End

Drupa attendees got a good look at the Xeikon 3500.

Two of the biggest names in digital label production have both revealed developments of end-to-end solutions that will result in a digitally printed product, complete with automated finishing capabilities.

Xeikon’s Fusion technology was first unveiled at Labelexpo, but drupa provided an opportunity to shed more light on it. According to Xeikon, the plan for Fusion will be to unveil embellishment modules over time that become part of a single system, managed by a digital front end.

Visitors to the HP booth check out printed output in the Indigo section.

HP also announced it has taken the first steps toward creating what it is calling an Indigo Digital Combination Press. During HP’s press conference, Alon Bar-Shany, VP and general manager of the Indigo digital press division, explained the press will feature Indigo printing and digital embellishments in one pass, calling it a, “fully digital, single-pass solution.”

Hybrid Printing Gains Traction

Among the many popular attractions in the Heidelberg hall, the Gallus Labelfire 340 stood as a pioneering solution for hybrid digital label printing. When Heidelberg acquired Gallus about 18 months ago, there was a great deal of excitement over what the combination of Heidelberg’s vast resources and Gallus’s flexo expertise could accomplish. The Labelfire 340 is a digital label solution; with flexo stations positioned both upstream and downstream from the digital unit. The press features inkjet heads from Fujifilm and in-line finishing and diecutting options, making it a full production system.

The Bobst M6 combines digital automation and flexo printing for the food packaging market.

Hybrid technology isn’t just for the label market, however. Bobst announced its release of the M6 Digital Flexo press, which at a mid-web width of 670mm, is geared toward folding cartons and flexible packaging. The M6, which combines flexo printing with digital automation, is ideal for high productivity in the food packaging market. Changeovers can be completed in minutes and without stopping the press, leading to increases in uptime.

The Omet Varyflex V2 Offset combines nearly all printing processes.

Omet announced it is taking hybrid printing in a different direction, with the release of the Varyflex V2 Offset press. Available in mid-web widths of 26˝ and 33˝, the Varyflex V2 Offset’s flexibility allows it to be used for several applications, including labels, folding cartons and flexible packaging. The key to the Varyflex V2 Offset, says Sales and Marketing Director Marco Calcagni, is modularity. The press can incorporate flexo, offset, gravure, digital and screen technologies in interchangeable positions.

Fun With Finishing

MGI’s digital finishing solutions have made waves all year long, including its JETvarnish 3DW and iFoil, which received the European Digital Press Association award for “Best Label Printer Finishing Solution,” during drupa.

Samples coming off the MGI JETvarnish 3DW and iFoil at drupa

This entirely digital finishing solution provides label printers with the ability to add spot UV coating and embossed hot foiling to printed output, without the need for dies or tooling. The JETvarnish system can be used for flexo, offset and digitally printed labels.

With digital printing having reached an established presence in the narrow and mid-web markets, it’s encouraging to see suppliers taking their technologies to the next level. It’s clearly not just about speed and print quality anymore. With end-to-end solutions, hybrid systems and digital finishing, label, narrow-web and mid-web solutions are becoming more automated tools, offering far more than just an option for short run length jobs.